Feb 2016 Video Vibe - Leading Edge Video

Transcription

YOUR GUIDE TO FEBRUARY’S
HOTTEST RELEASES
OVER 40 REVIEWS INSIDE INCLUDING:
BLACK MASS THE INTERN THE MARTIAN
CRIMSON PEAK THE DRESSMAKER
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FEBRUARY 2016
P.14
The awards season is coming
to an end and we are counting
down the days to the 2016 Oscars
on February 28. Of course, not all
the contenders are available yet
in-store, but this month does offer
the chance to sample some of the
winners from earlier ceremonies.
A good place to start is The Martian,
which won two Golden Globes last
month, while closer to home, one
of the big winners at this year’s
AACTA Awards, The Dressmaker,
also makes its debut in February.
In addition, this month sees the
release of some titles that will
certainly feature in our ‘best of
the year’ lists, including the gothic
fantasy Crimson Peak and the starstudded gangster epic Black Mass.
Add to that crowd pleasers like the
Robert De Niro/Anne Hathaway
comedy The Intern and dramas
such as Burnt and Miss You
Already, and you have a winning
line-up of new releases this month.
THE TEAM
6-10 NEWS
What have the bold and the
beautiful of film and TV been up
to lately? We check out the latest
reports from home and beyond
From the biggest Hollywood
blockbusters to unsung gems
premiering on DVD and Blu-ray,
we cast our eye over the
month’s biggest new movie
and television releases.
28-29 BACK TRACK
16-17 ACTION
Five movies you may have
missed last month
P.16
18-19 DRAMA
30 COMING SOON
20-21 FAMILY
New releases to look
forward to next month
22-23 TV
24 THRILLER
26 COMEDY
12 BLACK MASS
Having already played John Dillinger
in Public Enemies, Johnny Depp adds
another one of the FBI’s most wanted
to his résumé.
P.18
14 THE INTERN
Robert De Niro and Anne Hathaway
team up with writer-director
Nancy Meyers for a rom-com
without the romance.
P.22
P.12
P.26
Publisher: Tilo Grieco [email protected], Editor: Kit Razer
Sub Editor: Chelsea Graham, Contributors: Robert Hislop, Accounts: Tracy Kingman [email protected],
Production: Al Netherclift, Design: Brianna O’Neil, Contributor: Scott Hocking
Address: Scribal Publishing Pty. Ltd., PO Box 2051, Richmond South, VIC 3121
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NEWSREEL
NEWSREEL
COOPER’S
KITCHEN Rules
The makers of restaurant drama Burnt called on the help of
some superstar chefs to ensure the movie was as authentic
as possible.
In the film, Bradley Cooper a plays a former enfant terrible
of Paris cuisine, who sets out to rebuild his reputation and win
his elusive third Michelin star.
World famous chef and restaurateur Mario Batali helped Steve
Knight craft the first drafts of the screenplay, while restaurateur
and TV star Gordon Ramsay – himself no stranger to kitchen
tantrums – helped train Cooper in art of cooking. Another key
collaborator was Marcus Wareing, a Michelin star chef and
presenter of the top rated BBC show Master Chef, who admits
he saw something of himself in Cooper’s character.
“I recognise myself in some of the scenes in the film,”
he says. “You can become a character that you don’t like,
but I know what I had to do to get where I am now.
As a chef, it can be a fine line to your dark side.”
Wareing also worked extensively with co-star Sienna Miller
and was so impressed with her dedication that he says he
would hire her for his kitchen if she ever decided on a change
of career.
“Marcus was tough on us, treating us as if we worked in his
kitchen, not as if we are actors; no mollycoddling,” Miller adds.
“My technique is much improved after cooking fish for weeks
on end; fish is all about timing – even a few seconds can really
matter. I now have much more appreciation of how a kitchen
runs; it’s very taxing and needs mental focus.”
See page 19 for more on Burnt.
Burnt
YOUR MONTHLY FIX OF
ENTERTAINMENT NEWS
STILL A HUNGER
FOR TEEN SCI-FI
The Hunger Games may have come to an end but don’t
worry, there is still a bit of life left in some other popular
Young Adult sci-fi franchises.
The Divergent Series: Allegiant is due in cinemas next month
and will find Tris (Shailene Woodley) and Four (Theo James) setting
out beyond the Wall that encircles Chicago to finally discover
the shocking truth of what lies behind it. The series will be
wrapped up in June 2017 with the release
of The Divergent Series: Ascendant.
Also due in 2017 is the third and
final volume in the Maze Runner
series, The Death Cure, in
which our hero Thomas (Dylan
O’Brien) embarks on a
mission to find a cure to a
deadly disease known as
the Flare.
Release dates are
still to be announced
for The Hunger
Games: Mockingjay
Part 2, but expect
to see it in-store
around April time.
Cumberbatch Gets The Hump
Benedict Cumberbatch will cross swords with his old Sherlock
adversary Andrew Scott in a lavish new BBC Shakespeare trilogy.
Cumberbatch – who this month can be seen in Black Mass –
will play Richard III in The Hollow Crown: The Wars Of The Roses,
the concluding part of an ambitious TV project devoted to the bard’s
English history plays. Cumberbatch will appear in Henry IV, Part 2
and Richard III, with Scott – who played Moriarty in Sherlock –
taking on the role of the French King Louis in the latter play.
The all-star ensemble assembled for the trilogy also includes
Hugh Bonneville, Michael Gambon, Judi Dench, Tom Sturridge,
Keeley Hawes and Samuel West. Screening dates are still to be
announced, but this will be a must for all fans of the Bard.
And if you’re looking for a Shakespeare fix this month, make sure
you check out Australian director Justin Kurzel’s acclaimed take on
Macbeth, which stars Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard.
Transporter Refueled
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WIRED
NEWSREEL
NEWSREEL
BLU-RAY
ABOUT
TOTALLY
TO GO ULTRA
It’s hard to believe, but this year marks the 10th anniversary
of Blu-ray. June 2006 saw the first BD go on sale in the US,
with Australia following suit later in the year.
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MORE MISSIONS
FOR CRUISE
Tom Cruise will be back as super agent Ethan
Hunt – but he has a number of other major
projects to complete before embarking on
a sixth Mission: Impossible outing.
Cruise is currently shooting Jack Reacher:
Never Go Back, the sequel to the eponymous
2012 hit based on Lee Childs’ best selling action
series. The new film, an adaptation of the 18th
Reacher book, is being directed by Edward Zwick
and is due in cinemas in October.
As previously reported, that will be followed
in early 2017 by Mena, which reunites Cruise
with his Edge of Tomorrow director Doug Liman
in“He
an action
comedy
basedwith
on the
was really
generous
his outrageous
time with me,”
exploits
of
Barry
Seal,
a
hustler
andquite
pilot arecruited
Gordon-Levitt continues, “We spent
bit of time
by
the
CIA
to
run
one
of
its
biggest
ever
covert
together. He was teaching me how to walk
on a wire,
operations.
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Nation is out on
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The Walk.
DVD and Blu-ray this month; see page 16 for more.
Putting the
fear into frozen
www.leadingedgemusic.com.au
Having filed for bankruptcy protection, rapper 50 Cent – aka
Curtis Jackson – is keeping busy with a string of new projects.
As well as a new album Street King Immortal, Jackson has been
putting the finishing touches to the third season of Power, the
Starz crime drama which he produces and which premieres here
DVDQueen
this month.
Aon
Snow
will soon be back on the big screen – but the
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hop star also
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again
withwas
evilmost
Queen
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Jackson
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rst trailer,
should
be as lot of fun…
the hitthis
comedy
Spy.
