STACK Magazine

There’s always been a bit of a dichotomy with Sonic the Hedgehog. He’s the speediest of his kind, yet he’s always been confined to relatively claustrophobic levels. In Sonic Frontiers, the little blue fella finally gets to really stretch his legs and run wild. It isn’t an open world game, however, at least according to Sonic Team genius Takashi Iizuka. He prefers the term ‘Open Zone’, and it is a distinct departure from all the Sonic that has gone before it, but they’ve made it work.

It’s been a long wait for fans of the series, but this month finally sees the return of Kratos and son Atreus in God of War Ragnarök. We had a chat with Grace Orlady, lead community and communications manager at Santa Monica Studio, about the much-anticipated sequel to 2018’s God of War. 2018’s game was surprisingly emotional, delivering the feels with the father and son relationship between Kratos and Atreus.

Hold onto your hats, folks, for it’s a massive month in 4K Ultra HD releases, featuring some huge recent cinema hits and a whole lot of absolute classics. Delve into our 4K November 2022 round-up! The Blues Brothers Release date: November 23 “We’re on a mission from God.” It’s now become one of the all-time classic quotable lines, from a movie that had a troubled gestation and birth but has gone on to entertain millions worldwide.

Gee whiz, it’s a surprise! When you heard that Vika & Linda had done a Christmas album, I bet you thought it would be a gospel set or a collection of traditional Christmas carols. But instead, the sisters have got their glam on, with the focus on fun and modern Christmas tunes.

Bash, Slash and Smash. No, these aren’t three long lost cousins of the seven dwarfs, rather they’re key features of the latest addition to the stellar God of War series that make Ragnarök a contender for game of the year. Sliding back into the well-worn boots of Kratos to bash, slash and smash your way through scores of enemies across the nine realms to challenge the gods of Asgard never felt so satisfying – or looked so good.

Tasked with following up 2018’s acclaimed Devotion, the now Sydney-based Laura Jean Englert reclaims the folk of her earlier releases, creating an expansive sound that features guest backing vocals from Aldous Harding and Marlon Williams. Englert’s lyrics are full of warmth and humour as she explores her identity as an artist who often feels like an amateur.

Slowly Slowly’s fourth album had me digging out some CDs from the ’90s, revisiting great bands such as Bodyjar and Third Eye Blind. This Melbourne act makes powerful, anthemic rock – vibrant and vital. Their new album sees them going “back to basics”, celebrating life’s simple pleasures. “I don’t want the best night,” Ben Stewart declares.

The first official trailer for James Cameron’s highly-anticipated Avatar: The Way of Water has made a splashdown. “The way of water connects all things, before your birth and after your death.” Take a longer look of the Day-Glo world of Pandora (and what lies beneath its oceans) that awaits in the first of numerous sequels to James Cameron’s game-changing 2009 juggernaut, Avatar.

If The Day After was the all-star nuclear disaster movie of 1983, then Testament is the intimate exploration of how the aftermath of a nuclear attack impacts an ordinary American suburban family. Director Lynne Littman looks back on her powerful and devastating drama with STACK ahead of its Blu-ray release from Imprint Films. The idyllic American suburban landscape is illuminated with blinding light in the chilling 1983 film, Testament.

STACK‘s resident film historian, Bob J, looks back at director Martin Ritt’s gritty 1970 drama The Molly Maguires – now available on Blu-ray from Imprint Films. Martin Ritt was a distinctively non-auteur film director avoiding the usual Hollywood genres. His body of work frequently featured single outsider characters placed in an often perilous opposition to the many.