STACK NZ Jul #64

EXTRAS

NEWS

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JB Hi-Fi has lined up a rather spiffing special Blu-ray edition of the blockbuster comedy spy thriller Kingsman: The Secret Service , which is out this month.The limited edition set includes a 24 page comic from Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons’ classic series The Secret Service , TAILORMADE FOR BLU

Deathgasm

the inspiration for director Matthew Vaughn’s box office smash. Vaughn and Millar previously collaborated on the cult action flicks Kickass 1-2 . For more, see p16. Kingsman: The Secret Service is out now

This year’s New Zealand Film Festival boasts a typically eclectic line-up. HOMEMADE SPLATTER AND ARTHOUSE FAVES

This year’s E3 in Los Angeles was one of the best yet, in terms of both content and hands-on access. Our team on the floor for the biggest videogame event on the calendar report that there’s plenty for gamers to look forward to in the next 12 months. Whether it be blockbusters such as Halo 5 and Star Wars Battlefront, or new IP such as Ashen , developed here in NZ by Aurora 44. Although the announcement that took everybody by surprise was the news that Xbox One will be backwards compatible with a huge range of games. HANDS ON AT E3

T he 2015 festival kicks off in

from this year’s festival, including Greek filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos’s surreal jury prize winner The Lobster , which stars Colin Farrell and Rachel Weisz, and the Taiwanese historical epic The Assassin , which earned Hou Hsiao-hsien the best director prize. Other Cannes favourites include the French drama The Measure of a Man , which earned Vincent

Auckland on July 16

and will run through to August 2. The Wellington dates are July 24 to August 9, followed by Dunedin (July 30-August 16) and Christchurch (August 7- 23); and then onto the regions. Although this year’s

Tale Of Tales

NZFF will see premieres for acclaimed Hollywood flicks such as crime drama A Most Violent Year and the sci-fi thriller Ex_Machina , the hottest tickets look to be an impressive line-up of films from this year Cannes Film Festival, together with some intriguing new homegrown productions. In the latter category, we’re particularly looking forward to Jason Lei Howden’s Kiwi heavy metal horror flick Deathgasm , in which two teenagers inadvertently summon up an ancient evil entity. It’s co-produced by Ant Timpson, who curates the ‘Incredibly Strange’ part of the NZFF and also had a hand in another flick screening in this year’s programme, the affectionate ‘80s throwback Turbo Kids , a Canadian BMX action comedy. Other NZ features to look out for includes Costa Botes’ and Sven Pannell’s uplifting doco Act of Kindness , Out of the Mist: An Alternate History of New Zealand Cinema from critic Tim Wong, and Belief: The Possession of Janet Moses , which explores the case of a young Wainuiomata woman who died during a makutu lifting in 2007. From Cannes, NZFF has secured 17 films

Lindon the best actor prize, Matteo Garrone’s stylishly twisted fairytale anthology Tale of Tales , with Salma Hayek and John C Reilly, and Yakuza Apocalypse: The Great War of the Underworld , the latest from maverick Japanese director Miike Takashi. Ex_Machina

For a full report on E3 2015, see pages 21-28.

Meanwhile, the stories of two very different soul greats lead the music line-up for this year’s festival. Amy is Senna director Asif Kapadia’s

controversial portrait of the late British singer Amy Winehouse, whose family have already disowned the movie. The British singer’s tragically short-lived career is contrasted at the festival with Mavis! , a celebratory tribute to the legendary gospel and soul singer Mavis Staples. Other essential documentaries for music fans will be Lambert & Stamp , which profiles the managers of The Who, East End wide boy Chris Stamp – brother of Terence – and Kit Lambert, and From Scotland with Love , a vibrant collaboration between ex-pat New Zealand director Virginia Heath and prolific Scottish indie folksinger King Creosote.

US-conquering Kiwi hard rockers Like A Storm will release their second full length studio album Awaken The Fire on July 31. The follow- up to last year’s Chaos Theory Part One EP , it’s the Aucklanders first album for new label Another Century Records and arrives as the band continues to make in-roads in the US. The second single from the album, Wish You Hell , has become the song from a NZ act to crack the US Hard Rock Radio top 20.

Visit www.nzff.co.nz for full details

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

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