STACK August 2016 Issue 142

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hen Patrick Stewart is playing the villain, and had
o put the script down whilst reading due to its nasty
ontent, you know you need to see this. A punk band
alled The Ain't Rights discover something ain't quite
ight when they take an impromptu gig at a seedy
regon dive. A neo-Nazi crowd and the discovery of a
orpse soon thereafter leads to a terrifying game of cat
nd mouse between the band and the venue's ruthless
wner (Stewart) and his goons. Writer-director Jeremy
aulnier follows his acclaimed 2013 indie film Blue
Ruin with this nail-biting and brutal horrror-thriller, which is liberally
peppered with black humour and graphic violence. It's also one of
the last screen appearances of late star Anton Yelchin, who plays the
bassist with a taste for retribution. Highly recommended. SH
Punk is dead.
GREEN ROOM
Of all Batman’s nemeses, The
Joker ranks as numero uno. In
the animated world, Mark Hamill
(yes, Luke Skywalker) has been
The Joker voice of choice, and
he’s at his manic best in this take
on one of the most highly-rated
Batman graphic novels. Adhering
closely to the source in both story
and look, The Killing Joke sees
Batman’s arch enemy kidnapping
Commissioner Gordon, aiming to
prove that it just takes one really
crappy day to induce madness.
Batman’s on the case, of course,
but there’s a bigger picture,
whereby The Joker challenges
Batman’s very view of what he
is and does. This is gripping and
violent stuff, whether you’ve
experienced the comic or not. AF
BATMAN: THE
KILLING JOKE
Release Date:
03/08/16
Format:
World famous rock star Marianne
Lane (an almost entirely silent Tilda
Swinton) and her filmmaker beau
Paul (Matthias Schoenaerts) are
chilling out on the stunning remote
Italian island of Pantelleria, as
she recovers from throat surgery.
Their peace is shattered, however,
by the arrival of Marianne’s ex,
Harry (Ralph Fiennes), and his
teenaged daughter Penelope
(Dakota Johnson). Little does
anybody initially realise just how
much drama their arrival will create.
An intriguing, pervy, seductive
psychodrama, Luca (I Am Love)
Guadagnino’s film is based
somewhat on 1969’s La Piscine,
and is almost certain to have you
contemplating the Mediterranean
for your next overseas jaunt. AF
A BIGGER SPLASH
Release Date:
04/08/16
Format:
Release Date: 17/08/16 Format:
lton Meyer (Jaeden Lieberher) is a special boy. Due
his powerful, otherworldly abilities he’s worshipped
y a bizarre cult, while the US government has also
ecome well aware of just what he’s capable of.
empering these strengths, however, are several
ecific weaknesses. He has a severe aversion to
nlight, and likes to isolate himself by donning
eadphones. With the cultists and the NSA both on
eir tails, Alton’s father Roy (Michael Shannon) and his
friend Lucas (Joel Edgerton) cat and mouse it across
the USA in order to get Alton to a specific location for a date with
destiny. There’s more than a little Spielberg going on here, as Close
Encounters collides with E.T. and anything from J.J. Abrams that
doesn’t begin with ‘Star’. It makes for a powerful sci-fi (road) trip. AF
He's not like us.
MIDNIGHT SPECIAL
Video games played from the
first-person perspective have
been commonplace for decades
now. But movies? Not so much.
Hardcore Henry takes this bold
step, inspired by two YouTube
sensation music videos that
director Ilya Naishuller made
for his band, Biting Elbows.
Our titular protagonist wakes
in a water tank inside a blimp,
greeted by his wife, Estelle. So
begins an almost non-stop action
revenge spectacular featuring
more than one Sharlto Copley
(yep, the guy from District 9)
and an outbreak of Tim Roth. It
reminds us somewhat of the
delightfully manic Crank, but with
less Statham but more ham –
wonderfully, frenetically so. AF
HARDCORE HENRY
Release Date:
03/08/16
Format:
Idris Elba auditions for the 007 role
in this action-meets-conspiracy-
thriller blast that’s set on – and
above – the streets of Paris.
Completed before certain horrific
real life events in The City of
Light, it’s the tale of a rogue CIA
surveillance guy (Elba) who teams
with a pickpocket (GoT's Richard
Madden) who has inadvertently set
off a bomb. Naturally, suspicions
turn to terrorism in the lead up
to the titular national holiday, but
could more nefarious forces be
trying to destabilise the city? The
action’s cranked to 11 here, taking
cues from greats like Die Hard in
that the bangs keep on happening,
even if the story doesn’t always
make complete sense. Meh – plot,
schmot! AF
BASTILLE DAY
Release Date:
18/08/16
Format:
Release Date: 24/08/16 Format:
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