Birthday's to share this week : 11th-17th December 2016.

Do you celebrate your Birthday this week?

Theo James does on 16th December - check out my tribute to this Birthday Lad turning 32, at the end of this feature.

Do you also share your birthday with a well known, highly regarded & famous Actor or Actress; share your special day with a Director, Producer, Writer, Cinematographer, Singer/Songwriter or Composer of repute; or share an interest in whoever might notch up another year in the coming seven days? Then, look no further! Whilst there will be too many to mention in this small but not insignificant and beautifully written and presented Blog, here are the more notable and noteworthy icons of the big screen, and the small screen, that you will recognise, and that you might just share your birthday with in the week ahead. If so, Happy Birthday to you from Odeon Online!

Sunday 11th December

• Hailee Steinfeld - Born 1996, turns 20 - Actress
• Mo'Nique (Monique Imes) - Born 1967, turns 49 - Actress | Producer
• Jean-Louis Trintignant - Born 1930, turns 86 - Actor | Writer | Director  

Monday 12th December

• Bill Nighy - Born 1949, turns 67 - Actor | Producer
• Jennifer Connolly - Born 1970, turns 46 - Actress  

Tuesday 13th December

• Dick Van Dyke - Born 1925, turns 91 - Actor | Producer | Writer | Singer
• Christopher Plummer - Born 1929, turns 87 - Actor | Producer
• Robert Lindsay - Born 1949, turns 67 - Actor | Singer
• Steve Buscemi - Born 1957, turns 59 - Actor | Director | Producer | Singer | Writer
• Jamie Foxx - Born 1967, turns 49 - Actor | Producer | Writer | Director | Singer

Wednesday 14th December

• Rebecca Gibney - Born 1964, turns 52 - Actress | Producer | Writer
• Sophie Monk - Born 1979, turns 37 - Actress

Thursday 15th December

• Don Johnson - Born 1949, turns 67 - Actor | Producer 
• Stuart Townsend - Born 1972, turns 44 - Actor | Director  

Friday 16th December

• Ben Cross - Born 1947, turns 69 - Actor
• Shane Black - Born 1961, turns 55 - Director | Producer | Writer | Actor
• Benjamin Bratt - Born 1963, turns 53 - Actor | Producer
• James Mangold - Born 1963, turns 53 - Director | Producer | Writer
• Theo James - Born 1984, turns 32 - Actor
• Miranda Otto - Born 1967, turns 49 - Actress 

Saturday 17th December

• Tommy Steele - Born 1936, turns 80 - Singer | Actor 
• Bernard Hill - Born 1944, turns 72 - Actor 
• Eugene Levy - Born 1946, turns 70 - Actor | Writer | Producer | Director | Singer
• Bill Pullman - Born 1953, turns 63 - Actor | Producer | Director
• Peter Farrelly - Born 1956, turns 60 - Producer | Writer | Director
• Rian Johnson - Born 1973, turns 43 - Director | Writer
• Giovanni Ribisi - Born 1974, turns 42 - Actor | Producer
• Milla Jovovich - Born 1975, turns 41 - Actress | Singer | Songwriter  

Theodore Peter James Kinnaird Taptiklis was born in Oxford, England, to mother Jane Martin who worked for the National Health Service, and father Philip Taptiklis, a business consultant. He is the youngest of five children - having two older brothers and two older sisters. From age eleven he attended Aylesbury Grammar School - a boys school located in the county of Buckinghamshire, and then went on to the University of Nottingham where he earned an undergraduate degree in Philosophy. He learned his acting craft at The Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, although throughout his school life and at University he appeared in numerous plays and short films.

He gained his first television appearance opposite Billie Piper in the mini-series 'A Passionate Woman' in 2010, followed up that same year in his feature film debut in a small role in Woody Allen's 'You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger' with Anthony Hopkins, Josh Brolin, Antonio Banderas, Naomi Watts and Pauline Collins. This then led to an episode on 'Downton Abbey' before possibly his breakout role as Jed Harper on televisions 'Bedlam' in 2011 - about the drama and supernatural forces at work in an apartment building converted from a former insane asylum. The series ran for two seasons, with James appearing in all six of the first season.  

Next up came 'The Inbetweeners Movie' in which he starred as the night club rep., before being cast as David in the fourth film in the successful vampire/werewolf franchise 'Underworld : Awakening' in 2012. He would reprise his role in the recently released 'Underworld : Blood Wars' opposite Kate Beckinsale and Charles Dance once again. Also in 2012, James appeared in two episodes of British crime drama mini-series 'Case Sensitive' for the ITV Network opposite Darren Boyd and Olivia Williams, and then the BBC's two part mini-series of 'Room at the Top'.

