What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 1st September 2016.

Two thirds of the way through the year and I got to thinking about the movie remakes and reboots we have seen this year so far together with those still slated for release in 2016. This year has been no exception to the number seen, but it does seem that once again we have our fair share of movies from way back, and more recently, that are getting rebooted, reimagined and remade for a whole new audience perhaps unfamiliar with the source material, or is it simply that the studios are devoid of sufficient new ideas with which to commit to celluloid? Here's a bunch from this year alone that have been dug up, dusted down and had the makeover treatment :

• 'Point Break' - originally released in 1991 with Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze and Directed by Kathryn Bigelow.
• 'Steve Jobs' - originally released in 2013 as 'Jobs' with Ashton Kutcher and Directed by Joshua Michael Stern.
• 'Zoolander 2' - originally released in 2001 with Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson and Directed by Ben Stiller.
• 'The Jungle Book' - originally released in 1967 as a Disney animated feature Directed by Wolfgang Reitherman.
• 'Mt Big Fat Greek Wedding 2' - originally released in 2002 and Directed by Joel Zwick.
• 'Ghostbusters' - originally released in  1984 with Bill Murray, Dan Aykrord and Harold Ramis and Directed by Ivan Reitman.
• 'Jason Bourne' - originally released as a trilogy in 2002, 2004 and 2007 as 'The Bourne Identity', 'The Bourne Supremacy' and 'The Bourne Ultimatum' with Matt Damon and Directed by Doug Liman and Paul Greengrass.
• 'The BFG' - originally released in 1989 as a Cosgrove Hall animated feature Directed by Brian Cosgrove.
• 'The Legend of Tarzan' - 52 live action and animated feature films since 1918, with the last live action film being 1998's 'Tarzan and the Lost City' with Casper Van Dien and Directed by Carl Schenkel.
• 'Independence Day : Resurgence' - originally released in 1996 as 'Independence Day' with Will Smith and Directed by Roland Emmerich.
• 'Ben Hur' - originally released in 1959 with Charlton Heston and Directed by William Wyler.
• 'Mechanic : Resurrection' - originally released in 1972 as 'The Mechanic' with Charles Bronson and Jean-Michael Vincent and Directed by Michael Winner.

With those still coming up for release before the end of the year :

• 'The Magnificent Seven' - originally released in 1960 with Yul Bryner, Charles Bronson, James Coburn, Eli Wallach, Steve McQueen, Robert Vaughn, Horst Buchholz and Brad Dexter and Directed by John Sturges.
• 'Pete's Dragon' - originally released in 1977 as a Disney animated feature Directed by Don Chaffey.
• 'All Quiet on the Western Front' - originally released in 1930 and Directed by Lewis Milestone.

Turning to this week, there are no fewer than seven new films to tease you in to the first week of an Australian Spring, kick starting with a return to form for this Actor in this rescue and revenge story that sees an ageing dad trying to do the right thing by his estranged daughter and dispensing his own style of justice on those who would do her harm. Then we go to a biographical drama of drug cartels, money laundering and how one man brought it all crashing down for an infamous kingpin and his empire in the mid '80's. Next we turn attention to this weeks horror offering in the form of a home invasion set up featuring three opportunistic thieves who under-estimate their target and what he is capable of, despite his disability. Then a sequel to a 2011 remake of a classic 1972 film that sees a man with a particular set of skills come out of retirement to save his girlfriend - but at what cost? Then these are followed up by a teen adventure tale of on-line truth or dare but with a twist for the tech-savvy on the go attention seeking adrenalin junkie youthful types. This then takes us to the Korean War with a top ranking US General calling the shots with the local South Koreans to infiltrate  the North Koreans to help reverse the fortunes of the UN allies; before wrapping up with another period piece set on the Scottish north east coast in the lead up to WWI and one young farm girls coming of age story based on a much loved Scottish literary piece dating back to 1932.

For the full Previews see below, and if these help with your movie going choice in the week ahead then be sure to leave your thoughts and opinions of your film experience by recording a Comment below this or any other Post. We would love to hear from you! In the meantime, enjoy your film.

'BLOOD FATHER' (Rated MA15+) - it's good to see Mel Gibson back in a leading role for the first time since 2012's 'Get The Gringo' which he also Co-Wrote and Co-Produced and which whilst hardly a Box Office sensation was a welcome return to the form for the former Hollywood A-List Actor, Writer, Producer and Director who had fallen from grace since 'Apocalypto' in 2006. Now in 2016, Gibson is back and playing a bad-ass grindhouse rescue and revenge type in this Jean-Francois Richet Directed film that sees his character John Link as a Vietnam War Veteran, an ex-convict out on parole and an former alcoholic still sharing the love at regular AA meetings. Based on the book of the same name by Peter Craig, Gibson has received much praise for his role in this B-Grade movie that for the Actor seeking to make his comeback might be seen as a case of art imitating life. Watch out too for Mel's return to Directing duty with WWII drama 'Hacksaw Ridge' due in November this year.

