STACK NZ Summer #70
DVD & BD REVIEWS
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Life lessons LEARNING TO DRIVE
Miss You Already Make sure you have plenty of hankies on hand because this is a full-blooded weepie. Set in London, Drew Barrymore and Toni Collette play BFFs whose friendship comes under strain when the latter is diagnosed with cancer; Paddy Considine and Dominic Cooper are their respective partners, while Jacqueline Bisset enjoys herself as Collette's actress mum. Essential viewing for fans of Beaches . OUT: 17/02/16 THE VISIT After arriving with a bang in 1999 with The Sixth Sense , M. Night Shyamalan rapidly ran out of viewer goodwill with subsequent films featuring ridiculous plots and tiresome twist endings. But we can finally cut him some slack because The Visit is actually a pretty enjoyable little thriller – yes, with a twist – that makes good use of the found-footage device. A dark fairy tale that's played more for laughs than scares. OUT: 03/02/16 The Transporter Refuelled Ed Skrein ( Game of Thrones ) takes over from Jason Statham as courier Frank Martin and although he lacks the physical presence and charisma of the Stath, the sleeker new model proves equally adept at nimble martial arts moves and spectacular action. The plot plays second fiddle to the slickly shot and gravity-defying set-pieces, which require the same suspension of disbelief as the Fast & Furious films. Dumb but fun. OUT: 27/01/16 Bone Tomahawk Horror-westerns are something of a rarity, and good ones even more so. But this impressive debut feature from writer-director S. Craig Zahler is an example of how to successfully blend the genres. When the wife of a landowner (Patrick Wilson) is abducted by a tribe of inbred feral savages, the local sheriff (Kurt Russell) leads a rescue party on a five-day ride into the ominously named Valley of the Starving Man. Think The Searchers meets The Hills Have Eyes . OUT: 20/01/16 Irrational Man Woody Allen's latest sees Joaquin Phoenix plagued by the director's trademark neuroses (in addition to impotence and alcoholism) as burnt out philosophy professor Abe Lucas, whose reputation nevertheless attracts the interest of married colleague Parker Posey and undergrad Emma Stone. Allen juggles it all with his usual flair, although you can't help wondering how the Coen brothers would have done it. OUT: 20/01/16 Sinister 2 Mr. Boogie is back! Also known as Buhguul, this pagan entity that feeds on the corruption of innocence made life hell for Ethan Hawke and family in 2012's Sinister , and is now stalking single mum Shannyn Sossamon and her twin boys. Scott Derrickson returns as writer and producer for this sequel, which rehashes the, well, sinister occurrences of the first film and adds a group of ghostly children. Creepy stuff. OUT: 20/01/16
Release Date: 11/02/16
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Lovely nuanced performances from its two stars, Ben Kingsley and Patricia Clarkson, make this charming, touching drama a joy to watch. Clarkson plays New York book critic Wendy, whose husband of 21 years leaves her for a younger woman. In an attempt to become more self-sufficient, Wendy decides to learn to drive and takes lessons with Sikh instructor Darwan (Ben Kingsley). The pair are worlds apart: he is an Indian immigrant, who holds on to the values of his faith, while she’s a native New Yorker struggling to find her feet again after her
philandering husband’s latest betrayal. Nevertheless, over the course of their lessons, a friendship develops between the odd couple, but just when you think you know where the film is going, it makes an unexpected detour from the obvious, which keeps you guessing where it will go next.
DVD & BD
Experience never gets old THE INTERN
Release Date: 10/02/16
Format:
Anne Hathaway plays the CEO of a burgeoning online shopping site, who struggles with the pressures of simultaneously growing a business and raising a family. Her second-in-command suggests she consider the appointment of an external CEO to make life less stressful – enter senior citizen/intern Robert De Niro, who's assigned to work closely with Hathaway and quickly becomes the father figure she apparently (and desperately) needed. The chemistry between De Niro and Hathaway is the real reason to check out The Intern
– the veteran actor's portrayal of the wise old widower who’s seen it all before serves as the perfect counterpoint to her overwhelmed businesswoman, who won’t admit she’s in too deep; when one pushes, the other pulls.
SUMMER EDITION 2016
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