STACK #179 Sept 2019

FILM REVIEWS

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Nashville dreams. WILD ROSE

One banana, two bananas, three bananas.... gore. THE BANANA SPLITS MOVIE

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Release Date: 18/09/19

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Release Date: 04/09/19

Jessie Buckley blooms into a next gen superstar in Wild Rose . She first came to the notice of British audiences via a talent show, with the likes of Andrew Lloyd Webber championing her, and this gem of a redemptive tale is the perfect vehicle for her considerable talents. Buckley plays Rose-Lynn Harlan, a wayward single woman who's fresh out of jail and yearning to become a country music superstar in Nashville. But her dream is hindered by the tyranny of distance – she's stuck in

"Tra La La..." Beloved by kids who grew up in the '70s, The Banana Splits Adventure Hour followed the shambolic escapades of the titular pop group, a furry foursome who drove dune buggies and staged slapstick skits. After a failed attempt in 2008 to revive the show as an animated series, Fleagle, Bingo, Drooper and Snorky have now been reimagined as bloodthirsty killers! Prepare to have your fond childhood memories corrupted, when

Scotland – and she has two very young children to raise. She also has talent to burn, and it's the women in her life that challenge and support her on this unlikely journey. Wild Rose is part A Star Is Born , part The Commitments , but it's the singularly unforgettable voice of Buckley that makes this music-drama one of a kind. AC

the Splits discover that their show is being cancelled and embark on a gruesome rampage of revenge that will leave the live studio audience in pieces. Furry anthropomorphic characters are kind of sinister to begin with, so bringing the Banana Splits back in a horror movie reboot isn’t as daft as it sounds – and somehow, it works. SH

TRUE DETECTIVE: SEASON 3

SUPERNATURAL: SEASON 14

MR. MERCEDES: SEASON 2

THE PURGE: SEASON 1

Release Date: 04/09/19 Format:

Release Date: 11/09/19 Format:

Release Date: 25/09/19 Format:

Release Date: 18/09/19 Format:

Following a diluted and disappointing second season, the HBO crime series is back to full strength, recapturing the menacing mood of the acclaimed original. Oscar-winner Mahershala Ali ( Moonlight ) is the new detective, a Vietnam veteran battling his own inner demons and failing memory as he attempts to solve the cold case of a pair of children who disappeared in rural Arkansas. With multiple storylines that drip feed clues and character connections across three time periods, this is a welcome return to form with a gripping central mystery and anchored by another superb performance form Ali. AC

After 14 years of saving people and hunting monsters, the Winchester brothers are getting weary. But the wicked don't rest – the archangel Michael has escaped from Apocalypse World and taken possession of Dean, leaving Sam, Castiel and the now human Jack racing to save the burger-loving brother's soul. A familiar face pops up for the 300th episode, and there's also the matter of Lucifer – has he really been destroyed? And what game has God been playing all this time? The longevity of this series is supernatural in itself, as is its ability to still surprise after over a decade. SH

The second season of this Stephen King series skips to the third novel in the author's crime trilogy in order to maintain the intense dynamic between gruff retired detective Bill Hodges (a terrific Brendan Gleeson) and his nemesis of the title, Brady Hartsfield (Harry Treadaway). Hodges is still obsessed with the killer, who is now in a coma and unlikely to recover. That is until a mad neurosurgeon decides to use Brady as a guinea pig for an experimental brain mapping procedure, which adds a supernatural element to the proceedings. It's a bold twist after the hardboiled events of season one, but in the world of Stephen King it works. SH

With four movies and a fifth and final film recently announced, The Purge is the little horror film that could. The annual US tradition of Purge Night – when crime and murder is legal for a 12-hour period – is given room to expand in this spin-off TV series that sticks to the template established by the films, following a group of characters caught up in the chaos that erupts. With more room for the players and their stories to breathe, and the implications of this immoral institution to be further explored, the series packs considerably more dramatic depth than the movies. AC

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SEPTEMBER 2019

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