What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 24th March 2016.

With Easter upon us, and the awards season behind us, I thought now would be a good time to highlight the twelve potentially block busting must see movies for the balance of 2016. These are those that you should be locking into your diaries now to ensure you get the best seat in the house when these movies come your way. I have not included the DC actioner released this week and Previewed below in this list either, and I'll
give you six this week, and the other six to come next week. Stay tuned!

• April 14th - 'THE JUNGLE BOOK' - Directed by Jon Favreau and starring Neel Sethi as young Mowgli in this live action/CGI reimagining of the Rudyard Kipling book and the 1967 Disney classic animated feature of the same name. Ben Kingsley, Idris Elba, Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson land their voice talents.
• April 28th - 'CAPTAIN AMERICA : CIVIL WAR' - Joe and Anthony Russo Direct this all star cast that bring The Avengers into bitter conflict, and divides the once tight team one year on from 'Age of Ultron'.
• May 19th - 'X-MAN : APOCALYPSE' - Bryan Singer is back Directing this ninth instalment in the series that has the 'X-Men' battling an ancient all powerful mutant who teams up with Magneto leaving Professor X going head to head in a battle to save the Earth as we know it.
• June 23rd - 'INDEPENDENCE DAY : RESURGENCE' - Directed by the Master of Disaster, Roland Emmerich, this is the follow up to the 1996 blockbuster that sees those aliens return to wipe out all humankind once more - bigger, badder and bolder than before! Starring Jeff Goldblum, Liam Hemsworth, Bill Pullman and a bunch of bad ass alien types.
• June 30th - 'THE BFG' - Directed by Steven Spielberg, this film is based on the popular children's book of the same name by Roald Dahl, and has Mark Rylance as the Big Friendly Giant and ten year old Ruby Barnhill plucked out of nowhere to play young Sophie.
• July 14th - 'GHOSTBUSTERS' - Paul Feig Directs this reboot of the classic two Ghostbusters paranormal comedy action films of the 80's, but this time will an all female cast of 'Ghostbusters' including Melissa McCarthy, Kate McKinnon, Leslie Jones and Kirsten Wiig.

Turning then to the more immediate, this week ahead we have five new cinematic offerings, that kick start in Superhero territory with an eagerly awaited, if not a little controversial, clash of two titans of the genre who go head to head, fist to fist and toe to toe in the second mega budget offering from this extended universe - we expect great things! No pressure there then, as we move into another superhero getting its third CGI animated treatment of the furry, plump, hapless yet lovable kind needing also to thwart an evil foe. Following on from these two potential blockbusters in the making there is a Italian island set thriller surrounding an ageing rock star holidaying peacefully until her world is turned upside down by the arrival of an old flame and his estranged daughter. From here, a tale of modern warfare from a distance and the impact of collateral damage upon three nations involved in one decision, and to wrap things up, another wedding celebration to follow on from that one held in 2002 that proved to be so successful, that they just had to do it all over again!

With more choice coming at you this week, and plenty of good stuff still out on general release as Reviewed and Previewed for you previously on these humble pages, your feedback is always welcomed. As such, feel free to leave your own views and opinions in the Comments section below this or any other Post, and share your movie experience with your friends, here at Odeon Online. Enjoy your movie.

BATMAN v. SUPERMAN : DAWN OF JUSTICE (Rated M) - this much hyped, long awaited and initially controversial next instalment in the DC Extended Universe is finally here, as Directed by Zack Snyder and made for a cool US$250M. This is the second instalment in the DC Extended Universe following 2013's 'Man of Steel' also Directed by Zack Snyder and which made US$668M off its US$225M production budget, and sees once again Henry Cavill reprising his role as Superman/Clark Kent. This film features some big name acting talent and also unites for the first time on the big screen in a live action movie a number of favoured characters from the DC canon - some of whom will get their own big picture outing in future years.

