Four to watch this week
Thor: Love And Thunder (12, 119 mins, streaming from September 8 exclusively on Disney+)
Separated from magical hammer Mjolnir, the strapping
Norse god of thunder (Chris Hemsworth) has a new weapon – a mighty axe called Stormbreaker – as he answers cries for help alongside Star-Lord (Chris Pratt), Drax (Dave Bautista), Nebula (Karen Gillan), Mantis (Pom Klementieff ), Rocket (voiced by Bradley Cooper) and Groot (Vin Diesel).
A distressing vision ushers Thor and rock-like warrior buddy Korg (Taika Waititi) back to New Asgard, ruled by Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson), where accursed Gorr the God Butcher (Christian Bale) lays a diabolical trap as part of his plan to slaughter all deities with the fabled Necrosword. Thor offers a robust defence alongside preeminent astrophysicist Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), who has taken on the guise of the Mighty Thor with Mjolnir at her side.
However, Thor, Mighty Thor and Valkyrie are no match for Gorr and his relentless army of shadow creatures, which can snatch screaming children from their beds.
Cars On The Road (9 episodes, streaming from September 8 exclusively on Disney+)
Pixar Animation Studios revved up the first Cars film in 2006 and the turbo-charged adventures of Lightning McQueen (voiced by Owen Wilson) and best friend Mater (Larry the Cable Guy) have spawned a long-running
franchise of features, short films and a TV series.
The latest souped-up spin-off is an animated series directed by Steve Purcell, Bobby Podesta and Brian Fee, which follows Lightning McQueen and Mater as they leave Radiator Springs in the rear-view mirror and head east to meet up with Mater’s sister. A hare-brained crosscountry odyssey introduces the four-wheeled pals to colourful new characters and outrageous roadside attractions.
The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power (8 episodes, starts streaming from September 2 exclusively on Prime Video)
Set thousands of years before devastating events chronicled in The Hobbit and The Lord Of The Rings, this epic fantasy chronicles upheaval from the Second Age of Middle-earth’s history, including characters that will already be familiar to fans of JRR Tolkien’s work.
Developed by JD Payne and Patrick McKay, The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power begins in a time of relative peace and harmony as characters from across the realm confront the reemergence of evil.
News of this insidious threat spreads quickly from the island kingdom of Numeno to the dark depths of the Misty Mountains and the elf-capital of Lindon, home to High King Gil-galad (Benjamin Walker), Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) and Elrond (Robert Aramayo). New heroes rise and others fall as armies of arcs rampage across the dominion and humans stand side by side with elves, hobbits and other magical creatures to prevent the shroud of darkness from extinguishing flickers of hope in the world. The first two episodes premiere this week and further instalments arrive every Friday, culminating in the series finale on October 14.
The Survivalist (Cert 15, 90 mins, streaming from September 2 exclusively on Paramount+)
Jonathan Rhys Meyers headlines a violent action thriller directed by Jon Keeyes set in a dystopian alternate America, which has been decimated by the Delta variant of Covid-19.
Society and government have imploded and survivors of the contagion are left to fend for themselves.
Sarah (Ruby Modine) is rumoured to be immune to the virus and consequently, she is a valuable commodity in the race to engineer a cure.
Aaron Ramsey (John Malkovich) believes it is his destiny to restore humanity and he is convinced that Sarah holds the key to achieving this dream.
Accompanied by his gun-toting gang comprising Jackson Everett (Rob Dubar), John Larsson (Obi Abili), Owen Hanley (Jon Orsini), Marley Harrelson (Jenna Leigh Green) and Matthew Ramirez (Thaddeus Street), Aaron hunts down Sarah and her brother Guy (Tom Pecinka).
Guy instructs Sarah to seek out his good friend Ben Grant (Rhys Meyers), a former FBI agent turned survivalist, who can protect her from harm.
Alas, Aaron and his acolytes are close behind and they intend to kill Ben and burn his home to the ground to get to Sarah.