Friday 30 March 2018

THE SQUARE : Tuesday 27th March 2018

'THE SQUARE' which I finally caught this week one month after its Australian release at the end of February, is a Swedish, French, German and Danish Co-Produced satirical drama film Directed by Ruben Ostlund and was shown in competition for the Palme d'Or at The Cannes Film Festival in May last year, where it took out that prestigious award. It subsequently screened at The Sydney Film Festival last June, TIFF in September, and went out on a limited release in the UK last August, and the US in September. Only five months after that did it get its Australian release having done the festival circuit and picking up 27 award wins and a further 37 nominations in the meantime. It was also in the running for the Best Foreign Language Film at the recent 90th Academy Awards. The film was made for a mere US$5.5M and so far recovered US$9M, and has received generally positive Reviews.

Here Christian (Claes Bang) is the respected Curator of the prestigious contemporary X-Royal Art Museum in Stockholm, Sweden. The film opens up with him being interviewed for the camera by journalist Anne (Elisabeth Moss) who asks him to interpret some artistic jargon contained within their website, to which Christian struggles to find a simple answer.

Later the next morning, when Christian is walking across a busy plaza on his way into work he is confronted by a screaming woman claiming that she is being chased by a man who wants to kill her. After calming the woman down, and seeing off her would be assailant aided by another man, he walks away and notices that his wallet and smartphone are both missing. He's been pick-pocketed during that apparent fracas.

Back at his office he is able to track the location of his smartphone using his computer aided by a colleague Michael (Christopher Laesso) and discovers that it is just a few blocks away in a large apartment building. The pair hatch a plan to type up a letter demanding return of his phone and wallet intact, otherwise the authorities will be alerted to its whereabouts. The letter is then to be hand delivered to every apartment letterbox in the block later that night by one of the pair. The perpetrators are to deposit the phone and wallet at a nearby 7/11 Store marked for the attention of Christian if they want to escape prosecution.

Meanwhile, Christian is overseeing the installation of a new exhibit at the museum - 'The Square' by renowned artist Lola Arias which is described by the artist as 'a sanctuary of trust and caring. Within it we all share equal rights and obligations.' The Advertising Agency commissioned by the museum are tasked with coming up with a message to stir the emotions on the international stage, and bring onlookers flocking to the museum to see it. They have a week to turn around their concept and come back with something extraordinary, harnessing the power of social media.

Within a couple of days Christian receives a phone call from the manager at the 7/11 informing him that a package has been delivered marked for his attention. He collects it, and lo and behold inside is his smartphone and wallet returned, both fully intact. He is very pleasantly surprised to say the least. That night at a party at the museum Christian meets Anne again and they begin to flirt, and he winds up at her apartment, in the company of her pet fully grown chimpanzee! They have sex, and then argue immediately afterwards when Anne offers to discard the used condom. Christian steadfastly declines to hand it over but relents when Anne forcibly removes it from his clenched hand.

A few days later Anne meets Christian at the museum unexpectedly, and comes on strong about their encounter the other night. She is looking for something more than casual sex, and starts probing him hoping to find a connection. Christian is evasive and later ignores her phone calls when she tries to reach him. In the meantime, a second package has arrived for Christian at the 7/11 store. Being wary of its contents he sends Michael to investigate and take collection. In the store Michael is greeted by a young twelve year old lad who is ranting and raving and making a scene, believing Michael to be Christian. He claims that his parents are furious at him, believing him to be the thief because of the way the letter was written. The boy demands an apology to him and his parents and an explanation of the facts, otherwise the boy will bring 'chaos' down upon him.

The boy eventually tracks down Christian to his apartment block. He repeatedly pesters Christian in front of his two young daughters. Christian at first is reasonable with the young lad, but his patience is wearing thin after the boy persists and then begins knocking on neighbours doors late in the evening and screaming for help. In the end the boy falls down a flight of steps and Christian and his girls go inside the sanctuary of his apartment. But later Christian hears the whimpering sounds of the boys cries for help which eventually after some time, subside. Wracked with guilt Christian goes in search of the note with the boys phone number which he had previously thrown out with the garbage. In the pouring rain, he finally retrieves the note and tries to call, but the phone rings out. Instead he leaves an apologetic video message which becomes a diatribe for all that is wrong in the world.

The Advertising Agency has meanwhile come back with a social media campaign designed to spark controversy and ultimately go viral. They develop a promotional clip showing an impoverished young blond street beggar girl carrying a black kitten who wanders into The Square and is killed by an explosion. The video is released on the museums website and their own YouTube Channel, and in no time gains 300,000 hits and attracts the ire of the museum Board, the Church, the media and the general public. Christian is asked to stand down as Curator of the museum for violating protocol, and in the ensuing press conference is attacked by all sides, however, some more than others.

Later that night at a museum gala dinner attended by Stockholm's wealthiest elite, artists and members of the Board, the live entertainment for the evening takes the form of a human exhibit in the shape of Oleg Rogozjin (Terry Notary channelling his experiences & skills as 'Rocket' on the three recent 'Planet of the Apes' films) who mimics an ape convincingly. Initially what is seen as a highly extroverted if realistic and unique performance by the 400 or so gathered guests quickly turns very messy as Oleg gets too in the zone and becomes quite violent toward a number of guests including famed artist Julian (Dominic West) exhibiting the ugly and physically confronting side of ape behaviour. Ultimately a number of male guests drag Oleg off a female guest and rain down their clenched fists upon him, chanting 'kill him, kill him'.

