42
JUNE 2015
JB Hi-Fi
www.jbhifi.co.nzAlso released...
MISS JULIE
August Strindberg’s play has attracted a fair few screen
adaptations over the years, even though it is a pretty
uncinematic work of art. However, it does offer two very meaty
roles for actors, hence its appeal. Directed by screen legend
Liv Ullman, this version relocates the action to Ireland, with
neurotic artistocrat Jessica Chastain setting out to seduce her
servant, Colin Farrell. Stagey but absorbing.
OUT:
10/06/15
ROSEWATER
The directorial debut of current affairs comedy god Jon Stewart
is no laughing matter – quite rightly, too, because this is the
harrowing true story of an Iranian-Canadian journalist who was
imprisoned and tortured for his media reports from his homeland
(one of which involved Stewart’s
The Daily Show
). Gael García
Bernal is excellent as the reporter; Danish actor Kim Bodnia
(
The Bridge
) is even better as his interrogator.
OUT:
24/06/15
SHINE
Scott Hicks's 1996 Australian classic helped kickstart a second
filmmaking renaissance for the Aussie industry is also notable
for Geoffrey Rush's breakout role as pianist David Helfgott,
who overcame a debilitating mental breakdown to triumph on
the world stage. Bonus features include interviews with Rush,
Hicks, and composer David Hirschfelder.
OUT:
24/06/15
Mortdecai
Johnny Depp twirls an oversized moustache, adopts a posh
British accent, and channels Austin Powers as Charlie Mortdecai,
an art dealer, aristocrat and trickster enlisted by MI5 agent Ewan
McGregor to locate a stolen painting that may hold a clue to
the whereabouts of hidden Nazi gold. This globetrotting caper-
comedy endeavours to capture the madcap spirit of the Pink
Panther films, but the laughs are largely dependent upon how
funny you find Depp's terrible 'tach.
OUT:
03/06/15
ANARCHY
Much has been made of the Shakespearean qualities of
Sons
of Anarchy
, but director Michael Almereyda has gone one step
further and reworked one of the Bard’s lesser known plays,
Cymbeline,
into a biker epic. The original pitted Ancient Britons
against the Romans; here it’s drug-running bikers versus corrupt
cops. The cast is headed by Ed Harris and Ethan Hawke, but
Fifty
Shades of Grey
star Dakota Johnson and Milia Jovovich don’t
disgrace themselves either.
OUT:
24/06/15
TALES FROM THE CRYPT: DEMON KNIGHT
The best of a pair of spin-off movies from the '90s TV horror
anthology series, produced by Robert Zemeckis and Joel Silver.
Billy Zane plays a hellspawn who wreaks havoc in a small town
whilst in pursuit of a key that holds the blood of Christ. Full of
dark humour, gratuitous gore and practical creature FX, they
don't make 'em like this anymore. A most welcome addition to
the Cult Cinema range.
OUT:
11/06/15
Another critically acclaimed series to add to your growing
stack of must-watches,
Orange Is the New Black
burst out of
thegate in 2013 and quickly attracted fervent attention for its
multi-layered storylines, fascinating characters and inventive
flashback structure. Season three's drop is imminent, so it’s
time to catch up on exactly what went down in season two
of this addictive jail-time jag. As it opens, our heroine Piper
(Taylor Schilling) wakes up in solitary confinement and is then
transferred to a destination unknown; she has to make some
educated guesses as to where she is, and for what purpose
she has been brought there. Meanwhile, we get numerous important
flashbacks concerning Piper’s past, the inmates prepare a Valentine’s Day
party, and Larry asks one of the women to be his mole, so that he can
discover what’s really happening to the prison’s finances. Back in Black, baby!
Back with conviction
ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK:
SEASON TWO
Release Date:
10/06/15
Format:
Twilight
star Kristen Stewart reveals herself to be
apowerful screen presence in a sombre, thought-
provoking tale of a US soldier, Private Amy Cole, who
isstationed at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba – the Camp
X-Ray of the title. The soul-destroying monotony of
life at the camp borders on despair, not just for those
being held there but for those guarding them as well.
AsAmy starts to see how soldiers and detainees alike
are dehumanised by the place, she begins to form a
tentative friendship with one of the detainees, Amir
Ali (
A Separation
’s Peyman Moaadi). It is a relationship conducted
almost exclusively through cell doors, but the two stars' eloquent
performances make you care in a slow-building drama that sets out to
show that life is not always as black and white as it first appears.
The prisoner within
CAMP X-RAY
Release Date:
11/06/15
Format:
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