STACK #126 Apr 2016

CINEMA

REVIEWS

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ALSO SCREENING IN APRIL

Marvel's mighty superhero alliance returns in the biggest movie of 2015 (and likely to join the first film as one of the biggest of all time). Fanboy writer-director Joss Whedon is back at the helm, which means this will be just as awesome as The Avengers . The titular menace that comes of age is a dormant A.I. peacekeeping program fired up by Tony Stark, which decides to eliminate mankind, a la Skynet. Bring. It. On. April 23 AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON

‘70’s pot-smoking cluedo, Larry ‘Doc’ Sportello, tries to unravel a bizarre kidnapping which quickly becomes a conspiratorial behemoth involving an ex-girlfriend, a property mogul, the FBI, Nazi bikers, drug-trafficking dentists, endless hippies and a overzealous cop called ‘Bigfoot’. Yep, weird! INHERENT VICE RELEASED: March 12 DIRECTOR: Paul Thomas Anderson CAST: Joaquin Phoenix, Josh Brolin, Owen Wilson RATING: MA15+

D irector Paul Thomas Anderson always brilliance of Robert Altman, turning his hand to a drug-soaked alternate universe presentation of The Long Goodbye seems a logical step. Joaquin Phoenix is exceptional as the chain- smoking stoner, ‘Doc’, asked by his ex to thwart a kidnapping plot. As he carves his way through two-and-a-half-hours of, at times, an unexplainable mess of dope and mirrors, we completely feel his groggy puzzlement. But like his character, we latch on to moments that stick, excite, bewilder and bemuse us with such nonsensical shock – it’s an addictive joy. Much like one huge long-night conversation that when under the influence is remembered via polaroid snapshot retention, Inherent Vice feels like a collection of ideas, moods, scenes and imagery designed for sensory stimulation and occasional cerebral indulgence following a thin line of bread crumbs resembling a plot, not narrative storytelling. Go with it and you’ll be rewarded with a dreamlike excursion into author Thomas Pynchon’s vision of post-‘60s ‘free love’ going down the toilet with a bullet, a needle, a spoon, and the birth of organised corruption and ‘bad people’. Paranoia and escapism as a defense mechanism is what emerges here, with amazing offbeat comedy punctured with poignant tragedy. Josh Brolin’s bullish, heartbroken and militant cop, ‘Bigfoot’, complete with a phallic addiction, could easily have walked out of a Coen Bros meets Twin Peaks universe. In fact, he steals the entire leaves a lasting impression. Heir apparent to the rambling multi-layer narrative

film playing a man incapable of succumbing to a higher consciousness; his post-war ‘work hard, live clean’ world is being torn apart, his ideals crushed, his spirit slowly broken. Meanwhile, not too far removed from The Dude, ‘Doc’ floats on through these people’s lives (including a bizarre cameo from Martin Short as a pervy, drug-pushing dentist, and Owen Wilson as a sax-playing, ex-junky informant) following the White Rabbit; it matters not if he finds it… perhaps that’s the entire point. Inherent Vice is no Boogie Nights , nor a slapstick Big Lebowski for that matter – it’s instead an examination of society’s loss of innocence and hope through the pot-tinted lenses of a free spirit. Hey, it’s a gas! Chris Murray

Skydiving cars. Destruction in Dubai. Exploding houses. Kurt Russell. The Stath. "This time it ain't just about being fast," growls big Vin Diesel. You better believe him! Start your engines people. April 2 FAST & FURIOUS 7

Sparks fly, of the romantic and Nicholas variety, in the latest adaptation from the prolific author of The Notebook . Expect passion and heartbreak between Britt Robertson and Scott (son of Clint) Eastwood. April 9 THE LONGEST RIDE

Middle-aged couple Ben Stiller and Naomi Watts attempt to recapture their lost youth after befriending twentysomethings Adam Driver and Amanda Seyfried, in Noah Baumbach's new comedy. April 16 WHILE WE'RE YOUNG

APRIL 2015 JB Hi-Fi www.jbhifi.com.au

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