In the aftermath of all of this Christian enjoys some R&R with his daughters attending the exhibit at the museum, and a cheer leading competition for his oldest daughter. On the way back in the car, Christian asks the girls if they mind him making a detour to see someone. Christian is still feeling guilty about the boy whom he has heard nothing from. So he parks up at the apartment block and with the girls goes in search of the young lad and his family. Talking to a neighbour, Christian is told that he knew the boy, but that he had moved away with his family.

'The Square' is a dark, sometimes disturbing satirical social commentary that exposes plenty that is wrong in the world through the trials and tribulations of one man going about his personal and business life that gets inextricably interwoven, often with funny, gripping and thought provoking consequences. The performances from the principle cast are top notch, although Dominic West's role is no more than a cameo appearance, while Terry Notary as the ape in man's clothing steals the show with a ten minute sequence that is convincing, disturbing and brutal . . . and he doesn't utter a single word! Claes Bang is also on fine form as the Curator having to deal with a maelstrom of misadventures thrust upon him as he lurches from one absurd, comedic and brutally honest situation to another. My criticisms would be that the character played by Elisabeth Moss is not fleshed out anymore, she disappears completely after that awkward exchange at the museum, and BTW, what's with the chimp, and secondly, the films running time. At 142 minutes, the Editor must have taken an extended period of leave, resulting in a film that is easily twenty minutes too long, with scenes dragged out well beyond their use by date, or bearing little consequence to the story therefore being surplus to requirement. Coming away from the theatre, the film also leaves many questions open ended and unanswered, but perhaps this was the Director's intention too. All that said, worth a look for sure.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

Wednesday 28 March 2018

What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 29th March 2018.

Being an avid reader and long time subscriber (since the inaugural issue in January 2001) of the Empire Australia movie magazine, I have naturally, by default almost, followed the annual Empire Awards. Now in its 23rd year, this annual British awards ceremony recognises achievement in the British and worldwide film industry. The awards, first presented in 1996, are presented by the British film magazine 'Empire', with the winners voted by the readers of the magazine. Just when you thought that the movie awards season had ended with the 90th Academy Awards earlier this month, so pops along another honouring the best in movie entertainment from 2017. The ceremony this year occurred on 18th March at London's Roundhouse Theatre.

The winners and grinners for this years 23rd Empire Awards were :-

* Best Film : 'Star Wars : The Last Jedi'
* Best British Film : 'God's Own Country'
* Best Comedy Film : 'The Death of Stalin'
* Best Horror Film : 'Get Out'
* Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy Film : 'Wonder Woman'
* Best Thriller Film : 'Kingsmen : The Golden Circle'
* Best Documentary Film : 'I Am Not Your Negro'
* Best Animated Film : 'Coco'
* Best Director : Rian Johnson for 'Star Wars : The Last Jedi'
* Best Screenplay : Jordan Peele for 'Get Out'
* Best Actor : Hugh Jackman for 'Logan'
* Best Actress : Daisy Ridley for 'Star Wars : The Last Jedi'
* Best Male Newcomer : Josh O'Connor for 'God's Own Country'
* Best Female Newcomer : Dafne Keen for 'Logan'
* Best Visual FX : 'Star Wars : The Last Jedi'
* Best Production Design : 'Baby Driver'
* Best Soundtrack : 'Baby Driver'

* The Empire Honorary Icon Award : Mark Hamill
* The Empire Honorary Legend of our Lifetime Award : Steven Spielberg.

This week we have eight new cinematic offerings coming to your local Odeon with a VR Sci-Fi film set in the near future that sees one young hopeful venture into a virtual world to play a game where the stakes are high and the potential rewards higher still. We then go to another Sci-Fi offering that sees a young teenager venture to another world in search of her lost father aided by three astral travellers. This is followed up by a satirical historical telling of the death of a Russian political leader back in the early '50's and the hangers on that jockey for position immediately afterwards. We then come to down to Earth with a present day comedy of three teenage girls Hell bent on popping their cherries on Prom night, and the actions of their parents in preventing them from doing so. Next up is a coming of age story about a high school lad's journey in coming out with the pressure of family, school peer group, a blackmailer and the secret identity of his online crush. Following up this is the Biblical telling of one of Christ's Apostles as told within Prison while he awaits his execution by the Emperor Nero. And finally we wrap up the week with two animated features - the first a stop motion tale of a Stone Age man having to settle a land dispute over a game of recently invented football, and then a mash up of Shakespeare and Doyle as a renowned super sleuth goes in search of garden gnome thieves.

Just in time for the Easter long weekend, whatever your taste in big screen film entertainment is this week - be it any of the eight latest release new films as Previewed below, or those doing the rounds currently on general release and as Reviewed and Previewed in previous Blog Posts here at Odeon Online, you are here cordially invited to share your movie going thoughts, opinions and observations by leaving your relevant, succinct and appropriate views in the Comments section below this or any other Post. We'd love to hear from you, and in the meantime, enjoy your big screen Odeon outing during the week ahead, and best wishes to all readers of Odeon Online, for a happy, safe and relaxing Easter long weekend.

