STACK #194 Dec 2020

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ISSUE 194 DEC

CONTENTS

2020

FILM & TV 6 Roving Reporter 8 Monster Hunter 10 Bob J’s Movie Trivia 12-13 Tenet 14 Unhinged 16 The New Mutants 18 Slim & I

WELCOME How much do you love Christmas? How good is this one going to be? After spending more time than necessary sandwiched between four walls, this year’s festive season is set to be a belter! And that extends to the pages of STACK this month. Christopher Nolan’s Tenet – 2020’s big blockbuster that few people got to see at the cinema – makes its welcome arrival on home entertainment formats, along with Marvel’s long-delayed The New Mutants . Perennial Aussie rockers AC/DC have unleashed a new album, the immense PWR/UP, and we chat with the legendary Angus Young. If you’re looking to give the gift of tech this Christmas, our expansive Life Tech guide has got you covered with a plethora of suggestions; and in games, we finally get to sit down and play the greatly-anticipated Cyberpunk 2077 . From all the team at STACK , please have a safe Christmas and a cracking NewYear! Paul Jones, Editor-in-Chief

20 Tremors: Shrieker Island 22 New from Imprint Films 24 The Vanished

26 The Greatest Movies of All Time 28 The Crow/The Godfather, Coda 30 The Vigil 32 Rogue 34-36 Reviews 38 4K UHD out this month

LIFE TECH 42 Intro 44-70 STACK ’s Ultimate

Christmas Tech Gift Guide

72 What’s New

GAMING 78 Roving Reporter 80 Dear Duke 82 Cyberpunk 2077 84 Immortals Fenyx Rising 86 NBA 2K21 88 Accessorise Now! 90 Out This Month 92 STACK Recommends

Founder Nic Short Editor-in-Chief Paul Jones Film & TV Editor Scott Hocking Music Editor Zoë Radas Games & Online Editor Amy Flower Creative Director Gary Siewert Movies Consultant Kerrie Taylor Games Consultant Sachi Fernando Music Consultant Mike Glynn

Marketing Manager Fleur Parker Chief Contributors Bob Jones, Gill Pringle Contributors Bryget Chrisfield, Glenn Cochrane, Jeff Jenkins, Simon Lukic, Billy Pinnell, Denise Hylands, Simon Winkler, Nathan Lawrence, Jake Cleland, Tim Lambert, Holly Pereira, Adam Colby,

Anthony Horan, Nicholas Kennedy, Dan Nicholson, Alex Deutrom, Bec Summer Social Media Manager Imogene Lewis-Granland Production Manager Craig Patterson Correspondence STACK 33 Jessie Street, Richmond, VIC 3121

MUSIC FLIP MAG AND READ FROM BACK 6-8 The Music Room: Interviews and bulletins 10 The STACK Record Club 12-16 AC/DC 18-20 AlbumTales: Kylie Minogue

RATINGS GUIDE

Parental guidance recommended

Recommended formature audiences

Notsuitableforpeople under15.Under15smust beaccommpaniedbya parentoradultguardian

Restricted to18andover

General

Disclaimer STACK is published by Scribal Custom Pty Ltd (ACN 092 362 135). © Copyright Scribal Custom Pty Ltd, 2020 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.

22-26 Album reviews 28 This Month at JB

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elaborates. “I’ve made a few different short films, a

on Fire as a recent favourite. The films of David Lynch – particularly Mulholland Drive – also receive a big thumbs up! “He was the first director I started studying and really tried to model myself on. Every time you watch Mulholland Drive you kind of see it in a different light and pick up a new piece of the puzzle. What I really like about it is that even though you don’t really understand what’s happening, it still kind of makes sense.” But it was Aussie classic Picnic at Hanging Rock that had the biggest impact on Kyle. “That was the film that really made me want to become a writer and director.” Kyle’s father also provided an education in film – and instilled a fondness for ‘70s and ‘80s horror flicks. “Growing up, my dad would always show me all these random horror movies like Suspiria , which is very violent and stylised and has a killer soundtrack.” He also passed on his love of collecting. “My dad is a massive collector of movies. Growing up, we’d regularly go into JB Hi-Fi and browse the DVDs. He has about 5,000+ DVDs and Blu-rays, and I’ve kind of inherited that addiction of just trying to collect everything. I just love being able to pop on a movie or two

documentary and also a short film for the deaf community that’s in English and Auslan. I’m currently in pre-production on a more personal project that’s queer-orientated and, barring COVID restrictions, will be shooting it next March or April.” Kyle has a passion for films that celebrate diversity, especially those with an LGBT perspective, citing the 2019 French drama Portrait of a Lady

SHOP TALK

A s well as

recommending films, Kyle McDonnell, media

1 The Crown: S3 2 Mulan (2020) 3 Vera: S10 4 AFL: Premiers 2020 Richmond 5 Outlander: S5 6 Westworld: S3 7 Blue Bloods: S10 8 How to Train Your Dragon: Homecoming

advisor at JBWarringah Mall in Sydney’s north, also makes them. “I studied at the Australian Film, Television and Radio School for three years,” Kyle

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each night and see everything and get a different perspective.”

