Monday, November 26, 2012

Skyfall Review (With Guest Reviewer)










Skyfall


Release Date: 16th November 2012 - Australia


Production Companies
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
Columbia Pictures
Danjaq
Eon Productions (presents)
Anka Film
B23

Distribution
Sony Pictures Australia


Genre: Action

Rating: M

Runtime: 143 minutes


Budget: $200,000,000

Box Office Gross: $1,142,471,295 (Worldwide)


Plot Summary
James Bond is assumed to be dead after his mission has gone wrong. The identities of every undercover agent from around the world leaked, and MI6 was under attack. Bond gets brought into his latest assignment as he travels through the Chinese border to take down a threat hiding in the shadows. Bond begins questioning his loyalty to M as he learns secrets about her past.


Cast
Daniel Craig - James Bond
Judi Dench - M
Javier Bardem - Raoul Silva
Ralph Fiennes - Gareth Mallory
Naomie Harris - Eve
Berenice Lim Marlohe - Severine
Albert Finney - Kincade
Ben Whishaw - Q
Rory Kinnear - Bill Tanner
Ola Rapace - Patrice
Helen McCrory - Clair Dowar MP
Nicholas Woodson - Doctor Hall
Bill Buckhurst - Ronson
Elize du Toit - Vanessa
Michael G. Wilson - Pallbearer (Cameo) (Uncredited)

Crew
Director - Sam Mendes
Based on Characters - Ian Fleming (Uncredited)
Screenplay - Neal Purvis,
Robert Wade and John Logan
Associate Producer - Gregg Wilson
Executive Producer/Unit Production Manager -
Callum McDougall
Producers - Michael G. Wilson
and Barbara Broccoli
Co-Producer/Financial Controller - Andrew Noakes
Co-Producer - David Pope
Casting Director - Debbie McWilliams
Production Designer - Dennis Gassner
Supervising Art Director - Chris Lowe
Art Directors - Neal Callow,
Dean Clegg, James Foster, Mark Harris,
Marc Homes, Paul Inglis and Jason Knox-Johnston
Set Decorator - Anna Pinnock
Property Master - Jamie Wilkinson
Supervising Armorer - Joss Skottowe
Costume Designers - Jany Temime
and Timothy Everest (Uncredited)
Makeup Designer - Naomi Donne
Cinematography/Camera Operator: "A" Camera -
Roger Deakins
Director of Photography: Underwater Unit -
Mike Valentine
Camera Operators - Peter Field, Clive &
Tony Jackson, Burak Kanbir, Karl Morgan
and Julian Morson
First Assistant Camera - Rene Adefarasin,
David Cozens, Andy Harris, John Jordan,
Jem Rayner, Dean Thompson and Jon Webb
Unit Production Manager - Jeremy Johns
Location Production Managers - Chris Brock,
Angus More Gordon and Anthony Waye
Production Coordinators - King Aharon,
Stephanie Bamberg, Karl Caffrey, Paige Chaytor,
Hannah Godwin and Denise Hanrahan
First Assistant Director - Michael Lerman
Assistant Director: Second Unit/Second Assistant
Director - Terry Madden
Second Assistant Directors - Ben Dixon,
Stewart Hamilton, Terence Madden and
Tufan Simsekcan
Location Managers - James Grant, Richard Hill,
Matt Jones, Martin Joy and Russell Lodge
Second Unit Director/Director of Photography -
Alexander Witt
Second Unit Director: Underwater Unit/
Stunt Coordinator - Gary Powell
Assistant Stunt Coordinators - Lee Morrison,
Mark Mottram and Peter White
Second Unit Director: Splinter Unit/Special
and Miniature Effects Supervisor - Chris Corbould
Helicopter Pilots - Marc Wolff and Will Samuelson
Aviation Consultants - Ian McEwan
and Mike Woodley
Coordinator: Underwater Unit - Françoise Valentine
Diving Coordinator: Underwater Unit - Dave Shaw
Diving Supervisor: Underwater Unit - Tony French
Fight Choreographer - Nicola Berwick
Fight Trainer - Roger Yaun
Special Effects Coordinator/Buyer - Lynne Corbould
Special Effects Floor Supervisors -
Paul Corbould, Ian Lowe and Peter Notley
Visual Effects and Miniature Supervisor -
Steve Begg
Visual Effects Supervisor: Lola Visual Effects -
Edson Williams
Visual Effects Producer - Leslie Lerman
Visual Effects Producer: Double Negative -
Melinka Thompson-Godoy
Computer Graphics Supervisor: Blind Ltd
London - Andrew Booth
CG Supervisor: MPC - Sheldon Stopsack
Main Titles Designer - Daniel Kleinman
Supervising Sound Editors - Karen Baker
Landers and Per Hallberg
Production Sound Mixer - Stuart Wilson
Re-Recording Mixers - Scott Millan,
Greg P. Russell and Andrii Trifinov
Film Editor - Stuart Baird
Film Editor/First Assistant Editor - Kate Baird
Composer: James Bond Theme - Monty Norman
Music - Thomas Newman
Lyrics/Singer: Song "Skyfall" - Adele
Lyrics: Song "Skyfall" - Paul Epworth
Additional Arrangements and Programming -
Simon Franglen
Music Consultant - Randall Poster


