STACK #130 Aug 2016

CINEMA

REVIEWS

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PAPER TOWNS

INSIDIOUS: CHAPTER 3

Paper Towns is the tale of 18-year-old Quentin Jacobsen and how he fell for his neighbour across the street. Writer John Green must have appreciated his work as Isaac in his former literary adaptation The Fault in Our Stars , as Nat Wolff is back for round two – this time in the spotlight, and rightly so. Portraying his mischievous and mysterious childhood friend Margo is the upcoming Suicide Squad member Cara Delevingne. The model- turned-actress is surprisingly convincing in her first acting role (and will hopefully impress as Enchantress next year). Margo is obsessed with finding herself and her place amongst the paper towns and paper streets. Following a night of vengeful escapades with her getaway driver “Q”, she disappears, leaving little clues behind for her friends to follow, sending Quentin and co. on the road trip of their lives. Green's writing continues to strike a chord with his youthful target audience, as does his penchant for casting Ansel Elgort. There are many lessons to be learned from Paper Towns , and while they won't be revealed here, consider this instead: if there’s a tuba there, it’s not a party. Alesha Kolbe RELEASED: Now Showing DIRECTOR: Jake Schreier CAST: Cara Delevingne, Nat Wolff, Halston Sage RATING: M

With James Wan defecting to the action genre to helm Fast & Furious 7 , Insidious co-creator Leigh Whannell takes the reins for the third chapter of their post- Saw horror franchise. Where the first film was an enjoyably creepy take on Poltergeist , the disappointing Chapter 2 couldn't sustain the horror and only served to unnecessarily complicate matters. Chapter 3 takes things back to the beginning (so is really Chapter 1?) with a prequel that introduces gas mask- wearing medium Elise Rainier, played by the fabulous Lin Shaye. As the reluctant psychic enlisted to contact the deceased mother of high school kid Stefanie Scott, Shaye goes for broke; moving her from supporting player to centre stage was a stroke of genius and reason enough to check out Insidious Chapter 3 . Whannell and buddy Angus Sampson are also back as ghostbusters Specs and Tucker, and the former's familiarity with the material allows him to make a confident directorial debut, expanding the series' mythology in new and unexpected ways while retaining all the requisite jumps, sonic scares and spooky apparitions we've come to expect. Much better than expected and a return to form for the franchise. Scott Hocking RELEASED: Now Showing DIRECTOR: Leigh Whannell CAST: Dermot Mulroney, Stefanie Scott, Lin Shaye RATING: M

MR. HOLMES

THE GALLOWS

RATING KEY: Wow! Good Not bad Meh Woof!

Now retired and in fear of his once amazing and world-famous mind eroding away, Sherlock Holmes decides to pen a memoir reflecting truth rather than the embellished tales he’s famous for. Yet his housekeeper’s young son has other ideas. Dripping with visual grandeur and a quiet, rich and deep quality of pace we seldom see on a big screen, this is a must for fans of classic BBC fare. McKellen, born to play Holmes as we all know, floats like velvet on glass in this clever and engaging examination of aging, death, regret and old dogs learning new tricks, whilst sharing wisdom and prose we hunger for in the CGI world. As Holmes warms to the inquisitive young Roger (Parker), he also begins to challenge his own flickering memory of his last ‘case’ that broke his spirit, and indeed heart. From Japan to esoteric instruments and the ability to converse with dead memories, we’re led on a journey with unique sadness and intrigue. An equal metaphor for misunderstood evil versus innocence – via his love of beekeeping (no, really) – ensures you could do far worse than see this powerfully simple slice of filmmaking. You’ll leave the cinema reflecting with a smile, and perhaps even a tear, that the powers that be didn’t make enough ‘Holmes’ fixtures with McKellen up front. One can only hope they get a wriggle on and change this fact. Chris Murray RELEASED: Now Showing DIRECTOR: Bill Condon CAST: Ian McKellen, Laura Linney, Milo Parker RATING: M

RELEASED: Now Showing DIRECTOR: Travis Cluff, Chris Lofing CAST: Reese Mishler, Pfeifer Brown, Ryan Shoos RATING: M

So perplexingly prolific has the movement of found footage cinema become that it’s now listed as a genre by Wikipedia. Regardless, ‘found footage’ is not a genre but an aesthetic that can concern any number of genres, from sci-fi ( Chronicle ) to teen comedy ( Project X ) and perhaps most prolifically, horror, such as Travis Cluff and Chris Lofing’s film The Gallows . Curiously enough, while the motivation for using found footage as a stylistic choice is realism (and also generally budgetary), by being forced into improbable scenarios as a result of those very conventions, a more drastic degree of suspended disbelief is often required. Films such as Chronicle made vaguely appealing attempts to explain the relentless presence of filming cameras, but in The Gallows , Cluff and Lofing instead approach the dilemma with absolute denial. If the directors never question why these characters continue filming long after logic has subsided, then why should we? The Gallows is a horror film, succeeding in that one regard but failing in almost every other. The narrative, dialogue, acting and cinematography (perhaps no surprises there) are agonisingly meager, but chances are an audience might be too anxious about jump scares to notice. Horror aficionados may brush off the fright but the weak of heart may find this tale of supernatural revenge too much to bear. John Roebuck

AUGUST 2015 JB Hi-Fi www.jbhifi.com.au

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