Essentially we join Link celebrating two years of being off the booze and ably supported by his friend and sponsor Kirby (William H. Macy). Link is fighting plenty of inner demons, one of which is having lost all contact with his sixteen year old daughter Lydia (Erin Moriarty) who has got tied up with all manner of low life nasty criminal types down Mexico way. So much so that she accidentally shoots her boyfriend and drug kingpin Jonah (Diego Luna) in the neck. As a result she goes on the run from both the local police and the drug cartel with only her estranged Dad to turn to. It's not long before the two hit the road to evade the police and those pesky drug cartel types aided by some they come up against and hindered by others. Featuring plenty of gun play, chases sequences, sharp dialogue and a grizzled world weary lead character dispensing his own brand of justice. Catch it soon and give Mel Gibson a second chance!

'THE INFILTRATOR' (Rated MA15+) - this autobiographical crime drama is Directed by Brad Furman and is based on the book of the same name by US Customs Special Agent Robert Mazur who  during the '80's went deep undercover as a corrupt businessman to bust Pablo Escobar's money laundering organisation. Here Bryan Cranston plays Robert Mazur (aka Bob Musella) who goes undercover to infiltrate the drug trafficking network of drug lord Escobar by working with Agents Kathy Ertz (Diane Kruger) and Emir Abreu (John Leguizamo) and gaining the confidence and trust of Escobar's right hand man Roberto Alcaino (Benjamin Bratt). Building a case against a vicious criminal underworld where any wrong move or word out of place could cost him his life, Mazur gathers sufficient hard evidence to bring about indictments against 85 drug lords and the bankers who cleaned and redistributed their money whilst bringing about the collapse of the Bank of Credit and Commerce International - one of the world's largest money laundering banks. Also starring Amy Ryan, Jason Isaacs and Olympia Dukakis.

'DON'T BREATHE' (Rated MA15+) - Directed by Fede Alvarez who brought us 'The Evil Dead' reboot in 2013 this home invasion horror film has received positive reviews since its release and has made US$31M off its US$10M budget outlay. Here three Detroit living thieves Rocky (Jane Levy), Alex (Dylan Minnette) and Money (Daniel Zovatto) decide to burgle the home of a blind old veteran (Stephen Lang) who has recently come into a substantial sum of money as a result of a cash settlement following the death of his only child. Living in a quiet secluded house in a largely abandoned neighbourhood the gang of three pick this as an easy target and a quick in and out job . . . they couldn't be more wrong! Finding themselves trapped inside the house the three must keep their wits about them as they fight for their lives having encountered what the blind man is capable of and the secret he is harbouring.

'MECHANIC : RESURRECTION' (Rated MA15+) - the remake of Michael Winner's 1972 classic 'The Mechanic' with Charles Bronson and Jean-Michael Vincent in 2011 as Directed by Simon West with Jason Statham in the title role as Arthur Bishop made US$62M off its US$40M budget making a sequel hardly a sure thing! But here we are five years later with the franchise resurrected as Arthur Bishop has been forced out of retirement as a contract killer when the love of his life Gina (Jessica Alba) is kidnapped by some unscrupulous types demanding he complete three seemingly impossible hits, otherwise the girls gets it! Our man is forced to traverse the world to do what he does best using his particular set of skills - make his assassinations look like accidents! Made for US$40M again and this time Directed by Dennis Gansel, and also starring Michelle Yeoh and Tommy Lee Jones.

'NERVE' (Rated M) - described as a teen techno thriller adventure, this film is based on the 2012 book of the same name by Jeanne Ryan and is jointly Directed by Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman, was made for US$20M and so far grossed USA$48M. Here we have young Vee Delmonico (Emma Roberts) a high achieving senior high school student who is quickly becoming bored with the hum drum ho-hum of life. Coming under some pressure from her friends to come out from under her shell, she joins 'Nerve' a popular on-line game that challenges its participants to a game of dare that starts out simply enough but soon escalates at every stage into something way more challenging, dangerous, and adrenaline fuelled. Are you a 'Player or a Watcher' as the game launches with the promise of big cash prizes and Internet fame, but as Vee moves through her addictive challenges so the game takes a more sinister turn where the stakes are increasingly high, and she joins forces with Ian (Dave Franco) who may or may not be a participant in the game and can he be trusted? Right up every teenagers street this film of Internet gaming on the move is both topical and relevant, if a little far fetched . . . or is it?

