STACK Jul #129

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052 JULY 2015 JB Hi-Fi
he latest from the great Paul Thomas Anderson is
ne of those gonzo movies like Fear and Loathing in
as Vegas whose success or failure depends on the
tate of mind you're in when you watch it. Joaquin
hoenix is perfectly cast as perpetually stoned private
nvestigator Doc Sportello, who navigates the dope
aze of 1970s California in the search for a missing
x-girlfriend. Anderson's neo-noir epic is more a series
f interconnected events and encounters with oddball
characters – including a scene-stealing Josh Brolin and
Martin Short – than a coherent narrative (he's never been one for linear
plotting), and ultimately the viewer has about as much idea of what's
going on as Phoenix's dazed and confused Doc. Inherent Vice won't be
to all tastes, but Anderson fans will need no prompting to check it out.
What's up, Doc?
INHERENT VICE
Release Date: 22/07/15 Format:
Big Eyes is one of the few Tim Burton films that doesn't
star Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter (yes, really!).
Moreover, there are no magical worlds being explored in
this biopic of American artist Margaret Keane (played by
the always fantastic Amy Adams), who achieved fame
during the 1950s and '60s for her creepy paintings of big-
eyed kids (which are certainly Burtonesque). But it was
her unscrupulous husband Walter (Christoph Waltz) who
took all the credit, passing off her artworks as his own and
making a fortune through their mass production. The film
also follows their subsequent divorce and legal proceedings, and it's not
hard to see why Burton was attracted to the story; the Keanes are the kind
of big-dreaming eccentrics he's always loved, and Adams and Waltz deliver
performances to match.
Tim Burton's back, but where's Johnny?
BIG EYES
Release Date: 22/07/15 Format:
ot Teen Time Machine best describes this Michael Bay-
roduced found-footage film (that doesn't really need to
e a found-footage film) in which physics student David
Jonny Weston) discovers his dad's blueprint for a time
achine in the basement. Building the contraption out of
cannibalised gaming console, car batteries, a hydrogen
not Plutonium) power source and a smartphone to dial
p time and date, David and his mates embark on an
xcellent adventure to the Lollapalooza music festival,
et better grades, win the lottery, and David gets the girl
(Sofia Black-D'Elia). But with time travel comes paradoxes, and Project
Almanac ultimately echoes The Butterfly Effect, with David learning the
hard way that the more you try and change things back to the way they
were, the more screwed up they become.
An excellent adventure.
PROJECT ALMANAC
Release Date: 08/07/15 Format:
llowing a one night stand, 19-year-old Jay (Maika Monroe)
left with something worse than an STI; her date has
ssed on a curse in the form of a malevolent, shapeshifting
tity which relentlessly shadows her with homicidal intent.
a neat riff on the body-snatching theme, 'it' can look like
yone, and the only way to get rid of it is to pass it on to
ur next sexual partner. It Follows transforms adolescent
ars into a new kind of boogeyman, favouring a palpable
d sustained sense of dread over cheap scares and gore.
's a brilliant idea that's creepy as hell, and horror fans
will recognise a number of nods to John Carpenter's classic Halloween .
While Hollywood is content to churn out endless remakes and forgettable
found-footage horror films, indie gems like It Follows offer something new,
exciting, and most importantly, scary. Highly recommended.
Unsafe sex.
IT FOLLOWS
Release Date: 15/07/15 Format:
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