The FILMS
Total Film’s acting editor, Matt Maytum, picks the most Hammer-friendly blockbusters of the year
THOR: RAGNAROK
MARVEL
Marvel’s Asgardian god got more than a haircut in his third solo outing; director Taika Waititi completely overhauled the tone to suit Chris hemsworth’s comedy chops. As well as being one of 2017’s laugh-out-loud funniest movies, Ragnarok also boasted psychedelic action scenes, a gladiatorial hulk and two perfectly deployed uses of Immigrant Song.
IT
WARNER BROS
Post-Stranger Things, 80s-set, kid-centric horror IT couldn’t have come at a better time. As well as bringing the scares, this adaptation didn’t neglect the themes of friendship, isolation and the horrors of growing up that made the novel a classic. And Bill Skarsgård’s Pennywise is a boogeyman for the ages…
BLADE RUNNER 2049
WARNER BROS
Critics soiled themselves over this longawaited sequel, with good reason: 35 years after the original cult sci-fi redefined cinema, this brooding sequel had killer cinematography, atmosphere to burn, and stayed pleasingly ambiguous to the very end. Ryan Gosling brought ice-cool charisma, but a returning harrison Ford sealed it with a powerhouse performance.
GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2
MARVEL
Pumping up the volume, action and heart, the MCU’s ragtag team of oddball heroes returned for a crowd-pleasing sequel.
Key new players included Kurt Russell as the swaggering Ego, and bug-eyed empath Mantis, but overly literal muscleman Drax and tree-infant Groot remain the MVPs.
Roll on Awesome Mix Vol. 3.
BAND PICK!
THE INVISIBLE GUEST
Atresmedia Cine
“It’s on Netflix, and it’s about a woman who kills somebody and tries to get out of it via an elaborate scheme with her boyfriend, but it backfires.
It’s kind of a murder mystery, and the script is superb.
It has a very hitchcock vibe to it, and it’s in Spanish, so your concentration’s totally on it.”