STACK #187 May 2020

YOUR TO FILM, TV, MUSIC, GAMING & LIFE TECH ESSENTIAL GUIDE

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ISSUE 187 May ’20

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“Billy Butcher”

“A-Train”

“Homelander”

“Hughie Cambell”

The Boys is an irreverent take on what happens when superheroes - as popular as celebrities, as influencial as politicians and as revered as gods - abuse their superpowers rather than use them for good. It is the powerless against the superpowerful as The Boys embark on a heroic quest to expose the truth about “The Seven” and their formidable Vought backing.

“The Deep”

“The Female”

“Queen Maeve”

“Starlight”

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CONTRIBUTORS Founder Nic Short Editor-in-Chief Paul Jones Film& TV Editor ScottHocking

ISSUE 187 MAY 2020

MusicEditor Zoë Radas OnlineEditor Amy Flower

Disclaimer STACK is published by Scribal Custom Pty Ltd (ACN 092 362 135). © Copyright Scribal Custom Pty Ltd, 2020 All rights reserved. All material appearing in this publication is copyright unless otherwise stated or it may rest with the provider of the supplied material or advertisement. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the written permission of Scribal Custom Pty Ltd. No responsibility is accepted for accuracy of advertisements or information. Whilst care has been taken in the research and preparation of this publication, the publishers, writers or anyone else associated cannot accept any responsibility for any loss, injury or hardship arising from the content contained herein or reliance therefrom, howsoever caused, and it remains your responsibility to evaluate the accuracy, completeness and usefulness of any such content. Views expressed are not necessarily endorsed by the publisher or the editor. By the very nature of this publication, things change daily and we cannot take responsibility for any changes or inaccuracies that occur subsequent to going to press. CreativeDirector GarySiewert MoviesConsultant KerrieTaylor GamesConsultant SachiFernando MusicConsultant MikeGlynn MarketingManager FleurParker ChiefContributors Bob Jones, Gill Pringle Contributors Glenn Cochrane, Jeff Jenkins,SimonLukic, Billy Pinnell,DeniseHylands,SimonWinkler, NathanLawrence,JakeCleland,Tim Lambert, HollyPereira, Adam Colby, Anthony Horan, Nicholas Kennedy, Dan Nicholson, Alex Deutrom, Bec Summer SocialMediaManager ImogeneLewis-Granland ProductionManager CraigPatterson Correspondence STACK 33 JessieStreet,Richmond,VIC 3121 RATINGS GUIDE

WELCOME

How many films do you think you’ve watched over the last month? How many TV box sets have you binged? What about hours spent on the console or PC? I had a friend call and tell me he hadn’t spent this much time on a console – completely guilt-free – since he was at uni. I mean, what else is there to do but grab a new release or dive into the collection to re-watch a classic. I found – and watched - films I never knew I even had. Every cloud… This month we’re super excited to deliver our first ever fully digital magazine directly to your fingertips wherever you may be. Assembled entirely remotely (with the help of a good set of noise cancelling headphones and the patience of a saint), you can find all your favourite regulars in an issue that’s absolutely brimming with content. Leading the pack in movies this month is DC bad girl Harley Quinn in Birds of Prey – easily one of the most fun-filled comic book romps since Deadpool , with Margot Robbie returning to the role she has made her own. And if you want more heroes with a dark side, don’t miss the irreverent R-rated series The Boys , destined to become a cult favourite. Then there is the fourth and final season of Preacher – shot right here in Melbourne, and STACK was on the set to bring you the lowdown. Has there ever been a better time to upgrade your TV? Probably not. Well, if you’re in the market for one or looking to bring your home entertainment space into 2020, our extensive TV feature will help you decide which model is right for your home. In games, the exceptional Zenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition is coming to Switch whilst Maneater , an RPG shark game that looks decidedly addictive, will be taking a big bite of your gaming time. That’s it for another month, and we hope you enjoy the inaugural all-digital edition of STACK . Paul Jones, Editor-in-Chief

The large print giveth, the small print taketh away. “I hoped todaywould be a good day.Hope is a dangerous thing.”

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ISSUE 187 MAY 2020

YOUR TO FILM, TV, MUSIC,GAMING & LIFE TECH ESSENTIAL GUIDE

GAMING 65 ROVING REPORTER 68 SHARKS IN GAMES 70 ESPORTS 74 THINS TO DO IN LOCKDOWN 76 - 77 UPGRADE YOUR ACCESSORIES 78 OUT THIS MONTH & STACK RECOMMENDS MUSIC 92 - 93 MUSIC FEATURE 94 –95 BREAKOUT BELTER 96 MUSIC HISTORY 98 THIS MONTH AT JB 100 - 101 SONOS 104 - 106 MUSIC REVIEWS

NEWS 8 LIFE TECH

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MOVIES & TV 10 ROVING REPORTER 12 LOCAL HERO 16 BOB J’S CLASSIC 18 - 19 10 GREAT MOVIE MUMS 20 - 21 BIRDS OF PREY 22 - 23 COLOR OUT OF SPACE 24 - 25 PREACHER ON SET VISIT 26 - 27 GUNS AKIMBO 30 - 36 REVIEWS LIFE TECH 38 WELCOME PAGE 40 - 58 TV 60 WHAT’S NEW AT JB 62 DJI DRONE COMPETITION

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LIFE TECHH

2020 TV FEATURE

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WUKKA- WUKKA- WUKKA!

MOTOROLA SAYS, “HOLD MY BEER!”

