STACK #145 Nov 2016

visit stack.net.au

DVD&BD REVIEWS

Be Bold. Be Brave. Be Epic. KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS

Boy meets girl, girl unimpressed, boy starts band. SING STREET

Release Date: 30/11/16

Format:

Release Date: 09/11/16

Format:

Animated movies are all light and fluffy fare for kids, yeah? No! That’s a load of phooey, especially when Laika exists. The US animation studio responsible for Coraline and ParaNorman always look on the dark side of life (insert whistles here), and they continue this with the remarkable Japanese-set tale of young Kubo. How dark is it? Well, his two aunts and grandpa took his left eye when he was a mere bub. He can’t stay out after sunset for fear that they’ll return for his other peeper. Then there’s the kid trying to communicate with his dead

For music’s betterment (mostly), punk’s late 1970s arrival led most everybody to believe that they could form a band. It’s the mid ’80s and this ethos, the new music video craze and a mysterious girl inspire young Conor to find an escape from his unstable home life. Yes, he forms a group with a bunch of mates. Naming it ‘Sing Street’ (horrid name!), a play on their school, Synge Street, they set about finding style – musically and visually. Needing a model for videos is a perfect excuse to approach Conor’s muse, and a close friendship

samurai warrior dad, subsequent aunt wrath against his mother, and a survival quest to find his father’s magic armour. Stunning in absolutely every sense (although obviously not for younger kids), this stop-motion wonder just might dethrone Disney/Pixar come Oscar time. AF

gradually blooms. From the musically-inspired writer/director who brought us Once and Begin Again , Sing Street takes the vibe of The Commitments and meshes it with 1980s classic Gregory’s Girl . Some of the tunes are naff, but this exuberant movie certainly isn’t. AF

I AM NOT A SERIAL KILLER

FREE STATE OF JONES

TAKE DOWN

HIGH-RISE

Release Date: 09/11/16 Format:

Release Date: 23/11/16 Format:

Release Date: 09/11/16 Format:

Release Date: 23/11/16 Format:

John Wayne Cleaver (Max Records) is a sociopathic teenager fascinated with death and infamous serial killers. When his sleepy hometown in Minnesota is rocked by a series of grisly murders with the bodies missing major organs, Cleaver turns amateur sleuth to uncover the killer’s identity – and his elderly neighbour (Christopher Lloyd) is a prime suspect. Based on the novel by Dan Wells, this dark indie thriller is an intense, character-focused piece with loads of small town ambience and a neat twist concerning the nature of the murders. If Gus Van Sant ever decided to make a horror film it would probably look something like this. SH

When you consider the fragile state of race issues in the US today, pausing to think how they must have been in their Civil War days can send shivers down your spine. Still, while exceptions may have been rare, not everybody was a card-carrying racist back then. Farmer-turned-medic Newton ‘Newt’ Knight (Matthew McConaughey) was one such man. Aghast at misdeeds being committed by the Confederacy, he deserts and convenes a group of likeminded soldiers, farmers and slaves to launch an uprising that led to Jones County seceding from the Confederacy. Free State of Jones is a captivating – and, sadly, often still relevant – tale. AF

The consequences for criminal acts – whether they’re intentional or not – can vary greatly. After Kyle, the son of a wealthy businessman, stacks his car and abandons his passenger who's barely clinging to life, he’s given a choice: rehab, or jail time. He opts for the former, on a remote Scottish island no less, but even he doesn’t deserve what’s in store for him and his fellow rich kid naughty types. How so? Well, highly-trained mercenaries invade the island, quickly taking hostages. After all, rich parents mean big ransom bucks. But Kyle manages to do a John McClane on the interlopers. Take Down embraces cliché, but boasts a fun dumb B-action vibe. AF

The work of author J.G. Ballard is as perfectly suited to British director Ben Wheatley ( Sightseers ) as it was to David Cronenberg with Crash . Tom Hiddleston plays a doctor who moves into a futuristic apartment block and is quickly caught up in a civil war between the eccentric residents, which degenerates into anarchy, depravity and madness. The '70s aesthetic evokes Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange and the tone is pure Terry Gilliam, with Wheatley adding his own brand of acerbic black humour to the breakdown of social order, which won't be to all tastes. SH

NOVEMBER 2016

50

jbhifi.com.au