Review (FilmGuruLad)
A complex and quintessential Bond picture, SKYFALL downplays the mediocrity of Quantum and focuses on the story, brilliant car chases, imploding action and fun moments. I'm glad they brought Q back after his absence in the last two Bond films, with Ben Whishaw playing the quartermaster and a few gadgets. I am surprised that this movie takes inspiration from The Dark Knight and has a villain similar to the Joker but has a different motive. Javier Bardem did a fantastic job portraying a Bond villain with a complex motivation.

I consider SKYFALL to be the best Bond film with Daniel Craig. It is far better than the last one, which fails to bring something the audience wants. For anyone who enjoys the Bond movies, I recommend this film.

Review (Guest Reviewer)
Hi! I am doing a guest review for Film Guru Lad for SKYFALL. In viewing this film, I was very impressed as a Bond fan. I went into the cinema with high expectations. And I left the movie feeling these expectations had been satisfied. The action and stunt choreography was original and entertaining. The cast selected was suitable for the roles they played. I particularly enjoyed the actor who played Q as I enjoyed the humour and comical nature he brought to the film. Javier Bardem was the perfect villain as he portrayed the characteristics crucial to his menacing character.

This movie was engaging from start to finish, with an intriguing storyline, outstanding acting performances and intense action sequences. It is a must-see for Bond fans.

Star rating: (5/5) Best Movie Ever

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Saturday, November 24, 2012

Quantum of Solace Review








Quantum of Solace


Release Date: 19th November 2008 - Australia


Production Companies
Metro Goldwyn Mayer
Columbia Pictures
EON Productions
B22

Distribution 
Sony Pictures Australia


Genre: Action

Rating: M

Runtime: 100 minutes


Budget: $200,000,000

Box Office Gross: $586,090,727 (Worldwide - figure subject to change)


Plot Summary
On a nonstop quest for
justice that crisscrosses
the globe, Bond meets
the beautiful but feisty
Camille, who leads him
to Dominic Greene, a
ruthless businessman and
major force within the
mysterious Quantum
organisation. When Bond
uncovers a conspiracy to
take control of one of the
world's most important
natural resources, he must
navigate a minefield of
treachery, deception and
murder to neutralize
Quantum before it's too
late!


Cast
Daniel Craig - James Bond
Olga Kurylenko - Camille
Mathieu Amalric - Dominic Greene
Giancarlo Giannini - Rene Mathis
Jeffrey Wright - Felix Leiter
Judi Dench - M
Gemma Arterton - Strawberry Fields
Joaquin Cosio - General Medrano
Anatole Taubman - Elvis
David Harbour - Gregg Beam
Fernando Guillen Cuervo - Colonel of Police
Jesper Christensen - Mr. White
Rory Kinnear - Bill Tanner
Paul Ritter - Guy Haines
Tim Pigott-Smith - Foreign Secretary
Neil Jackson - Mr. Slate
Simon Kassianides - Yusef
Jesus Ochoa - Lt. Orso
Lucrezia Lante della Rovere - Gemma
Glenn Foster - Mitchell
Stana Katic - Corrine
Oona Chaplin - Perla de las Dunas Receptionist

