STACK #152 Jun 2017

YOUR ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO CINEMA, DVDs, GAMES & MUSIC

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ISSUE 152 Jun ’17

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Contributors

Founder Nic Short Editor-in-Chief Paul Jones Film & DVD Editor Scott Hocking

Music Editor Zoë Radas StaffWriter Alesha Kolbe Creative Directors Justin Buxton, Michelle Black DVD Consultant Kerrie Taylor Games Consultant Andre Eivik Music Consultants Mike Glynn, Fleur Parker Chief Contributors Bob Jones , Gill Pringle Contributors Savannah Douglas, Graham Reid, Amy Flower, John Ferguson, Michael Dwyer, Jeff Jenkins, Simon Lukic, Chris Murray, Billy Pinnell, Denise Hylands, Simon Winkler, Adam Colby, Tim Lambert, Jake Cleland, Holly Pereira Social Media Manager Sally Carlier-Hull Production Manager Craig Patterson Accounts Coordinator Tracy Kingman

Issue 152 JUNE 2017

WELCOME Where do you stand on superhero movies? It’s a divisive genre, characterised by massive budgets and a predilection for world-building over storytelling. A seemingly inexhaustible conveyor belt of releases has become a dominant commercial force over the last ten years. The rise of Marvel Studios – the perfect foil to Disney’s other powerhouse franchise, Star Wars – has an enviable output, and while DC hasn’t enjoyed the same level of success as yet, comic book movies remain a massive business. But not everyone shares an unbridled enthusiasm for the genre. In a 2014 interview, Birdman director Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu scornfully called superhero flicks “cultural suicide” and he’s not alone in declaring his disdain. Ridley Scott, John McTiernan, William Friedkin and David Cronenberg have all voiced ardent disapproval for these cinematic comic creations. But are film lovers also starting to experience superhero fatigue? Although box office might indicate otherwise, market saturation and audience familiarity has required a fundamental shift in the genre, which began with last year’s subversive Deadpool and is further refined in this month’s equally atypical Logan . Director James Mangold’s vision of the superhero movie as a gritty western noir is the first compelling comic book movie for adults, bereft of the hyperbole, overt fan service, clichés and CGI overload that has become a staple. The gauntlet has been thrown down for other filmmakers brave enough to take a creative risk and re-forge the template into something new and unexpected. Paul Jones, Editor-in-Chief

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Issue 152

JUNE 2017

Extras Pages 8, 10, 22, 23, 42

Cinema Pages 12–20

DVD & BD Pages 24–41

Music (From back) Pages 1–23

Games Pages 43-60

3-12 NEWS + INTERVIEWS We spoke to alt-J, London Grammar, Bernard Fanning, Marika Hackman, Grinspoon and Husky, plus we look at the fresh work of Lorde and Benjamin Booker. 13 KATY PERRY From her Pentecostal beginnings to the release of her fifth album Witness this month, we take a trek through the rise and rise of Katy Perry. 16 VINYL REVIVAL With Twin Peaks fever burning high, Michael Dwyer looks at the newly reissued soundtracks for David Lynch’s seminal television series and its follow-up film. 18-22 REVIEWS Alt-J take our Album of the Month crown, but we also have feelings about Roger Waters, Bernard Fanning, DragonForce, Cable Ties, The Charlatans, Rancid, Hazel English, Justin Townes Earle, Big Thief, Fleet Foxes, Leah Senior, Helen Shanahan, Jim Lawrie, Apes, Sufjan Stevens & co., and many more.

08 NEWS There’s lots of hype for Wonder Woman , and former Miss Israel Gal Gadot is taking all the pressure in her stride. Speaking of hype, we also take a look at what’s hot at Oz Comic-Con. 22-23 BOB J. A new golden age of Hollywood dawns. 1968 is one of the most divisive twelve months in American history. Marked by assassination, anarchy, and alienation, the nation’s youth counterculture find a common bond through the movies. 42 GIVEAWAYS WIN Oz Comic-Con tix, a Corsair’s Glaive, Logan, T2: Trainspotting , a Farpoint VR bundle and more!