'OPERATION CHROMITE' (Rated MA15+) - this South Korean film has a limited Australian release and tells the true story of The Battle of Inchon as Directed by John H.Lee (Lee Jae-han), which lasted from 15th September though to 19th September 1950 involving an amphibious invasion during the Korean War that resulted in a decisive victory and strategic reversal in favour of the United Nations. The operation involved 75,000 or so troops and 260 naval vessels, and led to the recapture of the South Korean capital of Seoul shortly afterwards. Here General MacArthur (Liam Neeson) oversees a team led by South Korean Special Naval Forces Captain Jang Hak-soo (Lee Jung-jae) and seven of the Korean Liaison Office to infiltrate under the guise of a North Korean Inspection unit the North Korean Army Command Centre in Inchon and complete three key tasks which involve gathering significant military intelligence, the kidnapping of the a high ranking officer, and the signalling to the UN forces on D-Day to haul ass and move on in. Made for about US$12M the film has so far made US$19M since its release.

'SUNSET SONG' (Rated M) - based on the highly acclaimed Scottish 1932 Lewis Grassic Gibbon novel of the same name, this film is Directed by Terence Davies and was released in the UK in early December last year, and only now reaches Australian shores on a limited release. Set at the turn of the 20th Century on the fictional Estate of Kinraddie in north-east Scotland the film centres around Chris Guthrie (Agyness Deyn) a young girl growing up in rural and remote Aberdeenshire whose rites of passage see love and loss, toil and hardship, happiness and sorrow, peace and war, but, this is what defines her as a a growing woman and what prepares her for adulthood and the dawning of a new world. Generally this film has received very positive reviews for its beauty and brutality, its dialogue (written for the screen by Davies too) and its performances from Deyn and the supporting cast of Peter Mullan (as father John Guthrie) and Kevin Guthrie (as Ewan Tavendale) especially. One for you, if intense thought provoking period dramas are your thing.

With seven new films out in the week ahead, these are decidedly adult fare, but when combined with those films out on general release and as Reviewed and Previewed here at this Blog, then there is no reason not to get out to your local cinema and celebrate Springtime with a latest release movie. I'll see you at the Odeon in the coming week.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

GENE WILDER - dies aged 83 - R.I.P.

Gene Wilder was born Jerome Silberman on 11th June 1933 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA to mother Jeanne Baer and father William Silberman, a Russian Jewish immigrant. He died at his home on early Monday morning 29th August in Stamford, Connecticut as a result of complications from Alzheimer's Disease. He was 83 years of age. Back in 1999 the Star had been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma which by 2005 through treatment was in remission. Three years ago, however, he had been diagnosed with Alzeihmer's, but Wilder and those closest to him decided to keep his condition a secret.

He became interested in acting at age eight, and then studied under an acting teacher for two years from thirteen years of age. He studied briefly at the Black-Foxe military institute in Hollywood that attracted the sons of those involved in the movie business including Charles Chaplin Jnr. and Larry Hagman. He graduated from Milwaukee's Washington High School in 1951, and studied Communication and Theatre Arts at the University of Iowa where he graduated from in 1955. He then travelled to England having been accepted to the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School and after six months enrolled at the Herbert Berghof Studio (HB Studio) School in Greenwich Village, New York.

Having been drafted into the US Army in late 1956 where he served for just over two years, he gained a full time scholarship to the HB Studio, and then in the early '60's was accepted into Lee Strasberg's Actor's Studio. In 1963 he was cast in a lead role in 'Mother Courage and Her Children' with Anne Bancroft, who introduced Wilder to her boyfriend, Mel Brooks, who was working up a Script for a feature film for which he thought Wilder would be well suited in a lead role. It was around about this time at age 26 that he adopted the stage name Gene Wilder. That film was 'Springtime for Hitler' which later on became 'The Producers' in which Wilder starred as Leo Bloom alongside Zero Mostel, with Brooks Directing. That was 1968 and Wilder's only second film role after a bit-part as a hostage in Arthur Penn's 1967 cult crime classic 'Bonnie and Clyde' with Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway. For his role as Leo Bloom in 'The Producers' Wilder secured an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.

1971 saw 'Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory' - the role for which he is perhaps best known, and which garnered a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor in a Comedy or Musical. This was followed up with Woody Allen's 'Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex (But Were Afraid to Ask)', and then the classic comedy Western 'Blazing Saddles' for Mel Brooks again. 'The Little Prince' followed.

'Young Frankenstein' was Wilder's first attempt at Screenwriting with Mel Brooks who also Directed. The film returned US$86M from a US$3M budget investment and was hailed both a critical and commercial success. This film gained Wilder his second Academy Award nomination which he shared with Mel Brooks for Best Adapted Screenplay. His first Directing gig came in 1975 with 'The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother' which he also Wrote and starred in. The film returned US$20M from its under US$3M budget outlay.

