STACK NZ Nov #68

YOUR ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO CINEMA, DVDs, GAMES &MUSIC

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ISSUE 68 NOV '15

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Adele • Fallout 4 • Doctor Who

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Founder Nic Short Editor John Ferguson Contributors

Issue 68 NOVEMBER 2015

Games Editor Paul Jones Creative Director Karl Lock DVD Consultant Jason Hewitt

EDITOR’S LETTER W ith Christmas not too far away now, it’s time to start preparing your wishlists. And this month’s edition of STACK is as good a place as any to start. Certainly for music fans, things have become a lot clearer since confirmation that the long-awaited new album from Adele will be hitting the shelves on November 20; with new albums also due from Justin Bieber and One Direction , it’s certainly shaping up to be a poptastic Christmas. On the DVD/Blu-ray front, November sees the release of two of the biggest – and best – animated blockbusters of the year, Minions and Inside Out , and both deserve a place under the Christmas tree this year. And when the kids go to bed, there are plenty of grown-up chuckles to be had with the likes of Trainwreck and Ted 2 , both of which are featured in this month’s issue. Finally, don’t forget to check out our new Cornerstones page in which Graham Reid takes a look at the latest reissues and offers buying advice on the mighty Fleetwood Mac.

Games Consultant Sachi Fernando Production Manager Craig Patterson Social Media Manager Sally Carlier-Hull Contributors Graham Reid, Judy Ewens, GarethThompson, Liam Gannicliffe, Scott Hocking, Zoë Radas, Gill Pringle Alesha Kolbe, Doug Wallen, Ryan Huff, Simon Lukic, Michael Dwyer, Chris Murray, Doug Wallen, Denise Hylands, Bec Rowlands Correspondence

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RATINGS GUIDE

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All information believed correct at time of printing. All images used for promotional purposes only. Copyright of respective owners is acknowledged. © 2015 Scribal Custom Pty Ltd. No part of this magazine may be reprinted without the written permission of the publisher. For further details, read fine print.

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The large print giveth, the small print taketh away. RIPRufus (Jack) 2002–2014

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TAMI’S TAKE ON TELLY

MORE BRICKS IN THE WALL Roger Waters has revisited his Pink Floyd landmark The Wall with a brand new feature film and album Roger Waters’ The Wall – available this month on CD, DVD and Blu-ray – is both a concert film and a personal pilgrimage, with the former Pink Floyd man reflecting on the lives of both his grandfather and father, both of whom died in the first and second world wars, respectively. The concert is taken from his epic ‘The Wall Live’ world tour, which ran from 2010- 13 and was seen by more than 4 million fans. The film, shot in 4K and mixed in Dolby Atmos, features never-before-seen concert footage and includes the hits Another Brick in the Wall Part 2 , Comfortably Numb and Run Like Hell . Roger Waters’ The Wall is out on DVD and Blu-ray on November 20; the 2-CD soundtrack album will be released on November 2.

Tami Neilson

Bronwyn Turei

Tami Neilson enjoyed the challenge of scoring the series The Brokenwood Mysteries – but wasn’t so keen on appearing in front of cameras. The second series of feature-length whodunits set in the sleepy fictional small-town of

and Jay also had to come up with three songs – actually two and a bit – for use in one of the mysteries, which involved the murder of a country singer (played by Go Girls ’ Bronwyn Turei). “For the final episode I had to write songs for the character to sing,” she says. “They also wanted the tail end of a song; that was quite strange, to write just half of a verse!” The character in question actually looks to have been modeled on Neilson and she confides that she was approached about playing the part herself. However, the idea of ending up dead in a bathtub didn’t appeal. “If you’re going to die, you want to look glamorous,” she laughs. “For my first try at acting, I was kind of thinking a cameo, maybe the waitress who puts the coffee on the table and walks away.” The Brokenwood Mysteries once again stars Neill Rea as the country music loving Det Senior Sergeant Mike Shepherd and Fern Sutherland as his often exasperated sidekick Det. Kristin Sims. Guest stars this time include the likes of Robyn Malcolm ( Upper Middle Bogan ), Ben Barrington ( The Almighty Johnsons ) and Shane Cortese ( Nothing Trivial ).

Brokenwood is out this month on DVD and, as with the first season of the show, homegrown country music features prominently on the show. However, this time as well songs from local favourites like Marlon Williams and Delaney Davidson, Series 2 of The Brokenwood Mysteries also boasts an original score by roots/ country songstress Tami Neilson, whose latest album Don’t Be Afraid has just been released. “That was big dive into something new,” Neilson told STACK . “With the first series, a lot of us are on the soundtrack. But when it got renewed for a second series, they approached me and said ‘we would really like you to score the second series as well’.” Working with her Canadian-based brother and regular songwriting partner Jay Neilson, she admits scoring a TV show proved to be very different from traditional songwriting, so it was a steep learning curve. “In a song you’re telling a story in three minutes, whereas with scoring you are sometimes having to tell a story or convey an emotion in 10 seconds, and instead of words, you have images.” Although mainly instrumental music, Tami

BURGERS COME TO JB!

