STACK February 2016 Issue 136

44 / 89

Instead of playing it safe and crafting a respectful by-the-
book biopic, director Robert Zemeckis has instead
reimagined high wire artist Phillipe Petit’s amazing Twin
Towers walk of 1974 – the subject of 2008 documentary
feature Man on Wire – as a playful fable. There’s an almost
fairytale feel to the first half of the movie, which briskly
covers Petit’s early career and fascination with the towers,
while the final half has more in common with heist capers
like Ocean's Eleven, as he and his team plot the artistic
coup of the century. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is superb as
Petit, perfectly capturing both his audacious sense of adventure and his
occasionally annoying cockiness. The fact that we know he actually did it
prevents the film from feeling far fetched, and the recreation of the walk
itself is truly breathtaking, especially in the 3D version.
Every dream begins with a single step.
THE WALK
Release Date: 18/02/16 Format:
Much has been made of how this intense gangster
epic heralds a major return to form for Johnny Depp
– and make no mistake, he’s back to his very best
here as notorious Boston mob boss James ‘Whitey’
Bulger, who is allowed to build a criminal empire
while acting as an informant for the FBI. However,
this is very much an ensemble effort: Joel Edgerton
almost steals the film as compromised FBI agent
John Connolly, slowly sliding into a pit of corruption,
while there are terrific supporting turns from an A-list
supporting cast that includes Benedict Cumberbatch, Kevin Bacon,
Dakota Johnson and Peter Sarsgaard. Suffused in the slate grey
tones of the great crime movies of the ’70, Scott Cooper’s muscular
direction completes a perfect package.
Gangster No.1.
BLACK MASS
Release Date: 17/02/16 Format:
Tom Hardy does an Oscar-worthy double take
as both Ronnie and Reggie Kray – the notorious
mobsters who ruled London's East End during
the '60s. The Kray twins were two halves of the
same brain – Reggie the sharp, energetic and
charismatic street fighter with a movie star aura
alongside Ronnie, the introverted psychopath akin
to Frankenstein’s monster. Reggie's wife Frances
(Emily Browning) provides further insight into the
psyche of these bad boys via voice-over narration.
Written and directed by Brian Helgeland (L.A. Confidential ), Legend
is a captivating experience; a character-driven crime drama that
showcases Hardy’s incomparable talent as an actor. It's also one of
the most entertaining and exciting gangster romps in years.
The Hardy boys.
LEGEND
Release Date: 11/02/16 Format:
A group of idealistic student activists travel to the Amazon
rainforest where they are dismembered and eaten by the
tribe they've come to save from deforestation. That's just
one of the cruel jokes on offer in Eli Roth's grisly homage
to the Italian cannibal movie cycle of the 1970s. Another
is what happens when the natives are fed a bag of dope
in an attempt to sedate them – the munchies! Roth
knows and loves this sub-genre and The Green Inferno is
certainly a well intentioned tribute, but it's also a missed
opportunity in that it's far too slick and goofy to pack the
same kind of visceral punch as the grungy films that inspired it – namely
Cannibal Holocaust and Cannibal Ferox. However, those who haven't
seen these cult shockers will find it confronting, while gorehounds will
appreciate the gruesome set pieces and makeup effects.
Welcome to the jungle.
THE GREEN INFERNO
Release Date: 03/02/16 Format:
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