David R. Walker

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Ali and Ava

Director: Clio Barnard

Cast: Claire Rushbrook, Adeel Akhtar, Shaun Thomas, Ellora Torchia

Film Rating: 6 out of 10

Running time: 1 hour 35 minutes

This film has no subtitles

The British entry for the European Film Festival is director Clio Barnard’s intimate film Ali and Ava set in an unnamed dreary Yorkshire city. Claire Rushbrook (Secrets and Lies) stars an Irish emigrant and Grandmother Ava who inadvertently falls in love with Ali, a Pakistani emigrant played by Adeel Akhtar (Victoria and Abdul, The Big Sick).

Ava is living with her youngest son Callum and his girlfriend and baby. Callum is played by rising British star Shaun Thomas, who is angry when his mother Ava brings home Ali for the first time. Both Ali and Ava come from almost closed separate communities. Ava from a white, working class Irish catholic neighbourhood and Ali from an emigrant Muslim neighbourhood. Ali is recently separated from his wife Runa played by Ellora Torchia.

Ava, on the other hand, is recently widowed from Callum’s father who she later confesses was an abusive alcoholic that used to beat her up.

Despite coming from different cultural backgrounds Ali and Ava find a tentative connection through Ali’s tenant’s daughter who Ava teaches, a young Slovakian girl with behaviour problems.

Ali was a DJ before getting married and his love of music is what makes the mutual connection with Ava although her hesitancy at getting involved is not unfounded after her son Callum finds out that she is dating someone from outside the community.

Writer and director Clio Barnard skirts over so many issues in this film and never really finds the right tone for such an intimate love story, often resorting to music as a method for replacing dialogue.

Although both Claire Rushbrook and Adeel Akhtar act really well, although there is not much to work with beyond the usual cross-cultural love story within the same town in contemporary Britain.

Issues such as abuse, domestic violence and cultural exclusion are never properly addressed and only really pinpointed in the last 40 minutes of the film. The first half of the film meanders with too much music and not enough storyline or character development.

Ali and Ava is a slightly disappointing film which could have been so much better, considering that the British are normally renowned for making really brilliant films.

Ali and Ava gets a film rating of 6 out of 10 and will have a limited appeal but does address cross cultural love and unlikely couples finding true happiness. This film will find a limited audience.

Where the Crawdads Sing

Director: Olivia Newman

Cast: Daisy Edgar-Jones, Harris Dickinson, Taylor John Smith, David Strathairn, Logan Macrae, Garrett Dillahunt, Jojo Regina

Film Rating: 8 out of 10

Running Time: 2 hours and 5 minutes

Based upon the bestselling 2018 novel by Delia Owens, the film adaptation of Where the Crawdads Sing is a handsome and beautiful production using nature as its yardstick, with slick direction by Olivia Newman and a sparkling musical score by Mychael Danna. At the centre of Where The Crawdads Sing is the mystery of the murder of Chase Andrews, a wealthy young man from North Carolina who gets involved in the beautiful yet illusive Marsh Girl, Kya Clark wonderfully played by British star Daisy Edgar-Jones.

Chase Andrews is found dead in the Carolina Marsh and Kya Clark is the only suspect. But who is the Marsh Girl?

Kya Clark was abandoned by her siblings and mother at a young age in the marshes where she lived with her abusive father Pa played by Garrett Dillahunt and then soon her father abandons her leaving Kya alone to fend for herself. Having grown up in the marshes and being intimately attuned to nature, Kya develops a talent for naturalist drawings of all the creatures in the marshes and she also develops a crush on the nearest neighbour Tate Walker played by Taylor John Smith who treats Kya with respect and compassion even though he is unsure how to date her initially.

After Tate Walker fails to keep a promise on Independence Day, Kya drifts into the nasty and privileged world of the brutal but dashing Chase Andrews expertly played by Harris Dickinson (The King’s Man, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil).

While trying to pursue a career as a nature illustrator to fund her purchase of the land and house that she is living in, Kya gets embroiled in an affair with Chase Andrews who proves not to be the man of her dreams, despite his charm and confidence.

After Chase’s body is found, Kya is arrested and luckily legal aid comes to assist her in the form of a benevolent lawyer Tom Milton played by Oscar nominee David Strathairn (Good Night and Good Luck).