'READY PLAYER ONE' (Rated M) - and here we have the eagerly awaited, keenly anticipated and much hyped latest offering from Producer and Director Steven Spielberg. Based on the bestselling and highly regarded 2011 Sci-Fi book of the same name by Ernest Cline, this film is released in the US this week too, cost a cool US$175M to make and has so far garnered generally positive Press. Full of pop culture references to the '80's, '90's and early 2000's including several nods to earlier Spielberg works, as well as cutting edge CGI, this film will be a feast for the visual senses and overload for all the movie geeks out there.

Set in 2045 with the world on the brink of chaos and collapse due to overpopulation, climate change, pollution and corruption, the main centres of population have become slum like cities with make shift homes being stacked upon each other forming huge towers reaching skywards. To escape the desolation of their meagre existence, the people have found solace in the OASIS (Ontologically Anthropocentric Sensory Immersive Simulation), an expansive virtual reality universe created by the brilliant and eccentric James Halliday (Mark Rylance) where those users can engage in work, entertainment, relaxation and education. When Halliday dies, he leaves his immense fortune and ownership of OASIS to the first person to find a digital Easter Egg he has hidden somewhere in the OASIS, sparking a contest that grips the entire world. When an unlikely young hero named Wade Watts (Tye Sheridan) decides to join the contest some five years after Halliday's death, he is hurled into a breakneck, reality-bending treasure hunt through a fantastical universe of mystery, discovery and danger with several allies to complete the game first, before Nolan Sorrento (Ben Mendelsohn), the unscrupulous CEO of a competitor company, can beat him to it. Also starring Olivia Cooke, T.J. Miller, Simon Pegg and Lena Waithe.

'A WRINKLE IN TIME' (Rated PG) - and so this much hyped Disney production as Directed by Ava DuVernay and based on the children's science fantasy novel of the same name by Madeleine L'Engle in 1962, was first made into an American/Canadian Co-Produced made for television film in 2003. Now armed with a US$100M budget (making DuVernay the first coloured woman to Direct a live action film with a nine figure budget number) and with an ensemble cast the premise here is that thirteen year old Meg Murry (Storm Reid) and her little five year old brother, Charles Wallace Murry (Deric McCabe), have been without their scientist father, Dr. Alexander Murry (Chris Pine), for five years, ever since he discovered a new planet and was teleported to that other world using a tesseract device that he was working on too. Joined by Meg's classmate Calvin O'Keefe (Levi Miller) and guided by the three mysterious astral travellers known as Mrs. Whatsit (Reese Witherspoon), Mrs. Who (Mindy Kaling) and Mrs. Which (Oprah Winfrey), the children brave a perilous journey to a planet that houses all the evil in the universe, which is also where their father ended up, Also starring Michael Pena, David Oyelowo, Zach Galifianakis and Gugu Mbatha-Raw, the film has so far taken US$88M since its US release on 9th March, and has received mixed or average Reviews.

'THE DEATH OF STALIN' (Rated MA15+) - here we have a highly acclaimed political satire Directed by the Scottish satirist, Writer, Producer and Director Armando Iannucci based on the French graphic novel 'La mort de Staline' by Fabien Nury and Thierry Robin. Starring an ensemble cast, the film was shown at TIFF back in early September last year, went on release in the UK in late October and the US just a few weeks ago in early March. The story simply put centres around the former Soviet Union and the struggles that ensue immediately following the death of dictator Joseph Stalin (Adrian McLoughlin) back in 1953, as various political hopefuls jockey for position to take his place. Also starring Steve Buscemi as Nikita Khrushchev, Rupert Friend as Vasily Stalin, Andrea Riseborough as Svetlana Stalin, Simon Russell Beale as Lavrentiy Beria, Michael Palin as Vyacheslav Molotov, Jeffrey Tambor as Georgy Malenkov, Jason Isaacs as Georgy Zhukov with Olga Kurylenko, Paul Whitehouse and Paddy Considine. The film has been banned in Russia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan . . . . can't think why!

'BLOCKERS' (Rated MA15+) - this American comedy offering is Directed by Kay Cannon in her feature film Directorial debut, having Written the three 'Pitch Perfect' films so far and the Fox and Netflix television series 'New Girl' and 'Girlboss' respectively. Co-Produced by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg amongst a few others, the film surrounds three high school senior girls Julie (Kathryn Newton), Kayla (Geraldine Viswanathan) and Sam (Gideon Adlan) who make a pact to lose their virginity on the night of their High School Prom. Meanwhile, Lisa (Leslie Mann) mother of Julie, Mitchell (John Cena) father of Kayla, and Hunter (Ike Barinholtz) father of Sam are three overprotective parents who are none to pleased to say the least when they find out about their daughters' plans. They soon join forces for a wild and chaotic quest to stop the girls from sealing the deal to their boyfriends Austin, Connor and Chad (Graham Phillips, Miles Robbins and Jimmy Bellinger respectively) no matter what the cost. The film goes on general release in the US on April 6th. And FYI, the films title references the term 'Cock Blocking' being a slang term for an action, intentional or not, that serves to prevent someone from having sex. A 'cockblock' or 'cockblocker' is a person who engages in such obstruction or intervention, and the term was first coined back in 1972.