N o, that’s not a bad Fozzie Bear impersonation, it’s a bad Pac-Man impersonation! Why? The little yellow dude is celebrating his 40th birthday this month, more specifically on May 22. Pac-Man is the biggest- selling arcade machine of all-time, a testament to its creator Toru Iwatani’s aim to create a game that would appeal to women as much as men. Originally known as ‘Puckman’ in its native Japan, but changed due to concerns about less than savoury machine defacement in the western world, the maze-set adventures of Pac-Man and his adversaries Inky, Blinky, Pinky and Clyde spawned several sequels, and became a pop culture behemoth with all manner of marketing and even more than one TV series. The character of Pac-Man is claimed to be one of the most recognisable images worldwide. Pac-Man ’s maker, Bandai Namco, have several special things planned to celebrate releases and, believe it or not, a Tamagotchi. There’s even an official anniversary theme song, Join the Pac (https://youtu.be/ nqEAQnxh6xc). So, happy birthday, Pac-Man, and thanks for all the great ghost gobbling memories. the 40-year milestone, including events, new

M otorola have adopted a higher, louder, bolder attitude with their Android- based Edge+ 5G smartphone, which is releasing this month. Pick a spec, any spec, and they’re aiming to be the best out there. They’re claiming that the new phone offers the fastest performance and 5G speeds (this one reliant, of course, on network performance), the highest resolution smartphone camera, the loudest audio and the boldest display. Much of the speed will come from what the company bills as “Fastest. Processor. Ever.” This speediness will be down to the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 Mobile Platform processor that the Edge+ runs on. It has an AI engine that they claim can

process 15 trillion operations per second – coupled with 12GB of DDR5

memory, Candy Crush Saga will never be the same! The “louder” claim? The Edge+ houses two powerful stereo speakers, claimed to produce the most powerful output yet from a smartphone, complete with audio tuning fromWaves. Plus, there’s a headphone jack – a super-useful thing that’s becoming a rarity in today’s smartphones. Bolder? Try a 6.7" “Endless Edge” 1080p display, complete with HDR+. Those who use their phone as their camera won’t be disappointed, either, with the Edge+’s 108-megapixel,

triple-camera system allowing top photography from extreme close-ups right up to ultra-wide landscapes. Add to this a whopping wirelessly chargeable 5000mAh battery and a “more pure” take on Android that doesn’t clog your phone with junk skins and apps, and the Edge+ is definitely one sharp smartphone.

G oogle have announced a tweak to their search engine, that will essentially admit if a query has stumped it – the message: “It looks like there aren’t any great matches for your search.” So, there may be some average matches, but nothing “great”. Hmm… As always – well, unless you enter something like “shnjegsdbrfhjbrgvouicxvasd”, they’ll still offer up some possible solutions, but they don’t necessarily have faith that they’re what the user is after. Naturally, upon seeing this we had to try to get the message for ourselves. Despite coming up with all sorts of wonderful – and often rather weird – conundrums for the search engine, we were left defeated. Still, Google do say that the feature shouldn’t show up too often. Our quest continues… TAKE THE GOOGLE CHALLENGE

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STACK ROVING REPORTER

DVD BEST-SELLERS for APRIL 2020

watched it when I was ten, but I was introduced to the soundtrack before the movie, because it was my Dad’s favourite film, so I knew all the songs before I saw the movie. I recently reintroduced it to my daughter and her best friend, who found it very strange.” We’re momentarily inspired to do the Time Warp, and ask how long Ash has been a part of the JB team. “I worked for JB in Ipswich, Queensland, from 2010 to 2015, and then moved to WA

and came back in 2017. So in total, seven and a half years.” Along with Rocky Horror , Ash counts the original Deadpool as a personal favourite. “I love it – I saw it in the cinemas five times and I have the Steelbook.” And while we’re talking Ryan Reynolds, Ash adds that she also loves Detective Pikachu . “I’m a big Pokémon fan. I grew up with it and loved that they finally made a live action movie. And with Ryan Reynolds in it, it’s a match made in heaven,” she laughs. Roving Reporter is always curious to know if a store has a point of difference from other JBs, and in this case it’s the customers’ taste in TV series. Whilst a love of British period dramas seems to be a recurring trend in stores nationwide, that’s not the case in Armadale. “ Wentworth is our biggest seller,” reveals Ash, “along with Orange is the New Black . We also have a lot of clients who like horror and comedies, as well as the blockbusters – it’s a bit of everything. But Wentworth goes gangbusters!” It seems appropriate to bookend our chat with another Rocky Horror reference, and ask Ash which upcoming releases are making customers “shiver with antici...pation?” “They’re looking forward to 1917 , and Bad Boys for Life will be popular, too.”

SHOP TALK

A shleigh Shelley, media coordinator at JB’s Armadale store in WA, doesn’t hesitate when we ask her to name her favourite film. “My favourite movie of all time is probably The Rocky Horror Picture Show – I have a tattoo as an homage! I first

1 Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker 2 Jumanji: The Next Level 3 Spies in Disguise 4 Jojo Rabbit 5 Frozen II 6 Knives Out 7 My Spy 8 The Addams Family (2019) 9 Playing with Fire 10 Doc Martin: Series 9

BLU-RAY BEST-SELLERS

for APRIL 2020

1 Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker 2 Jumanji: The Next Level (JB Exclusive) 3 Jojo Rabbit 4 Ford v Ferrari 5 Joker 6 Terminator: Dark Fate 7 Jumanji: The Next Level 8 Spies in Disguise 9 Knives Out 10 Frozen II

Ashleigh Shelley at JB Armadale,WA

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© 2019A24 FILMS LLC.All Rights Reserved.

