What's new in Odeon's this week - Thursday 29th May 2014.

This weeks latest releases to tempt you out at the beginning of an Australian Winter are sure to warm you up with another mixed bag of offerings that take in slapstick comedy; a fairytale follow-up with its usual themes of good & evil; what will be for most of us a good serving of food fantasy, scenic landscapes and sharp dialogue; and of course what week would be complete without a foreign language family drama film.

As always there is still plenty of cinematic content doing the rounds to ensure everyone is catered for at your local movie theatre including superheroes, super monsters and your more adult oriented smaller independent thought provoking feel good and at times foreign language fare to satisfy the more discerning movie goer. If you do get out this coming week to see your film of choice, let me know what you think - feedback always welcomed!

MALEFICENT (Rated M) - Angeline Jolie stars in this Disney film that reintroduces us to the evil witch of the same name from the timeless 1959 'Sleeping Beauty' animated feature who represents perhaps one of Disney's most iconic characters . . . for all the wrong reasons! Jolie is 'Maleficent' and this film traces the story of what caused her to fall from grace and turn from pure of heart to heart of darkness as she now presides over the dark moors which she calls home. Full of revenge and hatred she casts a spell on the King's newborn child Aurora (Elle Fanning) that before she turns 16 she will fall into a death like slumber. As time passes, and she grows into young adulthood Aurora is caught between her love of the forest and her duty to the kingdom over which her father rules, and Maleficent begins to realise that in fact Aurora may hold the key to peace across their lands which could change both destiny's forever. Also starring Sharlto Copley and Imelda Staunton this is an effects laden, dark, gothic film featuring fire breathing dragons, marauding foot soldiers, fantastical creatures, magic & wizardry, impenetrable castles and forests and Jolie's accentuated cheek bones! One for Disney fans but probably not for the younger ones!

A MILLION WAYS TO DIE IN THE WEST (Rated MA15+) - Written, Produced, Directed and Starring Seth MacFarlane this is a comedy western that will be big on laughs, big on slapstick sight gags and big on the star power (also starring Liam Neeson, Charlize Theron, Amanda Seyfried, Giovanni Ribisi, and Neil Patrick Harris). It's 1882, Arizona and cowardly farmer Albert (MacFarlane) loses his true love Louise (Seyfried) because he backs out of a duel. Soon enough though new girl Anna (Theron) rides into town and it's all on for Albert as he gains confidence, bravery, courage and his wits to win over this new love interest. But, in doing so he must thwart Anna's husband - a notorious and dangerous gunslinging criminal, who wants his wife back and payback from, or on, Albert! Seth MacFarlane bought us 'Ted' a few years ago, so if you liked that you're sure to like this, but is it the new 'Blazing Saddles' . . . only you can decide!

THE BROKEN CIRCLE BREAKDOWN (Rated MA15+) - A Belgian film with subtitles set in Ghent, this was nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 86th Academy Awards. It tells the story of Didier and Elise set over a seven year period as they fall in love against a backdrop of their passion for bluegrass music. They have a daughter Maybelle, who is diagnosed with cancer shortly after her sixth birthday and she never reaches seven! Feeling lost in their sorrow, earth shattered, and cheated their love for each other is put to the test, and their relationship pulled in every direction.

THE TRIP TO ITALY (Rated M) - Beautiful food, beautiful scenery, beautiful women, this follows hot of the heels of 2010's 'The Trip' as those those two food critics (Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon) travel around various exotic and historical locations in Italy as they eat their way through a series of Michelin starred restaurants and gastronomic delights serving as the backdrop for a road trip to die for, and their razor sharp witted banter. Directed as before, by Michael Winterbottom, this should be worth it just to see Coogan and Brydon duelling it out for verbal dexterity and humorous one-up-man-ship, with a well crafted dose of food porn thrown in for good measure. Bon appetite!

See something new this week and do your part in keeping the film industry alive! Drop me a line and let me know what you think about any of the above four features, or those others previewed in previous weeks.

Movies - see as many as you can!

-Steve, at Odeon Online-