STACK #128 Jun 2016

DVD & BD

EXTRAS

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DISC of the month:

Wearing a rubber nose doesn't necessarily guarantee you an Oscar. Nicole Kidman got one for her FOXCATCHER

NICHOLAS HOULT

You’d think that someone whose trademark is his “vindictive Vulcan eyebrows” would have very little else to brag about – what could top that? Nevertheless, Nicholas Hoult is building up quite the

prominent proboscis as Virginia Woolf, but Ian McKellen didn't as Gandalf. Neither did Steve Carell, whose beak-like hooter in Foxcatcher helped transform him from funny to frightening. Nasal jokes aside, it's Carell's spellbinding performance as eccentric millionaire and wrestling coach John du Pont that makes Bennett Miller's tragic, true-life sports story an absolute must-see – we'll leave you to discover the grim details of what transpired on the Foxcatcher ranch, when du Pont secured the services of Olympic Gold Medal-winning wrestler Mark Schultz (Channing Tatum) and his brother Dave (Mark Ruffalo) to train a team for the 1988 Seoul Olympics. The theme of a naive youngster being seduced by wealth, drugs and success recalls both Boogie Nights and Behind the Candelabra , and a disturbing and uncomfortable tone saturates this intense character study; a mood heightened by Carell's incredibly creepy portrayal (full of awkward silences and calculating stares) of a man stewing in his own emotional repression. While Carell's transformation is a highlight, Channing Tatum undergoes an equally impressive metamorphosis from hunky rom-com regular

portfolio of films, most of which aren’t only thanks to his brows Catching his big break at age 13 in the 2002 rom-com About a Boy, alongside Hugh Grant, this young Brit's star potential was actually recognised ten years earlier. Spotted in a theatre audience, the director suggested to Hoult’s mother that if he could concentrate on a play, then he could star in one. Guest spots onTV's Casualty , The Bill and Holby City paved the way for bigger things, including Hoult winning the Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Performance by aYouth in a Leading or Supporting Role (in About a Boy ). Skins was the next breakthrough for Hoult; after starring in 19 episodes of the teen drama series, his next movie gig was as Eusebios in the Clash of the Titans remake, in the company of SamWorthington, Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes. As a perhaps unconventional casting choice, Hoult was also added to the video game Fable III as a voice actor. Arguably his most famous role to date is that of Hank McCoy (better known as Beast) in the X-Men films First Class and Days of Future Past – a role he will reprise in X-Men: Apocalypse , due for release in cinemas around this time next year. Along with his mutant escapades, Hoult also had a brush with the walking dead, as the confused zombie love interest (yes, you read that right) of Teresa Palmer in Warm Bodies , and also played the buyer-of-the-magic-beans in Bryan Singer's Jack the Giant Slayer . The long-awaited Mad Max reboot, Fury Road, features a bald Hoult as Nux, theWarboy who usesTom Hardy's Max as a blood supply and hood ornament. He is also set to star in Drake Doremus’ Equals with Kristen Stewart and Guy Pearce, as well as action-thriller Autobahn alongside Ben Kingsley and Felicity Jones, both pegged for release later this year.

About a Boy (2002)

Skins (2007–2008)

and Jonah Hill comedy sidekick to brooding and bitter former champion consumed by a similar sense of self-loathing. Ruffalo (always good) received the film's supporting actor Oscar nom, but it was Tatum who really deserved it. Foxcatcher offers much more than just watching two Hollywood stars playing against type – it's the antithesis of all those feel-good, formula American sports films, and that alone is worth the price of the disc. • See page 40

X-Men: First Class (2011)

Warm Bodies (2013)

Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)

COMING SOON Hitting the JB shelves in July Project Almanac Kingsman: The Secret Service 007 meets Kick-Ass

Run All Night Need more Liam Neeson action? Get Taken on a Non-Stop nocturnal chase through New York City in this guns-and- gangsters thriller.

It Follows A throwback to the '80s, when John Carpenter ruled supreme, this is the best horror film you'll see this year. Period.

Hot Teen Time Machine. Physics student invents temporal device, leading to an excellent adventure of the hand-held variety.

best describes this old fashioned British spy thriller dressed up in cool new threads.

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

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