44. Thor: Ragnarok

I really wasn’t bothered at all about this film. I’ve never seen any other Thor film before, and we all know I’m not bothered about superheroes unless is it’s Christopher Nolan’s Batman. I’d heard really good reviews, but as the film started, I wasn’t particularly enthused. The starting scenes I thought were trying to be funny, with Thor captured and struggling to escape without his hammer. I guess this kind of sets the scene for those who managed to see the 2 other films, read any sort of comic, or be culturally aware. For me I didn’t really understand what was going on, and didn’t really care.

However, about 15 – 20 minutes into the film, I was completely hooked. The storyline was good, and captured my imagination. To keep my attention, we have lots of fun cameos from other Marvel characters. My personal favourite was Benedict Cumberbatch, where I exclaimed ‘it’s him, what’s his name, Magic Fingers’. Apparently that character is called Dr Strange (the 2016 movie wasn’t bad at all). I didn’t have a full understanding of the Hulk’s character, but quickly picked this up as we meet him along the way as well. Who knew, maybe I do like superhero films.

We also come across the best character in the film by a country mile, Korg. Voiced by Taika Waititi (the film’s director), Korg is completely hilarious, I couldn’t stop laughing his  dry deadpan humour, hilarious stories, and one liners. In fact, Thor on the whole is a pretty funny movie. It wasn’t try hard funny, and it wasn’t laugh a minute funny, but the light relief throughout the film really enhanced the plot and dialogue.

I thought the film on the whole was really well done, I guess when you are on the third in the series of a franchise, you expect it to be a bit rubbish, but I genuinely thought it was a good film. I don’t have anything to compare to, but IMdb gives both the first films a solid 7/10. I thought the acting was pretty good, the interaction between the characters and the CGI characters was believable, and the plot alongside it worked really well. I picked up the gist of the film quickly, and didn’t feel alienated, although I’d imagine there are lots of points of reference for fans of the first films.

Overall, it might sound generous, but Thor: Ragnarok gets an 8.5/10 from me. I went it not expecting much, but thoroughly enjoyed my evening. If you can catch it, it’s definitely worth a watch.

10. The Lego Batman Movie

For someone who likes a true life story, something realistic, and is obsessed with documentaries, you may be surprised to know that I LOVE Batman, and I also love Lego, and The Lego Movie. So the combination of Lego and Batman is a hit already with me.

I'm fascinated just thinking how they produced this film; it's fun, colourful, and full of nostalgia. I saw the film in the evening, and the cinema was full of grown-ups, but this film is great for little ones, and I really do think it's a film all the family can enjoy. Again, the story has a good solid moral, which you'll know by now, I enjoy, so kids can take something from it as well.

It's got a good storyline, slightly obvious in parts, but fun all the same, and there are lots of Lego cameos from some of our favourite villains throughout the ages - special shout out the Voldemort (Eddie Izzard), who I thought was hilarious. There were some parts where I was completely doubled over laughing, however, I also did this during The Revenant, so I'm not sure I'm a good test on what is funny and what is not.

Another thing I really enjoyed about the film was the music. A running Michael Jackson joke throughout, lots of power ballads and classics, it really was great. I think it adds to the playfulness of the film, along with adding the to nostalgia factor. This is another thing that I think makes this film work for all ages, and I do think it can be enjoyable for adults.

Unfortunately for me, this film didn't quite hit the mark. It wasn't as good as any Batman film I've seen, and it wasn't as good as The Lego Movie. I left the cinema feeling great and happy, and I do feel like the film was charming and lighthearted and filled with laughs, but I don't think it was overly memorable. It's a film with lots of big names - Ralph Fiennes, Michael Cera, Zach Galifianakis, and Rosario Dawson and Will Arnett (who I've not heard of before but IMdb tells me they're great), but I think it could have been better. I can't put my finger on if it could have been a better story line, more jokes, or more character development, but it wasn't the best animation I've seen. It did it's job, and if you want to watch a feel good film for an hour and a half you won't be disappointed, but there are other films out there, like Zootropolis, that will give you that and much much more.

Because I did leave the cinema feeling great, I had laughed and I did enjoy myself, I give The Lego Batman Movie a 7/10. Not the best animation, but not the worst by any stretch of the imagination. If you've got kids tugging at your sleeves wanting to go, I think you'd enjoy it, and it serves it's purpose, but it's not the most memorable film of the year.