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GAME OF THRONES • TRIPLE 9 • TOM CLANCY’S THE DIVISION

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Issue 137 MARCH 2016

WELCOME “The scent and smoke and sweat of a casino are nauseating at three in the morning.” These were the initial words committed to paper which would lead to the first book involving the adventures of a British Secret Service agent named James Bond. Author Ian Fleming, a former Naval Intelligence Officer, had been percolating the idea for some time, drawing on his own operational service for inspiration. He completed the final draft of Casino Royale in March 1952. However, he was unsure whether the general public would have an appetite for his Cold War-themed spy fiction. 64 years and 24 official films later, it’s safe to say the masses weren’t just hungry for Bond’s escapades, but voracious. This month, Daniel Craig returns to the iconic role for the fourth (and final?) time in Spectre . And despite the uncertainty surrounding his future as 007, fans need not fear that the series will slip off the radar. It’s not just nostalgia that has driven Bond’s longevity and success; it’s also the franchise’s ability to refresh itself (and its lead actor) by reflecting evolving social expectations and acceptability. In Skyfall , supervillain Raoul Silva asks 007 what his hobby is. “Resurrection!” replies Bond. Paul Jones, Editor-in-Chief

Music Consultants Mike Glynn, Fleur Parker Chief Contributors Bob Jones , Amy Flower Contributors John Ferguson, Graham Reid, Michael Dwyer, Jeff Jenkins, Emily Kelly, Simon Lukic, Chris Murray, Billy Pinnell, Denise Hylands, Simon Winkler, Gill Pringle, Ryan Huff, John Roebuck Social Media Manager Sally Carlier-Hull Photographer Chip Mooney Production Manager Craig Patterson Accounts Coordinator Tracy Kingman

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Issue 137 MARCH 2016

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ISSUE 137 MAR ’16

GALGADOT • JOHNHILLCOAT • DEADPOOL

IGGY POP • THE DRONES • SANTIGOLD

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GAMEOF THRONES • TRIPLE9 • TOMCLANCY’S THEDIVISION

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Extras Pg 12–14

Cinema Pg 16–22

DVD & BD Pg 28–48

Games Pg 49–69

Music From back Pg 1–20

Pg 12–14 NEWS James Gunn on Deadpool ’s impact and Guardians 2; Zack Snyder on Ben Affleck’s Batman; Universal’s classic monsters rise again; and Harrison Ford returns A great bunch of prizes up for grabs including Tom Clancy’s The Division , Hannibal: Season 3 , Fear the Walking Dead, and an awesome Game of Thrones: Season 5 prize-pack. to another sci-fi classic. Pg 70 COMPETITIONS

Pg 16-17 INTERVIEW She’s been fast and furious, and now Gal Gadot joins the DC superhero pantheon as Wonder Woman, in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice . Pg 18-19 INTERVIEW Director John Hillcoat brings his trademark grit – and a stellar ensemble cast – to the heist thriller Triple 9 . Pg 20–22 CINEMA REVIEWS Triple 9, Deadpool, Son of Saul, Concussion, Hail, Caesar! Pg 24-26 BOB J. How director Sam Peckinpah went to war with Hollywood’s money men. It all began with Ride the High Country in 1962.

Pg 28-29 SPECTRE Frankly, if not for this nefarious criminal organisation, 007 wouldn’t be half the secret agent he is. We salute their cunning and genius. Pg 30 GAME OF THRONES Aiden Gillen, AKA Littlefinger, wants some sympathy for his character, whom he says isn’t a pimp, merely just another player in the game of thrones. Pg 32 DANNY TREJO The busy actor and cult icon guest stars in From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series – as a badass vampire Horror maestro Guillermo del Toro explains why his new feature isn’t your average haunted house movie. Pg 36 MAN UP Simon Pegg – a leading man who’s not afraid to dance to Duran Duran. bounty hunter, of course. Pg 34 CRIMSON PEAK

Pg 50 intro Pg 52–53 the division You’ve played the beta, now it’s time to check out the real deal. Pg 54 clancy’s heroes We take a look at a few of our favourite Tom Clancy titles. Pg 56 dark souls iii We go hands-on with Dark Souls III - and, predictably, die a heap of times. Pg 60–61 The legend of zELDA: Twilight princess HD STACK speaks with the legendary Eiji Aonuma. Pg 62–63 world of zelda The Wii/GameCube classic has been remastered for the Wii U. Pg 64 SPACE INVADERS Part One of our look back at the arcade classic. Pg 68–69 previews What’s in-store this month.

Pg 3-6 NEWS We spoke to Santigold, DMA’s, The Drones and Elizabeth Rose, plus there’s news from Milk! Records and Hilltop Hoods. Pg 8 ED’S JAMS The Drones deliver aural gold, plus impressive releases from Violent Femmes and Miike Snow. Pg 12-13 MATT CORBY Matt Corby told us all about breaking his own mould to create incredible new release Telluric . Pg 16–20 Music Reviews Underworld, Hilltop Hoods, Matt Corby and Iggy Pop lead our reviews section, which also includes belters from Baauer, The Murlocs, Thao and the Get Down Stay Down, Vovoid, Cub Sport, Big Daddy Wilson, Emmy the Great and The Cat Empire.