Set in the 1960’s in North Carolina, Where the Crawdads Sing is an engaging story about a mysterious marsh girl, her hidden talents and her ability to fend for herself when local gossip is used as a weapon of exclusion because she is different, and not socialized into the urban community.

Covering themes of illiteracy, exclusion, abuse and hidden talents, Where the Crawdads Sing is a fascinating story about a mysterious girl who rises above all the ridicule to survive in a hostile world. Her only safe place is the Carolina Marshes where secrets and betrayals are buried.

Beautifully directed by Olivia Newman, Where the Crawdads Sing is highly recommended viewing especially for those that have read the book and gets a film rating of 8 out of 10.

Silent Land

Director: Aga Woszczynska

Cast: Dobromir Dymecki, Agnieszka Zuleska, Jean-Marc Barr, Alma Jodborowsky, Marcello Romolo, Elvis Esposito

Film Rating: 6.5 out of 10

Running Time: 1 hour 53 minutes

Language: Polish and Italian with English Subtitles

Having premiered at the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival, first time Polish director Aga Woszczynska creates an angst filled character study about a seemingly perfect polish couple who rent a villa on a nameless Italian island complete with a swimming pool and beautiful views of the Mediterranean.

The couple in question are the beautiful Adam and his equally gorgeous wife Anna played respectively by Polish actors Dobromir Dymecki and Agnieszka Zuleska, a blond haired blue eyed couple whose beautiful vacation in Italy takes an unexpectedly weird turn, when the pool boy who comes to fix the villa’s broken swimming pool mysteriously drowns in the pool.

The pool boy’s untimely death sparks a communal interest from the swarthy locals especially the villa’s owner Fabio wonderfully played by Marcello Romolo and the kind police officer, the dashing Riccardo played with zest by Romanian Italian actor Elvis Esposito who appeared in the excellent  Italian series My Brilliant Friend.

As the investigation into the mysterious death continues, the brittle relationship between Adam and Anna begins to unravel. They make friends with a couple that run a diving school Arnaud and Claire, played by French actor Jean-Marc Barr who become famous with the spectacular 1988 film The Big Blue and went on to play Jack Kerouac in Big Sur. His wife Claire is played by French actress Alma Jodborowsky who was last seen in the Netflix series The Serpent opposite Tahar Rahim and Jenna Colman.

Director Aga Woszczynska’s slightly slow moving film Silent Land is similar to Maggie Gyllenhaal’s Oscar nominated film The Lost Daughter although not nearly as good. In both films, characters are placed in foreign lands and begin to unravel emotionally when something menacing occurs.

In Silent Land, it is really the disintegration of Adam and Anna’s relationship that transpires amidst the lustful and hot landscape of Mediterranean Italy, as their Polish sensibilities break down in a foreign environment and their inner selves are revealed.

Silent Land is a fascinating character study and a revealing mystery tale, although the film’s editing could have been more effective.

Despite its drawn out length, this Polish film ironically set in Italy is revealing and fascinating particularly the two main stars that hold the suspense together. Silent Land gets a film rating of 6.5 out of 10 and is recommended viewing as an art house film.

Ticket to Paradise

Director: Ol Parker

Cast: George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Kaitlyn Dever, Maxime Bouttier, Romy Poulier, Lucas Bravo, Billie Lourd

Film Rating: 7 out of 10

UIP Film Preview Release as seen at Suncoast Cinemas

Running Time: 1 hour 44 minutes

Oscar winners George Clooney (Syriana) and Julia Roberts (Erin Brockovich) unite for a romantic comedy Ticket to Paradise directed by Ol Parker (Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again) who play a high powered divorced couple David and Georgina Cotton who against their will have travel to Bali when their only daughter Lily falls in love with a handsome local boy Gede played by French Indonesian actor Maxime Bouttier. Carrie Fisher’s daughter Billie Lourd plays Lily’s hapless friend Wren Butler.

The laughs start on the plane ride to Bali when David discovers that his ex-wife is having an affair with the gorgeous but dorky airline pilot Captain Paul played by Emily in Paris star Lucas Bravo. As the divorced couple get to Bali and meet Lily and Gede, they hatch a rather selfish plan to prevent the wedding at all costs, fearing that they will lose the only connection they have to each other: their beautiful headstrong daughter.

Lily is wonderfully played by Booksmart star Kaitlyn Dever who holds her own in the scenes with these two veteran film stars as onscreen parents as she tries to navigate around her parents complicated marital history.

