Thor: Ragnarok (12A)
Four stars
Dir: Taika Waititi
With: Chris Hemsworth, Cate Blanchett
Runtime: 130 minutes
THOR, the big charming lug of the Marvel universe, gets a suitably rollicking run out in Taika Waititi’s action-packed, laughs-laden adventure. When we catch up with our hero (Chris Hemsworth) he is in another tight spot, but such perils are nothing compared to what is waiting for him at home on Asgard where it is not Loki (Tom Hiddleston) proving a pain but sister Hela (Cate Blanchett). Waititi is best known for the weirdly funny Flight of the Conchords, and he brings that same sense of epic silliness to a film that knows how to celebrate its comic book heroes while affectionately poking fun at them. Between Jeff Goldblum’s demonic impresario, Mark Ruffalo’s anxious Hulk and Waititi’s soldier of misfortune it’s a photo finish as to the funniest turn.
Call Me By Your Name (15)
Four stars
Dir: Luca Guadagnino
With: Armie Hammer, Timothée Chalamet
Runtime: 132 minutes
A LONG hot summer in 1980s Italy is the setting for this romantic drama based on the novel by Andre Aciman. Armie Hammer plays Oliver, an American graduate student come to study and play at the home of his antiquities professor (Michael Stuhlbarg). Oliver strikes up a friendship with Elio, the teenage son of the house (Timothée Chalamet), but neither is sure if the other wants to take things further. Another exquisitely styled film from the director of I Am Love and A Bigger Splash, Call Me By Your Name is a languid affair, too much so at times, but Hammer is as engaging as ever while Chalamet is a star in the making. Stuhlbarg (Boardwalk Empire), though he hardly features as much, might just steal the picture from both.
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