STACK#127 May 2016

CINEMA

REVIEWS

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ALSO SCREENING IN MAY

MAD MAX: FURY ROAD

If this is as good as the advance trailers would suggest, we're in for a wild ride to the max! Or at least a better one than the uneven Beyond Thunderdome . Not only does Tom Hardy's road warrior have to contend with a cavalcade of freaks in souped-up vehicles, there's also a massive sandstorm wreaking havoc. Director George Miller is back in the driver's seat for one of the most anticipated action blockbusters of the year. May 14

Sometime during its almost 15-year progression, the Fast and the Furious series forgot what it was and became all the better for it. FAST & FURIOUS 7 RELEASED: Out Now DIRECTOR: James Wan CAST: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson RATING: M15+

B orn of a bygone era – the fleeting period of cultural confusion between the grime of the nineties and the glossy sheen of the naughties, the same few years that saw the rise of Josh Hartnett and Limp Bizkit – the FF franchise was never meant to stand the test of time. And yet 14 years after the initial film (itself a thinly veiled imitation of Point Break ), Fast & Furious 7 is somehow one of the biggest blockbuster releases of this year. Much of the franchise's longevity has to do with the tenacity of Justin Lin, who has relinquished creative control to James Wan for this film but directed the series from Tokyo Drift through to Fast & Furious 6 . Lin pre-empted the subject fatigue and began reshaping the narrative and characters as far back as the fourth entry, reimagining the Brain O’Connor/Dominic Toretto exploits as embroidered heist adventures. Under the creative management of Lin, the franchise has grown to govern one of the most bewilderingly complex and popular mythologies in mainstream cinema. For Fast devotees, the events of Fast & Furious 7 follow the previous film and also observe continuity up to the conclusion of Tokyo Drift . The gang are mourning the loss of Han, who was murdered at the hands of Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham), the older brother of the villain from the previous film. Shaw is after revenge and begins hunting down the heroes one by one, forcing Toretto

We predict that Disney's secrecy-shrouded sci-fi adventure will be this year's Guardians of the Galaxy . Why? Because Brad Bird ( The Incredibles, Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol ) is directing it. May 21 TOMORROWLAND

(Vin Diesel) to accept the assistance of a shady government agent (Kurt Russell). Unfortunately, Wan doesn’t have the same natural capacity to polish subpar narrative and cheap dialogue into effortless entertainment. Fast & Furious 7 reaches for the same surprising heights of its predecessors, but ultimately feels like a step back for the eccentrically enduring franchise. John Roebuck

Melissa McCarthy reunites with Bridesmaids director Paul Feig for this action-comedy, playing a deskbound CIA analyst who's sent on a globetrotting mission. Miss Congeniality meets 007? May 21 SPY

Competitive a capella returns in this sequel to the 2012 smash hit musical comedy. Anna Kendrick and Rebel Wilson are back behind the mic, and Elizabeth Banks orchestrates from the director's chair. Sing it! May 7 PITCH PERFECT 2

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

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