Crew
Director - Marc Forster
Based on Characters - Ian Fleming (Uncredited)
Writers - Paul Haggis, Neal
Purvis & Robert Wade
Assistant Producer - Gregg Wilson
Executive Producers - Callum McDougall &
Anthony Waye
Producers - Michael G. Wilson &
Barbara Broccoli
Casting Director - Debbie McWilliams
Production Designer - Dennis Gassner
Supervising Art Director - Chris Lowe
Art Directors - James Foster, Mark Harris,
Paul Inglis, Marco Rubeo & Mike Stallion
Set Decorator - Anna Pinnock
Costume Designer - Louise Frogley
Director of Photography - Roberto Schaefer
Second Unit Director - Dan Bradley
Second Unit Director: Panama - Simon Crane
Stunt Coordinator - Gary Powell
Special Effects Coordinator - Chris Corbould
Special Effects Workshop Supervisor - Andrew Smith
Visual Effects Supervisor - Huseyin Caner
Visual Effects Designer - Kevin Tod Haug
Visual Effects Supervisor: Framestore CFC - Jon Thum
Visual Effects Producers - Jeppe N. Christensen &
Leslie Lerman
Film Editors - Matt Chesse & Richard Pearson
Title Designer - Mk12
Composer: James Bond Theme - Monty Norman
Music - David Arnold
Writer/Performer: Song "Another Way to Die" -
Jack White
Performer: Song "Another Way to Die" -
Alicia Keys


Review
The recent Bond picture 'QUANTUM OF SOLACE' has a lot of the top action, but the film is too complicated and different to the series. What really bothers me is that it's still missing Q and having a Bond villain of an environmentalist is really a bad choice. I still highly praise Daniel Craig for his performance as James Bond.

Not quite the type of a Bond film that was expected, but could have been more. To me, 'QUANTUM' is an unwarranted addition to the Bond family and it is probably for the best.

Star rating: (3/5) Average

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Saturday, November 17, 2012

Pocahontas Review











Pocahontas


Release Date: 24th August 1995 - Australia


Production Companies
Walt Disney Pictures (presents)
Walt Disney Feature Animation

Distribution
Walt Disney Studios Motion
Pictures Australia


Genre: Animation/Family

Rating: G

Runtime: 81 minutes


Budget: $55,000,000

Box Office Gross: $346,079,773 (Worldwide)


Plot Summary
On the shores of Virginia,
Pocahontas, the free-
spirited daughter of Chief
Powhatan, watches as a
mysterious shipload of
English settlers arrives.
Their leaders are the greedy
Governor Ratcliffe and
the brave Captain John
Smith. Pocahontas meets
the latter and strikes up
a strong relationship.
Pocahontas seeks the
living wisdom of
Grandmother Willow to
guide her in finding a way
for everyone to live
together in peace as
tensions rise between
their two very different
cultures.


Voice Cast
Irene Bedard - Pocahontas
Judy Kuhn - Pocahontas 
(singing voice)
Mel Gibson - John Smith
David Ogden Steirs - Governor 
Ratcliffe/Wiggins
John Kassir - Meeko
Russell Means - Chief Powhatan
Christian Bale - Thomas
Linda Hunt - Grandmother Willow
Danny Mann - Percy
Billy Connolly - Ben
Joe Baker - Lon
Frank Welker - Flit
Michelle St. John - Nakoma
James Apaumut Fall - Kocoum
Gordon Tootoosis - Kekata
Jim Cummings - Chief
Powhatan/Kekata (singing voices)