Kyle McDonnell at JBWarringah Mall, NSW

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costumes and the weaponry. Fans of the game will recognise a lot of the game in the movie.” Described as a military sci-fi monster movie, Monster Hunter ’s plot sees a team of elite soldiers falling through a portal into a world full of giant creatures. Teaming up with a skilled hunter (Tony Jaa, Ong Bak ) within that realm, they must find a way home while fending off hordes of colossal beasts. Although no stranger to the physicality of action films – having played Alice in all live-action installments of Resident Evil, as well as kicking ass in movies like The Fifth Element and Hellboy – Jovovich says that keeping up with martial arts legend Jaa in Monster Hunter proved particularly challenging. “It was very intimidating,” she admits. “Obviously Tony is the closet thing you’ll find to a real life superhero. But I was ready to be inspired and I was ready to learn, and ready to be impressed. Tony is so full of energy and ideas and I can’t tell you how incredible it was to work with him, and I really hope that it’s not the last time I get a chance to be on screen with him.” When it comes to the stigma attached to Hollywood video game adaptations, Anderson says he finds it amusing. “My first Hollywood movie was Mortal Kombat , which was number one in America for three weeks. We then went on to make Resident Evil , which is the most successful video game adaptation ever made. So, you know, after $1.3-billion in business for Resident Evil, it’s very hard for me to take seriously a phrase like ‘the video game curse’. It’s absolutely possible to make very successful movies out of video games. I think it’s hard adapting them, and it’s hard to get it right, but then most movie adaptations are hard. It’s funny that video games get a lot of attention, but I’m sure if you did the math and worked out how many movies have been adapted from young adult novels, I’m sure the success to failure ratio is pretty stark.” While it remains to be seen if Anderson and Jovovich can replicate the phenomenal success of their Resident Evil series, one thing is crystal clear – Monster Hunter comes from a place of pure adulation for its source material, and a fervent desire to please long-serving fans, all while simultaneously introducing a whole new audience to Capcom’s highly celebrated video game universe. Monster Hunter is in cinemas on January 1

Director PaulW.S. Anderson and star Milla Jovovich speak with STACK about their new video game adaptation, Monster Hunter. Words Glenn Cochrane P aul W.S. Anderson is perhaps best known for his adaptations of popular video games; a peculiar reputation considering that Mortal Kombat and the Resident Evil series are the only game-based films he has directed. And regardless of Monster Hunter has been a passion project for Anderson over the past 12 years. “90 per cent of the

It’s absolutely possible to make very successful movies out of video games

movie is in the Monster Hunter world,” he tells STACK , “and we went to great lengths to get the world as accurate as we possibly could. We worked very closely with Ryozo Tsujimoto and Kaname Fujioka – the producer and director of the video game – to get the monsters 100 per cent accurate, the landscapes, the

him churning out movies like Event Horizon , Death Race , Alien vs. Predator and The Three Musketeers , it will be those gaming flicks that define his career for years to come. And yet it’s a reputation he happily embraces, and one he is poised to reaffirm with his latest extravagant dose of eye-candy, Monster Hunter , starring his real-life wife Milla Jovovich. Based on the popular Capcom video game series of the same name,

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THEWAY WEWERE (1973) Directed by Sydney Pollack

puts his film writing career in jeopardy, which puts a tremendous strain on the Gardiner marriage. When Katie returns, their partnership slowly and painfully disintegrates. The title song was composed by Marvin Hamlisch – Streisand immediately loved it but

Katie and Hubbell meet again duringWWII

suggested changing the first line from “Daydreams light the corners of my mind” to “ Memories light the corners of my mind”. This slight tweak now perfectly summed up the relationship between Hubbell and Katie as the main theme of the story.

TRIVIA: Streisand’s inimitable

rendition of the legendary theme song became the multi- million-selling number one hit of 1974.

T he Way We Were is a part against the background of the HUAC (House Un-American Committee) hearings. In fact, it was one of the first major film productions to tackle the alleged communist propaganda in the motion picture industry, which had profound repercussions for the Hollywood community in the late 1940s and early 1950s. The thoughtful and believable love story for adults set in

autobiographical confession that's read out in class and serves to demonstrate his brilliance as a writer. The pair accidentally meet again during WWII in Manhattan, where eventually Hubbell becomes mesmerised by Katie’s devotion to her liberal causes, although he has

When released in 1973, The Way We Were was an instantaneous and overwhelming success for Columbia Pictures, receiving six Academy Award nominations including one for Streisand as Best Actress – and, just as Pollack had anticipated, the production made Redford a Hollywood superstar.