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B en Affleck dons the cowl to take on Henry Cavill’s Man of Steel in the duo’s first big screen pairing: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice . When STACK meets with Zack Snyder, the director makes it quite clear that Christian Bale was never an option to play Batman in this comic book clash of the superheroes. “Our film is a total and opposite reality from the Chris Nolan movies; it’s another universe, so we couldn’t hire Christian Bale if we wanted to because he doesn’t exist in our world. Maybe we could hire him to play another part. We did talk briefly about hiring Christian to play another part just to make that obvious. Christian could play like Alfred with age makeup. No! Of course not. But you know what I mean.” While Nolan’s Batman movies are beloved by fans, Snyder is keen to explain the departure in style. “Superman would have had a hard time existing in the Batman universe that Chris created. That’s why we did a reboot on the universe, to allow these characters to exist together.” With Ryan Gosling and Josh Brolin both mooted to play Batman, news of Ben Affleck’s casting was originally met by angry protest from fans, proclaiming he wasn’t right for the role. However, Snyder believes Affleck will change everyone’s mind. “I really wanted an old Batman, and not like decrepit, but world-weary like he’s had experience, and I think Ben’s really hit that. He’s a movie star now in the greatest definition of the word. He has gravitas. And we’ve greyed his hair a little and made him look a bit rough and rugged. He’s a great actor and he’s a big person. He’s all of 6’4” and in the boots he’s 6’6”. I don’t like a small Batman. I like my Batmen bigger.” Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is in cinemas on March 24. Check out more Cinema news and reviews from page 16. BATMAN BEN

GUNN's BLAZING Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn loves the new Marvel movie Deadpool, but has also fired off a broadside against Hollywood’s no-risk approach to spectacle movies.

G unn's Facebook salvo was prompted by an article on Deadline , in which an unnamed studio exec praised the box office success of Ryan Reynolds’ R-rated superhero movie, saying no-one had ever poked fun at Marvel in such away before. Gunn is clearly a big fan of Deadpool , describing it as “hilariously funny” and saying it was “exactly what we need right now, taking true risks in spectacle film”. However, as well as pointing out it was not the first Marvel movie to take a self-deprecating approach to the source material, he feared that the success of Deadpool would just inspire a series of inferior copies. “ Deadpool was its own thing,” Gunn writes. “THAT'S what people are reacting to. It's original, it's damn good, it was made with love by the filmmakers, and it wasn't afraid to take risks. “Over the next few months, you'll see Hollywood misunderstanding the lesson they

should be learning with Deadpool . They'll be green lighting films 'like Deadpool' – but, by that, they won't mean ‘good and original’, but ‘a raunchy superhero film’ or ‘it breaks the fourth wall’. They'll treat you like you're stupid, which is the one thing Deadpool didn't do. “Spectacle films need to expand their definition of what they can be. They need the unique and true voices of the filmmakers behind them. They can't just be copying what came before them.” Gunn has commenced principal photography on the sequel to 2014's Guardians of the Galaxy , which is due in cinemas in May next year. On Twitter, the director shared a publicity photo of the intrepid space heroes, with the heartwarming sight of baby Groot, alive and well atop Drax's shoulder. Gunn has also revealed that Kurt Russell has joined the cast for Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2 , with speculation that the screen veteran will be playing the father of Chris Pratt's Star Lord. In a BBC interview, Gunn also gave away that there will be more of Nebula (Karen Gillan), the wicked sister of Gamora (Zoe Saldana). Additionally, Melbourne-raised – and recent Victorian College of the Arts graduate – Elizabeth Debicki has scored a role, fresh from appearances in Guy Ritchie's The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and Justin Kurzel's Macbeth . John Ferguson

CINEMA

James Gunn, Chris Pratt and Zoe Saldana workshopping the script for Guardians of the GalaxyVol 2 .

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‘A SELF-MOCKING MASH-UP OF ZOMBIE THRILLER, DETECTIVE SHOW & SINGLE-GIRL-IN- THE-CITY COMEDY’ WASHINGTON POST

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TEXT CRITIC

The Invisble Man (1933)

The Mummy (1932)

BIG NAME MONSTERS

Depp stepping into the role made famous by Claude Rains in the classic 1933 version, directed by pioneering horror filmmaker James Whale. Both titles are being produced by the makers of Star Trek Into Darkness and Transformers , so expect a lot of CGI at the very least. And despite an unsuccessful remake in 2010, The Wolfman is set to howl again, too, although casting has yet to be confirmed at this stage. Surely the likes of Creature from the Black Lagoon and The Deadly Mantis are also worthy of an update?

to unleash their monsters on a whole new generation – a venture hinted at with 2014's Dracula Untold , acting as prequel of sorts. However, the bloodsucking Count won't be the first monster to re-emerge from the Universal vaults. Once again it's The Mummy, who will be unwrapped in 2017, with Tom Cruise attached as the intrepid explorer taking on ancient supernatural forces unleashed in Egypt. Sofia Boutella ( Star Trek Beyond ) will co-star. Another interesting reinvention will be 2018's The Invisible Man , with Johnny