12 THE MUMMY STACK caught up with Sofia Boutella, the badass star of this Universal horror remake. The scene-stealer of Star Trek: Beyond and Kingsman: The Secret Service has come a long way since cutting her teeth touring with Madonna. 14 DESPICABLE ME 3 As a child, Kristen Wiig couldn’t grow up quick enough. Now, as she tells STACK , she’s revisiting a lost childhood through this much- loved family franchise. 16 CHURCHILL Australian director Jonathan Teplitzy set out to get under the skin of the iconic British PM, revealing more than just what he achieved in battle. 18-20 REVIEWS Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, Baywatch, Alien Covenant, Churchill, King Arthur: Legend of the Sword

24-25 LOGAN What a way to go! After 17 years and eight films, the end of the line for Wolverine is as epic and unforgettable as we could hope for. But beware. Set 50 years into the future, this final showdown is not for the young - or the faint-hearted. 26 T2: TRAINSPOTTING 20 years later and the gang’s back where they started. In this enlightening interview, screenwriter John Hodge claims they are tourists in their own youth – and so is he. 28 HIDDEN FIGURES The unsung awesomeness of three African-American women in the US space program during the 1960s – one giant leap for female empowerment and recognition, according to director Theodore Melfi. 34 HOCK’S CULT CORNER Just who are these indie filmmakers entrusted with the biggest Hollywood blockbusters? 36-41 REVIEWS Logan, T2 Trainspotting, Beauty and the Beast, The LEGO Batman Movie, Hidden Figures, The Great Wall, Power Rangers, Doctor Who: S10 Pt 1, Preacher: S1, Daredevil: S2 and more

48-49 ELDER SCROLLS ONLINE This month, Elder Scrolls Online is getting a huge expansion – we’re going back to Morrowind! 52 NEW NINTENDO 2DS XL Nintendo are about to launch the New Nintendo 2DS XL, and we Aussies get it first in the world. 53 ARMS Are you ready to take up arms against your mates in this Nintendo Switch exclusive brawler? 54 FINAL FANTASY STORMBLOOD Final Fantasy XIV is getting another significant expansion following the release of Heavensward – Stormblood . 56 corsair Corsair have just launched their new gaming mouse, the Glaive, and it’s pretty handy. 58 esports round-up We check in with the Junglist for the latest in esports, and review Logitech’s Pro Keyboard. 60 previews Elder Scrolls Online: Morrowind,

Tekken 7, ARMS, Crash Bandicoot N-Sane Trilogy

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Manners may maketh the man, but where do the women fit in? STACK asked the stars and director of WonderWoman ahead of the film's release this month. Words Gill Pringle

I f superhero movies aren’t exactly known for their subtlety, then actress Gal Gadot felt in good hands when Patty Jenkins, who directed Charlize Theron to an Oscar in Monster , was announced to helm Wonder Woman . As Gadot debuted her Diana Prince/Wonder Woman in last year’s Batman v Superman under the direction of Zack Snyder, Jenkins was already in talks to take the character to the next level in her own standalone film. “After Patty directed Monster , she always envisioned herself directing Wonder Woman , and when Charlize won the Oscar, the studios all came to her asking what she wanted to do next. She told Warner Bros. that she wanted to direct the next Wonder Woman,” says former Miss Israel, Gadot, 32, when STACK meets up with the 5’ 10” stunner in Los Angeles. “Little did she know that several years later, she would. But Patty is so talented, she had a super clear vision on Diana Prince and her story, and how she wants to tell it. “After spending so many hours and weeks with her, I couldn’t ask for a better director to work with on this. We became super close and had so many funny moments, as well as many deep moments when we were on set, just talking about life and having philosophical conversations.” Jenkins’ Wonder Woman introduces a carefree Diana, Princess of the Amazons, living on an idyllic island of women. She will only become Wonder Woman after Chris Pine’s US spy, Steve Trevor, crashes near her island and she learns of the horrors of World War I raging in Europe.

Gal Gadot and Connie Nielsen

I think that Wonder Woman's story is very universal... and works for both genders

character, than many times when you’re positing an idea to a director who is not aware

Wonder Woman as she stops to rescue women and children from the Germans in a hotly-anticipated scene,

of any of those things. So it does make a big difference to me.” As for the man in this world of women, Chris Pine insists he’s gender neutral. “I mean, she’s a human being, she’s great, she kicks ass, she’s a great director; she just happens to be a woman,” he grins. It’s Pine’s onerous task to introduce Diana to the world of men and war. “Steve is a grave realist in terms of the depths of violence, and the chaos of war. And then he meets Diana, who’s new to the world of men, and has these high hopes about what humankind can achieve and do, and I guess the trajectory for us is that I learn a lot about hope and the positive potential of mankind, and she learns what it’s like to live in the real world, which is not all rosy and fantastical; it’s complicated. That’s the conflict between us two.” Studio bosses are counting on Gadot’s Wonder Woman to be a box office knockout, having already completed Justice League – due for release later this year and also featuring Gadot, as well as Jason Momoa’s debut as Aquaman.

that has already been compared to the iconic moment when Superman first rips off his office shirt to reveal his signature ‘S’ costume beneath. With so much pressure resting on Gadot’s shoulders, she tries not to let it get to her. “It’s all just noise and I don’t even think about that. Movies are stories, and I think that Wonder Woman’s story is very universal and beautiful, and works for both genders, so I think people will all be able to relate. I try not to exhaust myself overthinking about it, and just enjoy the ride.” STACK is joined by Gadot’s co-star Connie Nielsen, who plays Queen Hippolyta, who says making Wonder Woman was a groundbreaking experience for her. “ For a woman to work with a female director – first of all, it’s rare for us, so there’s already this. And it does make me feel like, when I’m making creative decisions or I have ideas about the character, there is much more likelihood that the director will recognise those feelings or ideas as pertinent to the

