STACK #164 June 2018

YOUR ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO CINEMA, DVDs, GAMES & MUSIC

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ISSUE 164 Jun ’18

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SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY • RED SPARROW

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Contributors

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Founder Nic Short Editor-in-Chief Paul Jones Film & DVD Editor Scott Hocking

Music Editor Zoë Radas Staff Writer Alesha Kolbe

Issue 164 JUNE 2018

Creative Director Michelle Black DVD Consultant Kerrie Taylor Games Consultant Andre Eivik Music Consultant Mike Glynn Marketing Manager Fleur Parker Chief Contributors Bob Jones , Gill Pringle Contributors Amy Flower, Jeff Jenkins, Simon Lukic, Billy Pinnell, Jonathan Alley, Denise Hylands, Simon Winkler, Adam Colby, Tim Lambert, Jake Cleland, Holly Pereira, Gage Pendergast Social Media Manager Sally Carlier-Hull Production Manager Craig Patterson

WELCOME After ten years, 19 films, and billions in global box-office, Marvel Studios has cemented its position as a major Hollywood player who is doing everything right – and the public just can’t get enough of its superhero pantheon. With the epic Avengers: Infinity War filling cinemas and the groundbreaking and progressive Black Panther hitting JB Hi-Fi shelves, it’s a massive month for Marvel fans, whose passion is also a driving force behind physical media – so much so, JB has recently introduced dedicated superhero sections in stores, making the hunt for your favourite caped or masked crusader easier than spotting a Stan Lee cameo. In the wake of best-seller Thor: Ragnarok , demand for Black Panther on the home entertainment formats has been equally huge (even while it was still playing cinemas, JB stores were receiving requests for the title) – a testament to the appeal of this shared Cinematic Universe. Marvel can always be counted on to deliver and Black Panther represents another diverse addition to the brand. Its African-American cast and director notwithstanding, the film conjures a unique and vibrant world in the nation of Wakanda – a stunning fusion of high-tech and traditional tribal culture. This month we chat with the film’s costume designer, Ruth Carter, and take a look at the factors instrumental in Marvel’s phenomenal success story (see page 38). Paul Jones, Editor-in-Chief

Correspondence STACK 33 Jessie Street, Richmond, VIC 3121

RATINGS GUIDE

Disclaimer STACK is published by Scribal Custom Pty Ltd (ACN 092 362 135). © Copyright Scribal Custom Pty Ltd, 2018 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.

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Issue 164 JUNE 2018

Extras Pages 8 / 20-22

Music Pages 39 – 67

Games Pages 1– 23

Cinema Pages 12 – 18

DVD & BD Pages 24 – 38

YOUR ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO CINEMA,DVDs, GAMES&MUSIC

YOUR ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO CINEMA,DVDs, GAMES&MUSIC

12-13 SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY We caught up with director Ron Howard and the cast of the latest Star Wars spin-off film in LA. And went one-on-one with Chewie! 14 INCREDIBLES 2 After 14 years, writer- director Brad Bird returns to the world of the Parr family for the highly anticipated Pixar sequel. 16 UPGRADE STACK paid a visit to the Melbourne set of Leigh Whannell’s new sci-fi thriller, and discovered technology running amok. 18 REVIEWS Solo: A Star Wars Story, plus a look at what’s also screening in June.

24-25 BLACK PANTHER Costume designer Ruth Carter was set the task of creating a unique look for the inhabitants of Wakanda. 26 RED SPARROW Director Francis Lawrence delves into the world of covert operatives in his fourth collaboration with Jennifer Lawrence. 28 TRUE TERROR A lot of paranormal- themed horror films claim to be “inspired by actual events”, like this month’s Winchester . We decided to sort the facts from the fiction... 30-34 REVIEWS Black Panther, Tomb Raider, Game Night, Red Sparrow, Lady Bird, Peter Rabbit, Death Wish (2018) , 12 Strong, Finding Your Feet, Hangman, The Strangers: Prey at Night, Vikings: S5 - Part 1, Iron Fist: S1, The Strain: S4, Orange is the New Black:

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ISSUE 164 Jun ’18

ISSUE 164 Jun ’18

GAMES

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WATCHING THE SKY

SOLO:ASTARWARSSTORY • RED SPARROW

LEGO: THE INCREDIBLES • THECREW 2

WATCHING THE SKY

WATCHING THE SKY

CHVRCHES • ROLLINGBLACKOUTS C.F. • THE PRESETS

hot CHVRCHES • ROLLINGBLACKOUTS C.F. • THE PRESETS

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42-50 INTERVIEWS + BULLETINS

8 NEWS We spoke to Andy Serkis about his vision for the dark new Jungle Book adaptation, Mowgli . 20-22 BOB J The Actor and the Mob: George Raft – Part 3, Decline and Downfall. QUIZ, & COMPETITIONS on page 24 & 25 from back of mag

We shoot the breeze with The Presets, High Tension, Rolling Blackouts C.F., Calpurnia, Ghost, CHVRCHES and more. 52-53 SHEPPARD Brisbanite pop sensations Sheppard release their second album Watching The Sky this month; we asked primary songwriter George Sheppard all about its creation. 58-64 ALBUM REVIEWS TT, Hatchie, Ghost, Jack River, Neil Young, Neko Case, LUMP, Gabriella Cohen, Claptone, The Presets, Father John Misty, Luca Brasi, Calpurnia, and more. 66 TWO’S COMPANY Paul Jones delivers the second of our two-part series investigating the 20 best double albums of all time. 67 GATEWAYS: Jazz, Dig? Jonathan Alley looks into the the frenetic and ever-evolving style of music loosely dubbed ‘jazz’, connecting the old school to the new.