T he monster movie has been a trademark of Universal Pictures since the silent era of the 1920s. Lon Chaney in The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923), Boris Karloff as the Monster in Frankenstein (1931), and of course, Bela Lugosi as Dracula (1931) – all have become iconic images of a classic, black and white era. The popularity of these original monsters had faded by the end of the fifties, although their ongoing appeal was underlined by Stephen Sommers' reboot of The Mummy in 1999. Now Universal are gearing up

EXTRAS

BACK TO THE FUTURE MILLS PRESENCE FELT

GhostThe Musical

Based on the 1990 film, Ghost The Musical leaves no doubt Rob Mills (AKA SamWheat, AKA Patrick Swayze’s character) is the star of the show; there is rarely a moment when he is not on the stage. It's an unusual and excitingly modern show, utilising unique lighting and special effects techniques that even seasoned theatregoers haven't experienced before. They bring a contemporary, digital injection to the traditional theatre ethos, which expands both perspective and the stage. You can experience the magic and music of the Oscar-winning film Ghost , live on stage: www.ghostthemusical.com.au

It was 32 years between Han Solo gigs for Harrison Ford, and now the 73-year-old actor will reprise another iconic role, Blade Runner Rick Deckard, in the as yet untitled sequel to Ridley Scott's 1982 sci-fi classic. As first reported by Variety , sci-fi fans can expect to see Ford in his distinctive brown trenchcoat in January of 2018. Ryan Gosling is also attached to star, with Denis Villeneuve in the director's seat, hot from 2015's acclaimed Sicario . Original Blade Runner screenwriter Hampton Fancher will be working on the story alongside Ridley Scott, who's no doubt currently got his hands full prepping 2017's Alien: Covenant .

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MARCH 2016

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HOLLYWOOD’S REAL WONDER WOMAN From an Israeli military base, to the catwalk, and then Hollywood – Gal Gadot hopes her unique journey to playingWonderWoman will inspire a new generation of strong women on screen.

MARCH 2016

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INTERVIEW CINEMA

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

A s a former soldier and superhero backstory. It’s fitting then, that the Israeli beauty has been chosen to play Wonder Woman in Zack Snyder’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice , due to swoop into movie theatres on 24th March. Real life superhero or not, it’s clear that Gadot, who served two years in the Israeli Defence Force in 2004 (the same year she was crowned Miss Israel, weirdly), is happy to use her military skills to play characters much like herself, or “capable and independent women with a strong sense of themselves and a positive outlook on life,” as she puts it. Gadot got her big break as Gisele in the literally unstoppable Fast and Furious franchise, appearing in four films over the course of six years. Now, having signed up to portray Wonder Woman in director Zack Snyder’s latest picture, a Justice League sequel and a standalone film that's due to hit cinemas in 2017, Gadot has the chance to tap into that military expertise in order to play the archetypal superheroine. “She’s the ultimate symbol of beauty queen, Gal Gadot’s past already reads like a

Triple 9

in a way. I’ve always wanted to play stronger female roles and I turned down many parts where I would have had to play ‘the girlfriend’ kinds of roles, or the damsel in distress. I knew I didn’t want to do that,” says the 30-year-old, “It wasn’t in my nature and I didn’t want to represent women in that way. I told my agent that I wanted to play independent women and not go after sexy or obvious kinds of roles – but never in my wildest dreams did I think that one day I would get to play Wonder Woman!”

CINEMA

Fast & Furious 6

responsibility to play this kind of iconic figure who is an inspiration for all women.  She’s a very dynamic woman and has a great sense of who she is and her mission in life.” Gadot isn’t fazed by taking on

Despite being accused of being “too skinny for the part”, Gadot’s background in the IDF set her apart from the majority of traditional Hollywood actresses.

such an epochal female role, even though this is the first time this particular superhero has been on the screen since the enduringly popular Lynda Carter brought her to life in the mid-seventies. She believes she was born to play Wonder Woman. “It seems like destiny

In a world where so much coverage is given to male stars who are expected to pile on the muscle in order to realistically portray superheroes on screen, hopefully her willingness

a strong, smart, and serious woman; she represents the kind of woman who is independent and highly capable, someone who can handle herself in very difficult conditions and doesn’t need to rely on a man to rescue her,” says Gadot, describing her cinematic alter ego, adding that she sees it as a “huge

to take on the physical demands of portraying

Wonder Woman will not only put paid to the questions raised over Snyder’s decision to cast her, but also inspire a new generation of female superheroes both on and off the silver screen who aren’t

Never in my wildest dreams did I think that one day I would get to play Wonder Woman

• Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice is in cinemas on Mar 24

afraid to mix it with the boys.

17

CINEMA INTERVIEW

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Queensland-born filmmaker John Hillcoat may not be prolific but his handful of genre features to date have totally immersed us in bleak, authentically realised worlds. Applying his trademark grit to the urban heist thriller TRIPLE 9 involved lots of research, he tells Scott Hocking.

