STACK Feb Issue 124

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iwi director Gerald Johnstone’s debut feature
nvokes the demented spirit of Peter Jackson's
arly work, Jonathan King's Black Sheep and
es Craven's The People Under the Stairs, and
s poised to become a similar cult favourite. The
remise is ingenious: stroppy Morgana O’Reilly
s forced to return to her family home after being
entenced to home detention for her role in
comically inept ATM robbery. She begins to
uspect that something sinister is also hiding in the
house, but if she leaves the property, she will end up in prison.
There's more to it – a lot more – and Johnstone deftly balances
the plot's blend of frights, dark humour and inspired slapstick. The
performances are first rate, too. Recommended.
Home is where the horror is.
HOUSEBOUND
rom Home and Away to Maleficent and The
iver, local boy Brenton Thwaites is on a roll. He
lso headlines this Aussie prison film cum heist
aper from first time writer-director Julius Avery.
hwaites plays a teenaged con who is mentored
y master thief Ewan McGregor to orchestrate a
ailbreak, which will enable the pair – with help from
ome Russian mobsters (them again!) – to liberate
Kalgoorlie mine of its gold. But of course their
mbitious scheme doesn't quite go according to
plan. Cramming several genres into one relentless action-thriller
(elements of Guy Ritchie, The Expendables and Two Hands all jostle
for screen time), Avery's ambitious script ensures that Son of a Gun
is difficult to pigeonhole. It's busy, but it's never dull.
Inside and out.
SON OF A GUN
052
visit REVIEWS DVD&BD
Format: Release Date: 11/02/15 Format: Release Date: 04/02/15
FEBRUARY 2015 JB Hi-Fi
With his action man credentials now firmly established,
Liam Neeson takes the chance to stretch himself a little
with this noirish thriller, in which the emphasis is more
on mood and suspense than explosive set-pieces.
Based on the novel by Lawrence Block, Neeson is Matt
Scudder, a reformed alcoholic cop who now makes a
living as an unlicensed private eye. When approached by
drug dealer Kenny Kristo (Dan Stevens from Downton
Abbey) to help him find the men who abducted and
murdered his wife, Scudder is reluctant to take the
case, but changes his mind when he discovers that these psychos have
done this before and may already be targeting their next victim. Neeson
is suitably world-weary as the reluctant PI, while director Scott Frank’s
gritty visuals vividly bring the seamier side of the Big Apple to life.
Grave matters.
A WALK AMONG THE TOMBSTONES
very day, Christine (Nicole Kidman) wakes up with
complete stranger in her bed. The man (Colin Firth)
atiently explains that he is Ben, her husband, and
ecause of a traumatic accident in her past, she suffers
rom a rare form of amnesia in which she forgets
verything about herself and her adult life everytime she
oes to sleep. However, unbeknownst to Ben, Christine
s now being helped by a sympathetic neurologist (Mark
trong), who is getting her to make a video diary at the
nd of each day to remind herself of her condition and
present circumstances. And that diary reveals that her doting husband
may actually be keeping secrets from her. Based on the bestseller by
S.J. Watson and expertly directed by Rowan Joffe, Before I Go to Sleep
is an ingenious Memento -style thriller that you won’t forget in a hurry.
A night to remember.
BEFORE I GO TO SLEEP
THRILLER
Format: Release Date: 18/02/15 Format: Release Date: 12/02/15
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