Pledging to escort Trevor to England, she meets her destiny and finally becomes

Wonder Woman is in cinemas June 1

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T he mother of all pop culture conventions will be filling the San Diego Convention Centre from July 20–23, and STACK will be right in the thick of it to bring you all the breaking news, trailers and announcements as it happens. Yes, it's four frantic days of press conferences, panels, interviews, cosplayers, very little sleep, and lots of energy drinks and awful American coffee. But we wouldn't have it any other way. As always, the schedule and panels are kept under wraps until the very last minute, but should include presentations from the big guns like Marvel Studios, DC and Warner Bros., DreamWorks and Sony, as well asTV regulars TheWalking Dead , Vikings , Supernatural and Game ofThrones . The GoT panel is perfectly timed, with the seventh season kicking off on HBO a few days prior to Comic- Con, and with The DarkTower moved back to August, hopefully Idris and McConaughey will be in attendance. And then there's StarWars:The Last Jedi – if ever there was a time and place to unveil the first full trailer, it's at SDCC. May the Force be with us.

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I t’s the middle of the year, and Summer in America, which means one thing – convention season is here. Oz Comic-Con is Australia’s answer to the US behemoth that is San Diego Comic- Con (see right), and it’s just heating up as Melbourne is set to play host to some huge stars on July 1–2. If you’re heading to the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, don’t be surprised if you run into iZombie ’s Rahul Kohli, or even Audrey Horne herself, AKA Sherliyn Fenn, from Twin Peaks ! Ice hockey more your style? Then keep an eye out for Mighty Ducks and Daredevil regular Elden Henson. Vampire Diaries ’ favourite Daniel Gillies and TV pirate Zach Macgowran ( Black Sails ) are also on the ever-growing guest list. Of course, Supanova Comic-Con &

Gaming is also taking the country by storm, with the Sydney event taking over The Dome, Sydney Showground, on June 16- 18, before heading west to Perth on June 23-25. Then it's Brisbane and Adelaide's turn in November. Supa-star celebrities announced for Sydney and Perth include Christopher Lloyd ( Back to the Future ), voice actor Jennifer Hale ( Mass Effect ) and Julie Benz ( Buffy the Vampire Slayer ). Pop culture conventions are always a great way to connect with like-minded fans, whether it be scouring the exhibit halls for some exclusive loot, snapping a pic with your favourite celebrity guest, or simply soaking up the atmosphere with a nice Korean twisted potato covered in chicken salt. Start saving (and making room on your shelves) now – adventure is out there.

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As Princess Ahmanet, Sofia Boutella brings feminine power to a classic monster in The Mummy . Words Gill Pringle

I f audiences weren’t already familiar with French-Algerian dancer Sofia Boutella from her dynamic physical performances in Star Trek Beyond and Kingsman: The Secret Service , then there’s no excuse today. As well as starring in the title role of The Mummy , opposite Russell Crowe and Tom Cruise, she lends her street-smart style to Atomic Blonde’ s Delphine, an ingenue double agent. Her Atomic Blonde co-star Charlize Theron is certainly smitten with Boutella, even holding hands at this year’s annual CinemaCon event in Las Vegas – and after meeting with Boutella, 35, on the backlot of Universal Studios in Hollywood last month, STACK confesses to a bit of a girl crush too. Boutella, of course, learned all her moves touring the world with Madonna and Rihanna also featuring in videos for Take That, Chris Brown, Ne-Yo and Usher as well as for Madge. Just five years old when she began training in ballet, five years later she moved with her family to Paris where she began rhythmic gymnastics and joined the French national team, aged 18. Boutella is nobody’s fool and

just finished making Star Trek which involved so much make-up,” says the actress, who portrayed Jaylah in Star Trek Beyond . But director Alex Kurtzman sold her on delving into the psychology of the role first made famous by Boris Karloff, although now completely transformed by Boutella’s Princess Ahmanet. She didn’t complain when it turned out that The Mummy took even more time in the make-up chair than Jaylah. “It took 24 screen tests to find the character in every single aspect of the movie, because the tattoos evolve from when we first meet her in Ancient Egypt to her regeneration and then her final form. The longest make-up days took six hours in the chair.”

