THUNDERBOLTS* OF LIGHTNING

Very Very SURPRISING

Pop Quiz Hotshot: Name ONE time Brit badass Florence Pugh hasn’t delivered (go on, I’ll wait). So not ONCE right? God I love her. We soaked up her understated heartbreaking magnificence recently in We Live In Time and now she’s back smacking the crap out of the bad guys as Russian assassin Yelena, as blockbuster MCU outing Thunderbolts slams into cinemas across the globe. If, like me, you were meh whatever about this release… well life is just full of surprises init!

Also charming his way into kiwi cinemas, the ridiculously talented Marlon Williams. His new album is a special one, a deeply personal one, his first entirely in te reo Māori, and it comes with a nourishing companion piece, a cinematic insight into his creative process and his life from documentary-maker Ursula Williams.

So, Me Mahi Tenei - Lets Do This!

NEW RELEASE

Thunderbolts*

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Well RAISE MY RENT and call me Hydra-adjacent — you’ll never guess what. The Thunderbolts movie? Turns out it’s a bloody good time! Who knew?

The perfect antidote to superhero fatigue this ragtag Marvel detour actually delivers: scrappier, funnier, and with Florence Pugh as the MCU’s new not-so-secret weapon. As Yelena, she anchors the chaos with dry wit, emotional depth, and that glorious Russian accent, forming the beating heart of the Thunderbolts crew — fierce, funny, and effortlessly magnetic. Honestly? She can do no wrong.

Her support squad does not disappoint. Sebastian Stan gives good glower as Bucky, serving “grumpy dad on a group tour” energy and I’m always here for David Harbour’s big sad-Russian-dad vibes as Red Guardian. We have MCU newbie Wyatt Russell (I’m a BIG fan - please watch him in Linklater’s Everybody Wants Some) and he leans hard into the “I’m not mad” John Walker energy slotting in nicely into the Cap/Not Cap fray.

Julia Louis-Dreyfus is this blockbuster’s baddie Valentina and her flawless dialogue delivery is dryer than a dingo’s donger in the desert - seriously just so so good - and with a simple story that almost plays the indie card in the high stakes game of superhero poker, Thunderbolts bloody well won me over. In fact, in Florence’s words herself, she told the Hollywood Reporter she sees the film as a “Badass Indie, A24-Feeling Assassin Movie” and that kinda nails it.

Thunderbolts might not reinvent the superhero wheel - it won’t change your life - but it spins that wheel just fast enough to feel fresh again. Lean, weird, and way more character-driven than it had any right to be, it’s a reminder that there’s still fun to be had in the MCU. Turns out Marvel’s leftovers make a damn tasty cinematic casserole.

NEW RELEASE

Marlon Williams: Ngā Ao E Rua – Two Worlds

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Introducing his first album entirely in te reo Māori, Te Whare Tīwekaweka, what a calling card Marlon Williams has up his sleeve. Hitting cinemas nationwide is a film five years in the making, documenting this prodigiously talented artist’s embrace of te ao Māori through his reo and his music.

With only 3 minutes worth of archive footage this film is very much as it happens and when it’s happening as we follow Marlon on tour, on stage, in the studio, we’re with him as he spends time with both his parents, as he visits his marae, when he’s hanging with mates or taking selfies with fans. Alongside him on his journey is his reo champion, kiwi rapper KOMMI, guiding Marlon and his band The Yarra Benders as they embrace the language; the beats, the notes and the melodies.

There’s never been any doubt Marlon is a star. Here we see him in his natural habitat, utterly charming and in the most endearing and captivating of ways, and while a little fat trimmed back in the edit would have tightened up the narrative a little it’s nigh on impossible to resist him; fans will lap up every single moment.

The film has just been released in cinemas across the motu and along with the album and his upcoming national tour, fans can well and truly suit up for The Season of Marlon!

*BTW Lucky ole me had a fab chat with both Ursula and Marlon a few weeks back and promise I’ll fire up that interview sometime over the weekend - but one thing we did cover was his casting in Oscar-winning film A Star is Born! Random I know, but it was something I put to the director Bradley Cooper in NYC at the time and it was very cool to discuss that with Marlon (and fun to see a grab from this interview in Marlon’s film ;))

Dive back into the archives for that below - and meantime go see Marlon’s film in cinemas now!

Moe mai rā James Cross

Before I sign off, a sad farewell. The “James” of James and Isey fame, died this week, just days after celebrating his mum Isey’s 106th birthday. He was 68.

The documentary from famed Northland storyteller Florian Habicht is such a special film, this mother and son two of the most unlikely film stars, and together both were such a genuine delight. I had the absolute treat of spending a sunny summer’s day with them in their garden up north, devouring chunks of freshly made apple cake baked by Florian’s Mum, yarning about cows and cameras and movies and music and whiskey. It was the very best of times.

Moe mai rā James, you always made everyone feel so welcome and so seen, and you made a mean-as cuppa.

KRxx