What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 21st May 2015.

With Winter fast approaching (in Australia anyway!) there are plenty of reasons to get out to your local multiplex to be entertained with a movie of choice from blockbusting epic, to original horror, to thought provoking Sci-Fi and most things in between. And, in the weeks ahead there is more cinematic goodness to come, to add heaps more excuses for your big screen viewing pleasure as the cooler months take hold - unless of course you live in the northern hemisphere!

For the week ahead there are three new offerings that recreate a classic horror chiller updated for the modern era; an undercover espionage action comedy caper; and an historical true story drama spanning sixty years. Of course added to this there are plenty more large and small movies and mainstream and independent films to choose from. So, do yourself a favour and catch a big screen experience in the week ahead. When you're done, drop a Comment below this or any other Post and share your views with our ever growing world wide readership! Enjoy your film!

POLTERGEIST (Rated M) - In 1982 'Poltergeist' hit our big screens Directed by Tobe Hooper and scared the bejeezus out of us all for its modern take on supernatural demonic possession in suburban USA. Written for the screen by Steven Spielberg based on his own story, it was also Produced by him too and on a budget of just US$10.7M it grossed over US$121M and spawned two sequels in 1986 and 1988. Now in 2015, 'Poltergeist' is back and rebooted for the modern age and a whole new audience keen to be shocked, scared and surprised once again. This time around we are Directed by Gil Kenan based on Spielberg's original story and Produced by Sam Raimi.

Sam Rockwell stars as Eric Bowen and Rosemary DeWitt as his wife Amy, with young children Kendra (Saxon Sharbino), Madison (Kennedi Clements) and Griffin (Kyle Catlett) whose suburban home is invaded by angry spirits, who become more and more angry and increasingly malevolent as time progresses. When the apparitions manifest themselves in differing ways and with rising frequency they take the households youngest daughter into their netherworld of supernatural evil forces. The family have to muster their combined strength, resolve, determination and the forces of good to overcome the forces of evil in order to recover their daughter, and live happily ever after . . . maybe!

SPY (Rated MA15+) - Written, Produced and Directed by Paul Feig with a US$65M budget this is a CIA action comedy about desk jockey Susan Cooper (Melissa McCarthy) who despite being trained as a field agent has sat behind the scenes for years as the ears and eyes of Bradley Fine (Jude Law) a top agent out in the field thwarting criminals and wrongdoers on a grand scale. When Fine is topped off by Bulgarian arms trader Rayna Boyanov (Rose Byrne), Susan persuades her superiors that she should go undercover for the first time to capture Boyanov, avoid a potential global disaster and avenge the death of Fine. With more accomplished Agents available including Rick Ford (Jason Statham) and Karen Walker (Morena Baccarin), Cooper is in the box seat because Boyanov knows the identity of the CIA's top agents who now need to lie low for fear of blowing Coopers cover. This is likely to be everything you would expect from Melissa McCarthy with slap stick set pieces, cat & mouse, agents and double agents, spies and super spies, weapons of mass destruction all underpinned with a solid cast to add weight and gravitas . . . but will it be enough to carry this film?

WOMAN IN GOLD (Rated M) - Directed by Simon Curtis for US$11 and so far grossing US$37M this is the true story of Austrian Jewish refugee Maria Altmann who fled Nazi Austria just before the start of WWII to seek safe harbour in America knowing that 'the writing was on the wall'. Maria is successful in her escape attempt but she must abandon her parents, family and loved ones to the fate of the Nazi's and their pillaging and looting. Fast forward sixty years and Altmann is now living in Los Angeles, and following the funeral of her sister she discovers a number of letters written in the 1940's revealing attempts to recover certain works of art stolen by the Nazi's during the War. One such piece was painted by her Aunt, now known throughout Austria as 'Woman in Gold'. Altman (Helen Mirren) engages young inexperienced lawyer Randol Schoenberg (Ryan Reynolds) who makes a claim to the Art Restitution Board In Austria to have the painting returned to its rightful owner, but of course the Austrian authorities will have none of it. The picture they claim is theirs and now hangs as a national treasure in an art gallery. And so begins a case that goes all the way to the US Supreme Court where the matter is filed as The Republic of Austria vs. Altmann and where Schoenberg and Altmann battle it out in court with the Austrian art world over a cold case that spans the past sixty years. If you're not all together up on art history or know of this story then check out the film to see how the ruling went, and where this famed painting now hangs. Daniel Bruhl, Katie Holmes,  Charles Dance, Elizabeth McGovern and Jonathan Pryce also star.

Three films all offering something different. Get out amongst it in the week ahead and do yourself a favour and catch any one of these, or the other great content currently doing the rounds - there's bound to be something out there for you!

Movies - see as many as you can!

-Steve, at Odeon Online-