THE GEE-GEES and pussies are still the winners at the cinemas with Spielberg’s War Horse and Dreamworks’ Puss in Boots the big box office draws. Tom Cruise is still saving the world; the downstairs story of the hired help in the Deep South is back; Maggie lives again but the treat of the week is a Bill Forsyth revival.

Odeon, Dumfries Lonsdale, Annan

It is still no change at these screens where Steven Spielberg’s emotionally draining War Horse (12A) continues into week three. Unless you have been on another planet you will know that this is the film version of the Michael Morpurgo children’s book that became a phenomenally successful stage play.

It is a story of rural and global conflict based on the bond between a young Devonshire boy and the horse, Joey, that his stubborn, drink-fuelled father buys placing the family farm and their livelihood at risk. With the onset of World War I, the boy and his horse are parted to experience the horrors of war and the pain of loss.

This is storytelling on a grand scale and Steven Spielberg uses rural landscapes, vivid sunsets and the mud caked desolation of the trenches to heighten the emotional impact – but curiously no blood. Manipulative of course, but that is the power of cinema.

The ubiquitous Puss in Boots-3D (U) continues at the Odeon for the weekend early matinees and is terrific fun. Two great films that are pulling the crowds back into the cinemas.

Robert Burns Centre Film Theatre, Dumfries

The director/writer Bill Forsyth was once the white hope of the Scottish film industry with successes such as Gregory’s Girl, Local Hero and Comfort and Joy. But he has been in self- imposed retirement for 12 years after his foray into Hollywood resulted in a spectacular flop with Being Human.

Tonight his 1987 film Housekeeping (PG) is revived for a rare cinema screening. This is based on the book by Marilynne Robinson that tells of the relationship between two sisters growing up in the protective environment of a small country town in Washington State just after World War II.

The sisters, Ruth and Lucille, go to live with their loopy aunt Sylvie following the death of their grandmother. Sylvie, splendidly played by Christine Lahti, has led a vagabond lifestyle and, when Lucille moves away, Ruth and Sylvie go on the road for adventures until authority forces Sylvie to clean up her act.

It is typically quirky in the Forsyth way but completely endearing and exhilarating. A film of considerable charm that makes you wish Forsyth would get back behind the cameras.

His popular Local Hero (PG) will be screened next Friday.

Tomorrow, Ae Fond Kiss (15) is Ken Loach’s update on Romeo and Juliette set in Glasgow. The lovers are Scots/Pakistani DJ, Casim and Irish Catholic music teacher, Roisin.

Their growing love affair compromise his parents’ plans for an arranged marriage and leads to conflict. The question is whether they can survive being ostracised by both communities. A beautifully observed film very well played by a largely non- professional cast.

On Monday and Tuesday (matinee) the antics of Dreamworks’ Puss in Boots (U) is light relief from the heavier stuff and on Tuesday (evening) and Thursday, Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol (12A) finds Tom Cruise defying the years in an all action adventure in which director Brad Bird (The Incredibles) blows up the Kremlin. Did they ask Mr Putin for permission?

Back again by popular demand is The Help (12A), the story of black domestic help in the southern States of America and what they really think about their employers. It is told with wit and compassion. Screenings are on Wednesday evening and Thursday morning.

The new programme has just been published and of course you will find War Horse, The Iron Lady, The Artist and The Lady as tempting prospects in a three-month package of the best in cinema presented with the latest state of the art digital projection.

Lonsdale, Annan

Meryl Streep’s definitive performance as Margaret Thatcher continues in The Iron Lady (12A) and The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (18) arrives here too in the excellent English language re-make with Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara as the investigating team probing the murky depths of a Swedish industrial family.

For a family treat try A Monster in Paris (U), a French animated feature about a monstrous beast that terrorises Paris in 1910 but turns out to be an oversized singing flea.