Crew
Based on an Idea/Visual
Development/Character
Designer/Director - Mike Gabriel
Director - Eric Goldberg
Story/Character Designer/
Visual Development/
Supervising Animator:
"Pocahontas" - Glen Keane
Story/Character Designer/
Visual Development - Joe Grant
Story/Character Designer/
Visual Development/Video
Reference Cast/Supervising
Animator: "Ratcliffe" - Duncan Marjoribanks
Story/Character Designer/
Visual Development/
Supervising Animator: "Percy,
Grandmother Willow & Wiggins" - Chris Buck
Story - Ralph Zondag,
Burny Mattinson, Ed Gombert,
Kaan Kalyon, Francis Glebas, Rob Gibbs,
Bruce Morris and Todd Kurosawa
Additional Story Development -
Andrew Chapman, Randy Cartwright,
Vincent DeFrances, Tom Mazzocco, 
Don Dougherty and Jorgen Klubien
Additional Story/Visual Development - Will Finn
Additional Story Development/Animator: "Percy" -
Broose Johnson
Additional Story Development/Supervising
Animator: "Ben & Lon" - T. Daniel Hofstedt
Additional Story Development/Supervising
Animator: "Flit & Forest Animals" - David Pruiksma
Additional Story Development/Supervising
Animator: "Meeko" - Nik Ranieri
Writers - Carl Binder, Susannah Grant
and Phillip LaZebnik
Associate Producer - Baker Bloodworth
Producer - James Pentecost
Artistic Supervisor: Story - Tom Sito
Art Director/Character Designer/
Visual Development - Michael Giaimo
Character Designers/Visual Development -
Guy Deel, Vance Gerry, Jean Gillmore,
Darek Gogol, Ian Gooding, Bruce Zick
and Kathy Zielinski
Artistic Coordinator - Dan Hansen
Artistic Supervisor: Layout - Razoul Azadani
Artistic Supervisor: Background - Cristy Maltese
Artistic Supervisor: Background, Florida Unit -
Robert E. Stanton
Senior Manager: Production - Dana Axelrod
Supervising Animator: "John Smith" - John Pomeroy
Supervising Animator: "Powhatan" - Ruben A. Aquino
Supervising Animator: "Nakoma" - Anthony de Rosa
Supervising Animator: "Thomas" - Ken Duncan
Supervising Animator: "Kocoum" - Michael Cedeno
Additional Animation - Ellen Woodbury
Artistic Supervisor: Cleanup, Florida Unit -
Ruben Procopio
Artist: Pocahontas Animation Discovery
Adventure/Inbetweener: Additional Cleanup
Animation - Saul Blinkoff
Artistic Supervisor: Visual Effects - Don Paul
Artistic Supervisors: Visual Effects, Florida Unit -
Jeff Dutton and Dave Tidgwell
Artistic Supervisor: Computer Graphics Imagery -
Steve Goldberg
Pre-Production Effects Development -
Dave Bossert and Chris Jenkins
Additional CGI Animation - Rob Bekuhrs,
Sandra M. Groeneveld and Kevin Sheedy
Songs: Music/Original Score/Songs and
Score Producer - Alan Menken
Songs: Lyrics/Songs Producer - Stephen Schwartz
Editor - H. Lee Peterson
Animation Editor - James Melton
Associate Editor - Mark Hester
Additional Editors - Ellen Keneshea
and Sandy Nervig
First Assistant Editor - Tim Mertens
Supervising Sound Editors - Larry Kemp
and Lon Bender
Sound Effects Editors - Scott Martin Gershin,
Rick Morris, Alan Rankin, Joseph Phillips,
Peter J. Lehman, Brian McPherson and
Anthony J. Miceli
ADR Supervisor - Curt Schulkey
Re-Recording Mixers - Terry Porter,
Mel Metcalfe and Dean A. Zupancic
Foley Artists - John Roesch and
Hilda Hodges
Songs Conductor/Vocal Arrangements/
Contractor - David Friedman
Executive Music Producer - Chris Montan


Awards

1996 Academy Awards
Best Music, Original Song "Colors of the Wind" -
Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz (Won)
Best Music, Original Musical or Comedy Score -
Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz (Won)


Review
POCAHONTAS is the best-looking movie from Disney that was ever done, with good animation and vivid art direction. However, it is a problematic film, rife with inconsistencies that hurt it somehow. These include historical inaccuracies, animal characters that don't talk (like Meeko, Flit and Percy), a weak villain and a bittersweet ending. The former and latter are because Disney is willing to overlook the history of the real-life Pocahontas and the events despite the research the filmmakers took but decided to ignore it in favour of a fictionalised story. The things about the film which are worthwhile are the voice acting of Mel Gibson, David Odgen Stiers and Christian Bale and three songs by Alan Menken including "Steady as the Beating Drum", the Oscar-winning "Colors of the Wind" and "Savages".

