STACK #129 Jul 2016

DVD & BD

REVIEWS

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The talking dead. MAGGIE

To find the truth they must lose themselves. STRANGERLAND

Release Date: 16/07/15

Release Date: 08/07/15

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Schwarzenegger in a zombie movie – it's about time! But before you get too excited at the prospect of big Arnie terminating the living dead, it should be noted that Maggie has more common with TV's In the Flesh than The Walking Dead, focusing on the intermediate stage of a zombie virus, before a bitten victim is fully transformed. That's what's happening to Arnold's teenaged daughter (the terrific Abigail Breslin), who is being held in a quarantine facility awaiting execution. Determined that she spend her final days as a human

Shot on location in Canowindra and Broken Hill, NSW, the harshness and isolation of the Australian outback is used to great effect in this intriguing mystery thriller from first- time filmmaker Kim Farrant. Having moved to the desert town of Nathgari, Nicole Kidman and Joseph Fiennes are confronted with every parent's worst nightmare when their two teenaged children go missing. Hugo Weaving plays the detective in charge of the subsequent search, and with a massive dust storm engulfing the area, the chance of them being found alive grows slim. Moreover, family secrets

in his care, Arnie convinces the doctors to release her, and struggles to come to terms with the inevitable action he has to take. It's a twist on both the zombie film and terminal illness drama, and a chance to see Arnie cast against type in a rare dramatic role.

surface during the investigation, including the reason for the family's relocation from the city. Haunting, beautifully shot and featuring strong chemistry between Kidman and Fiennes, Strangerland is ultimately one of those Australian films where the landscape is the real star.

THE LOFT

POUND OF FLESH

BIG DRIVER

BURYING THE EX

Release Date: 01/07/15 Format:

Release Date: 22/07/15 Format:

Release Date: 01/07/15 Format:

Release Date: 08/07/15 Format:

A remake of the 2008 Belgian thriller of the same name (with the same director, too), t he title refers to the den of infidelity rented by five smug married guys – a place to indulge their extramartial activities. When a girl turns up handcuffed and dead in the loft, it triggers a series of serpentine plot twists and revelatory flashbacks. It's Very Bad Things without the stag party and black humour; the plot will intrigue but you certainly won't feel any sympathy for these philanderers, who are played by James Marsden, Karl Urban, Wentworth Miller, Eric Stonestreet and rising star Matthias Schoenaerts, who reprises the role he played in the original.

Organ thieves steal Jean Claude Van Damme's kidney – and he wants it back! Seriously, how can you resist a premise like this? The organ in question was destined for his dying niece, and after quickly recovering from the unscheduled surgery, the stage is set for a bloody showdown between the aging '80s action star and the human organ traffickers. JCVD's former black ops agent despatches these bad guys with his kickboxing skills and even uses the Bible as a murder weapon (seriously!). Evoking both Crank and the good old days of major Van Dammage,

Adapted from a Stephen King novella, Big Driver is basically King's take on the rape-and- revenge theme. But since it was made for TV, don't expect the harrowing horror of I Spit on Your Grave . Maria Bello plays a mystery writer who is violated and left for dead by a hulking, brutish trucker after taking a backroad shortcut home following a speaking gig. Using her skills as a crime writer, she manages to track him down for some serious payback. It's familiar territory, but King and screenwriter Richard Christian Matheson provide a couple of unexpected twists, and Bello delivers a gutsy performance.

Anything with cult director Joe Dante's name attached is worth a look in our opinion, especially a zom-com. Burying the Ex has more in common with Life After Beth than Warm Bodies – horror store clerk Anton Yelchin's girlfriend (Ashley Greene) is hit by a bus, returns from the grave, and isn't happy to discover he's since hooked up with the lovely Alexandra Daddario. Yelchin's attempts to conceal his ex's resurrection from his new love gives Dante free reign to indulge in the slapstick set-pieces, pitch black humour and nods to the B-movies of old that are his forte. And it's a return to form after the disappointing The Hole .

Pound of Flesh is a frenetic action fest for genre fans.

JULY 2015 JB Hi-Fi www.jbhifi.com.au

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