Thor: Ragnarok (2017)
Genre: Action
Director: Taika Waititi
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Cate Blanchett, Idris Elba, Tessa Thompson, Karl Urban, Mark Ruffalo, Anthony Hopkins, Benedict Cumberbatch
Duration: 130 minutes
Class: 12A
KRS Releasing Ltd
Following the success of the superhero film Thor (2011) and Thor: The Dark World, comes the second sequel based on the Marvel Comics character.
In this one, the mighty Thor finds himself in a deadly gladiatorial contest while imprisoned on the other side of the universe. He is pitted against the Hulk, his former ally and fellow Avenger. Thor’s quest for survival leads him in a race against time to prevent the all-powerful Hela from destroying his home world and the Asgardian civilisation.
Among the A-list cast, Chris Hemsworth returns to his role of Thor, the lone gunslinger and crown prince of Asgard, and Tom Hiddleston resumes the role of Loki, Thor’s adoptive brother and nemesis. Cate Blanchett is Hela, Thor’s sister and the goddess of death, while Mark Ruffalo takes on the role of Bruce Banner, aka The Hulk.
The film, directed by Taika Waititi (What We Do in the Shadows, Green Lantern) received rave reviews. James Dyer of Empire magazine described the film as “the boldest, most outrageously fun film Marvel has yet produced”.
Michael Ordona of Common Sense Media agrees. He wrote: “The Marvel Cinematic Universe’s most audacious entry so far, Thor’s third stand-alone movie goes there with wild, bold choices – and it succeeds, epically, on many levels.”
The critics’ review on Rotten Tomatoes, which gave the film a 98 per cent score, is no less adulatory. It reads: “Exciting, funny and above all, fun, Thor: Ragnarok is a colourful cosmic adventure that sets a new standard for its franchise – and the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.”
The film is opening in most of Europe this week and in the US on November 3.
Ratings
IMDB: 7.5/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 98%
Empire: 4 stars
The Death of Stalin (2017)
Genre: Biopic
Director: Armando Iannucci
Starring: Jason Isaacs, Andrea Riseborough, Olga Kurylenko, Steve Buscemi, Ruperd Friend, Jeffrey Tambor, Michael Palin
Duration: 106 minutes
Class: 15
KRS Releasing Ltd
All hell breaks loose after the death of Soviet dictator Stalin in Armando Iannucci’s political satire.This Anglo-French film is based on the graphic novel of the same name translated from the French original La Mort de Staline.
Directed by Scottish film-maker Armando Iannucci, known for political satires such as The Thick of It, In the Loop and Veep, the film finds the Soviet dictator in his last days after suffering a heart attack and follows the chaos that erupts after his death. Several politicians desperately attempt to solve the question – by scheming, plotting and conspiring – of who is to assume leadership of the Soviet Union.
The cast includes Adrian Mcloughlin as Joseph Stalin; Rupert Friend as his son Vasily Stalin; Olga Kurylenko as pianist Maria Yudina; Michael Palin as politician and diplomat Vyacheslav Molotov, who was a protégé of Stalin; Jeffrey Tambor as Georgy Malenkov, a Soviet politician who succeeded Stalin until 1955; and Steve Buscemi as the politician Nikita Khrushchev, who led the Soviet Union during part of the Cold War as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and as chairman of the Council of Ministers, or premier.
The film, which opened this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, won over most critics.
Nick de Semlyen of Empire magazine wrote: “Iannucci’s brand of political satire is applied to one of the darkest chapters in modern history, with sensational results.”
Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian said the film is “superbly cast and acted with icy and ruthless force”. He also commented: “Stylishly plugging into the classic Soviet-era mode of subversive satire, and melding it with his own, Iannucci has returned to his great thematic troika of power, incompetence and bad faith.”
Simran Hans of The Observer, however, was not sure about the director’s work. He wrote: “The tone ends up being oddly serious, the comedy bleak rather than black, and the final product is somehow both more sombre and less caustic than Iannucci’s sharpest, silliest work.”
Ratings
IMDB: N/A
Rotten Tomatoes: 96%
Empire: 5 stars
My Little Pony: The Movie (2017)
Genre: Animation
Director: Jayson Thiessen
Voices of: Emily Blunt, Kristin Chenoweth, Liev Schreiber, Uzo Aduba, Ashleigh Ball, Taye Diggs, Brian Dobson
Duration: 99 minutes
Class: U
KRS Releasing Ltd
Cute ponies come to the rescue in My Little Pony: The Movie.The musical animated film is based on the popular children’s TV series My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, which relaunched the franchise by Hasbro.
The plot is a straightforward one as the four-legged flying heroes Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and Rarity embark on an unforgettable journey beyond Equestria where they meet new friends and exciting challenges on a quest to use the magic of friendship to save their home.
The film imparts some positive messages. Amy Nicholson of Variety called it a “toy-hawking extension of the hit TV cartoon that has a smallscreen look and a big, glittery emphasis on empathy.”
This big-screen adaptation will probably please young fans as the critics’ consensus on Rotten Tomatoes puts it:
“Charming and sweet, My Little Pony: The Movie will please its dedicated fanbase, even if it’s unlikely to encourage non-devotees to gallop along for the ride.”
Ratings
IMDB: 6.4/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 44%
Empire: N/A