Ragnarok is coming. Prepare for an epic showdown of Team Thor vs Hela the Goddess of Death.

Thor, The God of Thunder returns for his third solo movie adventure! This time, the Avenger needs to stop the impending destruction of  his home world Asgard from Hela, the Goddess of Death. His journey takes time to the planet Sakaar and being put to fight in gladiatorial matches. There he finds unexpected allies to team-up in a race to save Asgard.

Official Synopsis:
“In Marvel Studios’ Thor: Ragnarok, Thor is imprisoned on the other side of the universe without his mighty hammer and 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 – at the hands of an all-powerful new threat, the ruthless Hela. But first he must survive a deadly gladiatorial contest that pits him against his former ally and fellow Avenger – the Incredible Hulk!”

Thor: Ragnarok is directed by New Zealander Taika Waititi (Hunt for the Wilderpeople). Reprising their roles are Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Mark Ruffalo (The Avengers) as Bruce Banner/Hulk, Tom Hiddleston (Thor) as Loki, Idris Elba (Pacific Rim) as Heimdall, Anthony Hopkins (Silence of the Lambs) as Odin, Tessa Thompson (Veronica Mars) as Valkyrie, Jeff Goldblum (Jurassic Park) as Grandmaster, Karl Urban (Star Trek) as Skurge, and Cate Blanchett (Lord of the Rings) as the lead antagonist, Hela. 

Listen to what the Director and Cast have to say about Thor Ragnarok

What is Ragnarok?

In Norse mythology, Ragnarok was a great battle resulting in deaths of many gods like Odin, Loki, Heimdall, etc and the end of all things. From the movie trailers it can be hypothesized that Hela in her revenge against Asgard will bring about Ragnarok in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Ragnarok, the evil robotic clone of Thor.

In Marvel Comics, Ragnarok was a robotic clone of Thor, created by Tony Stark / Iron Man, Hank Pym  Giant-Man and Reed Richards / Mr. Fantastic when Thor was presumed dead during the Civil War storyline. Ragnarok went out of control and later destroyed by the real Thor upon return (no superhero stays truly dead in comics). Ragnarok was later rebuild and was used by Norman Osborn / Green Goblin for his Dark Avengers team.

Here are the returning and new characters for in this new movie:

Thor (Chris Hemsworth), the titular god of Thunder. It is no secret from the trailer that he looses the mighty hammer Mjolnir at the literal hand of Hela, and gets a haircuit (do you ladies approve?).

Hulk / Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) was last seen in the events of Avengers: Age of Ultron leaving the team for parts unknown. Now the trailers has revealed that Hulk is also on the planet Saakar, fighting as a gladiator.

Loki (Tom Hiddleston), the God of Mischief and Thor's adopted brother (he's actually a small Frost Giant). He faked his own death after the events of Thor: The Dark World and disguised himself as Odin to rule Asgard.

Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson) is a former Asgardian warrior who was once a member of Odin's elite guard. She is now working as a bounty hunter for the Grandmaster in Saakar. It is uncertain whether this movie Valkyrie is the same as the comics version, Brunhilde. She could be ONE of the many Valkyrie warriors.

Heimdall (Idris Elba), the all-seeing and all-hearing Gatekeeper of the Bifrost Bridge of Asgard.

Odin (Anthony Hopkins), king of Asgard. He was last seen in Thor: The Dark World and but viewers were unsure his fate since being "replaced" by Loki.

Hela (Cate Blanchett), the Goddess of Death. She escapes from imprisonment by Odin and now seeks revenge against Asgard. Writhing horns never looked so good!

Grandmaster (Jeff Goldblum) is one of the Elders of the Universe and master for all games. He created the Gladiator matches on Planet  Planet Saakar.

Skurge (Karl Urban), an Asgardian warrior who aligns himself to Hela. He is also known as 'The Executioner".

Dr. Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) is now a full-fledged wizard, last seen in his own movie (in after credits) chatting with Thor to help search for Odin.

Get this bromance between Thor & Loki in "Get Help". LOL!

And listen in carefully to those great music tunes in this movie which looks to share the awesome mix vibes in Guardians of the Galaxy.

Thor Ragnarok is currently rated highly on Rotten Tomatoes at 98% and looks to be best of the trilogy. Read what movie critics have to say on Variety. And here's what Australia's ABC had to say about "the funniest Marvel movie ever".

Our resident Vulcan Dr. Mr. Smock reviews Thor Ragnarok together with special Guest The Captain from Pop Culture FUN - Malaysia.

