STACK NZ Dec #69

DVD & BD

REVIEWS

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Believe in Hope SOUTHPAW

The next generation of Griswolds hit the holiday road VACATION

Release Date: 23/12/15

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Release Date: 23/12/15

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Light-heavyweight world champion Billy Hope (Jake Gyllenhaal) has a big house, a loving wife (Rachel McAdams) and a precocious daughter (Oona Laurence). Then tragedy strikes, leaving him a widower, broke, and fighting to retain custody of his little girl. Destitute and struggling to turn his life around, he takes on a menial job at a local gym, where a trainer with a heart of gold (Forest Whitaker) agrees to help him make a comeback – in life and in the ring. Gyllenhaal is fantastic; his hangdog features wear the character’s anguish like a battered boxing glove, and his total commitment to the

Rusty Griswold (Ed Helms) upholds the family holiday tradition begun by dad Clark in the ‘80s in this fitfully funny sequel-cum-reboot to the comedy franchise, which relies heavily on familiarity with the Chevy Chase original. Lowbrow humour has evolved (or devolved?) in the decades since the Griswolds first hit the road, so the new Vacation takes its cues from the gross-out likes of The Hangover , Horrible Bosses , et al; the misadventures include bathing in raw sewage, a vomitous stop at a sorority house and an exploding cow. However, most

role helps distract the viewer from the film’s more overwrought moments and boxing movie clichés. Scripted by Sons of Anarchy creator Kurt Sutter and directed by Antoine Fuqua ( Training Day ), Southpaw , like The Fighter and all the Rockys, reminds us that down doesn’t necessarily mean out.

of the laughs come from the goofy optimism of the genial Helms and a scene-stealing Chris Hemsworth as the well-endowed Uncle Stone. Oh, and original vacationers Chevy Chase and Beverly D’Angelo show up in inevitable cameos.

Marvel's awesome foursome return FANTASTIC FOUR

Fifty shades of prey KNOCK, KNOCK

Release Date: 09/12/15

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Release Date: 09/12/15

The fourth attempt to bring Marvel’s 'First Family' to the screen is as grim as its resident rock monster. Unlike the cheesy 2005 film, this Four has gone over to the dark side. Chronicle director Josh Trank's take on Marvel’s awesome foursome has more in common with Cronenberg’s The Fly than Whedon’s Avengers . It's a cautionary tale about experimenting with teleportation and the consequences of taking a drunken trip into an alternate universe. This is superpowers as body horror, which is probably why critics and audiences hated it. But

Horror fanboy turned filmmaker Eli Roth's latest is a change of pace after delivering gorefests like Hostel and The Green Inferno . Swapping gratuitous bloodletting for psychological thrills, Knock Knock is a home invasion flick with a difference. Keanu Reeves (nicely cast against type) plays a family man home alone on a long weekend, who finds himself tempted and tormented by a pair of sexy young things who show up on his doorstep during a rainstorm. The fun begins when these femme fatales (Roth's wife Lorenza Izzo and Ana de Armas), whose weapons of torture

STACK begs to differ – keeping one foot in the real world and the other in a comic book one, this is a superhero origin story that's distinctly and refreshingly different from the CGI-laden candy-coloured adventures that have become the genre's default.

include Facetime and Facebook, proceed to turn his life and home upside down. Although loaded with subtext, Roth's battle of the sexes is best enjoyed as a crazy suspense thriller with a wicked sense of humour. And let's face it, haven't you always wanted to see Keanu Reeves squirm?

DECEMBER 2015

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