STACK June 2016 Issue 140

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Unleashing the living dead on Regency England and
Jane Austen’s beloved characters is a joke that should
be frightfully witty. And it is. But writer-director Burr
Steers’ decision to play it straight actually results in a
surprisingly good adaptation of Austen’s novel rather
than the raucous zom-com the title promises. Set in an
alternate England in the grip of a zombie apocalypse,
the Bennet sisters are martial arts maidens packing
daggers beneath their corsets, but still in the mood
for marriage. The casting is dead-on: Downton Abbey’s
Lily James and Sam Riley make a fine Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy; former
Doctor Who Matt Smith hams it up as the bumbling Parson Collins;
and Game of Thrones ’ Lena Heady channels Cersei Lannister as Lady
Catherine de Bourgh, a formidable, eye-patched zombie slayer. SH
Austen apocalypse.
PRIDE AND PREJUDICE AND ZOMBIES
BFFs Katie (Tiera Skovbye) and
Sloane (Kirsten Prout) plan to
work on an organic farm to fund
a New York shopping spree, but
they never get there. Kidnapped
and held captive by redneck
sex traffickers, they manage to
escape, stock up on lethal tools
at the hardware store, and exact
revenge on their abductors.
Even Lambs Have Teeth might
sound like any number of
similar revenge thrillers, but this
one eschews the torture porn
nastiness usually associated
with the sub-genre in favour of
a mischievous streak of black
humour. That's not to say horror
fans won't get a kick out of some
of the inventive bloodletting. SH
EVEN LAMBS
HAVE TEETH
Release Date:
08/06/16
Format:
It may not have been a tumour,
but something stopped Arnie
from reprising his role of
Detective John Kimble over two
decades later. No matter though,
for fellow Expendable Dolph
Lundgren has bravely entered the
breach, ready to go undercover as
a steak-worshipping kindy teacher
and take on a class of preschool
darlings in order to track down a
stolen FBI USB drive. Obviously
they haven’t heard of regularly
backing up their crucial files! 26
years later it’s easy to be cynical,
but Dolph has a blast battling this
new politically-correct world, in
what is actually a wee (and poo
and spew) hunk of fun that packs
several giggles. SH
kindergarten
cop 2
Release Date:
09/06/16
Format:
Release Date: 08/06/16 Format:
his series just keeps getting better and better, as it
ontinues to lay the foundations for what will become
reasure Island. The third season is the best yet, with
aptain Flint (Toby Stephens) haunted by the loss of
iranda, and John Silver (Luke Arnold) struggling with
he loss of a leg. Elsewhere on Nassau, the British
eize control of the island, Eleanor Guthrie (Hannah
ew) awaits trial, a cache of Spanish gold makes
ack (Toby Schmitz) a wanted man, and the arrival of
lackbeard (Ray Stevenson) further shakes things up.
There's storms, seafaring, sharks, and swashbuckling. The battle
scenes are grand and cinematic, but it's the interplay between the
characters – notably Silver and Flint – that puts the wind in Season
3's sails. Binge-watching awaits, me hearties! SH (See page 30)
Into the storm.
BLACK SAILS: SEASON 3
This ambitious Australian sci-
fi film from first-time director
Jesse O'Brien is like a greatest
hits package of the genre's
tropes. Rangy prisoner Kye (Dan
Mor) finds himself marooned
on an arid alien moon, whose
strange properties affect him
in increasingly bizarre ways.
The plot is complex, but what
Arrowhead lacks in narrative
focus it makes up for with
clever riffs on sci-fi themes, and
impressive production values.
Coober Pedy once again stars
as a convincing alien landscape
(see also Pitch Black) and Shaun
Micallef, as the voice of Kye's
computer pal, turns out to be an
inspired bit of casting. SH
ARROWHEAD
Release Date:
09/06/16
Format:
Living in the shadow of a
legendary parent would be
challenging, so it’s little wonder
that Scott Eastwood (looking
more like his dad every day) does
a bunk for Mexico in this action-
tinged thriller. OK, so we’re mixing
reality and real life. Guilty. Anyway,
unemployed 20-something Mitch
(Eastwood) is stuck in Texas doing
the trailer trash thing. Craving
some form of adventure, he and a
friend cross the border. Ditched by
his mate, Mitch catches the eye
of a local paramilitary leader, who
enlists the lad to help his band of
misfits in their fight against the
Mexican drug cartels. Sure, it’s
no Dirty Harry, but give the kid a
chance. AF
MERCURY PLAINS
Release Date:
22/06/16
Format:
Release Date: 08/06/16 Format:
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