STACK #124 Feb 2016

DVD&BD

REVIEWS

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Grave matters. A WALK AMONG THE TOMBSTONES

A night to remember. BEFORE I GO TO SLEEP

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Release Date: 18/02/15

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Release Date: 12/02/15

THRILLER

With his action man credentials now firmly established, Liam Neeson takes the chance to stretch himself a little with this noirish thriller, in which the emphasis is more on mood and suspense than explosive set-pieces. Based on the novel by Lawrence Block, Neeson is Matt Scudder, a reformed alcoholic cop who now makes a living as an unlicensed private eye. When approached by drug dealer Kenny Kristo (Dan Stevens from Downton Abbey ) to help him find the men who abducted and murdered his wife, Scudder is reluctant to take the

Every day, Christine (Nicole Kidman) wakes up with a complete stranger in her bed. The man (Colin Firth) patiently explains that he is Ben, her husband, and because of a traumatic accident in her past, she suffers from a rare form of amnesia in which she forgets everything about herself and her adult life everytime she goes to sleep. However, unbeknownst to Ben, Christine is now being helped by a sympathetic neurologist (Mark Strong), who is getting her to make a video diary at the end of each day to remind herself of her condition and

case, but changes his mind when he discovers that these psychos have done this before and may already be targeting their next victim. Neeson is suitably world-weary as the reluctant PI, while director Scott Frank’s gritty visuals vividly bring the seamier side of the Big Apple to life.

present circumstances. And that diary reveals that her doting husband may actually be keeping secrets from her. Based on the bestseller by S.J. Watson and expertly directed by Rowan Joffe, Before I Go to Sleep is an ingenious Memento -style thriller that you won’t forget in a hurry.

Home is where the horror is. HOUSEBOUND

Inside and out. SON OF A GUN

Release Date: 11/02/15

Release Date: 04/02/15

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Kiwi director Gerald Johnstone’s debut feature invokes the demented spirit of Peter Jackson's early work, Jonathan King's Black Sheep and Wes Craven's The People Under the Stairs , and is poised to become a similar cult favourite. The premise is ingenious: stroppy Morgana O’Reilly is forced to return to her family home after being sentenced to home detention for her role in a comically inept ATM robbery. She begins to suspect that something sinister is also hiding in the

From Home and Away to Maleficent and The Giver , local boy Brenton Thwaites is on a roll. He also headlines this Aussie prison film cum heist caper from first time writer-director Julius Avery. Thwaites plays a teenaged con who is mentored by master thief Ewan McGregor to orchestrate a jailbreak, which will enable the pair – with help from some Russian mobsters (them again!) – to liberate a Kalgoorlie mine of its gold. But of course their ambitious scheme doesn't quite go according to

house, but if she leaves the property, she will end up in prison. There's more to it – a lot more – and Johnstone deftly balances the plot's blend of frights, dark humour and inspired slapstick. The performances are first rate, too. Recommended.

plan. Cramming several genres into one relentless action-thriller (elements of Guy Ritchie, The Expendables and Two Hands all jostle for screen time), Avery's ambitious script ensures that Son of a Gun is difficult to pigeonhole. It's busy, but it's never dull.

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

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