1976 delivered comedy thriller 'Silver Streak' and was Wilder's first pairing with Richard Pryor. Making US$51M from less than a US$7M budget the film was well received by critics. Those other collaborations with Pryor were 'Stir Crazy' in 1980 which was again well received critically and was the third highest grossing film of 1980 at US$101M from a US$10M budget. 'See No Evil, Hear No Evil' was Wilder's third outing with Pryor in 1989 which fared less well with the critics but returned US$47M from its US$18M outlay. 1991's 'Another You' was their final film together and was a critical and commercial bomb and marked the last full length feature film that either Actor would star in.

In the meantime there had been 'The World's Greatest Lover' in 1977 which he Wrote, Produced, Directed and starred in, 'The Frisco Kid' in 1979 with Harrison Ford, the four segment 'Sunday Lovers' in 1980, 'Hanky Panky' for Director Sidney Poitier, 'The Woman in Red' in 1984 which again he Directed and Co-Wrote too, 'Haunted Honeymoon' in 1986 which he also Co-Wrote, Directed and starred in and then 'Funny About Love' in 1990 for Director Leonard Nimoy. After this Wilder starred in a number of made for television movies and TV series including two episodes on 'Will & Grace' for which he won a Primetime Emmy Award for Most Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series.

All up Wilder had 37 Acting credits to his name, nine as Writer, five as Director, one as Producer. He also sang in nine of his films. He was nominated for two Academy Awards, two Golden Globes, won a Primetime Emmy together with three others wins and six other nominations. Wilder was married to Actress Mary Mercer from 1960 to 1965; to Mary Joan Schutz from 1967 to 1980; to Actress Gilda Radner from 1984 until her death in 1989, and movie costume and wardrobe supervisor Karen Boyer from 1991 until the present day. He spent the last decade or so writing several books including his highly personal memoir 'Kiss Me Like a Stranger : My Search for Love and Art' in 2005, and then a number of novels - his first in 2007 'My French Whore', then the next in 2008 'The Woman Who Wouldn't' and then in 2013 'Something to Remember You By : A Perilous Romance'. He also campaigned to raise awareness and treatment for ovarian cancer which his third wife Gilda Radner died from, and subsequently helped found the Gilda Radner Ovarian Cancer Detection Centre in Los Angeles.

Gene Wilder - a touchstone of comedic genius for your generation, the influence on so many others since with your comedy legacy shining bright on film, television, stage and the page may you forever raise a smile and a raucous laugh wherever you go to next.

Gene Wilder - Rest In Peace
1933-2016

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

HIGH RISE : Friday 26th August 2016.

'HIGH RISE' which has had a limited release in Australia, I saw late last week and is based on the 1975 novel of the same name by J.G.Ballard. This Sci-Fi dystopian drama film is Directed by Ben Wheatley and is set in the time that the source novel was written. Produced by Jeremy Thomas of the Recorded Picture Company, who had wanted to turn this into a film since the '70's, and finally found a Director to do so in Wheatley, when the latter started looking at who held the film rights to the book back in early 2013. The film premiered at TIFF in September last year, opened in London in mid-March and arrived on Australian shores earlier this month having premiered at the Sydney Film Festival in June. For many years the book was said to be unfilmable, but then that was said too of Ballard's 1973 novel 'Crash' which was successfully made into a film by David Cronenberg in 1996 featuring James Spader and Holly Hunter. I guess you'll have to decide, but so far critics have been polarised by this one, and it's taken just US$4M.

As the film opens we are greeted by Dr. Robert Laing (Tom Hiddleston) in what seems to be his trashed apartment. He sits on the balcony looking the worse for wear with a white Husky dog, petting it, before killing it (off camera) and spit roasting it (in camera). We then go back three months in time and recount the steps to what led him to this day and this circumstance. Three months ago successful consulting neurologist Dr. Laing moves into the High Rise apartment block - a forty storey tower block on the edge of London that represents the epitome of modern living during the 70's. It is one of five, and the first to be commissioned.

On the upper floors live societies rich and elite, while on the lower levels reside more common middle classes. The upper levels offer its residents a gym, swimming pool, spa, supermarket, sculptured roof top gardens and a primary school giving residents no reason to leave other than for work. The apartments are fitted with the latest in design and modern conveniences. Laing has moved into an apartment on the 25th floor - he is alone. On the first day, Laing falls asleep on a recliner on his balcony in the sunshine, only to be looked down upon by a single mother neighbour living directly above him on the 26th floor, Charlotte Melville (Sienna Miller) who takes an instant attraction to the new kid on the block.

Sniffing around Melville like a dog on heat is Richard Wilder (Luke Evans) a documentarian film maker who lives on a lower level with his heavily pregnant wife Helen (Elisabeth Moss) and children. Laing gets to know Wilder and the two soon become friends as well. Wilder has a huge chip on his shoulder and begrudges those living on the upper levels, while he resides on the lower levels in a state of near chaos with a wife he can take or leave and a bunch of kids that he seems to tolerate. He is very much the dominant male and ready to pick a fight with anyone it seems.