This film takes place two years or so after the events of 'Man of Steel' when Superman's final standoff against General Zod almost wiped out much of Metropolis with many lives lost along the way, city infrastructure ruined and excessive collateral damage. As a result many of Metropolis's inhabitants are left feeling helpless, angry and fearful that Superman is not everything he is cracked up to be and in fact that he may even be a threat to humanity, especially if he continues to go unchecked. One such inhabitant is billionaire Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck) who takes it upon himself to wage a one man war against Superman to rid the Earth of him, so that its citizens can rest easy once more. In the wings however, watching and waiting is Lex Luthor (Jessie Eisenberg) who also has plans for Superman, and whilst Batman and Superman battle it out for supremacy. Meanwhile, Lex Luthor is free to unleash his own secret weapon, Doomsday, which has far greater power than either Batman or Superman can muster and which poses an even greater threat to humanity than either had imagined. Also starring Amy Adams as Lois Lane, Jeremy Irons at Arthur, Laurence Fishburn as Perry White, Diane Lane as Martha Kent, Holly Hunter as Senator Finch and Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman.

A BIGGER SPLASH (Rated MA15+) - this English language French/Italian co-produced erotic thriller film is Directed by Italian Luca Guadagnino and was released at the Venice Film Festival in early September, before a wider Italian release in November, and is yet to see the light of day Stateside until mid-May. Starring frequent collaborator Tilda Swinton as Marianne Lane, a famous rock star and Matthias Schoenaerts as Paul De Smedt a film-maker and boyfriend who are holidaying on a remote Italian island when their world is disrupted by a surprise visit from an old friend Harry Hawkes (Ralph Fiennes) and his daughter Penelope Lanier (Dakota Johnson). What ensues is a web of jealousy, passion and possible danger for all concerned, set amidst an idyllic island hideaway that ultimately turns into something very different.

EYE IN THE SKY (Rated M) - Directed by Gavin Hood, this film stars the late, great Alan Rickman and is set with the backdrop of modern day drone warfare. Released in the US in early January, here we have Colonel Katherine Powell (Helen Mirren) as a military intelligence officer tracking a group of terrorists to a safe house in Nairobi, Kenya where she intends to capture them. Learning however, that the group is hatching a plan for a suicide mission, Powell changes her plan to wipe out the terrorists once & for all and so gives the command to drone pilot 2nd Lieutenant Steve Watts (Aaron Paul) to destroy the safe house.  Before doing so though, Watts observes a young girl entering the house - what to do therefore, and upon whose authority now?  Also starring Jeremy Northam and Iain Glen.

MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING 2 (Rated PG) - this is the sequel to the 2002 film that was made for a mere US$5M and returned a staggering US$369M, so on that basis a sequel was almost inevitable, as long as a story could be created around another bigger, fatter Greek wedding. And so it seems it has in this Kirk Jones Directed follow-up! When a family secret unfolds the Portokalos family are brought back together again just as daughter Paris (Elena Kampouris) is getting ready to graduate from High School, and Mum & Dad, Toula (Nia Vardalos) and Ian (John Corbett), are having marital challenges themselves. When Toula's parents uncover the secret, another big, fat Greek wedding follows that just might be the tonic needed to reunite the family again. Will this generate a big fat Box Office haul that the first film did - only you can make it happen!

KUNG FU PANDA 3 (Rated PG) - the third film in the franchise follows the initial 2008 film that returned US$632M from US$130M, the second in 2011 garnered US$666M from US$150M and this third film that was released in China on 23rd January and then in the US a week later has so far grossed US$399M from its US$145M Budget. Directed by Jennifer Yuh Nelson and Alessandro Carloni this film stars many of those from the earlier two films including Jack Black as Po who is now growing up and has been reunited with his long lost father Li (Bryan Cranston). Po comes to the realisation too that he has still much to learn from his acclaimed master & mentor Master Shifu (Dustin Hoffman) and must also take that next step from being a student to becoming a teacher himself.  To do so he takes on a group of hapless pandas who are largely clueless in the martial arts, but together with his kung-fu fighting brothers must thwart the evil Kai (J.K.Simmons) who possesses supernatural powers and grows stronger with every fight. Also starring the voice talents of Angelina Jolie, Lucy Liu, Jackie Chan, Seth Rogen, Kate Hudson, Jean Claude Van Damme, and Pax, Knox, Zahara and Shiloh Jolie-Pitt.

A big week then at the movies with a few potential blockbusters in the making giving you another great reason to get amongst it at you local picture house. When you have done so, share your thoughts, and in the meantime, I'll see you in the week ahead, at the Odeon.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-