STACK #140 Jun 2016

DVD & BD REVIEWS

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Austen apocalypse. PRIDE AND PREJUDICE AND ZOMBIES

Into the storm. BLACK SAILS: SEASON 3

Release Date: 08/06/16

Release Date: 08/06/16

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Unleashing the living dead on Regency England and Jane Austen’s beloved characters is a joke that should be frightfully witty. And it is. But writer-director Burr Steers’ decision to play it straight actually results in a surprisingly good adaptation of Austen’s novel rather than the raucous zom-com the title promises. Set in an alternate England in the grip of a zombie apocalypse, the Bennet sisters are martial arts maidens packing daggers beneath their corsets, but still in the mood for marriage. The casting is dead-on: Downton Abbey ’s

This series just keeps getting better and better, as it continues to lay the foundations for what will become Treasure Island . The third season is the best yet, with Captain Flint (Toby Stephens) haunted by the loss of Miranda, and John Silver (Luke Arnold) struggling with the loss of a leg. Elsewhere on Nassau, the British seize control of the island, Eleanor Guthrie (Hannah New) awaits trial, a cache of Spanish gold makes Jack (Toby Schmitz) a wanted man, and the arrival of Blackbeard (Ray Stevenson) further shakes things up.

Lily James and Sam Riley make a fine Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy; former Doctor Who Matt Smith hams it up as the bumbling Parson Collins; and Game of Thrones ’ Lena Heady channels Cersei Lannister as Lady Catherine de Bourgh, a formidable, eye-patched zombie slayer. SH

There's storms, seafaring, sharks, and swashbuckling. The battle scenes are grand and cinematic, but it's the interplay between the characters – notably Silver and Flint – that puts the wind in Season 3's sails. Binge-watching awaits, me hearties! SH (See page 30)

EVEN LAMBS HAVE TEETH

kindergarten cop 2

ARROWHEAD

MERCURY PLAINS

DVD&BD

Release Date: 08/06/16 Format:

Release Date: 09/06/16 Format:

Release Date: 09/06/16 Format:

Release Date: 22/06/16 Format:

BFFs Katie (Tiera Skovbye) and Sloane (Kirsten Prout) plan to work on an organic farm to fund a New York shopping spree, but they never get there. Kidnapped and held captive by redneck sex traffickers, they manage to escape, stock up on lethal tools at the hardware store, and exact revenge on their abductors. Even Lambs Have Teeth might sound like any number of similar revenge thrillers, but this one eschews the torture porn nastiness usually associated with the sub-genre in favour of a mischievous streak of black humour. That's not to say horror fans won't get a kick out of some of the inventive bloodletting. SH

It may not have been a tumour, but something stopped Arnie from reprising his role of Detective John Kimble over two decades later. No matter though, for fellow Expendable Dolph Lundgren has bravely entered the breach, ready to go undercover as a steak-worshipping kindy teacher and take on a class of preschool darlings in order to track down a stolen FBI USB drive. Obviously they haven’t heard of regularly backing up their crucial files! 26 years later it’s easy to be cynical, but Dolph has a blast battling this new politically-correct world, in what is actually a wee (and poo and spew) hunk of fun that packs several giggles. SH

This ambitious Australian sci- fi film from first-time director Jesse O'Brien is like a greatest hits package of the genre's tropes. Rangy prisoner Kye (Dan Mor) finds himself marooned on an arid alien moon, whose strange properties affect him in increasingly bizarre ways. The plot is complex, but what Arrowhead lacks in narrative focus it makes up for with clever riffs on sci-fi themes, and impressive production values. Coober Pedy once again stars as a convincing alien landscape (see also Pitch Black ) and Shaun Micallef, as the voice of Kye's computer pal, turns out to be an inspired bit of casting. SH

Living in the shadow of a legendary parent would be

challenging, so it’s little wonder that Scott Eastwood (looking more like his dad every day) does a bunk for Mexico in this action- tinged thriller. OK, so we’re mixing reality and real life. Guilty. Anyway, unemployed 20-something Mitch (Eastwood) is stuck in Texas doing the trailer trash thing. Craving some form of adventure, he and a friend cross the border. Ditched by his mate, Mitch catches the eye of a local paramilitary leader, who enlists the lad to help his band of misfits in their fight against the Mexican drug cartels. Sure, it’s no Dirty Harry , but give the kid a chance. AF

JUNE 2016

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