The Brokenwood Mysteries: Series 2 is due out on November 24

Although it hasn’t quite enjoyed the same sort of profile of other Fox animated shows like Family Guy and The Simpsons , Bob’s Burgers is set to pass an important TV milestone.The sixth season of the quirky animated series has just begun airing in the US and will soon celebrate its 100th episode. Featuring the voice talents of H. Jon Benjamin (Carl in Family Guy ) and Kristen Schaal ( Flight Of The Conchords ), the show follows the adventures of Bob Belcher, a third-generation restaurateur at his family’s food joint Bob’s Burgers. If you haven’t yet caught up with this wacky animated comedy, check out Bob’s Burgers: The Complete First Season , available exclusively at JB Hi-Fi from November 11.

As well as the fictional whodunits of The Brokenwood Mysteries , this month also sees the release of a collection of TV movies telling the stories of some of New Zealand’s most notorious crimes. True New Zealand Crime Stories is headed up by the three tele- features – How To Murder Your Wife , Venus & Mars and The Monster of Mangatiti (pictured) – that screened earlier this year in Television New Zealand’s ‘Sunday Theatre’ slot, plus two previously released TVNZ REAL KIWI MURDER MYSTERIES

movies based on famous murder cases, Siege and Bloodlines . The 2-disc set features a host of familiar faces – Geraldine Brophy, Craig Hall, Miriama Smith Joel Tobeck, Sara Wiseman and more – and is due out on November 18.

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FROM THE MAKERS OF SENNA AND AMY

A FILM BY ROGER WATERS AND SEAN EVANS ROGER WATERS THE WALL

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ULTIMATE TOLKIEN EXPERIENCE Extended edition of the final movie in The Hobbit Trilogy completes Peter Jackson’s JRTolkien saga. I f you’ve got a few days to spare, from November 18 you will be able to watch The Hobbit and Lord Of The Rings trilogies in

their extended form and in full High Def glory. This month sees Sir Peter Jackson’s epic journey come to an end – well, for now anyway – with the release of the final movie in the current trilogy The Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies . The new cut is 20 minutes longer than the theatrical version and is stacked with more than nine hours of new special features. The Battle Of the Five Armies will also be available with the first two movies, An Unexpected Journey and The Desolation Of Smaug , in a bumper 15 Blu- ray box set. Add to that the Lord Of The Rings Trilogy extended box set and you have the ultimate Tolkien experience! No word yet, though, on what’s next for Jackson, although earlier in the year he indicated that he had two New Zealand movies he wanted to make before returning to the Tintin franchise… watch this space.

THE FORCE WILL BE WITH US

It’s a good year to be a Star Wars fan. Not only do we have a new movie on the way, that - judging by the long-awaited official trailer - looks to be constructed from all the right materials, but we also get a new-gen resurrection of the video game franchise. Set for release on November 19, Star Wars: Battlefront features a host of iconic characters, planets and hardware from the Star Wars universe. It is the most authentic Star Wars game we’ve laid our hands on, right down to the Snowtrooper costumes, the weapons and the vehicles; the shimmering snow on the Hoth battleground is a sight to behold.

Die-hard fans of the movies will of course have already booked tickets for the first midnight screening of Star Wars: The Force Awakens on December 17. And don’t forget that if you looking to either to get up to speed on sci-fi’s biggest franchise, or simply just want to refresh your memories before seeing the new film, Star Wars: The Complete Saga , a new Blu-ray box set of the first six films, is out on November 11. To celebrate all this, we have lined up a stack of Star Wars related features, starting with this month’s digital edition of STACK , that is available for download now.

Judd Apatow’s hilarious rom-com Trainwreck has introduced New Zealand audiences to the raucous talents of American comedienne Amy Schumer. And to coincide with its release on DVD and Blu-ray, November also sees the debut of the first two seasons of her equally rude and lewd US TV series Inside Amy Schumer , which “explores sex, relationships and the general cluster-f**k that is life” through sketches, stand- up comedy and woman-on-the-street interviews. With another stand-up special also in the pipeline, expect to see a lot more of Schumer from now on. Trainwreck is is out on November 18; Inside Amy Schumer: Seasons 1 & 2 follows a week later

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EX MACHINA THERE IS NOTHINGMORE HUMAN THAN THE WILL TO SURVIVE. “INTELLIGENT, GORGEOUS - ESSENTIAL VIEWING” TOTAL FILM

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© 2015Metro-Goldwyn-MayerStudios Inc.AllRightsReserved.TWENTIETHCENTURY FOX, FOXandassociated logosare trademarksofTwentiethCenturyFoxFilmCorporation and its relatedentities. 007Gun Logoand relatedJamesBondTrademarks© 1962-2015Danjaq, LLCandUnitedArtistsCorporation.

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SOCIAL / COMPETITIONS / QUIZ

STACK SOCIAL Listening to you lot chatting and interacting with us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram is all kinds of awesome! Make sure you get involved and follow us on: STACK Magazine NZ @STACKMag stackmagazine

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STAR WARS: BATTLEFRONT ON PS4, YOU WILL WIN! Experience the Battle of Jakku when you score a copy of Star Wars: Battlefront on PS4. Get your lightsaber ready and fight your way to stack.net.nz to enter. Thanks to EA

THREE MINIONS PRIZE- PACKS UP FOR GRABS You can join Kevin, teenage rebel Stuart and lovable Bob as they venture out to find a new evil boss. Head to stack.net.nz to enter.