Emily Blunt’s latest film, the acclaimed
crime drama Sicario, is reviewed on page 23
50 Cent
out to get
rich again
8
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ORIG
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NEWSREEL
ON SCREEN IN 2016
The local film industry is keeping its fingers crossed for
another bumper year, following record box office returns
for homegrown movies in 2015.
Australian movies generated a whopping $86.8 million
in box office receipts last year, thanks to hits such as
Mad Max: Fury Road, The Dressmaker – which debuts
this month on DVD and Blu-ray – and Oddball.
While the schedules for this year are still to be finalised,
fans of local cinema can look forward Red Dog: True Blue,
a sequel to the much-loved 2011 canine
hit, and the coming-of-age drama
Jasper Jones.
Also due on the big screen this
year are the indigenous drama
Goldstone, Ivan Sen’s follow-up
to Mystery Road, the acclaimed
documentary Sherpa, and
The Daughter, which is loosely
based on Henrik Ibsen’s
The Wild Duck, while other
major projects currently in
production include a sequel
to A Few Best Men, the
Australian/Chinese sci-fi
thriller The Nest and the war
drama Hacksaw Ridge.
Oddball
COLLETTE COLLARS
ACTION ROLES
It’s shaping up to be an action-packed year for Toni Collette.
As well as the Iraq War drama The Yellow Birds, the
Australian star has nabbed roles in two terrorist-related thrillers.
In Imperium, Collette plays a seasoned special agent whose
colleague (Daniel Radcliffe) goes undercover to thwart a group
who plan to detonate a dirty bomb, while Unlocked tells the
story of a CIA interrogator (Noomi Raspace) out to prevent a
biological war attack on London; Collette co-stars alongside
Michael Douglas, Orlando Bloom and John Malkovich.
Both films are currently in post-production, but release
dates are still to be confirmed. Ditto for The Yellow Birds, which
has just gone into production and stars Collette and Jennifer
Aniston as mothers of two young soldiers (Tye Sheridan and
Alden Ehrenreich) navigating the terrors of the conflict in Iraq.
Collette’s latest film, the weepie Miss You Already
is reviewed on page 19.
DIESEL REVS UP
MORE SEQUELS
Vin Diesel’s latest blockbuster The Last Witch Hunter – out this
month on DVD and Blu-ray – is already being talked about as a
possible new movie franchise.
However, the action star already looks as if he has got his hands
full with sequels. Furious 8 – which will be directed by F. Gary Gray
(Straight Outta Compton) – has been earmarked for an April 2017
release, along with Guardians of the Galaxy 2.
Diesel also recently confirmed that he will reunite with Samuel L
Jackson for xXx: The Return of Xander Cage, which is expected to
go into production shortly. Although he starred in the original xXx
(2002), Ice Cube took over the reins for the second film xXx: State
Of The Union (2005).
Also in the pipeline is a fourth Riddick movie, which is entitled
Furia and is being billed as an origin story; shooting is expected to
begin in early 2017.
The Last Witch Hunter
IT’S ONLY
ROCK’N’ROLL
BUT WE LIKE IT
Vinyl, the eagerly awaited new HBO music drama from Boardwalk
Empire’s Terence Winter, Martin Scorsese and Mick Jagger, is set
to premiere this month.
Although Australian screening dates were still to be confirmed
at press time, HBO has announced a February 14 US two hour
premiere for the show, so we shouldn’t be too far behind.
Set in 1970s New York, Vinyl promises to take us on “a ride
through the sex- and drug-addled music business at the dawn
of punk, disco, and hip-hop”.
The show is seen through the eyes of a record label president
Richie Finestra (Bobby Cannavale), who is trying to save both his
company and his soul, while other series regulars include
Olivia Wilde, Ray Romano, Juno Temple
and Mick Jagger’s own son
James. The Rolling Stones
legend is executive producing
the show alongside Scorsese;
Winter is the showrunner.
Fingers crossed we will get
to see it later in the year
on DVD…
Miss You Already
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RATED: MA15+
AVAILABLE: February 17
STARS: Johnny Depp,
Joel Edgerton, Benedict
Cumberbatch, Dakota
Johnson, Kevin Bacon
DIRECTOR: Scott Cooper
DURATION: 120 mins
FORMATS: DVD/Blu-ray
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UP
ON
“He’s not going to rat on his own
people, for nobody, for nothing. But
helping the FBI get the Italian Mafia is a
business decision that, without question,
works for him. I mean, if you’re offered
that kind of clemency, you’re going to take
it, and he takes it and runs with it. He ends
up giving the FBI very little and gets a lot
in return, so it’s kind of brilliant on his part.
“Many people grew up kind of idolising
him; many wanted to be him because
he did things his own way and, for the
most part, he won. But he was also a very
charismatic man. He had this draw that
made people want to get close to him.
They wanted to understand him. They
wanted to know him. I found Bulger to be
a fascinating character and was interested
in what drove him.”
CE
The incredible true story of James
‘Whitey’ Bulger, the Boston gangster
who is effectively given free rein to build
a criminal empire by the FBI, has been
touched upon on screen in the past: both
the Oscar-winning gangster drama The
Departed and the TV series Brotherhood
were inspired by his activities, while
James Woods’ character Patrick ‘Sully’
Sullivan in the first season of Ray Donovan
is a thinly disguised version of Bulger.
However, Black Mass is the first film to
be devoted to the notorious mobster – and
also provides Johnny Depp with his best
role in years. Directed by Scott Cooper,
the film zeroes in on the relationship
between Bulger, a vicious, but relatively
small-time Boston gangster, and FBI
agent John Connelly (Joel Edgerton), who
inadvertently provides him with the ticket
to the big time when he takes him on as
an informant.
While much has been written about
Bulger, Depp admits it wasn’t easy to get
a handle on his character. “One of the
great challenges in finding James Bulger
is that he’s a pretty mysterious fellow,”
he recalls. “I got to know him mainly
through friends and people he worked
with in those early years. That was helpful
in being able to literally grab hold of the
character and hang on. For me it was
walking that tightrope between playing
a very dangerous, unpredictable walking
time bomb who could also be emotional
and even sensitive.”
Although he doesn’t shirk from showing
the gangster’s vicious and psychopathic
side, Depp contends that Bulger was
clever, could be very charming and
saw himself as a man of honour. “His
immediate response to Connolly is that
he would never be a rat,” Depp continues.
ON
Having already played John
Dillinger in Public Enemies,
Johnny Depp adds another
one of the FBI’s most wanted
to his resume in the gritty
gangster drama Black Mass.
15/01/2016 11:20 AM
Better known as ‘The
Boston Strangler’, DeSalvo
has been played by a
number of different actors
over the years, although
Tony Curtis’s portrayal
in the eponymous 1968
classic remains the definitive account.
TI
M
E
Jack Nicholson has a ball
as the charismatic Boston
mobster in The Departed
(2006), who has his own
man (Matt Damon) inside
the police department, but
also does a bit of informing
of his own on the side.
A
JIMMY MARKUM
When Clint Eastwood’s
masterful Mystic River
(2003) begins, Sean
Penn’s Irish crime boss
has actually gone straight.
However, when his
daughter is murdered, his
old gangster instincts soon rise to the surface.
N
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ALBERT DESALVO
FRANK COSTELLO
PO
As well as delving into his character’s
psyche, Depp also worked hard to get the
physical elements of the role right, too.
“It’s also very important, when you’re
playing someone who existed or exists,
to approach it with respect, no matter what.
It’s their life, so regardless of what they
may have done, they deserve as close
to an honest version of themselves as
humanly possible.