Sydney Pollack, Barbra Streisand and Robert Redford on location

committee’s pursuit of some of the most creative people in the film industry became known as 'the McCarthy witch hunt' and directly resulted in “The Hollywood Ten” being jailed, blacklisted and boycotted by the movie studios. Arthur Laurents based his story upon his life- long romance with the bisexual Hollywood actor Farley Granger, whilst his female protagonist was drawn from one of Laurent’s fiery radical college classmates and her fervour for political causes. He managed to interest film producer Ray Stark in the project, who in turn hired Sydney Pollack to direct. Barbra Streisand signed on for the part of Katie Morosky with Ryan O’Neal pencilled in for her lover, Hubbell Gardiner. But Pollack wanted his best friend Robert Redford for the role of Hubbell. The actor had worked closely with Pollack ever since they acted together in the movie War Hunt (1962). Their collaboration as director and star had first occurred with This Property Is Condemned (1966) and then Jeremiah Johnson (1972). However, Redford continually rejected the part, stating, “It’s a nothing role”. For months Pollack persevered and following several revisions of the script and a great deal of persuasion, Redford, still somewhat reluctantly, agreed to take on the role. The Way We Were centres on Katie Morosky, a Jewish radical student and vocal member of the Young Communist League. Whilst at college during the late 1930s, she meets handsome all-round White-Anglo Saxon-Protestant athletic hero Hubbell Gardiner. He is of an upper- class background and has no commitment to anything other than himself, as reflected in his

The famous final scene

The film’s final scene has been voted to be amongst the most emotional and heart-breaking ever committed to celluloid. Years later, Katie and Hubbell run into each other on a NewYork street. Both have remarried yet when Katie brushes Hubbell’s hair off his forehead – an image that punctuates the film – they are obviously still very much in love with each other. They painfully talk about their current lives, realising they could never have been happy together. As Katie leaves Hubbell to continue handing out “Ban the Bomb”

absolutely no interest in any of them. They fall in love and get married despite the political differences between them, and when Hubbell becomes a successful screenwriter, they move to California. Katie now has to suppress her convictions and tries to live the Hollywood life until the “Red Scare” of the post WWII era disrupts the film community. Despite Hubbell’s insistence against it, the now pregnant Katie goes to Washington to support the “ten unfriendly witnesses”. Hubbell is still politically neutral and his wife’s actions

leaflets, he smiles and calls after her, “You never give up, do you?”

Join STACK ‘s resident filmhistorian Bob J and our community of cinema buffs to have your say eachmonth in ‘ Bob J‘s Classic Movie Club ‘ Facebook group.

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From the reverse narrative of Memento to the dreamscapes of Inception and the physics of Interstellar , time has played a major role in the films of Christopher Nolan. His latest, Tenet , fuses the concept of time and how we experience it to a traditional spy thriller with science fiction overtones. “T he simplest way to explain our approach is to say what we did with Inception for the heist Protagonist at its heart, who is inducted into a more-secret-than-secret organisation known as

and what’s expected of them that speaks to a different set of ethics and an accountability and responsibility to their fellow man. John David

I didn’t want to do this type of film unless I felt I could bring something fresh to it

genre is what Tenet attempts to bring to the spy movie genre,” says Christopher Nolan, adding that he had always wanted to make a film within that genre. “I grew up loving spy movies; it’s a really fun and exciting branch of fiction. But I didn’t want to do this type of film unless I felt I could bring something fresh to it. “ Tenet is an espionage thriller with a THE FILMS OF CHRISTOPHER NOLAN

Tenet,” he continues. “Often these types of characters are portrayed as being very hard and cynical. Yet, there is a

Washington and I both felt that we had an opportunity here to tap into those

attributes more, as a motivation for him doing the most extreme things, all for the greater good.”

degree of selflessness and self-sacrifice to what they do

BATMAN BEGINS (2005) The definitive Batman origin tale for many a bat-fan, Nolan’s gritty and grounded take on Bruce Wayne’s life begins with an explanation for the whole bat thing, and proceeds with style and flair through an Asian sojourn and on to finding his purpose as protector of Gotham City.

THE PRESTIGE (2006) The world of conjuring weaves its magic in this story of two early-1900s professional stage magicians, who, following a tragedy, enter into a most unprofessional rivalry that will ultimately trigger further tragic consequences.

THE DARK KNIGHT (2008) The second in Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy floored even the most conscientious superhero objectors, not least thanks to an incredible Oscar-winning performance by the late Heath Ledger as The Joker, which ranks alongside Joaquin Phoenix's portrayal as one of the very best.

