STACK #136 Feb 2016

DVD & BD REVIEWS

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The chronicles of Kaulder. THE LAST WITCH HUNTER

At the mansion of madness. CRIMSON PEAK

Release Date: 03/02/16

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Release Date: 25/02/16

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Vin Diesel, like Dwayne Johnson, has the ability to make you want to see a film for his presence alone. As star and producer of this horror-fantasy, Diesel keeps a straight face (and an eye on a potential franchise) as an immortal witch hunter named Kaulder, who sniffs out dark magic in present day New York with the tenacity of a gumshoe on a hard case. When a whiff of sorcery portends the return of an evil queen he despatched in the Middle Ages, Kaulder, along with sidekick Elijah Wood and flame-haired young witch Rose ("You know nothing Jon Snow") Leslie, races to stop her

If Mario Bava had directed Jane Eyre for Hammer studios it'd probably look like this ravishing fusion of gothic melodrama, romance, murder and madness from Guillermo del Toro. Edith Cushing (Mia Wasikowska) is swept off her feet by the charming Thomas Sharpe (Tom Hiddleston), becomes his bride, and is taken to live in his crumbling family home – a cavernous mansion located atop a mine filled with scarlet clay that oozes through the floor. This decaying estate is also home to Sharpe's frosty sister (an unhinged Jessica Chastain) and full of restless ghosts and

resurrection and a deadly plague being unleashed. An entertaining mash-up of Constantine and Highlander , or an episode of Buffy on steroids, The Last Witch Hunter ostensibly resembles fantasy misfires like Priest and Seventh Son , but it's much more fun – and has Michael Caine, too. • See page 37

sinister family secrets, which Edith must uncover to stay alive. Art directed to the max, this is a truly gorgeous looking movie, drenched in primary colours and the meticulous attention to detail that is del Toro's forte. Fans of measured, old school ghost stories will love every sumptuous frame.

Revenge is back in fashion. THE DRESSMAKER

Something wicked this way comes. MACBETH

DVD&BD

Release Date: 25/02/16

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Release Date: 11/02/16

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Kate Winslet brings a touch of glamour to the outback in this '50s-set dramedy that sees her returning to her home town after making it big in the world of high fashion. Arriving like an avenger from a Spaghetti Western, she's determined to uncover the truth behind her exile as a child, and make sure those responsible pay the price. Like her plucky heroine, this is a homecoming for director Jocelyn Moorhouse, too, whose last Australian film was the award- winning Proof in 1991. Adapting Rosalie Ham's novel with co-writer P.J. Hogan, Moorhouse has crafted a delightfully

Michael Fassbender as Macbeth. Marion Cotillard as Lady Macbeth. Snowtown director Justin Kurzel tackling Shakespeare’s great tragedy. If Macbeth isn’t already on your must-see list for these reasons, put it there, pronto. Few would have expected Kurzel to follow Snowtown with Shakespeare, and the South Australian filmmaker has delivered another incredibly austere interpretation of material that demands a dark touch, and the best cinematic version of Shakespeare's play to date – yes, even better than Roman Polanski’s 1971 adaptation. Shakespeare’s works ultimately

kitsch throwback to nineties' favourites like The Adventures of Priscilla and Strictly Ballroom . It's also one of the most successful local films of 2015. Winslet is superb, and backed up by a quality Aussie cast including Hugo Weaving (who frocks up again), Liam Hemsworth and the great Judy Davis.

live or die on the strength of the performances and Fassbender was born to play the eponymous tyrant, whose ambition to ascend the throne leads to murder most foul, civil war and his ultimate downfall. A triumph in every department, "the Scottish film" is bleak, brutal and brilliant.

FEBRUARY 2016

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