© 2020 Paramount Pictures.All Rights Reserved.

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she must unravel a mystery amongst rising tensions in British mandated Palestine – the perfect assignment for a character that doesn’t play by the rules. “She’s very naughty and will break the rules to make things right,” says Davis. “She can speak many languages, she can dance

H obart-born Essie Davis has enjoyed a distinguished stage and screen career since graduating from the National Institute of Dramatic Art in 1992, bringing a diverse range of characters to life. “One of the things I have loved so much about the career that I have had is that pretty much every character I have played is diametrically opposite to the one before it,” she has noted. You need only compare her role as a traumatised mother in The Babadook (2014) to the glamorous female detective Phryne Fisher in the hit TV series Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries (2012-2015) to agree. More recently, Davis has been breaking up fights between siblings Ned and Dan Kelly in True History of the Kelly Gang (2019) – directed by her husband, filmmaker Justin ESSIE DAVIS

Kurzel, who also cast her in his adaptation of Assassin’s Creed (2016). Davis’s notable TV credits include The Slap (2011), Cloudstreet (2011), The White Princess (2017), and as the rum-loving theatre actress who befriends Arya Stark in Game of Thrones (2016). But it’s the aforementioned Miss Fisher that has attracted a legion of devoted fans, who were instrumental in taking the character to the big screen via a successful crowdfunding campaign. The film, Miss Fisher & the Crypt

The Babadook

a tango, she can drive a car, she can fly a plane. She used to work as an ambulance officer in the first World War. She can scale a building, she can break all the rules to get what is

...pretty much every character I have played is diametrically opposite to the one before it

right for the underdog in the world, and for the women of the world.” Screenwriter Deb Cox adds, “We wanted to make

of Tears , sends the super-sleuth on a globetrotting adventure to exotic locations where

a film that’s part action adventure, part murder mystery with a bit of an epic feel and the kind of exotic international backdrop that an exceptional woman like Phryne

Fisher deserves. “Miss Fisher is such an interesting

character that in exploring ideas for the film we could have gone with a conventional murder mystery set in a mansion or on a train, but Miss Fisher is an action sleuth. She’s always been like that. She’s not Miss Marple. She climbs buildings, she runs around in fast cars, she has a gun. So, we were dealing with a hybrid character and a hybrid genre which lends itself to a big screen adventure.”

Miss Fisher & the Crypt of Tears

Miss Fisher & the Crypt of Tears is out on May 6

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THERE ARE NO LIMITS TO A MOTHER’ S LOVE

SARAH BOLGER

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SOMEWHERE BETWEEN DREAMS AND REALITY LIES THE TRUTH

“A handsomely made psychological thriller” FILM JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL

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CINEMA FEATURE

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Mulan

DELAYED CINEMA RELEASES

Part 1

The release dates of many hotly anticipated films have been pushed back during Coronavirus cinema shutdowns. Here’s what to expect – and how to prepare for a glorious return to the multiplex. Words Gill Pringle

MULAN From acclaimed New Zealand director Niki Caro comes Disney’s latest animation-to-live-action release featuring a young Chinese girl (Yifei Liu) who disguises herself as male warrior to save her father. If the original animation included lots of fun and courses of Eddie Murphy’s cute mini-dragon Mushu, then Caro’s live action interpretation is a luscious sweeping drama, which takes Girl Power very seriously. When STACK caught up with Caro and her cast in March, Liu told us, “I did a lot of research to understand Mulan as a human being, as a girl, and in her journey. What are her layers? What are her conflicts? Conflict is always so powerful in movies. But I think that strength and power doesn't always come from aggression or hatred. It can come from many ways, which makes this so rich.” Filmed at Auckland’s Kumeu Film Studios and on location in China, this is a whole new take on Mulan, featuring Asian martial arts legends Donnie Yen and Jet Li. If Lui took heat for supporting police during the Hong Kong protests, then all is forgiven.

This new, fierce Mulan doesn’t need a boyfriend to save her country. New release date: July 23, 2020

peace is short lived when an old CIA friend (Jeffrey Wright) asks for help. With a script co-written by Phoebe Waller-Bridge ( Fleabag ), expect 007’s 25th outing to be wittier than the

CAN’T WAIT? Check out Disney’s original beloved 1998 animated version. And if you’re really serious, then binge all of Disney’s recent animation- to-live-action films including Beauty and the Beast , Aladdin , Cinderella and Dumbo .

NO TIME TO DIE An early Coronavirus casualty, memes

quickly circulated featuring James Bond, sans facemask, and the immortal line: No Time to Die. For many cinephiles, this was the first signal of impending doom. Officially retired from active service, Bond’s

NoTimeTo Die

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FEATURE CINEMA

PETER RABBIT 2 One of the first Coronavirus casualties, the release of this adorable sequel has been pushed to Boxing Day, 2020. Based on Beatrix Potter’s beloved books, Rose Byrne and Domhnall Gleeson reprise their roles as Bea and Thomas. Now married, they share their garden with Margot Robbie’s Flopsy, Elizabeth Debicki’s Mopsy and friends, with James Corden returning as Peter Rabbit. A live action/animated combo, Peter simply cannot help himself. He will always be the naughtiest bunny in the burrow.