'LOVE, SIMON' (Rated M) - here is a first! This American romantic comedy coming of age drama film is Directed by Greg Berlanti, was released in the US mid-March, cost US$17M to make, has so far grossed US$25M and is the first film by a major studio to focus on a gay teenage romance. Based on the 2015 young adult novel 'Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda' by Becky Albertalli this film surrounds Simon Spier (Nick Robinson), a closeted gay seventeen year old in high school in Atlanta, Georgia who is forced to walk a fine line between his friends, his family (mother Emily played by Jennifer Garner, father Jack as played by Josh Duhamel and sister Nora played by Talitha Bateman), and a blackmailer classmate threatening to out him to the entire school, while at the same time trying to discover the identity of the anonymous classmate whom he has fallen in love with online. Resolving all of these issues satisfactorily proves terrifyingly daunting, hilariously funny and life changing all at the same time. The film has received generally favourable Reviews from Critics.

'PAUL, APOSTLE OF CHRIST' (Rated M) - last week we had the story of 'Mary Magdalene' released in cinemas across the land, and this week we have another dramatic Biblical retelling, this time of Saint Paul, as Written and Directed by Andrew Hyatt. This film tells the story of Paul (James Faulkner) formerly Saul (Yorgos Karamihos), who in his younger days persecuted Christians relentlessly. He then sees the light and converts to Christianity, and is eventually imprisoned by Emperor Nero in Mamertine Prison in Rome because he is seen as a threat to the Roman Empire. He is sentenced to death, and must wait out his time chained in one of Nero's darkest and bleakest prisons. Whilst there Paul forms a close relationship with his jailer Mauritius (Oliver Martinez) and Luke (Jim Caviezel) the evangelist and his caretaker who over time records his Gospel, and what will lay the foundations for the Church as we know it. With time counting down on to the day of his execution, Paul ponders whether God will forgive him his sins. Also starring Joanne Whalley and John Lynch.

'EARLY MAN' (Rated PG) - here we have another stop-motion animated feature from those clever guys at Aardman Animation out of Bristol, England. This time Director, Co-Producer and Co-Writer of the story Nick Park, whose previous credits include the 'Wallace & Gromit' and 'Creature Comforts' short films as well as the full length stop motion animated features of 'Chicken Run' and 'Wallace & Gromit : The Curse of the Were-Rabbit', here brings us a story of primitive Stone Age tribal dwellers and in particular one plucky cave man named Dug (voiced by Eddie Redmayne), his sidekick and pet boar Hognob (Nick Park) and the rest of their tribe who face a grave threat to their simple existence. Lord Nooth (Tom Hiddleston) plans to take over their land and transform it into a giant mine, forcing Dug and his clan to dig for precious metals. Not ready to go down without a fight, Dug and Hognob must unite their people in an epic quest to defeat a mighty enemy and the dawn of the Bronze Age in a head to head toe to toe game of association football. Also starring the voice talents of Timothy Spall, Maisie Williams, Miriam Margolyes, Rob Brydon and Richard Ayoade, the film was released in the UK in late January, cost US$50M to make and has so far grossed US$43M, and has been generally well received by Critics.

'SHERLOCK GNOMES' (Rated G) - this computer animated comedy film is Directed by John Stevenson and is the follow up to 2011's 'Gnomeo and Juliet' which took US$194M at the global Box Office off the back of its US$36M production budget. Released in the US this week also, the film gets its UK release in early May and is based on this classic literary masterworks 'Romeo & Juliet' by William Shakespeare and 'Sherlock Holmes' by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle . . . . if you hadn't worked that out already! Here Gnomeo (voiced by James McAvoy) and Juliet (Emily Blunt) hire super sleuth detective Sherlock Gnomes (Johnny Depp) and his trusty assistant Gnome Watson (Chiwetel Ejiofor) to help investigate the mysterious and baffling case of the disappearing garden gnomes. Also starring the voice talents of Mary J. Blige, Michael Caine, Maggie Smith, Matt Lucas, Stephen Merchant, Julie Walters, Richard Wilson and Ozzy Osbourne. The film cost US$59M and has so far recovered US$16M.

With eight new release films out in time for the Easter holiday this week to tempt you out to your local Odeon, remember to share your movie going thoughts with your other like minded cinephile friends afterwards here at Odeon Online, and meanwhile, I'll see you sometime somewhere in the week ahead at your local Odeon.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

Friday 23 March 2018

TOMB RAIDER : Tuesday 20th March 2018.

I saw 'TOMB RAIDER' earlier in the week, and here we have a reboot of the 'Tomb Raider' franchise that launched into the cinematic world in 2001 from its video game origins dating back to 1993. That first outing starred Angelina Jolie as our titular action adventure heroine Lara Croft, with the film being Directed by Simon West for US$115M and grossing US$275M. On the strength of this, a second film was released in 2003 titled 'Lara Croft Tomb Raider : The Cradle of Life', with Jolie reprising her role but this time Directed by Jan de Bont for US$95M and raking in US$157M. Now fast forward fifteen years, and its reboot time for this film franchise, which as a video game has sold over 63 million copies worldwide, and has made Lara Croft one of the most recognisable and notable video game protagonists in existence. And so Norwegian Director Roar Uthaug has helmed this latest instalment based on the 2013 video game of the same name as worked up by game developer Crystal Dynamics. Costing US$90M to make, the film has so far grossed US$163M and has garnered generally mixed or average Reviews.