Within a few days of taking up residence, Laing is summonsed to the upper penthouse level where lives the architect of the high rise development - acclaimed Anthony Royal (Jeremy Irons) with his wife Ann (Keeley Hawes). After an exchange of social niceties and an overview of Royal's philosophy behind his design for his iconic development, Laing is invited to an 18th Century costume party to be held on the rooftop in a few days time - a perfect excuse to meet his fellow neighbours.

In the meantime, working at a school of physiology Laing is cracking open a human skull in front of three students looking on. One student, Munrow (Augustus Prew) collapses when Laing peels back the facial mask and takes a saw to the skull. Fearful that Munrow may have sustained some head injury during his fall, Laing orders a brain scan as a precautionary measure. When the day of the costume party arrives, Laing attends but wearing business suit and tie and instantly is out of place with those others dressed a la 18th Century aristocracy. Laing discovers Munrow is in attendance and is in fact a resident of the high rise too, but is derided by Ann and other guests, including Munrow, and is promptly thrown out of the party for being non-conformist. Laing is shown to the elevator, and promptly gets trapped for several hours due to a power failure.

At a game of squash the next day between Laing and Royal, the architect simply dismisses the outage as the building settles, together with the water supply being shut off and garbage chutes becoming blocked . . . although such occurrences are becoming more frequent! A few days later, Laing meets with Munrow to give him the results of the brain scan, which have come back clear, but Laing tells him differently saying that they 'found something' in retaliation for being humiliated at the earlier party. Munrow is distraught by this news, and the next evening during another power failure which sees decadent drunken debauchery partying in the hallways and apartments, Munrow hurls himself off a balcony 39 storeys up, landing head first on the bonnet of a car below.

Wilder the next day finds it disturbing that the police never called to investigate the death of Munrow, and sets about making a documentary to expose the injustices of the high rise system, and how life within it has deteriorated so rapidly. Law and order within the building start to crumble at an alarming rate, as infrastructure begins to fail with ever increasing frequency and for prolonged periods of time. Tension between upper and lower levels begins to rise.

Violence and brutality are the new norm, the supermarket is ransacked down to the bare shelves, food becomes more scarce and sought after by the day and a class war fare breaks out between floors. Some residents try to barricade themselves into their apartments, while others go on the prowl robbing and killing anyone who gets in their way. Society soon breaks down within the high rise and it becomes survival of the fittest. Laing shows signs of remorse over the death of Munrow, and begins to become unhinged himself amidst all the carnage and chaos going on around him, to the point where he pummels someones face in over the last can of grey paint in the supermarket so that he can redecorate his apartment.

Wilder meanwhile is intent on getting to Royal and he sees the high rise designer as the architect of the chaos and break down of civilisation within it. Some of the upper floor residents including Royal see Wilder as a threat and try to coerce Laing into lobotomising him. Laing conducts a basic psychiatric test on Wilder and surmises that he is in reality probably the sanest man in the building and refuses. Wilder makes it to the penthouse level and in a scuffle shoots Royal dead. Wilder in turn is stabbed to death by Ann and a collective of upper level wives who have got together to establish a new world order within the high rise. This brings us back to that opening scene where a sense of calm is now descending on the high rise as power is restored and the violence has subsided. Helen gives birth to her child, and Laing and Charlotte lie in bed debating that what has happened within their high rise will undoubtedly occur in the second tower.

I can see why this film has divided critics. It is not an easy watch and won't be for everyone. Wheatley captures the tone of the '70's perfectly with its zeitgeist and pre-Thatcher era, and Hiddleston and Evans in particular seem to lavish in their unhinged, debauched and destructive roles as the previously pristine building and everything it stood for descends into a cluttered, grubby, bloody and lawless wasteland. This is not a happy film and it does not have an upbeat or optimistic ending either, but it is well delivered as a film set in the past and about a possible future seen when that future is now a reality and its past predictions are upon us.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

Birthday's to share this week : 28th August - 3rd September 2016.

Do you celebrate your Birthday this week?