A Quiet Place Part II

rest as Daniel Craig reprises the role for his fifth and final time. When STACK recently talked to Craig for his film Knives Out , he revealed he first suggested his pal Waller-Bridge when the earlier script was struggling. Featuring Craig’s Knives Out co-star, Ana de Armas, No Time to Die was shot in exotic locales including Jamaica, Norway, Italy and the UK. Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris and Ben Wishaw reprise their roles as M, Moneypenny and Q, respectively, while Lea Seydoux returns as Dr Madeleine Swann, Bond’s love interest. And fresh from his Bohemian Rhapsody triumph, Rami Malek plays Bond’s latest villain, Safin, armed with dangerous toys. New release date: November 2020

meet with further sinister threats. Admittedly, the couple was hesitant to sign on for a sequel, with Blunt describing the original film as “lightning in a bottle”. briefly steps back in time to show the initial invasion, the story swiftly picks up where it left off. “So now you’ve got Evelyn in a situation with a brand new While the sequel

Peter Rabbit 2

CAN’T WAIT? Get up to speed bingeing on Daniel Craig’s prior Bond outings – Casino Royale , Quantum of Solace , Skyfall and Spectre . Better still, pour yourself a martini – shaken not stirred of course.

Bored of life in the garden – and worried there will be no place for him once Bea and Thomas start their own human family – Peter runs away to the big city. Meeting with some shady characters as he escapes on a train, he thieves from farmers markets, creating chaos wherever he hops. His family risk everything to come looking for him as he figures out what kind of bunny he wants to be. Look out for The Walking Dead ’s Lenny James voicing a new rabbit character, Barnabas, who wasn’t in any of Potter’s original stories. New release date: December 26, 2020

baby, husband is dead, two other children and the house is burned down. So where does she go?” teases Blunt. While everyone’s favourite showbiz couple already premiered A Quiet Place Part II in NewYork in March, fans will have to hold their breath, just like the Abbotts. In the meantime, catch up with Krasinski on his post-Corona You Tube series, Some Good News . With a little help from friends like Steve Carell and Lin Manuel Miranda, he demonstrates positivity during dark times. New release date: September 2020

A QUIET PLACE PART II John Krasinski’s hit sci-fi horror flick of 2018 introduced a bleak, post-apocalyptic world through the lens of the Abbott family, forced to live in silence while hiding from monsters with acute hearing. Starring Krasinski and real-life wife Emily Blunt, the first film left fans desperate to learn the fate of ballsy mother Evelyn Abbott, as she must now protect her family alone. Again written and directed by Krasinski, Blunt reprises her role in this sequel that sees her and the kids venture into the unknown, where they

CAN’T WAIT? Get up to speed with the brilliant original, A Quiet Place .

CAN’T WAIT? Brush up on these beloved fluffy friends with the 2018 original, Peter Rabbit , and check out the beautifully illustrated books.

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the hubbub of Hollywood. The couple, fondly calling each other ”Ma” and ”Pa”, thoroughly enjoyed the simple rustic their ranch after a strenuous week of filming at their respective studios. But their idyllic marriage was sadly life and found total solace at

FACT: Clark Gable’s military service did not go unnoticed by the Nazis. Air Minister Hermann Goering posted the equivalent of $5000 reward for the Nazi pilot who shot down Gable’s aircraft.

GABLE & LOMBARD ATRAGIC HOLLYWOOD ROMANCE

short-lived. In December 1941, following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the US was thrust into WWII. The Hollywood Victory Committee was immediately set up to enlist the movie industry’s help in supporting the war effort. Following his starring role in Gone With the Wind , Gable had been dubbed ”King of Hollywood” and was the ideal choice for chairman of the Screen Actors

C lark Gable first met to Paramount to make the romantic comedy No Man of Her Own  (1932), which was to be their only picture together. To state they did not get on during the shoot would be an understatement. This was highlighted when the film wrapped and they exchanged gifts. Lombard gave Gable a smoked ham with his photograph pasted on the packaging which was a gibe at his acting ability. Gable reciprocated with a pair of ballet shoes big enough to fit a prima donna, much like his leading lady. Over the next four years their paths would often cross on the Hollywood party circuit. During that time Lombard would divorce her husband, actor William Powell, and Gable would become estranged from his second wife. In April 1936, at a Sunday brunch laid on by actress Marion Davis at her Santa Monica beachfront estate,Gable found himself sat next to Lombard. It was the beginning of their three-year passionate affair. Hollywood did not take the Carole Lombard when MGM loaned him out

Division. One of the first requests he received was to send a film star to Indiana to promote the state’s campaign to sell war bonds. He nominated his wife Carole, who was a native of Indiana - a decision he would regret for the rest of his life. After a hugely successful three-day bond-promoting campaign, Lombard decided to fly home to Gable rather than travel by train. After a refuel stop in Las Vegas her plane took off for Los Angeles, 20 minutes later it exploded in a fireball on Potosi Mountain, Nevada - there were no survivors. Gable was inconsolable and after his wife’s funeral was in no condition to return to MGM studios to continue work on his latest film. As a

Clark Gable and Carole Lombard photographed following their wedding

consequence, the studio shutdown production for a month. Eventually, with help from his and Lombard’s friends, he returned to work and completed the film ironically titled Somewhere I’ll Find You (1942). Gable was in no mood to continue his movie career and surprised MGM and his friends when he told them, ”I’m going to enlist and I don’t expect to come back”. He joined the US Army Air Force and was posted to the 351st Bomber Group based in England and flew five combat missions over Germany. He was discharged in June 1944 and returned to Hollywood to continue his movie career, albeit his heart was no longer in it. Although he re-married twice, the ghost of his beloved ”Ma” lived with him until his death in November 1960. He was given a full military funeral and was laid to rest in Forest Lawn Memorial Park next to Carole Lombard.

