STACK NZ Aug #76

DVD & BD REVIEWS

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Into the storm BLACK SAILS: COMPLETE THIRD SEASON

A King-sized time travel tale 11.22.63

Release Date: 11/08/16

Release Date: 10/08/16

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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)

Stephen King's massive 2011 novel of the same name, about a time traveller's attempt to prevent the assassination of President John F. Kennedy on the titular date, has been turned into an eight-episode mini-series produced by J.J. Abrams. Jake Epping (James Franco) is the guy who goes down the temporal rabbit hole and eventually finds himself in Dallas, 1963, with the opportunity to change history. Jake shadows Lee Harvey Oswald and falls in love along the way to the fateful date, and of course there

further shakes things up. There's storms, seafaring, sharks, and swashbuckling. The battle scenes are grand and cinematic, but it's the interplay between the characters that puts the wind in Season 3's sails. Binge-watching awaits, me hearties! SH

are the inevitable paradoxes and future repercussions to consider should his mission prove successful. The concept alone makes this a must-see, and the series thankfully trims much of the novel's fat. The combination of King and Abrams is the icing on the cake. SH

HARDCORE HENRY

Mother’s Day

scare campaign

BASTILLE DAY

DVD&BD

Release Date: 03/08/16 Format:

Release Date: 10/08/16 Format:

Release Date: 11/08/16 Format:

Release Date: 17/08/16 Format:

Video games played from the first-person perspective have been commonplace for decades now. But movies? Not so much. Hardcore Henry takes this bold step, inspired by two YouTube music videos that director Ilya Naishuller made for his band, Biting Elbows. Our titular protagonist wakes in a water tank inside a blimp, greeted by his wife, Estelle. So begins an almost non- stop action revenge spectacular featuring more than one Sharlto Copley (yep, the guy from District 9 ) and an outbreak of Tim Roth. It reminds us somewhat of the delightfully manic Crank , but with less Statham and more ham – wonderfully, frenetically so. AF

Although it doesn't quite lend itself to the rom-com formula the late Garry Marshall established with Valentine’s Day and New Year’s Eve , the mix of pathos and laughs will still go down a treat with fans of his previous ensemble hits. Regular collaborator Julia Roberts is back as a TV Home Shopping magnate, while the all-star cast also includes Jennifer Aniston as a divorcee competing with her kids' hot young stepmom (Shay Mitchell), Bree Robertson as a mum-to-be with unresolved feelings about the mother she never knew, and Jason Sudeikis as a widower struggling to come to terms with the death of his army wife (Jennifer Garner.) JF

When a group of masked mavericks up the ante in terms of gruesome online prank videos, popular hidden camera TV series 'Scare Campaign' must also lift its game if its going to compete – and survive. Shooting in an abandoned asylum, the show's latest unsuspecting stooge is about to get the fright of his life. But what if he doesn't take it well? This devilishly clever Aussie chiller from the team behind 100 Bloody Acres is a masterclass in misdirection that pranks and scares its audience with the same twisted relish, and gets the most from its spooky location. Look out, too, for Sigrid Thornton in an amusing cameo. SH

I dris Elba auditions for the 007 role in this action-meets-conspiracy- thriller blast that’s set on – and above – the streets of Paris. Completed before certain horrific real life events in The City of Light, it’s the tale of a rogue CIA surveillance guy (Elba) who teams with a pickpocket ( GoT 's Richard Madden) who has inadvertently set off a bomb. Naturally, suspicions turn to terrorism in the lead up to the titular national holiday, but could more nefarious forces be trying to destabilise the city? The action’s cranked to 11 here, taking cues from greats like Die Hard in that the bangs keep on happening, even if the story doesn’t always make complete sense. AF

AUGUST 2016

24

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