2013 followed with James in the lead role of Walter William Clarke Jnr. in the CBS series of 'Golden Boy' about Clarke, an ambitious cop whose meteoric rise through the ranks sees him becoming the youngest Police Commissioner in New York's history. The series aired for thirteen episodes over just one season before being cancelled. This was followed up by the first instalment in the big screen adaptation of the hugely successful Veronica Roth novels 'Divergent' set in a future post-apocalyptic dystopian world where the surviving people are split into distinct factions based on their personality traits and human virtues. The story surrounds Beatrice 'Tris' Prior (Shailene Woodley) who learns that she is a rare 'Divergent' and will therefore never fit into one of the factions, and she quickly learns of a sinister plot afoot in their seemingly perfect world. Along the way she befriends Tobias 'Four' Eaton (James) and the two become close allies as the film series unfolds. This first film released in 2014 collected US$289M at the global Box Office.

A year later came the follow up, and the second in 'The Divergent Series' with 'Insurgent' with Woodley and James reprising their roles together with those of an all star cast including Jai Courtney, Miles Teller, Ansel Elgort, Naomi Watts, Kate Winslet, Maggie Q, Octavia Spencer and Zoe Kravitz. This film returned US$297M. The third film in the franchise 'Allegiant' was released earlier this year, with the two principle characters reposing their roles once more, supported by much the same cast with the addition of Jeff Daniels and Bill Skarsgard, However, this film was less well received critically, and commercially was the least preforming of the three so far, generating a return of US$179M. This has prompted speculation of budget cuts to the fourth and final film in the series 'Ascendant' due supposedly in 2017, and the possibility that it may be released as a television movie instead of a feature film with a theatrical release. As a result both Woodley and James have aired their views on this stance that they will not be involved if this is the case. Watch this space!

These gave way to 'The Benefactor' (aka 'Franny') in 2015 with Richard Gere and Dakota Fanning, and then the also recently released 'War on Everyone' for Writer/Director John Michael McDonagh with Alexander Skarsgard and Michael Pena with James playing 'Lord' James Mangan who the two bad cops played by Skarsgard and Pena down Albuquerque way run in to with unexpected results. There was also 'The Secret Scripture' for Writer/Director Jim Sheridan with Rooney Mara, Eric Bana, Aidan Turner and Vanessa Redgrave which has not yet been released in Australia. This brings us up to date with current releases.

Next up is the thriller 'London Fields' with Billy Bob Thornton, Jim Sturgess, Jason Isaacs, Johnny Depp, Amber Heard, and Cara Delevingne. The film was due for release a year or so ago but has been delayed due to legal action between the Director and the Producers. Due for release in 2017 is 'Backstabbing for Beginners' with Ben Kingsley and Jacqueline Bisset - with James playing UN Oil-for-Food Programme whistleblower who uncovers a major corruption scandal. And then there is the disputed 'Ascendant' final instalment in 'The Divergent Series' which may or may not get off the ground.

All up James has twenty-one Acting credits to his name so far, and he has garnered three award wins and another seven nominations. In his early acting days he also played in the London based band 'Shere Khan' as guitarist and singer, but in late 2012 the band split.

Theo James - private in his off-screen life, but well known for his role in two major film franchises; clearly in demand and on the rise; auditioned for James Bond but reportedly failed to get the gig; but has the smarts and the looks to go a long way yet. Happy Birthday to you Theo, from Odeon Online.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

SNOWDEN : Wednesday 28th September 2016.

'SNOWDEN', which I saw earlier in the week, is a biographical political drama Co-Written for the screen and Directed by Oliver Stone and based on the books 'The Snowden Files' by The Guardian's foreign correspondent Luke Harding, and 'The Time of the Octopus' by Russian lawyer and Doctor of Law Anatoly Kucherena. The former is an in depth biography of Edward Snowden's story, and the latter is a story of a fictional American whistleblower seeking asylum in Russia. The film rights for both books were acquired by Oliver Stone and form the foundation of this account of Edward Joseph Snowden, who hit the international headlines in mid-2013 for leaking classified information from the National Security Agency to The Guardian in the June of that year. With an all star cast, Stone was so worried about filming in the US and reprisals from the NSA, that he shot the film mostly outside of the US in Munich and Hong Kong with some footage filmed in Washington D.C. and Hawaii. A controversial man and a controversial story with Snowden being hailed a whistleblower, a dissident, a hero, a freedom fighter, a patriot and a traitor - you'll just have to decide for yourself based on this 'dramatisation of true events' as the films opening titles tell us! The film was made for US$40M and has so far grossed US$19M since its release.

Featuring Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Edward Snowden and Shailene Woodley as his girlfriend Lindsay Mills, the film tells the story of this American computer professional, former Central Intelligence Agency employee and former contractor for the United States government who copied and leaked classified information from the NSA without any authorisation. The film charts Snowden's career from when he was first serving in the army, and was medically discharged to him applying for entry into the CIA and going through numerous rigorous tests to gain entry and prove himself worthy. It also explains how he first met his girlfriend Lindsay Mills, a tech-smart photographer, and how their relationship coped with the peaks and troughs of the stresses and strains of the highly secretive world in which he worked, and what he was exposed to.

