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I
t’s Christmas time, and that means long hot
summer days and nights, shopping, presents,
tinsel and turkey (roasted and Wild). It also
means time to catch up with all the latest new release
movies and TV box sets on DVD and Blu-ray,
and JB Hi-Fi has your holiday viewing all wrapped up.
Advances in performance capture technology led
to the
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
, and now, the
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
have been given a
photorealistic makeover, bringing the heroes in a half
shell to expressive life for a whole new generation of
youngsters. Read how ILM’s Visual Effects Supervisor
Pablo Helman and his team achieved this new
evolution in Turtle Power on page 52.
Lucy
and
The Mule
might be total opposites in terms
of genre – one’s an insane sci-fi action flick, the other
an Aussie crime drama – but both offer cautionary tales
on the hazards of being a drug mule. In
Lucy
’s case, a
gut-full of illicit drugs turns Scarlett Johansson into an
omniscient superbeing, while Angus Sampson suffers
self-inflicted constipation in
The Mule
. Watch them
back-to-back for one of the craziest double-features
you’ll see this summer.
Other recommended homegrown offerings this
month are
Predestination
, an ingenious time travel
thriller that will truly melt your brain, and
These Final
Hours
, a sobering doomsday drama that asks its
protagonist and the viewer the same question:
How would you spend your last hours on Earth?
For further
STACK
indulgence over the festive season,
download this issue on the
STACK
App for exclusive
extra content, like us on Facebook and follow us on
Twitter. And have a great Christmas and NewYear!
I’ve always loved the Southern fried novels of Joe
R. Lansdale, but film adaptations of this talented
Texan’s books are few and far between. Fortunately,
filmmaker Jim Mickle (who gave us
Stake Land
and
We AreWhatWe Are
) is a Lansdale fan and has
brought the author’s 1989 novel
Cold in July
to the
screen, and it’s a cracker of a thriller.This is a movie that’s best
approached cold – i.e. with no knowledge of the twists and turns ahead.
All you need to know is that
Dexter
’s Michael C. Hall plays a family
man who shoots and kills an intruder in his home one night, and soon
thereafter encounters the dead man’s ex-convict father (a menacing
Sam Shepard), who’s in the mood for some payback. And Don Johnson
delivers a career revival performance worthy of aTarantino film, as a
pig farmer turned private eye.The first act might make you feel you’ve
stumbled upon a
Cape Fear
wannabe, but when Lansdale’s story throws
a curveball, Mickle and his fine cast knock it right out of the
park. Dark, unpredictable and totally gripping, make sure you check
out
Cold in July
when it’s hot in December.
ON MY
TO-WATCH
STACK
So much to view, so little time
...
Into the Storm
Tornadoes tear through
a small Oklahoma
town in this found-
footage variation on
Twister
. It’s special
effects time!
The Maze
Runner
Hunger Games
, check.
Divergent
, check.
The
Giver
, check. This
one’s next. Hey, I’m a
young at heart adult.
Fury
Hell hath no fury like
Brad Pitt and a Sherman
tank taking on the Nazis
behind enemy lines in
an old school WWII
adventure.
Banshee:
Season 2
Can’t wait to return
to Alan Ball’s lunatic
town with an Amish
crimelord and an
ex-con sheriff.
COLD IN JULY
DISC of the month:
0XX
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