women were full of this pride, which is what motivates my character. When she was young, her father promised her that she’d become pharaoh but she was deceived. All she knows is honour and respect – even if that means killing her father who is in the way. “I did a lot of research about royalty at the time and how someone who commands respect doesn’t raise their voice beyond a certain level. It took a while but the character came to me. You can’t force it. You’ve just got to get into the right headspace and then one day you wake up and think, ‘Whoa, there’s something happening’. I love feeling that shift.“ The difference was

significant. “Once I found my power, Tom [Cruise] told me, ‘You command the room’.” Interestingly, Boutella had no interest in taking The Mummy role when it was first offered. “I turned it down because I had

In Ancient Egypt, women were full of pride, which is what motivates my character

Although she has just one scene with Crowe, she remains enamored of Australia’s finest. “I was frustrated because we

didn’t even exchange any dialogue in our one scene but, even so, he was around and we still stay in touch. He’s such a normal cool dude and I love that about him. I remember the first time he was on set, I whispered to the director, ‘Can I stick around?’ because I was dying to see Russell act. His voice transports me. I could listen to him read the phone book.

relishes in her feminine power, her Mummy bringing Cruise and Crowe to their knees. “Women are emotional beings and I think that whenever you really wound a woman, you attack her pride and the reaction can be worse than what a man would do,” she muses. “In Ancient Egypt especially,

The Mummy is in cinemas on June 8

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KristenWiig is living vicariously through her Despicable Me 3 character, Lucy. DESPICABLE SHE?

Words Gill Pringle

A s a child, Kristen Wiig couldn’t grow up quick enough. Shunning traditional children's’ TV programming for more adult fare, she recalls today, “I am a sitcom child because there weren’t many so-called kid movies I really enjoyed, except for films like Escape fromWitch Mountain, where the kids were allowed to be adults. That and E.T, of course. “When you’re a kid and you see those first comedies like Cannonball Run, or stuff you shouldn’t really be watching, it's just so edgy and surprising. I got into those kind of comedies pretty early on.” Perhaps making up for a missing chapter in her youth, today Wiig has become the go-to voice for the huge family franchises How to Train Your Dragon and Despicable Me . When STACK meets with her at Universal Studios in Hollywood – home to Chris Meledandri’s Illumination Entertainment group responsible for the billion dollar Minion madness – she expresses unabashed joy at reclaiming a lost childhood through the Despicable Me movies, currently reprising her voice role as Lucy Wilde. “Lucy is a very exaggerated version of me in the sense that I have to find broader and bigger ways to do things or say things, like what sound would she make when she does a karate chop?” At the conclusion of Despicable Me 2 , Wiig’s Lucy went off into the sunset and married Steve Carell’s Gru , today exploring married life in DM3 with the surprise arrival of Gru’s long-lost twin. “There’s a lot of unhappiness in the world right now, so I feel like it’s great to have movies be unpredictable, and sometimes it’s nice to have people drive off into the sunset. I think these movies are really funny and it’s good to be a part of something that you really actually watch and enjoy – and being with Steve, it’s just the greatest job.”

KristenWiig with STACK' s Gill Pringle

Wiig will next be seen in Darren Aronofsky’s horror movie Mother! with Jennifer Lawrence, and in Alexander Payne’s dramedy Downsizing with Matt Damon. While working on a new

Wiig was one of the most popular characters during her time at Saturday Night Live ; a long-time nursery for US comedy talent where John Belushi, Steve Martin, Bill Murray, Will Ferrell, Tina Fey, Jimmy Fallon and Adam Sandler all had their first breaks.

Lucy is a very exaggerated version of me...

feature script with Bridesmaids partner Annie Mumolo, she plans to co-star with Jack Nicholson in a remake of Germany’s 2016 festival darling, Toni Erdmann . “I just fell in love with that film. I loved that it wasn’t trying to be a movie we have seen before – and also the fact that there’s no music either. It didn’t need it because it’s just a beautiful story and the acting was incredible. It reminded me of how much I loved the storytelling of film rather than it being a business.”

US audiences have recently been riveted by Alec Baldwin’s Donald Trump and Melissa McCarthy’s Sean Spicer, so when STACK asks Wiig if she’d like to return to play any one member of the Trump dictatorship, she laughs, “Oh god, I did hear something where they were putting old SNL cast members with people, and they had me as Jared Kushner, which I thought was kind of funny.” One of SNL’s rare talents who can drop the comedy to turn in fine dramatic performances,

Despicable Me 3 is in cinemas June 15

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the extraordinary talent and experience that went into crafting that performance in a very multi-layered way. It’s a great role that’s been waiting for Brian.” As well as revealing Churchill’s personal struggle with angst and depression, the film highlights his guilt over the Gallipoli landings – an element the director was keen to explore further. “The film focuses primarily on Gallipoli and a number of beach landings he was involved with – Dunkirk being another one – where there was a massive loss of life. And his sense of that and his guilt of that, of being responsible for it, I think haunted him through his later years. In many ways, the film’s energy comes from him not wanting to repeat that mistake. “It was the conscience on Churchill’s