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#JokeOfTheDay I heard someone picked Yoda’s pocket. Who would stoop so low?

QUIZ

Q1 Which actor got his start in movies by caddying for Clark Gable and Clifton Webb at the Bel Air Country Club? Q2 A version of this 2013 film came close to being made with John Travolta in the lead role, but was shelved in 1996 following an argument between him and the director. Title please. Q3 Which avant-garde filmmaker made his first short film whilst working as a set designer on a Ken Russell production? Q4 This 2011 horror movie was a direct remake of a Uruguayan thriller – title please. Q5 Who directed the 1975 movie which was based on a strange but true story of a bank heist that goes wrong? Q6 In which film – set during the Korean War – does a reluctant

platoon corporal watch as his superiors are killed one by one, leaving him to assume command to save his troop from annihilation? Q7 Name the director whose film debut has often been compared with Billy Wilder's Double Indemnity (1944). Q8 Which award-winning movie involves a widow unwittingly embarking on an affair with one of her criminal husband's executioners? Q9 In this offbeat cult crime movie, a character (aptly named) finds that parts of his body frequently fall off due to him suffering from leprosy. Name the film and the actor. Q10 Which actor, following a ten- year absence, returned to the big screen as an FBI agent tracking a ruthless killer through the American Northwest wilderness?

HappyBirthday Jimi Hendrix born on November 27th, 1942. Did you know? Jimi Hendrix enlisted in the army at 16 years old after dropping out of high school. He was discharged after breaking his ankle on a parachute jump less than

a year later, changing the career path of one of the most influential guitar players the world has ever seen. #STACKBirthday

STACK ’s Fave Movie Quote: “I'll get you, my pretty, and your little dog, too!” The Wicked Witch of the West, Wizard of Oz (1939)

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Mad Max A10. Anna Kashfi describing Marlon Brando.

A9. George Miller:

A8. They have all starred in movies opposite George Clooney

. A7. Barbara La Marr

A6. David Cronenberg:

A5. Funny Girl

. A4. On Moonlight Bay

A3. Mae Whitman in

eXistenZ

The DUFF

A2. The Babadook

A1. Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger:

"I Know Where I'm Going"

Quiz Answers October 2015 (Issue 67) -

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Sound bites

MAKE UP YOUR MIND Pete Docter on bringing the mind of a child to life in Inside Out.

Ryan Reynolds couldn’t think of anything worse than doing what his character in the thriller Self/ less does: signing up for a second life in another body. “To live forever would be kind of awful. It raises all kinds of questions: for some people it raises a theological argument, for some it’s a moral issue, for some people it sounds awesome. I remember when we were scouting some locations for the movie we met a couple of billionaires in New York because we were interested in borrowing their penthouse for Ben Kingsley’s character. Everyone of them said ‘is that possible?’ You just think ‘wow, you would do that wouldn’t you’.” Self/less is out on November 25

withdrawn, prompting Docter to wonder what was going on inside her mind. He duly came up with

P ete Docter, the Oscar-winning director of animated blockbusters such as Monsters Inc and Up , admits that he loves working with made-up environments. So it’s no surprise to discover that visualising the inner workings of the mind of an 11 year old was irresistible to the writer and director of the latest Disney smash Inside Ou t. “Places like Monstropolis are fun to create because they let us look at our own world in a different way, and take advantage of what we can do with animation,” he says. “But we have to keep ourselves in check – if you do something too far out, it’s easy to confuse people. So, when I came up with the idea for a film set inside the mind, it was exciting because we could visualize locations like long-term memory, the subconscious, abstract thought, dream production – concepts

the idea of representing the emotions that govern our lives as real characters, all of whom are working 24/7 inside

the brain to keep their host happy. In Inside Out , the mind in question belongs to Riley, an ordinary 11-year-old, whose mind is thrown into turmoil when Joy (voiced by Amy Poehler) – the emotion that has always ruled supreme – and Sadness (Phyllis Miller) are inadvertently swept into the far reaches of her brain. The main message of Inside Out is that both happiness and sadness are part and parcel of growing up. “The people that really mean something deeply are those that I have cried with, experienced fear with,” Docter explains. “It’s all the aspects of emotions that bond us together. It became a story about Joy being stuck with Sadness, who she does not

that are already familiar to people. Inside Out gives us a chance to take the audience to a world that everyone knows about but no one has ever been to before. The story was inspired by part by his experiences with his own daughter Ellie, who provided the voice of her namesake in Up . At the time, Ellie was a lot like her spirited screen alter ego, but had since become quieter and more

understand at all in the beginning. But as she learns what Sadness brings to the table, by the end she realises that sadness is crucial to a valuable life.” Inside Out is out on November 4

