STACK #185 Mar 2020

FILM REVIEWS

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A new world needs new Angels. CHARLIE’S ANGELS

Everyone has a motive. No one has a clue. KNIVES OUT

Release Date: 11/03/20

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Release Date: 11/03/20

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It’s been 20 years since Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz and Lucy Liu first brought Charlie’s Angels to the big screen, which is about the same interval between their film and the original TV series. That equilibrium of time makes right now the ideal moment to rejuvenate the franchise for a new generation. Kristen Stewart, Naomi Scott and Ella Balinska are the new Angels, picking up where their predecessors left off; this time chasing a revolutionary energy device that’s fallen into the wrong hands. With an assassin on their trail and

The ‘whodunnit?’ is spit-n-polished for murder-mystery fans. With the ghosts of Agatha Christie and Alfred Hitchcock hovering over writer-director Rian Johnson, Knives Out adheres to classic and conventional sleuthing while updating the genre. The Thrombeys are a wealthy family whose fortune is built upon the success of their patriarch Harlan’s career as a mystery writer. When Harlan is murdered, the scene is set for a fantastic mystery with deliciously decadent twists, macabre revelations and cheeky red herrings. Featuring

allies becoming foes, the Angels’ mission becomes a game of cat-and- mouse with lots of kick-ass action. Fans of the TV show and previous films will welcome the expansion of the CA universe, while a cheeky retrospective within the movie brings newbies up to speed. GC

a massive ensemble cast that the genre demands – including Jamie Lee Curtis, Daniel Craig, Toni Collette, Chris Evans and Christopher Plummer – Knives Out is a whole lot of fun; prudently structured, meticulously plotted and carefully hole-proofed. Agatha and Hitch would be proud! GC

Think your family is weird? Think again. THE ADDAMS FAMILY

The greatest zombie movie cast ever disassembled. THE DEAD DON’T DIE

Release Date: 25/03/20

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Release Date: 11/03/20

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What would the Addams Family be without their penchant for the macabre? Appropriately, this new animated feature is devilishly grim and frivolously dire, but not lacking in charm and fundamental goodness – parental discretion is most certainly advised. Having taken up residence in an old asylum, the eccentric Addams and their extended clan clash with a reality TV show designer who considers their home an eyesore and rallies the locals to help drive the family out of town. Fans

Indie writer-director Jim Jarmusch’s star-studded zom- com is as dry as a newly risen corpse. We’ve seen enough zombie movies to know that when the dead start walking, the living start running. But in the sleepy rural town of Centreville, USA, the situation is met with surprising indifference by the residents and local cops (Adam Driver and Bill Murray in a delightfully droll double act). Not so surprising, though, for viewers already familiar with Jarmusch’s idiosyncratic output ( Dead Man , Only Lovers Left Alive ) – the somnolent

of the previous adaptations – notably the 1960s TV series and the two films of the ‘90s – will be relieved to discover that none of the iconic Addams’ traits are ignored in this fun-filled reboot that will thrill tweens and deliver a healthy dose of nostalgia for parents. GC

characters put the dead into deadpan, ensuring that the film’s one joke lasts the distance. The Dead Don’t Die engages on the strength of its starry cast, sangfroid tone and small town ambience, and Tilda Swinton’s sword-swinging Scottish mortician is alone worth the price of the disc. SH

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MARCH 2020

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