Clark Gable’s military service as a Flying Fortress gunner

romance very seriously as Gable, although separated, was still married and his reputation for affairs with most of his MGM leading ladies was legendary. But to everyone’s surprise, Gable fell madly in love with Lombard and she with him. He found in her an extraordinary companion, she was beautiful, sexy, and hilariously funny. A selfless, caring person, she also shared his ardent interest in the outdoor life of riding, hunting and fishing, far different from the two middle-aged women with whom he had been married. Consequently, following

Gable’s public divorce in March 1939 and to avoid the usual Hollywood hoopla associated with movie star marriages, they eloped to a small town in Arizona where they were wed. Soon after, they bought a secluded twenty-acre ranch in the town of Encino in the San Fernando Valley, far enough away from

Join STACK ’s resident filmhistorian Bob J and our community of cinema buffs to have your say eachmonth in ’ Bob J’s Classic Movie Club ’ Facebook group.

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FEATURE TV

EARTH FROM SPACE

Bringing a lofty new perspective to the nature documentary, as well as taking the term eye-in-the- sky to its apogee, this four-part series provides an amazing look at our planet from orbit. High-tech satellites zoom in on individual animals, penguin colonies, elephant herds and plankton blooms with incredible clarity, and peer into previously inaccessible areas of the globe. The changing surface of our world is also charted, as cities expand and forests diminish, with the dulcet tones of narrator Chiwetel Ejiofor as a guide. "The reason this series has been made now is because the

technology is so good that every pixel of a satellite image is 30cm on the ground. So we can track an image from as far away as possible to as close as possible," explained producer Chloë Sarosh in an interview with The Guardian . “The timing is so precise. We had to have cameras on the ground and a drone in the sky at the exact moment the satellite was going over in its orbit.” A breathtaking spectacle that will leave you on a, well, high, this is another landmark achievement from the BBC's Natural History unit. Out May 6

RE-RELEASES

LES MISERABLES

DOCTOR WHO: THE COMPLETE FIRST SERIES

If you’re primed to belt out a stirring rendition of I Dreamed a Dream when watching this lavish BBC mini-series adaptation of Victor Hugo’s classic novel, you should revisit the movie instead. This is Les Mis without the songs, which may sound like sacrilege but actually works to the story’s advantage. This post-Napoleonic tale of love, injustice and redemption is given more room to breathe over six hour-long episodes, expanding portions of the novel previously truncated for the

After almost two decades off the air, the British institution that is Doctor Who was revived in 2005. Showrunner Russell T. Davies didn't disappoint the fans, dutifully capturing the flavour of the 'classic series', reintroducing iconic monsters like the Daleks and the Autons, and casting Christopher Eccleston as the ninth incarnation of the travelling Time Lord. Not only was Doctor Who back, it was good. Really good! Credit must also go to Billie Piper as companion

stage and screen. The Wire ‘s Dominic West is perfectly cast as the glowering Valjean, with strong support from David Oyelowo as Javert and Lily Collins as Fantine. Out May 6

Rose, who quickly won the hearts of Whovians – and the Doctor. Then of course there is John Barrowman's colourful Captain Jack Harkness, who would become a series regular. Out May 6

Four Doctors come face to eye-stalk with the Daleks in this collection that rounds up some of the best new series episodes featuring the Time Lord's arch enemies. Ninth Doctor Christopher Eccleston gets reacquainted with his nemesis in Dalek ; David Tennant attempts to stop a Dalek invasion of Earth in the epic two-parter The Stolen Earth / Journey's End (which also features Cybermen); Matt Smith braves the Asylum of the Daleks , which is as scary as it sounds; and a miniaturised 12th Doctor, Peter DOCTOR WHO: THE DALEKS

Capaldi, ventures Into the Dalek . Included as a bonus feature is the six-part Tom Baker classic Genesis of the Daleks , along with a new documentary chronicling the history of the Doctor's famous foes. Out May 6

images © BBC

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10 GREAT MOVIE MUMS In celebration of Mother’s Day this month, STACK salutes ten movie mums.They may traverse a diverse range of genres and eras, but their love, dedication, and commitment to motherhood remains constant. Words Gill Pringle

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1 MAMMA MIA! - Meryl Streep (Donna) Based on the 1999 musical of the same name, an homage to the songs of pop group ABBA,

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Meryl Streep’s free-spirited mum finds herself in a pickle when her daughter Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) invites three men to her upcoming nuptials, hoping to discover which one might be her father.This delicious rom-com pits Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth and Stellan Skarsgård as the trio of contenders while Streep plays coy, aided by faithful besties Julie Walters and Christine Baranski. Donna reflects on her past and present through a medley of ABBA hits including Dancing Queen, SuperTrouper, Money, Money, Money and The Name of the Game .The closest you’ll come to seeing Streep perform karaoke; the film is both funny and uplifting in its joyous celebration of love and motherhood. 2 HARRY POTTER (franchise) - Julie Walters (Molly Weasley) Serving as surrogate mum to our favourite wizard in all but one of the Harry Potter films, Walters brings her own brand of no-nonsense magic to the role of MollyWeasley. As matriarch to theWeasley family – a sprawling brood which includes Harry’s bestie Ron and his siblings, Bill, Charlie, Fred, George and Ginny (Harry’s future wife) – Molly treats Harry as her own. With her hands full keeping her unruly charges on

