THE Christmas theme takes a rest this week to make room for one of the biggest swings of the year, Wicked: Part One.

Yes, the carols may not be playing but you can expect people to be singing at the top of their lungs during this adaptation of the immensely successful musical (itself an adaptation of a 1995 novel).

Directed by John Chu (Crazy Rich Asians) and starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, the story is a precursor to The Wizard of Oz, told from the perspective of the young woman who will one day become The Wicked Witch of the West.

Brand new songs were written for this screenplay, which means it at least has something different to offer fans who have already seen the stage production several times.

Early reactions have been positive, praising both the performances and the incredible visuals which open up the world of Oz a bit more than you’ll find in most theatres.

For those wanting something much smaller in scale, Aussie dramedy Strange Creatures is in cinemas for a limited run.

Brothers Ged (Johnny Carr) and Nate (Riley Nottingham) haven’t spoken in years, but come together when their mother unexpectedly dies.

Despite being unwilling to talk about the rift between them, they feel compelled to honour their mother’s final wish that her ashes be scattered at the family’s property.

So begins a road-trip movie complete with an impractical vehicle (a hearse), encounters with tiny-town locals, and the gradual breaking down of walls.

What might otherwise have been a middling, daytime television movie is elevated by the two lead players, bringing first time director Henry Boffin’s vision to compelling life.

Another film appealing to the notion that it’s never too late to restore a broken family is Goodrich.

Michael Keaton, returning to his comedic roots, stars as an art dealer who is suddenly forced to learn to be a real father to his young children when his much younger wife leaves him.

Initially feeling completely out of his depth dealing with kids, and struggling to stay on top of his own career challenges, he reaches out to his grown daughter, played by Mila Kunis, for help.

The film is predictable, but is pulled off in a satisfying way by the cast and director Hallie Myers-Shyer.

No Other Land will be in select cinemas from this week for a time and this is a documentary that I encourage people to track down and sit through.

An incredible production from a Palestinian-Israeli collective working together to shed real light on the violence and displacement of the West Bank’s Masafer Yatta.

Basel Adra is a Palestinian lawyer living under the occupation of Israeli forces, dealing with limited freedoms, constant harassment and the gradual and inexorable push further and further from his home.

Yuval Abraham is an Israeli journalist whose civilian life is far more comfortable, but whose conscience has moved him to work with Adra in documenting the reality of the oppression of his Palestinian neighbours.

Wrapping things up on a lighter note is Vietnamese comedy The Trophy Bride.

This surprising entry from director Ngoc Dang Vu is a mis-fit caper in which a poor, dysfunctional family attempts to pass off their daughter as a wealthy heiress in order to secure an arranged marriage with an upper-class family.

Vietnamese Hijinks ensue.

By Lindsay HALL