And so in 2018 Alicia Vikander portrays the fiercely independent, free spirited, reckless and carefree action adventure loving Lara Croft who spends her life kick boxing at her local gym and in between time running food deliveries as a bicycle courier across London. She is the only daughter of eccentric archaeologist adventurer Lord Richard Croft (Dominic West) who went missing some years previously, now believed to be dead. When she is arrested for a relatively minor infraction, involving her bicycle and a Police car, Richard's business partner Ana Miller (Kristen Scott Thomas) posts bail and advises her that if she does not claim her inheritance, her father's estate will be sold off. In flashback we see Lord Croft tearing himself away from his country estate and his young seven year old daughter Lara to go away on some purposeful adventure, and then doing so again at age fourteen . . . a journey he would not return from.

Reluctantly Lara, now in her early twenties, agrees to sign off on the inheritance papers, and in doing so uncovers a key contained in an old Japanese wooden puzzle wrapped up in a handwritten clue that gains her access to a secret office located in the bowels of the Croft estate. Rummaging around in her fathers office, she finds a camcorder with a recorded message to Lara that describes his years long search for the tomb of Himiko the mythical queen of Yumatai whom it is said was able to control the power of life over death. The parting message warns Lara to destroy all evidence of his search for Himiko - written notes, diaries, scribblings, voice and video recordings, lest they should fall into the wrong hands and unleash the power of Himiko upon an unsuspecting world with deadly consequences for all humanity.

Lara travels to Hong Kong in search of a boat owner that allegedly took her father to the island of Yumatai seven years previously aboard 'The Endurance'. After a run in with some local likely lads who steal Lara's satchel, which she retrieves successfully following a foot chase across various boats and junks on Hong Kong Harbour, she encounters Lu Ren (Daniel Wu) the drunken gambling owner of the boat. He explains that it would have been his father (also named Lu Ren) who was commissioned by Richard Croft to take him across 'The Devil's Sea' to the island of Yumatai - but Lu Ren Senior is now dead! However, the pair strike up a deal, and set sail. The ship gets caught up in a boiling sea just off the island and crashes into treacherous rocks and is smashed. Lara is tossed off the boat, and Lu Ren is presumed lost at sea. Washed ashore in the storm, Lara is knocked unconscious by a mystery figure.

The next morning Lara comes around face to face with Mathias Vogel (Walton Goggins) who has been on the island for seven years searching for Himiko's tomb with no success. He claims to have killed Lara's father all those years ago, but is grateful for his detailed research notes found in Lara's satchel that will help him locate the tomb once and for all. Vogel works for a secretive organisation called 'Trinity' that wants to harness the power of Himiko, and ultimately weaponise it. Vogel takes Lara prisoner and puts her to work with a whole bunch of other fishermen and shipwrecked sailor prisoners captured over the years, and Lu Ren, who survived the storm only to be captured himself too.

With the help of Lu Ren, Lara is able to stage a distraction and make an escape, but is chased through the dense jungle undergrowth by two of Vogel's henchmen. She successfully evades them, but gets into various death defying falls and bad scrapes along the way that see her lurch from one near death experience to another in quick succession. Finally, she is hanging from the canopy of an old parachute as it roughly glides her down towards the jungle floor through the trees to come to an abrupt crashing halt. She is injured and passes out from her wound.

Later that evening Lara is stirred by the sounds of someone or something lurking close by. She gets into a fight with one of Vogel's henchmen sent to track her down and retrieve her. She gains the upper hand and drowns him in the river. Her first kill, which distresses her. But this is short-lived when she spies a hooded figure looking on through the nighttime undergrowth. She gives chase but the figure disappears up the side of a cliff with the aid of a rope which is quickly hauled up. Lara climbs up without the aid of the rope into a cave, where the mystery figure is poking around at an open fire. The mystery figure is a heavily bearded Richard Croft. At first Ricard does not recognise his daughter, but she jogs his memory and they embrace. Richard treats Lara's wound, which she sleeps off until the next morning.

Despite Richard's protests Lara sets off to recover his research notes and a satellite phone from Vogel's camp. She and Lu Ren create a distraction so allowing him and the fishermen prisoners to escape amidst the chaos of gunfire and explosions in and around the camp site.

Meanwhile, Richard has ventured up to the uncovered entry to the tomb site, found by Vogel with the aid of his extensive research notes which were clearly not destroyed by Lara despite her father's very specific instructions to do so. He is joined by Lara and then Vogel. With Richard caught in the middle, with his daughter aiming a bow at Vogel and Vogel pointing a gun at Richard's head, something in this Mexican stand-off has to give. And it is Lara who buckles under the pressure, and agrees to open the tomb in lieu of saving her father, much to Richard's disdain. And so faced with various cogs and wheels built into the wall which must be unlocked in sequence in order to gain access to the tomb, Lara sets about her task . . . with relative ease it seems!

With access gained to the tomb, Vogel orders Lara to venture down first, then Richard and then several henchmen bringing up the rear. Needless to say the group is greeted by a number of booby traps and challenges through a labyrinth of tunnels and corridors that open out in to huge expanses of underground space. One of the henchmen perishes at the end of a giant spike, and there are several close calls along the way, but ultimately the group reach Himiko's sarcophagus.

