STACK Jun #128

52 / 108

052 JUNE 2015 JB Hi-Fi
Prior to this year, the fact that Nicole Kidman had
won an Oscar and Julianne Moore hadn't was
one of the Academy's biggest injustices. Moore's
consistently brilliant thesping was finally rewarded
for her performance as Alice Howland, a 50-year-old
linguistics professor who is diagnosed with early-onset
Alzheimer's disease. Having dedicated her life to the
process of communication, to be robbed of these
skills and her memory (naturally) weighs heavily on
Alice, her husband (Alec Baldwin) and their three adult
children, and the steps she takes to retain her sense of self make
for compelling and affecting viewing. Still Alice is heavy stuff, but its
unsentimental approach to its subject is as far removed from a generic
disease-of-the-week telemovie as Moore's talent is from Kidman's.
Moore's overdue Oscar.
STILL ALICE
Release Date: 03/06/15 Format:
oneyball director Bennett Miller delivers a real-life
merican sports story set in the world of Olympic
restling, that savagely eschews the tropes of the genre.
here's nothing uplifting or inspirational about the events
hat befell Olympic Gold Medal-winning wrestler Mark
chultz (Channing Tatum) and his brother Dave (Mark
uffalo), after being lured to the estate of eccentric multi-
illionaire coach John E. du Pont (Steve Carell) to train
or the 1988 Seoul Olympics. If you don't know the tragic
utcome of this story, try not to Google it prior to seeing
Foxcatcher; the experience will be even more intense and unpredictable.
This is a disturbing, character-driven drama full of awkward moments and
uncomfortable silences, anchored by a truly creepy performance by an
unrecognisable, cast-against-type Carell. • See page 40
Beyond the mat.
FOXCATCHER
Release Date: 03/06/15 Format:
bel Morales (Oscar Isaac) is a heating-oil company boss;
n essentially honest man chasing the American Dream
New York City, 1981. While attempting to close the deal
n his new waterfront depot, he's pressured by the D.A.,
he bank and his competitors, and things edge closer
o boiling point when his trucks start getting hijacked
nd his drivers are forced to take up arms. The always
antastic Jessica Chastain is in top form as his ruthless
ife, whose mob connections could come in handy
hen the inevitable turf war finally erupts. The third film
from director J.C. Chandor (Margin Call, All Is Lost ) evokes those '70s
crime thrillers that usually featured Pacino or De Niro, and also shares
a lot in common with more recent gritty slow-burners like Out of the
Furnace and The Yards , both in style and substance. Recommended.
Crime and corruption heats up.
A MOST VIOLENT YEAR
Release Date: 25/06/15 Format:
In Johannesburg, 2016, a robotic police force fights crime.
When one of these droids is damaged and reprogrammed, it
becomes capable of learning. Unfortunately it doesn't have
the best teachers, having been kidnapped by a pair of ghetto
punks (played by South African hip-hop duo Die Antwoord)
who name him 'Chappie', decorate him with bling, teach him
to talk dirty and steal cars. If this sounds like Short Circuit
meets RoboCop, it sort of is. Had Chappie been a Hollywood
film, it would be horrible. But this is a Neill Blomkamp
movie, and the District 9 and Elysium director's trademarks
(fetishised tech, slums, social commentary and Sharlto Copley) guarantee
an offbeat ride. Chappie himself winds up being far more believable than his
flesh and blood counterparts, including Hugh Jackman giving Aussies a bad
name. Now let's wait and see what Blomkamp does with the Alien franchise.
District 10.
CHAPPIE
Release Date: 18/06/15 Format:
visit REVIEWS DVD&BD