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Seems like they resemble most modern mums; flawed, over- worked and hoping motherhood doesn’t spell the end of FUN. And, let’s face it, which mother among us wouldn’t want to wax Justin Hartley’s private parts? Together the trio represents the gamut of mumhood, from Bell’s stay-at-home mum-of-four pushover, Kiki, and Kunis’s working mum Amy, through to Hahn’s bawdy sex-mad single mum Carly. The 2017 sequel introduced

track, she demonstrates what it really means to be a mum, tough love and all.The mother we’d all love to have, Walters was knocked out to learn Prince Charles was also a big Mrs Weasley fan after he presented her with the CBE (Commander of the Order of the British

celebrates that there’s no right or wrong way to do motherhood – even if it does involve junk food, alcohol and threesomes! Being a mum is overwhelming andTheron brings her A-list clout to tell distressed mums that it’s OK to ask for help and perfection is an impossible

Empire) at Buckingham Palace in 2008. Best Mrs Weasley quote (to twins Fred and George): “Now you two – this year, you behave yourselves. If I get one more owl telling me you’ve blown up a toilet, or…” MollyWeasley is always a hoot. 3 JOJO RABBIT - Scarlett Johansson (Rosie) It took becoming a mother in

goal. If Tully wasn’t a box office blockbuster then Theron’s raw honesty makes it a must-see for every sleep-deprived mum. 6 TERMS OF ENDEARMENT - Shirley MacLaine (Aurora) As hard-to-please Aurora, widowed matriarch MacLaine is in denial about her age, falling hard for Jack Nicholson’s

even badder grandmas, played by Susan Sarandon, Christine Baranski and Cheryl Hines. 9 THE BLIND SIDE - Sandra Bullock (Leigh Anne Tuohy)

real life for Scarlett Johansson to deliver all the humour, strength and patience she imagined it might take to raise a boy during WorldWar II. In describing his award-winning film as a love letter to his own mother and single parents everywhere,

astronaut-next-door. When her adult daughter (Debra Winger) falls ill she must learn to put others before herself. Both actresses were Oscar nominated in 1983, but

Sandra Bullock won an Oscar for this 2019 biographical sports drama, portraying a woman who adopts Michael Oher, a homeless, traumatised teen, helping him become his best self; an All-American football player and first-draft NFL pick. Audiences warmed to this rags-

MacLaine snagged the gong. James L. Brooks’ directorial debut, the film won Best Director, Best Screenplay and Best Picture Oscars. Jack Nicholson – who also earned an Oscar – has the immortal line, “I was just inches from a clean getaway”, after Aurora declares her love for him before he boards a plane. Featuring a youthful John Lithgow, Danny DeVito and Jeff Daniels, it’s the self-involved Aurora who steals the show. 7 THE INCREDIBLES (1 & 2) - Holly Hunter (Elastigirl/Helen Parr) Surely one of the coolest

directorTaikaWaititi found his dream screen mum in Johansson. Striking just the right balance as Jojo’s quirky single mum Rosie, the actress recently told STACK , “She is emotionally responsible and isn’t sheltering him. She is teaching him to be empathetic and compassionate. I think you have to give your kids a healthy dose of reality so that can actually happen.” As funny and gorgeous IRL as she is on screen, Johansson is the real heart of this movie. 4 LITTLE WOMEN - Laura Dern (Marmee March)

to-riches emotional saga, although the film would be criticised for propagating a white saviour narrative in which this talented African-American boy is only able to overcome his past with the guidance of an adoptive white mother. After Julia Roberts passed on the role ofTuohy, Bullock took a pay cut to make the film, agreeing on a percentage of the box office, which proved a savvy move. PC or not, The Blind Side is a certifiable weepy. 10 THE CASTLE - Anne Tenney (Sal Kerrigan) A man’s home is his castle, even if it is a ramshackle perky mum-of-four Sal Kerrigan proves in this comic treasure about a working-class Melbourne family fighting City Hall after their beloved family home is condemned under compulsory acquisition. If Sal’s hapless hubby Darryl (Michael Caton) gets all the best lines, then it’s his wife who reminds us that behind every blowhard there’s a mother in the kitchen serving chicken casserole out of the freezer. If the Kerrigans hark back to a less sophisticated era then Sal remains a mother we can all recognise, supporting her family with simple comforts. eyesore built next to an airport runway. But it’s also a woman’s castle, as AnneTenney’s

Although Dern won this year’s Best Supporting actress Oscar for her role as a ruthless lawyer in Marriage Story , in Little Women she’s all about love and nurturing. Dern’s March matriarch abandons her own personal passions to focus her love on four very different

mums in animation history, Holly Hunter’s superhero mum Helen epitomises the adage that behind every man is a superwoman. When this superhero family is forced to go uncover – raising their trio of super-powered kids in

suburban Metroville – Helen must reawaken her mothballed Elastigirl identity to rescue her superhero hubby. If all mums require a level of elasticity while juggling a brood of kids, then Elastigirl is also a deft pilot with a keen sense of humour and flashy costume. Upon release of the sequel, where Elastigirl takes the helm from her hubby, Hunter told STACK , “To me it was just really fun. I think it’s purely luck of the draw that it happens to dovetail with #MeToo and #TimesUp. But obviously, time is up, okay?!” In both films, the key message endures: All mums are superheroes. 8 BAD MOMS and BAD MOMS 2 - Mila Kunis, Kathryn Hahn and Kristen Bell (Amy, Carla and Kiki) OK, so nobody would go see a movie called Good Mums, right? But were this trio really all that bad?

daughters portrayed by Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, Florence Pugh and Eliza Scanlen. All the young actresses insisted Dern felt like a real mother on set, always taking care of them and bringing in home-baked goodies. Based on Louisa May Alcott’s 1868 novel, the story has been adapted five times for the big screen, although Greta Gerwig’s 2019 interpretation brings a fresh feminist twist to its authentic 19th century setting, shedding new light on previous colourless versions of Mrs March. It also boasts a dream cast including Meryl Streep, Timothée Chamalet and Chris Cooper. 5 TULLY - Charlize Theron (Marlo) Theron’s struggling mum-of-three forms an unlikely bond with the eponymous night nanny hired to help with her newborn baby as she suffers through postpartum depression.This dramedy

