STACK #128 Jun 2016

REVIEWS

CINEMA

RATING KEY:

Wow!

Good

Not bad

Meh Woof!

SPY

POLTERGEIST

Depending on how much you liked Bridesmaids and The Heat , you were either apathetic or ecstatic to hear that writer-director Paul Feig and actress Melissa McCarthy had teamed up again for the comedy crime-caper Spy . It turns out that even if you disliked those former two flicks, you'll doubtless find something to love in the latter. Feig's story – about a jovial deskbound analyst in the FBI who ends up having to go undercover when two field agents are compromised – is still full of dumb/hilarious absurdities, but manages to transcend its Big Momma's House -like premise with the most rewarding script McCarthy (who ain't no Martin Lawrence) has ever run with. Moreover, it's the best opportunity she's had to showcase her winning mix of dry and slapstick humour, not to mention her ability to wring real empathy from an audience. The support of Jude Law and Jason Statham lend it ample kudos (and who doesn't love seeing either of those two stretch their funny bones), and most of the biggest chortles you'll get come from our own ubiquitous and mega-talented Rose Byrne, whose haughty and uncomplicated delivery is totally enchanting. Definitely worth it (we're as surprised as you). Zoë Radas RELEASED: Now Showing DIRECTOR: Paul Feig CAST: Melissa McCarthy, Rose Byrne, Jason Statham RATING: MA15+

A modest family relocate due to financial troubles and soon find themselves knee- deep in a haunted house with a difference. When the youngest daughter is simply ‘taken’ by a poltergeist into an alternate dimension... cue the CGI and all manner of ridiculous mayhem modern cinema can conjure! Tobe Hooper’s Spielberg-produced 1982 original is a remarkable film that still to this day has people shuddering at the thought of a toy clown, a tree, a dwarf paranormal expert, and impending storms to trigger the other side into making contact most violent. To remake this film was of course a cash decision to generate cheap thrills and box office smash’n’grab to naïve teens, not to bring anything new, and actually drop some of the true resonance of the original masterpiece (kids counting the time between lightning and thunder, Indian burial mystique, dark humour instead of obvious gags). What we’re left with is a half-arsed attempt at chills forgoing the accessible WTF felt long after the lights come up in a cinema. Rockwell is miscast, hungover and bored as the disbelieving dad who quickly goes along with whatever’s put in front of him, and while the kids are solid enough, you simply don’t get scared after the first 20 mins. And as for the ‘clown’ sequence now being a ‘clowns’ sequence; poor form in extinguishing the potential thrill too quickly, whereas the original left the stamp inside an audience’s head for generations. No, you don’t really need to see this at all. Chris Murray RELEASED: Now Showing DIRECTOR: Gil Kenan CAST: Sam Rockwell, Rosemarie DeWitt, Jared Harris RATING: M

PARTISAN

SLOW WEST

There’s a dreamlike quality to Ariel Kleiman’s Partisan , perhaps because it unites Australian cinematic sensibilities with a European setting and cast. Within the confines of a closed compound on the outskirts of a derelict European city, Gregori (Vincent Cassel) presides over a cult-like colony, the only man amidst a community of women and children. He fosters an atmosphere of fear and dependence, rejecting the curiosity for the outside world that the children inevitably develop, all the while exploiting the very congregation that he shepherds for his own financial gain. The perpetually fascinating Cassel is a powerful screen presence, here consolidating a simmering rage with charm. Jeremy Chabriel, as Gregori’s young son Alexander, has an eerie demeanor that illuminates the repercussions regarding his father’s hold over the unearthly community. Kleiman’s filmic space is fantasy, and Partisan has that pensive timelessness that Sofia Coppola accomplishes so effortlessly. There’s a sense that Kleiman is trying to say something, but may not be entirely sure of what that may be. There doesn't appear to be a sociopolitical agenda and Partisan might best be read on an entirely bizarre and superficial level. John Roebuck RELEASED: May 28 DIRECTOR: Ariel Kleiman CAST: Vincent Cassel, Nigel Barber, Jeremy Chabriel RATING: MA15+

A 16-year-old, lovesick British aristocrat travels across 19th century frontier America in search of his beloved, who happens to have a bounty on her head. When a strange Irish mercenary promises to see him through safely, he soon realises the Wild West takes no prisoners and trust is a very loose term. Former frontman for the Beta Band, this is director John Maclean’s first feature film, with ambitions set to ultra high. It's a Euro-Western ‘journey film’ with aesthetic sensibilities aimed between a Coen Bros offbeat/arthouse kink and a slow-burn Proposition with open scabbed morality and bloodlust. That it never quite achieves either is a letdown to the amazing cinematography, strong performances from Smit-McPhee and Fassbender, and a desire to evoke classic western iconography in every frame. One second you’re on the edge of your seat, the next you’re a little bored, confused at the character motivations and simply waiting for something interesting to happen. We simply don’t care enough for anyone to feel any emotional gravity – a sin in the Western genre. Two remarkable set-pieces aside (a general store heist gone awry and the eventual showdown with bullets aplenty), this feels as though it was green- lit too early in the script stage to fully flesh out what could have been an existential journey into the hearts of mad-men-on-missions, instead of some beautiful footage simply edited together in the hope of a rounded experience. Chris Murray RELEASED: June 4 DIRECTOR: John Maclean CAST: Michael Fassbender, Ben Mendelsohn, Kodi Smit-McPhee RATING: M

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