For those who haven’t seen the film, tell us a little bit about it? The Ground We Won is a 100% authentic documentary that follows a year in the life of a rural NZ rugby team. It’s a film about what makes Kiwi guys tick in this ‘work hard, play hard’ culture of ours. We gather you and Miriam were not exactly big rugby fans going in? Yes, we’d probably be described by our country friends as ‘arty-townies’. We both grew up in the city and simply didn’t understand why rugby was such an important part of New Zealand identity. We wanted to dive in deep to understand why the game is so important to so many people here - happy to report we both get it now! Why Reporoa? We were looking for a rural rugby team

we felt was true to this world. Men have been playing rugby and farming this land for generations. It also helps to set the film apart from all the images of rugby and farming you see on TV - we wanted the film to be seen as a timeless classic - and fortunately, it has been received this way. Were you tempted to return to Reporoa to watch the Rugby World Cup? We miss living in Reporoa and all the wisecracks from the sidelines when watching a rugby game. We’re now back in Auckland, but we’re feeling extremely proud of the Reporoa born and bred Sam Cane! Actually, if you watch the sidelines in The Ground We Won closely, you’ll glimpse Sam Cane supporting Reporoa’s home team’s final. The Ground We Won is out on November 18

made up of farmers and we wanted to find a team who embraced all the rituals and traditions of a rugby season. We found the Reporoa Rugby Club and never looked back; they were salt of the earth, hard working farmers with brilliant, bawdy humour – perfect! Were the locals initially a bit suspicious about the film? Everyone was surprisingly un-suspicious actually! Like most places, Reporoa is proud of their rugby club and the guys were happy to share with us what was important to them both on the rugby field and in their daily lives. It’s a warm hearted and generous community all round. Why did you opt to shoot in black and white? I wanted the film to have a timeless feel - to reflect the deep sense of tradition that

Documentary filmmaker Chris Pryor on delving into the world of grassroots rugby in the acclaimed Chris Pryor

homegrown feature The GroundWeWon .

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EXTRAS

MUSIC

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Q1/ This is your first studio album in almost 20 years but there is a timeless feel to both the sound and songs; it’s like you’ve never been away… After so long a gap between full albums I wanted to see what my songs would record like using modern techniques and I wanted there to be a connection with what had gone before. We have normally avoided as much as possible sounding like what was going on around us, and that has helped the music age well on its own strange outside timeline. Q2/ From what sort of time period do the songs date from? Perhaps a third of the riffs and concepts date back over anything up to 20 years or even more, but, once there was a go ahead to record a new album, the bulk of the writing was done over a period of about a year. Some songs, like Warm Waveform , have been kicking around in my head in many different forms for years and that particular song was released as a short lyric-less version called Warm on my album of home recordings, Sketch Book Volume One , back in the ‘90s. Q3/ There is a strong political edge to lyrics, something which you’ve not been known for in the past. I have generally avoided making political statements in my music as I have seen that date other people’s music badly, but I found that those were the concepts that were really firing me up, and I decided that I didn’t want to simply add more light-weight rubbish to the mountain of music being produced currently. Also, as a song-writer and lyricist it was a personal challenge to see if I could use my skills to actually say something important without it descending into slogans and clichés. Q4/ You also seem to be in particularly strong voice at the moment – what’s your secret? I have been taking better care of myself but I have also learned not to force my voice, as I thought I had to when I was an earnest young post-punk. Plus I have actually learned to change the key of the song I am writing to suit my vocal range - something I knew nothing about when I was younger! Q5/ Flying Nun is enjoying something of a revival both here and overseas. How do feel about being seen as an older statesman of the scene? It is wonderful that the music from that time in New Zealand is still sending waves around the world and I am proud to be part of that. But I do wish I had better recall of facts and dates and a far larger reserve of snappy, amusing anecdotes! Martin Phillipps The Chills

FIDLAR frontman Zac Carper on the band’s second album, Too , and why the group have been unfairly pigeonholed in the past. By Zoë Radas. FIDLAR ON THE ROOF

Z ac Carper and his FIDLAR (F*ck It Dog, Life’s A Risk) cohorts have had all kinds of modifiers thrown at them since the inception of their group’s skate-punk (putting it simply) sound. “ Leave Me Alone is about people saying, ‘These kids just party, and they’re stupid,

We will always record our own stuff.’ But the producer we worked with is awesome; his name’s Jay Joyce. We flew out to meet this guy and he was a totally eccentric dude, and smoked two packs of cigarettes while we were hanging out with him, and just had this weird mystery about him, and he talked like Tom Waits.”

and they’re slackers, and blah, blah, blah,’” Carper says. “The reality of it is that I worked really hard. We’ve all worked really hard to get to where we are, and after a while I felt like we weren’t being taken seriously. And it’s just the way it goes. It’s the way that the media has knocked us into a certain spot.” The song he refers to sits bang halfway through the tracklist for FIDLAR’s second album Too , which the vocalist

The resulting album is crazy and irritated and petulant and completely compelling; Carper attests it took him a little while to tap into the energy which has ultimately spilled out into the recordings. “Honestly, I wrote about 30 songs for the record and the first 20 songs were f–ing terrible. And it was only until I started to actually just write songs for myself... I was like, ‘Wait a minute, that’s not

The producer we worked with is

awesome; his name’s Jay Joyce and he was a totally eccentric dude. He talked like Tom Waits.

and songwriter sees as a huge, blossoming, forward leap. For one thing, he decided to get a producer. “I started noticing records that I really loved always had a producer,” he chortles, “and, in the reality of it, I just wanted to try something new. It was scary. It was really scary. There’s f–ing interviews of me saying ‘I will never work with a producer.

how FIDLAR started. FIDLAR started from just writing songs about what’s going on in my life.’ I’m not as agro. It’s more sad or whatever. So, I’m f–ing sad as f*ck, dude. It works.” Yes, yes it does.