So that’s where prosthetics come into play.
Joel Harlow, who did the makeup for the
film and whom I’ve worked with for years,
did an amazing job.”
TO
P
BO
ST
ON
IN
I found it remarkable
that this was only
his third film.
BOSTON
BADDIES
Depp is also full of praise for his
collaborators. He says he and Benedict
Cumberbatch, who plays his brother
politician Billy, “became like brothers”
during the shoot, while he describes our
own Joel Edgerton as “a great, great actor”.
And he equally effusive in his praise for
Cooper, best known for the country and
western drama Crazy Heart.
“On the set, I found it remarkable that this
was only his third film. He ate, drank and
slept this film. I mean, the dude’s amazing;
I’d shoot the telephone book with him! He’s
a great filmmaker with an enormous future.”
MICKEY DONOVAN
You can take the boy out
of Boston but not the
Boston out of the boy...
Ray Donovan’s nemesis in
the TV show of the same
name, his Dad Mickey (Jon
Voight), may be getting on
a bit but is utterly ruthless when it
comes to dealing with both his family
and business associates.
13
15/01/2016 11:22 AM
IN GOOD
COMPANY
In The Intern, Robert De Niro and
Anne Hathaway team up with writer-director
Nancy Meyers for a rom-com without the romance.
W
riter-director Nancy Meyers
is no stranger to the world
of rom-coms, from feelgood favourites like The Holiday or
comedies such as It’s Complicated
and Something’s Gotta Give, which
celebrated that romance is not just
for the young.
But while relationships are the
heart of her latest offering The Intern,
this time around romance doesn’t
take centre stage. “Relationships are
what drive my films, but there are
other kinds of relationships other than
romantic ones,” Meyer explains. “So
when I had this idea about an older
man becoming an intern at a start-up,
I realized it wouldn’t be a love story, in
the traditional sense; it would be a story
about a bond and friendship... between
two people who might otherwise never
cross paths.”
It would be a story about
a bond and friendship...
between two people who
might otherwise never
cross paths.
In The Intern,, Robert De Niro plays
Ben, a retired corporate executive
who gets a new lease of life when
he becomes a senior intern at a local
Brooklyn start-up run by a young
dotcom fashion mogul Jules (Anne
Hathaway). She is reluctant at first to
embrace the senior intern program
but she slowly grows close to her
wise and gentlemanly new PA.
De Niro jumped at the opportunity
to collaborate for the first time with
Meyers. “This is the kind of movie
that Nancy does and does so well,”
he says. “It’s in some ways a classic
Hollywood comedy, but not of the past;
it’s very contemporary. Here, she hits
on something I think a lot of people can
relate to: they’re not necessarily sure
anything has changed other than they
just got older, but they still have plenty
to offer and are able to be productive.”
Hathaway also needed little
persuasion to come on board. “Nancy’s
movies are timeless,” she enthuses.
“There are always serious subjects
at stake, but they are examined with
a great amount of humour. That’s her
trademark: being able to strike that
balance, and audiences respond to that.”
For her part, Meyer observes that
thanks to the chemistry of her two stars,
a powerful dynamic was established
between their characters. “It’s this
magical thing that happens if you’re
lucky,” says Meyers. “It can’t be forced,
it just happens. There’s just something
special between Ben and Jules, and also
Bob and Annie. And I believe it’s very
palpable on screen.”
RATED: M
STARS: Robert De Niro,
Anne Hathaway, Rene
Russo, Anders Holm
DIRECTOR: Nancy Meyers
DURATION: 115 mins
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TO
P
SCREEN PA’S
MISS MONEYPENNY
And her two stars confirm their
admiration for each other was entirely
mutual. “This kind of comedy has a
certain precision, with a lot of dialogue
and timing,” says De Niro. “It’s why
you need a good partner and I couldn’t
have had a better partner than Anne.
“She’s very professional and very
much a team player. She was great.”
Adds Hathaway: “I was so fortunate
to have had Bob by my side, he is such
a terrific guy. He makes these razor
sharp turns in a scene and you feel
chills go through your soul because
that power is so strong and so focused
and you’re right next to it. But he’s
so modest and so laid back and easy
going, you forget for a moment that
he’s one of the greatest actors who
have ever lived.”
In the film, when Ben first applies
for the internship, he muses that
musicians don’t stop until there’s no
more music in them. And Meyers is
a firm believer that mantra applies to
everyone. “I think everyone has music
in them and can go on for as long as
they are passionate about something,”
she says. “I hope The Intern will
make people laugh but I also hope it
inspires them to remember if you love
something, don’t lose your passion for
it. Do it as long as you can, as well as
you can.”
Arguably the world’s
best known PA, until
recently M’s formidable
private secretary was
usually seen on screen
just to flirt with James
Bond. Thankfully, the
character’s latest incarnation –
as played by Naomie Harris in
Skyfall and Spectre – is a former
agent herself, so she doesn’t take
any nonsense from 007.
EMILY CHARLTON
Although Anne
Hathaway’s sweet
natured PA Andy Sachs
was the lead in The
Devil Wears Prada, Emily
Blunt’s wickedly snooty
senior aide to the even nastier
Meryl Streep ended up stealing
every scene she was in.
PEPPER POTTS
When we first met
Virginia ‘Pepper’ Potts
(Gwyneth Paltrow)
in Iron Man, she was
playboy millionaire Tony
Stark’s most valued
aide. However, by the second film she
had been promoted to CEO of Stark
Industries, proving that there is always
scope for career advancement for good
screen PAs.
LEE HOLLOWAY
OK, Maggie Gyllenhaal’s
character in Secretary
is not particularly great
at her job, but the kinky
games she gets up to
with her boss James
Spader makes her one of
the most memorable of screen PA’s.
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ACTION
THE MARTIAN
RATED: M
STARS: Matt Damon,
Jessica Chastain, Kristen
Wiig, Jeff Daniels, Michael
Peña, Kate Mara
DIRECTOR: Ridley Scott
DURATION: 144 mins
Ridley Scott’s place in the all-time sci-fi hall
of fame is already guaranteed thanks to Alien
and Blade Runner. However, room will now
also have to be found for his marvellous
latest The Martian, which is certainly Scott’s
most ‘human’ science fiction film to date.
That’s because for all its outer space setting
and SFX wizardry, it’s essentially a good oldfashioned Robinson Crusoe-style adventure
yarn. Matt Damon plays Mark Watney, a
botanist on a space mission to Mars who
is believed to have been killed in the lethal
storm that forced team leader Melissa Lewis
(Jessica Chastain) to order an emergency
evacuation. However, Watney is still alive and
as the base camp is still up and running, he
then must find enough food to survive until
NASA can launch a rescue mission. Damon is
his usual likable self as the intrepid astronaut
who finds a way to grow potatoes in space,
while there is also stellar support from his
ground crew, which includes the likes of
Chiwitel Ejiofor, Donald Glover, Sean Bean
and the great Jeff Daniels. Awesome stuff.
IF YOU LIKE THIS, YOU’LL LIKE...
Gravity
Interstellar
Castaway
BLACK MASS
RATED: MA15+
STARS: Johnny Depp,
Joel Edgerton, Benedict
Cumberbatch, Dakota
Johnson, Kevin Bacon
DIRECTOR: Scott Cooper
DURATION: 120 mins
ALIEN OUTPOST
At last: a serious role that
Johnny Depp can get his
teeth into. And he doesn’t
disappoint either, delivering a
mesmerizing study in evil as
the notorious Boston gangster
James ‘Whitey’ Bulger, who
conned the FBI into giving
him a free pass in return for
providing information on the
Mafia. Depp’s bravura turn is
more than matched by our
own Joel Edgerton as the
ambitious but hopelessly
compromised agent John
Connolly, who is forced
to cover for his so-called
informant as he proceeds to
murder his way to the top of
the city’s underworld. Director
Scott Cooper (Crazy Heart,
Out Of The Furnace) stages
some memorable action
set-pieces and gives the film
a gritty visual sheen that
recalls the great cop thrillers
of the 1970s. The year’s first
essential crime movie.
