FILMMAKER Robert Zemeckis has been responsible for a number of cultural touchstones in his long career (Back to the Future, Forrest Gump, Cast Away) and it looks as though he’s attempting another with Here.

Reuniting his most iconic screen couple in Tom Hanks and Robin Wright, Zemeckis is offering up a blockbuster release with an experimental sensibility.

The conceit of this film is the chronicling of a single place in the world – from the first stirrings of life millions of years ago through to the American family that ultimately builds a home and houses several generations.

An adaptation of a 2014 comic strip by Richard McGuire, this is the kind of story playing straight for the heart, following the ebb and flow of close relationships over the course of time.

Ozploitation is alive and well with the release of Rippy to cinemas.

The debut feature for writer/director Ryan Coonan – based on a prior short film of his – is a horror film set in an outback town beset by the savage attacks of … a zombie Kangaroo.

Instead of playing as an over-the-top horror-comedy, the cast and crew are determined to play the whole thing straight down the line, aiming for the style and tone of “Jaws” or, perhaps more accurately, Ozploitation classics such as “Razorback”.

The result might be a curio for fans of the genre, but the lack of any real sense of fun means this is not likely to stand the test of time.

Aiming to bring the laughs this week is Saturday Night, a pseudo-biographical account of the hours leading up to the first ever broadcast of Saturday Night Live in 1975.

Your interest in this film is really going to come down to your interest in the long standing, iconic US sketch comedy show.

That first show faced a number of challenges before going live, and the film takes great delight in recreating, and greatly embellishing, those tensions.

In the end, however, it expects the audience to have a significant level of familiarity with the show and its legacy, which can leave some of the moments of both drama and levity a bit flat.

It also loses a few points in my book for making fun of my childhood hero, Jim Henson.

A promising entry in Aussie “prestige horror” is The Moogai, from first-nation filmmaker Jon Bell.

A “horror as metaphor” tale about an indigenous mother who begins to fear that an evil spirit may be threatening her newborn, the feature debut is adapted from Bell’s own short film.

Strong performances from the Australian cast combine with satisfyingly creepy imagery to make this film a worthwhile watch .

Another stylish-but-shallow action film hits the screens with Weekend in Taipei.

A French/Taiwanese co-production that derives most of its appeal from the frenetic sequences shot in an exotic locale, the film follows DEA Agent John Lawlor (Luke Evans) as he pursues an international drug cartel and reunites with driver and former lover Joey (Gwei Lun-mei).

There exists a fascinating cottage-industry churning out fairly generic action films – they are competently shot and usually feature one or two recognisable faces.

Interest in these films usually varies based on whether you want to see the same film with a new face, or check out the next identical instalment featuring Liam Neeson.

Finally, for those interested in a genuine foreign film this week, There’s Still Tomorrow comes to Australian screens.

A period film set in post-WWII Italy, the story follows a woman struggling to support her family amidst the poverty of that era, the political turmoil of the time and an abusive husband.

When Delia (Paolla Cortellesi) realises that her daughter Marcella is set to repeat her own cycle of submission to abuse and control, she chooses to ensure the opportunities for a better future.

There’s a lot going on in this film, including charting the shift in culture brought by political reform as well as the changing role of women in Italian society.

As a story of confronting and changing the story of abuse however, this is a memorable and ultimately uplifting film.

By Lindsay HALL