STACK June 2017 Issue 152

38 / 93

A new Martin Scorsese film is always an event and
this religious drama is a passion project for the director
that has been gestating for 28 years. Adam Driver
and Andrew Garfield star as Jesuit priests in search
of their mentor (Liam Neeson) in the Japanese jungle,
where proselytising to the locals is met with savage
persecution. When Garfield is captured after setting
out alone to find Neeson, it leads to a cruel game of
cat-and-mouse with a wily old Samurai interrogator,
who will do anything to get his prisoner to renounce
his religion. A kind of spiritual successor to Scorsese's Kundun,
Silence is all about stillness and artistic composition; it's a film to
admire rather than love, but confirms once again that the veteran
filmmaker remains in a different class than most of his peers. JF
Sometimes it's the deadliest sound.
SILENCE
As in Zero Dark Thirty, Jessica
Chastain is a strong woman
forging a path in a man's world.
Except as the titular Washington
lobbyist, there's a moral ambiguity
absent from Maya's quest
for the perpetrators of 9/11. A
consummate insider, there are
still some places Sloane won't
tread – like when her firm wants
to win women over to firearm use.
Sloane jumps ship for a start up on
the other side of the gun debate
and that's when things get ugly
with her former colleagues and the
powers to be. Even if you're not a
political junkie, this is a must-see
for Chastain's compelling character
and performance. All steely edges,
with fascinating motives that hint
at someone great. AC
MISS SLOANE
Release Date:
07/06/17
Format:
Director Jeff Nichols (Mud)
dramatises a landmark case
that invalidated local state laws
in the American South banning
interracial marriages. Richard and
Mildred Loving (played by Joel
Edgerton and Ruth Negga) were
legally married in Washington in
the late 1950s, but forced to leave
their home in Virginia after being
reported to the authorities and
threatened with a prison term.
An American Civil Liberties Union
lawyer takes on their case, but
they face a long battle to win
their fight to live as husband and
wife in their home state. Nichols’
decision to focus almost entirely
on the couple, not the legal
machinations, gives this story a
poignant, human face. JF
LOVING
Release Date:
21/06/17
Format:
Release Date: 14/06/17 Format:
Nominated for three Academy Awards including
Best Picture, Hidden Figures is the incredible, untold
true story of a trio of brilliant African-American
mathematicians (Taraji P. Henson, Janelle Monáe and
Octavia Spencer) working in the segregated divison
of NASA, who were instrumental in sending John
Glenn into orbit back in 1962. At the same time, the
achievements of these three women sent the quest
for equal rights and opportunity rocketing forwards.
Committed and heartfelt performances give these
unsung heroes of the space race a new voice – and the recognition
that has until now eluded them. You'll be rooting for and applauding
these girls for the entirety of this inspirational, feel-good drama.
Highly recommended. AC (See page 28)
These girls have all the right stuff.
HIDDEN FIGURES
You know the story. Boy meets girl,
girl digs boy, boy works for drug
lord, girl doesn’t do boys who work
for drug lords. So, how will Casey
(Nicholas Hoult) pursue Juliette
(Felicity Jones)? Simple! The
American ex-pat living in Germany
will get together with the other
American ex-pat living in Germany
by quitting his shady gig. Romance
blossoms and everything’s dreamy,
until Juliette suffers a seizure. She
needs seriously expensive surgery,
but how to raise the megabucks
needed? Yep, those three small
words that are a crime/action flick
staple – “one”, “more” and “job”...
Stylish, if hardly original, Collide is
worth admission just for Anthony
Hopkins and Ben Kingsley going at
it bad guy style. AF
COLLIDE
Release Date:
07/06/17
Format:
Release Date: OUT NOW
Samara returns in this rather
halfhearted attempt to bring
the J-horror franchise into the
digital age. Set 13 years after
the films starring Naomi Watts,
a terrifying new revelation
involving the notorious cursed
videotape spells danger for
high school couple Matilda Lutz
and Alex Roe. Spanish director
F. Javier Gutiérrez delivers the
occasionally effective jump scare,
and Vincent D’Onofrio is his
usual enjoyably over-the-top self
as a blind man who may hold
the secret to the mystery. Rings
adds a bit of backstory to the
original tale, but the jury is still
out on whether this is a direct
sequel or a whole new chapter in
the series. JF
RINGS
Release Date:
OUT NOW
Format:
Format:
38 JUNE 2017
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