6-7 mario tennis aces Mario is back with a brand new tennis game! 8-9 vampyr Doctors are sworn to do no harm, which would create a dilemma if one had to drink blood to survive... 10 the crew 2 We found out what to expect from The Crew’s daring sequel. 12 lego: the incredibles Play through the first and second movies in the new game. 14-15 elder scrolls online The Summerset Isle is coming to Elder Scrolls Online. 22 out this month Mario Tennis Aces, Vampyr, Elder Scrolls Online: Summerset, The Crew 2, LEGO: The Incredibles, Warhammer 40,000: Inquisitor Martyr, Onrush, and more.

S5, Will & Grace: The Revival: S1 - Part 1 .

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EXTRAS NEWS

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“We were in post-production; Favreau’s version was coming out and we just decided we wanted to take more time in post,” he explains. “There was a time when both productions were neck and neck and it just seemed crazy to put ours out at the same time. Ours is a very different story – obviously the subject matter is similar, but in terms of the telling of the tale and the meaning of it, and the fact that it’s live-action and uses performance capture, it needed its very own space, and now seems to be the right time.” Mowgli also differs considerably from the Disney version in that it’s a hybrid of performance capture and animation. “We shot the entire film with our A-list cast – Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Benedict Cumberbatch, Naomie Harris…We shot over a period of three weeks on proxy sets that were built,” says Serkis. "There were head-mounted cameras and we captured them facially, so they were interacting with Mowgli, who’s brilliantly played by Rohan Chand. “We then went onto our real sets, which were partially built at Leavesden Studios, and on location in South Africa, with a team of motion capture artists on set, playing opposite him. So it was a combination – slightly different to the way Apes was shot, where you had an actor on location and set for the whole thing.” The director adds that the extra post- production period allowed time to work on the facial capture of the actors. “It’s a significant part of the movie. The level at which it’s been executed; the animals really are truly believable. We designed them to not be photo-real but to feel emotionally real, and have the physiognomy of the actors in there. “Weta did an extraordinary job with Apes , but this is slightly different when you think about taking Christian Bale’s face and turning him into a believable talking panther, or Cate Blanchett as a snake – it’s very different territory, really.”

MAKING MOWGLI Director Andy Serkis shares his vision for Mowgli – a dark new adaptation of Rudyard Kipling's classic story. Words Scott Hocking

L ate last month we got our first look at Mowgli , the all-new live-action version of Rudyard Kipling’s classic tale, directed by Andy Serkis (who also plays the character Baloo). The first thing you probably noticed is that this adaptation promises a much darker telling of the story we know and love from The Jungle Book. Speaking with Andy

the psychological and emotional journey of an orphaned boy who’s brought up in the jungle by animals, and who believes himself to be of that world, and then of course realises at a turning point

that he is not one of them – that he is ‘other’, in fact.

Our film is very much about identity and Mowgli's journey to discover himself

Our film is very much about identity and Mowgli’s journey to discover himself, so there are very deep themes that run through our PG-13 version of The Jungle Book ." Suffice to say this version will be significantly different from the 2016 Disney live-action adaptation by Jon Favreau, and Serkis

Serkis ahead of the trailer launch, the actor/director

outlined his vision for the film, which he says is tonally much closer to Rudyard Kipling’s books.

“We delve into Kipling’s world and tell a version of it that’s never been seen before," he explains. "It’s very much Mowgli’s journey –

notes that Mowgli was originally scheduled to come out that same year, having completed principal photography in 2015.

Mowgli is in cinemas on October 18. Check out the trailer at stack.com.au

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STACK ROVING REPORTER

"I don't have a specific favourite genre, I go with what interests me," she explains. "It's good to like a broad spectrum, especially when people ask for recommendations, you can have an opinion on something. One specific genre makes it very limited." The customers in Wollongong also have varied tastes, according to Nadia. "People especially like their new releases here, also TV

Drama and TV Crime, and we have a lot of BBC customers too, now there are no more ABC stores in the area." Blu-ray sales have also been steadily increasing, she says. "Wollongong was part of a demographic that didn't really take to Blu-ray at first, but it has been picking up in the last few years. The demographic is becoming a lot younger, and they're more into it." The recent Mother's Day trade saw The Greatest Showman and Fifty Shades Freed flying out the door. "Also Outlander , and Big Little Lies is making a killing at the moment in TV Drama. Jumanji and Darkest Hour have been doing really well, too." Having been with JB for four and a half years, Nadia says she's like a kid at Christmas time when it comes to new releases and TV series. "I love merchandising everything and playing with all the new stock. It's exciting, like unwrapping at Christmas." And with two children of her own, she's rapidly running out of space at home to display her disc collection. "It's come to elimination time now. Some are classics that you have to keep, for the covers and physical copy, but it's also time to hand some down to someone who wants to watch something new. Otherwise they'd need a whole room to themselves."

