YOUR GUIDE TO THIS WEEK'S NEW CINEMA RELEASES

Winter is coming ... So a good time to be curled up with good company in a cinema watching a good movie and nibbling on some comfort food.

TOP PICK

Top of the agenda to see this week is a New Zealand called HUNT FOR THE WILDERPEOPLE. A national manhunt is ordered for a rebellious kid and his foster uncle who go missing in the wild New Zealand bush. It's directed by Taika Waititi who previously brought us the brilliant Boy. It's already winning awards and critics are mostly positive in their reviews. The Film Stage's Jordan Raup reminds us that, 'Throughout his films, Waititi has always been skilled at melding comedy with trauma and crafting screenplays with crowdpleasing callbacks. Hunt for the Wilderpeople is another such example of amiable, kind-hearted storytelling.' People **** ◉ Critics ****

OTHERS TO SEE

THE NICE GUYS is a comedy action that A mismatched pair of private eyes investigate the apparent suicide of a fading porn star in 1970s Los Angeles. It's been hyped up and critics are generally favourable, but I was disappointed. I'll post my review soon. People **** ◉ Critics ***1/2 ◉ Me ***

MAYBE/MAYBE NOT

Alice is back in ALICE THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS. In this story, Alice returns to the whimsical world of Wonderland and travels back in time to save the Mad Hatter. Critics don't like this one and general viewers are rating it as average - although its popularity is growing. Hitfix's Drew McWeeny is infuriated. He says, 'I think it is precisely because the technical work by everyone from James Bobin down is so good that I find myself infuriated by the film. So much muscle, so much effort, so much raw talent on display, and all in service of demographic-and-merchandise-driven garbage that sullies the name of the source material.' People *** ◉ Critics *1/2

Finally, CHASING ASYLUM is a documentary that tells the story of Australia's cruel, inhumane treatment of asylum seekers and refugees, examining the human, political, financial and moral impact of current and previous policy. People ****

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. People and critics scores are a rough idea of how movies are currently being rated on the “average”. These updates are written from an Australian perspective so openings of the movies in cinemas may vary in other parts of the world.