Mark at the movies 5

 

Thor:Love And Thunder 

Plot.

Gorr and his daughter, Love, the last of their race, struggle in a barren desert. Despite their prayers to their god, Rapu, Love dies. The god-killing Necrosword weapon calls to Gorr, leading him to Rapu's lush realm. After Rapu cruelly mocks Gorr's plight, he renounces the god, causing Rapu to strangle him. The Necrosword offers itself to Gorr, who kills Rapu with it and vows to kill all gods. Gorr is granted the ability to manipulate shadows and produce monsters, but is cursed with impending death and corruption under the sword's influence. After Gorr kills several gods, Thor, who has joined the Guardians of the Galaxy,[N 1] learns of a distress signal from Sif. He parts ways with the team and finds an injured Sif, who warns that Gorr's next target is New Asgard. Meanwhile, Dr Jane Foster, Thor's ex-girlfriend, has been diagnosed with stage four terminal cancer. With medical treatment proving ineffective, she travels to New Asgard hoping that Thor's hammer Mjolnir, which was previously fractured by Hela,[N 2] might heal her.

Due to an enchantment Thor unknowingly placed on it years earlier to protect Foster, Mjolnir reforges and bonds itself to her. Thor arrives in New Asgard just as Gorr's attack begins. Thor is surprised to find Foster wielding Mjolnir, but teams up with her, Valkyrie, and Korg to fight Gorr. The group thwarts Gorr, but he escapes, kidnapping several Asgardian children and imprisoning them in the Shadow Realm. The group travels to Omnipotence City to warn the other gods and ask for their help in creating an army. The leader of the gods, Zeus, fears Gorr and is unwilling to help, thinking they can remain safe and hidden from Gorr in the City. Zeus orders the group's capture to prevent them from exposing the City's location to Gorr. When Zeus injures Korg, Thor impales Zeus with his thunderbolt which Valkyrie steals before they escape. As the journey continues, Thor and Foster rekindle their romantic relationship and Foster reveals her illness.

The group arrives at the Shadow Realm but is unable to locate the children. Foster sees ancient drawings that depict Thor's battle axe Stormbreaker as a way to summon the Bifrost to enter the realm of Eternity and deduces the trap laid out by Gorr. She throws away Stormbreaker to prevent Gorr from accessing it. However, Gorr overpowers the group and threatens to kill Foster, forcing Thor to summon it back. Gorr successfully steals Stormbreaker and severely injures Valkyrie before a weakened Foster collapses. Upon travelling back to New Asgard, Thor discovers that Foster’s Thor form is not allowing her body to naturally fight cancer. Thor persuades Foster to let him fight Gorr alone while she recuperates. Thor finds the kidnapped children at Eternity's altar and using Zeus's thunderbolt, imbues them with his power to fight Gorr's monsters while he battles Gorr. When Foster senses that Gorr is about to kill Thor, she joins the battle with Mjolnir to save him. They destroy the Necrosword, freeing Gorr from its influence, but the three are brought into Eternity's realm. With Gorr poised to make his wish, Thor implores Gorr to revive his daughter instead of destroying the gods.

Thor then leaves Gorr to make his decision and attends to Foster, who succumbs to her illness and dies in his arms. Moved by their display, Gorr wishes for Eternity to revive Love, which it grants. As Gorr dies from the curse, he requests Thor to take care of Love. In the aftermath, the children return to New Asgard, where Valkyrie and Sif begin training them, and a monument in honour of Foster is built. Thor adopts Love, who joins him in his heroics, with the former wielding Mjolnir and the latter wielding Stormbreaker. In a mid-credits scene, back in Omnipotence City, a recuperating Zeus sends his son Hercules to kill Thor. In a post-credits scene, Foster arrives at the gates of Valhalla, where Heimdall welcomes her.

I sat down not expecting a lot from this latest Superhero come Norse God adventure.

But I admit I was pleasantly surprised.

This film contains humour, action, a love story, and a sad ending which leads to the lady Thor reaching the Viking's heaven Valhalla, you have to see that bit right near the end of the film credits.

The villain of this film is a hyper version of the creepy Child Catcher in the classic musical Chitty Chitty Bang Bang to the point he kidnaps several Asgardian children and imprisons them in the Shadow Realm in a Cage.