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W hen asked about her personal taste in films and TV series, Nadia Castaldi, Movie and Music Coordinator at JB Hi-Fi's Wollongong store in NSW, describes herself as "a bag of licorice allsorts".

1 The Greatest Showman 2 Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle 3 Pitch Perfect 3 4 Maze Runner: The Death Cure 5 Thor: Ragnarok 6 Fifty Shades Freed 7 Darkest Hour 8 Den of Thieves 9 Star Wars: The Last Jedi 10 The Shape of Water

Nadia Castaldi at JB Wollongong, NSW

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CINEMA FEATURE

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SOLO MISSION We caught up with director Ron Howard and the cast of Solo: A StarWars Story in LA to get the lowdown on the latest StarWars spin-off film. Words Gill Pringle

A lden Ehrenreich, 28, wasn’t even born when Harrison Ford first wooed audiences with his sexy space cowboy Han Solo in 1977, debuting the Star Wars multi-billion-dollar franchise with the since re-titled Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope . If Ehrenreich is daunted at stepping into such mighty shoes, today presenting the origin story of our young hero in Solo: A Star Wars Story , then he’s not letting on. Plotting his course, there’s no doubt that his destination is locked onto hyperdrive stardom, although he hopes to keep his cool by borrowing a few tips from his predecessor. “I had lunch with Harrison right before we started shooting,” says the actor, who began auditioning in October 2015 and was cast in March 2016 after six auditions. “I wanted to pay respect and he was really gracious and gave me his blessing. It felt good walking into the movie knowing I had talked to him. It would have felt wrong not to do that. We talked a lot about how he’s navigated

his career and stayed very much an individualist,” he says of Ford, now 75, who was seven years older than him when he first stepped into the role that would propel him to galaxies far, far away. Nevertheless, it's impossible to not have doubts, which were suddenly put to rest just an hour before STACK met with Ehrenreich in Pasadena – Ford having paid an impromptu visit. “He was so effusive about the movie, and

Sliding effortlessly into Billy Dee Williams’ original role of Lando Calrissian is the supremely suave Donald Glover, who feels slightly less pressure given that he is possibly the coolest dude on Earth today. And the multi-hyphenate writer-actor-musician-

Director Ron Howard seems pleased

Teller, Dave Franco, Ansel Elgort, Scott Eastwood, Taron Egerton, Logan Lerman and Jack O’Connell for the coveted role, Ehrenreich believes he may even have pierced Harrison’s carbonite exterior. “He has a certain vibe

director-comedian-producer, AKA Childish Gambino, doesn’t even need a cape to prove it – even if his incarnation of a young Lando boasts an entire wardrobe of them. Originally turned on to the Star Wars universe by his father, Glover says: “When I heard they were making this movie, I told my agent that if they’re making anything with Lando in it, I had to be Lando. And he was like, ‘I hear you. But I don’t like your odds’. That was exactly what I needed to hear.” Unfettered by Williams’ earlier take on Lando, he argues, “Part of the reason we do any of this is for the process. No one wants to see an imitation.”

it meant so much to me,” says the

[Harrison Ford] was really gracious and gave me his blessing

which is both charming and curmudgeonly, but he also talked about

actor, whose films include Beautiful Creatures, Rules Don’t

how The Force Awakens was a surprisingly moving

Apply and Hail, Caesar!. “It’s a huge deal to have him really genuinely welcome and enjoy the

experience for him, to revisit the character.

So I think that underneath that gruffness there’s a lot of affection for Star Wars .”

film. It meant a lot to me that he took the time to come out here.” Allegedly beating out Miles

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CINEMA

FEATURE

STACK 's Gill Pringle in the pilot's seat.

and they weren’t going to carry on. Within that, there were many things that were really strong and worked which I wanted to keep, and other things that hadn’t been done yet.” Among Howard‘s additions, the droid L3-37 will surely become one of Solo ’s breakout favourites – being unlike any bleeping devices the franchise has ever seen. As Lando’s co-pilot and voiced by Phoebe Waller-Bridge, L3-37 is a feminist revolutionary with a mind of her own. “She’s a self-made droid who has created herself from other droids,” explains Waller-

Nor is he flying any flags. “I don’t want to be the poster for anything, I just want to be great. Humans have to label things to make sense of life but we just have to rise to the occasion of making great things. There has to be a conversation in art so we see more different types of people making whatever they want,” says Glover, who voices Simba in Jon Favreau’s upcoming do-over of The Lion King . No stranger to blockbuster franchises, as Solo’s love interest Qi’ra, Game of Thrones star Emilia Clarke is accustomed to playing

