STACK July 2017 Issue 153

jbhifi.com.au

030

JULY

2017

Michael Peña and Dax Shepard play mismatched

California Highway Patrol officers in this big screen

resurrection of the cheesy '70s cop series. Shepard's

pro-biker Jon Baker joins the force to win back his

estranged wife (Kristen Bell), while Peña's FBI agent

Frank 'Ponch' Poncherello goes undercover to bust

crooked cops within the CHP ranks. That's pretty much

the extent of the plot (written by Shepard, who also

directs), which is driven by raunchy gags and crude one-

liners rather than the chaste source material. Needless

to say

CHIPS

doesn't aim high, keeping the action loud and the jokes

below the belt – where Peña's face inevitably winds up at one point.

This sh–t never happened to Larry Wilcox and Erik Estrada! It's all dumb

buddy cop fun in the company of two affable stars.

Keeping the streets safe–ish.

CHIPS

Release Date:

19/07/17

Format:

Life

isn't like a box of chocolates, it's like an

Alien

rip-off

of the kind Roger Corman and the Italians were making

back in the '80s – albeit with a bigger budget and an

A-list cast. The International Space Station retrieves

a probe containing martian soil samples, as well as a

microorganism that proceeds to grow at a frightening

rate until it resembles a facehugger-like creature with a

tendency to crawl down people's throats. Following a

lot of zero gravity blood, panic and opening of airlocks,

the ISS astronauts – including Jake Gyllenhaal and Ryan

Reynolds – must find a way to stop this seemingly indestructible life

form from reaching Earth, otherwise it's crew expendable.

Alien

and

Gravity

are the obvious touchstones, although Corman's

Forbidden World

also comes to mind, sans the schlock value.

But not as we know it...

LIFE

Release Date:

05/07/17

Format:

Following his stint in the governor's mansion, Arnold

Schwarzenegger's return to acting has largely been along

the career path he forged by brawn –

The Expendables 2

& 3

and

Terminator Genisys

. Notable modestly budgeted

exceptions are 2015's

Maggie

and this offering. In

both, Schwarzenegger plays a father whose love for

his daughter leads to extremes previously unimagined.

Here he's Roman, a blue collar family man whose life is

devastated when his wife and daughter are taken in an

air disaster. On the other side of this slow burn equation

is Jake (Scott McNairy), the air traffic controller blamed for the incident.

Following death threats, Jake goes into hiding, and Roman becomes

obsessed with finding and confronting him. He just wants an apology,

but the breathtaking conclusion delivers so much more.

Vengeance is a journey with no return.

AFTERMATH

Release Date:

OUT NOW

Format:

This live-action iteration of the classic manga stars

Scarlett Johansson at her badass best as Major, a unique

human-cyborg hybrid whose conciousness has been

transplanted into a cybernetic body, or 'Shell', following

a near-fatal accident. Skilled in combat, she's a valuable

asset in the fight against cyber-terrorism, and when a plot

to hack the city's hierarchy is uncovered, it's up to Major

to find out who, or what, is responsible. This enhanced

addition to the

Ghost in the Shell

mythos boasts cutting

edge visual effects and production design that evokes

The Fifth Element

and

Blade Runner

, while also replicating shots from the

1995 anime version. Scarlett is well-cast (despite concerns) and comes

across like the lovechild of Adam Jensen and Natasha Romanoff! It's a

grim look at what the future may hold.

(See page 24)

They didn't save her life, they stole it.

GHOST IN THE SHELL

Release Date:

26/07/17

Format:

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