STACK NZ August 2016 Issue 76

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This series just keeps getting better and better, as
it continues to lay the foundations for what will
become Treasure Island. The third season is the best
yet, with Captain Flint (Toby Stephens) haunted by
the loss of Miranda, and John Silver (Luke Arnold)
struggling with the loss of a leg. Elsewhere on
Nassau, the British seize control of the island,
Eleanor Guthrie (Hannah New) awaits trial, a cache
of Spanish gold makes Jack (Toby Schmitz) a wanted
man, and the arrival of Blackbeard (Ray Stevenson)
further shakes things up. There's storms, seafaring, sharks, and
swashbuckling. The battle scenes are grand and cinematic, but it's
the interplay between the characters that puts the wind in Season
3's sails. Binge-watching awaits, me hearties! SH
Into the storm
BLACK SAILS: COMPLETE THIRD SEASON
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
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 and more ham –
wonderfully, frenetically so. AF
HARDCORE HENRY
Release Date:
03/08/16
Format:
Although it doesn't quite lend itself
to the rom-com formula the late
Garry Marshall established with
Valentine’s Day and New Year’s
Eve , the mix of pathos and laughs
will still go down a treat with fans
of his previous ensemble hits.
Regular collaborator Julia Roberts
is back as a TV Home Shopping
magnate, while the all-star cast
also includes Jennifer Aniston
as a divorcee competing with
her kids' hot young stepmom
(Shay Mitchell), Bree Robertson
as a mum-to-be with unresolved
feelings about the mother she
never knew, and Jason Sudeikis as
a widower struggling to come to
terms with the death of his army
wife (Jennifer Garner.) JF
Mother’s Day
Release Date:
10/08/16
Format:
Release Date: 11/08/16 Format:
Stephen King's massive 2011 novel of the same
name, about a time traveller's attempt to prevent the
assassination of President John F. Kennedy on the
titular date, has been turned into an eight-episode
mini-series produced by J.J. Abrams. Jake Epping
(James Franco) is the guy who goes down the
temporal rabbit hole and eventually finds himself in
Dallas, 1963, with the opportunity to change history.
Jake shadows Lee Harvey Oswald and falls in love
along the way to the fateful date, and of course there
are the inevitable paradoxes and future repercussions to consider
should his mission prove successful. The concept alone makes this
a must-see, and the series thankfully trims much of the novel's fat.
The combination of King and Abrams is the icing on the cake. SH
A King-sized time travel tale
11.22.63
When a group of masked
mavericks up the ante in terms
of gruesome online prank videos,
popular hidden camera TV series
'Scare Campaign' must also lift
its game if its going to compete
– and survive. Shooting in an
abandoned asylum, the show's
latest unsuspecting stooge is
about to get the fright of his life.
But what if he doesn't take it
well? This devilishly clever Aussie
chiller from the team behind 100
Bloody Acres is a masterclass
in misdirection that pranks and
scares its audience with the same
twisted relish, and gets the most
from its spooky location. Look
out, too, for Sigrid Thornton in an
amusing cameo. SH
scare campaign
Release Date:
11/08/16
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. AF
BASTILLE DAY
Release Date:
17/08/16
Format:
Release Date: 10/08/16 Format:
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24 AUGUST 2016
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