JOONAS SUOTAMO I f Solo: A Star Wars Story explores an early romance between slave colony escapees Han Solo and Emilia Clarke’s Qi’ra, then the real love story belongs to Solo and Chewbacca, forging a life-long bond in their bid for freedom. Originally portrayed by 7’ 3” actor Peter Mayhew, Chewbacca was relegated to a mere furry sidekick in earlier movies, although the iconic Wookiee warrior finally finds the spotlight in Solo: A Star Wars Story – marking the third Star Wars screen outing for dashing Finnish ex-basketball player Joonas Suotamo, 31. “I was borderline jobless when I got this role,” says Suotamo when STACK meets him, greeting us with a warm Wookiee embrace. “My then-girlfriend, now fiancée, has seen me go from living with my mum seven years ago to becoming Chewbacca – and now we’re getting married this summer.” During a basketball scholarship in the US, Suotamo fell in love with acting, only to return to Finland with dwindling prospects. “I felt like a loser," he says. "Instead of becoming a pro player, I did my army service and worked in various jobs, oftentimes not working.” Suotamo won the role over hundreds of Wookiee wannabees, bootcamping with Mayhew and perfecting the Chewy growl. “I think I won out because of my blue eyes, height, acting experience and athleticism. A strong bond with my Cavalier King Charles spaniels also helped. I understand animals and their movement.” Mayhew proved an invaluable resource: “He told me to hold my arms like I’m carrying dumbbells,” Suotamo reveals. The pro to being so tall, he adds, is “if you ever get lost from the group, you’re always seen.” The con is: “It's hard to find clothes. I shop online where suitable clothing is very limited.” He doesn’t hesitate when quizzed over his favourite Solo: “Alden has made it his own, and Harrison loves the fact that Alden pulled it off so magnificently.” Growing up watching Star Wars , Suotamo dreamed of being Luke Skywalker. “I had blond hair and wanted to fly Luke’s spaceships and be heroic.” Having perfected the Chewbacca growl, he refuses to take full credit. “I lower my voice and say my lines just like Chewy would, but then they’re overdubbed with bear sounds." Spending 10-hour days in the Chewbacca suit, with industrial floor fans to keep him cool, he’s not allowed to take his costume home, instead relying on his team to keep it clean “with vodka, tea-tree oil, conditioner and perfumed spray.” Predicting his place in Solo sequels, Suotamo would welcome a love interest, believing “Chewbacca is a really good guy who would take good care of his family.”

her cards close. “She is a pretty mysterious character, we find out," she says. "You need to keep tabs on her throughout the movie. We

Bridge. “She’s turned herself into a unique creature that’s stronger and more

When I heard they were making this movie, I told my agent ... I had to be Lando

independent. She’s upbeat and funny with an agenda that is bigger than the sum of her parts. It’s great to play

meet her early on with Han and then they’re separated. When we find her again, you can’t

a droid with a message.” Buckle up, baby.

quite figure out what happened to her during that time and where she is now.” Aided on their journey by a veteran cast including Thandie Newton, Paul Bettany, Warwick Davis, Jon Favreau and Woody Harrelson, the latter finds familiar territory. “Beckett is an easy character for me to play because he’s a scoundrel,” he laughs. Addressing the elephant in the room – i.e., the late-hour replacement of Phil Lord and Chris Miller with veteran filmmaker Ron Howard – Harrelson adds: “Larry and Jonathan Kasdan wrote an extraordinary script and, just at the right time, Ron came in and did his magic.” Absent of fake modesty, Howard says, “I did come into it late but it was pretty damn easy. There was a lot of work that Phil and Chris had already done and, unfortunately, there were creative differences

Solo: A Star Wars Story is in cinemas now and reviewed on page 18

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Paul Bettany as DrydenVos

CINEMA FEATURE

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age of 10, which, I hate to admit, I still do love.” The super-family, he says, carry a combination of characteristics from the family he grew up with and his own family today, with his wife and sons. “Those characters are very comfortable to me and I have fun hearing them talk. And after you’ve made the first one with your ideal voice cast, you’re actually imagining Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Sam Jackson and Sarah Vowell’s voices when you write, so it makes it easier to do their dialogue.” While Incredibles 2 picks up just seconds after we left the gang in the 2004 original, the new film unveils baby Jack-Jack’s ever developing superpowers with a wry look at gender equality, as Mrs Parr/Elastigirl goes on assignment leaving Mr. Incredible as a stay-at- home dad. Well aware that Incredibles 2 lands in a crowded superhero playing field, Bird muses: “When we did the first film, the only two active big franchises were Spider-Man and X-Men . Batman had gone dark after 'nipple Batman' and Chris Nolan hadn’t done his films yet. Superman had gone away and Marvel hadn’t yet kicked into high gear with Iron Man , so there was only a couple of films we were competing with. Whereas today, there’s a superhero every six inches, so I think it's much harder to do a unique story now. “Not only are there scads and scads of superhero films, but there’s superhero television shows, with a new storyline every week, so they’re chowing through potential spins on the genre at an ungodly rate.” Fortunately Bird, 60, doesn’t view any of them as competition. “If we thought about Incredibles 2 as a superhero movie, we probably would have been stymied. But we always felt like what makes our film unique is that it's about a family and their individual superpowers are based on iconic roles of men, women and children in the family – where the dad is always expected to be strong, the mum is stretched in a million directions, teenagers are defensive and insecure (so Violet has force fields and invisibility), 10-year-olds are energy balls, and babies are unknowns; they could have no powers at all or they could be the next leader of the free world."