While many of the Balinese customs are subtly introduced into the film, director Ol Parker makes full use of the exotic and vibrant location of Bali, Indonesia. Ticket to Paradise really focuses on the complex relationship between the parents, both superbly played by George Clooney and Julia Roberts who are no strangers to romantic comedy. In fact Julia Roberts become famous with the biggest romantic comedy of all time Pretty Woman back in 1990.

Sexy silver fox star of TV and film, George Clooney who really makes this film is also no stranger to romantic comedies having appeared in Intolerable Cruelty opposite Catherine Zeta-Jones in 2003 and in One Fine Day opposite Michelle Pfeiffer in 1996. George Clooney is particular good as the over-protective but goofy father in Ticket to Paradise.

Ticket to Paradise is a witty, vibrant and exotic romantic comedy set in Bali about finding first love and old love rekindled, a light-hearted story which should not be taken too seriously with all four stars acting on point while Lucas Bravo provides the laughs as the really out of sync but dashing airline pilot who seems to always turn up in that awkward moment at a Balinese villa.

There are lots of bitter innuendo’s, emotional heartbreak and eventual family bonding, but if audiences feel like a light and colourful film, then book your Ticket to Paradise now – you won’t be disappointed.

Ticket to Paradise gets a film rating of 7 out of 10 and is worth seeing. Recommended viewing.

I’m Your Man

Director: Maria Schrader

Cast: Maren Eggert, Dan Stevens, Sandra Huller, Hans Low, Jurgen Tarrach

Film Rating: 7 out of 10

Running Time: 1 hour and 48 minutes

Language: German with English Subtitles

This film is being screened as part of the European Film Festival from 13th to the 23rd October 2022.

German actress Maren Eggert won Best Leading Performance at the 2021 Berlin International Film Festival for her central role as Alma an anthropologist who indulges in a scientific experiment of taking on a humanoid or robotic man as her partner in director Maria Schrader’s fascinating comedy drama I’m Your Man starring the delectable British actor Dan Stevens (Beauty and the Beast, Blithe Spirit, The Man who invented Christmas) as the gorgeous looking rather robotic Tom, complete with startling blue eyes and a good physique.

In a rather strange opening sequence in which Alma is first introduced to Tom at a bizarre social event complete with jazzy music, martini’s, holograms and humanoids, she is not completely taken with the idea of spending time with a robot who is not essentially a pulsating, lustful man, complete with conflicting emotions like aggression, compassion and righteousness.

Director Maria Shrader’s fascinating narrative about the complex relationships between humans and artificial intelligence is intelligently explored in I’m Your Man as Alma eventually agrees to take the beautiful Tom home with her but she has limits about her companionship with this humanoid, not allowing him to share a bed and limiting his capacity for neatness, an algorithm in which he is programmed to provide happiness for the associated human.

When a long awaited Anthropological research paper about love and metaphors in ancient civilizations surrounding Persia is debunked by another author, Alma’s career stumbles and she decides to take Tom out of the city to meet her demented father and sister in the country. There is a stunning scene whereby Tom is wondering around the deer in the park, who are oblivious to any threat as he has no human odour as he is a robot.

On the sexual front, things are far more complex, as Alma discovers that while Tom is programmed to stimulate her, he cannot actually impregnate her. Alma’s initial revulsion to Tom is overcome when loneliness is replaced with curiosity and she does share a bed with Tom. Dan Stevens’s performance as the expressionless Tom is brilliant, creepy and pitch perfect, like the cipher of a man without any of the complexity or emotional nuance.

While Alma decides from an anthropological point of view that it is extremely unwise for humans to become attached to robotic companions, she herself falls into the same trap when she travels to Denmark to reignite a forgotten childhood memory. Director Maria Shrader’s I’m Your Man is a thought-provoking tale about companionship, love and the ethical complications of humans attaching themselves to artificial intelligence.

I’m Your Man gets a film rating of 7 out of 10 and is held together by two brilliant performances from Maren Eggert and Dan Stevens. Recommended viewing.  

Beast

Director: Baltasar Kormakur

Cast: Idris Elba, Sharlto Copley, Leah Jeffries, Iyana Halley, Martin Munro

Film Rating: 6.5 out of 10

Running Time: 1 hour 33 minutes

Icelandic director Baltasar Kormakur brings Beast to the big screen starring Idris Elba (Molly’s Game, The Mountain Between Us) as an American doctor Dr Nate Samuels who takes his daughters to their late mother’s homeland in South Africa and fits in a safari adventure that turns into a nightmare.

