STACK #151 May 2017

CINEMA REVIEWS

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THE FATE OF THE FURIOUS

ALSO SCREENING IN MAY

RELEASED: Now Showing DIRECTOR: F. Gary Gray CAST: Vin Diesel, Charlize Theron, Dwayne Johnson RATING: M

Can the FF franchise maintain speed without Paul Walker?

the main players in an agency working to help Letty and her team reunite with Dom, find out what went wrong, and quash Cipher's plan for worldwide fear-mongering. Longtime fans of the franchise raised their eyebrows at this film's trailers – Dom would never betray his family, surely? – but in true F&F fashion there's one hell of a reason behind it, and it's gonna take plenty of beautiful cars and absolutely ridiculous stunts to get to the bottom of it. Yeah, we're talking more insane than the runway scene in Fast 6 . Expect a few appearances from extended family members past and present, too. For the first film without Paul Walker as beloved buster Brian O'Conner, F8 does a wonderful job of maintaining the established family dynamic, and doesn't completely write him out of the plot, which is a nice touch. Throw in a henchman role for Game of Thrones ' Kristofer Hivju, an amusing cameo by the one and only Helen Mirren, and some impossibly unbelievable action, and this winds up a full- fledged Fast and Furious film that rates among the best of the lot. Alesha Kolbe Questions that shouldn't need to be asked, but from the moment Chris meets Allison's eager-to-please wealthy liberal folks (Bradley Whitford and Catherine Keener), her creepy brother, and their seemingly zombified hired help, his anxiety is justified. During an annual party the following day, where the guests appear to hail from Twin Peaks and behave awkwardly in the presence of a black person, Chris receives the titular warning from a fellow "brother" and the scene is set for a chilling and thrilling third act full of big reveals and bouts of cathartic violence. Combining cringe-comedy and creepiness, Get Out showcases the most demented family gathering since You're Next , as well as that film's mischievous mix of humour and horror. Daniel Kaluuya is great as the perpetually paranoid protagonist, and LilRel Howery, as his TSA officer buddy, provides some hilarious – and frequently welcome – comic relief. Horror films have a long history of reflecting cultural anxieties amidst the scares and Peele's smart, racially-charged satire couldn't be more timely. To say more would spoil the fun – just get out and see this bold and brilliant little gem. Scott Hocking

F8 opens with Dom (Vin Diesel) and Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) on their honeymoon in Cuba, and things quickly spiral out of control when Dom meets Charlize Theron's Cipher – the world's most powerful hacker. She's got a motive that will force Dom to join her team and leave behind the one thing that matters most to him – his family. Naturally, Dom's clan don't take kindly to his betrayal, and when he steals an EMP the team worked together to retrieve, they set about hunting him down. Newcomers to the series are buddy cops Kurt Russell and Scott Eastwood;

ALIEN: COVENANT

The wait is almost over. Will Ridley Scott's second return to the Alien universe make amends for the disappointing Prometheus ? The signs are good – Fassbender playing dual droids, Katherine Waterson as a Ripley substitute, and most importantly, the familiar projectile-jawed xenomorphs are back! No one will hear you scream on May 11 .

Since when did the Arthur legend feature giant elephants and a streetwise geezer as the king of Camelot? When it's directed by Guy Ritchie. Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels meets Excalibur on May 18 . KING ARTHUR: LEGEND OF THE SWORD

GET OUT

RELEASED: May 4 DIRECTOR: Jordan Peele CAST: Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams, Catherine Keener RATING: MA15+

Race relations go to hell in Jordan Peele's satirical scary movie.

Who would have thunk that one of the best horror thrillers of the year would come from the mind of Jordan Peele, one half of sketch comedy duo Key and Peele. Adding a nightmarish twist to Guess Who's Coming to Dinner? , Peele's first feature as writer-director is both a biting satire on race relations in the US and an unpredictable ride into Stepford Wives territory. When white girl Rose (Allison Williams) takes her new African-American boyfriend, Chris (Daniel Kaluuya), to meet the parents over a weekend at their country estate, he's a little nervous. "Do they know I'm black?" he asks. "Should they?" she replies.

Goldie Hawn and Amy Schumer are nicely cast as mismatched mother and daughter in this action- comedy that sees them abducted while vacationing in South America. Hit the holiday road on May 11 . SNATCHED

Jack's back! Captain Sparrow must get his hands on Poseidon's legendary trident in order to defeat old nemesis Armando Salazar, in the fifth instalment in Disney's buccaneering blockbuster franchise. Setting sail on May 25 . PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MEN TELL NO TALES

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MAY 2017

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