After 14 years, writer-director Brad Bird returns to the world of the Parr family for the highly anticipated sequel, Incredibles 2 . THAT'S INCREDIBLE!

Words Gill Pringle

W ritten and directed by Brad Bird and released in 2004, The Incredibles – the animated story of a suburban family who moonlight as superheroes – became an instant and much-loved classic, as well as receiving two Oscars. Meeting with Bird today at Pixar’s campus in Emeryville, Northern California, the filmmaker says he doesn’t regret waiting 14 years to make a sequel about the popular super-family. “I just don’t think it’s the greatest idea creatively to follow up a successful film with its sequel. I think you

as the clan's eccentric costume designer Edna Mode, whom he also voices. “I’d been mulling on them for quite some time until suddenly, it was 14 years later, and I went ‘Holy crap, I better get going.’ It’s not intentional or calculated in any way. If it were a cash grab, it probably would have been smarter to do it a lot sooner, but I waited until it finally seemed like the right thing to do,“ says Bird, who also directed animated favourite The Iron Giant . When he finally decided to make Incredibles 2 , the process was “easy as pie,” he says.

want to take time, and for me, I was always thinking about it in the back of my mind, but I had other things that were more at the forefront,” says Bird, who would also trying his hand at live action, directing George Clooney in Tomorrowland and Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol. But he retained a strong affection for his fearless family – Mr. Incredible, Elastigirl, Dash, Violet and baby Jack-Jack, as well go on to write and direct another Pixar hit, Ratatouille, while

“It may seem outwardly like a bright-coloured pop confection but it’s actually strangely personal to me, and contains a lot of the things that I loved at the

When we did the first film, the only two active big franchises were Spider-Man and X-Men

Bird was also fortunate enough to reassemble the original voice cast, with the exception of the late Bud Luckey who voiced Rick Dicker, now replaced by Better Call Saul ’s Jonathan Banks. Spencer Fox, the original voice of Dash, was too old to voice a ten-year-old, so the character is now voiced by Huck Milner.

The Incredibles 2 is in cinemas June 14

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3 BAFTA AWARDS ® Including: B E S T AC T R E S S S AO I R S E RONAN NOMINATIONS

Including: B E S T P I C T U R E MUSICAL or COMEDY 2 GOLDEN GLOBES ® WINNER

ACADEMY AWARD ® 2017 NOMINATIONS † Including: BEST PICTURE

SAOI RSE RONAN Written & Directed by GRETA GERWIG

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CINEMA FEATURE

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ENHANCED HUMANS

Robocop (1987) Part man. Part machine. All cop. Transformed into a cyborg after being shot to bits, Officer Murphy is haunted by memories of his former life.

STACK paid a visit to the Melbourne set of Leigh Whannell’s new sci-fi thriller, and discovered technology running amok. Words Scott Hocking UPGRADE

Johnny Mnemonic (1995) A data courier with a wet-wired neural implant for top secret uploads, Johnny's mind can hold up to 160 GB. Whoa!

THE LAWNMOWER MAN (1992) God made him simple. Science made him a god. Mind-altering VR experiments will do that to a gardener.

I t’s a scorching February afternoon in Melbourne, and behind the urban facade of downtown Collingwood, in a Polytechnic warehouse, the future is being created. And it’s a strange world. At the end of a gloomy corridor illuminated by discarded glowsticks and littered with empty pill bottles is a room resembling a drug den. Only it isn’t narcotics that are being consumed here – IV drips sit in a corner, ready

means I really liked it. But I knew it was going to be a lot of work, given the stakes and emotion this guy has to deal with. It was going to need every ounce of my theatrical ability. “It’s really several different roles,” he continues. “There’s an opportunity to play the anti-hero from the neck up and the superhero from the neck down. I hadn’t seen or read that before, and I didn’t know what the hell to do with it. There’s a computer talking to him

Ghost in the Shell (2017) Following a near-fatal accident, Major's consciousness is transplanted into a cybernetic body.

