David R. Walker

Archive for August, 2026

Spiderman: Brand New Day

Director: Destin Daniel Cretton

Cast: Tom Holland, Zendaya, Sadie Sink, Jon Bernthal, Mark Ruffalo, Jacob Batalan, Florence Pugh, Lisa Colon-Zayas, Tramell Tillman, Marisa Tomei

Running Time: 2 hours and 25 minutes

Film Rating:  8 out of 10

Tom Holland, the 30 year old star of the Spiderman franchise has come a long way from his first Spiderman film which was released back in 2017, when he was just 21 years old. From Spiderman: Homecoming to Spiderman: Brand New Day, Holland has embraced the role of the legendary New York web slinger as he grew from a high school kid that discovered superhero powers to his latest film as a late twenties young man who is finding his new powers both a burden and a blessing.

Five years after Spiderman: No Way Home, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings director Destin Daniel Cretton injects some oriental charm into Spiderman: Brand New Day in the form of red clad ninjas. When the trailer for this film was released, I knew it would do well at the box office.

After all who doesn’t love Spiderman fighting ninjas?

The cinema houses will be packed. Indeed they are. This film is showing in multiple cinemas at every cinema house across the planet.

Along with an extremely buff and competent Tom Holland as Spiderman, Zendaya reprises her role as the elegant MJ along with Oscar nominee Mark Ruffalo (Foxcatcher, Poor Things) as Bruce Banner aka The Hulk and Jacob Batalan as Ned Leeds.

In the first three films there was always a clear villain. In Spiderman: Brand New Day, the villain is an elusive shape shifter that can enter people’s bodies and move onto the next one, which in a city like New York that becomes extremely handy.

Enter the fabulous Sadie Sink (The Whale) as the vengeful Jean Grey as she tries to penetrate the ironically named department of damage control led by Bill Metzer played by Tramell Tillman.

Before Spiderman can meet his younger, fierce and feisty villain, he must battle The Hulk and flying red ninja’s in some epic and beautifully shot fight sequences whose impressive visual effects should be rewarded.

Naturally the chemistry between Zendaya and Tom Holland is undeniable but it is really Holland’s growth into the role of Spiderman that is most exhilarating and is the reason this film is so spectacular. A notable scene between Spiderman and Yelena Belova from Black Widow fame is clever and quite sexy as they meet in a steam bath. Oscar nominee Florence Pugh (Little Women) reprises her role as Yelena Belova as she helps Spiderman figure out what Jean Grey wants.

Coupled with the buddy scenes between Tom Holland and Jon Bernthal, Spiderman: Brand New Day works on multiple levels as a fantastic superhero film with high production values in the capable hands of the Hawaiian director that knew exactly what would make this film so successful.

Set entirely in New York, Spiderman: Brand New Day is a celebration of one of the most iconic superhero’s as he outgrows his teenage years and becomes a capable and brave man, trying to win back the girl he loves while dealing with the loss of his beloved aunt May played in flashback scenes by Oscar winner Marisa Tomei (My Cousin Vinny), while battling malevolent forces and looking after his own health.

Director Destin Daniel Cretton’s Spiderman: Brand New Day gets a film rating of 8 out of 10 and is darker in tone but is definitely worth seeing.

Highly recommended viewing for those that love the entertaining web slinging franchise.

My Friend

Director: Mohamed Zran

Cast: Fethi Akkari, Mamadou Diallo

Running Time: 85 minutes

Country of Origin: Tunisia

Festival: Durban International Film Festival

Language: Arabic and French with English Subtitles.

Film Rating: 7 out of 10

PLEASE NOTE THERE WAS LIMITED PUBLICITY AVAILABLE FOR THIS FILM: POSTERS & STOCK IMAGES.

Tunisian director Mohamed Zran’s 85 minute film My Friend closed the 47^th Durban International Film Festival https://ccadiff.ukzn.ac.za/ and follows the nocturnal and nefarious wonderings of a Senegalese immigrant to Tunisia Idrissa who decides to assist Hassan, a down and out old man who has been badly injured and is sleeping in the doorway of someone’s home in Tunis.