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Australian director Jonathan Teplitzky’sWorldWar II drama offers an intensely personal insight into Britain’s iconic prime minister,Winston Churchill. Words Scott Hocking

shoulder,” he continues. “The consequences and his guilt, his uncertainty and vulnerability that stemmed from what happened in Gallipoli, and his role in it. Never wanting to be responsible for that level of loss again. “I’ve always looked at Churchill as the iconic figure he became, but also as somebody who’s indelibly connected to the failure at Gallipoli, particularly on a human level. It was an interesting film to make, for me as an Australian.” Winston Churchill is enjoying something of a renaissance on screen of late, with Joe Wright’s biopic The Darkest Hour – starring Gary Oldman as Churchill – to follow later in the year. Teplitzky sees this as both a coincidence and a reflection of the times we’re living in. “When you live in times of uncertainty, people want to feel secure and they want to be led well,” he offers, “so there’s a great propensity to look back to the great leaders of the past – often with rose-tinted glasses because you remember the great achievements of strong leadership. Churchill falls into the role very easily, but the danger of that is, if you’re going to look back and you’re going to remember him as a great leader, you also have to look at the failings and the vulnerability. And ultimately all the components that made the man who was Winston Churchill.”

A n intimate character study, Churchill observes its larger than life subject during a period of crisis – the countdown to the D-Day landings on June 6, 1944. We’ve seen the ill-fated beach landing at Normandy in numerous war movies, but this is really the first time a film has properly gone

asks this big question of how Churchill dealt with that and finding what his relevant place was to make not only a contribution, but to maintain his status as wartime prime minister and leader.” Rather than simply repeat what’s in the history books, Teplitzky wanted to create a very intimate and personal portrait of a man who history regards in an iconic and heroic way, and credits his

behind-the-scenes to explore the politics of the campaign, the monumental decisions that must be made, and the emotional impact upon those who make them.  “When I read the script it felt interesting and fresh to me, a different take on the usual biopic,” director Jonathan Teplitzky tells STACK . “I like biopics that get under the skin of the character and explore a little more than just what they

I like biopics that get under the skin of the character and explore a little more than just what they achieved

leading actor, Brian Cox, with giving the audience access to this human element. “It’s one thing to sit back and observe events, but it’s another to be taken on a journey by an actor who gives the audience the sense of what it felt like – both psychologically and emotionally – to be Churchill

and living through the historical and political events, but also the personal struggles of the time. “He prepared so intimately and deeply. That’s reflected by not only the performance that he gives, but

achieved. What interested me was this script took on the mantle of saying this great man had basically become increasingly isolated as the war raged on and the Americans were basically running it from the Allied point of view. It

Churchill is in cinemas on June 8

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CHURCHILL

RELEASED: June 8 DIRECTOR: Jonathan Teplitzky CAST: Brian Cox, Natasha Richardson, John Slattery RATING: M The first of two films out this year to focus on the iconic, cigar-puffing British PM and his historical wartime achievements, Churchill features a knockout performance by the great Brian Cox in a role he was born to play. Assuredly directed by Australian Jonathan Teplitzky ( The Railway Man ), Churchill adopts a similar approach to its subject as the recent Jackie , offering an intensely intimate character study that observes its larger than life subject during a time of crisis – in this case the countdown to the D-Day landings on June 6, 1944. The film reveals the vulnerable – and very human – side of the legendary British leader, who is wracked by personal angst and guilt over the loss of life on the beaches at Gallipoli and fearful of repeating past mistakes. Even knowing the outcome, there's still an element of suspense due to Churchill's own gnawing doubt over the campaign's success. Moreover, behind every great PM is his wife, and the scenes he shares with Clementine (a terrific Miranda Richardson) add further resonance to this remarkably personal insight into a very public figure. Beautifully shot and impeccably acted, this revealing and absorbing World War II drama will leave you with a newfound understanding and appreciation of the great Winston and his indelible role in "the field of human conflict", and a sense that Cox's performance will be a hard act to follow for Gary Oldman in the forthcoming The Darkest Hour . Scott Hocking KING ARTHUR: LEGEND OF THE SWORD RELEASED: Now Showing DIRECTOR: Guy Ritchie CAST: Charlie Hunnam, Jude Law, Djimon Hounsou RATING: M Since when did the Arthur legend feature colossal elephants attacking Camelot? When it's been reimagined – no, make that bastardized – by Guy Ritchie. The foundations of the classic medieval tale are there, but this is not just a case of Lock, Stock, and a Bloody Big Sword. Ritchie puts it in a Nutribullet along with Lord of the Rings , Game of Thrones, Snatch, The Sword and the Sorcerer and Monty Python and the Holy Grail and then throws it at the screen to see what sticks. Yep, it's as messy as it sounds. In Ritchie's take, Arthur grows up in the city of Londinium as a streetwise geezer (Charlie Hunnam). With Camelot ruled by the evil Vortigern (Jude Law), Arthur draws the legendary sword Excalibur from the stone and rallies his likely lads to reclaim the kingdom. The film begins promisingly as a kind of alternate universe/grotesque fantasy version of the Arthur story, but quickly descends into a chaos of incoherence, CGI that makes Marvel movies look restrained, flashbacks within montages within visions, and the circular chatter that's Ritchie's trademark. It's as wildly uneven as Charlie Hunnam's accent, and interest quickly wanes. If you keep your expectations low, King Arthur: Legend of the Sword can be enjoyed on the same batsh-t crazy level as last year's big budget fantasy folly Gods of Egypt . But if you haven't seen a Guy Ritchie film since RocknRolla , you may want to keep it that way. Scott Hocking