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The stakes are high indeed, with World War III looming and the fate of the world in the hands of Washington’s Protagonist,

who is investigating the use of technology that can reverse an object’s trajectory, following the discovery of bullets that appear to have travelled backwards in time. But as the film points out, it’s not time travel per se, it’s ‘inversion’. “The movie challenges

...if you could invert the flow of entropy for an object, you could reverse the flow of time for that object, so the story is grounded in credible physics

our traditional ways of interpreting time, interpreting what we perceive is real, our

learned behaviours,” says Washington. “There’s a lot more going on. I had never read or seen anything like

this before. Nobody has. Chris deals head on with how we understand the physics of time, all

through the lens of this character. I don’t know what his fascination with time is, but I love how he deals with it in his movies.” While fantastical, the notion of inverting time is a theoretical possibility for physicists and is determined by the law of entropy, which states that all things trend toward disorder. “Every law of physics is symmetrical – it can run forwards or backwards in time and be the same – except for entropy,” explains Nolan. “The theory being that if you could invert the flow of entropy for an object, you could reverse the flow of time for that object, so the story is grounded in credible physics. I did have [physicist] Kip Thorne read the script and he helped me out with some of the concepts, though we’re not going to make any case for this being scientifically accurate. But it is based roughly on actual science.” When it came to realising the concept

learned over the years: if you can have a range of different techniques allowing you to keep changing the trick that you’re using shot to shot, it becomes much harder for the audience to be pulled out of the film. It’s much more immersive.” Nolan hopes that Tenet will deliver a new experience in action cinema and the spy genre for audiences. “I want to give them a different way of looking at it, so they get some of the sense of excitement that I had as a kid watching those kinds of films. We’re trying to give the

onscreen, the filmmaker was well aware that it would not simply be a case of reversing the camera or winding the footage backwards. “There is an interaction between the direction of time and the environment we’re in: how things move around us and even the air we breathe,” he says. “The notion of inversion is an asymmetrical one, so the rule-set was complicated and had to be addressed in more complicated ways. That meant a variety of techniques, from cast and stunt performers being able to perform fight scenes and running and walking in different directions, to vehicles that would drive forwards or backwards in various configurations so that we could, shot to shot, completely change the technique we were using to create the particular visual. Something we’ve

audience a new experience that re-injects that sense of the unknown in movie action sequences. We really want to give people a ride like nothing they’ve had before.”

• Tenet is out on Dec 16

THE DARK KNIGHT RISES (2012) The finale to the Dark Knight trilogy featured Batman, Bane and Catwoman at play in a propulsive three-hour superhero epic that’s perhaps Nolan’s finest venture into the DC universe.

INCEPTION (2010) This mind-bending sci-fi

INTERSTELLAR (2014) Nolan’s cerebral and visually spectacular sci-fi drama sends a team of pioneers from a blighted Earth on a mission into deep space to discover whether humanity has a future home among the stars.

DUNKIRK (2017) The director’s exploration of one of the most crucial events of World War II – the evacuation of British and French forces from the shores of France, with the Germans in hot pursuit – is a relentless and affecting experience that rewrites the rules of the war movie.

milestone involves a guy who makes a dubious living filching corporate secrets from people’s heads via complex dream- sharing tech. Now he must plant an idea in a businessman’s mind with the help of a talented team.

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we started to talk about what was in there, and potentially, what shouldn’t be in there, because there were a lot of words to start with. “You can’t justify the actions of a character like this, you know? It’s an individual decision that he’s made and he’s gonna do what he’s doing, but there is no justification, and we both agreed on that. So therefore, the challenge becomes can you play a character that has absolutely zero charm or, you know, humanity? “He’s disconnected on all levels, and then that started to be interesting to me, and particularly as we keep seeing things like this play out in front of our very eyes. People who perhaps pick up a gun, or in this case, turn on the engine of a car, and have the full intent of using that to its most destructive possibilities.” Although having played characters throughout his career that have displayed outrageous behaviour, like Romper Stomper 's Hando, Crowe notes that there was always scaffolding beneath that gave those characters a licence to behave badly. “But this was a different thing altogether. This was a very unnatural character to play for me, but I had a really good partner in crime. My relationship with Derrick was very simple, very easy.” Despite the intense nature of the film, Crowe reveals that the mood on the set was quite the opposite.

As the antagonist in the intense new thriller Unhinged , Russell Crowe delivers a truly frightening performance. But it was a role he initially intended to turn down… A simple horn blast to signal a move-along at a traffic light results in a terrifying game of cat and mouse between a single mother (Caren Pistorius) and a Caren Pistorius in Unhinged

“It was the most relaxed film set I’ve been on in 20 years. It was just chilled out, like, what are we doing today? Oh, we’re gonna crush the car with a truck. “I really appreciated that relationship with Derrick and his artist’s eye. A mistake you might make in a film like this is trying to throw all of those justifications up on the wall and talk in terms of the complete list of society’s ills. But in a way, we all know that, because we’re all in the middle of that. Derrick was brave enough to take a more poetic approach, and by 'poetic', I mean the distillation of what the story is.

glowering stranger (Russell Crowe) who has hit rock bottom and now has nothing to lose. Transforming a common road rage incident into a more sinister scenario, Unhinged delivers a relatable – and relentless – exploration of the dark side of human nature. Upon first reading the script, Crowe says he was determined not to do it. “I was scared sh-tless of that script,” he laughs. “This character is intensely dark... and when I heard that come out of my mouth, I was like, since when did I stop doing that? That’s basically what I look for, the challenges.” The actor explains that his instinctive response to decline the

