STACK #255 January 2026

MOVIE FEATURE

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GENRE: Family comedy RUN TIME: 1h 44m

MAKE WAY FOR THE BAD GIRLS IN THE BAD GUYS 2 If you thought the first Bad Guys movie was wild and chaotic, The Bad Guys 2 takes that energy, pours gasoline on it, and lights a match.

I n the new action-packed chapter, our crackerjack crew of outlaws are now reformed and trying very hard to be good. However, they find themselves hijacked into a high-stakes heist masterminded by a new team of criminals they never saw coming... The Bad Girls . “The Bad Girls represent what our guys were before they found their morals,” says returning director Pierre Perifel. “They are brilliant strategists

“So, even though our heroes have committed to staying good, they are presented with an impossible choice,” he adds. Sam Rockwell was happy to return to voicing his wily Mr Wolf, asking, “What does ‘going good’ really mean if no one believes you have changed? His old life of crime, while flawed, at least made sense. The new one is full of uncertainty.”

trying to prove that he has changed, but now he is up against someone who is unapologetically not interested in redemption. That rattles him a bit.” Returning as Ms. Tarantula, the crew’s razor-sharp hacker, is Grammy winner Awkwafina, whose calm under pressure often makes the difference between disaster and escape. “I love how she’s always playing chess while everyone else is playing checkers,” says Awkwafina. “She is always five steps ahead, solving problems before they even happen. And she does not make a big deal about it – she just calmly types with all eight limbs, completely unfazed, gets it done and moves on. And the less she reacts, the funnier it is,” she says. Gill Pringle

FUN FACT

Wolf’s determination to behave himself falls to pieces once he meets Kitty Katt (Danielle Brooks) “Kitty challenges Wolf in a way he hasn’t experienced before,” says Rockwell. “She is sharp, confident, and two steps ahead of him, and she does not buy into any of his charm. He is

• The Bad Guys 2 is out Jan 14

who recognise the talents of The Bad Guys and manipulate them through elaborate schemes and psychological pressure. They kidnap the gang and force them into one last job to steal a rocket from a tech billionaire’s aerospace facility.

Aaron Blabey, the author of The Bad Guys books is from the Victorian town of Bendigo.

The original Bad Guys now available on 4K on Jan 14

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Smurfs, Sonic the Hedgehog, Despicable Me, Dogman, Kung Fu Panda

MARGOT AND COLIN’S BIG BOLD BEAUTIFUL JOURNEY GENRE: Drama RUN TIME: 1h 49m Fun fact: Colin made chip sandwiches for a pregnant Margot every day during filming (a favourite for them both).

Movies in the magic realism genre are often disregarded, overlooked, and misunderstood. Some take a few years to find their audience, eventually becoming cult favourites.

A Big Bold Beautiful Journey is a shining example. It's a magical and romantic adventure starring Margot Robbie and Colin Farrell as two strangers who are swept into a time-spanning caper and given the chance to revisit and rethink their lives. Comparable to movies like Midnight

original and hit on so many levels. I couldn’t say no. “It’s incredibly romantic, and I had been looking for a love story for so long,” she admits. “I also love the visceral spectacle, and we have magical realism elements that are beautiful, fantastical, surreal, and sometimes off centre.” Although he signed

too irresistible to pass up. “The Penguin is such a dark character, and this

• A Big Bold Beautiful Journey is out Jan 14

story and character was the opposite" he explains. “It’s a journey into light.” Writer Seth Reiss, who penned The Menu , describes the film for those who may be a little apprehensive going into it. “We can’t put the film into a box, yet it feels relatable. It’s a story about two people and their deficiencies and evolving love story. The characters of David and Sarah and their romance are like the cake of the movie, and the magic realism is the icing.” That’s a sweet way of putting it and we couldn’t agree more. Glenn Cochrane

in Paris and It’s a Wonderful Life , Robbie was so besotted with the script that she cancelled her self imposed post- Barbie hiatus. “I wasn’t going to do anything for a while, and then I heard about a brilliant script to which Colin Farrell was attached.”

on first, Farrell wasn’t exactly keen to jump into a new project either, having just been through the ordeal of making The Penguin . But the magic and wonder of A Big Bold Beautiful Journey was

she recalls. “I read the script, and it was just undeniable. It was so

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The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, The Life of Chuck, Field of Dreams, It’s a Wonderful Life

10 JANUARY 2026

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