Opening up the casket, two of Vogel's henchmen attempt to lift Himiko's corpse but are almost instantly infected by her power. Lara deduces that she was the carrier of a disease that was so powerful that physical contact alone triggers an immediate reaction whereby the body starts to progressively die and disintegrate. From the markings around the walls, she further deduces that Himiko voluntarily sealed herself in her tomb because she wanted to avoid spreading it, even though she had an immunity to the disease which she was carrying. Vogel shoots one of his infected henchmen, and from this decides that he cannot move the corpse as planned. Instead, he cuts off a finger tip and seals it in a plastic ziplock bag and drops it into his shirt breast pocket. One of the henchmen believed to be dead, rises up and attacks Richard, allowing Lara to make a getaway. In the ensuing gun fight between Richard and Vogel, Vogel is shot in the leg but manages to escape, while Richard fends off the henchmen killing him, but is himself infected by the henchman's touch.

Lara returns to the sarcophagus where Richard sits, the infection taking hold. He tells Lara to keep her distance, and explains that he proposes detonating several bombs to seal the tomb shut forever, prevent the worldwide spread of the disease and killing himself in the process. Lara backs away tearfully and gives chase to Vogel who is fleeing the cave as quickly as he can. The two meet and fight, with Lara ultimately force feeding Vogel the severed finger which he swallows inadvertently biting down on the bag. He stumbles backwards as the disease takes a rapid hold and falls down a deep ravine in the cave on to a bed of human skeletons. The explosion rips through the cave system, the blast destroying everything in its path and sealing the cave tightly shut under mounds of dust, debris and rubble. Lara escapes just in the nick of time, and is pulled out of the rubble at the mouth of the cave by Lu Ren. The two then commandeer an arriving Trinity helicopter to take them and the remaining fishermen prisoners back to the mainland.

Back in London at the headquarters of Croft Holdings, Lara signs her agreement to accept her fathers inheritance looked on by Ana Miller and Mr. Yaffe (Derek Jacobi) legal counsel for Croft Holdings. Once completed Yaffe hands Lara a portfolio of all the companies owned by Croft Holdings. Scrolling through the huge volume of individual business details, she notices a company name that she had seen before on Yumatai Island and deduces that this is a front company for Trinity. Investigating further, she begins to suspect that Ana Miller is not all she seems and that she manipulated Lara to signing over the day to day business operations of Croft Holdings. Knowing how ruthless Trinity is, Lara arms herself with two assault pistols procured from her local pawn shop owned and operated by Max (Nick Frost), ready for her next adventure.

'Tomb Raider' is a bit of a misnomer for this film really, considering that Lara Croft doesn't actually raid a tomb here, but is rather a reluctant bystander dragged along while someone else does the raiding. She's just the 'Joanna on the spot' left to clean up someone else's mess, pay the price and get the hell outta there before it all comes crashing down around her ears. And in casting the diminutive Alica Vikander in the role of our titular heroine she is far cry from the tall statuesque curvaceous arse kicking gun wielding Angelina Jolie that most resembles the video game character that the world has come to know and love. That doesn't make Vikander's performance any less, and she is reasonably convincing in the role but she does get beaten up and picked on aplenty by her male antagonists who are all worthless dispensable bad dudes anyway that we don't care about and ultimately get their comeuppance. In between the well choreographed action sequences the film plods a little, and really there is very little here that we haven't seen many times over in similar genre specific offerings - 'Raiders of the Lost Ark', 'The Mummy', 'National Treasure' and the earlier 'Tomb Raider' franchises most notably. Clearly set up for further instalments, Lara Croft will need to lift her tomb raiding, gun toting, tough as nails approach if she is to succeed in this action adventure world.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

Wednesday 21 March 2018

What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 22nd March 2018.

In February, the world bid a fond farewell to number of stars of the silver screen and the small screen. In brief, shown below, is my passing tribute to those stars who leave an indelible mark on the entertainment industry, and in particular the world of film and television. May you all Rest In Peace, and thanks for the memories.

* John Mahoney : Born 20th June 1940, died 4th February 2018, aged 77. Born in England, and moved to the US at the age of eighteen in 1959 gaining US Citizenship in 1971. He began a stage acting career in 1977 having become dissatisfied with his jobs as an English Teacher and then an Editor on a medical journal. Mahoney gained his film debut on the biographical drama 'Hudson Taylor' in 1981 and his television debut on the single series of thirteen episodes on crime drama 'Chicago Story' in 1982 and from that point on never looked back. His notable film appearances over the years included 'Tin Men' in 1987, 'Suspect' and 'Moonstruck' both in 1987, 'Frantic' and 'Eight Men Out' both in 1988, 'Say Anything' in 1989, 'The Russia House' in 1990, 'Barton Fink' in 1991, 'The Hudsucker Proxy' and 'Reality Bites' both in 1994, 'The American President' in 1995, and 'Primal Fear' and 'She's The One' both in 1996. There were also numerous television roles over the years too, but his most notable turn was as Martin Crane, father to Frasier and Niles Crane on 264 episodes across eleven seasons of the hit SitCom 'Frasier' from 1993 through until 2004. He also has one off appearances on the likes of 'Cheers', '3rd Rock from the Sun', 'Becker', 'ER', 'Burn Notice', Hot in Cleveland' and 'Foyle's War', and he lent his voice talents to several animated feature films. With 75 Acting credits to his name, Mahoney picked up three award wins and 23 nominations, the majority of which were for his work in 'Frasier' including two Golden Globe, two Primetime Emmy and nine SAG nods.

