STACK NZ Mar #60

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REVIEWS

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Cronenberg goes to Hollywood MAPS TO THE STARS

Underdogs unite PRIDE

Release Date: 25/03/15

Release Date: 04/03/15

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With his usual clinical efficiency, David Cronenberg dissects the neuroses, egomania and mechanics of modern Hollywood in this dark but frequently funny exposé. The main players are Agatha (Mia Wasikowska), a scarred burns victim and PA to fading star Havana Segrand (the brilliant Julianne Moore); limo driver and aspiring actor Jerome Fontana (Robert Pattinson); brattish teen idol Benjie Weiss (Evan Bird), whose superstar status is threatened by his co-star; and his father, Stafford (John Cusack), a Hollywood therapist with more hang-ups than his clients. And there

Pride is one of those uplifting Brit flicks – like The Full Monty and Brassed Off – that don't so much tug at the heartstrings as rip them from your chest. And yes, it's based on a true story, and Bill Nighy is in it. This time round the underdogs unite when a group of London gay activists rally in support of striking miners, who've downed tools in protest over pit closures during the Thatcher era, circa 1984. A group of angry Welsh miners and the gay community is a volatile mix, and the film doesn't shy away from the inevitable issue of

are ghosts lurking on the sidelines, symbolising the guilt weighing heavily upon several members of this ensemble. Screenwriter Bruce Wagner's cynical look at Tinseltown is perfect material for the Canadian cult director, who largely operates outside the Hollywood system.

homophobia. But solidarity ultimately proves crucial for both parties if they are to strike a blow for the working class and marginalised alike. This crowd-pleasing chronicle of an unlikely (and historically significant) alliance is pure formula, but a winning one.

Finding Vivian Maier

HORNS

HALO: NIGHTFALL

JOHN WICK

Release Date: 11/03/15

Release Date: 11/03/15

Release Date: 12/03/15 Format:

Release Date: 04/03/15 Format:

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While at an auction in 2007, John Maloof – who co-directs this fascinating documentary – bought a huge box of negatives belonging to an unknown photographer called Vivian Maier. Intrigued by the lack of information about her, he decided to dig deeper and discovered that Maier had taken more than 150,000 pictures during her lifetime, but had never shown her work publicly. Finding Vivian Maier follows Maloof as he pieces together the story of her life, drawing mainly on interviews with her bemused former employers and wards. However, the real star of the show are Maier's wonderful photographs, which confirm what a major talent she was.

Following an all-night bender, Ig Perrish (Daniel Radcliffe) wakes up to discover he's beginning to resemble the Devil, with a pair of horns protruding from his forehead. Moreover, people start to confess their darkest desires to him, seeking his permission to carry them out. And Ig's girlfriend Merrin (Juno Temple) has been brutally murdered, and he's a suspect. Can he use his strange new ability to find her killer? This high concept horror can't quite reconcile its light and dark shades, but is a very faithful adaptation of the cult novel by Joe Hill (son of Stephen King) and ably directed by Alexandre Aja, whose horror credentials include remakes of Piranha and The Hills Have Eyes .

What happens when you take a bunch of actors, put them in suits of armour, and tell them to pretend they’re in a video game? Halo: Nightfall . It's not often that we see filmic adaptations of video games turn out exceedingly well, but this one makes the grade. Nightfall is set between the events of the fourth and fifth Halo games and follows a group of soldiers as they fight to eliminate a newfound Covenant weapon. This live-action series is comprised of five episodes at around 20-something minutes each. Although based on a video game, if you’re a die-hard Halo fan – and you should be – Nightfall is essential viewing.

Recent Keanu Reeves' comeback vehicle 47 Ronin failed to revive his superstar status, but this robust crime thriller looks set to bring him back up to, er, speed. Although the plot rehashes the tired old chestnut of 'ex-hitman comes out of retirement', this is the badass action movie The Equalizer should have been. After his wife and dog are killed and his prized Mustang is stolen, Keanu's eponymous assassin reverts to his lethal ways, waging war against his former boss (Michael Nyqvist) and Alfie Allen from Game of Thrones in a candy- coloured gangster underworld of exclusive nightclubs and hitman hotels.

MARCH 2015 JB Hi-Fi www.jbhifi.co.nz

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