STACK September 2016 Issue 143

George Clooney brings showmanship to the share

market as Lee Gates, the flamboyant host of the titular

TV show. Gates is held hostage during a live broadcast

by an armed and angry young man (Jack O’Connell)

that’s lost a $60k inheritance through a bad investment,

and holds Gates responsible for endorsing the stocks.

Money Monster

begins as a tense real-time thriller,

with Gates attempting to fast talk his way out of the

situation with the help of his producer (Julia Roberts)

via an earpiece. But then the film morphs into a blackly

humorous revenge fantasy for anyone who’s lost big time on the stock

market. Watching Wall Street come tumbling down has never been so

much fun, thanks to Jodie Foster’s fluid direction, brisk pacing, and

energetic performances that are bang on the money.

On the air. Out of time.

MONEY MONSTER

Release Date:

01/09/16

Format:

Writer-director Shane Black’s latest action-comedy is a

shambolic trip to Los Angeles, circa 1977, where Russell

Crowe’s corpulent thug-for-hire and Ryan Gosling’s

dimwit detective join forces to discover the whereabouts

of a missing activist, whose disappearance is linked to

the death of a porn star and a mysterious movie that

someone is prepared to kill for. Forget the chaotic and

circuitous plot and revel in the seedy ‘70s milieu of

polyester, decadent parties, and Black’s flair for cracking

dialogue and slapstick violence. A buddy movie is only

as good as its resident buddies, and Crowe and Gosling are a perfect

mismatch.

The Nice Guys

may lack the zing of Black’s 2005 gem

Kiss

Kiss Bang Bang

, but it’s still an enjoyably manic retro romp, and Gosling's

performance alone is worth the price of the disc.

(See page 40)

A Black comedy.

THE NICE GUYS

Release Date:

31/08/16

Format:

Having been in limbo for more than a year, magical quartet

The Four Horsemen finally have an opportunity to get

up to their old tricks – and a whole bunch of spectacular

new ones – in this sequel to 2013’s hypnotic action-

comedy caper

Now You See Me

. Henley (Isla Fisher) may

have given them the flick, but Atlas (Jesse Eisenberg),

Merritt (Woody Harrelson) and Jack (Dave Franco) are

soon joined by mistress of ‘geek magic’ Lula (Lizzy

Caplan). Their mission? To infiltrate a shonky software

mogul’s operations. But before they know it, they’ve

been infiltrated themselves and hijacked to Macau, where they encounter

another dodgy software type with an offer that they probably shouldn’t

refuse. Add Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine and Mark Ruffalo, and

NYSM2

pulls off quite a trick – it’s a cool, spellbinding sequel!

You haven't seen anything yet!

NOW YOU SEE ME 2

Release Date:

14/09/16

Format:

War has always been a core subject for movies. From

the seriously dramatic likes of

Apocalypse Now

on-the-surface more frivolous trips like

Good Morning

Vietnam

, they’ve underlined the adage “war is hell”.

There’s no Liz Lemon from the brilliant Tina Fey here,

as her in-a-rut TV journo character Kim Baker decides to

spice up life by doing the war correspondent thing in

Afghanistan. Hey, it’s only a three month assignment!

Despite being smacked in the face with culture shock,

rampant sexism and the reality of modern warfare,

Kim clicks, makes friends, and stays for several years. While there are

laughs, they’re the everyday mortal foible kind. This is the key to why

WTF

engages – these people protecting our arses or those of innocents

where they’re stationed are just as human as any of us.

Welcome to the war zone.

WHISKEY TANGO FOXTROT

Release Date:

01/09/16

Format:

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SEPTEMBER

2016

DVD&BD

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