STACK #150 Apr 2017

CINEMA REVIEWS

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RELEASED: Now Showing DIRECTOR: Bill Condon CAST: Emma Watson, Dan Stevens, Luke Evans, Josh Gad RATING: PG Belle (Emma Watson) has recently found herself in a new French village with her father (Kevin Kline), where every day is like the one before. Bored with her mundane life, she pines for adventures like the ones in her beloved books. While most the townsfolk find her peculiar, Belle's beauty plants her in the blinkers of town hunk Gaston (Luke Evans), who is determined to marry her. Aided by his trusty companion Le Fou (Josh Gad), Gaston makes it his mission to woo Belle and win her favour. When Belle’s father finds himself lost in the woods, his only hope is to seek refuge in a nearby castle, which just so happens to be home to a cursed Beast (Dan Stevens). Belle goes to rescue him, and, well, you know the rest… Beauty and the Beast is the latest Disney animated classic to be revisited as a live-action feature. Once you get past the rather unsettling anthropomorphised furniture, this is a thoroughly delightful reimagination featuring all the songs from the 1991 original, plus a few new ones thrown in. Emma Watson is magical as Belle – helped largely by her similar role as Hermione, we assume – and Luke Evans is a suitably distasteful Gaston. Dan Stevens portrays a sheltered Beast, whom we end up caring more for than we did in the animated version. In many regards director Bill Condon improves upon the already fantastic original, giving us something there that wasn’t there before. Alesha Kolbe BEAUTY AND THE BEAST KONG: SKULL ISLAND RELEASED: Now Showing DIRECTOR: Jordan Vogt-Roberts CAST: Tom Hiddleston, Brie Larson, John C. Reilly RATING: M Since his first appearance in the 1933 classic King Kong , the mighty ape has stamped his simian footprint into popular culture and been reimagined for subsequent generations with varying levels of success – from the awful 1976 remake and risible King Kong Lives (1986), to the more recent Peter Jackson film. Kong: Skull Island is a different beast again – a standalone adventure set on Kong's stomping ground. It's 1973 and scientist John Goodman embarks on an expedition to explore Skull Island along with British tracker Tom Hiddleston, photojournalist Brie Larson, and strong military support following the withdrawal from Vietnam. The team don't even have a chance to touch down before Kong makes a spectacular entrance, swatting helicopters from the sky and swallowing soldiers whole. Stranded and separated in a jungle hell teeming with freakish fauna, their chances of survival rest with a barmy John C. Reilly. Kong: Skull Island captures the spirit and excitement of Saturday matinee monster movies like Valley of Gwangi and Mysterious Island , while adding a liberal dose of Vietnam War gung-ho and Jurassic World . It's inventively shot and raises the bar for visual effects, but could have used a better script, less John C. Reilly wisecracks and more Kong. Overall, more enjoyable than Jackson's Kong but not quite a return fit for a King. Scott Hocking

RELEASED: Now Showing DIRECTOR: Dean Israelite CAST: Dacre Montgomery, Bryan Cranston, Becky G. RATING: M

POWER RANGERS

Does the 90’s TV series morph into a successful blockbuster?

B ased on the 1993 television series Mighty Morphin Power Rangers , this big screen update sees a group of teenager outsiders taught to work together in order to become the Power Rangers – a colour-coded super group with incredible powers, strength, and equipped with their own armour and mechanical companions called Zords. Keeping with tradition, the film recruits relatively unknown actors to play the fantastic five: Dacre Montgomery as Jason the Red Ranger, Naomi Scott as Kimberly the Pink Ranger, RJ Cyler as Billy the Blue Ranger, Ludi Lin as Zack the Blue Ranger, and singer Becky G. as Trini the Yellow Ranger. Long ago, when dinosaurs walked the earth, a team of Power Rangers – led by Bryan Cranston’s Red Ranger Zordon – protected a crystal that contained the life force of the planet. The Green Ranger, Rita Repulsa, was a member of Zordon’s team until she betrayed them, coveting the crystal for personal gain. Zordon hid his team’s gems, which allowed them to

the guidance of Zordon and his trusty robot assistant Alpha 5 (Bill Hader), these fledgling Rangers must train to protect the Earth from Elizabeth Banks’s terrifying Rita Repulsa and her golden minion, Goldar, who have returned to claim the crystal. It's morphin' time! Power Rangers dutifully captures the essence of the show many will fondly remember from their childhood. But that's not necessarily a good thing, given the series was rather average and cheesy to begin with (but still kind of loveable). While the movie succeeds in upping the quality of the visual effects and the Ranger suit designs (and equally as important, the robotic Zords), it doesn't do much to enhance the story, which worked better in the 20-minute episode format. Reimagined as a coming-of-age tale in superhero clothing, Power Rangers should satisfy newcomers, however longtime series fans will be left feeling a little shortchanged. Alesha Kolbe

RATING KEY: Wow! Good Not bad Meh Woof!

morph into the Power Rangers, in the hope that they would one day be rediscovered by a new and worthy team. It's the aforementioned teens from Angel Grove that rise to the challenge. Under

APRIL 2017

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