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GIRL POWER

Although winning AACTA awards for her roles in I,Tonya and Bombshell as well as Oscar nods for both films, Harley Quinn remains the role closest to Margot Robbie’s heart.The star and director CathyYan talk about Harley’s return – and ‘Fantabulous Emancipation’ – in Birds of Prey . Words Gill Pringle

“S he really is very special to me. I feel very protective of her but also very liberated when I play her because, as an actor, your options are endless. With certain characters, they would only react in a certain way, but with Harley, she can do anything because she is a very unpredictable and erratic person,” laughs Margot Robbie when STACK catches up with her. As the naughtiest girl in the DC Universe, audiences can catch up on Robbie’s second Harley outing with the home entertainment release of Birds of Prey: And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn , in readiness for her third outing which sees her reunite with the Suicide Squad in James Gunn’s highly anticipated film of the same name (due in 2021). Having completed filming The Suicide Squad last year – co-starring Idris Elba, Taika Waititi, Joel Kinnaman and Jai Courtney – Robbie has kept busy while all of Hollywood is temporarily halted during Coronavirus lockdown.

Harley on roller-skates is just so cool’,” says Robbie, who also serves as a producer on Birds of Prey . Training on a trampoline between scenes, she says, “We also wanted to incorporate more acrobatics because when she was Harleen Quinzel she was a gymnast as well as being a psychologist,

Taking to Instagram to

ask her followers to donate food to the US school system, she can even be seen reading a story to help out all those parents who are sheltering in place with young families. Filming Birds of Prey post I, Tonya , she

[Harley Quinn] is very special to me. I feel very protective of her but also very liberated when I play her...

was delighted to see all her training on the ice-rink pay off. “Thank God I, Tonya happened before this because I always wanted the roller-skating element in here just because, in one of the comics, they have this roller derby and it’s just so fun and I was like, ‘Ahh, the image of

L-R Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn Chris Messina asVictor Zsasz and Ewan McGregor as Roman Sionis

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to do it with such kindness is amazing. And then she pops into Harley and is just incredible. There’s nothing that Margot can’t do. She works her ass off and does not take where she has gotten to for a second. Everybody should take a note from her book.” Director Cathy Yan describes Birds of Prey ’s ensemble structure as something previously unseen in the superhero genre. “I love ensemble films. And the tone of this is quite different. It’s dark and humorous, sassy and irreverent. I love that tone which is quite similar to my film Dead Pigs (2018), despite how on paper it seems like opposite movies – a small Chinese-language indie to this. “But the way these five different characters come together, and the humour; I don’t think we have ever seen such contemporary and bawdy humour from female superheroes before.” Yan sees her movie as a big win for feminism. “I think it says a lot. It certainly means that women can work together and I think that unfortunately society has often pinned women against each other and we are programmed to be a little competitive towards one another because there has always only been that one spot. “Part of this story is that these women are not meant to be together, they are a total motley crew and even visually don’t look like they are a great team. They come from all walks of life, you have a cop and you have Harley Quinn. So when they come together, they are very suspicious and there’s conflict and it’s not like they magically get along. But at the same time, they end up working together beautifully, finding strength in numbers. Unfortunately, culturally I think a lot of women can be a little competitive with one another because of the patriarchy.” Yan certainly hopes for a time when nobody makes a big deal about her being a female director. “I hope that one day we don’t have to talk about my being a woman versus a man. But unfortunately women aren’t given the opportunities that men are and I am an exception to the rule. Hopefully it just becomes our new reality.”

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DID YOU KNOW? The shot of Harley Quinn as a roller-skater is lifted straight from 2013's Harley Quinn #1 comic. Her number "92" references the year of her debut in Batman: The Animated Series .

• Birds of Prey is out on May 13

L-R Margot Robbie, Rosie Perez and director CathyYan on the set

among other things. So I really wanted to use a little more of the acrobatic side in her fighting style in this film, so that trampoline stuff, for example, some of the really cool sh–t is not in there at all but the general bouncing around will be – and then the roller-skating I can do...” In a twisted homage to Girl Power, Harley Quinn – admittedly an unreliable narrator – is our guide through Birds of Prey . When Gotham’s most nefariously narcissistic villain, Roman Sionis [Ewan McGregor], and his sadistic henchman, Victor Zsasz [Chris Messina], put a target on a young girl named Cass [Ella Jay Basco], the city is turned upside down looking for her. As Harley, Huntress [Mary Elizabeth Winstead], Black Canary [Jurnee Smollett-Bell] and Renee Montoya [Rosie Perez]’s paths collide, this unlikely quartet have no choice but to team up to take down Sionis.

Stepping into the shoes of the dastardly Zsasz is Chris Messina, discovering that it’s not always fun being a blonde when you have to maintain a regular bleaching routine. In awe of McGregor, he says, “I think the audience will be drawn to him as well as being completely frightened by him. He’s done an incredible job.” It doesn’t hurt that McGregor has some of the best lines, but Messina’s greatest praise is for Robbie. “You've seen her do Harley before but I think she takes Harley to the next level in this movie. I’ve worked with some incredibly hard-working actors in the past, but Margot has just floored me. It’s one thing for actors to say that they are producers, but it’s another thing to say that you are a producer and actually do the work. So to watch her juggle that very gracefully, and

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COLOUR OF LOVECRAFT THE

After a two-decade hiatus, cult filmmaker Richard Stanley returns with a horrific take on the H.P. Lovecraft story Color Out of Space . Words Glenn Cochrane

R ichard Stanley is a cinematic cult figure like no other. His two films of the ‘90s – Hardware and Dust Devil – were polarising examples of science fiction and horror that catapulted him into the Hollywood sphere. With a rockstar-like status, he was touted as the next big thing. That is until his ambitious 1996 production of The Island of Dr.

