STACK #192 Oct 2020

FILM REVIEWS

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Star-crossed lovers. BABYTEETH

A case of arrested development. THE KING OF STATEN ISLAND

RELEASE DATE: 28/10/20

FORMAT:

RELEASE DATE: 28/10/20

FORMAT:

Australian director Shannon Murphy’s accomplished feature debut gives the terminally-ill-teen-drama a new lease on life. Adolescent love in the shadow of death has been played out with maximum waterworks in films like The Fault in Our Stars , but Murphy isn’t interested in recycling mawkish genre clichés. Babyteeth 's cancer- stricken protagonist, 16-year-old Milla (Eliza Scanlen), possesses a lust for life and for her new boyfriend, Moses (Toby Wallace). This feral, twenty-something drug

The new comedy-drama from writer-director Judd Apatow ( Knocked Up , Trainwreck ) stars SNL regular and stand-up comic Pete Davidson, who also co-scripted what’s essentially a semi-autobiographical story. Davidson was a child when he lost his firefighter father in the 9/11 tragedy, and his character Scott Carlin is similarly grappling with the fallout of his dad’s death during a heroic rescue attempt. A stoner with zero self esteem and an unrealistic dream of opening a ‘tattoo restaurant’,

dealer isn’t the kind of guy you’d invite home to meet your bourgeois parents, but Milla’s therapist father (Ben Mendelsohn) and musician mum (Essie Davis) are a highly dysfunctional pair who, while initially aghast, come to realise Moses might be exactly what their daughter needs right now. A vibrant coming-of-age tale that celebrates life and first love. SH

he’s left to lament the loss of his dad, his sister’s departure for college, and his mother’s new relationship with a firefighter, which he’s determined to sabotage. A heartfelt and entertaining character study that resonates with truth, this is one of Apatow's most dramatic films to date, and Davidson commits to the role with humour and honesty. SH (See page 14)

THE 2ND AMENDMENT

FOLLOW ME

HARD KILL

ALIVE

RELEASE DATE: 14/10/20 FORMAT:

RELEASE DATE: 28/10/20 FORMAT:

RELEASE DATE: 28/10/20 FORMAT:

RELEASE DATE: 07/10/20 FORMAT:

En route to collect his estranged son from college, a Secret Service agent (Ryan Phillippe, who proved his credentials as an action man in TV's Shooter ) is caught up in a terrorist plot to kidnap the daughter of a Supreme Court judge who is ruling on a landmark legal case involving the 2nd Amendment of the US Constitution – always a hot button issue! Phillippe must use his 'special set of skills' to save the girl and his son from the terrorists and their ruthless leader, played by Casper Van Dien ( Starship Troopers ). Taking its cues from Die Hard and Taken , this is a good old fashioned action flick that rarely lets up. AC

Some people go to crazy lengths in order to make their vlog stand out, and this tourists-in-peril horror- thriller takes content creation to the extreme. An obnoxious social media personality (Keegan Allen) and a bunch of his friends take a trip to Moscow – bankrolled by a billionaire – to shoot an anniversary special for his popular vlog: a look inside an exclusive escape room that caters to the super rich. But what they didn’t count on was said room being a torture chamber from which there’s no escape... Combining the suspense of Escape Room with the shocks of Hostel and Saw , Follow Me packs a surprise twist that you may or may not see coming. BS

Bruce Willis continues on his merry way starring in the sort of action flicks that are great fun if you want to give your brain a night off. In Hard Kill , Bruce actually receives second billing to Jesse Metcalfe, a name that fans of Desperate Housewives will know well. Metcalfe plays a mercenary, hired by an apparently too-old- for-this-spit Bruce, who in this instance is a billionaire tech CEO. Why the merc? Bruce possesses a valuable AI code that's coveted by a terrorist called The Pardoner (!), who has abducted his daughter for leverage. If you're in the mood for an indie actioner with gunfights, revenge and redemption, Hard Kill delivers all of the above. BS

An injured man and woman (Thomas Cocquerel and (Camille Stopps) awaken bloody and bandaged in a rundown sanatorium with no memory of how they got there or who they are. Offered assistance by a concerned caretaker (Angus Macfadyen) who likes to play doctor, the pair soon discover his bedside manner leans towards the sadistic. Abandoned hospitals are catnip to horror filmmakers and director Rob Grant ( Harpoon ) exploits the formula to good effect here, conjuring a grim atmosphere and ramping up the suspense and gore as the film builds to a killer payoff. AC

24 OCTOBER 2020

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