Too by FIDLAR is out now

Silver Bullets by The Chills

is out now

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CINEMA

interview

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THE NAME’S CRAIG Rumours have been flying about the forthcoming James Bond epic SPECTRE, but Daniel Craig isn’t giving anything away about his fourth outing as Her Majesty’s number one spy. However, two things are certain: there will be babes and there will be BIG action.

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interview

CINEMA

• Spectre is in cinemas on Nov 22 and reviewed next issue

Casino Royale

Spectre

Road to Perdition

Bellucci, who at 51 is the oldest Bond girl to date – four years older than Craig. There is no concern that this will dampen Bond’s ardour, however, as Bellucci is still one of the most breathtakingly beautiful women on earth – in one particularly sexually charged scene, Craig is seen slowly unzipping her floor-length gown as she whispers,“If you go there, you are crossing into a place where there is no mercy.” A serious warning for most, but probably not enough to deter 007 That said, Craig is hoping that the days of a misogynistic Bond are coming to a close. “He’s very f–ing lonely. There’s a great sadness. He’s f–ing these beautiful women but then they leave and it’s…sad.” At 47, Craig is still unbelievably

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Layer Cake

“I t’s an honour to play Bond, I get such a big kick out of doing it. I had an opportunity with Casino Royale to wipe the slate clean; this was us beginning again,” says Daniel Craig, the man responsible for bringing the grit back to 007. Three films in, and with the release of Spectre imminent, it is now hard to imagine anyone else playing James Bond. He is a different animal to the charming, sophisticated man Sean Connery created in the original films, and since the very first scene in Casino Royale , in which Craig’s incarnation was first unleashed, it was clear the reboot would be a more violent and visceral experience. Craig’s Bond is darker, tougher and utterly untameable. It could have gone horribly wrong, but instead it took over 500 million dollars and became, until Skyfall , the highest grossing Bond film of all time. Spectre promises to be the darkest instalment yet. Our hero (or anti-hero, as Craig has always insisted was his approach to the character) is still mourning the death of Judi Dench’s M when he receives a message from his past. The film is shrouded in typical MI5 mystery, but almost certainly marks a return for Bond supervillain Ernst Stavro Blofeld

You simply stick to the old adage that a good story goes a long way. And blow shit up every half an hour

suave, cool and of course, handsome. He has that rugged, Steve McQueen swagger down to a T, but the question remains whether there is an age limit on 007. “As long as I’m physically able. Which isn’t that long!” laughs Craig. “I’m contracted for one more, which seems to be a fair number, but I’m not going to make predictions.” The Brit actor also has an interesting theory for the franchise’s inimitable success. “You simply stick to the old adage that a good story

(rumoured to be Christoph Waltz’s character), who due to recently settled copyright issues was last officially seen in 1971’s Diamonds are Forever , and notorious crime syndicate SPECTRE, all hinting at a return to more traditional form. Another twist is the casting of Italian actress Monica

goes a long way. And blow shit up every half an hour,” he laughs heartily. “That’s how it’s done.”

17

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FEATURE

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STILL SMOKIN’ How have you changed since the worldwide success of the first Ted film? TED: You know I don’t think Everyone’s favourite potty-mouth teddy bear dishes the dirt on the stars of TED 2 and explains why the sequel should be seen as the Empire Strikes Back of Seth MacFarlane’s blockbuster comedy series. M

I think that rule applies to more than just sequels, ya know. But yeah, absolutely. And it’s definitely true of Ted 2 . I’m obviously a big fan of my first movie, but we’ve really pushed the boat out with this one. This is our Empire Strikes Back , our Temple of Doom , our Aliens . We’ve got more laughs, more cursing, more action; more vulgarity... I’ll be seriously pissed if we don’t get an Oscar nomination.

fame has changed me at all. I still drink Bud Light, granted now it is served in a golden chalice by Phun- Li, my own personal Thai ladyboy. But basically I still put my pants on one leg at a time like everyone else… I mean, if I wore pants that last thing would be true. It’s always been my mantra that it’s important to stay humble. “Do you have any weed?” is another one of my famous mantras. What did it take to get you to come back for the sequel, Ted 2 ? Are you calling me Ted 2? Oh, no you’re referring to the film of the same name. Got it. Well honestly, it took a great deal of money for me to come back. Not because I want the money, heavens no. I just wanted to feel the commitment to the project on the fiduciary side of things, if that makes sense. It doesn’t? Damn. What was it like teaming up again with MarkWahlberg and Jessica Barth? Well, being that they are the only actors I’ve ever worked with professionally – I don’t count Jean Claude Van Damme – it was a welcome reunion. I’ve kind of taken