Speaking with STACK , Stanley emphasised his love of practical filmmaking. “I haven’t really changed my values over the years. I still like my physical makeup effects, my gore effects, along with my bright primary colours, as much as I liked them in the early ‘90s.” He also discussed his hiatus from the industry and how it has influenced his new film. “I think that it helped that I was perched on top of a mountain for 20 years, and I wasn’t influenced by the movies that were coming out over the last decade or so. There are a lot of things I haven’t seen – I was kind of grateful that I skipped Annihilation , for example, going into this, which allowed me to come at Color Out of Space from a pretty unique angle for this day and age.” An ambitious production, Color Out of Space presented the impossible task of creating a colour that has never been seen by the human eye. “I dived into the mad science of it, as deeply as possible,” he explains. “We obviously

the surrounding area. The entity itself occupies the ethos and manifests itself in the environment, emitting an unearthly colour whenever it’s present. With Nicolas Cage onboard, along with Elijah Wood’s increasingly prolific production

Director Richard Stanley

Moreau came crashing down when he lost creative control as a result of interference from his stars, Val Kilmer and Marlon Brando. Stanley was replaced by director John Frankenheimer, went a little crazy, and fell off the radar. Missing from the cinema landscape for 20 years, Stanley has now made a triumphant return with an eerie adaptation of the H.P. Lovecraft story Color Out of Space – the tale of a unique alien invasion, whereby a meteor crashes beside a farmhouse and infects

I was a fan of H.P. Lovecraft all of my life...

company SpectreVision ( Mandy , Daniel Isn’t Real ), Stanley’s new film is a throwback to the body horror movies of the 1980s, relying on practical artistry to deliver the grotesque goods.

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Gordon movies. Like everyone else I enjoyed Re-Animator , but I didn’t feel like it was really capturing the essence of the material, mostly because Stuart’s films are largely campy black comedy. And while there’s still black comedic elements in Color , I wanted the otherworldly threats to be as impeccable and terrifying as they deserve to be, which is something I felt hadn’t been put on screen in any of the official adaptations. I think that John Carpenter’s The Thing comes a lot closer in tone to the actual stories.” With Nicolas Cage having hit a new level of madness with his recent hyper-kinetic performance in Mandy , the actor continues to explore the edges of sanity in Color Out of Space in what can only be described as pure derangement. “I think that Nic and I ended up being a really good combination,” Stanley muses. “I guess because partly we both have a penchant for deadpan surreal or apocalyptic black comedy, which is something that just seems to come naturally when I’m directing, and I think it comes naturally to Nic as well. He’s got an extraordinary sense of comic timing in what he does, even in the moments that aren’t particularly funny. “We did highlight a few areas of the script where we were able to let Cage off the leash, such as the tomato scene in the kitchen and the freak-out scene in the car. The trick was to try and calibrate Nic’s descent into madness so that it feels like something which is organic to the pace and texture of the movie.” Following the runaway success of Color Out of Space , Stanley hints at what will come next. “It’s inevitable that we’re going to

• Color Out of Space is out on May 6

about 13 or 14 and making Super 8 movies, simply because it’s the only Lovecraft story that lends itself to a low budget or medium budget adaptation. “It’s set on one farm with one family and you don’t have to go to Antarctica or shoot at the bottom of the Mariana Trench. So it seemed accessible. But of course it took my whole life for the right sort of circumstances to come to being. “I’m a huge fan of Lovecraft's material, and I’m always hoping that someone else would do a great job with it. And I’m completely shocked

We did highlight a few areas of the script where we were able to let Nic Cage off the leash...

be doing two more Lovecraft movies. We’re already developing the follow-up to Color Out of Space , which is a new adaptation of The Dunwich Horror . It will give us an opportunity to expand on the themes of Color , and also to take the saga back on campus, back to Miskatonic University for the first time since Re-Animator , and get to grips with the Necronomicon. I think that’s something that’s going to happen very swiftly, and I hope it will be in production by the end of this year.”

couldn’t give the audience a brand new colour. The human spectrum and our visual range run between ultraviolet and infrared, so I figured that the ultra-dimensional intrusion to our three-dimensional universe would have to come from somewhere. It would have to start from infrared or ultraviolet and slowly bleed into our perception. The same as a sound coming into your consciousness, it has to come in at a very high pitch or a very low pitch, like a bass rumble that you slowly become aware of.”

Nicolas Cage and Joely Richardson

Despite the many Lovecraft adaptations over the decades, Stanley reveals that the film had been on his mind since childhood, and that his frustration with so many of those films paved the way for his own contribution. “I was a fan of H.P. Lovecraft all of my life; I was indoctrinated into his stories by my mother, who was also a huge fan. I probably started thinking about Color Out of Space when I was

that [Guillermo] del Toro hasn’t delivered on that with At the Mountains of Madness , and James Gunn hasn’t given us Call of Cthulhu yet,” he adds. When it came to his own influences, Stanley reflected on some previous Lovecraft adaptations and the films that were heavily influenced by his writings. “I had a really good time with the Stuart

FURTHER VIEWING

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