Salma Hayek does on 2nd September - check out my tribute to this Birthday Girl turning 50, 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 28th August

• David Soul - Born 1943, turns 73 - Actor | Producer | Director | Singer
• Luis Guzman - Born 1956, turns 60 - Actor | Producer
• David Fincher - Born 1962, turns 54 - Director | Producer
• Billy Boyd - Born 1968, turns 48 - Actor | Producer
• Jason Priestly - Born 1969, turns 47 - Actor | Producer | Director
• Jack Black - Born 1969, turns 47 - Actor | Producer | Director | Writer | Singer | Songwriter
• Armie Hammer - Born 1986, turns 30 - Actor  

Monday 29th August

• William Friedkin - Born 1935, turns 81 - Director | Producer | Writer
• Elliott Gould - Born 1938, turns 78 - Actor | Producer
• Joel Schumacher - Born 1939, turns 77 - Director | Producer | Writer
• Lenny Henry - Born 1958, turns 58 - Actor | Writer | Television Personality
• Rebecca De Mornay - Born 1959, turns 57 - Actress | Producer | Singer  

Tuesday 30th August

• Cameron Diaz - Born 1972, turns 44 - Actress | Producer | Singer
• Michael Chiklis - Born 1963, turns 53 - Actor | Producer | Director 

Wednesday 31st August

• Jack Thompson - Born 1940, turns 76 - Actor | Producer
• Richard Gere - Born 1949, turns 67 - Actor | Producer | Singer
• Jonathan LaPaglia - Born 1969, turns 47 - Actor | Producer
• Chris Tucker - Born 1972, turns 44 - Actor
• Marc Webb - Born 1974, turns 42 - Director | Producer | Writer  

Thursday 1st September

• Craig McLachlan - Born 1965, turns 51 - Actor | Producer | Singer
• Lily Tomlin - Born 1939, turns 77 - Actress | Producer | Writer | Singer  

Friday 2nd September

• Salma Hayek - Born 1966, turns 50 - Actress | Producer | Director | Singer
• Mark Harmon - Born 1951, turns 65 - Actor | Producer | Director
• Keanu Reeves - Born 1964, turns 52 - Actor | Producer | Director  

Saturday 3rd September

• Jean-Pierre Jeunet - Born 1953, turns 63 - Director | Producer | Writer
• Charlie Sheen - Born 1965, turns 51 - Actor | Producer | Writer | Director
• Noah Baumbach - Born 1969, turns 47 - Director | Producer | Writer | Actor
• Garrett Hedlund - Born 1984, turns 32 - Actor | Singer
• Pauline Collins - Born 1940, turns 76 - Actress  

Salma Hayek Jimenez was born in Coatzacoalcos, Mexico to mother Diana Jimenez Medina, an opera singer and talent scout, and father Sami Hayek, an oil company executive and owner of an industrial equipment company. She was raised a devout Roman catholic in a happy wealthy family, although has more recently admitted that she is no longer as devout in her faith as she once was. She attended the Academy of the Sacred Heart - an independent Catholic School for girls in Grand Coteau, Louisiana, from the age of twelve where she was diagnosed with ADHD and dyslexia. She went on to study International Relations at the Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City. In 1991 she moved to Los Angeles to study acting at the Stella Adler Studio of Acting.

In 1989 Hayek gained her first credited acting break on the small screen in 'Teresa' in the lead role of this Mexican telenovela that made her an overnight star in her home country. Her big screen debut came in 'Mi Vida Loca' (aka 'My Crazy Life') with 'Roadracers' following up in 1994 as Written and Directed by Robert Rodriguez in what would prove to be a long lasting and fruitful screen relationship. This was followed up in 1995 by the Mexican film 'Midaq Alley' (aka 'The Alley of Miracles') which picked up 27 award wins and a further fourteen nominations and the most awarded film in the history of Mexican cinema.

Up next Robert Rodriguez cast her in 'Desperado' with Antonio Banderas, with 'Fair Game' following that same year, together with 'Four Rooms' starring in the Robert Rodriguez segment 'Room 309 : The Misbehavers' with Antonio Banderas again. 1996 brought 'From Dusk till Dawn' again with Robert Rodriguez based on a Quentin Tarantino Screenplay and with George Clooney and Harvey Keitel.

Seeing out the 90's there were amongst others 'Fled' with Laurence Fishburn and Stephen Baldwin, 'Fools Rush In' with Matthew Perry, 'Breaking Up' with Russell Crowe, '54' with Ryan Phillippe, 'The Faculty' with Elijah Wood and once more Directed by Robert Rodriguez, 'Dogma' for Director Kevin Smith and with Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, and 'Wild Wild West' with Will Smith and Kevin Kline.

In 2000 Hayek established her own film production company 'Ventanaroca'. Her first film as Producer was 1999's 'No One Writes to the Colonel' which was selected as Mexico's entry to the Academy Awards Best Foreign Language Film category. This was followed up by the Mike Figgis experimental four-way split screen film 'Timecode' featuring a huge ensemble cast, and then Steven Soderbergh's highly acclaimed 'Traffic' with Benicio Del Toro, Michael Douglas and James Brolin. 'Hotel' came next again for Mike Figgis and with another ensemble cast, and then 'In the Time of the Butterflies' which Hayek also Co-produced.

