STACK #229 November 2023

CONTENTS

ISSUE 229 NOV 2023

MOVIES & TV 4 Intro 6 Take 5 and On the Radar 7 Merch, Charts and What Do You Do? 8 Box Office Barbie 10 Mission: Impossible - Upping the Ante 12 Gran Turismo : Playing for Real 14 Asteroid City and Meg 2: The Trench 16 A Crowning Moment: The Crown: Season 5 18 Naughty Dogs: Strays 19 Out this month 20 New from Imprint 22 Socials and Competitions MUSIC 26-30 The Music Room: Chats with Warren Ellis, Tkay Maidza, and more 31 Look cool, do good with AusMusic T-Shirt Day 32-33 Cover feature: The Great and Powerful Oz! 34 Lifting the Lid on Tina Turner 36 Vital Vinyl 40 This Month @ JB 42-44 Album reviews GAMING 48 Take 5/Merch of the Month/Game changers! 50 Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III 52 Lords of the Fallen 54 EA Sports WRC 56 Sonic Superstars 58 STACK Recommends 60 Out this month 62 Fast forward/Q5/Wham, bam, game exam! TECH FLIP MAG AND READ FROM BACK 4 Intro 6-8 Smart home starters 10-12 6 steps for setting up a smart home 14 Why Matter and Wi-Fi matters 16-18 Mesh networking and why you need it 20 Widen your Wi-Fi with the Google Nest Wi-Fi Pro 24-28 Smart home security and monitoring 30-32 Lighting up your smart home 34 Control your smart home with a smart TV 36 8 things to love about the Google Pixel 8 38 Full music immersion with the Bose QC Ultra Earbuds 40 Cans for kids from Belkin 42 Elevate your photography with the Nikon Z f camera 44 New tech at JB

WELCOME

A movie based on Mattel’s iconic doll might sound dubious, but Barbie managed to defy the cynics by becoming the year’s highest grossing film at the box office and a global phenomenon, and Margot Robbie’s cheerful incarnation is poised to have a similar impact on physical media when she hits JB this November. Add to that the best Mission: Impossible film to date, Dead Reckoning – Part One , and the high octane Gran Turismo , and you’ve got a month made for movie lovers. Ready to give your home a tech renovation? We’ve got you covered with six handy steps for setting up a smart home, plus all the new smart tech to get you started. We also take a deep dive into getting the best Wi-Fi coverage throughout the home, and turn the spotlight on security cameras and which ones are right for your needs. Historically, November in the world of games is a belter, and that’s the case again this year. Captain Price and Task Force 141 are back in the thick of the action again with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III landing at JB, we speak with Sonic Team’s Takashi Iizuka about Sonic Superstars , and dive into the ‘Soulslike’ action of Lords of the Fallen . And in music, Warren Ellis and Tkay Maidza chat to us about their excellent new albums, we pore over the best Aussie records for AusMusic Month, lift the lid on Tina Turner’s defining anthology, check out the exclusive AusMusic T-Shirt Day get-up from JB, and review new music from King Gizz, The Bamboos, and Marcia Hines. Paul Jones, Editor-in-Chief

jbhifi.com.au/stack

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

Music Consultant Mike Glynn Marketing Manager Fleur Parker

Social Media Manager Glenn Cochrane Production Manager Craig Patterson Correspondence STACK editor@stack.com.au

Chief Contributors Gill Pringle, Bob Jones Contributors Bryget Chrisfield, Jeff Jenkins,

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

Simon Lukic, Billy Pinnell, Denise Hylands, Simon Winkler, Jake Cleland, Holly Pereira, Adam Colby, Bec Summer, Dan Nicholson, Alex Deutrom, Michael Irving, Jacqui Picone

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

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