RELEASED: Now Showing DIRECTORS: Joachim Rønning, Espen Sandberg CAST: Johnny Depp, Javier Bardem, Geoffrey Rush RATING: M

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MEN TELL NO TALES

The Poseidon adventure.

T he Pirates of the Caribbean series – which began back in 2003, mind you – is now up to its fifth instalment with Dead Men Tell No Tales (AKA Salazar's Revenge ). This time, we're following the story of fan-favourite Will Turner's (Orlando Bloom) son, Henry (Brenton Thwaites). All his life, he's been trying to break the curse that condemns his father to the seas, and the only way to do that is through securing the Trident of Poseidon. When the ship he's aboard is set upon by Spanish Sea Captain Armando Salazar (Javier Bardem) and his men, Henry is the sole survivor and charged with delivering a message – death is coming for Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp). Meanwhile, Carina (Kaya Scodelario) is on trial for witchcraft (which is actually just astronomy) and holds the only map to the Trident. Sparrow, on death row after being arrested for robbing a bank, is due to be executed on the same day. As fate would

before it, looks to be going down a path skewed more towards VFX and 'wow factor' than story, and suffers in some places, hindered especially by Depp's 'drunken uncle' portrayal of Sparrow for a fair chunk of the film. That said, Dead Men Tell No Tales is very much a Pirates of the Caribbean film. It's got sea warfare, treasure, a few kick-arse swordfights, and even a decent appearance from Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) and the Flying Dutchman, all of which serve as pleasant distractions from some of the film's more ridiculous moments. Aussie Thwaites is an endearing addition to the cast and nicely complemented by Scodelario – the pair (along with Depp) have a great chemistry, making for a rollicking Pirates adventure that's certainly not the worst instalment in the franchise (that honour goes to On Stranger Tides ). You even find out where Jack Sparrow earned his name... hang on, shouldn't there be a Captain in there somewhere? Alesha Kolbe

RATING KEY: Wow! Good Not bad Meh Woof!

have it, Henry rescues them both, and with the help of Jack, his ship and his crew, sets out to find the artifact and save Will – while outrunning Salazar and his men, of course. The Pirates franchise, like Fast and Furious

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CINEMA REVIEWS

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BAYWATCH

ALSO SCREENING IN JUNE

RELEASED: June 1 DIRECTOR: Seth Gordon CAST: Dwayne Johnson, Zac Efron, Alexandra Daddario RATING: TBC

Life's a beach.

jokes (of which there are still plenty). The boogie board and red swimwear has been passed to the dependable Dwayne Johnson, Alexandra Daddario (those eyes!) and Zac Efron (those abs!), who set out to bust a local drug syndicate after corpses and bags of meth begin washing up on the beach. Some of the set pieces are inspired, including an absurd fight in a nursery and a sequence in a morgue that's not half as disturbing as the later sight of Efron undercover in drag! And the climax is literally explosive. Unlike the recent CHIPS , Baywatch is totally in tune with the spirit of its inspiration, lampooning the series' stereotypes while delivering a tongue-in-cheek comedy caper that's elevated by some canny casting. The combined charisma and chemistry between Johnson and Efron makes Baywatch less painful than treading on a sea urchin, and the ample eye candy and lowbrow shenanigans will score highly with a target audience too young to remember the TV series. Those old enough to have tuned in will enjoy a cheeky nostalgia rush while waiting for the inevitable cameos by Pammy and the Hoff. Scott Hocking from hypersleep early, a strange transmission from a nearby planet warrants investigation. What they find is a habitable world where we discover what happened to Dr. Elizabeth Shaw and the synthetic David, after they took off in search of the Engineers' homeworld at the end of Prometheus . We also find out how the Engineers' bioweapon ultimately becomes the iconic, projectile-jawed and acid-blooded xenomorph. Alien: Covenant continues to explore the philosophical themes of playing god and the nature of creation, and therein lies the problem. Ridley Scott's determination to demystify the origin of the aliens is actually working to the detriment of the franchise – the fear of the unknown is what made the creatures terrifying in the first place. And by the time the film kicks into high gear as a fully fledged Alien movie, it's a case of too little, too late. With a third prequel film to follow that will reportedly dovetail into the events of Alien , it's hard to see how Scott will tie everything up neatly. Sometimes, letting the original director conceive a prequel trilogy isn't the best move (Star Wars, anybody?) – a pair of fresh eyes and the return of Sigourney Weaver's Ripley is what the Alien universe really needs right now. Scott Hocking