Bringing it down to the type of engine that it has as it pumps through; it was a very enjoyable experience.”

only the result of his sort of singular belief that his life meant nothing and everybody else was to blame

You can’t justify the actions of a character like this

for that,” he elaborates. “I didn’t want to do a character like that, because I’m fundamentally worried that

• Unhinged is out on Dec 2

that’s actually where we are. I thought about it for a while and I met with Derrick [Borte, Director] – it was a meeting where I’d already pre-decided that I wasn’t doing the gig anyway, but I was just going to have the meeting. We got on very well and

role was due to the character’s irrational nature. “There wasn’t any decision-making infrastructure that I could believe in that would bring him to that place, there was

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they knew they needed to wait for a time when nobody could leave their houses, because we went and made this about kids trapped inside an institution.” Based on the 1982 Marvel

Anya Taylor-Joy as Illyana Rasputin

graphic novel from superhero team Chris Claremont and Bob McLeod, the story focuses on four young mutants – Rahne Sinclair (Williams), Illyana Rasputin (Anya Taylor-Joy), Sam Guthrie (Heaton) and Roberto da Costa (Henry Zaga) – who are being held in an isolated hospital for psychiatric monitoring. Dr. Cecilia Reyes (Alicia Braga) believes the teenagers are a danger both to themselves and to society as a whole, struggling to teach them how to rein in their mutant abilities. When newcomer Danielle “Dani” Moonstar (Blu Hunt) joins the other young patients, strange occurrences begin to take place and the patients are plagued by hallucinations and flashbacks. Forming an alliance, these young mutants must seek out the source of this spooky phenomenon… Given Boone’s success in the YA field, directing 2014’s romantic teen drama The Fault in Our Stars , The New Mutants is more teen- angst than horror or super-heroics. “It’s interesting because I think we all came into this knowing that whilst we were making a superhero movie, we weren’t really making a superhero movie,” says Taylor-Joy. “We were making a film about people who were having a tough time understanding themselves and figuring out their place in the world. And so, to make it a bit more cinematic, we added powers. “But I do think any teenager

Following a problematic three-year journey to the screen, teen-superhero adventure The New Mutants finally hits home entertainment formats on December 2. STACK caught up with director Josh Boone and the cast. Words Gill Pringle

There was an audience still willing to wait as long as it took

that’s going through the growing pains; trying to

P lunged into an electrifying world of fame and success from an early age, Maisie Williams ( Game of Thrones ) and Charlie Heaton ( Stranger Things ) both readily identified with how it might feel to be a super-powered teen struggling to gain control over new and mysterious abilities. However, they had zero control over the three-year journey it would take between shooting their film, The New Mutants , and its ultimate release. A Young Adult loose end from the X-Men franchise, the first teaser

it was going to get released,” says Williams. “There was an audience still willing to wait as long as it took, and even through this pandemic, they’ve been so supportive. I can’t wait for people to finally see it.” Boone views The New Mutants'

understand where you fit in, you’re no longer a child, but like, what is this weird adult world? I think they’ll definitely connect with it.” “But it’s still a horror film,” insists

Boone, “It’s just one that is more in the vein of a horror novel, so it’s more character-driven but with that added horror aspect as well.” While he hopes that adults will check out

delayed release as a blessing. “That’s why the universe made this movie wait. It was because

the film, Boone admits it’s best viewed by a younger crowd. “It was really made for teenagers who are outsiders; people who feel out of place and who are going through a tough time in general. “I always say, I make couch movies, which are like, when I was a teenager and I was really depressed, I’d have a certain movie I’d pop on and go lay on the couch. It made me feel better, so these kind of movies will hopefully be your friend.”

trailer was dropped back in October 2017 shortly after the film was shot on location in Boston, announcing April 2018 as its release date. Caught up in the midst of Disney’s acquisition of Fox, followed by a global pandemic, when STACK chats over Zoom with the cast and director Josh Boone, their jubilation at finally reaching the end run is palpable. “I think there was a lot of uncertainty with this film and when

• The New Mutants is out on Dec 2

MaisieWilliams, Henry Zaga, Blu Hunt, Charlie Heaton and AnyaTaylor-Joy

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documentary features of late, including one on another Aussie icon, motorsport champion Peter Brock. “I did this film and Brock: Over the Top concurrently last year. I finished Slim & I before I finished Brock , so I was cutting them both throughout 2019,” he reveals. With interviewees including contemporary country music artists like Keith Urban, Kasey Chambers, Troy Cassar- Daley and Missy Higgins, Stenders asked that they bring along their own instruments and perform some of Slim and Joy’s songs. “It was really a straightforward idea that came out of the blue,” he says. “Country music is such a beautifully simple art form – it’s a voice, an instrument, and a story set to music. And everyone was really up for it. It was such a simple thing to do and such a powerful and evocative thing, too. Indeed, one of the highlights is surely Missy Higgins’ beautiful version of The Biggest Disappointment . “I remember my hair was