to nourish the VR addicts who lose themselves in a virtual world for weeks at a time. STACK is on the set of

brings his raw horror elements into it. There’s going to be a lot of blood.” Gabriel’s character shares Grey’s aversion to technology, with the actress admitting she’s a bit of a Luddite herself. “I just can’t be bothered to really understand how to maximise my disc drive, if that’s how you say it? I like Twitter and Instagram, but I also like to detach myself from it.” A co-production with American genre stable Blumhouse ( The Purge , Get Out ), Upgrade is Whannell’s second feature as director following Insidious: Chapter 3 (2015) and his first shoot back on home soil, having been based in the US for the last 10 years. “ Upgrade is set in an unnamed American city; it’s kind of a noirish film, and Melbourne fitted what Leigh was looking for,” says local producer Kylie Du Fresne ( The Sapphires ). “This is the first time Blumhouse has made a film in Australia, and because of his training and the kind of films he’s been making in Hollywood, Leigh really understands genre and commercial beats – all the things you need for a wide release film of the type Blumhouse makes. “Upgrade is an Australian film,” she adds, “and you don’t normally get to make films like this here. Next week we close down the freeway in Craigieburn for a big car chase – it’s exciting.”

and controlling his body – he makes the decision to raise his hand but it goes through a middleman, which is STEM.

Upgrade is an Australian film, and you don't normally get to make films like this here

Upgrade (under the working title STEM ), a sci-fi action- thriller written and directed by Saw and Insidious co-creator Leigh Whannell and starring Logan Marshall- Green ( Prometheus ),

“But I knew there could be an emotional journey, and on top of that, a buddy movie, which it evolved into as we shot it. It’s been a really wild ride.” Joining STACK during

Betty Gabriel ( Get Out ), and Benedict Hardie ( Hacksaw Ridge ). Melbourne is doubling as the near-

a break in shooting is Betty Gabriel, who plays the detective investigating the murder of Grey’s wife.

A self-proclaimed sci-fi fan, she promises Whannell’s venture into the genre will be something quite unique. “I thought it was pretty exciting that Leigh was venturing into another genre, but he still

future city where technophobe Grey Trace (Marshall-Green) has been left a quadriplegic following a violent encounter with a pair of bioweapon-equipped thugs, who also murdered his wife. A young tech genius (Harrison Gilbertson) comes to Grey’s rescue, using him as the guinea pig for a top- secret experimental computer implant, STEM, that not only restores the use of his limbs, but also turns him into a killing machine able to exact revenge on his wife’s killers. Fighting against a body that is no longer his, Marshall-Green rose to the challenge of being the puppet of this AI master.

“My first reaction was fear of this character,” he tells STACK , ”which

Upgrade is in cinemas on June 14

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CINEMA REVIEWS

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SCREENING IN JUNE 2018

Pixar’s track record with quality sequels is strong and writer-director Brad Bird is back, so we can expect something, well, incredible here. Mr. Incredible is looking after the kids while Elastigirl fights crime, and we discover the extent of baby Jack-Jack’s superpowers. John Ratzenberger voices new villain The Underminer, and best of all, fashion designer Edna Mode returns! June 14. (See page 14) INCREDIBLES 2

SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY RELEASED: May 24 DIRECTOR: Ron Howard CAST: Alden Ehrenreich, Woody Harrelson, Emilia Clarke RATING: M

A good old-fasioned intergalactic adventure story.

T he bromance between Han Solo and his Wookiee co-pilot Chewbacca is surely the most satisfying love affair thus far in the ten-movie arc of the Star Wars stories. The previous love stories involving an incompatible older Solo and Princess Leia, and the doomed love between young Anakin Skywalker and secret bride Padme Amidala, cannot compare. Making his debut as a youthful, swaggering Han Solo – and yes, we get to learn how he came about his name – Alden Ehrenreich delivers a compelling performance as the galaxy’s most beloved scoundrel, laying the groundwork for why Solo will ultimately become the cynical, world-weary Harrison Ford incarnation. It’s true, Ehrenreich doesn’t much resemble Ford physically, but it really doesn’t matter. And at last, Chewie gets some serious screen time, making a thoroughly amusing leap from flesh-eating fiend to fearless friend. A cross between heist film and space western, we also discover the origin of Solo’s relationship with frenemy

games are among the most unique thus far, grunting and squirming as we witness Solo’s capricious grasp on the Millennium Falcon. Paul Bettany breathes psychotic menace into scar-faced crime boss Dryden Voss, while Woody Harrelson and Thandie Newton make a fine screen team of bootleggers. As young lovers, Solo and Emilia Clarke’s Qi’ra get off to a rocky start. Plotting their escape from a Corellian slave colony, their destinies are a hyperdrive jump in different directions, with questionable motives. Refreshingly, there’s no talking heads explaining the complexities of the Empire or First Order, no hushed awe about the Force, no Jedi or Sith (well, hardly any) – just a good old-fashioned intergalactic adventure story, unburdened by Lucasfilm mythology and wooden dialogue. With all the space fallout over the eleventh- hour replacement of cheeky iconoclasts Chris Miller and Phil Lord with the reliable Ron Howard, it’s hard to know where each director’s vision begins and ends. For example, who will take responsibility for the somewhat underwhelming Proxima, leader of the vampirish White Worm clan? No Star Wars film is complete

It’s the dinosaurs that need saving this time. Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard are up for the challenge, and Jeff Goldblum returns to do the math on the chances of success. June 21. JURASSIC WORLD: FALLEN KINGDOM

RATING KEY: Wow! Good Not bad Meh Woof!