The best fight or action scene is when with only the children to help Thor to fight the shadow creatures he recruits the children and gives them temporary power over Thor and let's just say their kick arse.

If you wondering about the title of the film that is revealed when Thor adopts Love, who joins him in his heroics,

I recommend it as a feel-good escapism film to watch when nowt else on the television.

Running time (115 minutes).

Rated (12)

4 out of 4 stars.

What We Do In The Shadows.

Plot.

A documentary crew follows four vampire housemates—Viago, Vladislav, Deacon, and Petyr—who share a flat in the Wellington suburb of Te Aro. All of the vampires possess supernatural powers, including levitation and the ability to transform into animals. Viago is a 379-year-old dandy from the 17th century, who originally travelled to New Zealand in the 1910s in search of Katherine, the love of his life; Vladislav is an 862-year-old known as "Vladislav the Poker", who is haunted by memories of his nemesis "the Beast"; and Deacon is a 183-year-old former peddler and the "young rebel" of the group who was turned into a vampire by Petyr—a reclusive, 8,000-year-old vampire who behaves like a feral animal.

Each night, Viago, Vladislav, and Deacon take the bus into town and prowl the streets of Wellington for people to kill. Deacon's human familiar, Jackie, runs errands for the vampires and cleans up the gore left behind by their feeding. A married mother, Jackie hopes to attain immortality, but is frustrated that Deacon will not turn her into a vampire as promised. Deacon requests that Jackie bring virgins to the flat so that the vampires can feed on them. She lures a woman who insulted her in primary school and her ex-boyfriend Nick to the flat. Though neither are virgins, the woman is killed, and Nick is chased throughout the flat and manages to get outside, only to be caught by Petyr, who turns him into a vampire.

Two months later, the vampires accept Nick into their group and bond with his human friend Stu, a computer analyst who introduces them to modern technology. Viago uses the Internet to find Katherine, who is now a 96-year-old widow living in a rest home in Wellington, and also briefly reconnects with his old servant Philip.

Despite being able to get his new friends into popular bars and clubs, Nick struggles to adapt to life as a vampire. Nick is also held in contempt by Deacon, who resents Nick's newfound popularity and the careless revealing of his vampirism to strangers he meets. One of these strangers, a vampire hunter, breaks into the flat basement during the day and kills Petyr by exposing him to sunlight.

The vampires are furious when they discover Nick has indirectly caused Petyr's death, and Deacon tries to kill Nick before being interrupted by a police welfare check, but Viago hypnotizes them into not noticing anything out of the ordinary. Once the police leave, Nick is banished from the flat by the remaining vampires, though Stu is permitted to come as he pleases.

Several months later, the vampires receive an invitation to the annual Unholy Masquerade, hosted by the local undead population of vampires, zombies, and witches. Vladislav refuses to attend after learning that "the Beast" will be the guest of honour. When Viago and Deacon arrive at the ball, they find in attendance Nick, Stu and Jackie, the latter of whom has been turned into a vampire by Nick. "The Beast" is revealed to be Vladislav's ex-girlfriend Pauline, and when Stu and the camera crew are discovered to be living humans, the party guests threaten to kill and feed on them. Vladislav arrives and fights with Pauline's new boyfriend Julian. Stu impales Julian on a flagpole, and the vampires and camera crew escape the ball with him, only to encounter a rival pack of werewolves who transform under the full moon. Stu and one of the cameramen are mauled. Believing Stu to be dead, the vampires run away and grieve for him.

After an indeterminate amount of time, Nick returns to the flat with Stu, who reveals he has survived the attack and transformed into a werewolf. With Stu's urging, the pack visits the vampires along with Stu, and Nick's banishment is rescinded as well. Though momentarily apprehensive, Deacon invites the werewolf pack inside. Viago also reconnects and rekindles his romance with Katherine, whom he turns into a vampire. Scenes during the credits reveal that Vladislav has gotten back together with Pauline, repeating his cycle of self-inflicted torture over his relationship with her; and Jackie's husband is now serving as her familiar. A post-credits scene shows Deacon attempting to hypnotize the audience to forget the events of the film.

