STACK NZ Apr #61

DVD & BD

REVIEWS

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Dirty dancing JIMMY'S HALL

Carrie on without Brody HOMELAND: complete fourth season

Release Date: 22/04/15

Release Date: 29/04/15

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Iconic radical director Ken Loach may be getting towards the end of his directorial career – at one stage it was hinted that this could be his last film – but Jimmy’s Hall shows that he still has plenty of fire in his belly. Working once again with his regular screenwriter Paul Laverty, the film is set in early 1930s in the fledgling Irish Free State, with the eponymous Jimmy (Barry Ward) returning to his sleepy hometown after a period of exile in America. A committed communist, he maintains his radical days are behind him. However, when he is persuaded by the frustrated young people of the area to

So, does Homeland still work without Nicholas Brody? Absolutely! In fact, Season Four is among the series' best yet; not only has the show's format been revised, its depiction of current events in the Middle East proves frighteningly prescient. And with the focus off Brody, marginalised fan-favourite Quinn (Rupert Friend) gets a lot more screen time. Carrie (Claire Danes) trades domestic bliss and a baby she doesn't really want for a CIA position in Islamabad, only to face the explosive repercussions of a drone strike she ordered, which took out the wedding party

reopen a dancehall-cum-cultural centre, he finds himself on a collision course with the church and the area’s powerful landowners. Although primarily an indictment of religious and political conservatism, the film really comes alive when celebrating the simple joys of music and dancing.

of a Taliban operative. The kid from Life of Pi (Suraj Sharma) also scores a guest role this season, as a Pakistani medical student whom Carrie uses to get closer to her terrorist target. Homeland has become even more ruthless and unpredictable, sustaining its intensity over 12 nail-biting episodes.

THE MISSING

THE DROP

GALLIPOLI

ANNIE

Release Date: 08/04/15 Format:

Release Date: 15/04/15 Format:

Release Date: 01/04/15 Format:

Release Date: 22/04/15 Format:

After the haunting Broadchurch comes another harrowing British drama about a crime involving a young child. Taking its cues from the Madeleine McCann case, The Missing finds the lives of James Nesbitt and Frances O’Connor torn apart when their young son disappears while on a stopover in a French village. Moving back and forwards through time, the eight part series examines both the initial investigation and Nesbitt’s return to the village years later, desperately searching for new evidence to reopen the investigation. Both a gripping whodunit and a heartbreaking story of loss, this is one of the best TV dramas of the year.

Located in a tough Brooklyn neighbourhood, Marv's Bar operates as a laundry service for the borough's dirty money, including drops of cash for the Chechen mob. When it's robbed by masked goons one night, bartender Bob (Tom Hardy) must get the money back, or pay a bigger price. There's also a subplot involving a dumped pit bull puppy, which Hardy rescues and cares for with the help of his neighbour (Noomi Rapace). This gritty, twist-laden crime thriller from writer Dennis Lehane ( Mystic River ) features the final screen appearance by the late, great James Gandolfini, and another chameleonic turn from the versatile Hardy, who pulls off a convincing Brooklyn accent.

Timed to coincide with the centenary of the Gallipoli landings during the First World War, this TV mini-series draws from the comprehensive book on the campaign, Gallipoli by Les Carlyon. The mini-series follows 17-year-old Thomas “Tolly” Johnson (Kodi Smit-McPhee), who like many who fought during the conflict, lies about his age in order to trail his brother into the army. Gallipoli details the futility of the campaign, the appalling conditions in which the soldiers lived and fought, and steers away from the temptation to embellish the performances and content with enhanced patriotic fervour. A fitting and respectful tribute to the Anzac legend.

Everyone's favourite little orphan gets an African-American makeover in this all-new screen version of the popular comic- strip-turned-musical. Updated to a modern day setting, Beasts of the Southern Wild star Quvenzhané Wallis is the titular orphan alongside Jamie Foxx as Daddy Warbucks and a hammy Cameron Diaz as foster home despot Miss Hannigan. The beloved musical numbers are all here, albeit now with a discernible hip hop flavour courtesy of Sia and Greg Curstin's rearrangements, giving Annie the cool factor it needs to delight a whole new generation of 10-year-old girls.

APRIL 2015 JB Hi-Fi www.jbhifi.co.nz

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