While George Clooney and his lads take a break, his sister Debbie Ocean (Sandra Bullock) moves in on the heist action, having devised the perfect diamond robbery at the Met Gala. June 7. OCEAN'S 8

Lando Calrissian, the rakish gambler originally portrayed by Billy Dee Williams, today elegantly re-embodied by Donald Glover. Fanboys and girls will enjoy not one but two Dejarik games, while the fellow guests at the two claw-biting Sabacc

without an adorable bleeping bot or droid, but Solo’s L3–37, voiced by Phoebe Waller-Bridge, offers

The scariest horror film since The Exorcist ? We shall see. This new chiller starring our own Toni Collette has been terrifying audiences and critics on the festival circuit, and opens here on June 7. HEREDITARY

something entirely new. A feminist revolutionary with a mind of her own and a capacity for love, it’s impossible not to cheer her on. Gill Pringle

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EXTRAS FEATURE

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The Actor and The Mob

Neff opposite Barbara Stanwyck, and Double Indemnity was a massive box-office hit that received seven Academy Award nominations. Without doubt, Raft remains the worst judge of

classic Hollywood movie roles in the history of cinema. As Raft’s film choices slowly continued to slide into the B-movie category, so too did his love affairs. He had married Grayce Mulrooney, an attractive New York social worker, in 1923. The marriage was doomed from the start and they

George Raft (1901-1980) Decline and Downfall Part 3:

Top billing for George Raft in the star-studded movie  Follow the Boys  (1944) 

soon separated. Whether out of vindictiveness or her devout

Catholicism, Grayce refused to grant George a divorce. To his great credit he supported her financially until her death in 1970, but he had lost a measure of his freedom that left him unable to marry the love of his life – Betty Grable. Through various 20 th Century Fox musical comedies such as Coney Island  and  Sweet Rosie O’Grady  (both 1943), Betty Grable became every enlisted man’s favourite pin- up during WWII. The Raft/Grable romance appeared every week in movie fan magazines and the couple were genuinely in love. But the unseen presence of Grayce Mulrooney kept clouding their affair. Finally, Grable confided in gossip columnist Louella Parsons, who regularly covered every detail of their love affair in her weekly column. “I would have married George Raft a week after I met him, I was so deeply in love with him. But when you wait two-and-a-half years, there doesn’t seem to be any future in a romance with a married man.” Raft would have many other brief romances but he never got over losing Betty Grable, who, shortly after ending their affair, married band- leader Harry James. Grable’s untimely death in 1973 devastated Raft.  Raft remains the worst judge of classic Hollywood movie roles in the history of cinema

T here is a legendary turned down the role of Rick Blaine in the most enduringly popular movie in cinema history – Casablanca  (1942). But the story is pure Hollywood myth. Raft was certainly keen to play the role, especially after having seen how his rejection of the lead parts in both High Sierra  and  The Maltese Falcon had raised the prominence of former character actor, Humphrey Bogart. But a pair of memos exchanged between studio boss Jack Warner and the story still extant today that George Raft

independent actor.

When Raft left Warner

Bros. he was still very much in demand and made several films at United Artists and RKO including  Stage Door  (1943) and  Follow the Boys  (1944), both popular star-studded wartime entertainment productions. However, his choice of starring movie roles were now not the prestigious films of his former days. Raft could still not bear the idea of playing the part of a gangster or a villain – the very roles that had originally made him a star. As a consequence of

How George Raft might have looked if he had secured the Rick Blaine role in Casablanca.

film’s producer, Hal B. Wallis, disproves the oft-repeated fiction that Raft was offered and turned down the role. Warner wrote to Wallis that Raft was campaigning for the part and might be a perfect fit for the Blaine character. Wallis’ response was: “I have thought over very carefully the matter of George Raft in Casablanca  and have discussed it with Mike [Michael Curtiz, the director of the film]. We both feel that Raft should not be in the picture. Bogart is ideal for it and furthermore, it is being written for him.” Curtiz had actually been much harsher than the memo stated when he told Wallis that he considered Raft a “no-talent star.” By the time Casablanca was released, Raft had already left the studio and set himself up as an

this dogmatic approach to his film career, he continued to refuse roles that just might have kept him at the top of the box-office. A prime example of this was when Billy Wilder wanted him to play the part of corrupted insurance agent Walter Neff in the noir classic Double Indemnity  (1944). Wilder asked him if he could send him the script. “I don’t read scripts,” said Raft. “Tell it to me.” Wilder briefly related the story to him. “When do I flip the lapel?” Raft asked. Wilder looked blank: “What lapel?” “You know, when the guy flashes his detective badge to the dame.” An exasperated Wilder tells him Neff is not a detective, just a besotted dupe. Raft scoffed: “That ain’t no part for me, Wilder.” Fred MacMurray was eventually cast as

