STACK #136 Feb 2016

DVD & BD REVIEWS

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Cosmic cast away. THE MARTIAN

Release Date: 10/02/16 Format:

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Ares III: Farewell The Right Stuff Ares: Our Greatest Adventure

Leave Your Mark Bring Him Home Gag Reel

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Signal Acquired: Writing and Direction Occupy Mars: Casting and Costumes Ares III: Refocused Production Image Gallery

After being stranded on a planet in another universe in Interstellar , Matt Damon again finds himself as an astronaut cast away, albeit this time closer to home. Left behind on the red planet after his shipmates are forced to make an emergency lift off, Damon is faced with the predicament of how he’s going to survive – and more importantly, contact

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Limited Edition 3D Blu-ray/Blu-ray with Alternate Artwork

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fi blockbuster; it feels more like a Ron Howard film than one from the man who gave us Alien and Blade Runner . The Martian is more than just Robinson Crusoe on Mars without the monkey – like Saving Private Ryan it never lets us forget that “the mission is a man”. A survival story that celebrates the endurance of the human spirit without the obligatory spoonful of sugar, it’s got all the right stuff. • See page 34

NASA to arrange a rescue mission. It’s his optimistic outlook, resourcefulness and determination to “science the shit” out of his dilemma that makes The Martian so damn entertaining. This is an atypical Ridley Scott movie: the spectacle and detail is present and correct, only this time there’s also a sense that the director knows he’s making a big, crowd-pleasing sci-

Much of the research and development for Prometheus was used on this film, especially the space suits.

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Interstellar

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The border is not the only line that’s crossed. SICARIO

Release Date: OUT NOW Format:

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Stepping Into Darkness: The Visual Design of Sicario Blunt, Brolin and Benicio: Portraying the Characters of Sicario Battle Zone: The Origins of Sicario A Pulse from the Desert: The Score of Sicario The word “Sicario” derives from the Latin word “Sicarius”, meaning “dagger man”. The term was used by Romans to describe Jewish zealots who killed Roman citizens using a “sica” or small dagger hidden in their cloaks. In Spanish, it means ‘hitman’.

Denis Villeneuve’s blistering thriller actually manages to trump Steven Soderbergh’s Oscar- winning Traffic as the best film to date about the US war against the Mexican drug cartels. Both of them star Benicio del Toro, although here he’s an enigmatic Colombian known as Alejandro, who’s part of a covert black ops team led by a US government official (Josh Brolin) to locate and eliminate a key player in the drug

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unbearable levels with ominous atmosphere and some stunning cinematography that transforms Mexico into an alien landscape fraught with menace. Del Toro gives one of his best performances yet, and Blunt is perfect as the viewer’s entry point into a dark and dangerous world where only the brave dare to tread. In a word, unmissable. • See page 30

trade. FBI agent Kate Macer (Emily Blunt) is recruited to the task force and soon discovers the morally dubious tactics that must be employed in order to strike a blow in the war on drugs. From a grisly discovery in the US to a nail-biting border crossing and chilling ride through the mean streets of Juárez, Sicario cranks up the tension to

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