MarkWahlberg,Ted and Amanda Seyfried

Had you ever thought about civil rights before you got entangled in your own case? Of course man, I’m an American – we learn about our racist past before we’re old enough to even say the n-bomb. Which, incidentally, I only ever do in an ironic sense or when singing along to hip-hop. So, yeah, I know about civil rights. I voted for Barack Obama. I saw 12 Years a Slave . I listen to Public Enemy. I have my share of white guilt, okay? Did you do a lot of research to prepare for the court scenes? You bet. However, I’m of the opinion there’s nothing in the American justice system that can’t be learned from watching Law & Order . I don’t know why students bother with Law School, when you can get it all covered in 60 minutes of TV and still have time for a bong and a beer. Well, that show and Judge Judy . In the new film, you visit Comic Con – how did you find it? Do you have any secret, nerdy pleasures? That entire conference hall is one big nerdy pleasure. Though some of the Dungeons and Dragons dudes – they get a little intense for

I’ll be seriously pissed if we don’t get an Oscar nomination

Mark under my wing, poor kid. He needed the direction because his career has been a little ‘eh’ lately. I told him the first thing he should do is a Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch reunion tour. At this point in his career, he really needs to remind people where he came from and give the people those ‘good vibrations’ they’ve been dying for. Having now been married in a movie, what are your thoughts on marriage in general ? I’m all for it. Sure some people call it ‘an institution,’ in that it feels a prison from which there is no escape. But I like the idea of monogamy. I look forward to spending the rest of my life making sweet love with the same person, every night. Then soon after that, every week, and then before you know it, you’ll be lucky if you’re getting it once a year for your birthday. But it’s romantic right? First, I just need to find the perfect Mrs. Ted – in about 20 years or so.

me. But the cosplay girls, they are my favourite – particularly anyone who dresses as an Ewok, especially Latara, the cute lady one. The thought of her got me through many lonely nights as a teenage cub.

• Ted 2 is out on Nov 25

The rule of a successful sequel is that bigger is better; do you believe in that film adage?

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AvAilAble from November 18

Also AvAilAble from November 18: The hobbiT Trilogy exTeNded ediTioN oN dvd, blu-rAy, & 3d blu-rAy.

a N d fOr THE

TH I S MO NTH

NO V EMB E R 4

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NO V EMB E R 4

NO V EMB E R 4

NO V EMB E R 4

NO V EMB E R 4

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NO V EMB E R 1 1

NO V EMB E R 4

ARTWORK SUBJECT TO CHANGE

NOVEMBER 11

NOVEMBER 18

NO V EMB E R 2 5

NO V EMB E R 2 5

NO V EMB E R 2 5

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FEATURE

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SPIRIT OF ADVENTURE

Peter Capaldi’s second year as DOCTORWHO sees a shift in the dynamic between the Doctor and his companion, Clara Oswald, as well as a greater sense of adventure. Scott Hocking caught up with Capaldi and Jenna Coleman at San Diego Comic-Con to discover what fans can expect in Series Nine. T alking to Peter Capaldi is like talking to Doctor Who, in the sense that there’s a lot of the actor’s personality and charisma there’s a price to pay.” Series Nine also sees a shift in the

a trail of distress and pain among some people. And he didn’t really enjoy that, but he’s come to realise that’s his role, that he will pursue the greater good sometimes at the cost to other people. “I think having realised that that’s who he is, he realises that life is short, even if you’re a two and a half thousand year-old Time Lord, and his time in this regeneration is short. So he recognises that it’s time to make the most of that and enjoy life – he and Clara are now a little

relationship between the Doctor and Clara, as well as revealing a more adventurous side to the Doctor’s companion. “I think with a show like Doctor Who , you have to let it take its own life,” says Jenna Coleman. “It was a really new companion/ Doctor relationship, I felt, complicated and not easy, but deeply bonded. And it’s really nice in this series to have got to the point where they are quite close-knit and a team, facing adventure together. This series Clara isn’t split, she’s not earthbound and space-bound. Having lost Danny Pink, her perspective has changed and again, like the Doctor, she just wants to eat it all up and look for adventure with reckless abandon and freedom.” Capaldi notes it’s this sense of adventure that gives the ninth series an epic quality. “We go to corners of the galaxy, time and space, that we haven’t done before and it’s realised in a very cinematic, visual kind of way. There’s a great sweep to it in terms of the adventure but also emotionally – there’s a lot of stuff going on emotionally that will get paid off.”

invested in the character. But even after a year in the role, he admits there’s still nothing easy about playing one of TV’s most iconic figures. “It’s quite a difficult role because of the tone of the programme,” Capaldi explains. “I have to say because I’ve been a big fan of Doctor Who since I was a kid, and played Doctor Who in the playground, I thought it would be a bit easier. But with my adult acting head on, as it were, it’s more challenging than I thought; you have to be able to be quite funny, and then quite tragic and sad, domestic and cosmic, all in one scene. It’s often quite hard to commit truthfully to all those contrasts, but that’s what the job is. And you have to be a bit over the top – big eyes, big nose, big hair!” [Jenna Coleman notes that her co-star has “ticked all of those boxes”.] Capaldi’s casting reintroduced the character’s alien side; in Series Eight his Doctor is a darker and more enigmatic persona than Matt Smith and David Tennant’s interpretations, uncertain if he’s “a good man” and making morally questionable decisions that can have disastrous consequences. “I think the most exciting thing about the character is that he actually changes,” Capaldi says. “In each new regeneration he has to discover who he is himself; it’s a mystery to him who he is. So I think a lot of the last season was about him struggling to come to terms with the fact that, morally, he had to make some decisions for the greater good and leave

