It’s the weekend again, and that means Film Focus. Here’s Mike Laidman with what’s new in local theaters.




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Hold on tight to your, well, everything, this week as we zoom across the galaxy in what promises to be one of the best, or at least most fun, Marvel movie yet. It’s Thor: Ragnarok, folks, and it unites a whole slew of Avengers in a riot of colour and character.

Then, to a much, much more refined world - that of Queen Victoria and the year 1887 - her Golden Jubilee.

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Mike Laidman

Welcome to another edition of Film Focus. I’m Mike Laidman.

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Thor: Ragnarok (2017, Taika Waititi)
Thor must fight to protect Asgard from Hela.

When Thor is imprisoned on the other side of the universe without his mighty hammer, he finds himself in a race against time to get back to Asgard to stop Ragnarok - the destruction of his homeworld and the end of Asgardian civilization. And who’s trying to wreck the day of this almighty Avenger? Why none other than the ruthless Hela - the all-powerful Goddess of Death. But first, he must survive a deadly gladiatorial contest that pits him against his former ally and fellow Avenger - the Incredible Hulk.

While this is definitely a Thor movie, it is the wildest, most imaginative of the Marvel movies yet. With riotous splashes of colour, memorable characters, the ultimate bromance between the Hulk and Thor, and what are essentially disco lights spread across the whole of the movie, this is, hands down, the weirdest, but also maybe the most fun entry into the huge stable of superhero movies.

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Victoria and Abdul (2017, Stephen Frears)
Queen Victoria strikes up a friendship with an Indian clerk.

And away from superheroes, to the extraordinary true story of an unexpected friendship in the later years of Queen Victoria's remarkable rule - this is Victoria and Abdul.

When Abdul Karim, a young clerk, travels from India to participate in the Queen's Golden Jubilee, he is surprised to find favor with the Queen herself. As the Queen questions the constrictions of her long-held position, the two forge an unlikely and devoted alliance with a loyalty to one another that her household and inner circle all attempt to destroy. As the friendship deepens, the Queen begins to see a changing world through new eyes and joyfully reclaims her humanity.

While we’re told the movie is ‘based on true events,’ there has definitely been some poetic license taken, which undoubtedly helps to buoy the film up somewhat. Judi Dench delivers a majestic performance as Victoria., but where the movie falls a bit is in its portrayal of India. The British point of view is portrayed vividly, while that of India is still too simplistic.

Still, those wanting a biographical drama/comedy versus a superhero action/comedy will be well rewarded.