Australian filmmaker Kriv Stenders speaks with STACK about his new documentary feature Slim & I , and the enduring power of country music. Words Scott Hocking

A ustralian country music jukebox, and while many of us are familiar with classics like A Pub with No Beer and Duncan , the role played by Slim’s wife, Joy McKean, in creating a musical legacy is perhaps lesser known, and the subject of the new documentary feature from filmmaker Kriv Stenders, Slim & I . Speaking with STACK , Stenders himself is quick to admit that he was unaware of Joy’s influence behind the scenes prior to taking on the project. “Once we started making the film I legend Slim Dusty’s songs are a staple of every rural pub

Kriv Stenders and Joy McKean

standing up and I had tears in my eyes,” says Stenders. “It was one of the most beautiful things I’d ever heard. Her voice is so angelic and so crystal, and hearing it in that pure, unfiltered way was really powerful. That’s the power of great music, it shoots itself into your heart.”

It’s also, he believes, one of the drawcards for audiences that may not necessarily connect with country music. “Great music is timeless and classless. It’s truly democratic and egalitarian in a way. Joy and Slim’s music definitely illustrates that. And country music is our music. You don’t have to have that rural element in your life – it sings to all of us. And it’s all part of the bigger Australian experience. “I also think [the film is]

realised, ‘Gosh, she is really well known in the country music industry. When I started to read her book and read more about her story, I realised what a remarkable woman Joy was. She was a wife, a mother, a manager, and an incredibly talented songwriter and performer. I didn’t realise how important she They had the choice of being housewives and factory workers but they took a punt, bought a caravan and went out there and built an audience, and an industry. It’s quite incredible.” Stenders is also happy to confess that country music was a whole new world for him. “I must admit I was not prejudiced; I just hadn’t really gravitated to country music at all. I had my epiphany while I was researching the film and suddenly these was to the building of Slim’s career. “Those two really lived the dream.

That’s the power of great music, it shoots itself into your heart

just a great love story and an inspiring story about a couple that set out to live their dreams – and did it. “I think now, especially in these uncertain times, it’s great seeing that kind of story about people who throw caution to the wind and go for it. That’s what I thought was really remarkable and beautiful about this story, the journey they went on together.”

songs were open to me and I just couldn’t get enough of them. I’m a convert,” he laughs. One of Australia’s most prolific and versatile filmmakers, whose work includes the hit Red Dog (2011) and recent ANZAC drama Danger Close: The Battle of Long Tan (2019), Stenders has been on a roll with

• Slim & I is out Dec 9

18 DECEMBER 2020

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I T TA K E S T WO T O C R E AT E A L E G E N D A F I L M B Y K R I V S T E N D E R S THE PERFECT GIFT FOR SLIM DUSTY FANS!

“Pure joy!”

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I have only done one sitcom in all of my 45-year career,” he explains. “I just prefer variety, and that’s why Burt suits me, because I only revisit him every few years – and it’s always refreshing to see him again.” While reflecting on Tremors

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throughout the years, Gross reveals that at one point fans were very close to seeing a whole lot more of Burt. “Once upon a time there were plans to do a series with Burt. They were tossing around ideas like ‘Burt’s Basement Compound’ and things like that. Funnily enough he has become the head of the franchise, if only because he keeps surviving. But I always thought that he shouldn’t be the focus because he was always an ancillary character and he’s always more interesting the more you surround him with normal characters, if you know what I mean. “The quest in all of these pieces is to not centre Burt but to always have sidekicks or more normal people who can look at him like the crazy person he is and be astounded at the things that come out of his mouth,” he continues, adding with a smirk, “and that’s why I never really wanted to do a series about Burt. It seems to work better when someone else is taking the helm and he’s just walking in and out and doing strange things.” Unlike most of the Tremors sequels before it, Shrieker Island restores a modicum of integrity to the series and boasts a strong ensemble cast – not unlike the original film – with Napoleon Dynamite’s Jon Heder and 3 from Hell’s Richard Brake sparring alongside Gross. “You know, I love that mixed ensemble,” he says. “We’ve always had mixed race and ethnic backgrounds. Richard Brake – wow – I can just remember the days we had and how many times he had to take a dunk in the water, and just how kind he was. He was such a good sport; I like him immensely.