We go to corners of the galaxy, time and space, that we haven't done before...

gang charging through the universe for adventure and being reckless. But that doesn’t mean the Doctor of the last season has vanished; it’s Doctor Who and there’s something coming, so he can’t go on having a good time and

• Doctor Who: Series 9 - Part 1 is out on Nov 4

range around the universe enjoying himself because

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FEATURE

DVD & BD

WWE star John Cena relished the chance to send up his macho image as Amy Schumer’s dim-witted boyfriend in Judd Apatow’s latest comedy smash TRAINWRECK . QUEER EYE FOR THE STRAIGHT GUY

and the lighting guys and the assistants and props guys, it's not intimate at all. It’s at times uncomfortable, but it was necessary. I think it made the movie really fun. It was a happening! But it ended up being extremely funny and I thank Amy and Judd for making it really comfortable. You talked about the park scene, which isn't in the final cut. Is there anything else that didn't make it we might see on the DVD? A whole other movie is lurking out there somewhere! And that's not just with me. I think that's with all the cast members, because of the way Judd shoots. I think the DVD release of this movie is going to be something special. What has spurred your shift towards comedy after several action films? I think the action stuff was a natural correlation – you see a big guy throwing around big guys on television, you naturally think he can do that on the big screen. I like doing that on TV in the WWE ring. But I want to try and be selective now with film opportunities. I want to show a bit of a different side and being able to laugh at yourself is extremely important. I also want to be able to align myself with good films, good people and poke fun at myself. I just want to have a good time while doing

just from that one little joke that made for some awkward, funny moments.

How did Trainwreck come about for you?

JOHN CENA: I guess the natural process, the evolution

How was it working with Amy; what scene did you shoot first? The first thing we shot actually didn't make the movie. It was a scene in Central Park where I see Amy after we've broken up. It was

of getting a part: they cast for a bigger guy to do some overly physical stuff in the movie and I auditioned. I had a

good audition with Amy. It was very informal, very ad-lib. I had one more audition and then a table read and they decided that the kid stays in the picture! How much of the character was in the script?Was he as well defined as he was in the movie, or was there things you added as you were developing him? Hats off to Judd and Amy for letting me have my own fun with who the character was. It was literally just written as a big guy and he's with this girl who doesn't believe in love and monogamy. Typical big guy things happen that turn her off. The sex is overly physical. He's always talking about working out. But in the original script there was that line in the sex scene where Steven describes to Amy about what happened when they first met and he says, “when I saw you first, the reason you were so attractive is that from behind you looked like a dude”. That was a throwaway joke, but I thought, man, if that's what gets this guy to the mountaintop, maybe he's not sure if he's straight, if he's gay and what that struggle is like. And they really let me run with that. It was

Hats off to Judd and Amy for letting me have my own fun with who the character is

awesome, because there were a lot of people around in the park watching us, so it really took the edge off. We just went with it to see what happens. It really helped a lot to know that I can let my guard down and go for it. Tell us about shooting the sex scene – it must've been nice not to have to have it be really sexy on screen? I think that truly

made it a little less uncomfortable. But being almost naked in front of all the camera ops and the focus pullers

• Trainwreck is out on Nov 18

good projects, which is more of what I'm looking for.

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FEATURE

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Ex Machina , writer-director Alex Garland’s chillingly plausible science fiction thriller, explores the creation of Artificial Intelligence and what it means to be human.

A cclaimed screenwriter Alex Garland describes his directorial debut, Ex Machina , as being “about three people pitting their brains against each other. It’s about how they test each other, try to defeat each other mentally, and form allegiances with one another.” But it’s not that simple. The trio he is referring to consists of Caleb (Domhnall Gleeson), a brilliant young internet coder; Nathan (Oscar Isaac), a hard-drinking research scientist and search engine billionaire; and Ava (Alicia Vikander), a beautiful female robot created by Nathan, whom Caleb must test for evidence of consciousness. “ Ex Machina works on two levels,” says producer Andrew Macdonald. “At its heart it works on a genre level – it’s a psychological thriller – and then it’s able to use these characters to explore very fundamental, conventional genres in an unconventional way, including zombies ( 28 Days Later ), space travel ( Sunshine ) and comic book heroes ( Dredd ). Ex Machina is his take on the rise of Artificial Intelligence, tapping into society’s fear of technology and the consequences of finally achieving the Singularity – the creation of a sentient machine. “People are paranoid about AI and computers in general,” he says. “It’s on people’s minds, as it should be. I approach it from a slightly different angle, because I human and psychological issues.” Garland has a knack for reworking

humanoid figure with a girl’s face, but made of the most stunning mechanics he’s ever seen.” “The Turing Test was set decades ago in the birth of computing,” adds Garland, “when Alan Turing understood that at some point the machines they were working on could become thinking machines, as opposed to just calculating machines. He saw that it would be difficult to know whether something was really thinking or just pretending to be thinking.” Unlike the destructive, misanthropic machines of The Terminator and The Matrix , Garland’s AI serves as a device to explore the human condition and the nature of consciousness, sexuality and emotion. However, the threat posed by a sentient machine is still acknowledged, albeit in a more subtle and philosophical way. “We clearly live in a world

don’t exactly feel paranoid about it. With Ex Machina , my sympathies lie with the robot. I think [machines] have got a better shot at the future than we do.”

