STACK #133 Nov 2016

DVD & BD

REVIEWS

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Immortality has a price. SELF/LESS

Going Further. INSIDIOUS: CHAPTER 3

Release Date: 25/11/15

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Release Date: 26/11/15

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Ben Kingsley plays a dying billionaire who attempts to prolong his life through a clandestine process known as 'shedding', in which his consciousness is transferred into a genetically engineered body (Ryan Reynolds). Of course there are side effects, but as long as he takes his anti-rejection drugs he can enjoy a new life as a thirtysomething. But before long he's overcome by strange visions that lead him to a Missouri farmhouse, and a startling revelation. You can guess where the plot is heading after about 30 minutes but it's still a cool idea,

With James Wan defecting to the action genre to helm Fast & Furious 7 , Insidious co-creator Leigh Whannell takes the reins for the third chapter of their post- Saw horror franchise. Chapter 3 actually takes things back to the beginning, with a prequel that introduces medium Elise Rainier, played by the fabulous Lin Shaye. As the reluctant psychic enlisted to contact the deceased mother of high school kid Stefanie Scott, Shaye goes for broke; moving her centre stage was a stroke of genius and reason enough to check out Insidious

even if it has been used before in the 1966 thriller Seconds . Reynolds has done the body swap scenario before (with Jason Bateman in The Change- Up ), only this time you don't really get a sense that it's actually Kingsley's character who's operating through him – it's just Ryan being Ryan.

Chapter 3 . Whannell and buddy Angus Sampson are also back as ghostbusters Specs and Tucker, and the former’s familiarity with the material allows him to expand the series’ mythology, while retaining all the requisite jumps and spooky apparitions we’ve come to expect.

She shall astonish you all. FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD

Revenge is a bitch. I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE 3: VENGEANCE IS MINE

Release Date: 11/11/15

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Release Date: 04/11/15

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Thomas Hardy's classic romance gets a visually ravishing makeover that's less ponderous than the 1967 version starring Julie Christie and largely faithful to the book. Carey Mulligan is nicely cast as the plucky and independent Bathsheba Everdene (no relation to Katniss), who having inherited a rural estate receives marriage proposals from three hopeful suitors. In line for her hand are a hunky shepherd (Matthias Schoenaerts), a sabre-swinging soldier (Tom Sturridge), and her bachelor neighbour

It's disquieting that the notorious 1978 rape-revenge classic has now become a franchise, but fortunately this latest entry eschews the grim formula established by the earlier films. This time Jennifer Hills (Sarah Butler) – the traumatised protagonist of the 2010 remake – is the predator, using a therapy group for rape victims to target male aggressors, upon whom she dispenses her own brand of justice. The gruelling violence against women that is the series' staple has been replaced here with the trashy vibe of '80s urban revenge thrillers like

(Michael Sheen). Set against the backdrop of rural Dorset, this pastoral period drama is anchored by a headstrong heroine in a field of her own, literally and figuratively – determined to marry for love alone in an era where matters of class dictate otherwise.

Savage Streets , and it's impossible to take any of it seriously. That's not to say the kills aren't eye-wateringly graphic (don't ask where that metal pipe is going!), and the jury's still out on what kind of female empowerment message this film thinks it's sending to women.

NOVEMBER 2015

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