Beast is shot entirely in South Africa near the borders of Zimbabwe and Namibia, Beast tracks the survival story of Dr Samuels and his two daughters as they team up with a South African game ranger and anti-poacher played thankfully by South African actor Sharlto Copley who made his breakthrough in Neil Blomkamp’s sci fi Johannesburg epic District 9 and went on to star in such Hollywood films as Gringo and Maleficent.

When a gang of vicious poachers kill a pride of lions but leave the male lion free, the ferocious male lion takes revenge on everyone in his territory including a Venda village and some of the poachers. When Dr Samuels and his South African friend Martin unknowingly step into the rogue lion territory all hell breaks loose and he has to fight this monstrous beast in the rough terrain of the South African veld while protecting his two daughters Norah and Meredith Samuels played respectively by Leah Jeffries and Iyana Halley.

As the rogue lion persistently threatens Dr Samuels and family, poachers are killed as well as innocent villagers however Beast does feel one dimensional with no counterpoint to the bush fight to balance the film out.

Using some ethnic dream sequences, Dr Samuels reminisces about his late South African born wife, however these vivid flashbacks are not sufficient to create a credible backstory for his character.

As a story about anti-poaching and conservation, Beast works efficiently, like nature fighting back at the evils of mankind although ultimately the rogue lion steps into another pride’s territory and soon has to deal with the laws of the jungle. Unfortunately the script writer could have fleshed out the story’s premise more accurately to allow some credible background to the central character. Fortunately Idris Elba is a good enough actor to make the audiences believe in his instinctive fight for survival, which is both exciting and scary.

It is comforting to watch a film being made in South Africa which focuses on the issues of wildlife poaching and the importance of conservation while making Beast a thrilling, edge of your seat ride about man versus beast, with the former trying to outwit the latter in some horrific scenes ending in a savage showdown.

Beast is an enjoyable survival film with a distinctly African feel and gets a film rating of 6.5 out of 10. It’s a refreshing take on the man versus nature scenario in line with films like Jaws and to a lesser extent Anaconda.

Eiffel

Director: Martin Bourboulon

Cast: Romain Duris, Emma Mackey, Pierre Deladonchamps, Armande Boulanger, Bruno Raffaelli

Film Rating: 8 out of 10

Running Time: 1 hour 48 minutes

This film is in French with English Subtitles

French director Martin Bourboulon’s meticulous reconstruction of the events both historical and romantic leading up to the design and construction of the infamous Paris landmark the Eiffel tower is beautifully told in a new film Eiffel which had it’s South African premiere at the Durban International Film Festival in July 2022 before going on general release in cinemas. With financial backing from Loreal Paris and BNP Paribas, Eiffel is a truly sumptuous French film.

Eiffel is like watching a Merchant Ivory film in French and stars Romain Duris (All the Money in the World) as Gustave Eiffel who inadvertently reconnects with his lover from 20 years ago, the gorgeous Adrienne Bourges played by Anglo-French actress Emma Mackey who last appeared in Death on the Nile.

The only problem is that in 1886, three years before the Paris World Fair in March 1889, when the idea for the Eiffel tower is first proposed, Adrienne is unhappily married to Antoine de Rustac played by Pierre Deladonchamps.

Based upon an original screenplay by Caroline Bongrand, the plot of Eiffel skilfully weaves between two time periods, the Paris of 1886 and Bordeaux of 1860 when Gustave Eiffel having successfully designed and been an engineer on a new bridge first meets Adrienne Bourges, a young girl from an upper middle class family. Their love in 1860 is lustful yet forbidden. At the time, they didn’t realize that fate would bring them together again.

In 1886, after some initial opposition to the building of the Eiffel Tower, Gustave and his team win the bid to build the tower for the 1889 Paris World Fair, not realizing that once it is constructed, it will become a symbol of eternity for Paris and an iconic Parisian landmark.

Nowadays everybody associates The Eiffel Tower with Paris, but it is fascinating to watch a historical film like Eiffel as it provides all the backstory about the man behind the design and the woman that inspired such a momentous effort and fuelled his determination to complete the Tower in time for the World Fair.