* Reg E. Cathey : Born 18th August 1958, died 9th February 2018, aged 59. An American Actor of film, television and stage who gained his first television appearance in 1984 in made for TV movie 'A Doctor's Story' going onto 24 episodes of the children's education programme 'Square One TV', and then 'Star Trek : The Next Generation', 'ER', 'The Blacklist', 'The Good Wife', '30 Rock', eight episodes on 'Oz', 23 episodes on 'The Wire', twelve episodes on 'Light's Out', fifteen episodes on the highly acclaimed 'House of Cards', and most recently on twenty episodes on 'Outcast'. His movie appearances included 'Born on the Fourth of July' in 1989, 'The Mask', 'Clear and Present Danger' and 'Airheads' all in 1994, 'Tank Girl' and 'Se7en' both in 1995, 'American Psycho' in 2000, 'S.W.A.T.' in 2003, 'The Machinist' in 2004, 'Arbitrage' in 2012, 'St. Vincent' in 2014, and 'Fantastic Four' in 2015. Cathey had 84 Acting credits to his name and was the recipient of one Primetime Emmy Award win for 'House of Cards' and another nine nominations of which six were also for 'House of Cards'.

* Johann Johannsson : Born 19th September 1969, died 9th February 2018, aged 48. Icelandic born  Composer and Songwriter whose work is trademarked by combining traditional orchestration with contemporary electronic elements. He scored his first feature films and television work in his native Iceland in 2000 and for the successive years, landing his first mainstream film, The David Hollander Directed 'Personal Effects' in 2008. From here, he wrote the score for the likes of 'McCanick' in 2013, 'Prisoners' that same year, the critically acclaimed 'The Theory of Everything' in 2014, the equally acclaimed 'Sicario' in 2015, 'Arrival' in 2016, 'The Mercy' released  just last week, and 'Mary Magdalene' released this week and Previewed below. He was working on Marc Foster's big screen adaptation of 'Christopher Robin' due later this year at the time of his death. All up Johannsson has 45 Composer credits, sixteen Soundtrack credits and was nominated for two Academy Awards, won one Golden Globe and was nominated for another, and three BAFTA nods amongst a total haul of twelve award wins and a further 57 nominations.

* Emma Chambers : Born 11th March 1964, died 21st February 2018, aged 53. English Actress with fifteen screen credits to her name, most notably on British television series. Her first appearance came on television mini-series 'The Rainbow' in 1988 after which she picked up regular work on 'The Bill', 'Martin Chuzzlewit', 'Drop The Dead Donkey', 'How Do You Want Me', 'Take A Girl Like You', 'Little Robots' and her most noted recurring role opposite Dawn French in 'The Vicar of Dibley' as Alice Tinker. In between time there were also big screen appearances in the likes of 'Notting Hill' opposite Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts, and 'The Clandestine Marriage' opposite  Joan Collins and Timothy Spall.

* Lewis Gilbert : Born 6th March 1920, died 23rd February 2018, aged 97. British Director, Producer and Screenwriter who had 42 Directing credits to his name, seventeen as Writer and twelve as Producer. His career spanned seven decades with his first Directorial credits coming in the early 1940's on a series of short documentary films. His most notable Directed films include 'Reach for the Sky' in 1956 with Kenneth Moore; 'Alfie' in 1966 with Michael Caine which was nominated for five Academy Awards; three Bond outings being 'You Only Live Twice' with Sean Connery in 1967, 'The Spy Who Loved Me' in 1977 with Roger Moore, and 'Moonraker' in 1979 with Roger Moore again. He also helmed 'Educating Rita' in 1983 with Michael Caine and Julie Walters, 'Shirley Valentine' in 1989 with Pauline Collins, 'Stepping Out' in 1991 with Liza Minelli, 'Haunted' in 1995 with Aiden Quinn and Kate Beckinsale, and his last film 'Before You Go' in 2002 with Julie Walters and John Hannah. Throughout his career he was nominated for an Academy Award, a Golden Globe, three BAFTA nods and two wins, and a total of six other award wins and five other nominations. He was bestowed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 1997 Queen's Birthday Honours List, and in 2001 was made a Fellow of the British Film Institute.

This week there are four new movies coming to an Odeon near you, that launch with a sequel to a Sci-fi monster action film that could be mistaken for 'Transformers vs. Godzilla' as cities get trashed and the end of the world as we know it looms close and it comes down to giant human piloted robots to save the day. We then have a change of pace and a change of genre that couldn't be more opposite, recounting the story of a female biblical character and a devout follower of Jesus Christ that has been referenced as the thirteenth Apostle. Then for another change we turn to a low budget horror film about a mysterious UFO death cult, two brothers who escaped and decide to return ten years later only to discover that the more things have remained the same the more they have changed. We then wrap up with a modern updated live action animated telling of a famed children's story featuring a cunning rabbit, his family, his friends, his nemesis and a vegetable patch.

Whatever your taste in big screen film entertainment is this week - be it any of the four latest release new films as Previewed below, or those doing the rounds currently on general release and as Reviewed and Previewed in previous Blog Posts here at Odeon Online, you are here cordially invited to share your movie going thoughts, opinions and observations by leaving your relevant, succinct and appropriate views in the Comments section below this or any other Post. We'd love to hear from you, and in the meantime, enjoy your big screen Odeon outing during the week ahead.