THE LAST SURVIVORS
RATED: MA15+ AVAIL: Feb 17
STARS: Adrian Paul, Brandon
Auret, Rick Ravanello
DIRECTOR: Jabbar Raisani
DURATION: 91 mins
STARS: Haley Lu Richardson,
Booboo Stewart, Michael Welch
DIRECTOR: Tom Hammock
DURATION: 95 mins
FORMATS: DVD
Like Monsters: Dark Continent,
this gritty alien invasion flick
also serves as an analogy
for recent Middle Eastern
wars, although this one is
framed as a fly-on-the-wall
documentary. Set in 2031
after the earth has managed
to repulse an invading alien
army, this follows an isolated
unit charged with mopping
up the pockets of aliens
who have been left behind
– and humans they have
‘converted’ to their cause.
There are echoes of Mad Max
in this accomplished postapocalyptic drama set in a
futuristic world where water
has become such a precious
resource that people are
prepared to kill for it. However,
Tom Hammock’s directorial
debut plays out more like a
modern day western as feisty
teenager Haley Lu Richardson
battles land baron Jon Gries,
who is intent on monopilising
the region’s dwindling
water supplies.
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RATED: MA15+
STARS: Michael Jai White,
Max Ryan, Steve Austin, Allen
Yates, Dan Anders
DIRECTOR: Kevin Carraway
DURATION: 84 mins
TKE28_16-17_Action.indd 15
Special ops agent James
Webster (martial arts favourite
Michael Jai White) is looking
forward to the quiet life when
he returns home from his
latest tour of duty. However,
he is forced to draw on all
his lethal fighting skills when
he sets out to hunt down
the men responsible for the
murder of his brother, who
seems to have stolen a large
amount of cash from some
very bad people. As he digs
deeper, Webster discovers
that conspiracy involves senior
rogue elements in the military
and intelligence communities,
who send a horde of assassins
– led by another former special
operative Ray Peters (played
by former WWE icon Steve
Austin) – to silence him. Chain
Of Command is not exactly
subtle, but this no-nonsense
action thriller shouldn’t
disappoint genre fans.
THE LAST
WITCH HUNTER
RATED: M AVAIL: Feb 3
STARS: Vin Diesel, Rose Leslie,
Elijah Wood, Olafur Darri
Olafsson DIRECTOR: Breck Eisner
DURATION: 106 mins
Vin Diesel adds another
ultra-cool hero to his resume
as the eponymous immortal
who ensures that the uneasy
truce between witches and
humankind is maintained.
However, when his church
liaison man (Michael Caine) is
attacked, he realises that the
Queen Witch – whom he killed
centuries ago – is about to
be resurrected. An explosive
horror actioner, this is crying
out to become a franchise.
JARHEAD 3: THE SIEGE
STARS: Charlie Weber, Scott
Adkins, Tom Ainsley, Erik Valdez,
Dante Basco DIRECTOR: William
Kaufman DURATION: 95 mins
ACTION
CHAIN OF COMMAND
The second direct-to-DVD spinoff from the acclaimed 2005
war drama sees the action
switch from the battlefield
to an American embassy in
Middle East, which comes
under assault from militants
out to kill an informant hiding
out there. Heavily out-gunned,
a small band of soldiers and
embassy personnel must
hold on until a rescue mission
arrives. Scott Atkins and
Dennis Haysbert head the
cast of this proficient actioner.
15/01/2016 6:22 PM
DRAMA
THE WALK
DIRECTOR: Robert Zemeckis
The incredible story of Philippe Petit’s daring
high wire walk between the World Trade
Center’s twin towers in New York in the early
‘70s has already been told on screen before
in the Oscar-winning 2008 documentary
Man on Wire. So director Robert Zemeckis
has cleverly avoided the usual docu-drama
approach taken for these sort of stories and
has instead crafted a witty, magical fable that
has more in common with fantasy flicks like
Hugo than factual dramas. Joseph GordonLevitt is excellent as Petit – narrating his
life story from atop of the Statue of Liberty
– who became obsessed with traversing
the twin towers even while they were still
under construction. There are also fine
supporting turns from Ben Kingsley as Petit’s
grouchy mentor and Charlotte Le Bon as his
supportive girlfriend. And in keeping with the
stunt’s latter day description as “the artistic
crime of the century”, the final third of The
Walk plays out like a crime caper, as Petit
and his crew meticulously plot their groundbreaking wire walk.
DURATION: 123 mins
RATED: PG
STARS: Joseph GordonLevitt, Guillaume Baillargeon,
Émilie Leclerc, Mark Trafford
PAWN SACRIFICE
Man On Wire
Death Defying Acts
Kon Tiki
QUEEN & COUNTRY
LEARNING TO DRIVE
NASTY BABY
STARS: Liev Schreiber, Peter
Sarsgaard, Tobey Maguire, Lily
Rabe DIRECTOR: Edward Zwick
DURATION: 114 mins
FORMATS: DVD
STARS: Callum Turner, Caleb
Landry Jones, David Thewlis,
Richard E. Grant DIRECTOR: John
Boorman DURATION: 114 mins
FORMATS: DVD
STARS: Ben Kingsley, Grace
Gummer, Patricia Clarkson, Jake
Weber DIRECTOR: Isabel Coixet
DURATION: 87 mins
FORMATS: DVD
STARS: Kristen Wiig, Alia
Shawkat, Mark Margolis
DIRECTOR: Sebastián Silva
DURATION: 100 mins
A gripping and revealing
portrait of US chess champion
Bobby Fischer, whose 1972
match against Russian master
Boris Spassky was one of
the oddest face-offs of the
Cold War. Tobey Maguire is
superb as the troubled young
chess grandmaster and there
are equally stellar turns from
the likes of Liev Schreiber as
Spassky and Lily Rabe as his
sister Joan.
In this affectionate sequel to
Hope & Glory (1987), John
Boorman takes up the story
of Bill Rohan (now played by
Callum Turner) as he gets up
to all sorts of mischief while
undertaking national service
in the early 1950s. Tasmin
Egerton plays his first true
love, while David Thewlis
scores as the sergeant-major
he and his pal (Caleb Landry
Jones) delight in tormenting.
When New York academic
Patricia Clarkson is dumped
by her husband Jake Weber,
her life goes into a tail-spin.
Unable to drive but wanting
to visit her daughter (Grace
Gummer) in the country, she
signs up for lessons with an
Indian expat instructor (Ben
Kingsley), who indirectly
helps her rebuild her life.
Beautifully played and
sympathetically directed.
A New York gay couple
(director Sebastián Silva and
Tunde Adebimpe) want to
have a baby and their best
friend Kristen Wiig is happy
to be their surrogate mum.
But what starts out as a
satirical look at hipster life
turns progressively darker
as the trio come under
increasing harassment
from their disturbed
neighbour Reg E Carthy.
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RATED: M
STARS: Drew Barrymore,
Toni Collette, Dominic Cooper,
Paddy Considine
DIRECTOR:
Catherine Hardwicke
DURATION: 112 mins
The hugely popular 1988
drama Beaches gets a 21st
Century makeover in this
unashamed weepy from
director Catherine Hardwick
(Twilight). Set mainly in
London, Drew Barrymore
and Toni Collette play Jess
and Milly, who have been
friends since school, even
though their lives have taken
very different directions.