This film is a mad collection of vampires with various problems, I like its weird humour and the characters of the vampires are versions of myth and film.

It's a madcap plot of what if vampires were real and we could dip into their love, fears, and hopes of some creature that can live for centuries, it is probably one of the best vampire films I have ever watched and it spawned a television series I highly recommend you watch both the film and television show in your spare time, don't forget your Cloves of garlic, wooden cross, holy water, and wooden stake just in case of any vampire emergency should happen one dark foggy plutonium night.

Running time (1h 26m)

Rated (18)

4 of 4 stars.

HollyBlood(2022)

Netflix Film.

Plot.

The plot follows Javi, an unremarkable high school student infatuated with classmate Sara, fangirling in turn on a vampire book series. Upon a series of misunderstandings, Sara ends up believing Javi to be a vampire, while the threat of an actual vampire looms in.

Originally made in Spanish you can watch it either with subtitles or voice-over actors, I choose the voice-over, yes it's a direct dig at the twilight movies but I found parts funny and  I enjoyed the eclectic characters, you probably guess the real villain Vampire early into the film bit go along for the ride, this is yet another true popcorn type of film, once watched may not go back to watch over again like some old classics.

Running time(1 hr 27 minutes)

Rated (15)

3 out of 4 stars.

Moonage Daydream(2022)

Plot

Moonage Daydream illuminates the life and genius of David Bowie, one of the most prolific and influential artists of our time. Told through sublime, kaleidoscopic, never-before-seen footage, performances and music, Brett Morgen's (The Kid Stays in the Picture, Cobain: Montage of Heck, Jane) feature-length experiential cinematic odyssey explores David Bowie's creative, musical and spiritual journey. The film is guided by David Bowie's narration and is the first officially sanctioned film on the artist.

Yes technically this is a documentary featuring one of the greatest artists in music who relished in smashing boundaries and warped the gender stereotypes in the 70s, the voice over is supplied by David Bowie, watch out for Jean Genie segueing into the Beatles Love Me Do and of course the array of costumes and character s, worth a watch for all David Bowie fans and those yet to be converted.

Running time (135 minutes)

Rated (15).

4 out of 4.

Hatching (2022)

Plot 

12-year-old Tinja practices gymnastics, an activity imposed upon her by her mother, a former figure skater. Mother is an influencer who runs a popular blog centring on the lifestyle of an average Finnish family. After she summons Father and their young son Matias to join them for a video, a crow flies through a window and destroys the living room. Tinja gently captures the crow to set it free outside but her mother asks her to bring it to her after which she snaps its neck. Saddened, Tinja disposes of the crow in the trash can, not noticing that it is still moving. Afterwards, she meets a new neighbour, a girl named Reetta and her French Bulldog. That night, Tinja is awakened by cawing. She discovers the grievously injured crow in the woods and puts it out of its misery, then notices an egg - presumably why the crow returned there. Guilty, she brings the egg home and incubates it underneath a pillow, and, as it grows, inside a stuffed animal.

At practice, Tinja struggles but is encouraged by her coach that if she improves, she can participate in an upcoming competition. When Tinja returns home, she catches Mother in an intimate embrace with another man. Mother introduces him as Tero, later explaining her actions as needed to do something for herself. Reetta joins Tinja at the next practice and proves to be very talented. This causes Mother to pressure Tinja into practising until her hand is blistered and bleeding. That night, Tinja pets the egg with her injured hand.

Not too long after, the egg hatches into a strange skeletal creature resembling a baby bird. Tinja hides until it escapes through her window, but the next evening, the creature returns, still injured by a piece of window glass. Tinja removes the glass and bathes it, inadvertently angering Matias when she won't let him in to use the bathroom. She names the creature Alli and lets it sleep underneath her bed. As Tinja sleeps, she becomes annoyed by Reetta's dog's barking and dreams of jumping out the window and going to the other house. She wakes to find Alli beside her with a gift - the dog's decapitated corpse. When this makes her vomit, Alli eats it the way baby birds are fed by their parents' regurgitated food. Tinja hides Alli in the wardrobe and buries the dog in the flower bed, unknowingly witnessed by Matias.