It's funny how most Disney animators and executives thought POCAHONTAS had the potential to become the ultimate hit for the studio instead of The Lion KingIt turns out that it was the opposite, and it is one of those animated movies that tried so hard to be better, but it ends up being average.

Star rating: (3/5) Average

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Monday, November 12, 2012

Casino Royale Review (Updated)










Casino Royale


Release Date: 7th December 2006 - Australia


Production Companies
Columbia Pictures (copyright holder)
Eon Productions (presents)
Casino Royale Productions
Stillking Films
Studio Babelsberg
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
Danjaq (copyright holder)
United Artists (copyright holder)

Distribution
Sony Pictures Australia


Genre: Action

Rating: M

Runtime: 144 minutes


Budget: $150,000,000

Box Office Gross: $616,505,162 (Worldwide)


Plot Summary
Having earned his 00 status and licence to kill, James Bond goes to Madagascar on his first mission, where he is to spy on a terrorist, Mollaka. But not everything goes as planned, and Bond decides to investigate, independently of MI6, to look for the rest of the terrorist cell. He finds a lead to the Bahamas, where the British spy comes across Dimitrios and his girlfriend, Solange. 007 discovers that
Dimitrios is involved with Le
Chiffre, a private banker who
funds the world's terrorist
organisations.

He learns from the Secret
Service intelligence that
Le Chiffre is setting up a
high-stakes poker game to
recover a large sum of
money he owed his clients,
which he lost in a failed
plot that the British secret
agent took down. MI6
assigns Bond to play
against him, knowing
that their newest "00"
operative will have the
advantage to defeat Le
Chiffre and end his
organisation.


Cast
Daniel Craig - James Bond
Eva Green - Vesper Lynd
Judi Dench - M
Mads Mikkelsen - Le Chiffre
Jeffrey Wright - Felix Leiter
Giancarlo Giannini - Rene Mathis
Simon Abkarian - Alex
Dimitrios
Caterina Marino - Solange
Dimitrios
Jesper Christensen - Mr. White
Isaach De Bankole - Steven
Obanno
Ivana Milicevic - Valenka
Tobias Menzies - Villiers
Claudio Santamaria - Carlos
Sebastien Foucan - Mollaka
Malcolm Sinclair - Dryden
Richard Sammel - Adolph Gettler
Ludger Pistor - Mendel
Joseph Millson - Carter
Darwin Shaw - Fisher
Clemens Schick - Kratt
Emmanuel Avena - Leo
Tom Chadbon - Stockbroker
Ade - Infante
Urbano Barberini - Tomelli
Tsai Chin - Madame Wu
Charlie Levi Leroy - Gallardo
Lazar Ristovski - Kaminofsky
Tom So - Fukutu
Veruschka von Lehndorff - Gräfin von
Wallenstein
Andreas Daniel - Daniel
Carlos Leal - Tournament Director
Christina Cole - Ocean Club Receptionist
Jurgen Tarrach - Schultz
Michael G. Wilson - Chief of Police (Cameo)
Phil Meheux - Treasury Bureaucrat (Cameo)
Richard Branson - Man at Airport Security
(Cameo) (Uncredited)
Martin Campbell - Airport Worker (Cameo)
(Uncredited)