CINEMA

ang on, has it really been four years since Lawless ? Oh my God, are you sure?" asks an exasperated John Hillcoat when I bring up the fact that he seems to

make a movie every four years. “I think you’re right. Wow. Okay, now I’ve really got to do something about this.” Triple 9 is indeed the incredibly selective director’s first film since bootlegger drama Lawless in 2012; a hard-edged urban crime thriller in which the titular police code for “officer down” is used as a diversion by a crew of corrupt cops and ex-Special Forces soldiers in order to pull off an impossible heist for the Russian-Israeli mob. contemporary, urban, energetic, and like a commentary of where America is at right now. Triple 9 helped tick all those boxes – the idea of the 999 code and the rich moral complexity that it threw up was the key.” A 999 call triggers a mass response from the police department, who converge on the location of the downed officer. “I’ve heard of up to 300 police officers showing up after a cop shooting in Atlanta,” “I love genre films and finding a way of reinventing them,” Hillcoat explains. “I’d been itching to do something

MARCH 2016

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INTERVIEW CINEMA

J ohn Hillcoat loves an ensemble cast,

Hillcoat says. “And in LA, I’ve seen a whole area being shut down – with dozens of policemen in the area for days on end – for a resolved shooting that’s done and dusted. “If we’d had more resources we really could have shown how crazy it is, but fact outstrips fiction.” Has he also heard of criminals taking advantage of the 999 response in a similar way to the events depicted in the film? “I’m not sure whether people do deliberately use it as a diversion – maybe they will now that we’ve flagged the idea,” he laughs. In recent years the Russian mafia have usurped the Italians as the go-to movie mobsters, and Hillcoat reveals that this is very much the reality in the world of organised crime, too. “All the different criminal factions keep progressing and changing and the Italian mafia were eclipsed by a greater force globally, and the stakes keep rising,” he explains. “There’s around 500,000 members now. They don’t have the hierarchical triangle the Italian mob followed, which makes them able to navigate the world in a very different way. There are rumours of up to 70 per cent of the Russian economy linked to organised crime, which when you think of Russia’s economy, eclipses the Italian mafia dramatically. “The Latino cartels do control drugs on the streets of America,” he continues, “and the interesting thing that has given these criminal groups the edge is that they all come from paramilitary backgrounds, which the Italian mafia never had. It’s a well documented change in the criminal landscape.” The director adds that, “everything in the film, believe it or not, is based on a lot of research”. And if you’ve ever seen a John Hillcoat film – like the aforementioned Lawless, The Road and The Proposition – you'll agree that the bleak and gritty milieus he conjures are incredibly authentic. “I do spend a lot on time on research,” he admits. “In this case the militarisation of the police and these criminal groups – I wanted to

get the differences in detail. Also in the way the Russian mob has been represented in this genre; there are exceptions of course, like Eastern Promises , that really capture that world brilliantly.” Additionally, Hillcoat’s on-set advisors on Triple 9 included a real gang unit who worked with the actors – they also appear in the film, along with ex-Latino gang members. “We didn’t get actual Russian-Israeli mobsters on screen, though,” he notes. It’s this attention to detail, verisimilitude and genre reinvention that sets Triple 9 apart from the slicker and more generic urban crime- thrillers. “A lot of crime films these days seem very artificial, and I miss the grit,” Hillcoat says. “Films like The French Connection inspired me, with its gritty realism, which

and Triple 9 ’s is a belter – Chiwetel Ejiofor, Woody Harrelson, Casey Affleck, Anthony Mackie, and Kate Winslet as a

Russian mob boss. He also enjoys casting against type and taking actors out of their comfort zones. “It’s very exciting for them as well,” the

director says. “I’ve never seen anyone more excited than Kate Winslet when she was able to play a villain. “Obviously she’s played many complex and interesting roles over the years, and she’s a real forceful presence. Villains are such juicy roles, so for an actress of her calibre, she was like a kid in a toy shop." Triple 9 also features a number of familiar faces from television in supporting roles – The Walking Dead ’s Norman Reedus, Breaking Bad ’s Aaron Paul, and The Wire ’s Michael Kenneth Williams. Hillcoat believes TV offers actors more risks grey as opposed to the black and white world of franchise.” So is television a medium he’d like to explore in the future? “I’m in the thick of and creative challenges than film. “The idea of a flawed character... [TV is] celebrating shades of

CINEMA

I think makes it a more immersive experience. And you get better performances from the actors when they are fully immersed in the world we’re creating.”

• Triple 9 is in cinemas on March 3

it,” he confirms. “I’ve got something I’m talking to Guy Pearce about. Yes, definitely going down that path.”

19

CINEMA REVIEWS

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ALSO SCREENING IN MARCH

BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE

Zack Snyder lays the foundations for DC's forthcoming Justice League movie, pitting the Man of Steel against The Dark Knight in a city-destroying smackdown. Henry Cavill is back in the Super-suit, Ben Affleck drives the Batmobile, Gal Gadot debuts as Wonder Woman, and Jesse Eisenberg irritates as Lex Luthor. Are you team Gotham or team Krypton? Choose a side on Mar 24 .