Think Baywatch and what springs to mind is David Hasselhoff and Pamela Anderson running along the beach in slow motion. Chronicling the adventures of a bunch of L.A. lifeguards, both on and off the beach, the TV series was a regular fixture on the tube throughout the '90s and one of the most watched shows in the world at the time. The fact that it was a feast of beefcake and bikini babes might have had something to do with that, but it also featured some decent plots – something the writers of this big screen version haven't overlooked. Ergo, the Baywatch movie has more to offer than just jiggling cleavage and dick

WONDER WOMAN

After a bumpy start to the DC Cinematic Universe, will Diana Prince be the one to turn the tide (or will that be Aquaman)? And more importantly, will we see her invisible jet? The imposing Gal Gadot is perfectly cast as the lasso-swinging Amazonian who finds her calling when American pilot Chris Pine washes up on her island home and tells of a great war beyond her shores. Diana joins the fight on June 1. (See page 8)

Don't expect a retread of the Brendan Fraser version when Tom Cruise becomes involved with Egyptian sorcery and a female mummy in this slick update of the Universal monster classic. Unwrapped on June 8 . (See page 12) THE MUMMY

ALIEN: COVENANT

RELEASED: Now Showing DIRECTOR: Ridley Scott CAST: Michael Fassbender, Katherine Waterson RATING: MA15+

Or Prometheus 2.

Is Alien: Covenant better than Prometheus ? Not really, but at least it's a step closer to recapturing what we love about the Alien franchise. However, where Prometheus shared DNA with the Alien movies – namely the nature of the fossilised 'space jockey' discovered in the derelict spacecraft by the Nostromo crew – Alien: Covenant is more of a Prometheus sequel than an 'official' Alien film, with the creatures relegated to a supporting role. Set 10 years after the events of Prometheus , the Covenant is a colony ship carrying two thousand pilgrims and a bank of embryos to a new world. After an energy wave disables it and awakens the crew

Gru meets his long-lost twin brother, Dru, and grapples with a grown-up former child star (Trey Parker) who's hellbent on world domination. All this and Minions too, on June 15 . (See page 14) DESPICABLE ME 3

Expect medieval mayhem and dragonbots in this fifth chapter of the blockbuster franchise. Optimus Prime has left us, Anthony Hopkins has joined the Transformer-verse, and Mark Wahlberg appears to be in dire peril... again. Two worlds collide and only one will survive on June 22 . TRANSFORMERS: THE LAST KNIGHT

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★★★★★ “a beautiful finale, full of hellos and farewells, familiar faces, and a twist” - Vulture

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EXTRAS FEATURE

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of the North Vietnamese Tet Offensive proved that Johnson had been lying to them. As a direct consequence, this led to strong domestic opposition to the US involvement in the VietnamWar. Soon after, a haggard-looking Johnson announced that he would not run for presidential re-election. Violent anti-war and anti- racism protests increased across the country, with bloody battles fought with police on the streets of Chicago and at various State Universities. And then, just two months after King was murdered, so too was the new Democratic frontrunner, Bobby Kennedy. The young New York senator was shot just moments after claiming victory in the California primary. Assassination and anarchy now seemed to be part of American political life. The US burgeoning youth population found themselves increasingly at odds with the established social and conventional political order that appeared to Bonnie & Clyde was the most profitable film of 1967-68, and The Graduate became one of the top five box office hits of the decade. With the scrapping of the strict Motion Picture Production Code, Hollywood was at long last free to explore controversial subject matter in more mature films. Time magazine ran a cover story describing Bonnie & Clyde as the beginning of a new American cinema, influenced by the European Nouvelle Vague . The article was headlined “Violence... Sex... Art, a new freedom of filmmaking combining commercial success with critical controversy”. 
The following year saw the release of a movie about two disillusioned, drug-addled bikers. Alienated from society, they take to the road to find the real America, only to die in the process. Easy Rider (1969), a satire on the American dream, perfectly captured the zeitgeist of the late 1960s. Accompanied by a groundbreaking hard rock soundtrack, the film became a cinematic phenomenon. Independently financed but released through Columbia Pictures, it was made on a budget of less than $400,000 but returned over $19 million in domestic rentals. Easy Rider, brought youngsters flocking back to theatres [ Easy Rider ] was made on a budget of less than $400,000 but returned over $19 million be coming apart at the seams. Two films that had tapped into America’s youth counterculture won Oscars at the 40th Academy Awards ceremony.

