STACK June 2016 Issue 140

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RATING KEY:
Wow!
Good
Not bad
Meh Woof!
visit CINEMA REVIEWS
20 JUNE 2016
CINEMA
Follow-ups to children’s classics – Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator and Through the Looking
Glass – are usually less fondly remembered, if they are remembered at all. This Disney sequel
isn’t exactly memorable either, but it’s less gaudy and grotesque than Tim Burton’s 2010 film,
which somehow managed to gross a billion dollars. And – curiouser and curiouser! – it’s actually
the more entertaining of the two. Alice (Mia Wasikowska) is now a ship’s captain who’s been
travelling the globe for the last three years. Returning home to London, she’s given the choice
of losing her father’s ship or her family home. But before she can worry about that, she’s
lured back into Wonderland through a magic mirror, where she discovers her friend the Hatter
(Johnny Depp) is not so much mad as depressed over the whereabouts of his long lost family.
Determined to set things right, Alice commandeers a gyroscopic time machine and returns to
the past to discover the whereabouts of the Hatter’s kin. The theme is time in this ‘Days of
Future Past’ take on Lewis Carroll’s classic, so naturally the message for kids is that you can’t
change the past, and to cherish every second, minute and hour. Oh, and family is important too.
Darker and more melancholic in tone but no less crammed with colourful CGI, some of which
looks pretty good in 3D, Alice Through the Looking Glass might lack a sense of wonder, but
unlike the first film, you won’t feel like you’ve eaten a kilo of M&M’s by the end. Scott Hocking
ALICE THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS
When is an Avengers movie not an Avengers movie? When it’s a Captain America movie subtitled
Civil War. The righteous soldier out of time is still the focus, but the Avengers ensemble all play
a major part, sans Thor and the Hulk. Which leaves room for Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) and a certain
webslinger from Queens to make up the numbers. The collateral damage from the Avengers’
attempts to save the planet leads the world’s governments to demand the UN regulate the team.
Tony Stark agrees to sign the new accord but the Cap refuses, fearing this will compromise the
team’s ability to respond to future threats. It doesn’t help that Cap’s old army buddy Bucky Barnes
(Sebastian Stan), aka The Winter Soldier, has reappeared and has his Avenger pal’s support, adding
fuel to an already volatile situation. The Russo Brothers never lose control of this potentially
unwieldy Marvel juggernaut, alternating the hyperactive action scenes with comic relief, ethical
dilemmas and thriller tropes, while effortlessly introducing Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman)
and the new Spider-Man (Tom Holland). Of all the Avengers, Captain America has pulled off a
hat-trick in the standalone Marvel movies: The First Avenger is a cracking Saturday matinee-style
adventure, The Winter Soldier a propulsive espionage thriller, and Civil War is all kinds of awesome
– a massive movie that sets a new benchmark for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Scott Hocking
RELEASED: Now Showing
DIRECTOR: Anthony Russo,
Joe Russo
CAST: Chris Evans, Robert
Downey Jr., Scarlett
Johansson
RATING: M
CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR
RELEASED: Now Showing DIRECTOR: Nicholas
Stoller CAST: Seth Rogen, Rose Byrne, Zac Efron
RATING: MA15+
Anyone who might have guessed that a sequel
to Nicholas Stoller’s atrocious 2014 comedy (a
generous description) Bad Neighbours would
not only be consistently funny but also include
compelling social commentary has a remarkable
degree of intuition. Bad Neighbours 2 improves on
the original in every way. It also bucks the recent
trend of unfunny American comedy. The narrative
situation from the first film is revisited, unbelievably,
and the characters are shoehorned into an almost
impossible scenario. But we know that going in.
Marc (Seth Rogen) and Kelly (Rose Byrne) are
expecting their second child and preparing to move
out of their house when the sorority sisters of the
Kappa Kappa Nu move in next door. The mission
of the sorority is to break free of the misogynistic
culture associated with the female relationship with
fraternities. With 30 days to go before the house
sale is finalised, Marc and Kelly team up with their
old nemesis, Teddy (Zac Efron), to disestablish Kappa
Kappa Nu. There are no villains in Bad Neighbours
2. The behaviour of Shelby (Chloë Grace Moretz),
the leader of the sorority, may not be savoury but
it is understandable and comes from a decidedly
principled place. The commentary on gender equality
is unexpectedly edged and the humour surprisingly
effective. Who'd have thought it? John Roebuck
BAD NEIGHBOURS 2
RELEASED: Now Showing
DIRECTOR: James Bobin
CAST: Johnny Depp,
Anne Hathaway, Helena
Bonham Carter
RATING: PG
The influences are in plain sight in James Watkins’
Bastille Day. It’s the latest in the long line of Die
Hard rip offs, which, between White House Down
and Olympus/London Has Fallen, have seen a
startling resurgence of late. An American pickpocket
(GoT's Richard Madden) living in Paris becomes the
principle suspect in a terrorist plot after stealing
the bag of a bomb mule. CIA Agent Briar (Idris Elba)
must locate the thief before France’s national day of
celebration, Bastille Day, escalates into riots.
Madden and Elba make a terrific duo and there are
moments in Bastille Day that shine, thanks to some
energetic direction from Watkins – the film blasts
from one action set piece to another, which distracts
from the plot holes and the improbable nature of
some of the narrative developments. Bastille Day is
a lively and amusing way to kill a couple of hours,
particularly for action enthusiasts. John Roebuck
BASTILLE DAY
RELEASED: Now Showing DIRECTOR: James
Watkins CAST: Idris Elba, Richard Madden, Kelly
Reilly RATING: M