STACK Magazine November Issue 121

DVD&BD

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www.stack.net.au

ED’S DESK

very few years or so you see a movie and know

that you’ve just witnessed the next evolution in

visual effects –

The Abyss

Jurassic Park

LOTR,

etc.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

continues the

progression, with advancements in motion capture

technology and CGI. The movie’s simian stars are fully

fledged characters, not special effects, and if you look

closely at the superbly rendered Caesar, you can see a

semblance of mo-cap performer Andy Serkis looking

back at you through the individual strands of fur. Weta

Digital have truly outdone themselves here, and so has

director Matt Reeves, melding cutting edge technology

with emotional resonance and a cracking good story to

deliver the best of this summer’s blockbusters.

Similarly – and at the same time conversely – we also

have

Transformers: Age of Extinction

, a movie that’s

all about the special effects. I’ve never liked these

films, but for some reason the fanboy inside me can

never resist some mega-budget robot biffo and grand

scale destruction (and like drinking too much, I always

seem to regret it afterwards). To his credit, Michael Bay

always apologises for the last installment and promises

that the next will be better. And while this fourth bit of

Bayhem offers more of the same (albeit longer), at least

there’s no Shia LaBeouf this time around.

With the holiday season rapidly approaching, now’s

the time to stock up on your favourite TV series box

sets so you’re ready to balance binge eating with binge

viewing over the festive season. There’s plenty out this

month including the final seasons of

True Blood

and

Mad Men

(the first half, at least), the second series of

the terrific

Vikings,

and newcomers

Fargo

and

Black

Sails

. It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

If you haven’t heard about this brilliant and ingenious sci-fi thriller from

South Korean director Bong Joon-ho (

The Host

) and producer Park Chan-

wook (

Oldboy

), that’s not surprising. Inexplicably given a very limited

release both here and in the US,

Snowpiercer

can at last reach the wider

audience it deserves when it arrives on DVD and Blu-ray on 26 November.

The premise is a belter: a disastrous attempt to reverse the effects of

climate change results in an apocalyptic ice age, with the human survivors

of this big freeze safely aboard a perpetual train that circles the globe.

The haves live a life of luxury at the front of the train, while the have-nots

congregate in the overcrowded rear carriage. But revolution is afoot, with

those at the rear fighting their way through the train to take the engine.

Based on the French graphic novel

Le Transperceneige

and featuring an

international cast including Chris Evans, John Hurt, Song Kang-ho, Jamie

Bell, and Tilda Swinton as the train’s Thatcher-esque authority figure,

Snowpiercer

works both as a commentary on class struggle and a ripping

post-apocalyptic sci-fi yarn. This is one train you don’t want to miss.

ON MY

TO-WATCH

STACK

So much to view, so little time

...

These Final Hours

A speculative Aussie

apocalypse thriller that

makes us consider

how we’d spend our

last moments on Earth.

Probably not at a rave.

Deliver Us

from Evil

I’m always up for a

bit of blood-curdling

exorcism, especially

when it’s mixed with a

police procedural.

Sin City: A

Dame to Kill For