HOLLYWOOD'S SECOND GOLDEN AGE 1968-1974

Part 3: Political Turmoil and the Rise of the Movie Brats

A classic scene from Easy Rider with actor/director Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda, with Luke Askew riding pillion

T he 40th Academy Awards, honouring film achievements for 1967, had been originally scheduled for 8th April 1968. But the ceremony was postponed for two days out of deep respect for the leader of the Civil Rights Movement, Dr Martin Luther King Jr., who had been assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee. 
1968 is considered to be one of the most turbulent and divisive twelve months in American history, where the country’s image as

a place of freedom and true democracy was severely damaged. A cascade of dramatic and tragic events shocked American society through pervasive coverage by the media. TV newscasts beamed pictures into American homes of hand-to-hand combat between American soldiers and Communist Viet Cong – within the confines of the US embassy in Saigon! President Lyndon B. Johnson had continuously promised the American people that victory in Vietnam was close at hand. But the carnage

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FEATURE EXTRAS

at a time when cinema audiences appeared to be in terminal decline. This convinced movie producers that one did not need to spend millions of dollars to make a hit movie, especially if it was geared to the counterculture youth market. The US film industry during this period was in dire financial straits. Following the sensational box office returns for both Mary Poppins (1964) and The Sound of Music (1965), all of the major studios had heavily invested in expensive family-friendly roadshow musicals – the majority of them specifically designed to replicate the Julie Andrews extravaganzas. But Dr Doolittle , Hello Dolly! , Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Paint Your Wagon, Sweet Charity  and Star! turned out to be colossal box office flops. Consequently, by the end of 1969, practically all of the Hollywood studios were teetering on the brink of bankruptcy. 
With the exception of Columbia Pictures, 20th Century Fox and Disney, the major film studios had been taken over by conglomerates. The old movie moguls had all been replaced production primarily as just another part of their overall investment strategy. However, these industrial businessmen knew very little about moviemaking.  The box office success of Bonnie & Clyde,The Graduate and Easy Rider had revealed 58 per cent of theatre admissions in 1968/69 were from the 16-25 age group. This encouraged the studios' new corporate managers to recruit younger filmmakers and screenwriters. Some that were hired became collectively known as “Movie Brats”. Brian De Palma, George Lucas, Paul Schrader, John Milius, Martin Scorsese and their mentor, Francis Ford Coppola, were all film school graduates, educated and steeped in cinema history. This group, along with Peter by a melange of business executives, bankers and lawyers. They saw movie

Francis Ford Coppola directing Robert De Niro in a scene from The Godfather: Part II (1974)

Peter Bogdanovich on the set of The Last Picture Show (1971)

A Martin Scorsese film – Mean Streets (1973)

during the 1970s. A resurgence of male-dominated films followed, featuring protagonists who were – much like the young audience they were aimed at – anti-authoritarian. Movies like Five Easy Pieces, Mean Streets, the two Godfather films , The Conversation, The Last Picture Show, Taxi Driver and American Graffiti also introduced to audiences an array of new, unconventional

Some [younger filmmakers and writers] that were hired became collectively known as “Movie Brats”

George Lucas directing a scene from American Graffiti (1973). Note the camera attachment to the car, very much in the style of the French Nouvelle Vague

Bogdanovich and Jonathan Demme, had served apprenticeships churning out cheap horror/exploitation movies for Roger Corman at American International Pictures. But now they were all given unprecedented creative freedom by the major studios to make movies. They swiftly developed this opportunity into an era of American auteurism, in which the director is the major creative force of a motion picture. A possessory credit at the opening of a movie declaring “A Francis Ford Coppola Film” or “A Martin Scorsese Film", became de rigueur

young modern audiences. Movies had become relevant again. But this period of innovative and thematically challenging films would only last for a few short years, due primarily to the enormous commercial success of a “summer blockbuster”. This movie released in 1975 would once again change the course of American filmmaking and remind Corporate Hollywood that it was in business to make money.

movie stars. Actors such as Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Dustin Hoffman, Richard Dreyfuss, Jack Nicholson, Gene Hackman, Harvey Keitel, Jeff Bridges and Robert Duvall looked and sounded nothing like the handsome matinee idols of Hollywood’s Classic Golden Age. However, what they brought to the screen was a refreshing new realism. The movie brats and their new young actors were able to express contemporary concerns onscreen much better than their older peers could. They did this by handcrafting visionary films that spoke for

To be continued...

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