STACK #136 Feb 2016

CINEMA REVIEWS

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ALSO SCREENING IN FEBRUARY

If you don't know about this wisecracking Marvel mercenary, you've probably been on Mars with Matt Damon. Star Ryan Reynolds has been on the publicity trail – both real and virtual – during the last six months, aggressively promoting his superhero passion project, which promises to be more rude, crude, violent and edgy than most Marvel fare. But will it be “the most faithful adaptation of comic to film we’ve ever seen”? Find out on Feb 11 . DEADPOOL

THE HATEFUL EIGHT

RELEASED: Now Showing DIRECTOR: Quentin Tarantino CAST: Kurt Russell, Samuel L. Jackson, Jennifer Jason Leigh RATING: R18+

Tarantino's best (and bloodiest) film since Kill Bill Vol. 1 .

T he 8th film by Quentin Tarantino (if you count Kill Bill as two separate films and Death Proof as part of the Grindhouse package) sees the ambitious auteur continue to experiment with Western/Civil War tropes following Django Unchained . Aboard a stagecoach bound for Red Rock are bounty hunter John Ruth (Kurt Russell) and his captive/paycheque, the notorious outlaw Daisy Domergue (Jennifer Jason Leigh in a welcome return to the screen). Having gained two fellow travellers en route – fellow bounty hunter Major Marquis Warren (Samuel L. Jackson) and sheriff-in-waiting Chris Mannix (Walton Googins, who's now stealing Bill Paxton's roles) – this foursome are forced to take shelter from an oncoming blizzard in the cosy and remote outpost known as Minnie's Haberdashery. It's here that they meet the remainder of the titular eight – hangman Oswaldo Mobray (Tim Roth, channelling Christoph Waltz), cowboy Joe Gage (Michael Madsen, Reservoir Dogs ear-slicing Mr. Blonde), Mexican Bob (Demian Bichir) and a Confederate General (the great Bruce Dern). Tarantino's passion for writing colourful dialogue is both an asset and a detriment to his films, and the eight are by far his most loquacious ensemble to date. Indeed, the first half of the film's generous three-hour running time is devoted to verbal repartee and is a bit of a slog. Fortunately he's working with the best cast assembled since Pulp Fiction , and by the time the first shot is fired, we have a pretty good handle on who's who at Minnie's and their respective agendas.

Or do we? What is Daisy's secret? Is Major Marquis really in possession of a letter from pen pal Abraham Lincoln? Is Mannix really the new sheriff of Red Rock? And where is Minnie? Throw a pot of poisoned coffee, Agatha Christie and a surprise reveal into this pressure-cooker environment and all hell will invariably break loose, leaving Minnie's Haberdashery resembling the interior of the cabin from The Evil Dead . The Hateful Eight is Tarantino's best (and bloodiest) film since Kill Bill Vol. 1 . It's also his love letter to the grand widescreen epics of old, shot on film in Ultra Panavision 70 – the same format that so spectacularly framed Ben- Hur and It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World . Although divided into chapters, the film actually plays as two distinctly different halves in terms of pacing and tone. It's like a reversal of Grindhouse : Rodriguez's Planet Terror was an insane bloodbath and Tarantino's own Death Proof more measured and sedate. The Hateful Eight is a similarly bipolar beast; talky, theatrical, incredibly violent, and R-rated for a good reason. Scott Hocking

Has it really been 15 years since Ben Stiller first shot us a glance of Blue Steel? Derek Zoolander returns – older but perhaps not necessarily wiser or as ridiculously good looking – on Feb 11 . ZOOLANDER 2

CINEMA

Michael Fassbender gives what Ashton Kutcher couldn't – a convincing portrayal of the eponymous Apple guru. And with director Danny Boyle at the helm, how can you miss this? Feb 4 . STEVE JOBS

FURTHER VIEWING: Django Unchained

PRIDE AND PREJUDICE AND ZOMBIES

Jane Austen meets The Walking Dead in this gleeful mash-up of highbrow literature, period romance, and B-movie zombie mayhem. Marriages and class struggles are put on hold in Regency England on Feb 25 .

FEBRUARY 2016

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