STACK April 2017 Issue 83

26 / 40

26 APRIL 2017
ilean filmmaker Pablo Larraín's portrait of iconic
st Lady Jacqueline Kennedy is less a biopic than
intensely intimate character study. There's a lot of
to cover, but like The Queen, which took place
the aftermath of Princess Diana's death, Jackie
rrows its focus to the week immediately following
e assassination of JFK, and its devastating impact on
widow (Natalie Portman). With her striking physical
semblance and distinctive diction, Portman owns the
le, personifying a woman both fragile and strong, and
fiercely resolute in her desire to preserve the Kennedy legacy; in any
other year, she probably would have ended up winning an Oscar. Jackie
keeps us in the immediate sphere of its subject and the result is a
melancholic experience that runs contrary to expectations for a film of
this type. Highly recommended. SH
We are all connected...
JACKIE
Release Date: 26/04/17 Format:
e film that quite literally snatched the Best Picture
ard at this year’s Oscars – as well as winning Best
dapted Screenplay and Supporting Actor for Mahershala
li – is a life in three chapters. The subject of this intense
aracter study is the taciturn Chiron, a fatherless
frican-American youth. Growing up in a tough Miami
ighbourhood, his formative years are shaped by his
lationship with his mother’s drug dealer, Juan (Ali).
oving on to adolescence, the alienated and introverted
hiron is bullied by his peers and experiences sexual
awakening with his best friend. Ten years later finds him following in the
footsteps of Juan, living a gangsta lifestyle that’s at odds with the gentle
character we’ve come to know intimately. Shot with an almost dreamlike
quality, Barry Jenkins measured and moving drama is a journey of self-
discovery and sexual identity. Touching and remarkable. AF
This Oscar-winning drama shines bright
MOONLIGHT
Release Date: 26/04/17 Format:
When Lisa Simpson tripped out at Duff Gardens and
declared, “I can see the colours!” we suspect that
she was hallucinating Trolls. The gaudily-hued little folk
with backcombed hair that make Robert Smith look
comparatively hairless have existed for some 60 years,
entertaining kids and often horrifying parents. There’s no
need for the latter to freak out about Trolls the movie,
however, as it’s a hearty – and very colourful, naturally
– slice of relentlessly happy musical kiddie fun (with
a few morsels for patient grown ups). The little guys
even maintain good humour when a grumpy old Bergen kidnaps their
friends, embarking upon a rescue mission that’s both bold and, of course,
colourful. Featuring original songs from Justin Timberlake, plus everybody
from Simon & Garfunkel to The Notorious BIG getting covered, this could
be the cheeriest movie ever. C’mon get happy – and colourful. SH
Find your happy place
TROLLS
Release Date: 05/04/17 Format:
There’s no false advertising in this latest from Minions
peeps Illumination, as numerous anthropomorphic
creatures stretch their vocal chords hoping to win
$100,000. However, financially bereft – yet eternally
optimistic – theatre owner Buster Moon (a koala that
sounds like Matthew McConaughey) meant to offer
a mere $1,000, but one typo later... Anyway, he sees
an opportunity to save his beloved theatre, and we’re
treated to everything from prawns getting their Beyonce
on to a gorilla with built-in Auto-Tune and something that
cracks us up every time: a snail perched atop a microphone letting rip
Christopher Cross’ AOR wail-fest ‘Ride Like the Wind’. Will everything
turn out much like it did for The Muppets in their eponymous flick with a
tres similar plot? Maybe sometimes you just need a little song. Unless
you’re the King of Monty Python’s Swamp Castle, natch. AF
They're the voice
SING
Release Date: 26/04/17 Format:
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