Crucial to determining whether or not an AI can truly think is the Turing Test, which is applied to Ava in Ex Machina over a number of testing sessions. “Caleb’s there to do a Turing Test,” explains Domhnall Gleeson. “It’s where a human interacts with a computer and if a human doesn’t know that it’s a computer they’re interacting with – so they mistake it for another human being – then the test is passed. “Caleb has no idea what he’s walking into At some point machines will think in the way we think and there are a lot of implications to that. At some point, don't we become redundant?

where computers are central to our existence, and we also live in a world where advances in computers have accelerated incredibly in pace,” says Garland. “There has to be an interesting question about where it ends and what it means for us. At some point machines will think in the way we think and there are a lot of implications to that. At some point, don’t we become redundant?”

here, and then out of one of the rooms comes this kind of

• Ex Machina is out on Nov 11

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GAMES

FEATURE

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story from the perspective of a character that you were handed specifically, who has his own name and own place in the world. Whereas here, the character you’re playing as didn’t exist before, and it’s you." Vonderhaar continues: ”I think that really helps the player stay associated with what’s happening in the narrative, so I think that’s one way, from a game design point of view, you can kind of approach that unique problem.” And of course then you have the new four- player co-op in the campaign; an inclusion set to change up the regular single-player CoD experience. “If you’re making a co-op game, it’s just not quite as structured and railed up as you might know Call of Duty games to be, ‘cause you have to build enough space for four players to navigate in a fight,” explains Vonderhaar. “When you start doing that, you start doing interesting things with how people can combine together to do interesting tactics to approach any kind of thing. “It’s a lot more encounter-based in that way, which as a systems guy makes me very excited because you have to plan battles and spaces and events to support more than one player, and I think that makes it more interesting for a solo campaign player who wants to play it more than once.”

Campaigner It’s not all about multiplayer, you know.There are still some people left in the world who play Call of Duty for the campaign, and thankfully,Treyarch know this.

Black Ops in Units Sold Up Until April 2015 • Black Ops (2010) 21,600,000 • Black Ops II (2012) 24,400,000

according to Vonderhaar, comes with its own set of challenges. Instead, Treyarch looked within for a team to pen the narrative. “In this game, the writing was largely done in-house by Craig Houston and his team. This story team worked with producer Jason Blundell, and of course we always work with various consultants and futurists and technologists.” The supposition that handling the writing internally would be more advantageous than outsourcing the story to external writers is swiftly countered by Vonderhaar. “Unfortunately, it wasn’t that black and white,” he says. “There’s a lot more analysis of the story and you might argue that there’s more noodling involved. It’s better in some ways and worse in others. “I think what makes it better is it’s a little easier for everybody in the building to understand what we’re trying to do with the story and the narrative and focus.” The Black Ops series is well-known for its compelling plot lines, but maintaining player focus on the story in a frenetic first-person shooter like CoD has always been difficult. An elaborate cutscene is soon forgotten once the lead starts flying, and all the player concentrates on is an objective on the radar. Vonderhaar, talking from a game designer's perspective, believes that this will change in Black Ops III. “In Black Ops III , the character you play as is one of your own creation. Right from the very start, you’re deciding and describing who the character is and, I think when you do that, you’re not trying to imagine or participate in the

A dmittedly, CoD campaign players are in the minority, but they do exist. Studio design director David Vonderhaar is adamant that Treyarch placed as much emphasis on the story component of Black Ops III as it did the multiplayer. “We don’t believe at all for a second that the guy who sits down and wants to buy the game and play through the story is a dying breed,” an animated Vonderhaar explains on a recent trip to Sydney. “If you wanted me to pull out a pie chart for you, that pie chart would be slanted really high towards the campaign section. “It takes a tremendous amount of energy and resources to build a campaign game, and especially this one; there’s a lot of game going on here. A huge percentage of the organisation and more than half the building is trying to make the best campaign game they can. It’s not a dying breed for us.” On this game, the studio decided not to use the services of a Hollywood writer, which

Call of Duty: Semper Fi These!

Call of Duty: ModernWarfare 3 made a staggering $775 million in the first five days of release, blowing any Hollywood blockbuster contender to pieces with a Javelin anti-tank missile. In 2012, Sydneysider Okan Kaya played Black Ops II for an incredible five and a half days straight. Kaya was permitted a ten-minute break for every hour of playing. AdvancedWarfare , was working on a third-person Call of Duty title set during the Vietnam War when the studio was asked to help out on ModernWarfare 3 . Activision Blizzard set up a non-profit organisation called the Call of Duty Endowment to help returning war veterans find employment. If you put daily players of Call of Duty in one space, there would be enough to fill 80 of the world’s biggest sports stadiums. Sledgehammer Games, the developer of last year’s CoD:

• CoD: Black Ops III is out Nov 6

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