The Eiffel Tower officially opened in March 1889 and was naturally a huge success for Parisians. With gorgeous costume design by Thiere Delettre and accompanied by a signature original score by Oscar winning composer Alexandre Desplat (The Grand Budapest Hotel, The Shape of Water) Eiffel is a sumptuous period film set in the 1880’s about forbidden love and a quest to build something symbolic which became eternally associated with the city of Paris.

Eiffel is worth watching particularly for the superb onscreen chemistry between Emma Mackey and Romain Duris. With all the history, symbolism and romance, Eiffel is a fascinating historical film and gets a film rating of 8 out of 10. Beautiful and entrancing.

Bullet Train

Director: David Leitch

Cast: Brad Pitt, Joey King, Sandra Bullock, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Brian Tyree Henry, Andrew Koji, Hiroyuki Sanada, Michael Shannon, Logan Lerman, Bad Bunny

Film Rating: 7.5 out of 10

Running Time: 2 hours and 6 minutes

Based upon the novel by Kotaro Isaka, Dead Pool 2 director David Leitch stitches together a complex crime film in Bullet Train featuring a lot of dialogue and some bizarre action sequences, referencing Pulp Fiction but set on a high speed train from Tokyo to Kyoto involving a group of very weird assassins including the twins Lemon and Tangerine wonderfully played by Brian Tyree Henry and Golden Globe winner Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Nocturnal Animals), the Hornet played by Zazie Beetz (Joker) and the main star Ladybug played with charisma by Oscar winner Brad Pitt (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood).

Bullet Train involves a sinister crime boss named White Death, a Russian emigrant who infiltrates the Yakuza or Japanese organized crime and the length he goes to to draw out his arch rival The Elder, played with panache by Hiroyuki Sanada (Mortal Kombat, Mr Holmes, The White Countess) and the Elder’s son Kimura played by Andrew Koji.

As the Bullet Train speeds from the Japanese capital of Tokyo to the artistic capital Kyoto, a menagerie of assassins appear on board including Lemon and Tangerine, The Prince played by Joey King and Ladybug whose simple task it is to steal a briefcase filled with cash and alight at the next station. Literally everything goes wrong, from bad guys drinking sleeping tablets to an escaped boomslang slithering through the high tech train.

Using multiple flashbacks to such places as Mexico and Johannesburg to establish backstory, the assassins square off against each other, as one by one they get eliminated or so we think, as they speed ever faster with deadly efficiency to the showdown in Kyoto whereby The Elder is going to meet The White Death.

Fortunately Brad Pitt’s charm carries Bullet Train to its thrilling conclusion amidst lots of witty dialogue, the occasional samurai sword, many guns and an errant poisonous snake. Amidst all the nuanced innuendo’s and gory action, there is a complicated plot which unravels itself like a boa constrictor killing everything in its path.

With flashes of anime, traditional Japanese imagery and sparkling with originality, Bullet Train is a fascinatingly bizarre film with sufficient action and fight sequences to keep audiences glued to the screen. Of particular note is the brilliantly choreographed fight sequence between Tangerine and Ladybug played by Aaron Taylor Johnson and Brad Pitt.

If audiences are looking for a weirdly entertaining film filled with cameo appearances, gory action and an exotic location, then buy a ticket for Bullet Train and make sure not to disembark before the showdown in Kyoto. It’s a riveting ride.

Bullet Train gets a film rating of 7.5 out of 10 and will find an audience that enjoys quirky action with strangers fighting each other on a high speed locomotive.

1960

Directors: King Shaft and Michael Motumbo

Cast: Zanile Madiwa, Sanda Shandu, Ivy Nkutha, Clyde Berning, Chris Gxalabla

Running Time: 1 hour and 37 minutes

Film Rating: 6.5 out of 10

1960 was the opening film of the 43^rd Durban International Film Festival https://www.durbanfilmfest.com/ held in July 2022 and is directed by King Shaft and Michael Motumbo. Set in Sophiatown in 1960 around the events of the Sharpeville Massacre of the 21^st March 1960, this musical drama focuses on the life of the young singer Lindi played by Zanile Madiwa as she escapes the shackles of her destiny in a grim apartheid South Africa and eventually escapes to go and live in Germany and then returns years later in a post-apartheid country to reconcile her past.

1960 takes place in two eras in the obvious 1960 and in 2019, when the remains of a white police officer are discovered in Johannesburg, Constable Kobus Bernard played by Clyde Berning.

