New Zealand is transformed into frontier America in Slow West, our FOTW.

But if westerns aren’t your thing, Melissa McCarthy brings the laughs in Spy, the Poltergeist remake promises some scares, there’s a great doco about an award-winning David Bowie exhibition, and zombies invade a horror movie set in the hilarious Kiwi indie I Survived a Zombie Holocaust.

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Opening today:

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SLOW WEST……FILM OF THE WEEK

UK, New Zealand | 84 minutes | Action, Western
Director: John Maclean (debut feature)
Cast: Michael Fassbender, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Caren Pistorious, Ben Mendelsohn, Rory McCann, Brooke Williams, Alex Macqueen

Slow West CRR

Jay is a lovelorn 17-year-old Scottish aristocrat who travels to the American West at the close of the 19th century to track down his former lover. Confronted with the harsh realities of the frontier, he falls in with a rough and mysterious traveler named Silas, who soon discovers that the focus of Jay’s affection has a price on her head.

Who doesn’t love a good western? – especially when it’s shot in NZ and stars the brilliant Michael Fassbender.

Distributor: Transmission Films

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DAVID BOWIE IS

UK | 100 minutes | Documentary
Director: Hamish Hamilton

David Bowie Is CRR

A guided tour of the highly successful 2014 Victoria and Albert Museum exhibition in London – featuring photographs, stage costumes, and other rare possessions from the Bowie archive.

One for hardcore Bowie fans.

Distributor: Rialto Distribution

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POLTERGEIST

USA | 94 minutes | Horror, Thriller
Director: Gil Kenan (Monster House, City of Ember)
Cast: Sam Rockwell, Rosemarie DeWitt, Jared Harris, Jane Adams, Nicholas Braun, Saxon Sharbino, Kyle Catlett, Kennedi Clements

Poltergeist CRR

Modern take on the 1982 classic in which a family deals with terrifying apparitions that have kidnapped their daughter.

This looks ok, but there was no need to remake a film which is just as awesome today as it was when it was released.

Distributor: 20th Century Fox

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SPY

USA | 120 minutes | Action, Comedy
Director: Paul Feig (Bridesmaids)
Cast: Melissa McCarthy, Rose Byrne, Jason Statham, Jude Law, Morena Baccarin, Allison Janney, Bobby Cannavale, 50 Cent

Spy CRR

Cooper is an unassuming, deskbound CIA analyst, and the unsung hero behind the agency’s most dangerous missions. But when her partner falls off the grid and another top agent is compromised, she volunteers to go deep undercover to infiltrate the world of a deadly arms dealer, and prevent a global disaster.

Early reviews suggest this is better than it looks.

Distributor: 20th Century Fox

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Opening Friday:

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I SURVIVED A ZOMBIE HOLOCAUST

New Zealand | 104 minutes | Comedy, Horror
Director: Guy Pigden
Cast: Harley Neville, Jocelyn Christian, Ben Baker, Reanin Johannin, Mike Edwards

I Survived A Zombie Holociaust CRR

Wesley couldn’t be happier – he has managed to land a job as a runner for an upcoming horror film. He also feels that he’s met the girl of his dreams in the set caterer Susan, which makes things that much better. The only problem is that the director seems keen on using Wesley as a whipping boy to vent his frustrations and to make matters worse, the film’s extras all seem to have become zombies intent on killing them.

Looks like an absolute blast. Also available on DVD and VOD at the same time.

Distributor: Unknown