Along with its subterranean monsters, Michael Gross’s kooky survivalist Burt Gummer has been a stalwart of the Tremors franchise. STACK caught up with the veteran actor ahead of the release of series’ seventh installment, Tremors: Shrieker Island . Words Glenn Cochrane

W hile the average moviegoer may be familiar with the 1990 cult creature feature Tremors , starring Kevin Bacon, it is perhaps only the diehard fans that have followed the franchise throughout its many installments (and short-lived

last quite this long. But I am thrilled for that reason because Burt is a character that I love revisiting from time to time.” Having found international stardom as the loveable Steven Keaton in the ‘80s sitcom Family Ties , Tremors is the only other property in which Gross has maintained a steadfast presence. “I don’t particularly like steady work. I like the variety of freelancing, which is the reason

television series) all the way to the latest and seventh chapter, Shrieker Island . The 30-year journey has seen eccentric survivalist Burt Gummer (Michael Gross) encounter every incarnation of the monstrous subterranean earthworms known as Graboids. It’s also taken him on perilous adventures from desolate Nevada landscapes to frozen arctic tundras, and now to a secluded tropical oasis where a greedy billionaire has imported the deadly creatures for big game hunting. Speaking with STACK , Gross reflects on this new sequel and the longevity of Tremors . “I didn’t imagine this,” he says with genuine disbelief. “I mean, I did know that it was a good product, and an unusual product, but being the fatalist that I am I never assumed it would

I never assumed it would last quite this long

And Jon Heder, he’s marvelous. I always loved Napoleon Dynamite and he was always full of great ideas. And to be honest, I am renewed by the people I work with, it’s that simple.” Gross’s latest trip as Burt Gummer is one for the ages, and loyal fans won’t be disappointed. With its lavish production design and exotic location distinguishing it from previous instalments, Tremors: Shrieker Island comes loaded with Graboid mayhem and a final act that will prompt much discussion from Tremors devotees.

Xxxxx xxx xxxxxx xxx xxxx xxxx xxx xx

• Tremors: Shrieker Island is new to watch at home on DVD from Dec 16

20 DECEMBER 2020

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FROM THE PRODUCER OF H ARRY P OTTER & P ADDINGTON

AND INTRODUCING DIXIE EGERICKX

COLIN FIRTH

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“A MUST-SEE FAMILY FILM” ANNA WALKER, READER’S DIGEST

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A more contemporary batch of cult classics, forgotten gems and crime thrillers comprise the local boutique Blu-ray label’s December range of limited editions. Words Scott Hocking NEWFROM IMPRINT FILMS

this largely forgotten ‘90s gem makes a welcome return on Blu-ray, complemented by an audio commentary by producer Lindsay Doran and screenwriter Scott Frank, plus a solo track featuring Branagh. Christopher Walken and Sean Penn are firing on all cylinders in director James Foley’s moody rural crime drama, At Close Range (1986). Walken plays a sociopath who’s intent on luring his estranged son (Penn) into a life of crime. A gritty exploration of a criminal family dynamic that’s loosely based on a true crime case

Fire in the Sky (1993)

in Pennsylvania during the ‘60s and ‘70s, the film is also

T he true story of logger Travis Walton, who claimed to have been abducted by a UFO in 1975, is dramatised in Fire in the Sky (1993). Walton disappeared after he and his team witnessed the titular phenomenon in Arizona, and his co-workers were accused of his murder. He was found five days later in a catatonic state, and the details of what he experienced make for one of the most nightmarish depictions of alien abduction on screen. Long out of print, this favourite of sci-fi and horror

The Deep (1977)

notable for its theme song by Penn’s then wife Madonna, Live to Tell . Extras include an audio commentary by James

Foley and film historian Nick Redman; interviews with composer Patrick Leonard, Foley, and true crime author Bruce Mowday; and a location video where the actual events that inspired the film took place. Finally, Glenn Ford and Stella Stevens headline the forgotten cult classic Rage (1966), which makes its physical media debut in glorious high definition. Ford plays a doctor in a dusty Mexican border town who is bitten by a rabid dog and has 72 hours to reach a city hospital… Extras include a new audio commentary by film historian Toby Roan and a visual essay on the illustrious career of Stella Stevens.

fans makes its Blu-ray debut loaded with bonus features including new interviews with stars D.B. Sweeney and Robert Patrick, composer Mark Isham, and Walton himself, along with a 2020 audio commentary by director Robert Lieberman and a look at the film’s practical effects.

Following the success of Jaws , another novel by Peter Benchley hit the screen two years later: The Deep

(1977). After discovering a sunken stash of morphine

vials in a shipwreck off the coast of Bermuda, Nick Nolte and Jacqueline Bisset are

menaced by a local drug lord, Haitian voodoo and a voracious moray eel in this sun-kissed thriller from director Peter Yates. Extras include a vintage making-of documentary and selected scenes from the extended three- hour network TV version. Kenneth Branagh followed up his directorial debut Henry V with the noirish supernatural-thriller Dead Again (1991). He also stars as a private eye who falls for a mute amnesiac (Emma Thompson) and discovers that they share a past-life connection that now endangers them both. A gripping mystery shot with cinematic flair,

Manhattan’s Chinatown is about to explode in Year of the Dragon (1985), an energetic crime-thriller from director Michael Cimino ( The Deer Hunter ) that was staple of the VHS era. Mickey Rourke – in his superstar heyday – plays a brooding Vietnam vet turned police captain who takes on the Chinese mafia, when a new crime lord (John Lone) threatens to upset the gangland balance. Extras include audio commentaries by Cimino and film critic Peter Tonguette, a new interview with author Robert Daley, and composer David Mansfield shares his thoughts on the director in the featurette From Heaven to Chinatown .

