STACK July 2016 Issue 141

’s the third in the Divergent movie series, and Jeanine’s

ign is over. But hostility is rising within Chicago, and

ur heroes Tris (Shailene Woodley) and Four (Theo James)

en’t finding it such a sweet home anymore, so they set

ff over the wall and into the unknown. However, they’re

uickly captured and taken to the Bureau, discovering

ore about those who are “divergent”, as well as learning

f failed genetic experiments deemed “damaged”. Due

, erm, “differences”, Tris and Four soon separate. Tris

allows the smooth verbal Kool-Aid of Bureau chief David

(Jeff Daniels), while Four soldiers it up, soon doubting David’s motives.

Featuring some impressive effects amongst its many messages, this first

half of the final novel (the finale,

Ascendant

, is due next year) will keep

franchise fans wondering. Well, unless they’ve read the book, natch.

What makes us different ties us together.

THE DIVERGENT SERIES: ALLEGIANT

Release Date:

27/07/16

Format:

is isn't a direct sequel to the 2008 found-footage

onster movie. Neither is it a captivity thriller, despite

ary Elizabeth Winstead being chained to a bed in an

derground bunker by John Goodman. Claiming to have

ved her from a mysterious “attack” that has rendered the

tside world uninhabitable, Goodman appears to be more

nefactor than captor, and visual evidence supports the

ssibility there’s something seriously wrong beyond the

nfines of their shelter. That's when this claustrophobic

riller begins to seriously mess with you. Is Goodman a

delusional psychopath and the real monster of this new visit to Cloverfield?

Or is there something worse waiting outside? That’s for you to discover. It’s

impossible to look away from this cleverly constructed and incredibly tense

little nail-biter, which conceals its central mystery until the final act.

Monsters come in many forms.

10 CLOVERFIELD LANE

Release Date:

07/07/16

Format:

ther than inevitable quirkiness, you can never be

ite sure what you’re going to get from a new Coen

others flick, and

Hail, Caesar!

sees them revisiting

arton Fink

territory. It isn’t a sequel, but it does orbit

ound the fictitious Capitol Pictures some 10 years

ter. Yes, it’s the 1950s, and the studio is sent into a

ilspin when their megastar Baird Whitlock (George

looney) disappears from the set of their new

oman epic. Luckily, however, they have a prototype

ay Donovan on their payroll in Eddie Mannix (Josh

Brolin). From columnists to Communists, he has a lot to “fix”. Throw

in a singing cowboy, a hyper-coloured Esther Williams homage, a

big-arse submarine and other off-kilter Coen imaginings, and

Hail,

Caesar!

confounds and captivates in equal measures.

Lights. Camera. Abduction.

HAIL, CAESAR!

Release Date:

14/07/16

Format:

hen high-tech surveillance uncovers an Al-Shabaab

errorist cell prepping suicide vests in a Nairobi

afe house, the opportunity to eliminate them with

missile strike must be taken. But a young girl

elling bread in the vicinity creates a moral dilemma

or supervising British Colonel Katherine Powell

(

a steely Helen Mirren) and US drone pilot Steve

atts (Aaron Paul) – can one civilian casualty be

ustified in order to prevent even greater loss of life?

Gavin Hood's topical and gripping thriller reveals the

political wrangling involved in sanctioning a drone strike (collateral

damage assessments and second guessing), and more pertinently,

the agonising decisions facing those who fight the war on terror by

remote control. Highly recommended.

Game of drones.

EYE IN THE SKY

Release Date:

20/07/16

Format:

visit

stack.net.au

DVD

REVIEWS

jbhifi.com.au

JULY

2016

DVD&BD