STACK NZ Feb #81

DVD&BD FEATURE

visit stack.net.nz

Justice isn't a crime HELL OR HIGH WATER

Death knows no borders FEAR THE WALKING DEAD: SEASON 2

Format:

Release Date: 08/02/17

Format:

Release Date: 08/02/17

What do you do if the bank’s screwing you around, itching to foreclose on your family’s ranch? Well, if you’re Texan brothers Tanner and Toby Howard (Ben Foster and Chris Pine) you’d rob some of their branches, launder the money and then pay off what’s owed to the bank with their very own funds, setting your estranged kids up for life – especially as oil’s recently been found on the land. That’s the gist of this western-tinged heist thriller, which finds beauty in the desolate landscapes of post-GFC times where everybody’s struggling – we

With the episode count upped from six to fifteen, and a mid-season break in between, the second season of this prologue to the zombie apocalpyse emerges from the shadow of its more popular sibling series, although it does share some of the problems that continue to plague TWD – namely cheats involving the fate of some of the characters, who'll begin to grow on you after an alienating introduction in season one. FTWD season two charts a different course, with Madison (Kim Dickens), Travis (Cliff Curtis) and family setting sail for a safer port – zombies

lost count of properties for sale and billboards flogging quick loans. Add a pair of staunch, acerbic Texas rangers in Jeff Bridges and Gil Birmingham, superb writing, the odd LOL moment and an ending that comes all too soon, and you've got one terrific Texan treat. AF

can't swim, right? – only to encounter a different kind of peril on the ocean (have none of them seen Dead Calm ?). Much of the second half takes place in Mexico, where every day is the Day of the Dead. AMC have renewed the show for a third season, which is due to air this year. SH

OUIJA: ORIGIN OF EVIL

AMERICAN HONEY

CARNAGE PARK

KEEPING UP WITH THE JONESES

Release Date: 08/02/17 Format:

Release Date: 22/02/17 Format:

Release Date: 01/02/17 Format:

Release Date: 08/02/17 Format:

Even the most genuinely clairvoyant would have been hard-pressed to have foreseen a second movie based on the Ouija board game being made, yet here it is! Taking us back to 1967 Los Angeles – complete with classic Universal logo – we set about ticking things off the checklist. Widow? Yep. Older daughter? Uh-huh. Younger daughter ripe for possession? You bet. A priest? Duh! Evil spirits? Naturally! We may sound dismissive, for Ouija: Origin of Evil certainly goes for the tropes, but following a gradual build involving the family’s shonky fortune-telling business becoming all too real, it really lets loose some scare-tinged, M-rated popcorn pleasure. AF

British filmmaker Andrea Arnold ( Fish Tank ) adopts the voyeuristic style favoured by Harmony Korine for this episodic road trip into the American heartland in the company of a group of impoverishered youths flogging magazine subscriptions to people who don't want them, or can't afford them. The focus is on newcomer Star (Sasha Lane), who joins the team after locking eyes with Jake (Shia LaBeouf) in a Walmart – their fractious relationship providing the dramatic impetus in lieu of a narrative. Measured but captivating, American Honey is raw and real; a breath of fresh Midwestern air after being suffocated by so many superheroes and special effects. SH

Deliverance meets 1970s exploitation by way of Quentin Tarantino in this horror/thriller mash-up from Mickey Keating, the guy behind Pod and Darling . It all begins with a botched bank job, a gunshot wound and a hasty escape to the middle of nowhere. Or, more specifically, the middle of a property owned by one Wyatt Moss (Pat Healy), an ex-military sniper and certifiable yokel sicko. Bullets fly, blood spurts and our heroine, Vivian (Ashley Bell), appears, having been kidnapped and jammed in the boot by the wannabe bank robbers. So begins a cat and mouse game between Wyatt and Vivian with only one thing missing – banjos! AF

Move over Brangelina and shuffle sideways Jackie Chan, for it’s Zach Galifianakis and Isla Fisher’s turn to don their Agent 86 and 99 hats as Jeff and Karen Gaffney, when spies move into their cosseted cul-de-sac. They’d be Tim and Natalie Jones (Jon Hamm and Gal Gadot), although obviously they’re not shouting their career choice from any rooftops. Instead they’re trying to inveigle their way into the aerospace company that employs Jeff and most of the suburb. It’s your everyday everyman and everywoman become spies and travel-the-world action comedy, but with many laughs and much charm. AF

20

FEBRUARY 2017

jbhifi.co.nz