STACK #187 May 2020

REVIEWS FILM

Get loaded. GUNS AKIMBO

Deep rising. UNDERWATER

RELEASE DATE: 27/05/20

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RELEASE DATE: 13/05/20

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Kiwi director Jason Lei Howden follows up his splatter- comedy Deathgasm (2015) with this highly stylised, ultra-violent and inspired shoot-em-up. It’s a cyberpunk story about a computer geek (Daniel Radcliffe) who becomes the unwilling star of a live streaming show called Skizm. With semi-automatic guns literally bolted to his hands, it’s kill or be killed as he faces off against the game’s undisputed champion, Nix (Samara Weaving). Energised to the max with whiplash pacing and frenetic editing, Guns Akimbo pounds the viewer to a pulp with

Underwater monster movies essentially relocate the plot of Alien to the ocean’s depths, and this one pits the crew of a deep-sea mining operation against an angry leviathan. Underwater doesn’t waste time with character introductions and exposition; the viewer – and the cast, led by Kristen Stewart in Ripley mode – is immediately thrown into the deep end when an earthquake threatens the structural integrity of a sea- base, and escape becomes imperative. The surviving crew must suit up and take a perilous stroll across

its dynamic action sequences and pulsating soundtrack. Howden is definitely a director to keep tabs on and might just be the next Edgar Wright, James Gunn or Gareth Evans. And Radcliffe continues to impress with his ongoing commitment to strange and eccentric films. GC (See page 26)

the sea floor to the drill site, where escape pods – and a hungry creature – are waiting in the murk. A glossy, big budget thrill ride featuring some tense and terrifying set pieces, Underwater will satisfy fans of this sub- genre, while introducing it to a whole new generation. SH

The world will know his name and the truth. RICHARD JEWELL

Inherit your destiny. BLOODLINE

RELEASE DATE: 06/05/20

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RELEASE DATE: 20/05/20

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Clint Eastwood may be getting older, but he certainly isn’t slowing down. His latest film as a director, Richard Jewell , has a lot in common with Sully in that it focuses on another real-life hero. So who is Richard Jewell? He was the security guard who found and reported a bomb at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta in 1996 – an incident that became known simply as “The Atlanta Bombing”. While initially hailed as a hero for saving lives, between various authorities and media outlets the

Seann William Scott goes from American Pie to American psycho in this gripping and gruesome thriller from horror specialist Blumhouse Productions. While some may find it hard to picture the guy we love as Stifler as a serial killer, Scott delivers a quietly menacing turn as Evan Cole, a high school counsellor and new father who takes family values to brutal and bloody extremes. With a wife suffering post-partum depression, a screaming infant, and a mother who creates further friction

tables soon turned, painting Jewell (played here by Paul Walter Hauser) as a terrorist suspect. This engrossing biopic features a knockout cast including Sam Rockwell, Jon Hamm, and the great Kathy Bates in an Oscar-nominated performance as Jewell’s mother. AC

when she moves in to help, it’s only a matter of time before Evan snaps. Slickly directed by first-timer Henry Jacobson and packing a killer twist, Bloodline upholds Blumhouse’s reputation for quality horror, and it’s great to see Scott back on the screen, albeit covered in gore. SH

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