Milly has two children and
enjoys a millionaire lifestyle
with her music entrepreneur
husband Kit (Dominic Cooper).
Jess, on the other hand,
lives on a houseboat with
her oil rigger husband Jago
(Paddy Considine) and is
contemplating IVF treatment
after years of struggling to
conceive. However, the two
women’s life-long friendship
is put under increasing strain
when Milly is diagnosed with
breast cancer and battles to
come to terms with her new
situation. Make sure you have
plenty of tissues at hand.
BEFORE WE GO
MACBETH
STARS: Chris Evans, Alice
Eve, Emma Fitzpatrick, Maria
Breyman DIRECTOR: Chris Evans
DURATION: 92 mins
FORMATS: DVD
STARS: Michael Fassbender,
Elizabeth Debicki, Marion
Cotillard, Sean Harris DIRECTOR:
Justin Kurzel DURATION: 113 mins
Chris Evans’ accomplished
directorial debut follows
a night in the lives of two
strangers who meet by
chance at closing time at
New York’s main train station.
He also takes the lead role
of a jazz trumpeter, who
comes to the aid of Alice
Eve, a married woman
who desperately needs
to get home before her
husband returns.
Taking its visual cues from
Game Of Thrones, Australian
director Justin Kurzel serves
up a stunning new take on
William Shakespeare’s Scottish
play. Michael Fassbender is
terrific as the nobleman driven
to murder his king (David
Thewlis) and he is more than
matched by Marion Cottlilard
as his ambitious wife. Lean and
brooding, this is Shakespeare
at its most accessible.
DRAMA
MISS YOU ALREADY
BURNT
DIRECTOR: John Wells
Taking a leaf out of Gordon Ramsay’s style
of kitchen management, Bradley Cooper is
a blast as a bad boy chef trying to rebuild
his reputation in this starry cooking drama.
Having given up the booze and drugs that
saw him crash and burn at his old Paris
establishment, Adam Jones (Cooper) has
cleaned up his act and arrives in London
determined to win a third Michelin star.
Taking the reins of restaurant run by Tony
(Daniel Brühl) – the son of his former mentor –
Adam’s arrogant, bullying ways don’t go down
particularly well with his new cooking team,
who include Michel (Omay Sy), an old pal from
France, and single mother Helene (Sienna
Miller). However, his passion for cooking
eventually wins them over and the restaurant
becomes one of London’s hottest. But will
Adam be able to keep his self-destructive
behaviour in check? Burnt boasts an incredible
cast – the supporting players include Emma
Thompson, Alicia Vikander, Uma Thurman and
Lily James – making this is a must-see for fans
of fine dining and fine acting.
DURATION: 101 mins
RATED: CTC
STARS: Bradley Cooper,
Sienna Miller, Daniel Brühl,
Uma Thurman
Chef
No Reservations
The Hundred Foot Journey
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FAMILY
THE GAMES MAKER
STARS: David Mazouz,
Joseph Fiennes, Tom
Cavanagh, Megan
Charpentier
Tapping into a similar vein of wonder as
Martin Scorsese’s Hugo, this gorgeouslooking fantasy from Argentinian director
Juan Pablo Buscarini is an undiscovered gem
that deserves to find a much wider family
audience. David Mazouz, who plays the
young Bruce Wayne in the TV series Gotham,
stars as Ivan Drago, a curious young child
who is surprised to discover that he has a
natural talent for creating board games, an
activity which his otherwise loving father
(Tom Cavanagh) heartily disapproves of.
When his parents disappear in a ballooning
accident, Ivan embarks on a series of
fantastic adventures – including a stint in a
gothic orphanage that is sinking into a swamp
– to discover his true destiny. Mazouz makes
for a suitably intrepid young hero, while
other familiar faces in the cast include screen
veteran Ed Asner as his celebrated gameinventing grandfather and Joseph Fiennes as
his sinister former protégé. Beautifully shot
and designed, young fantasy fans will find
much to like here.
DIRECTOR:
Juan Pablo Buscarini
RATED: PG
DURATION: 106 mins
FORMATS: DVD
Hugo
The Spiderwick Chronicles
Jumanji
WORMS
SPIRIT RIDERS
RATED: PG
STARS: Alexandria DeBerry,
Lance Henriksen, C Thomas
Howell, Olivia Osteen
DIRECTOR: Brian T. Jaynes
DURATION: 92 mins
FORMATS: DVD
You can’t go far wrong
with horses and tween
angst – and they make for a
winning combination in this
heartwarming, family-friendly
flick. Alexandria DeBerry, best
known for her recurring role
as the ditsy Paisley in Disney
Channel’s A.N.T. Farm, plays
Kacie, a rebellious teenager
who is sentenced to a work
release program on a horse
ranch for her part in a botched
burglary. The sulky adolescent
is determined to do the barest
minimum and has no time
for her fellow workers or
visitors to the ranch, many of
whom are special needs kids.
However, she is gradually won
over by the ranch’s grizzled
owner Rex (Lance Henrickson),
particularly when he offers her
the chance to help him tame
a temperamental retired race
horse. A back story involving
Kacie’s guilt at the death of
her younger brother adds an
extra layer of pathos to the
proceedings. One for the girls.
RODEO GIRL
RATED: PG AVAIL: Feb 17
STARS: Daniel Boaventura, Duda
Espinoza, Isabella Fiorentino
DIRECTOR: Paolo Conti, Arthur
Nunes DURATION: 80 mins
FORMATS: DVD
STARS: Kevin Sorbo, Sophie
Bolen, Derek Brandon, Kylie
Hart DIRECTOR: Joel Paul Reisig
DURATION: 108 mins
FORMATS: DVD
A wacky – and occasionally
surreal – slice of stopmotion animation from
Brazil, Worms follows the
adventures of Junior, a nervy
preteen worm who has been
spoilt by his over-protective
mother. However, when he
accidentally ends up on the
earth’s surface, he faces
a perilous journey back
home, while learning a few
important life lessons along
the way.
Pampered 14-year-old Priscilla
(Sophia Bolen) lives for show
jumping, so she is not best
pleased when her mother
ships her off for the summer
to the Midwest ranch of her
ex-husband Duke (Kevin Sorbo)
while she goes on honeymoon
with her new husband.
However, after a trip to the
rodeo, Priscilla persuades her
dad’s young stablehand Sage
(Derek Brandon) to teach her
barrel racing.
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RATED: PG
STARS: Oliver Lambert, Lily
Lambert, Jules Werner,
Adrian Diffey
DIRECTOR:
Esben Toft Jacobsen
DURATION: 78 mins
FORMATS: DVD
The title doesn’t really do it
justice – the titular character
has more in common with
King Kong than most cinematic
bears; there’s even a small
forest growing on its back!
However, because the Great
Bear lives in an untamed
woodland, its existence has
long gone unnoticed – until the
gentle creature is discovered
by a little girl called Sophie,
who is visiting her grandfather
with her brother Jonathan.
The latter is fed up with having
to look after his little sister,
but when she vanishes after
he chases her into the woods,
he sets off in pursuit. And it
turns out that the bear is not
the most dangerous beast in
the forest – that title belongs
to an embittered hunter who is
determined to kill the majestic
animal. The first feature from
Danish animator Esben Toft
Jacobsen boasts oodles of
charm and the mix of CGI and
hand-painted backgrounds will
strike a chord with anime fans.