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continued

George Raft with the love of his life, Betty Grable

The end of Bugsy Siegel

“Where did ya pick up that cheap trick?” George Raft in Some Like It Hot  (1959)

many memorable scenes. One of the best involved Raft hamming it up as a caricature of himself in his break-out movie  Scarface ; flipped by a young punk and snarls, “Where did ya pick up that cheap trick?” Although his film career was now minimal, Raft's His character “Spats” snatches a coin being

name still had cash value and he was offered the post of entertainment director for the Casino de Capri in Havana, Cuba, where his job would be to pull in visiting Americans. However, the work unexpectedly became extremely dangerous for Raft when Fidel Castro and his revolutionaries ousted the Batista government and took over the country. Following a week of

In 1947, much to his chagrin, Raft found himself back in the media headlines when his friend “Bugsy” Siegel was assassinated whilst sitting in the living room of his girlfriend’s Beverly Hills home. With mob money, Siegel had the Flamingo Hotel and casino built in Las Vegas at a total cost of $6 million – triple the budget he had promised the Syndicate. The grand opening on 26 th December 1946 was a total disaster, as apart from Raft and Jimmy Durante, all of Hollywood’s glitterati and other high-rolling customers stayed away. Siegel was now unable to demonstrate a return on the mob’s investment. On the direct instructions of “Lucky” Luciano, a hit was ordered on Siegel, which was carried out on the 20 th June 1947. That same night, associates of Luciano and Meyer Lansky took control of the Flamingo and the following year would turn a profit of $4 million. Following Siegel’s death, Raft was continually hounded by the press for a statement on who he thought had shot his friend. Concerned with his own safety and being fully aware that you never cross the mob, Raft kept his own counsel. His film career now took a definite downturn with the majority of his films being screened as supporting features and his own billing slipping to either third or fourth in the cast list. By the mid-1950s the only roles that he was offered were mere cameos in films such as Around the World in Eighty Days (1956),

Although Raft's film career was now minimal, his name still had cash value

close house arrest, Raft was finally allowed to leave Havana. When he landed at Miami he got down on his knees and kissed the ground. In 1966 he accepted a similar job with The Colony Club in London, England. But during one of his trips back to the States, and because of his suspected mafia connections, he was declared a 'persona non grata' by the British government and barred from re-entering the country. George Raft was not a real- life mafia gangster but during his early days in Hollywood he revelled in the fact that he was the friend of mobsters such as Siegel, Lansky and Capone. That early bravado came back time and time again to haunt him throughout his film career.  Raft’s final film appearance was a small part in the

George Raft poster advertising the Casino de Capri in Havana just before the Cuban revolution

where he had a two-minute scene playing a Barbary Coast saloon bouncer. Then in 1959, Billy Wilder offered him a feature role in his comedy movie, Some Like It Hot , where he played Chicago mob boss,“Spats” Columbo. The film became a bona fide hit that contained

comedy crime mystery The Man with Bogart’s Face  (1980). No doubt George Raft saw the

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.

cruel irony in that. He died a few weeks after the film’s release.

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Fashion

Marvel’s Black Panther is progressive, adventurous, and dripping with exotic tribal culture. Set in the fictional African nation ofWakanda, the film’s costume designer, Ruth Carter, was set the challenge of creating the look for its technologically advanced warriors. Words Alesha Kolbe Forward

W ith a prolific and diverse portfolio that includes Selma , Keeping Up with the Joneses , and Marshall , Ruth Carter is no stranger to the art of costume design. However, that wasn’t always where her career was headed. “I was a professional education major at Hampton University,” she tells STACK . “I was about halfway through my undergrad studies, and I decided I wanted to go into theatre. I had one audition for a play; I didn’t make it, but the instructor asked me if I’d like to do the costumes for the play. I did, and it stuck like glue.” In Marvel's Black Panther , the tribes of Wakanda each have their own unique flavour, and Carter wanted to draw influence from all over the African continent to ensure the movie and its people felt authentic. “Wakanda was based off of all of Africa. The entire continent; South Africa, North Africa, East and West. It was taken from an anthropological point of view. The ancient Indigenous tribes of Africa were the inspiration, but we didn’t stop there, because Wakanda is a forward-thinking community. They’re much further ahead than we are today, and they’re very modern. Using

Ruth Carter

Wakanda Forever “There was a manual that was outlined for me that the

the Indigenous cultures around Africa was a way for us to keep the culture of who the Wakandan people are, and really define their look. “A lot of the tribes wear beautiful headwear, and wraps, and silver jewellery, and other tribes wear neck rings and arm bands, and a few have blankets, so we production designer – Hannah Beachler – put together. It was a 500-page manual of where Wakanda came from, how their culture got started. It was nice to read what Wakanda was, or what Wakanda is, and we used that guide along with the cast to gauge where we could take inspiration from.”

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