'Frida' came next with Hayek in the title role of Mexican surrealist painter Frida Kahlo which she also Co-Produced to much critical acclaim which included two Academy Award wins and four other nominations amongst a total haul of sixteen wins and 42 nominations.





Two films followed for Robert Rodriquez in quick succession, with 'Spy Kids 3-D : Game Over' and the third and final instalment in his Mexico Trilogy with 'Once Upon A Time in Mexico' with Antonio Banderas once more and Johnny Depp. 'After the Sunset', 'Ask the Dust', Bandidas' opposite Penelope Cruz, 'Lonely Hearts', 'Across the Universe' and 'Cirque du Freak : The Vampires Assistant' saw out the decade. In the meantime there had been numerous television appearances on the likes of 'Dream On', 'The Sinbad Show', 'The Hunchback', 'Action', 'Ugly Betty' which she also Executive Produced and '30 Rock'.

'Grown Ups' with Adam Sandler came along in 2010, then 'Americano', Oliver Stone's 'Savages', 'Grown Ups 2', 'Everly', 'Some Kind of Beautiful' with Pierce Brosnan, 'Septembers of Shiraz', 'Tale of Tales' and 'Sausage Party' bring us up to date. During this time there were also animated features which Hayek lent her voice talents to - 'Puss in Boots', 'The Pirates! : Band of Misfits', 'The Prophet' and 'Sausage Party' most recently.

Next up and currently in post-production is 'Drunk Parents' with Alex Baldwin, 'The Hitman's Bodyguard' with Ryan Reynolds, Gary Oldman and Samuel L. Jackson for a mid-2017 release, 'How to be a Latin Lover' with Kristen Bell, Raquel Welch and Michael Cera also due in mid-2017, and 'Beatriz at Dinner' in pre-production with Chloe Sevigny and John Lithgow. All up Hayek has 68 Acting credits to her name, six as Producer, two as Director and six soundtrack acknowledgements. She has twelve award wins, 38 nominations including one Academy Award, one Golden Globe, one BAFTA and two Primetime Emmy nods.

Hayek married Francois-Henri Pinault - the CEO of French luxury goods holding company 'Kering', in February 2009, and she gave birth to their daughter Valentina Paloma Pinault in September 2007. Hayek in her time has been a spokesperson for Revlon, Avon since 2004 and has modelled for Chopard and Cartier. She has worked with UNICEF to promote funding for vaccines against maternal and neonatal tetanus; works to support awareness of violence against women; is a board member of V-Day; and supported International Women's Day in 2014 to campaign for Women's Rights in Afghanistan.

Salma Hayek - often plays strong, independent, forthright women; is curvaceous and buxom; has been voted on numerous Most Beautiful/Sexiest/Stylish Women lists over the years; is best friends with Penelope Cruz; a frequent collaborator with Rodriguez and Banderas; a lover of dogs; a firm believer in self and just being who and what you are; and whose Christian name in Arabic means calm or peace. Salma Hayek - a very Happy 50th Birthday to you, from Odeon Online.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

WAR DOGS : Tuesday 23rd August 2016.

'WAR DOGS' which I saw this week is Directed, written for the screen and Co-Produced by Todd Phillips and based on a 'Rolling Stone' article written by Guy Lawson and later made into a book by him called 'Arms and the Dudes'. This biographical war crime drama comedy is based on a true story that happened as recently as 2007, although some of the content has been fictionalised for the sake of dramatic effect and spinning a good yarn. Made for US$40M the film has so far grossed US$25M, the film centres around two young men and business partners Efraim Diveroli and David Packouz - the former a self made millionaire arms dealer by the time he was eighteen, and the latter a massage therapist turned arms dealer when he went into partnership with his childhood friend and best buddy. This is their story . . . of sorts!

The film kicks off with Packouz (Miles Teller) working as a weed smoking massage therapist for the more exclusive clients of Miami's South Beach area for US$70 an hour. He's struggling financially and is always on the look out for a scam with which to make a quick buck. He buys a job lot of high quality Egyptian cotton bed linen which he thinks he can sell to the retirement villages and aged care facilities around the State, but those places don't want to invest in such high quality bed sheets and pillow cases for the oldies so he's stuck with a consignment of boxes in his lounge room, much to the disgust of his girlfriend Iz (Ana de Armas). Packouz attends the funeral of a friend, and at that funeral siddles up Diveroli (Jonah Hill) to pay his last respects, unexpectedly from LA where he had been working in his Uncle's police supply business. We learn that Packouz and Diveroli have history together growing up as best friends, although had lost contact for ten years until now. They have some catching up to do!