The best part about 1960 is the music although the scenes set in Sophiatown in a local tavern do come across as a play rather than a film due to the excessive theatricality of the acting, however the singing is what shines through.

The characterization and dialogue is very mixed and apart from some cringe worthy scenes featuring two caricatured white madams, most of 1960 is interesting if slightly didactic as if trying to explain the events surrounding the Sharpeville massacre and the Sophiatown music scenes to a contemporary South African audience that is unfamiliar with the history.

Sanda Shandu takes on the exuberant role of Lindi’s shy love interest whose fateful meeting will forever be etched into the older Lindi’s memory as she recounts the era to a young policeman in 2019 Johannesburg. The older Lindi is played by Ivy Nkutha as she tells the young policeman never to forget what happened during apartheid.

Unfortunately 1960 will have very limited appeal beyond the borders of South Africa as the historical aspect of the film might not be as well-known internationally but as for the co-directors and writer, their aim with this film is to create more awareness about the complex issues during the Apartheid years including exile, betrayal, protest, racial segregation and fame in another country.

Co-writer Bruce Retief does a good job of tying up all the loose ends of the narrative and the true mystery surrounding the death of Constable Kobus Bernard is revealed as the older Lindi reconciles the secrets surrounding what made her famous as she pursued a musical career abroad.

While the music makes up for the lack of characterization and subtext, 1960 is an interesting film but not as brilliant as director Angus Gibson’s Back of the Moon which premiered at DIFF in 2019 and won the Best South African Feature Film that year.

Streaming audiences can catch 1960 which is available via virtual screening on the Durban International Film Festival official website https://www.durbanfilmfest.com/ until 30 July 2022 when this festival ends. Catch 1960 now and support South African cinema.

Thor: Love and Thunder

Director: Taika Waititi

Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Christian Bale, Tessa Thompson, Taika Waititi, Russell Crowe, Chris Pratt, Jaimie Alexander, Dave Bautista, Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel, Karen Gillen, Pom Klementieff, Sean Gunn

Running Time: 1 hour and 58 minutes

Film Rating: 7 out of 10

New Zealand director Taika Waititi follows up his success of Thor: Ragnarok in 2017 with a sequel entitled Thor: Love and Thunder featuring Chris Hemsworth reprise his role as Thor and Oscar winner Natalie Portman (Black Swan) reprise her role as Jane Foster with the villain being an evil God killer Gorr played by Oscar winner Christian Bale (The Fighter). This time Thor has some initial assistance from The Guardians of the Galaxy crowd led by Peter Quill played again by Chris Pratt.

However, when the evil Gorr steals all the innocent children from New Asgard, Thor calls on the assistance of King Valkyrie played by Tessa Thompson and Dr Jane Foster who suddenly appears in New Asgard to soak up some Viking Space Magic as she calls it.

The trio travel to the omniscient city to steal the lightning bolt from Zeus, played with a bizarre panache by Oscar winner Russell Crowe (Gladiator). The scene whereby Thor faces Zeus is literally stripped of all significance as Thor lands up butt naked much to the pleasure of Jane and Valkyrie while Zeus’s muses all faint simultaneously in the background.

Basically the storyline of Thor: Love and Thunder is utterly bizarre co-written by Taika Waititi and Jennifer Kayten Robinson making Chris Hemsworth struggle through the film in terms of acting while thankfully Natalie Portman and Christian Bale are strong enough actors to highlight the significance of loss, revenge and love lost, as their character’s arc is more prominent and filled with depth and motivation.

There are some uniquely funny moments in Thor: Love and Thunder and while the first half of the film battles to find its tone, it’s really in the second half and particularly the ending that the narrative settles down to a rather interesting compromise concerning the evil Gorr superbly played by Christian Bale and the ravishing Natalie Portman as The Mighty Thor aka Jane Grey who adds a strong feminine quality to an essentially male centric film.

While not as good as Venom: Let There be Carnage or The Batman, Thor: Love and Thunder is wacky entertainment, psychedelic and fascinating but equally bizarre which is what you would expect from the director Taika Waititi who achieved international fame with his Oscar winning skit on Nazism in 2019’s JoJo Rabbit.

Audiences should look out for an uncredited cameo by Matt Damon as one of the mock Viking players in New Asgard. Thor: Love and Thunder gets a film rating of 7 out of 10 and is strictly for fans of the original three films. Viewers can catch some Viking Space Magic in Cinemas now.