Tameside Radio presenter Alex B Cann has been to see a trio of films this week and talks us through his account of each one, including Minions: The Rise of Gru and Thor: Love and Thunder.

I’ve watched a trio of decent films this week, beginning with the latest disco infused Minions’ prequel (Minions: The Rise Of Gru).

There has been some peculiar publicity around this one, after a #gentleminions social media trend resulted in groups of teenage boys filming themselves attending screenings of the movie dressed in suits.

Some reportedly took in the snack of choice for the Minions, bananas, and clapped loudly.

There was none of that at the lunchtime screening I saw last Thursday, and I loved the 70s’ soundtrack, including Shining Star, Born To Be Alive, Funkytown, and even a Carpenters’ number, plus a new song by Diana Ross which we are currently playing on Tameside Radio, Turn Up The Sunshine.

Below a hip record shop lurks an evil lair, and 12-year-old Gru is hoping to impress his favourite villain of all time, Wild Knuckles, and learn how to become a world conquering bad guy.

Whilst some have questioned the need for this latest film to exist, I really enjoyed the retro setting, the colourful animation (particularly a scene in Chinatown) and it contained a lot of silly fun, which is surely what a kids’ film is all about.

Steve Carrell is excellent as always, and the Minions doing their take on the Puss In Boots ‘big eyes for sympathy’ was good entertainment value too. I liked the new addition to the crew, Otto, a Minion wearing braces who is eager to please. You’ll forget the story almost instantly, but that’s not really the point. It’s a fun ride.

I treated myself to a double movie Tuesday, starting with Toy Story spin-off Lightyear.

In a very Pixar way, this is a multi-layered film, which, as well as tracing the origins of our favourite space explorer, also deals with mortality, ageing, and the passing of time. It’s beautifully animated, and a simple but clever premise, as Buzz teams up with new recruits Izzy, Mo, Darby and feline robot companion Sox to try and escape from a hostile planet, full of scary looking slithering snakes around every corner. The highlight was definitely scene-stealing Sox, who had some of the funniest lines, and I enjoyed my trip to infinity and beyond!

Another serious subplot is woven through Thor: Love and Thunder, and some viewers have complained that there is not a trigger warning, so I’ll give you one here. Natalie Portman’s Jane is being treated for Stage 4 cancer in the film, and some have commented on social media that the chemotherapy scene could have been handled more sensitively, it’s worth giving you that tip-off before you go and watch the movie, I think.

Chris Hemsworth is on good form as always, and it’s also the shortest Marvel film since Ant-man. I found the latest Spiderman: No Way Home went on for at least half an hour too long, but this one zipped by, especially Russell Crowe’s key scene as Zeus.

There have been complaints too about the objectification of Hemsworth after Zeus removes all of his clothes, but I found it quite funny to be honest. Some folk really will moan about everything.

The tone of the movie is classic Marvel tongue-in-cheek, and Christian Bale is effective as Gorr the God Butcher. I think this one is worthy of a couple of hours of your time, unlike DC’s Aquaman, which I found a watery mess.

You can listen to Alex every weekday from 7am to 11am and on the 'Super Scoreboard' show on Saturdays from 3pm to 7pm, on Tameside Radio 103.6FM. 

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