• The Imprint December range will be available with slipcases and unique artwork for a limited time only (while stocks last) on December 30. PRE-ORDER NOW

22 DECEMBER 2020

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OUT DEC 2

Relive Season 13 on DVD for the first time. Seasons 11 & 12 also available

7 incredible films from Ray Harryhausen in collectible Hardbox packaging on Blu-Ray

Classic Western series in collectible Hardbox packaging on Blu-Ray

Fascinating docuseries on DVD & Blu-Ray narrated by Laurence Olivier

18-disc set packed with special features available on DVD & Blu-Ray

Critically acclaimed science fiction series comes to DVD & Blu-Ray

Action-packed series based on the Taken film franchise on DVD & Blu-Ray

Hit science fiction series available on Blu-Ray for the first time

OUT DEC 2

OUT DEC 9

OUT DEC 9

OUT DEC 9

Every episode available for the first time together on DVD

The hilarious British comedy from the 70’s on DVD

John Thaw stars as Kavanagh, Q.C in the classic courtroom drama

Series 1 – 5 also available of the Inspector Morse spin-off series

OUT DEC 16

OUT DEC 16

Hilarious Happy Days spin-off starring RobinWilliams

Series 1-9 also available

Michael Landon stars in the long-running family favourite

Join Benny and the gang in the hilarious 9-disc set. The Annuals 1970-79 also available

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said, ‘Oh don’t worry, there’s a prison down the road. They said it’s normal to have one or two gunshots because they have drills, but if you hear any more than that, come running to the front desk. And so I thought, ‘Geez, what if someone escapes from prison and my daughter went missing?’ And the seed for this movie was planted in my head that day.” With his unassuming and captivating roll call, Facinelli says he equates directing to being like a therapist. “You have all of these actors who are working differently and you have to work out what the best language is to speak to them. Anne Heche was very emotional, and I could literally go up to her and hold her hands tightly and she would say ‘I got it!’ and I wouldn’t even have to say a word. And then Thomas is more rational,

where you have to talk out the scenes with him, and similar with Jason.” Having amassed an impressive filmography over the years, with his role as Dr. Carlisle Cullen in The Twilight Saga being one of his most recognisable, Facinelli reveals that the challenge of being on both sides of the camera this time around was a lot more difficult than he imagined. “I knew that I didn’t want to be the lead, because it would have been too much to do. So I gave myself a smaller role to have fun, but on those days I had to come to work in costume, I didn’t want

Actor-writer-director Peter Facinelli tells STACK how a family road trip inspired his new psychological thriller, TheVanished . Words Glenn Cochrane

• The Vanished is out on Dec 2

I f this writer’s 20 year-old self knew he would be speaking with Peter Facinelli in 2020, there’s no way he’d believe it. Facinelli is the guy whose performance as Mike Dexter in Can’t Hardly Wait is the stuff of comedy legend, and while we’re supposed to be talking about his new film as a director, The Vanished , the fanboy within simply had to bring up that 90’s classic, to which he gleefully declared, “Mike Dexter could still kick everybody’s asses!” With that bucket list moment out of the way, it’s time to focus on

to have to go through hair and makeup because I didn’t have time, so I just wore a baseball cap, but then as I’m acting I’m also thinking the whole time, ‘Am I in frame?’ and there’s like ten thousand things going through my mind at the same time. I give a lot of credit to people who can direct themselves in the lead. It’s a LOT. But maybe I’ll grow to do it and be like a Clint Eastwood,” he says with tongue in cheek. With a taste for directing, and a natural flair for exploiting the genre to its fullest, there’s no rest for Facinelli – he’s already working on his next directorial endeavour. “For me as a director, I like moving on to different things. So I did a dramedy with that first movie, and this one is a Hitchcockian psychological thriller, and then my next film that I wrote, and want to direct next year, is more like an epic Scarface movie. So yeah, like my acting career, I like to be able to jump around.”

Jason Patric and Peter Facinelli in TheVanished

I give a lot of credit to people who can direct themselves in the lead. It’s a LOT

daughter at Thanksgiving. Within hours of arriving at a lakeside caravan park, their little girl disappears, and it soon becomes apparent she’s been abducted. With only some neighbours, the park owner, the maintenance guy and a recently

Facinelli’s latest film – a gripping Hickcockian thriller that boasts a superb cast and a thoroughly engrossing plot. Stepping into the

escaped prisoner in the area as suspects, the local sheriff (Jason Patric) promises to solve the case, all the while dealing with a loss of his own. “The idea came to me when I was on a road trip with my kids,” Facinelli tells STACK . “I pulled into an RV park and while I was paying, I heard some gunshots. The owners

director’s chair for the second time, following his feature debut

with Breaking & Exiting in 2018, Facinelli also took on a supporting role, as well as writing duties, crafting a suspenseful chiller. Thomas Jane and Anne Heche play a married couple road tripping with their young

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24 DECEMBER 2020