STACK #122 Dec 2015

DVD&BD

REVIEWS

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New team. New attitude. New mission. THE EXPENDABLES 3

Thicker than water. BAD BLOOD

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Release Date: 11/12/14

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Release Date: 22/12/14

Format: ACTION DRAMA

D o w n l o a d a p p t o v i e w t r a i l e r

Somebody in Hollywood is still prepared to hire Mel Gibson – the fallen star joins Expendables' newcomers Harrison Ford and Wesley Snipes as a member of TeamTestosterone for the third film in the action-star-ensemble franchise. Aussie director Patrick Hughes (who made the terrific Red Hill ) is in the driver's seat this time, and displays a Michael Bay-like flair for pyrotechnics on a grand scale. The mission here is to take out an arms dealer in Somalia, who just happens to be Stallone's old buddy and Expendables'

Sean Bean goes from playing fantasy noblemen in Game of Thrones and The Lord of the Rings to a white trash crime lord in this Southern revenge thriller. Bad Blood (aka Wicked Blood ) plays like a mix of Homefront , Breaking Bad and Winter's Bone . Whether or not that's a recommendation depends on your tolerance for low-life hillbilly characters. Hannah (Abigail Breslin) finds herself caught between her meth addict uncle Donny (Lew Temple), her meth dealing Uncle Frank (Bean),

co-founder (Gibson). But when he gives them the slip, their CIA boss (Ford) decides they're all "too old for this shit" and assembles a new crew, which includes Kelsey Grammer and Kellan Lutz. But how can they compete with over 30 years of action movie experience?

and her older sister's biker boyfriend (James Purefoy). Ultimately, she must choose between family loyalty and her own survival. Needless to say, this is a gritty and grungy trip into the backwoods, albeit in the company of a fine cast.

Everybody dance. STEP UP 5: ALL IN

Once upon a time... BEGIN AGAIN

Release Date: 11/12/14

Release Date: 10/12/14

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"There's a magic that happens when you dance," says Sean (Ryan Guzman). There sure is, and that magic has sustained the Step Up franchise through five films and squillions in global box office. As per the All In sub-title, the latest razzle-dazzle installment reunites a majority of the series' cast (sans Channing Tatum) for another energetic session of dance and romance, with a three-year Vegas contract up for grabs to the winning team. Having been ditched by his regular Mob, Sean recruits a new crew in LA, but

Two lost souls united through music – if Once comes to mind, that's because Begin Again is from the same writer-director, John Carney. Keira Knightley is a Brit in New York, whose boyfriend (Maroon 5's Adam Levine) has dumped her for a fame as a rock star. Mark Ruffalo is an out of touch music producer who's been dumped by his record label. When he happens upon Knightley singing in a bar, a connection is made, giving both of them the opportunity to, well, begin again. It might sound corny, but Ruffalo and Knightley

will they have what it takes to step up? Once again it's beautiful people with ripped bodies and all the right moves, gyrating to funky street beats, this time in a boxing ring and a Thunderdome-like arena in Caesar's Palace. Get in!

sell it, and the latter even does her own singing (well, we might add). As he demonstrated with Once , Carney has a knack for fusing the power of music and the power of love in a way that uplifts rather than nauseates; Begin Again is this summer's feel-good movie.

DECEMBER 2014 JB Hi-Fi www.jbhifi.com.au

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