YOUR GUIDE TO THIS WEEK'S NEW CINEMA RELEASES

A couple of good movies to check out this week…

TOP PICK

Top pick of the week goes to SPOTLIGHT, the true story of how the Boston Globe uncovered the massive scandal of child molestation and cover-up within the local Catholic Archdiocese, shaking the entire Catholic Church to its core. TheWrap’s Alonso Duralde describes Spotlight ‘[as] that rare journalistic procedural that deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as “All the President's Men,” and while the movie never glamorizes or makes saints of its hard-working newsgatherers, it does stand as a reminder of the power and importance of a free press, particularly in ferreting out local corruption and malfeasance.’ It’s an incredible story which I will review shortly.

OTHERS TO SEE

ROOM also opens this week. After five-year-old Jack and his mother escape from the enclosed surroundings that Jack has known his entire life, the boy makes a thrilling discovery. I’ve previously reviewed this one. Read my review here.

TO AVOID

Two movies to avoid this week. The first is DIRTY GRANDPA starring Robert De Niro and Zac Efron. Right before his wedding, an uptight guy (Efron) is tricked into driving his grandfather (De Niro), a perverted former Army Lieutenant-Colonel "Special Forces" to Florida for spring break. The trailers look terrible.  For ScreenCrush’s Matt Singer, ‘There's no issue with De Niro and Efron's effort; both are game for every disgusting line and ludicrous set-piece. But they have less material to work with than Aubrey Plaza's costume designer.’ Give it a wide berth!

Finally, the Australian drama LOOKING FOR GRACE sounds disappointing. After a teenage girl named Grace goes missing, her parents along with the help of an investigator seek to find her, while also juggling their own secrets and stories between them. The plot sounds like it has potential, but the response of general viewers hasn’t been good so far.

That's it for this week. See you at the movies!

NOTE Movie summaries are adaptations of movie summary on IMDB. Opinions are mine unless credited. These updates are written from an Australian perspective so openings of the movies in cinemas may vary in other parts of the world.