STACK NZ Summer #70

REVIEWS DVD & BD

The lawyer who came in from the cold BRIDGE OF SPIES

Gangster No. 1 BLACK MASS

Release Date: 24/02/16

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Release Date: 17/02/16

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Part courtroom drama, part Cold War thriller, Steven Spielberg’s classy new film tells the fascinating tale behind the shooting down of a US spy plane over Russia in the 1960. The story actually begins in 1957, when humble Brooklyn lawyer James Donovan (Tom Hanks) is given the next to impossible task of defending Russian spy Rudolf Abel (Mark Rylance). Unsurprisingly he loses the case, but when US spy plane pilot Gary Francis Powers is captured by the Russians, Donovan becomes the middleman in a

Much has been made of how this intense gangster epic heralds a major return to form for Johnny Depp – and make no mistake, he’s back to his very best here as notorious Boston mob boss James ‘Whitey’ Bulger, who is allowed to build a criminal empire while acting as an informant for the FBI. However, this is very much an ensemble effort: Joel Edgerton almost steals the film as compromised FBI agent John Connolly, slowly sliding into a pit of corruption, while there are terrific supporting turns from an A-list supporting cast that

high stakes prisoner swap deal. Working from a script co-written by the Coen Brothers, Spielberg brings his usual visual excellence and immaculate pacing to the proceedings, while Hanks is in his element as mild-mannered but dogged lawyer.

includes Benedict Cumberbatch, Kevin Bacon, Dakota Johnson and Peter Sarsgaard. Suffused in the slate grey tones of the great crime movies of the ’70, Scott Cooper’s muscular direction completes a perfect package.

DVD&BD

End of the line for found-footage franchise? Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension

The Drac pack is back Hotel Transylvania 2

Release Date: 24/02/16

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Release Date: 03/02/16

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After the left-turn that was the fifth Paranormal Activity movie – The Marked Ones was more spin-off than sequel – The Ghost Dimension returns to the core story of possessed sisters Katy and Kristi for what is billed as the final installment in the found-footage franchise. A family move into their new home, where dad Ryan (Chris J. Murray) discovers an old video camera that can see images from an otherworldly dimension, and a box of cassettes featuring recordings of the scary siblings from 1988, which seem eerily linked to the

Even Adam Sandler’s most devoted fans would have to admit he’s been on autopilot of late. However, this fun Addams Family -esque animated sequel finds the star/ co-writer back in sparkling form and this is arguably the best Sandler movie since 2009’s Funny People . This time around, Drac (voiced by Sandler) is gradually coming around to the fact that his daughter Mavis (Selena Gomez) is now married to a human (Adam Samberg), and is delighted when they provide him with a grandchild. However, when the boy shows no sign of

present. Before long, an amorphous black mass is hovering in the house, with demonic designs on daughter Leila (Ivy George). Although it doesn't stray too far from the established formula, the 3D ensures that Paranormal Activity 6 lives up to its subtitle.

becoming a vampire, Drac and his pals resolve to bring out the monster within him. The direction of Genndy Tartakovsky – creator of Samurai Jack – fizzes with hyperactive energy, while grown-ups will appreciate the accomplished comic playing of Sandler’s regular repertory company.

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