STACK Issue 151 May 2017

40 / 92

With the likes of Raging Bull, Southpaw , The Fighter
and myriad Rocky outings, it’s fair to say that the
underdog boxer tale space is well and truly chockers.
They all need to huddle up a bit closer now though,
for this hard-hitting tale of triumph over adversity,
starring Miles Teller, Aaron Eckhart and Katey Sagal,
deserves its time in the ring. It’s the story of Vinny
Pazienza (Teller). He may not be a household name
like many of his contemporaries, but he did make
world champion – although only through sheer
determination, after his manager wanted him to retire. An upcoming
match against Roberto Durán has Vinny hungry like the wolf (sorry),
but fate has other plans. Will Vinny get back up off the canvas, or
will he be floored for good? AF (See page 30)
The greatest comeback in sporting history.
BLEED FOR THIS
The titular British seaside
community is shaken by another
shocking crime in the third and
final season of this gripping
police procedural. Investigating
the sexual assault of a local
woman at a 50th birthday party,
DI Alec Hardy (David Tennant) and
DS Ellie Miller (Olivia Colman)
uncover sordid secrets and
hidden agendas as the list of male
suspects grows. After a lacklustre
second season, Broadchurch
returns to form with a cracking
central mystery that will keep you
guessing to the final episode. And
once again, Colman and Tennant's
detective double act is the
highlight – the latter hasn't been
this irascible since berating the
Daleks! Highly recommended. SH
BROADCHURCH:
SERIES 3
Release Date:
17/05/17
Format:
Shall we play a game...? Since
the roaring success of Game
of Thrones it isn’t surprising to
find other tales of hairy folk with
pointy weapons and pointier
politics hitting our screens.
Bernard Cornwell’s ninth century-
set The Saxon Stories novels
– now renamed to match the TV
series’ title – are no exception,
and the first series of eight
episodes was impressive. This
time we get 10 eps, continuing
the story of Saxon orphan and
fearless warrior Uhtred (Alexander
Dreymon), who was raised by
Vikings. As the war between his
blood and those who took him in
rages, his loyalties are naturally
torn. As is anybody who gets in
his vengeful way... AF
THE LAST KINGDOM:
SEASON 2
Release Date:
10/05/17
Format:
Release Date: 03/05/17 Format:
The fourth and final season of Starz's superb
swashbuckling series wraps up in an action-packed
10-episodes that bring the conflict between the
pirates and the British to all-out war. The scope is epic,
the battles bloody, and the conclusion immensely
satisfying. Shiver me timbers! As Captain Flint (Toby
Stephens) and Blackbeard (Ray Stevenson) attempt to
wrest control of Nassau fromWoodes Rogers (Luke
Roberts), newly appointed pirate king 'Long' John
Silver (Luke Arnold) sails towards a date with destiny
(and learns to fight on one leg) as the iconic buccaneer of Robert
Louis Stevenson's classic tale Treasure Island. A masterful blend of
fact and fiction, love and loss, Black Sails takes its place alongside
Vikings as must-see historical drama. AC (See page 28)
A legend will be born.
BLACK Sails: SEASON 4
Playing to type in canny fashion,
Robert Carlyle's directorial debut
shares a blackly offbeat theme with
Trainspotting, which features one of
the actor's best known characters
in the wiry, ever menacing Begbie.
The contrast here is Carlyle's
character starts out as the titular
mild-mannered barber, but when
he accidentally kills his boss,
events rapidly escalate, and soon
the threat of violence hangs
over everything like the setting's
Glasgow damp. To cover his tracks,
Barney Thomson turns to the most
logical person – his mother (a
grotesque and very funny Emma
Thompson), and the pair find
themselves matching wits against
the veteran city detective played by
no less than Ray Winstone! AC
THE LEGEND OF
BARNEY THOMSON
Release Date:
03/05/17
Format:
Release Date: 24/05/17
Renowned action director Roger
Spottiswoode winds things down
several notches from 007 and
Air America, taking to London’s
streets for this family dramedy
based on the best-selling true
story. Given a last chance to get
his life on the rails, homeless
recovering druggie James
(Luke Treadaway) ekes out an
existence busking. However,
it’s a burglar in the shape of a
cat, subsequently named Bob
(Bob), that really helps James
take command of his life. The
two become inseparable, and a
smash hit both busking and on
YouTube... Any other flick hoping
to be the feel-good tale of the
year will really be pushing kit up
hill to beat this. AF
A STREET CAT
NAMED BOB
Release Date:
10/05/17
Format:
Format:
40 MAY 2017
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