Once accepted into the CIA he is introduced to Corbin O'Brian (Rhys Ifans) as a major high ranking CIA official who takes the new recruit under his wing recognising the inner geek and computer programming genius that is now in his midst. He also meets with Hank Forrester (Nicolas Cage) on his first day on the job at 'The Hill' (a closely guarded CIA Training Facility) who will be one of Snowden's instructors, and they share common interests in historical computers and code-cracking hardware before Forrester lets out a barrage of stories about highly secretive projects and the modern spying game. Forrester is somewhat jaded having developed an intricate computer programme to target known enemies of the state, that was dismissed before completion and handed over to a third party contractor for US$4B - more money than sense!

As Snowden becomes more entrenched with the CIA and in turn the NSA and gets ever closer to O'Brian having proven his capabilities and his worth repeatedly, so his responsibilities and his authorities increase. He is quickly introduced to the world of surveillance and how the NSA is keeping tabs on every mobile phone, every social media site, Internet activity, messaging service  and computer use across the world with the ability to peer into all and any users private lives with astonishing speed and accuracy and completely unhindered. He's uncomfortable with this revelation and so seeks to get on to field operations and sample the world of the international spy, and so teams up with CIA Agent Geneva (Timothy Olyphant) and is exposed to some dirty dealings that sits uneasily with him too. Increasingly we see Snowden questioning himself to the point when he resigns his job because the burden of responsibility and accountability is all getting too much. However, he comes back as a contractor hired by blue chip consulting firms to work with the CIA and NSA again - same shit, different bucket!

Throughout the film we are taken back & forth in time over the course of nine years culminating in a Hong Kong hotel room. We see his relationship with Lindsay ebb & flow as she struggles with the secrecy he is sworn to, and not being able to discuss his working life with him openly to help relieve the stresses and strains he is feeling as a result of his work.

After postings in some far away places that culminated in a secret NSA underground facility in Hawaii, Snowden downloads several hundred thousand files onto a USB drive while his superior, NSA Agent Trevor James (Scott Eastwood) is pre-occupied with an emergency crisis. Casually, Snowden walks out of the heavily guarded facility with the USB hidden inside a Rubik's Cube which he is rarely seen without, and out into the sunshine having taken his leave from his desk because he wasn't feeling so good.

After leaving his job at an NSA facility in Hawaii, Snowden flew to Hong Kong and is holed up in a Hotel Room with Laura Poitras (Melissa Leo) an American documentary film Producer and Director who was in attendance by invitation from Snowden to record his testimony. In the room too was Glenn Greenwald (Zachary Quinto) - an American journalist and author also invited by Snowden to document his testimony for the world press, and most notably The Guardian. And, Ewen MacAskill (Tom Wilkinson) - a Scottish journalist working for The Guardian as defence and intelligence correspondent. So, is came to be that over the course of four days in June 2013 holed up inside that hotel room, Snowden spilled the beans and revealed thousands of classified NSA documents to the three journalists and confidants, which then appeared in The Guardian and The Washington Post, other newspapers including Der Spiegel and The New York Times and across global television networks. Watching these events unfold on national news are Lindsay at home with her parents, Corbin O'Brian, Hank Forrester, and assorted world leaders.

Snowden's disclosures revealed numerous global surveillance programs, many run by the NSA and the Five Eyes Intelligence Alliance with the cooperation of telecommunication companies and Governments across Europe. After being charged by the US Government on two counts of espionage and theft of classified information he flew to Moscow seeking asylum which he was granted for twelve months, subsequently extended to three years. He remains in Russia as of this date, and was subsequently joined there by Lindsay.

In a closing scene we see Snowden being interviewed live via an Internet link-up in front of a live studio audience. He is asked probing questions, and why he did what he did. As the camera pans around the monitor on which Snowden is speaking from his apartment somewhere in Russia, the image cuts from Edward Snowden as portrayed by Joseph Gordon-Levitt to the real Edward Snowden who continues the discussion about peoples freedom, privacy and security and the violation of those basic human rights by President Obama. Edward Snowden co-operated in the making of this film.

I have to say I was fascinated about this film, and even if only 50% of what is depicted on the screen by Oliver Stone is true and correct, then that is a very scary prospect too - for all of us! Gordon-Levitt carries his character along with nuance and grace that makes him grounded, real and believable. There are no arousing speeches, chest beating, table thumping or over the top antics to be seen here, but rather a considered somewhat introverted but nonetheless highly intelligent man just doing what he believes in, and who has the courage of his convictions to speak out about what he believes in, and what he knows to be true. There was no personal gain here, no bag of gold at the end of this rainbow - for Snowden it was all down side - living in exile, the possibility of prison, labelled a traitor, alone and turning his back on his country, his family, his loved ones and the life he had thus far made for himself. One man against the world and prepared to blow open the lid. A riveting film based on fact that we cannot ignore, well delivered, very watchable and it will cause you to debate and discuss the subject at hand long after the credits have rolled.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-