STACK #135 Jan 2016

REVIEWS DVD & BD

The last woman on Earth isn't alone. Z FOR ZACHARIAH

Death-defying acts. ME AND EARL AND THE DYING GIRL

Release Date: 06/01/16

Release Date: 13/01/16

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This US-set post-apocalyptic drama – based on the 1974 Young Adult novel by Robert C. O'Brien – was filmed in New Zealand, which is kind of appropriate because it owes a big debt to the 1985 Kiwi cult classic The Quiet Earth , in which a trio of strangers are the only people left on the planet. Z for Zachariah is also a three-hander and is set in a world which has been devastated by a nuclear disaster. Margot Robbie plays a young woman who lives in a remote valley, which has miraculously escaped the radioactive fallout.

It may revolve around a teenage girl who is dying of cancer, but this utterly charming and wittily inventive teen flick couldn’t be further from The Fault in Our Stars, while still packing an equally heartbreaking emotional punch. The ‘me’ of the title is Greg (Thomas Mann), an awkward kid who spends most of his time making silly mini-parodies of movie classics with his pal Earl (RJ Cyler). At the urging of his mother (Connie Britton), he befriends Rachel (Olivia Cooke), a fellow student who has been diagnosed with terminal cancer and she in

She is delighted when Chiwetel Ejiofor arrives at her farm, but their burgeoning friendship comes under strain when another stranger, Chris Pine, moves in. A thoughtful drama about the destructive power of jealousy and suspicion, even during the most perilous of times.

turn opens his eyes to what he has been missing out on in life. Director Alfonso Gomez-Rejon’s quirky visual eye and delight in teen movie clichés makes this an instant cult classic, and film buffs will get a kick out of Greg's homemade movie masterpieces like 'Senior Citizen Kane'.

DVD&BD

AMERICAN ULTRA

hitman: agent 47

IRRATIONAL MAN

THE DIARY OF A TEENAGE GIRL

Release Date: 06/01/16 Format:

Release Date: 06/01/16 Format:

Release Date: 20/01/16 Format:

Release Date: 21/01/16 Format:

Pineapple Express meets The Bourne Identity in this agreeably bonkers comedy-thriller which reunites Adventureland stars Jesse Eisenberg and Kristen Stewart. He’s a stoner slacker who works at a service station while trying to summon up the courage to propose to his long-suffering but devoted girlfriend (Stewart). However, Eisenberg is blissfully unaware that he is also a lethal assassin, the only successful graduate of a secret CIA program that was subsequently shelved. So when his old handler (Connie Britton) reactivates him because he has been marked for assassination by the agency, all hell breaks loose. A daft but unexpectedly dark delight.

This second attempt to bring Namco's bald, barcoded video game assassin to the screen replaces former Hitman Timothy Olyphant with Homeland 's Rupert Friend, who transplants his lethal skills as Agent Quinn to Agent 47. His target is the psychic daughter of the brilliant geneticist who created the Hitman program. Bullets move in slow motion, helicopters fly into buildings and people are sucked into a jet engine in an explosive and mindless action-fest that owes a huge debt to The Terminator . The perfect supporting feature for The Transporter Refuelled as a Friday night double bill.

Woody Allen's latest sees Joaquin Phoenix plagued by the director's trademark neuroses (in addition to impotence and alcoholism) as burnt out philosophy professor Abe Lucas, whose reputation and ample life experience attracts the interest of married colleague Parker Posey and undergrad Emma Stone. The latter reintroduces him to the joy of living, but what starts as a charming rom-com abruptly detours into thriller territory. Allen juggles it all with his usual flair for character and biting wit, although you can't help wondering how the Coen brothers would have done it.

A 15-year-old girl (Bel Powley) experiences sexual awakening with the thirtysomething boyfriend (Alexander Skarsgård) of her mother (Kristen Wiig). On paper this sounds all kinds of wrong, but Marielle Heller's assured debut feature is a bold and brilliant coming-of-age story with the female perspective as its focus. Set in a bohemian San Francisco during the sexual revolution of 1976, this edgy indie drama is punctuated by animated interludes and voiceover narration, taking the viewer into its teenaged protagonist's head with a non- judgemental attitude. For fans of Fish Tank and Thirteen .

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