STACK #245 March 2025

CONTENTS

ISSUE 245 MAR 2025

MOVIES & TV 6 Intro/Filmmaker's Signature/Take 5/Trivia 7 Merch of the month/Charts/Socials /30 years ago this month 8 Cinema: Flow / Spit 9 Monkey Business: Better Man interview 10 Born to Hunt: Kraven the Hunter 12 When in Rome: Gladiator II 14 Sing Sing interview/ Magic Beach interview 16 The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim 17 Rosehaven : Interview with Celia Pacquola and Luke McGregor 18 New from Imprint Films 20 The Last Redemption : Interview with Natalie Burn 21 New to 4K/The latest anime 22-23 Out this month MUSIC 24 My first album/ STACK Exchange 26 New music from Lady Gaga and The Cruel Sea 28 Sydney’s Grentperez unveils debut album while Canada’s thrilling Spiritbox is back with number two 30 WA’s two piece Old Mervs release their first long player and Liz Stringer returns with her seventh album, The Second High 32-33 What new music is landing in-store at JB this month? 34 Kendrick Lamar’s excellent untitled unmastered. is our Vital Vinyl focus 36 INXS’s Listen Like Thieves turns 40 - and yes, there’s a fresh vinyl release on the cards to celebrate it 38 Rock ‘n’ roll stories with Stuart Coupe GAMING 40 Take 5/Chart/Q5/ Wham, bam, game exam! 42 Assassin’s Creed Shadows interview 44 WWE 2K25 Q+A 46 Split Fiction interview 48 Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition and Suikoden I + II HD previews 50 PlayStation Midnight Black accessories 52 HyperX Quadcast 2 S review 54 Razer Viper V3 Pro mouse/Razer BlackWidow V4 X keyboard 56 5 of the weirdest weapons in games 57 Out this month TECH FLIP MAG AND READ FROM BACK 4 Tech tips 5-6 Meet SwannShield, your AI-powered house sitter 8 Beyond security: Get creative with your smart camera 10-18 Smart homes for assisted living 20 The smart way to reduce energy bills 22 Smart home tech you won't even notice 24 Mesh networking and Wi-Fi 7 26-32 The latest in robot vacuum tech 34 Check out the new Asus ROG Phone 9 36 5 things we love about the Samsung Galaxy S25 38 Get fit with the Powerbeats Pro 2 earbuds 40 Nebula Capsule Air Projector review 42 New tech at JB this month

WELCOME

A quick glance at the trailer for Better Man and you’d be forgiven for thinking that Caesar from Planet of the Apes had reinvented himself as a rock star. This is no bizarre Apes spin-off, however, but rather the warts-and-all story of Brit superstar Robbie Williams’ rise to fame, from his tenure with boy band Take That and struggles with substance abuse and mental health issues, to his successful solo career. Better Man is another novelty music biopic, following Pharrell Williams’ LEGO animated Piece by Piece , with Robbie Williams played by a CGI chimpanzee at the suggestion of director Michael Gracey ( The Greatest Showman ). It's a gimmick that surprisingly works, and Gracey invests the film with all the manic energy of a Baz Lurhmann production, staging inventive musical numbers and masterfully edited montages. And, of course, the soundtrack is a set list of Williams’ greatest hits. Shot Down Under at Melbourne’s Dockland Studios, Better Man recently swept the local AACTA Awards, claiming nine wins including 'Best Film' and 'Direction', and is now poised to send Williams’ fans bananas when it hits home entertainment formats this month. Paul Jones, Editor-in-Chief

jbhifi.com.au/stack

Founder Nic Short Editor-in-Chief Paul Jones Tech Editor Scott Hocking

Music Consultant Mike Glynn Marketing Manager Fleur Parker Chief Contributors Gill Pringle, Bob Jones Contributors Jeff Jenkins, Billy Pinnell, Bec Summer, Dan Nicholson, Stuart Coupe, Trista McConville, James O’Connor, Michael Caverzan

Social Media Manager Glenn Cochrane Production Manager Craig Patterson

Games & Online Editor Amy Flower Movie & TV Editor Glenn Cochrane Creative Director Gary Siewert Movies Consultant Kerrie Taylor Games Consultant Sachi Fernando

Correspondence STACK editor@stack.com.au

RATINGS GUIDE

Parental guidance recommended

Recommended for mature audiences

Not suitable for people under 15. Under 15s must be accommpanied by a parent or adult guardian

Restricted to 18 and over

General

Disclaimer STACK is published by Scribal Custom Pty Ltd (ACN 092 362 135). © Copyright Scribal Custom Pty Ltd, 2025 All rights reserved. All material appearing in this publication is copyright unless otherwise stated or it may rest with the provider of the supplied material or advertisement. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the written permission of Scribal Custom Pty Ltd. No responsibility is accepted for accuracy of advertisements or information. Whilst care has been taken in the research and preparation of this publication, the publishers, writers or anyone else associated cannot accept any responsibility for any loss, injury or hardship arising from the content contained herein or reliance therefrom, howsoever caused, and it remains your responsibility to evaluate the accuracy, completeness and usefulness of any such content. Views expressed are not necessarily endorsed by the publisher or the editor. By the very nature of this publication, things change daily and we cannot take responsibility for any changes or inaccuracies that occur subsequent to going to press.

OWN IT ON BLU-RAY™ AND DVD MARCH 26 While Stocks Last

Strong coarse language, drug use and mental health themes

© 2024 Better Man AU Pty Ltd. All Rights Reserved.