STACK April 2017 Issue 150

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ALSO SCREENING
IN APRIL
Is there a Marvel movie more anticipated than
this one? If the trailers are any indication, Vol.2
looks like it will be as much fun as the first
one. Baby Groot, Mantis, Kurt Russell as Star-
Lord's Dad, Sly Stallone and an all-new Mix
Tape – just a few reasons to get hyped for the
return of the Guardians on April 25.
GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY Vol.2
The F8 of the Furious – we saw what they did
there, and we like it! Dominic appears to have
betrayed the family for villainous seductress
Charlize Theron... or has he? We still don't
believe it! All will be revealed on April 12.
THE FATE OF THE FURIOUS
Two gangs face off in a Boston warehouse
after an arms deal turns bad in the new thriller
from British director Ben Wheatley (Sightseers).
Already touted as a blood relative to Reservoir
Dogs, expect a big bodycount on April 27.
FREE FIRE
Dax Shepard and Michael Peña team up as
California Highway Patrol officers in this buddy cop
comedy based on the '70s TV series. Check out our
interview on page 14 and the movie on April 6.
CHIPS
Following the success of The LEGO Movie (with
Batman in a starring role), director Chris McKay
(Robot Chicken) obviously decided the caped
crusader deserved his very own block-buster.
The LEGO Batman Movie follows the Dark
Knight (voiced by Will Arnett) on a quest to find
his place in a world where being a superhero is
predominantly a solo endeavour. The film begins
with Batman being pitched against every villain
he has ever faced. The Joker (Zach Galifianakis),
Harley Quinn (Jenny Slate), Mr Freeze, Poison Ivy,
and even Clayface make appearances, as well
as some of the lesser known baddies from the
DC Universe. The Joker believes he is Batman’s
greatest nemesis, and is suitably offended when
Bruce Wayne disagrees, leading him to round up
some big bads to support his cause. If taking on
this much of a threat to Gotham sounds like a
lot to handle for old Bats, he does have a bit of
help. Of course, Alfred (Ralph Fiennes) is around
to lift logs and lend a hand, as is Batman’s newly-
adopted son, Dick Grayson (the adorable Michael
Cera), and the city’s new Police Commissioner
Barbara Gordon (Rosario Dawson). Batman must
come to terms with his responsibility to others
and discover that sometimes, it’s best not to do
everything alone. The LEGO Batman Movie is
a fun addition to the DC Universe, with plenty
of throwbacks to the old films and television
series, as well as fitting in a few digs at some of
the more recent entries to the DCCU. Bat-fans
will find plenty to laugh at, and the kids will love
the LEGO-fied animation style, not to mention
the addition of more catchy tunes in lieu of
Everything Is Awesome… Alesha Kolbe
Another brick in the DC wall.
THE LEGO BATMAN MOVIE
RELEASED: Now Showing DIRECTOR: Chris McKay CAST: Will Arnett, Zach Galifianakis, Jenny Slate RATING: PG
Every now and then a sci-fi film appears out of
nowhere to dazzle us with provocative concepts
and a fresh take on familiar genre tropes; movies
like Ex Machina and more recently, Arrival. Life is
not one of those movies – it's an Alien rip-off of the
kind Roger Corman and the Italians were making
back in the 1980s, albeit with a bigger budget and
a quality cast. Once again the threat to humankind
comes from the red planet. The International
Space Station retrieves a probe containing martian
soil samples, as well as a single-celled organism
which proceeds to grow at a frightening rate until
it resembles a translucent jellyfish-facehugger
thing 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, Ryan Reynolds and
Rebecca Ferguson – must find a way to stop this
seemingly indestructible life form from reaching
Earth, otherwise it's crew expendable. There's not
a lot going on here that we haven't seen before
in better sci-fi thrillers. Alien and Gravity are the
obvious touchstones, although Corman's Forbidden
World also comes to mind, sans the schlock value.
The characters are a bland lot and you won't be
too concerned about their ultimate fates. Jake
Gyllenhaal, who's done some great work lately
(Nightcrawler, Nocturnal Animals), looks like he's
wandered onto the wrong set and decided to
hang around and try on a spacesuit, while Ryan
Reynolds is, well, Ryan Reynolds. A creature
feature's flaws can usually be forgiven if it has
a cool monster, but Life's alien, while fast and
furious, is just your average tentacled monstrosity.
A B-movie with A-grade credentials, Life works
best as an appetiser for the forthcoming Alien:
Covenant, or if internet rumour is to be believed
(and when isn't it?), a prequel to Sony's Spider-
Man spin-off Venom. In fact, the latter isn't as out
there a prospect as it sounds. Scott Hocking
Invader from Mars.
LIFE
RELEASED: Now Showing DIRECTOR: Daniel Espinosa CAST: Jake Gyllenhaal, Ryan Reynolds RATING: MA15+
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20 APRIL 2017