My Friend is shot entirely in one take with no editing, which makes the film engrossing but also difficult to watch as the audience follows the adventures and horrors of Idrissa as he valiantly attempts to get Hassan to a hospital in Tunis which is unfortunately on the outskirts of town perched on a hill.

As Idrissa and Hassan ward off racist attacks and attempted muggings by discontented youths in a nocturnal Tunis, My Friend follows the story of the two men as they attempt to get to safety. No good deed goes unpunished as Idrissa soon finds that he is robbed and his immigration papers which allow him to stay in Tunisia are stolen.

Tunisia is also a stopping off point for migrants to get from central Africa to Europe as it is a stone’s throw away from the flashy resorts of Italy and France in the Mediterranean.

Broke, injured and hungry, Idrissa and Hassan press on towards their destination, a hospital which should be a place for healing and medical assistance but turns out to hold a fate far worse for Idrissa.

My Friend is a fascinating and daunting exploration of an unlikely friendship at the tipping point of it collapsing as Hassan, a Tunisian citizen will find all the help he requires while Idrissa, a Senegalese outcast will be treated as a hostile pariah.

Director Mohamed Zran’s film My Friend is recommended as an arthouse film and unfortunately does lack commercial appeal but stands up as a scathing judgement of Tunisian society who views foreigners as non-citizens, a trend which seems to be replicated the world over.

Tackling issues of homelessness, poverty, immigration and the lack of human kindness, My Friend gets a film rating of 7 out of 10 and was a fitting film to end off the Durban International Film Festival. If viewers catch it on a streaming site or elsewhere be sure to watch it.

The Invite

Director: Olivia Wilde

Cast: Olivia Wilde, Seth Rogen, Penelope Cruz, Edward Norton

Running Time: 1 hour 47 minutes

Film Rating: 7.5 out of 10

Based on the 2020 Spanish film The People Upstairs or Sentimental, screenwriters Rashida Jones and Willl Cormack recreate this quartet drama in director Olivia Wilde’s new adult comedy The Invite starring Oscar winner Penelope Cruz (Vicky Cristina Barcelona), four time Oscar nominee (A Complete Unknown, Birdman, American History X and Primal Fear) Edward Norton along with comedy star Seth Rogen and Olivia Wilde who complete the cast.

Now it’s extremely difficult to make a film with just four actors and not use any of the usual mise-en-scene like glamourous locations or a fabulous apartment to add panache to the story.

Director Paul Feig did it correctly in the sumptuous but unhinged domestic thriller in the 2025 film The Housemaid incorporating an amazing house with sleek New York locations.

Don’t Worry Darling director Olivia Wilde battles to keep the momentum going in The Invite which focuses on uncommunicative husband and wife played by Seth Rogen and Angela.

Joe is the absent-minded grumpy husband with constant back pain, a comic foil to the practical yet anxiety ridden Angela both expertly played by these two actors. After a long day at a second rate music school in San Francisco, Joe comes home to their beautiful apartment to the news that Angela has invited their mysterious but kinky neighbours for dinner. An unexpected invite that Joe is not impressed with.

The neighbours Pina and Hawk are exotic and strange, both exceptionally well played by Penelope Cruz and Edward Norton. Cruz is especially brilliant at nonchalantly unravelling the multiple marital issues that Joe and Angela are desperately trying to mask.

As the two couples settle down for a competitive dinner made only more tolerable by multiple tequila shots and large amounts of weed, the conversation takes a weird turn. For Pina and Hawk are into some niche ways of spicing up their sex life.

As a film, The Invite is saved by excellent performances by Seth Rogen and Penelope Cruz however the dialogue is lacking in times and could have been polished with wit and sarcasm as opposed to those awkward pauses. The aesthetics of The Invite could have been improved considering that this film is not visually interesting except for the character interaction and the great plot twist.

The Invite will find a contemporary adult audience that enjoy more mature comedies which encapsulate all the current social anxieties that torment 21^st century couples.

The Invite gets a film rating of 7.5 out of 10 and is enjoyable but not perfect. Recommended viewing.