What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 7th April 2016.

Over the last couple of weeks I have brought you what is likely to be the pick of the big ticket movies being released between now at Christmas. These are just my humble opinion of course and naturally only you - the movie going audience can decide what sinks and what floats, and there will be others too that come and go in the next eight months that you should also watch out for. And here is my selection of the 'Best of the Rest' leading into the mid-year that you can pencil in your cinematic diary and keep an eye out for. The back end of the year, will be listed next week. Release dates may vary depending on where you are in the world, and you can check these out easily enough.

• 14th April - 'ALLEGIANT' - the third film in the Veronica Roth 'Divergent' series sees our Dystopian Sci-Fi heroes battling it out once more to save themselves and all humanity with Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Ansel Elgort, Miles Teller, Naomi Watts and Jeff Daniels starring.
• 12th May - 'FREE STATE OF JONES' - Directed by Gary Ross this is the true story of an American Civil War southern farmer who leads a rebellion against the Confederacy. Matthew McConaughey stars.
• 19th May - 'CRIMINAL' - spy drama with an all star cast taking in Ryan Reynolds, Kevin Costner, Gary Oldman, Tommy Lee Jones and Gal Gadot.
• 26th May  - 'ALICE THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS' - is the follow up to Tim Burton's this time Produced by him and Directed by James Bobin and Mia Wasikowska as Alice and Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Sacha Baron Cohen, Anne Hathaway, Stephen Fry and Alan Rickman (in his last screen role albeit in voice only) and others lending the voice talents too.
• 26th May - 'THE NICE GUYS' - 1970's LA set black crime comedy Directed by Shane Black and starring Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe.
• 2nd June - 'MONEY MONSTER' - Directed by Jodie Foster with George Clooney starring as  TV financial reporter 'The Wizard of Wall Street' who is taken hostage live on air by a pissed off investor. Julia Roberts also stars.

This weeks films then surround a much loved 60's animated feature that is given all the technical wizardry to update it for a modern audience whilst still maintaining the essence of a young lads journey of adventure and self-discovery. Then a sequel to a 2012 film based on a popular fairy tale and a much loved 1937 classic animated feature film updated and modernised with all the CGI that movie magic can muster. We then have a critically acclaimed foreign language film about sheep, brothers, and tending to the flock like your lives depend on it; and finally a die-hard documentarian is at it again traversing the globe telling what is good about everywhere else and how his home country should adopt a few foreign principles for the betterment of its society.

Four films then to get you out there as the evenings close in (in the Southern Hemisphere at least) with action, fantasy, drama, comedy, documentary and more CGI this week than you can poke a stick at. All sounds great, so when you have sat through your movie of choice this week as Previewed below and on previous pages, or as Reviewed before, share your thoughts and observations in the Comments section below this or any other Post. In the meantime, enjoy your film.

THE JUNGLE BOOK (Rated PG) - based on the classic Rudyard Kipling book of the same name and a reproduction of the much loved Disney animated feature from 1967, this live action/CGI feature is Directed and Produced by Jon Favreau and is produced by Walt Disney Pictures. Hailed as Disney's most ambitious live action feature yet, using photorealistic rendering, motion capture technology and computer generated imagery to make the characters and the environment as true to life as possible. The film feature an impressive voice cast and the only human character in Mowgli (Neel Sethi) - plucked out of nowhere after an extensive international search that took in the US, the UK, Canada and NZ.

You know the story, but here we have young Mowgli (the aforementioned Neel Sethi) raised in the jungle by Indian wolves Raksha and Akela (voiced by Lupita Nyong'o and Giancarlo Esposito respectively) since he was a very young child and brought to them by Bagheera the black panther (voiced by Ben Kingsley). Since, according to the Bengal tiger Shere Khan (voiced by Idris Elba) no man should be permitted in the jungle, he threatens Mowgli who is forced to leave the comfort of his surroundings and life as he knows it, in search of something new. So Mowgli ventures forth on an adventure of discovery aided by Bagheera and Baloo the bear (voiced by Bill Murray). Along the way Mowgli has to contend with those who threaten danger and misadventure on his journey including Kaa the python (voiced by Scarlett Johansson) and King Louie (voiced by Christopher Walken) the Bornean orangutan, but ultimately this is all part of the fun and adventure en route to his voyage of self discovery.

THE HUNTSMAN : WINTERS WAR (Rated M) - this is a sequel to the 2012 movie 'Snow White and the Huntsman' which off the back of its US$170M budget made US$397M. Here we see a number of characters from that earlier instalment reprising their roles including Chris Hemsworth as Eric the Huntsman; Charlize Theron as Ravenna, the Evil Queen; Nick Frost as Nion a Dwarf; and Sam Claflin as King William. This time joined by Emily Blunt as Freya, the Ice Queen and sister of Ravenna, Rob Brydon as dwarf Gryff an ally of Nion, and Jessica Chastain as Sara, a warrior and wife of Eric who was thought to be long dead. When Freya and Raveena are reunited through the power of the Magic Mirror the wicked sisters intend to unleash their evil on the enchanted land with more menace than ever thought possible. With an army poised at the ready to unveil all Hell, only the banished Huntsmen who previously went against Freya rules to turn their back on true love stand any hope of saving the land, and being reunited with each other. Directed by first timer Cedric Nicolas-Troyan.

RAMS (Rated M) - a winner in the 'Un Certain Regard' category at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival in May where it won the top prize, this Icelandic drama comedy was Written and Directed by Grimur Hakonarson and was entered in the Best Foreign Language Film category at this years Academy Awards but failed to get a nomination. That said, the film has gained much critical praise for its well told yet very simple story. Set in a secluded Icelandic valley brothers Gummy and Kiddi live side by side on their own farms where they breed an ancestral sheep-stock that is considered to be the best in the country, winning numerous accolades repeatedly for their prized rams who carry an ancient lineage. Although the two brothers live side by side, share the land, raise the same award winning sheep, they haven't spoken to each other for forty years or more. When a deadly disease breaks out amongst Kiddi's sheep the whole valley is threatened with its livelihood and well being, as the authorities close in wanting to cull the sheep to halt the spread of the disease. With others abandoning their land and their way of life, Gummy and Kiddi stand firm and steadfast to prevent the disaster from unfolding further and their flocks being eradicated forever . . . and themselves too potentially. Sigurour Sigurjonsson stars as Gummi and Theodor Jullusson as Kiddi.

WHERE TO INVADE NEXT (Rated M) - Michael Moore is at it again and for the first time in six years, up on his soapbox, stirring the pot and delivering his most subversive film yet - probably! Here he travels through Finland, Norway, Italy, France, Portugal, Tunisia and Slovenia viewing how Europeans view work, healthcare, education, sex, equality, social issues and much more and then of course drawing those comparisons with the good ol' USofA, and just how different his home country is to the rest of the world.  If all the good that exists in Europe, then why can't it in the US is what this ultimately asks - maybe they would be better off for it if they had a more liberal, outgoing and equal society? Having 'invaded' those countries to learn their secrets, what can the US learn from those other nations?

With four new offerings coming to a cinema near you, what's not to like, as well as all those others still out on general release. Do yourself a favour and catch a movie this week, and I'll see you, at the Odeon.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-