Movies To Watch Out For In October 2017
Thor: Ragnarok
I used to write ordered lists of which Marvel Universe movies you should watch in order to see whatever the latest Avengers film to come out. But now that the cinematic universe now contains 17 movies I’ve sort of given up on that. But if you do want at least a modicum of backstory then check out Thor, Thor: The Dark World and Avengers: Age of Ultron. The events in the movie take place 4 years after The Dark World film and two years after Age of Ultron.
The plot is simple, which is all you want from a capes movie. Thor has been imprisoned on the planet Sakaar without his hammer. To escape he must win a Gladiator battle against Hulk, who just happens to be there because why not. It’s all a race against time because he has to get back to Asgard to beat some other baddy who wants to bring about Ragnarök, the doom of all Asgardian civilization because why not.
Thor: Ragnarok should make NZ audiences sit up for a moment though, since it’s directed by Taika Waititi (Hunt for the Wilderpeople, What We Do In The Shadows) arguably the best writer director to come out of New Zealand in a while. Waititi has ramped up the comedy in this movie, which is awesome, because this is where his talents really get to shine, and he reckons the same thing about Hemsworth. “He’s so good and underutilized in that department. He’s legitimately one of the funniest things in this film.”
Waititi doesn’t spend all his time behind the camera though, look out for him as the CGI rock monster thing Korg, who he based on “Polynesian nightclub bouncers”. He’s not the only NZ face to surf into one of the biggest film franchises of all time, Sam Neill is present as well as Rachel House, who will be a familiar face to anyone who’s seen any of Waititi’s movies has a role in the film.
If homegrown success doesn’t get you excited then there’s a shopping list of big names involved. Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Jaimie Alexander, and Idris Elba are back in form followed by Cate Blanchett, Anthony Hopkins, Karl Urban, and Mark Ruffalo who has to presumably spend a lot of his time running around in a green skinsuit with little white balls on it.
Hemsworth is totally on board with the shift in this film. In interviews he mentions how bored he got with his long-haired god character, so he traded in the wig and talked to the director and producer about switching things up and “really push the envelope and experiment and take it to another level;”
I think Waititi and Hemsworth can deliver on that while still delivering a solid Marvel film.
Blade Runner 2049
It’s not every year an old beloved franchise is resuscitated to sell a couple more movie tickets. Actually wait, it is, but this one’s different, I swear.
If you’ve picked up our September issue you already know my opinions on 2049, but it’s going to be one of the must watch movies of this year.
Ryan Gosling picks up the reigns as the new Blade Runner taking out replicants. He stumbles over a mystery that leads him to Harrison Ford’s Deckard character who disappeared 30 years ago. It plays with the themes of the original and advances the mystery. Go for closure, stay for the aesthetics.
Walking Out
The independent film to see this month is the Sundance Grand Jury Prize-nominated survival drama Walking Out. A father (Matt Bomer) takes his fourteen year old son (Josh Wiggins) up into the snowy Montana mountains to shoot some animals. After nature does a better job at defending itself than they were expecting the son David must drag his dad out to save their lives. An excellent example of why as fathers we must make sure our kids can carry us on their backs for several kilometers across rugged mountains.
Geostorm
Gerard Butler finds himself in the trashy environmental disaster movie Geostorm which teaches us the dangers of having complete control over our weather. Because when you can control it, you can use it as a weapon. After the satellites start creating massive disasters around the planet Gerard finds himself as the guy who must be the one to press the big red “stop killing billions of people” button. Along the way his friends back on earth have to dodge falling buildings while trying to kidnap the president, who’s the only one with the kill codes to stop this madness.
The movie is produced and directed by Dean Devlin, best known for doing the writing and production of Independence Day and Godzilla. If you miss this one in cinemas, no dramas. Chances are it’ll be out on DVD almost immediately.