RELEASED: March 3 DIRECTOR: John Hillcoat CAST: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Kate Winslet, Casey Affleck RATING: MA15+

TRIPLE 9

The heat is on in John Hillcoat's grim and gritty heist thriller.

J ohn Hillcoat's movies have always possessed a strong sense of verisimilitude; whether its a post- apocalypse wasteland ( The Road ) or 19th century outback Australia ( The Proposition ), the director has made a career out of conjuring bleak worlds inhabited by desperate characters. Such is his commitment to authenticity, you feel like taking a shower after watching a Hillcoat film – and that's actually a compliment. In Triple 9 , Hillcoat brings his trademark grit to the 'hood usually occupied by Antoine Fuqua and David Ayer, reinventing the urban crime thriller/heist movie with a hard edge and visuals as dirty as the cops involved in the central scheme. It also features a terrific ensemble cast playing against type. Chiwetel Ejiofor is a former soldier who is blackmailed by ruthless Russian-Israeli mob boss Kate Winslet (a long way from Titanic here) into pulling off a near impossible heist using military tactics, a pair of corrupt cops (Andrew Mackie, Clifton Collins Jr.) and special forces buddies (Aaron Paul, Norman Reedus). To ensure a clean getaway, Ejiofor's motley crew plan to use a 999 call – police code for "officer down" – to distract the Atlanta police department. Elsewhere, good cop Casey Affleck and his detective uncle, Woody Harrelson, suspect something is going down, and with the help of local gang members attempt to expose the rats in their ranks. Although ostensibly resembling Michael

Mann's 1995 heist classic Heat (with a patina of grunge), Triple 9' s production design and robust action sequences are more indebted to seventies' crime flicks like The French Connection , which Hillcoat cites as a major influence. Moreover, the director's insight into the dynamics of the criminal underworld adds additional kick to a brutal and spectacularly seedy genre offering. Scott Hocking

CINEMA

Eight years after the hand-held monster movie comes another mysterious, J.J. Abrams' produced sci-fi movie with Cloverfield in the title. We'll know what it all means on Mar 10 . 10 CLOVERFIELD LANE

FURTHER VIEWING: End of Watch, Heat

Move over Bruce Willis! Having saved the US President in Olympus Has Fallen , action man Gerard Butler must now foil a plot to assassinate world leaders in the British capital. Out Mar 17 . LONDON HAS FALLEN

After five long years, the weight is over. Having clobbered the competition at the international box office, Po and the Furious Five are bringing their animated brand of martial arts mayhem and sight gags to local cinemas (in 3D) on Mar 24 . KUNG FU PANDA 3

MARCH 2016

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DEADPOOL

SON OF SAUL

RELEASED: Now Showing DIRECTOR: Tim Miller CAST: Ryan Reynolds, Morena Baccarin, T.J. Miller RATING: MA15+

RELEASED: Now Showing DIRECTOR: László Nemes CAST: Géza Röhrig, Levente Molnár, Urs Rechn RATING: M

Deadpool isn’t your ordinary superhero (if there can be such a thing?). Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds) is a terminal cancer patient who’s transformed into an indestructible mutant through torture and elevated stress. He’s also a comic book character who’s fully aware that he is a comic book character, and that’s where Deadpool has fun. This is meta-Marvel, playing on the same self-reflexive wavelength as The Last Action Hero and Wes Craven’s New Nightmare , while simultaneously existing as part of the X-Men universe. The character’s shtick involves a relentless barrage of smartarse dialogue, one-liners and dick jokes, and your enjoyment will depend on how much of this you can take for two hours. But also bear in mind that’s entirely the point: Deadpool never shuts up! Reynolds gives fans the ultimate ‘Merc with the Mouth’, and reminds us he’s still that funny guy from Van Wilder . With so much going on visually and verbally, the plot is kept simple: Deadpool must rescue his girl from the bad guy, with his origin story interwoven via flashbacks. This berserk action-comedy is the perfect antidote for superhero fatigue, gleefully and crassly subverting genre conventions while still remaining faithful to them. As a superhero satire, Deadpool doesn’t bite the hand that feeds it – it chews it off and grows a new one. Scott Hocking

Nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at this year's Oscars (and certain to win), Hungarian Holocaust drama Saul Fia is the closest you'll get – and ever want to get – to the horrors inside the Auschwitz-Birkenau death factory. It's also the closest thing to a found-footage Holocaust film. Son of Saul isn't Schindler's List ; shot in a claustrophobic 1.37:1 screen ratio, the camera follows the protagonist throughout, with the atrocities that surround him kept in shallow focus on the periphery. With a soundscape to match the tight visuals, it's a sensory experience – an intimate, over-the-shoulder descent into hell. Saul Auslander (Géza Röhrig) is a Hungarian-Jewish prisoner who's also a Sonderkommando, tasked with the removal of bodies and possessions from the gas chambers. When he happens upon the corpse of a young boy, Saul is given a purpose beyond his hellish duties; finding a rabbi who can preside over a proper burial for the child. Needless to say it's relentlessly grim and unforgettable, but Saul's resolve in his mission – conveyed through Röhrig's subtle performance and fixed expression – and the risks involved bring a humane perspective to an inhumane world that would be impossible to imagine, had it not actually existed. Highly recommended. Scott Hocking

CONCUSSION

HAIL, CAESAR!

