STACK NZ Dec #69

EXTRAS

NEWS

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GAME ON AT THE MOVIES

2016 is shaping up to be a bumper year for video game adaptations.

T his month sees the DVD and Blu-ray release of Hitman: Agent 47 , an attempt to reboot the video game franchise for the big screen following the underwhelming 2007 Hitman movie. No word yet whether the new take will spawn any sequels but gamers can certainly look forward to an array of new film adaptations next year and beyond. First up are likely to be two animated movies. Ratchet & Clank , which is due out at the end of April, is based on the popular PlayStation series and follows the adventures of a pointy-eared alien and a tiny robot. Providing the voices are the likes of Paul Giamatti, Sylvester Stallone and Rosario Dawson. Expected around the same time is the big screen version of Angry Birds , a 3D animated adventure in which an island populated almost entirely by flightless birds is threatened by the

arrival of some mysterious green pigs. The all-star voice cast for the mobile game movie includes Danny McBride, Jason Sudeikis, Maya Rudolph and Peter Dinklage. That is due to be followed in June by the first of the big live action game movies Warcraft: The Beginning , which is based on Blizzard’s popular World Of Warcraft games. Directed by Duncan Jones ( Source Code ,

Moon ) – the film stars Vikings hunk Travis Fimmel and Fantastic Four ’s Toby Kebbell. Arguably the most successful of the existing video game film franchises is due to return in September with the release of Resident Evil: The Final Chapter , which will be directed by the franchise’s creator Paul W Anderson and will once again star Milla Jovovich as Alice. However, the one everyone is waiting for is Assassin’s Creed , which is expected in cinemas in December 2016 and stars Michael Fassbender as Callum Lynch, who discovers he is a descendant of a member of the secret Assassins society. The cast also includes Jeremy Irons, Marion Cottilard and Brendon Gleeson, and the director is acclaimed Australian filmmaker Justin Kurzel ( Macbeth ). We can’t wait…

Hitman: Agent 47

Hitman: Agent 47 is out on December 16

FIRST 4K BLU-RAY DISCS IN 2016?

Ready for a new High Def format? Sony Pictures has announced that it will launch its first wave of titles on the next generation 4K Ultra HD Disc format early next year. No word yet when the new format will arrive in this part of the world and a lot will probably depend on how well it is received in the US. However, the studio points out that there will 100 million Ultra HDTV sets in homes by 2019 and they will be looking for a similar high def experience with their discs. Sony says its 4K

UHD discs feature four times the resolution of HD and include high dynamic range (HDR), which produces brilliant highlights, vibrant colors and greater contrast on compatible displays. The first titles to be released include The Amazing Spider-Man 2 , Chappie and The Smurfs 2 , and they will followed by more new release film and television content. The first 4K Ultra HD players, which are expected out around the same time, will be backward compatible

Eden

DJ culture steps into the spotlight with the DVD release this month of two fictional movies about the people who spin the discs. First out of the blocks will be the critically acclaimed French drama Eden , which is due out on December 3 and is a tribute to the French underground scene of the ‘90s. It is directed by Mia Hansen- Løve (F ather Of My Children ) and was co-written by her brother Sven, a DJ contemporary of Daft Punk, who are also portrayed in the movie. Eden will be followed on December 16 by We Are Your Friends , which stars Zac Efron as a party promoter turned laptop DJ who is taken under the wing of a weary EDM superstar (Wes Bentley). See review on page 44.

BBC GREENLIGHTS DARK MATERIALS

BBC is to bring Philip Pullman’s epic fantasy trilogy His Dark Materials to television. The acclaimedYA novels tell of a hidden parallel universe and follow the adventures of a young orphan called Lyra.The first book in

Pullman has welcomed the new BBC adaptation and will serve as executive producer. “In recent years we’ve seen the way that long stories onTV can reach depths of characterisation and heights of suspense

the series, Northern Lights , was filmed asT he Golden Compass (2007) and was intended to the first in a trilogy. But despite a starry cast that included Daniel Craig and Nicole Kidman, it failed to fire at the box office.

by taking the time for events to make their proper impact. And the sheer talent now working in the world of long-form television is formidable. For all those reasons I’m delighted at the prospect of a television version of His Dark Materials .”

The Golden Compass

DECEMBER 2015

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