ROBO-DOG
THE LEGEND OF
LONGWOOD
STARS: Lucy Morton, Thekla
Reuten, Fiona Glascott, Lorcan
Bonner DIRECTOR: Lisa Mulcahy
DURATION: 96 mins
FORMATS: DVD
Equine fans are really spoilt
for choice this month (see
Spirit Riders and Rodeo Girl
opposite) with the release
of another feel-good flick
aimed fairly and squarely at
girls who love horses. This
helping of Irish blarney is also
spiced up with a bit of magic,
as a 12-year-old New Yorker
discovers that she is linked
to a herd of precious white
horses and a ghostly knight.
STARS: Olivia D’Abo, Patrick
Muldoon, Wallace Shawn, James
Arnold Taylor DIRECTOR: Jason
Murphy DURATION: 87 mins
FORMATS: DVD
FAMILY
THE GREAT BEAR
Seeing that his son (Michael
Campion) needs company,
scientist Patrick Muldoon
creates the ultimate version
of man’s friend: although it
looks like an ordinary pooch,
this mechanical mutt comes
complete with various bionic
attachments and can even
talk! However, when greedy
industrialist Wallace Shawn
discovers that it’s powered by
a new super advanced battery,
he sets out to steal it.
MICHAEL
MAX
AND
STEVE
JAI WHITE RYAN AUSTIN
DUTY. CORRUPTION. VENGEANCE.
“Kick-ass! Delivers plenty of beatdowns!”
Examiner
On DVD February 3
On Blu-ray & DVD February 3
TV
ZOO SEASON 1
RATED: M
STARS: James Wolk,
Kristen Connolly, Nonso
Anozie, Nora Arnezeder
DIRECTOR:
Michael Katleman
DURATION: 614 mins
Loosely based on the book by James
Patterson and Michael Ledwidge, this
intriguing new TV series offers a fresh spin
on global disaster. This time around, it’s
not zombies, pandemics or weather that
threatens mankind but animals. It seems that
a modified gene that has found its way into
all aspects of our food is causing animals to
lose their fear of humans; in fact, not only do
they regard us as a threat to their existence,
but they have even started working together
on co-ordinated attacks. James Wolk plays a
zoologist who, together with his safari guide
best pal Nonso Anozie, a French intelligence
agent (Nora Arnezeder), an LA journalist
(Kristen Connolly) and a veterinary surgeon
(Billy Burke), are charged with finding a
solution. Despite the faintly daft premise, the
blend of conspiracy thriller and apocalyptic
drama is irresistible and without wanting to
give too much away, the cliffhanging final
episode suggests that latter element will
become more prevalent in the upcoming
second season.
The Walking Dead
Wayward Pines
Z Nation
FORMATS: DVD
TOGETHERNESS
RATED: MA15+
STARS: Mark Duplass,
Melanie Lynskey, Amanda
Peet, Steve Zissis
DIRECTOR: Jay Duplass
DURATION: 206 mins
Indie writer/directors Mark and
Jay Duplass are best known
for their quirky comedy-dramas
Cyrus and Jeff, Who Lives
At Home, and their first TV
series features a similar blend
of believably dysfunctional
characters and offbeat humour.
And while set on the fringes
of Hollywood, the show’s
faint air of melancholy and
surrealism means it couldn’t
be more different than HBO
stablemate Entourage. Mark
Duplass takes the lead role of
Brett, a sound designer who
is vaguely frustrated with his
life, yet is seemingly unaware
that his wife Michelle (the
excellent Melanie Lynskey) is
even more disillusioned about
the way their relationship is
going. At the same time, they
have to cope with Brett’s best
friend, struggling actor Alex
(co-creator Steven Zissis), and
Michelle’s sister Tina (Amanda
Peet), who are both crashing
at their house. Thoughtful and
funny – more please!
FROM DUSK TILL
DAWN S2
STARS: D.J. Cotrona, Zane Holtz,
Eiza González, Jesse Garcia
DIRECTOR: Robert Rodriguez
DURATION: 450 mins
FORMATS: DVD
Regular Robert Rodriguez
collaborator Danny Trejo is
among the new characters
introduced in the second
season of this blood-soaked
TV reboot of the cult vampire
classic. However, this time
expect the unexpected; while
the first series didn’t deviate
too far from the main story
arcs of the first movie, the
second season takes things
into exciting new territory.
RECTIFY S3
STARS: Aden Young, J. SmithCameron, Clayne Crawford,
Luke Kirby DIRECTOR: Steven
Gyllenhall DURATION: 360 mins
FORMATS: DVD
This absorbing smalltown
drama has always been
something of a slow-burner
but thanks to the quality
of the playing and writing,
Rectify remains compelling
television. In season 3,
Daniel Holden (Aden Young)
and his family face renewed
turmoil, particularly when the
body of a missing person is
discovered and the police
once again turn to him
for answers.
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POWER SEASON 1
STARS: Omari Hardwick,
Lela Loren, Naturi
Naughton, Joseph Sikora
DIRECTOR:
Anthony Hemingway
DURATION: 460 mins
CHICAGO FIRE S3
TV
RATED: MA15+
A ghetto drug dealer aims to go legit but
finds it impossible to escape his criminal
past. Sound familiar? Yes, this sleek new
crime drama shares some DNA with last
year’s TV sensation Empire, but Power
actually predates the latter hit and is more
crime than soap – and, being a Starz
show, it’s a whole lot raunchier, too! Omari
Hardwick plays James ‘Ghost’ St Patrick, a
New York drugs kingpin who has just opened
a swanky new nightclub, which he secretly
hopes will provide him with a ticket out of
the crime game. Unfortunately, his drugs
organisation is under attack from an unknown
criminal gang and is also being investigated
by a law enforcement task force looking to
bring down his new supplier, Mexican cartel
boss Felipe Lobos (Enrique Murciano). Just
to complicate things further, the lead attorney
in the investigation is an old girlfriend Angela
(Lela Loren), although neither of them are
aware of the other’s true identity. With a third
season due later this year, it’s time to make
Power your next guilty pleasure.
Empire
The Sopranos
The Wire
Z NATION S2
STARS: Jesse Spencer, Taylor
Kinney, Monica Raymund,
Eamonn Walker DIRECTOR: Joe
Chappelle DURATION: 1205 mins
RATED: CTC AVAIL: Feb 10
STARS: Kellita Smith, DJ Qualls,
Keith Allan, Russell Hodgkinson
DIRECTOR: John Hyams
DURATION: 630 mins
The fallout from the death of
a key character in the final of
the second series continues
to resonate through the
gripping third season of this
ever-popular fire fighting
drama. But as well as coming
to terms with the loss of one
of their own, they are also
faced with new challenges,
including a cunning arsonist,
the complications of staff
romance plus new tensions
within Firehouse 51.
If zombie apocalypse
wasn’t bad enough, in
the second season of this
cheerfully irreverent action
horror series our heroes
have to contend with the
consequences of the nuclear
missile launch triggered at
the end of season 1. So get
ready for some new breeds
of zombies as the hunt is
renewed for the world’s
only known survivor of
the undead plague.
CATASTROPHE
RATED: MA15+
STARS: Sharon Horgan,
Rob Delaney, Mark Bonnar,
Ashley Jensen
DIRECTOR: Ben Taylor
DURATION: 180 mins
FORMATS: DVD
Sharon Horgan wrote and
starred in one of the best Brit
comedy series of the 2000s,
the rude and lewd Pulling,
which sadly slipped under the
radar over here. Let’s hope
the same doesn’t happen with
her latest show, which was
one of the best new English
sitcoms to debut last year.