CINEMA

RATING KEY: Wow! Good Not bad Meh Woof!

The NFL, as an organisation, must have an extraordinary degree of influence on the collective consciousness of the United States of America. In Peter Landesman’s Concussion , that powerful organisation is threatened by the findings of forensic pathologist Bennet Omalu (Will Smith); findings that indicate the strong threat of mental damage as a result of playing football. Omalu is tasked with performing an autopsy on former Pittsburgh Steelers centre Mike Webster (David Morse), who was found dead in his pickup truck after months of behaving erratically. Despite CAT scans indicating no signs of brain trauma, a deeper investigation uncovers significant damage to Webster’s cognitive function – a new condition that Omalu subsequently dubs ‘chronic traumatic encephalopathy’. This threat to the NFL’s convoluted infrastructure proves problematic for an industry that generates ten billion dollars every season. There’s also the issue that Omalu’s findings have the potential to cause the drastic re-evaluation of a national pastime. It’s not so easy to encourage a child to engage in a sport with a startling capacity to engender brain damage. The subject at hand in Concussion is compelling, and yet Landesman’s handle on it is not. Fascinating material is poorly served by the film’s eagerness for melodrama, and it’s likely that important information was diluted for the sake of sentimentality. John Roebuck RELEASED: Now Showing DIRECTOR: Peter Landesman CAST: Will Smith, Alec Baldwin, Albert Brooks RATING: M

For all that’s going on in the Coen Brothers’ new film, there’s not all that much going on. Some of the best Coen Bros.’ films amount to nothing when it comes to narrative: Burn After Reading acknowledged the insignificance of its own plot, and The Big Lebowski found a great deal of inspiration in the Howard Hawks film The Big Sleep . But those films were so superficially entertaining, the fact that they were more about the sum of the parts than the whole never really seemed to matter so much. Hail, Caesar 's narrative is a series of vignettes, all relating to the industry of Hollywood during the 1950s and barely connected by the involvement of studio executive Eddie Mannix (Josh Brolin). But for all the glamour of Hollywood and all the talent of the Coen Bros., it's a stale and empty experience. There appears to be something on Joel and Ethan's mind regarding the shaky union between art and commerce in Hollywood. If there’s a joke, they’re not letting anyone in on it. If there’s a message, it gets buried beneath the layers of ostensibly meaningless sketch. There are a handful of nearly accurate recreations of vintage cinema in Hail, Caesar! that will appeal to film buffs, but not a great deal in between. John Roebuck RELEASED: Now Showing DIRECTOR: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen CAST: Josh Brolin, George Clooney, Alden Ehrenreich RATING: PG

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Major Dundee (1965) Directed by Sam Peckinpah The Background Part 1:

I n the summer of 1962, a low-budget western was given a general release as the lower half of a double-bill that featured the turgid Italian-made costume drama The Tartars . To the average moviegoer, the western appeared to be just another standard cowboy movie that at the time were still regularly rolled out by most of the Hollywood studios in support of their A-feature films. Indeed close examination of the cast, which included old- time cowboy actors, Randolph Scott and Joel McCrea, would appear to confirm its B-movie status. However, word quickly spread through critical reviews and amongst cinemagoers that rather than being just another “oater”, this movie was more a minor classic western. The film’s popularity grew to such an extent that many US theatre managers took it upon themselves to reverse the billing on their marquees to advertise Ride the High Country as the main feature of the double-bill. The story centred on two former

Many US theatre managers took it upon themselves to reverse the billing on their marquees to advertise Ride the High Country as the main feature of the double-bill.

back when the frontier was untamed and they believed in justice, loyalty and honour. But the West they shared has practically vanished and they now have very different ideas on how to deal with the change and their own obsolescence. Although both arthritic, saddle-sore and bullet-scarred, Judd still remains loyal to his code of honour. Westrum on the other hand has become more cynical, and unbeknownst to his partner, plans to steal the gold as payback for the long years of dutifully putting his life on the line for ungrateful people who now care nothing for past service. Westrum’s view on his lot is reflected early on in the film when he says to his partner, “Steve, do you know what’s on the back of a poor

lawmen, marginalised by old age and circumstance, who undertake one last ride as hired guns. Their contract is to bring in a shipment of gold from a mining camp in the High Sierras – described to them as “a sinkhole of depravity”– and deliver it to a small town bank. On the journey they meet various characters including a young runaway girl, who is intent on marrying one of the notorious Hammond clan who are pan-handling in the gold fields. The two main protagonists, Gil Westrum and Steve Judd (played by Scott and McCrea) reminisce about the old days

Westrum (Randolph Scott) and Judd (Joel McCrea) walk toward the Hammond gang for the final showdown in Ride the High Country