It turns out that Diveroli has been buying and on-selling heavy arms in a one room apartment in Miami armed with nothing more than a laptop computer and mobile phone, and had gained a certain wealth and notoriety for doing so despite his young years. He would trawl through the FedBizOpps government website for legitimate contracts to buy and sell arms, but would keep his trading just small enough to fly under the radar knowing that the government had to award a certain number of such contracts to 'the little guys'. He lets Packouz in on his business and pretty soon the two have an unofficial arrangement whereby Diveroli splits his profits on a 70/30 basis, under the banner of his company AEY. Inc.. With the two of them working the computer screens looking for suitable contracts to exploit, it is not long before more contracts are awarded to AEY. Inc and more dollars start to roll in . . . millions of dollars!

Packouz and Iz buy a high rise apartment from his new found wealth, and soon afterwards announces that she is pregnant, but she does not know where the money is coming from believing that his arrangement with Diveroli is to sell Egyptian cotton bed linen to his government connections and therefore everything is legit. The two partners also buy matching Porsche's with registrations 'Guns' and 'Ammo'! Meanwhile there's a side story here about the need to supply Beretta pistols to the US Army in Iraq worth US$2M+ to the pair, and the lengths they'll go to to deliver on their commitment for fear of being blacklisted! This didn't actually happen and is poetic license, but it makes for some interesting scenes and dialogue between the two and the antics they have to contend with to deliver their shipment for their biggest pay day to date.

One evening, while going through the latest tenders up for bid Packouz stumbles across a contract to supply arms and ammunition to the allied forces in Afghanistan. This includes a commitment to supply one hundred million rounds of AK-47 ammunition under this single contract together with assault rifles, sundry other weapons and artillery merchandise. They make a decision to bid, and as part of the process are subject to much scrutiny by the government authorities letting the tender. They go about falsifying company documents, statements and records going back three years to prove they are a trustworthy, responsible and reliable company with the credentials to deliver on the contract, and are ultimately successful in winning the deal at US$300M.

In their search for a single contact to help them deliver on their successfully bid contract, they come across shady veteran arms trader Henry Girard (Bradley Cooper) at an arms convention in Las Vegas, who tells them he can can solely help them deliver on the deal. It's not long before the guys travel to Albania where there are stockpiles of now redundant arms and munitions left over from the Cold War days scattered around the country in hundreds of secret warehouses. They come across dodgy weapons traders, crooked military types, corrupt officials, soldiers of fortune, hold clandestine meetings and deal in secret to get their weapons and munitions stash out of the country.

In one such military warehouse they come across in a single stash the one hundred million rounds of ammunition needed to satisfy that part of the contract. The problem is that it's 42 years old substandard Chinese manufactured rounds that have been stored dry and clean in their original timber and now crumbling packing cases for all that time. Perfectly serviceable, but Chinese and four decades old, and therefore in contravention to the US arms embargo against China. Simple solution - bribe a local packaging company to repack all the ammunition into nice clean zip lock bags and lightweight double walled cardboard boxes. This would save US$3M in freight costs in exchange for US$100K to pay of the repackaging company. A no-brainer!

This meant that Packouz had to remove himself to Albania to oversee the repacking (a process that would take months), whilst Diveroli sat back in the comfort of his office in Miami like a fat-cat! Meanwhile Iz and their baby had split after learning of the real game her boyfriend was involved in. With tensions mounting between Packouz and Diveroli, the former makes a hasty retreat back to Miami to confront his business partner and end their partnership wanting full settlement of his 30% share in the company, but without a binding contract he gets nothing, only fuelling the fire already burning between the two of them.

With the relationship crumbling and Diveroli neglecting to pay the packing guy back in Albania, the FBI start circling and asking lots of questions. Company records and hard drives are seized as the truth comes out about Chinese substandard ammunition. Ultimately the two are arrested on numerous counts of fraud against the United States Government. Diveroli was convicted of four years in federal prison and was released in November 2015, and Packouz served seven months under house arrest, by which time he has reconciled with his (fictional) partner Iz. The US Army suffice to say, reviewed its contracting procedures.

I enjoyed 'War Dogs' - the laugh out moments delivered by the absurdity of this 'true story', the conviction of Hill's performance as determined take no prisoners over weight over bearing gun loving money hungry young businessman, the way the film meanders along with voice over narrative, distinct chapter breaks and the roles played by supporting cast, Miles Teller as the more grounded Yin to Hill's Yang, Cooper's smiling assassin, and Kevin Pollack as silent partner in Diveroli's shady business Ralph Slutzky. But, for all of that without some poetic license in here, and some fictionalisation, this story would be rather flat and uneventful. Diveroli is not a likeable character drawing continued inspiration from 'Scarface', and in the end you can argue that they got what they deserved as a result of their lowest bid warmongering that in the final analysis was their undoing. Certainly worth a look - lifted by moments of comedy, a lot of drama, a well told story and strong performances from the two principle leads.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-