In Catastrophe, she plays
Sharon, a thirtysomething
London teacher who enjoys a
one night stand (actually it’s
closer to seven) with visiting
American adman Rob (US
standup comic and co-creator
Rob Delaney). Unfortunately,
a few months later she
discovers she is pregnant,
so Rob does the honourable
thing and relocates to
London. As well as the filthily
funny dialogue, what makes
Catastrophe special is the
winning chemistry between
Horgan and Delaney, and the
way it quietly subverts the
conventions of relationship
comedies. Essential viewing.
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THRILLER
CRIMSON PEAK
RATED: MA15+
STARS: Mia Wasikowska,
Jessica Chastain, Tom
Hiddleston, Charlie Hunnam
DIRECTOR:
Guillermo Del Toro
DURATION: 119 mins
THE GREEN INFERNO
POKER NIGHT
After the creature feature
hijinks of Pacific Rim, this
finds Guillermo del Toro getting
back to what he does best:
gothic horror. Crimson Peak
is a sumptuous and dazzlingly
dark fantasy, seething with
sexual tension and dread,
and spiced up with some
visceral Hammer House of
Horror shocks. Set at the tail
end of the 19th century, Mia
Wasikowska plays Edith, the
young daughter of a wealthy
businessman Carter Cushing
(Jim Beaver), who falls for
a charismatic visiting British
aristocrat Sir Thomas Sharpe
(Tom Hiddleston). Cushing
suspects that Sharpe is hiding
some dark secrets and pays
him to leave his daughter
alone. However, when he is
murdered, Edith agrees to
marry Sharpe and returns
with him and his creepy sister
Lucille (Jessica Chastain) to
their decaying mansion.
That’s when her nightmare
really begins...
LEGEND
Part black comedy, part
torture porn, part crime
thriller, the directorial debut
of Greg Francis is something
of a genre bender. In order
to outwit a serial killer who
has imprisoned him, rookie
detective Beau Birchoff has to
draw on the stories related to
him by a group of seasoned
cops – Ron Perlman, Titus
Welliver, Giancarlo Esposito
and Ron Eldard – at their poker
sessions. Scary fun.
RATED: MA15+
STARS: Ron Perlman,
Giancarlo Esposito, Titus
Welliver, Beau Bichoff
DIRECTOR: Greg Francis
DURATION: 105 mins
THE DEAD 2: INDIA
STARVE
RATED: R18+ AVAIL: Feb 3
STARS: Lorenza Izzo, Ariel
Levy, Daryl Sabara, Kirby Bliss
Blanton DIRECTOR: Eli Roth
DURATION: 96 mins
STARS: Tom Hardy, David Thewlis,
Christopher Eccleston, Emily
Browning DIRECTOR: Brian
Helgeland DURATION: 131 mins
STARS: Joseph Millson, Meenu
Mishra, Anand Krishna Goyal
DIRECTOR: Howard J. Ford
DURATION: 98 mins
FORMATS: DVD
RATED: R18+ AVAIL: Feb 17
STARS: Mariah Bonner, Bobby
Campo, Catherine Cappiello,
Dave Davis DIRECTOR: Griff Furst
DURATION: 98 mins FORMATS:
DVD/Blu-ray
Horror maestro Eli Roth pays
tribute to the old cannibal
shockers from the video
nasties’ era in this cheerfully
gory splatter-fest set in the
Amazonian jungle. Roth’s
real-life wife Lorenza Izzo is
one of a group of American
activists protesting at the
threat posed by developers
to a remote tribe, but who
end up in the cooking pots of
the same natives that they
are trying to help! An instant
cult classic.
Tom Hardy is electrifying in
the dual roles of the Kray
twins in this stylish new take
on England’s most famous
gangsters. The British star
skillfully delineates the
differences between the
two siblings – the paranoid
schizophrenic Ronnie and the
cleverer, yet equally brutal,
Reggie – as the pair become
London’s first celebrity
gangsters. Emily Browning,
meanwhile, provides the
pathos as Reggie’s tragic wife.
Those hoping for an all-singing
Bollywood zombie musical
will be disappointed, but the
Ford Brothers’ striking followup to their 2012 film The Dead
is sure to go down a treat with
the horror fraternity. Joseph
Millson stars as an American
engineer working in India who
travels across the country to
rescue his girlfriend (Meenu
Mishra) as the world’s second
most populous nation is
devastated by a full scale
zombie apocalypse.
Saw meets The Hills Have
Eyes in this ingeniously plotted
shocker. Bobby Campo, his
girlfriend Mariah Bonner and
brother Dave Davis get more
than they bargained for when
they dig into an urban legend
involving people who are
forced to turn to cannibalism
after becoming trapped in
sinkholes. Imprisoned in
an abandoned school they
discover that the truth is
more terrifying than they
could ever imagine.
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COMEDY
THE DRESSMAKER
RATED: M
STARS: Kate Winslet, Liam
Hemsworth, Hugo Weaving,
Sarah Snook, Judy Davis
DIRECTOR:
Jocelyn Moorhouse
DURATION: 118 mins
With a box office take of almost $20 million,
this splendidly dark Grand Guignol comedy
has to go down as one of our most unlikely
homegrown success stories. Set in the
‘50s, Kate Winslet plays the eponymous
seamstress of the title, who returns to the
small hometown she was forced to leave
as a child after she was blamed for the
death of the son of the community’s most
powerful man (Shane Bourne). Her mother
(Judy Davis), who claims not to recognise
her daughter, has long been ostracized
by the community, but Winslet’s dazzling
dressmaking skills gradually win over the
petty-minded ladies of the town. However,
tragedy is still lurking around the corner.
Winslet, Davis and Hugo Weaving – hilarious
as the town’s cross-dressing policeman –
won AACTA Awards, but all the performances
from a who’s who of Aussie acting are spoton. And director Joceyln Moorhouse, helming
her first Australian movie in almost 25 years,
nimbly juggles the blend of ripe melodrama
and jet-black humour.
Priscilla Queen Of The Desert
Death In Brunswick
Bliss
THE INTERN
RATED: M
STARS: Robert De Niro,
Anne Hathaway, Rene Russo,
Anders Holm
DIRECTOR: Nancy Meyers
DURATION: 115 mins
ALL ROADS LEAD
TO ROME
In The Devil Wears Prada,
Anne Hathaway memorably
played a PA coping with the
boss from hell at a fashion
magazine; in this warm and
gentle comedy, the boot is
sort of on the other foot.
Hathaway plays Jules, a nice
but seriously stressed founder
of a rapidly expanding online
fashion retail business, who is
less than enthused when she
learns that her new intern is
Ben (Robert De Niro), a retired
corporate executive who has
signed on for the company’s
senior intern program. Despite
Jules’ initial reluctance, his
old school charm and canny
business sense eventually
wins her over. Director Nancy
Meyers has fun sending up the
age-gap between Ben and his
hip young co-workers, but the
winning rapport between De
Niro and Hathaway is at the
heart of The Intern and they
make for an unlikely but rather
sweet double act.
STARS: Sarah Jessica Parker,
Paz Vega, Claudia Cardinale,
Rosie Day DIRECTOR: Ella
Lemhagen DURATION: 90 mins
Tipping its hat to films like
Under The Tuscan Sun – it
even shares a co-star in Raoul
Bova – this sunny comedy
finds single mother Sarah
Jessica Parker attempting to
reconnect with her rebellious
daughter (Rosie Day) on a
holiday to Italy. Bova plays a
former flame, while it’s good
to see Italian icon Claudia
Cardinale back on the screen
as his mother. Frothy fun.
