STACK #138 Apr 2016

DVD & BD REVIEWS

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Who's your daddy? DADDY'S HOME

Can you handle it? TRUTH

Release Date: 07/04/16

Release Date: 20/04/16

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Blended families aren’t new – nor is the situation where children in such arrangements don’t exactly take to their step-parents. Sometimes it’s because, well, they’re arseholes, but this isn’t the case with good natured radio exec Brad Whitaker (Will Ferrell). He’s married Sara (Linda Cardellini), inherited two great kids in Megan and Dylan, and he’s finally making great progress with them. Then their biological dad, Dusty (Mark Wahlberg), rocks up. He’s the anti-Brad, all machismo, muscles and motorcycle, but despite being intimated, Brad does his best to make the guy feel

Truth delves behind the scenes of the 60 Minutes exposé in 2004 on President George W. Bush's National Service during the VietnamWar. This dramatisation also reveals the scandal that erupted in the wake of the report's revelations that Bush attempted to dodge the draft to undertake pilot training with the Texas Air National Guard, as claimed in a series of possibly bogus documents acquired by the news team. Caught in the fallout are steely producer Cate Blanchett, veteran anchorman Robert Redford,

welcome. It’s a dumb idea, for Dusty’s come with one aim – to wrest Sara and his kids back from Brad. But the stepdad isn’t going down without a fight. Ferrell and Wahlberg’s rapport, as first seen in The Other Guys , makes this often surprisingly raunchy comedy (for a PG rating) well worth a look. AF

and researcher Dennis Quaid. With the, um, spotlight currently on investigative journalism dramas, Truth is a gripping companion piece to this year's Best Picture Oscar-winner. The moral of the story is simple: always use reliable sources, and always check the facts! SH

ALEX & EVE

RIOT

NIGHT OF THE CREEPS

GOODNIGHT MOMMY

DVD&BD

Release Date: 13/04/16 Format:

Release Date: 30/03/16 Format:

Release Date: Out NOW Format:

Release Date: 20/04/16 Format:

Romeo & Juliet do Sydney in this tale of star-crossed lovers from two very different families. School teacher Alex (Richard Brancatisano) isn’t in any hurry to get dating, despite being pushed by his Greek Orthodox family to find a nice girl. Then one night Alex actually meets a nice girl – quite literally by accident – in lawyer Eve (Andrea Demetriades), and they really hit it off. But she’s Lebanese Muslim, so while they fall hopelessly in love, their respective families completely lose their shi.. erm, minds. Based on the stage play of the same name, Alex & Eve shakes off those limiting shackles to give us a big fat and thoroughly entertaining multicultural rom-com romp. AF

To what lengths would you go in order to avenge your wife’s murder? If you’re a cop named Jack Stone (Matthew Reese, and no relation to the LEGO series), then the answer would involve the word ‘incredible’. He stages a bank robbery with the sole aim of being sent to the same prison where notorious Russian mobster Balam (retired UFC champ Chuck Lidell) is currently doing time. He’s more than your everyday crim, too, as he basically still runs the city from his cushy – but bar-heavy – digs. He’s protected to the hilt, but underestimating Stone just may be his downfall. Featuring bonus Dolph, Riot is a riot of fab B-grade action. AF

The zombie's recent resurgence in popularity sees director Fred Decker's 1986 gem resurrected from VHS obscurity to find a new and appreciative audience. It still holds up in today's crowded landscape of the living dead, and it's got cult favourite Tom Atkins ( The Fog , Halloween III ) in top form as a cynical cop. An extraterrestrial experiment that can reanimate the dead plummets to earth and unleashes mayhem on a small town in the form of undead prom dates, exploding heads, and slithering alien slugs. This Special Edition will definitely thrill you, being stacked with bonus features including the original ending. SH

Ten-year-old twin brothers become convinced that their mother has been replaced by an imposter, after she returns home from a cosmetic surgery procedure with her face swathed in bandages and a malevolent manner. This Cronenbergian Austrian thriller is a nightmarish exercise in high tension that gets more disturbing as it progresses. And while the big twist might seem a bit predictable, the film still works thanks to a narrative duality that nicely reflects its twin protagonists. Highly recommended for horror fans and creepy in the extreme, especially if you have an aversion to cockroaches. Note: the Blu-ray edition is exclusive to JB Hi-Fi. SH

APRIL 2016

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