STACK #181 Nov 2019

FILM

REVIEWS

Loyalty is under fire. ANGEL HAS FALLEN

Let the festivities begin. midsommar

Release Date: 20/11/19

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Release Date: 06/11/19

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Gerard Butler’s back at the White House, doing his protection thing again. Well, until he’s framed for trying to kill the US President. That would be Morgan Freeman, who’s had a quick rise through the political ranks of this trilogy from speaker to vice president to big cheese. Honestly though, who would want to try to kill Morgan Freeman?! Not Gerard Butler’s Mike Banning, that’s for sure. He’s the good guy that the bad guys want out of the picture, so it’s time to set him up as a Russian collaborator. As gloriously big,

Hereditary director Ari Aster summons the pagan spirit of ‘70s classic The Wicker Man in his superb second feature. Shattered by a family tragedy, Dani (Florence Pugh) joins her boyfriend (Jack Reynor) and his buddies on a trip to a commune in rural Sweden, where they will experience a ceremony that only occurs every 90 years. This unique opportunity soon turns into a nightmare in broad daylight as the dark details of the ancient ritual are revealed. Aster doesn’t trade in jump scares, favouring a relentlessly

dumb and action-packed as Olympus Has Fallen and London Has Fallen , Angel Has Fallen has the added bonus of Nick Nolte playing Banning’s eccentric old man – a Vietnam vet living off the grid who offers his estranged son some sage advice. AC (See page 26)

eerie tone and subtle visual tricks to disquiet the viewer, punctuated by sledgehammer moments of graphic violence and scary nudity. An exquisitely weird, gorgeously realised and frequently grotesque mind trip, Midsommar will get under your skin and stay there. SH

Lethal weapons. dragged across concrete

Giving comedy a rewrite. late night

Release Date: 27/11/19

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Release Date: 06/11/19

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Writer-director S. Craig Zahler ( Bone Tomahawk and Brawl in Cell Block 99 ) puts the hardboiled crime thriller on slow boil. Mel Gibson and Vince Vaughn play cops whose strong-arm tactics on a suspect results in suspension without pay. The sudden lack of a steady income becomes problematic, so the pair decides to make crime pay. Tipped off about a bank heist, they intend to relieve the thieves of their loot. But of course the best-laid plans often go awry, and a buddy cop movie becomes a bloody

As actress and Emmy-nominated writer for the US version of The Office , Mindy Kaling had unique insight into the creative process, which she’s brought into sharp focus in this whipsmart buddy comedy. Emma Thompson is Katherine Newbury, the host of a long-running variety show. Her writers are minions she delights in keeping in check, and Thompson’s razor sharp timing as a performer makes this form of cruelty something pleasurable to behold. Still, all is not well for Newbury’s show – it’s growing stale

cop movie. Zahler’s passion for verbose characters, lengthy running times, and B-movies as highbrow fare is at its most indulgent here. But slow cooking yields tastier results, and the measured delivery ultimately rewards once the film has been properly digested. SH

and she’s facing the axe. Could it have to do with the blandness of her all white, male and college-educated writing staff? Her determination to inject diversity leads to the hiring of Molly Patel (Kaling), who has bugger all experience but could well be the antidote to Newbury’s ails. AC

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