At school, Tinja and Reetta begin to become friends, even putting up missing posters for the dog together. That evening, when Mother gives Tinja a hairbrush and does not give Matias anything, the brother gets angry and digs up the dog's corpse, blaming Tinja. Matias then sneaks into Tinja's room, wearing a mask, to try to find out what's under the bed. Alli slashes the mask in fear. Downstairs, Tinja begins to have a seizure, indicating that they are psychically linked. Mother checks Tinja's room and finds her slashed competition outfit, but fails to find the hiding Alli. Later, Tinja eats birdseed and regurgitates it to feed Alli, noticing that the creature is growing hair. That night, Alli explores the house, scaring Matias and Mother, who nearly attacks him with a knife. He tells her that Tinja is a monster, but Mother brushes it off as a nightmare.

The next day, Mother is displeased when Reetta wins the competition spot. Sensing Tinja's unhappiness, Alli breaks out of the closet where Tinja has imprisoned the creature and brutally attacks Reetta on her way home while Tinja has another seizure. Tinja finds Alli's moulted beak and realizes the creature is beginning to look more like her. Later Tinja brings Reetta flowers but is horrified by the severity of her injuries and amputated left hand. When Reetta sees her, she screams until Tinja flees. Tinja returns home and punishes Alli by slapping herself, knowing the slaps will hurt Alli. Instead, Alli comforts her, holding her to its breast while she cries. In the morning, Alli looks fully human save for the pupils.

Because Tinja gets the competition spot after that Reetta is hospitalized, Mother suggests she and Tinja stay with Tero to relieve Tinja's pre-competition stress. Father reveals that he knows about Tero, and says he respects Mother for knowing what she wants, despite looking miserable. At Tero's, Tinja learns that he is a widower with an infant named Helmi. Spending time with Tero, Tinja begins to become happy, as Tero does not need his life to be or look perfect. Unfortunately, when Tinja is feeding Alli by throwing up, Tero interferes and the creature attacks him, injuring his hand. Despite this, he forgives Tinja and covers for her, suspecting that she doesn't want to compete or be a gymnast. When Mother fusses over Helmi and makes Tinja jealous, she becomes fearful that Alli will attack them while she is gone, but cannot convince Mother to let them attend the competition.

At the event, Mother records Tinja's performance for her blog. As Tinja begins her routine, she becomes linked to Alli, who has taken Tero's axe to kill Helmi. Tinja sabotages herself and falls, injuring her wrist, which stops Alli. Tero, who has witnessed Alli's attack, throws them out, telling Mother that Tinja has serious problems. Before they leave, Mother rams her head into the steering wheel, screaming and giving herself a bloody nose while she blames Tinja for destroying her happiness. At home, Father ignores Mother's bloody nose, happy that she is home, while Matias gloats over Tinja's competition loss. Tinja tries to prevent Alli from coming home, pushing her out of her bedroom window, then promises Mother she will be better. Later, Mother finds what she thinks is Tinja huddled in the closet and forcibly brushes her hair, unaware that she's caring for Alli. After brutally ripping a chunk of Alli's hair out with the brush, Alli attacks her. Tinja intervenes and Alli flees, screaming so loud that the sides of her jaw rip open.

Tinja explains that all the recent chaos is because of Alli. When Father and Matias return, the family comes together as Mother and Tinja hunt Alli. In Tinja's room, the creature overpowers Mother, who stabs it in the leg, also injuring Tinja. Tinja tries to explain that she hatched it, but Mother attacks again anyway, only to realize she has instead stabbed Tinja, who has jumped in front of Alli to protect her. Tinja collapses onto Alli and dies, her blood entering the creature's mouth and completing her change. Alli pushes Tinja's corpse to one side, her eyes now fully human and mouth once again healed. Then she croaks out "Mother" and stands up, looking down at her.

This is like a modern brothers Grimm fairy tale in which it's hard to see who is more monstrous, the vain, pushy mother or the beastly intruder.

But after a while of watching this psychological drama, you find it drags along like a snail race and if like me you like a horror-themed film to scare you you may feel you may need to ask for your money back at the ticket office.

Yes, I did use the Finnish Poster for the film as I just love the surreal image..

Running time (91 minutes)

Rated (15)

3 out 4