As one of the most highly anticipated blockbuster superhero movies this year, our local cinemas are offering a whole slew of goodies right now:

GSC Cinemas is hosting an early screening for their members on this Wednesday  25 October, 6.20pm at GSC MyTown, Cheras and GSC Queensbay Mall, Penang. The screening package priced at RM30 includes 1 movie ticket, 1 limited edition Thor Ragnarok collectible coin and popcorn / drink combo. Find out more details from their official website. 

  

Now only for advance ticket sales purchase until 26 October, purchase their Thor Ragnarok e-combo online for RM90 to score a pair of Thor and Hulk Podz figurines with a large popcorn and 2 regular soft drinks. Read more on the terms and conditions from the GSC website.

Sample of that Hulk Podz figurine. Photo source: GSC.

Finally the first 50 customers purchasing six D-Box tickets at participating cinemas will redeem an exclusive Gladiator Hulk's Hammer USB plus popcorn and drinks for that party of six. Find out which cinemas are qualified for this prom at their website.

Over at TGV Cinemas, their Movie Club members get to purchase an early exclusive screening of Thor Ragnarok on Wednesday 25 October, 6pm in TGV Sunway Pyramid and Tebrau City, Johor Bahru. These IMAX tickets are priced at RM45 when purchased in advance, or RM60 on the day itself. Some activities like cosplay contest and video games precede the movie screening starting from 4.30pm. For non-members, there are other early screenings in IMAX and standard halls that same night at TGV 1 Utama and Sunway Velocity scheduled for 7pm with activities starting at 5.30pm.

Over the movie opening weekend of 28-29 October, movie marathons comprising Thor The Dark World and Thor Ragnarok will be available for purchase at selected locations.for only RM20 to Movie Club members and RM25 to others. Find out participating cinemas from the TGV website.

Plus from 25 October onwards, purchasing 2 IMAX movie tickets will come with a free mini-poster. Of course only at IMAX cinema locations.

As for movie merchandise, a Hulk Hammer combo is available for RM27 with purchase of 1 Thor Ragnarok movie ticket. This combo includes with a Hulk Hammer water bottle, 1 regular popcorn and 1 regular soft drink. The special bottle is also available at part of an IMAX ticket combo with popcorn for RM40.

MBO Cinemas is offering 3 forms of concession combos:

• Combo A with a 32oz / 950ml Thor OR Hulk helmet cup and a 46oz / 1.35l popcorn for RM27.
• Combo B, an 85oz / 2.5l Hulk Fist popcorn container with a 22oz / 650ml soft drink for RM41 or with 2 soft drinks will be RM43.
• Combo C comes with an 85oz / 2.5l Thor Helmet popcorn container with a 22oz / 650ml soft drink for RM41 or with 2 soft drinks for RM43.

They are also having a contest to win a trip for two to Australia. For more info, read here.

Unexpectedly, retail petrol stations chain Petron Malaysia is also in on the action with exclusive movie premiums available with minimum purchase of RM50 fuel. Then use either Petron points or cash to make purchase of the goodies from participating Petron station. For more details go to their official website.

Avenue K shopping centre is currently having an official Thor: Ragnarok event from 18 October to 5 November. You can take pictures with life-sized statues of Thor and Hulk in their Gladiator armor.

The event area in Avenue K's main concourse, just above the KLCC LRT station.

Life-sized statues of Thor and Hulk

There is also a FREE haircut for fans which the hairstylists will cut your hair short and also give a 'Gladiator Mark' on it (courtesy by C. Michael London hair salon).

Free haircut with the Gladiator Mark. Wonder if Chris Hemsworth approves?

For children, there is a mini 'Gladiator Pit' where they can battle it out like Thor and Hulk. Don't worry, protection are provided.

Gladiator Pit for the kids. Protection provided

There is also a Augmented Reality photo booth where you can take pictures with some of the characters from the movie.

Take pictures with your favorite movie character with the Augmented Reality Photo Booth

Premium Thor and Hulk statues on display

For retail, TGV Cinemas is selling their Hulk Hammer bottle by instead at a discounted price of RM17. Petron has also setup a booth offering their movie merchandise.

For fans who must own a piece of the Marvel Thor universe, here are a number of movie toys and collectibles located by the Outpost Movie Recon Team (M.R.T.):

Hasbro's Marvel Legends series released six 6 inch figures which include Gladiator Thor, Loki, Hela, Thor (Jane Foster), Ares and Thor Odinson from the comics series. Each of the packaging comes with a body part which are called Build-A-Figure and if you collected all 6 figures, you are able to build your very own Gladiator Hulk! Each figure is priced at RM139.90.

Collect parts from each Marvel Legends figure to form Gladiator Hulk.