SPARKS & EMBERS
STARS: Kris Marshall, Annelise
Hesme, Waleed Akhtar, Valda
Aviks DIRECTOR: Gavin Boyter
DURATION: 88 mins
FORMATS: DVD
Essentially a two-hander, this
likable rom-com explores the
relationship between album
sleeve design Kris Marshall
and French efficiency expert
Annelise Hesme from two
different time frames. In the
present, the relationship has
ended and Marshall is making
a last ditch attempt to win her
back; in flashback we discover
how the pair first met when
they were trapped in a lift
after she has just sacked him.
One for Brit-com fans.
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BACKTRACK
We don’t want you to miss any of the hot titles which,
since we reviewed them last month, have been particularly
rapid in hooning off the stores’ shelves! Here’s a look at five
you might have bypassed – so go on, snatch ‘em up.
A WALK IN THE WOODS
Robert Redford originally envisaged this adaptation
of Bill Bryson’s travel bestseller as a vehicle for
himself and his old pal Paul Newman, and there is no
doubt that it would have been the perfect swansong
for a superstar pairing that produced the classics
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and The Sting.
However, the grizzled Nick Nolte proves to be the
perfect substitute, and his and Redford’s winningly
cranky double act is what holds this leisurely–paced
flick together. Nolte plays Stephen Katz, the only
friend of jaded non-fiction writer Bryson (Redford)
who is willing to join him on his attempt to traverse
the 2,000 mile Appalachian Trail. Bryson is doubtful
that his boozy old college pal is up to the task, but
with his wife Catherine (a lovely wry cameo from
Emma Thompson) insisting that he must have
a hiking partner, he reluctantly agrees to make
the trip with him. As well as Thompson, there are
memorable cameos from the likes of Nick Offerman
as a camping store salesman, Kristen Schaal as an
incredibly annoying know-it-all fellow hiker and Mary
Steenburgen as the owner of a motel the duo stay
at one night. Essentially, A Walk In The Woods is a
road movie without many cars or roads – but a most
rewarding trip all the same.
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BUS 657
Of all the former WWE stars that have tried to crack Hollywood,
Dave Bautista is shaping up to be the one that might achieve
the same level of fame as the most successful wrestling export
to date, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson. As well as Spectre, the
Guardians Of The Galaxy star will next be seen in a new take on
that old video favourite Kickboxer, while he is also being tipped
to play the villain The Kurgan in a reboot of Highlander. In the
meantime, here he gets the chance to hone his acting chops
in this niftily plotted heist flick. Jeffrey Dean Morgan heads the
cast, playing a croupier who reluctantly joins a casino robbery
being planned by security guard Bautista in order to pay for an
operation for his young daughter. When the robbery goes badly
wrong, Morgan and Bautista are forced to hijack a bus, leading to
a tense stand-off between the cops and thieves, while vengeful
casino boss Robert De Niro waits in the wings. It’s closer in spirit
to Speed than Ocean’s Eleven, but the A-list cast brings an extra
layer of class to the proceedings.
ME AND EARL
AND THE DYING GIRL
Imagine A Fault In Our Stars remade by Spike Jonze and Charlie
Kaufman, and you will get an idea where this gloriously off-thewall but deeply moving teen flick is coming from. Thomas Mann
is great as the ‘Me’ of the title, a neurotic student and aspiring
filmmaker, who reluctantly befriends a fellow school student
Rachel (Olivia Cooke, luminous), who has been diagnosed with
leukemia. RJ Cyler plays the eponymous Earl, Greg’s only friend
and his collaborator on their funny arthouse movie spoofs, while
there are fine supporting turns from the grown-ups, who include
Connie Britton, Jon Bernthal, Molly Shannon and the ubiquitous
Nick Hofferman. Director Alfonso Gomez-Rejon and writer Jesse
Andrews (adapting his own novel) have crafted a witty and
frequently surreal take on adolescent confusion and loss, without
ever losing sight of the essential heartbreak and sadness at the
core of the movie. An instant cult classic and one of the best teen
movies you will see this year.
STRAIGHT OUTTA
COMPTON
“When somethin’ happens in South Central, Los Angeles/
Nothin’ happens, it’s just another nigga’s dead.” The opening
line of the title track from N.W.A. debut album Straight Outta
Compton provided an incendiary statement of intent from
the seminal hip hop group and that tone of angry defiance is
perfectly captured in this hard-hitting music drama from director
F Gary Gray. The movie of the same name charts the story of
the pioneering gangsta rap outfit – made up of Ice Cube (played
by his real-life son O’Shea Jackson Jr) , Dr Dre (Corey Hawkins),
Eazy-E (Jason Mitchell), DJ Yella (Neil Brown Jr) and MC Ren
(Aldis Hodge) – who went from angry, street-wise rappers to
authority-baiting hip hop superstars. However, at the height of
their fame, the group imploded when Cube and then Dre fell
out with leader Eazy-E over the dubious activities of manager
Jerry Heller (Paul Giamatti). Goes without saying that this is a
must for hip hop followers, but fans of films like Boyz N The
Hood and Menace II Society will feel right at home here, too.
KAJAKI
An otherwise routine patrol for a small British army
unit in Afghanistan turns into a nightmare when they
inadvertently stumble into an old minefield left behind in
a valley by Russians. And when one of the rescuers also
sets off another explosion, the soldiers face a painfully
slow and nail-biting journey to safety. Although most of
the action is restricted to a small area of nondescript
desert scrubland, debutante director Paul Katis works
wonders in racking up the tension and is aided by fine
naturalistic performances from a cast headed up by David
Elliott – who won a best actor award at the Scottish arm
of the BAFTA Awards for his performance – Mark Stanley
and Scott Kyle. If you liked The Hurt Locker, then this
intense war drama is definitely worth checking out.
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EXTRAS
A SELECTION OF TITLES
THE DVD STORK WILL BE
DELIVERING NEXT MONTH
Spectre
SPECTRE
Daniel Craig’s incarnation of James
Bond is arguably the closest yet
to Ian Fleming’s original character,
with the British actor successfully
capturing the steely, cold menace
the superspy displayed in the books.
And with Craig’s fourth outing
as Bond taking its name from the
criminal organisation that featured
in most of Fleming’s novels, that
sense of authenticity is maintained
for the 24th film in the series.
Add in a charismatic villain (Christoph
Waltz) and some awe-inspiring action
set-pieces in exotic locations, and
you have another winning entry in
Hollywood’s most enduring movie
franchise. Get it on Mar 9.
BRIDGE OF SPIES
SCOUTS GUIDE
TO THE ZOMBIE
APOCALYPSE
MAN UP
THE RUNNER
SECRET IN
THEIR EYES
Steven Spielberg and
Tom Hanks are reunited
for this absorbing true
story about a lawyer
caught up in Cold War
intrigue in the early ‘60s.
Available from Mar 2.
Cheerfully irreverent
splatter comedy about
three scouts and a
cocktail waitress who
become unlikely heroes
during a zombie breakout.
Out on Mar 10.
In this warm and funny
Brit rom-com, Lake Bell is
a single thirtysomething
who is mistaken by
Simon Pegg for his
blind date. In-store
from Mar 10.
A change of pace for
action man Nic Cage,
here playing a politician
forced to confront his
own demons in the
aftermath of the 2010 BP
oil spill. Get it on Mar 16.
Nicole Kidman and Julia
Roberts head the cast of
this moving crime drama,
based on the Oscarwinning Argentinian
film of the same name.
Out on Mar 23.
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15/01/2016 6:37 PM
15/01/2016 6:38 PM

Feb 2016 Video Vibe - Leading Edge Video

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