What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 23rd April 2015.

Life is full of opposites! As I sit here in Adelaide it is a cool near Winter evening trademarked by clear night skies, a chill in the air and a slight breeze to drop the temperatures a little more; but my friends and family back home in Sydney are gripped by storms, floods, winds, rain and all manner of apocalyptic tempest to mark the end of the world as they know it . . . well almost! And so it is with this weeks new release films - opposites!

Kick starting your week is the eagerly awaited, highly anticipated and much hyped follow up to the third highest grossing movie of all time, and with it comes huge expectations on the studio behind it, the Director, the stellar cast and all the minions behind the camera that give us movie magic . . . no pressure then, you collective lot! Then we have a story of a music teacher pushing a young lad to discover his talent against all the odds (sound rather like another movie of a very similar ilk that did well on last years awards circuit!), and to wrap things up a WWI period piece recounting the coming of age of a young girl during those troubled years in Britain and what this ultimately inspires her to do post-war.

With such diverse and different films gracing our big screens in the coming weeks, together with those still on general release and as Previewed and Reviewed in previous Blog Posts here at Odeon Online, there is no excuse not to get out in the bleak mid-Autumnal months and experience some great filmic entertainment to warm the soul and stir the emotions. When you have done so, leave a Comment below this or any other Blog Post and share your cinematic thoughts with our ever growing readership. In the meantime, enjoy your film.

THE AVENGERS : AGE OF ULTRON (Rated M) - Director Joss Whedon helmed the first 'The Avengers' film back in 2012 and in fact came up with the storyline and wrote the Screenplay too, and managed to lash out US$220M to make the film that went on to gross an incredible US$1.52B making it the third highest grossing film of all time - not bad for a bunch of comic strip characters! Since that first instalment, the inhabitants of The Marvelverse have been waiting eagerly for the release of the second film to see if Joss Whedon can weave his magic once more, using and even greater stash of cash that this time is estimated at US$250M+

Our favourite Marvel characters are back with Iron Man (Robert Downey Jnr.), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Captain America (Chris Evans), The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), Black Widow (Scarlett Johannson), Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), Loki (Tom Hiddleston), Heimdall (Idris Elba) and War Machine (Don Cheadle) all joined by some new super-characters and the grand-daddy of them all 'Ultron' (James Spader). The latter was created by Tony Stark as a peacekeeping programme and is a self aware, self teaching A.I. who having laid dormant for some time is reactivated by Stark so that our merry band of superheroes can stop saving the world by eradicating violence, crime and megalomaniacs once and for all. But when Ultron is reactivated things don't go quite according to plan and our man/machine Ultron decides it would be a good idea to wipe out humanity and destroy the world as we know it. And so our superhero friends need to team up, tool up, and boot up to save the world again and thwart Ultron in the process, whilst crossing paths with various new action heroes along the way . . . some good and some, not so good! Be prepared for action on a grand scale, and for things to go bad, very bad, before they get better!

BOYCHOIR (Rated PG) - here we have another American musical drama film involving a talented young musician, and older experienced teacher and a rise to the top whilst overcoming adversity, personal challenges and a troubled life. If this sounds like 'Whiplash' think again because here we have a drum kit traded for a young boys choir and a lad whose vocal talents open doors of opportunity that lead to acknowledgement, appreciation and acceptance - three things he has never experienced before. Directed by Francois Girard this is a film about eleven year old Stet (Garrett Wareing) whose single mother is killed in a car accident on the same day that his school Principal Ms. Steel (Debra Winger) persuades Headmaster Carvelle (Dustin Hoffman) of the fictitious American Boychoir School, to audition for their elite chorister programme. Stet's Dad, Gerard (Josh Lucas) is in a relationship with another woman but he has neglected to tell her about Stet's very existence. When Carvelle recognises a raw talent in Stet that he has never seen before, he is offered a place which Gerard promptly accepts and writes big cheques for, in order to send his estranged son away and maintain the peace at home. At the ABS Stet is out of his depth as he is not from a privileged background like many of the other boys, nor is he particularly disciplined enough for the school staff. But he works hard and is committed and quickly rises through the ranks as he shows increasing promise as one of the best choristers. Touted as an emotional, feel good family drama with strong performances that will tug at your heart strings, and maybe your vocal chords, this could well be up there with that aforementioned drum beating music school drama of earlier this year. Also starring Eddie Izzard and Kathy Bates.

TESTAMENT OF YOUTH (Rated M) - Directed by James Kent, this is a true story based on the book by Vera Brittain, about her own recollection of growing up in the lead up to, during and after The Great War. After a fairly privileged upbringing in the English countryside Vera (Alicia Vikander) who shares a close bond with family and especially brother Edward (Taron Egerton) are torn asunder when her fiancé Roland Leighton (Kit Harington), and close friends Victor (Colin Moragn) and Geoffrey (Jonathan Bailey) and Edwards are sent off to fight on the front line. Having sacrificed so much her male friends and loved ones now do battle for King and Country in far away war torn lands that she decides to follow suit and so leaves her Oxford college education and joins the Voluntary Aid Detachment and travels as a nurse from London to Malta to France witnessing first hand and at close quarters the horrors of war and the implications on those closest to her. Following the war Brittain becomes a writer, a pacifist and a feminist - she died in 1970. The film also stars Dominc West and Emily Watson as Mr. & Mrs. Brittain respectively, Miranda Richardson and Hayley Attwell.

Three films to get you out and amongst it at your local independent theatre or multiplex in the coming week, and when you have done so and sat through your cinematic experience share your views and be a co-contributor to Odeon Online - we'd love to hear from you!

Movies - see as many as you can!

-Steve, at Odeon Online-