STACK April 2017 Issue 150

34 / 97

34 APRIL 2017
Try to cast your mind back to
when Harry Potter wasn’t a
household name. That may be
challenging for us, but back in the
mid-1920s it was simple, for the
bespectacled wiz kid wasn’t even
a glint in his parents’ eyes, as they
too didn’t exist. Anyway, attentive
HP fans will recognise the title
of J.K. Rowling’s screenwriting
debut, for it was a Hogwarts
textbook. Now we meet its author, Newt Scamander
(Eddie Redmayne). He’s a British magizoologist who’s
visiting New York on his way to Arizona. He spends
much more time in the Big Apple than intended,
however, when a shiny thing-obsessed Niffler – a sort of
echidna/duck remix – escapes his clutches. But bigger
things are afoot as a darkness tears up the town. With
disgraced auror Tina Goldstein (Katherine Waterston), her
Legilimens (at the risk of upsetting Snape, that’s mind-
reading) sister Queenie and No-Maj (that’s American for
‘Muggle’) wannabe baker Jacob Kowalski (Dan Fogler)
in tow, Newt becomes embroiled in a gathering storm
between the magical and non-magical worlds... and
baked goods! Potterphiles will love this wild, fantastical
adventure, as will anybody else in possession of a vivid
imagination and lust for escapism. AF (See page 24)
An English wizard in New York.
FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM
Expanding five lines from A New
Hope’s crawl into a spin-off feature
(and you thought The Hobbit Trilogy
was ambitious), Rogue One tells
a Star Wars story we sort of know
already – the theft of the Death
Star plans by the Rebel Alliance. It
all hinges on info imparted by the
Imperial battle station’s designer,
Galen Erso (Mads Mikkelsen),
whose daughter Jyn (Felicity Jones)
discovers her father has built an inherent weakness into
the Death Star which the Rebels can exploit. Leading
a mission to the planet Scarif, where the Empire’s
archives are kept, Jyn and the Rebels face opposition
from the Death Star’s head of security, Orson Krennic
(Ben Mendelsohn), who answers to a certain Imperial
Governor we’ve met before... Closer in tone to WWII
films like The Guns of Navarone than A New Hope,
Rogue One is undeniably grim for a Star Wars film –
even more so than The Empire Strikes Back. Director
Gareth Edwards ensures the look matches the 1977
original and shoots the relentless battle scenes – AT-AT
ground assaults and TIE fighter/X-wing dogfights – with
the undisguised glee of a fanboy in his dream job. The
Force Awakens was a worthy Star Wars sequel, and
Rogue One is the first worthy prequel. SH (See page 26)
Rebellions are built on hope.
ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY
DVD & BD
Characters: The Magizoologist
Meet the Fantastic Beasts
BD ONLY
Before Harry Potter: A New Era
of Magic Begins!
Meet the Creatures Featurettes
- Bowtruckle
- Demiguise
- Erumpent
- Niffler
- Occamy
- Thunderbird
Design Featurettes
- Shaping the World of
Fantastic Beasts
- New York City
- Newt’s Magical Case
- The Shaw Banquet
- The Blind Pig
JB HI-FI EXCLUSIVE
Limited Edition Steelbook
Harry Potter and the
Philosopher’s Stone
EXTRAS
FURTHER VIEWING
Release Date: OUT NOW
Format:
Star Wars: A New Hope
EXTRAS
FURTHER VIEWING
Release Date: 05/04/17
TOP
HITS
TOP
HITS
BD ONLY
A Rogue Idea
Jyn: The Rebel
Cassian: The Spy
Baze & Chirrut: Guardians of
the Whills
Bodhi & Saw: The Pilot & The
Revolutionary
The Empire
Visions of Hope: The Look of
Rogue One
The Princess & The Governor
Epilogue: The Story Continues
JB HI-FI EXCLUSIVE
Limited Edition Steelbook with
Bonus DVD containing extra
material:
- Inside the Creature Shop
- Digital Storytelling
Format:
visit DVD&BD REVIEWS
Get the
STACK
Magazine
app
for more
digital
content
Get the
STACK
Magazine
app
for more
digital
content