'PACIFIC RIM : UPRISING' (Rated M) - in 2013 the initial Sci-Fi monster action film in this apparent franchise 'Pacific Rim' as Directed, Co-Produced and Co-Written for the screen by Guillermo del Toro grossed US$411M off its US$190M budget. That film was set in the very near future when huge alien sea monsters called 'Kaiju' emerged from an interdimensional portal called 'The Breach' at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. Over the following three years, the Kaiju wreak havoc upon coastal cities along the 'Ring of Fire', such as San Francisco, Sydney, Manila, and Hong Kong. Humanity responds by constructing massive robotic machines called 'Jaegers' to combat the Kaiju threat that are piloted by two or more individuals via a neural bridge. That first instalment received generally positive press and picked up six award wins and a further 47 nominations mostly for Production Design and Visual FX.

Now on the strength of that success we have the second instalment, 'Pacific Rim : Uprising', Directed, Co-Produced and Co-Written this time by Steven S. DeKnight with Gulliermo del Toro taking a Co-Producer credit. Made for US$150M this film is set ten years after the events of the first film, and where the oceans of the world have become restless once again. However, during the ensuing years the technology and the investment into the Jaeger programme has advanced further into the next generation. When a mystery outfit reopens The Breach so allowing the Kaiju to escape once more and a rogue Jaeger running amok, Jake Pentecost (John Boyega, who also Co-Produces) rises to the fight to help thwart the Kaiju and the rogue Jaeger from wiping out all of humankind while preserving his fathers legacy (Stacker Pentecost from the first film as played by Idris Elba). Filmed in Australia and China, and starring Scott Eastwood and Charlie Day, this is said to be a springboard for a future cinematic universe with discussions already occurring about the third offering, and then future spin-offs and stand alone films . . . if this film gets enough bums on seats!

'MARY MAGDALENE' (Rated M) - here Australian film maker Garth Davis (whose previous film credit was his debut internationally acclaimed 'Lion' in 2016) turns his attention to a dramatic biblical retelling of the story of Mary Magdalene, a Jewish woman who travelled with Jesus as one of his followers and is also said to have witnessed Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection, and is often referred to as the thirteenth Apostle. According to the four Gospels she is mentioned more times than most of the other Apostles, and is said to have been the first person to see Jesus following his resurrection, and the first to testify to that fact. This is her story. Starring Rooney Mara as Mary Magdalene, Joaquin Phoenix at Jesus, Chiwetel Ejiofor as Peter, Tahir Rahim as Judas, and Ryan Corr as Joseph the film has so far garnered mixed or average Reviews at best. The film has so far taken just over US$2M since its UK and some European countries release last week.

'THE ENDLESS' (Rated M) - this American low budget horror film had its Premier screening at the Tribeca Film Festival back in April last year where the film created quite a stir (for all the right reasons) and subsequently has picked up four award wins and another five nominations from around the festival circuit. The film is Directed by Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead, is Co-Produced by them, is Written and Co-Edited by Benson, with Moorhead acting as Cinematographer, and to cap it all, then both take on the lead roles in the film as brothers Justin and Aaron Smith (Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead respectively). The films premise here is that the brothers were raised in a remote Southern Californian campsite as part of a mysterious UFO death cult, but they were able to successfully escape - the only ones to do so. Having lived an obscure dead end life for the last ten years, their interest is sparked once again by the arrival of a video tape from a young lady within the group. Justin wants to leave well alone, but Aaron is more intrigued and so convinces his brother to venture back to the campsite for just one more day and one night to say G'day! The brothers find the cult pretty much as they remember it. But, no one appears to have aged, and the woman who sent them the tape, Anna (Callie Hernandez) claims to have no idea what they’re talking about, and the cult leader, Hal (Tate Ellington) seems far less menacing than they remember him. And yet, something is definitely out of kilter.

'PETER RABBIT' (Rated PG) - over the years there have been numerous renditions of the famed Beatrix Potter childrens stories dating back to 1902 surrounding the adventures of one Peter Rabbit and his family and friends. And so now in 2018 we have this updated live action computer generated animated comedy offering Directed, Co-Produced and Co-Written for the screen by Will Gluck whose previous credits include 'Annie', 'Friends with Benefits' and 'Easy A'. So here we have Peter Rabbit (voiced by James Cordon) and his three sisters - Flopsy (Margot Robbie), Mopsy (Elizabeth Debicki) and Cotton-Tail (Daisy Ridley) all enjoying their days picking on Mr. McGregor (Sam Neill) and stealing his vegetables that he has lovingly planted in his garden. When Mr. McGregor suddenly dies of a heart attack, Peter and his woodland creature friends take over the house. Mr. McGregor's nephew Thomas McGregor (Domhnall Gleeson) inherits the home, and realising that it has some value moves in with plans to upgrade and sell for a tidy profit to help fund a business venture he has in mind. However, he's less than thrilled to discover a family of rabbits and various others have taken up residence in his new home. A battle of wits soon erupts as McGregor hatches scheme after scheme to get rid of Peter - a resourceful rabbit who proves to be a worthy and cunning opponent. Also starring the voices of Rose Byrne, Ewen Leslie, Rachel Ward, Bryan Brown, David Wenham and Sia, the film was released in the US in early February, cost US$50M to make, has so far grossed US$147M and has received mixed or average Reviews so far.

With four new release films this week to tempt you out to your local Odeon, remember to share your movie going thoughts with your other like minded cinephile friends afterwards here at Odeon Online, and meanwhile, I'll see you sometime somewhere in the week ahead at your local Odeon.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-