STACK #138 Apr 2016

DVD & BD REVIEWS

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Small town, big bodycount. BANSHEE: SEASON 3

Downton closes its doors. DOWNTON ABBEY: SEASON 6

Release Date: 06/04/16

Release Date: 28/04/16

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It's great to be back in the eponymous Pennsylvania town, where the sheriff is a nuggety little ex-con imposter and the local crime lord a shunned Amish. This season anti-hero Lucas Hood (Antony Starr) has his hands full with a hulking Native American on the warpath, the arrival of the real sheriff's son threatening to blow his cover, a siege at the station, and of course being regularly pummelled by badasses. But there's still time to pull off a daring heist on a military base with partners in crime Carrie

The tales of those from both upstairs and downstairs in the Yorkshire country house Downton Abbey all started in 1912 with the sinking of the Titanic. Now it’s all coming to an end in 1925. We’re back at the Abbey some three months or so after the events of the fifth series finale, following Rose Albridge, her hubby, Tom Branson and his daughter Sybbie heading to America. The times are definitely changing, with aristocrats plummeting into bankruptcy left, right and centre, and that horrid little middle class definitely in the ascendant – obviously

(Ivana Milicevic) and Job (Hoon Lee), which leads to conflict with a vengeful Colonel. For a small town there's a LOT going on, and this season the bodycount is massive. Pure pulp fiction, Banshee is so gleefully excessive on every level, it's an absolute blast. SH

everything must be done to protect Downton! The series plays out with a procession of hiring, firing, battle, prattle, miscarriage, horseless carriage, sickness, health, marriage, separation, life, death, and of course, scandal. Ah, to live in a house – a very big house – in the country. AF

DA VINCI'S DEMONS: SERIES THREE

rock the kasbah

the lobster

HELLIONS

DVD&BD

Release Date: 06/04/16 Format:

Release Date: 31/03/16 Format:

Release Date: 21/04/16 Format:

Release Date: 20/04/16 Format:

David S. Goyer's weird and wonderful mash-up of historical drama, fantasy and Indiana Jones heroics goes out with a bang in this third and final season. Following a diverting trip to South America, the show returns to Renaissance Italy for more intrigue involving the Medicis and the scheming Pope Sixtus. The main story arc this season involves the Ottoman Empire's invasion of the city of Otranto, where Da Vinci is shocked to discover the Turks are using war machines of his own design. Leo must uncover who is responsible for this betrayal, as a series of grisly murders threatens Rome's Crusade against the invaders. SH

Richie Lanz (the legendary Bill Murray) is a rock manager. Actually, he’s a failing one, down to his last client. That’s Ronnie (Zooey Deschanel), and when she’s offered a tour of Afghanistan to entertain the troops, Richie jumps at the opportunity. However, soon after arrival Ronnie leaves him penniless and passport-free, leading to one giant fish out of water tale. After turning to mercenary Bombay Brian (Bruce Willis) for help, Richie hears a crazy Kasbah sound – the voice of local girl Salima. He wants to make her a star via Afghanistan’s equivalent of America’s Got Talent – but it’s exclusively a sausage fest. All loosely based on actual events, Bill Murray gives great Kasbah jive. AF

Single folk gather in a hotel, where they must find a suitable partner during an allotted time period or get turned into an animal of their own choosing. Divorcee Colin Farrell chooses a lobster, should he fail to find his perfect match. This insane premise springs from the mind of writer-director Yorgos Lanthimos, who gave us the equally brilliant and deadpan Dogtooth . His English-language debut isn't as mean-spirited as that film, but its evocation of a bizarre and insular community governed by strict rules is just as spellbinding. And the cast – especially Farrell and Olivia Coleman – is fantastic. Cult status awaits. SH

It may be a six months early, but Hellions is the perfect horror movie for Halloween. High schooler Chloe Rose discovers she's pregnant on the scariest night of the year, and decides she's not up for trick or treating. Home alone, she's soon visited by diminutive and sinister masked figures, with something nasty in their candy bag. Director Bruce McDonald, who put a unique spin on the zombie/virus film with Pontypool, invests this Halloween tale with an hallucinogenic quality via visual gimmicks that disorient in a 'dozed off on the couch and had a bad dream' kind of way. SH

APRIL 2016

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