The notorious Hammond clan in Ride the High Country

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man when he dies? The clothes of pride. And they’re not one bit warmer to him than when he was alive”. The story continues with complex twists and turns until a redeemed Westrum returns to join his old friend, and together they face the murdering Hammond brothers in a final showdown – face to face – just like the old days. As the gunsmoke clears, the Hammonds are all dead and Judd has been fatally gut shot. There follows a memorable scene of Westrum gently saying to his dying partner, “Don’t worry about anything Steve, I’ll deliver the gold, just like you would have”. Judd’s reply perfectly epitomises the strength of his belief in his friend: “Hell, I know that. I always did. You just forgot it for a while, that’s all”. Friendship and trust remain the highest values of these two men, and whatever their circumstances, those values must never be betrayed. This lies at the very core of this splendid, elegiac western. Ride the High Country was one of the best films released by any of the Hollywood studios during 1962, albeit MGM failed to see that at the time. It was written and directed by 36-year-old Sam Peckinpah, who had cut his cinematic teeth writing dialogue for movie scripts and directing numerous episodes of TV westerns. When 64-year-old Randolph Scott viewed the final cut of RtHC, he decided that this would be the perfect swan song for him, stating: “I want to retire from the screen on a high and I’ll never better my performance as Gil Westrum.” Peckinpah sensed he had delivered an exceptionally good movie and waited in eager anticipation for the response from MGM executives. But when it was shown to MGM president Joseph Vogel, he fell asleep within the first ten minutes, his snoring practically drowning out the soundtrack. He snorted himself awake half way through, decided then and there that the film wouldn’t make a single buck, and promptly exited the screening room. Peckinpah was furious, spitting out “It would have helped if the fat son of a bitch had stayed awake!” Subsequently, MGM spent very little on advertising, virtually throwing away Sam’s picture by attaching it to the bottom half of a summer double feature aimed primarily at the drive-in market. This particular incident was the root cause of Peckinpah’s escalating antagonism toward the money men associated with the motion picture industry – a hatred he would carry throughout his entire movie career. The following year, film producer Jerry Bresler had managed to interest his old friend and actor, Charlton Heston, in a major project he had arranged with Columbia Pictures.

Sam Peckinpah

Ride the High Country was one of the best films released by any of the Hollywood studios during 1962, albeit MGM failed to see that at the time.

Heston was keen to take the starring role of Amos Dundee and asked the producer who he had in mind to direct this “Dundee” project. Instead of directly answering Heston’s question, Bresler ran Peckinpah’s film, Ride the High Country, for him. When the film ended, Heston turned to Bresler and said, “Whoever directed that movie, you damn well hire him for Dundee”. Their decision that night would result in a classic movie being completely ruined by the Columbia studio executive, and its director blacklisted for three years.

Chuck Heston was then the top leading man in Hollywood after starring in a plethora of money-making epic films. Bresler had a 40-page treatment of a story about a Union cavalry officer, Major Amos Dundee, who, at the closing stages of the Civil War, is posted to a remote outpost in New Mexico to guard a prison full of Confederate soldiers. When the Apache slaughter a company of Dundee’s men and farm settlers, he puts together a makeshift army of regulars and Confederate prisoners and leads a punitive expedition into Mexico to destroy the renegade Apache band.

To be continued...

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Nefarious criminal organisation SPECTRE and its megalomaniac mastermind Ernst Stavro Blofeld have been periodically haunting James Bond and MI6 since 1963. Having recently resurfaced in the 24th Bond film, out on DVD this month, what better time to take a look back at 007’s previous encounters.

First sighting of Ernst Stavro Blofeld

FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE (1963) SPECTRE is first mentioned in Dr. No , as the employer of the title character, but we don’t actually see them in action until the second Bond movie, when 007 is duped into acquiring a Russian decoding device that they intend to sell back to the Soviets. SPECTRE’s chief planner and chess master Tov Kronsteen does the dirty work, while boss Blofeld (Anthony Dawson) appears from the neck down, stroking a white cat.

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THUNDERBALL (1965) In possession of a couple of atomic weapons, SPECTRE demands £100 million in diamonds in exchange for not nuking Miami. The enigmatic Blofeld is once again pulling the strings from the shadows, leaving things to SPECTRE’s second in command and head of extortion, Emilio Largo.

SPECTRE #2 Emilio Largo

Donald Pleasance as Blofeld

YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE (1967) At last Bond meets Blofeld, who’s been hijacking US and Soviet spacecraft in an attempt to trigger a not-so-Cold war between the superpowers. Ensconced in his volcano lair with his favourite cat, the scar-faced criminal mastermind negotiates with the Japanese and rewards failure by dunking a female agent in a pool of piranha. “Kill Bond. Now!”