For Lego fans there are 2 building sets for this movie being released: Thor Vs Hulk Arena Clash 76088 for RM299.00 and The Ultimate Battle for Asgard 76084 for RM249.00.

Set 76088 Thor Vs Hulk: Arena Clash (RM299)

Set 76084 The Ultimate Battle for Asgard (RM249)

Funko POP  has been on a total rampage creating bobblehead figurines of every pop culture franchise our there, and Thor Ragnarok is not exception. New versions of Gladiator Thor and Loki plus other characters from the movie are priced at RM65.00 each. As per typical Funko POP distribution, some of these figures may be retail or event exclusives and not available from normal toy stores. Try to contact local Funko distributor Sheldonet Toy Store Malaysia for latest availability locally.

Various Funko POP Thor: Ragnarok figures

As with all Marvel movies, Hot Toys will be releasing some really detailed one-sixth scaled figurines for this movie comprising of Gladiator Thor, Gladiator Hulk, Loki, Hela and Valkyrie. No details yet on the price and release date.

Gladiator Thor and Hulk

Loki

Valkyrie

Hela

Thor and Hulk having a bonding session. By the way, Hulk now speaks with intelligent conversation!

Thor: Ragnarok will be opening in cinemas nationwide on Thursday 26 October 2017 with sneak previews starting Wednesday 25 October 2017.

Disclaimer: Thor, Hulk and associated trademarks are copyright to Marvel Studios, referenced here for fan service purposes only without intent to infringe.

Marvel's Doctor Strange Reviews: A Diagnosis of the Mystical Marvel Universe

Doctor Strange is now altering realities at Malaysian cinemas nationwide, introducing magic and mysticism to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. We present here two reviews from our contributors offering their take on Doctor Strange as a fan and non-fan in Bahasa Malaysia and English.

Pelik Tapi Tak Ajaib
by Ezli Qamari

Intro:
Adakah Marvel mengambil tindakan wajar mengeluarkan filem Doctor Strange dalam fasa ketiga MCU serta memberi masa mencukupi untuk peminat menerima hero mistikal baru ini dibawah teraju pengarah kurang berpengalaman?

Sinopsis:
Berikutan kemalangan kereta yang dahsyat yang melumpuhkan kedua-dua tangannya, kerjaya pakar bedah otak yang Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) hancur dan segala wangnya habis kerana mencuba setiap perubatan eksperimen untuk menyembuh tangannya. Apabila semua perubatan Barat gagal, dia pergi mencari lokasi Kamar-Taj di Kathmandu, Nepal yang pernah memulihkan seorang mangsa lumpuh. Dia bertemu Mordo (Chiwetel Ejiofor) dan gurunya Ancient One (Tilda Swinton), yang mengajar Strange seni sihir dan mistik. Kemunculan penjahat Kaecilius (Mads Mikkelsen) membawa ancaman terhadap Kamar-Taj dan juga keselamatan bumi.

Ulasan: 
Penataan seni DOCTOR STRANGE adalah elemen terbaik yang pernah dilihat berbanding filem Marvel yang lain kerana tidak berharap pada letupan dan kemusnahan semata-mata. Pada awal, visualnya berjaya memberi homage pada seni psychedelic 60’an ciptaan Steve Ditko yang penuh warna warni. Kemudian, meminjam konsep dari filem INCEPTION oleh Christopher Nolan, bandar New York berubah menjadi medan perang kaleidoscope putaran konkrit dan besi yang mengagumkan!

Benedict Cumberbatch adalah pilihan tepat menjadi Stephen Strange, dia berkata near-death experience menjejaki tanah tinggi Tibet pada umur 19 tahun membantu dia hayati watak Strange. Bermula dengan keangkuhan yang kita sering lihat dalam siri tv SHERLOCK kemudian jalani proses perubahan selepas kemalangan kemudian menjadi seorang pelajar yang dahagakan ilmu tetapi pandai berjenaka.

Penonton juga dapat melupakan isu ‘whitewashing’ yang memutihkan Ancient One dengan alasan penonton China benci Tibet dan menghitamkan Karl Mordo yang dalam komik berasal dari Transylvania. Lakonan Tilda Swinton dan Chiwetel Ejiofor adalah kekuatan utama dalam pemilihan pelakon filem ini hinggakan karisma Swinton kadang-kadang lebih hebat dari Cumberbatch.

Pengarah Scott Derrickson yang tenggelam timbul dengan seleksi filem-filem seram sebelum ini boleh mendapat pujian kerana membawa sedikit kelainan kepada Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) akan tetapi tidak terlepas mengikut acuan selamat dalam plot origin story Marvel yang lebih kurang sama dengan tragedi yang menimpa Tony Stark sebelum menjadi Iron Man.

