STACK NZ May #73

REVIEWS DVD & BD

Black is back ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK: SEASON 3

BC - Before Coens FARGO: YEAR TWO

Release Date: 18/05/16

Release Date: 04/05/16

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Initially pretty much the story of one privileged white chick and the horrors she faced upon landing in prison, Orange Is the New Black has since shifted its focus. Sure, Piper still pops up, now very much at home with the ways of what goes on within Litchfield Penitentiary’s walls, but there’s much more insight into the lives – both current and past – of the numerous other inmates we’ve met over the past two seasons. The third season features everything from the return of Piper’s ex, Alex, and Officer Bennett's dealing with his

It’s a big ask taking one of the Coen brothers’ best flicks and adapting it for TV. It’s a bigger ask to make it actually good. The stunning first season proved that it could be done, and this second season backs that up – in fact it’s arguably even better. Set before that last one, way back in 1979, the story revolves around Fargo’s preeminent crime family, the Gerhardts, and events that unfold after one of them is mown down in a hit and run. Spare your sympathy, as he’d just massacred diners at a diner. Local beautician Peggy

baby mama Daya, to the possibility that Litchfield will close, and the birth of a new enterprise involving used inmate intimates (eww!) Plus, of course, the usual dramas with drugs, fights, breakups, hook-ups and, erm, one prisoner’s knack for penning erotic sci-fi fiction. AF

Blumquist (Kirsten Dunst) was the hit and runner, and her decision not to stop leads to increasingly full-on consequences for her and hapless hubby Ed (Jesse Plemons). Fargo is utterly unmissable black comedy TV – trust us, just say ”Yaah!” AF

DVD&BD

LADY IN THE VAN

KRAMPUS

BROOKLYN

MISSISSIPPI GRIND

Release Date: 25/05/16 Format:

Release Date: 04/05/16 Format:

Release Date: 04/05/16 Format:

Release Date: 12/05/16 Format:

It’s a long way from the grandeur of Downton Abbey, but Maggie Smith is still at her imperious best as the homeless bag lady of the title, reprising the role she first played on stage in Alan Bennett’s play of the same name. Loosely based on a true story, the film charts the unlikely relationship that develops between Bennett (an uncanny impersonation from Alex Jenning) and Mary (Smith), who lives in a beat up old van and ends up ‘temporarily’ parked on his driveway for 15 years. A witty, whimsical and ultimately poignant exploration of loneliness, middleclass guilt and the creative process. JF

You better watch out! Santa Claws is coming to town in this Christmas-themed scarefest that evokes the festive mayhem of Gremlins . When a young boy loses belief in the spirit of Christmas and rips up his letter to Santa, the fat guy's dark shadow – a demon known as Krampus – shows up, freezing the neighbourhood with a blizzard from hell and terrorising Toni Collette and Adam Scott). Featuring a memorable monster, sinister elves, demonic toys, and some terrific production design, Krampus is an early Christmas present for horror fans. SH the kid and his squabbling extended family (including

There’s sweetness and a joyful wonder at the heart of this nevertheless utterly believable coming-of-age drama set mainly in New York in the 1950s. Saoirse Ronan superbly captures the vulnerability, innocence and quiet determination of the young heroine Ellis Lacey, who moves from her sleepy Irish village to the bright lights of Brooklyn, eventually finding an adoring Italian boyfriend (Emory Cohen). However, an unexpected family tragedy forces her to look again at where she truly belongs. Directed with subtlety and dry wit by John Crowley, Brooklyn i s an understated delight from start to finish. JF

Ben Mendelsohn is fast becoming the go-to guy for playing sleaze-bags – probably because he usually manages to locate a glimmer of decency in even the most unredeemable of lowlifes. Here, he brings an almost puppy dog likability to the role of Gerry, a hopeless small-time gambler who is taken under the wing of a charismatic professional player Curtis (Ryan Reynolds) for a crack at high stakes game. Cut from the similar cloth as the cult road movies of the ‘70s, Mississippi Grind provides a cautionary yet pleasingly non-judgmental journey into the seamier side of gambling. JF

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