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SPECTRE – SPecial Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion – made its first appearance in Ian Fleming’s 1959 novel Thunderball . The author, who had worked in the Naval Intelligence Division during World War II, invented SPECTRE after genuinely believing that Thunderball hit cinemas in 1962, consequently dating the film. SPECTRE consists of an amalgamation of criminal organisations including the Soviet SMERSH, the Gestapo and the Mafia. Fleming based the name of Ernst Stavro Blofeld on a friend with whom he attended Eton. the Cold War would be over by the time

Telly Savalas as Blofeld

ON HER MAJESTY’S SECRET SERVICE (1969) From a lair in the Swiss Alps, Blofeld holds the world to ransom again. Threatening to wipe out agriculture with toxic bacteria deployed by brainwashed women, he demands a pardon for his past crimes. A side scheme involves him being recognised as the true heir to the title ‘Comte Balthazar de Bleuchamp’.

Charles Gray as Blofeld

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DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER (1971) In his final confrontation with SPECTRE (until 2015), Bond goes undercover to investigate a diamond smuggling ring and discovers that Blofeld requires the gems to power a giant orbital laser, aimed at the world’s nuclear weapons and giving him the upper hand in the arms race.

FOR YOUR EYES ONLY (1981) A wheelchair-bound Blofeld finally meets his end in the opening sequence, when Bond hooks him with a helicopter skid and drops him into an industrial smokestack.

NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN (1983) Blofeld gets some screen time – and hair – in this “unofficial” Bond film, which is an unofficial remake of Thunderball . Yes, that's Max Von Sydow as SPECTRE #1.

SPECTRE (2015) The title reveals who Bond is up against, but who is in charge of SPECTRE these days? Is the sinister Franz Oberhauser (Christoph Waltz) actually… Ernst Stavro Blofeld?

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A FINGER IN EVERY PIE Littlefinger has been one of Game of Thrones ’ most ruthless

Kiwi star Keisha Castle-Hughes joins the cast of Game of Thrones for the fifth season, playing one of the Sand Snakes, the badass daughters of the late Oberyn Martell. T he New Zealand star, best known for her Oscar- nominated role in Whale Rider , has been a fan of George R. R. Martin’s fantasy series since reading the books at school. And the Sand Snakes were among her favourite characters. “I loved them,” she enthuses. “They are definitely some of the most badass female characters in the books. When Pedro Pascal turned up as Oberyn Martell last season, it was so exciting. I started thinking that I could be related to Pedro Pascal. I put it out there into the universe; I got in touch with my manager. They announced that they were auditioning the Sand Snakes, and from that point on, I became very persistent about making sure anyone who was involved in the show knew that I was gunning for it.” Castle-Hughes plays Obara Sand, probably the most warrior-like of the three siblings. “Obara is the most like Oberyn,” she agrees. “She’s trained her entire life with him to use the spear like he does.” However, she adds: “Obara is so goddamn serious all the time and then the other two are like, 'Chill out. Stop killing people! Just relax.' Then you’ve got Obara going, 'I don’t understand why the two of you aren’t taking this seriously'.” WHALE OF A TIME

players, quick to double-cross – and even murder – friends, loved ones and allies if it helps his cause. However, Aiden Gillen reckons he is not all bad.

A lthough he has been in every season and has probably interacted with

more characters in Game of Thrones than anyone else,

Littlefinger has never enjoyed the same sort of profile as some of the series’ other main villains. In some ways, that’s not particularly surprising because he is the consummate behind-the-scenes player, quietly manipulating people to advance his own ambitions. However Aiden Gillen, who plays the man otherwise known as Petyr Baelish, takes issue with the suggestion that he is snake-like. “I don’t see him as a snake or a creep, but I could see why a character like Cersei or another character would refer to him as slithery or slippery,” says the Irish actor, who first came to prominence in another HBO series, The Wire . “I’m just standing up for Littlefinger as a human!” To Gillen, it’s the game of thrones rather than the throne itself that motivates his character. “I don’t see his ultimate goal as ultimate power, as in sitting on the throne and ruling,” he reasons. “I think that’s maybe too boring and too dangerous. The playing of the game is a big part of what makes him tick. He does enjoy it, the manipulation, seeing his plans come to fruition. But I believe there’s also some humanity to him. It hasn’t always been

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I don’t see him as a snake or a creep

was surprised by the plot twist, but excited by it, too, adding that it is always interesting to enter a new world and interact with different characters. And he still believes that Littlefinger genuinely cares for Sansa. “There’s always been a lot of talk about the nature of that relationship, how creepy or not creepy that might be. I don’t think there’s too much more to it than the fact that she is the daughter of Catelyn Stark, which explains why he’s quite obsessed with her. “But it’s with her well-being as much anything else. Littlefinger is not grooming Sansa, though he is mentoring her. And it’s been quite satisfying to see her really bloom in that way and emerge as a player. She’s probably playing him as much as he’s playing her.”

Ned Stark, he says, ‘Distrusting me was the wisest thing you’ve done’. It’s funny, but it’s true. He’s not lying.” In Season Five, Littlefinger seeks to cement his alliance with the Boltons by marrying Sansa to the psychopathic Ramsay (Iwan Rheon). Given that the family was responsible for the slaughter of her mother and brother at the notorious Red Wedding, it seems a particularly despicable thing to do. Gillen admits he

• Game of Thrones: The Complete Fifth Season is out on March 16

nastiness. For instance, those first scenes with

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