Soundtrack filem ini yang sepatutnya lebih bersifat mistikal berubah menjadi filem fiksyen sains kerana komposer Michael Giacchino terikut-ikut dengan runut bunyi filem STAR TREK sehingga penonton tertunggu-tunggu jika Cumberbatch akan mengaku dirinya Khan.

*Amaran Spoiler* 
Walaupun mempunyai 3 orang penulis, filem ini punyai beberapa kelemahan kecil. Sama seperti beberapa filem Marvel yang lain, penulisan watak penjahatnya agak lemah. Mads Mikkelsen berjaya membawa karakter Kaecilius dengan baik tapi elemen pendorong kejahatannya tidak cukup kuat dan jelas sama seperti Darren Cross (ANT-MAN) dan Aldrich Killian (IRON MAN 3). Babak klimaks juga boleh dibaca penonton yang meminati filem atau novel science fiction/fantasi kerana plot memutarkan waktu boleh dibaca beberapa kilometer jauhnya. Kita perlu berterima kasih pada penulis Jon Spaihts kerana sifat ketidaktentuan ini dapat dilihat dalam filem awalnya seperti PROMETHEUS & THE DARKEST HOUR yang mahu pengakhiran yang grand tapi gagal melaksanakannya dengan baik. Contoh paling jelas: ancaman Dormammu tidak ubah seperti penjahat kualiti kepulan asap Parallax (GREEN LANTERN) dan Galactus (FANTASTIC 4: RISE OF THE SILVER SURFER).
*Penutup Spoiler* 

DOCTOR STRANGE terperangkap dalam acuan origin story superhero yang sering diulang pakai sebelumnya tetapi masih berjaya memberi kepuasan melalui visual menarik, aksi menghiburkan dan lakonan memukau Benedict Cumberbatch. 

The cast and team of Marvel's Doctor Strange at the Hollywood Movie Premiere.

Fanboy Geekgasm! We can watch this over and over again.

The Good Doctor Comes to Town

by Michelle Chee

Well, first off, I have to admit that I’m not a Marvel fan, but I AM a fan of Benedict Cumberbatch. The little I know of the Marvel universe is gleaned from the several movies I’ve watched before, like The Avengers, Guardians of the Galaxy and Deadpool (which I didn’t get to finish because I watched it on a flight and then we had to land, sigh). Anyway back to Doctor Strange. I actually went in to the cinema not expecting much, and found that it was a pleasant experience overall.

There are some really big names in this movie, legendary even. I mean I’ll always remember Tilda Swinton as the white witch in the Chronicles of Narnia, and Chiwetel Eijofor for 12 Years a Slave. As such, I wasn’t disappointed by their performance, but I did wish that their characters were allowed more depth and layers. As it were, they seemed to only be there to prop up certain bits of the story.

Get trippy on the Astral Plane and many more realities.

Mr Bendyflick Cucumberpatch’s performance was on point, as I was glad he got so many punchlines, which I feel he delivered with comic precision. Plus his namesake co-star Benedict Wong (oh, hello Kublai Khan! - Netflix Marco Polo series) had great comic chemistry with him, staying stoic through all his jabs. Even the mystical Cloak of Levitation had humorous sequences to its name.

As someone who doesn’t follow the comic books however, I felt some parts of the storyline a little hard to follow, and many of the mystic concepts had me asking more questions. For example, why is the power drawn from the dark dimension stronger than those drawn from other dimensions?

Nevertheless, the story has a good flow, with very impressive special effects. The action sequences are stunning, and it all builds up to a climax at a pace that was quite alright for me, although a bit fast in some parts, like the period when Strange went into recovery after his accident. I loved the fact that Dr Strange melded both mystic arts and modern medicine at certain points in the movie, and coming from a life-science background, I found that fun and insightful at the same time.

Concept art for the movie on how magic will be seen in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

In essence, it was a good superhero beginnings movie, in order to introduce this character to non-fans and the wider audience. The feel of the movie is distinctly different than many other Marvel character introductions. I feel this one has a slightly heavier concept involved, with both mysticism and philosophy thrown in. Also, as a post note, I thoroughly enjoyed the scenes they filmed of Kamar Taj in Nepal as I’ve been to Kathmandu myself. The cinematography was really well done, and captures the spiritual mysteriousness of the place so well.

In Malaysia cinemas NOW nationwide.

Disclaimer: Doctor Strange and other trademarks are copyright to Marvel Entertainment and/or Disney, referenced here for fan service announcements without intent to infringe.