Crew
Director - Martin Campbell
Based on Novel "Casino Royale" - Ian Fleming
Screenplay - Neal Purvis, Robert Wade
and Paul Haggis
Executive Producers - Callum McDougall
and Anthony Waye
Producers - Michael G. Wilson
and Barbara Broccoli
Co-Producer - Charlie Woebcken
Casting Directors - Janet Hirshenson,
Jane Jenkins and Debbie McWilliams
Animal Coordinators - Gary Gero and
Paul 'Sled' Reynolds
Animal Trainers - Tamara Brock,
Jules Sylvester and Julie Tottman
Production Designer - Peter Lamont
Supervising Art Director - Simon Lamont
Art Directors - Peter Francis, James Hambidge,
Michael Lamont, Steven Lawrence and
Dominic Masters
Stand-by Art Director - Neal Callow
Set Decorators - Lee Sandales and
Simon Wakefield
Property Master - Ty Teiger
Costume Designer - Lindy Hemming
Costume Supervisor - Dan Grace
Supervising Armorer - Richard Hooper
Makeup Supervisor - Paul Engelen
Director of Photography - Phil Meheux
Underwater Photographer - Mike Valentine
Production Managers - Sabrina Allaria
and Chris Brock
First Assistant Director - Bruce Moriarty
First Assistant Director: Second Unit -
Terry Madden
Second Unit Director/Director of Photography:
Second Unit - Alexander Witt
Stunt Coordinator - Gary Powell
Aerial Coordinator/Helicopter Pilot -
Marc Wolff
Aircraft Coordinator: Picture Aircraft -
Mike Woodley
Helicopter Pilot - David Paris
Special & Miniature Effects Supervisor -
Chris Corbould
Special Effects Buyer/Coordinator -
Lynne Corbould
Visual Effects Supervisor - Huseyin Caner
Visual & Miniature Effects Supervisor -
Steven Begg
Visual Effects Supervisor: MPC - Angela Barson
Visual Effects Consultant: Peerless -
Kent Houston
Director of Photography: Visual Effects,
Venice - Peter Field
Film Editor - Stuart Baird
Assistant Editors - Mark Burton,
Jo Dixon and Gregg Wilson
Title Designer - Daniel Kleinman
Sound Designer - Martin Cantwell
Supervising Sound Editor - Eddy Joseph
Sound Effects Editors - Jimmy Boyle,
James Harrison, Oliver Tarney and Jack Whittaker
Sound Mixer - Chris Munro
Re-Recording Mixer - Mark Taylor
Foley Artists - Peter Burgis,
Paul Hanks and Ian Waggott
Composer: James Bond Theme - Monty Norman
Music - David Arnold
Writer/Performer: Song "You Know
My Name" - Chris Cornell
Score Engineer/Mixer - Geoff Foster


Review
Not quite the reboot that I was expecting, CASINO ROYALE is a great James Bond movie, and it took four years after the last Bond film, Die Another Day, to make this adaptation of the character's first story by Ian Fleming. The film takes Bond back to where he should be in his roots and eschews the tropes of the series' previous films. It ditches the silliness of the high-tech gadgetry and visuals that are said to have plagued Die Another Day, although it lacks the character of Q, who is integral to the Bond franchise. It has a superb plot and character focus that are important to the film. Best of all, it showcases some intense action and suspense. Actor Daniel Craig was incredible in his performance as the title character, which is much more aggressive, rough and gritty than the previous interpretations from actors like Sean or Pierce.

While the movie manages to re-invent the Bond franchise, CASINO ROYALE is enjoyable and even brutal in some ways, with style and panache. I can't wait for the new Bond film Skyfall to come out, and yes, it does have Q. I recommend this movie to Bond fans.

Star rating: (4/5) Good Movie

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Thursday, November 8, 2012

Film Guru Lad's Top 3 Star Wars Movies

Now that the Walt Disney Company has bought Lucasfilm and Star Wars. And Disney is planning to make episode VII. Here are the top three films of the science-fiction franchise. These movies feature unforgettable moments like "I Am Your Father" and characters like Luke, Leia, Han Solo, Princess Leia, Chewbacca, C-3PO, R2-D2, Yoda, Obi-Wan, Boba Fett and Darth Vader. (Not the awful ones like the clumsy comic relief Jar Jar Binks or the "I hate sand" scene).



While the other prequels did not quite live up to the original films, REVENGE OF THE SITH is dark and tragic but brings back the good old storytelling that made the series grand. It still has the right tools, like the visuals, some incredible action scenes, and an ending that helps to link both trilogies together. Not only was it the strongest of the two prequels, but it was also the conclusion of Star Wars.





A NEW HOPE is a movie that started the whole franchise. It is the first film in the original trilogy. It introduced the elements that brought the series together, such as the characters, visuals, and music by John Williams. It's the most exciting and excellent way to start a film saga like Star Wars, and I suggest you watch the unaltered version instead of the special edition. Yes, it does include the scene, which is the crowning moment, where Han shoots first.





It may be the absolute fan favourite of all the Star Wars movies. THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK has provided aspects, such as a romantic subplot involving Han and Leia and new characters like Yoda and Boba Fett. There are iconic moments, impressive action scenes, and the most shocking plot twist in film history. And who can forget the way it ends on a cliffhanger? I always thought that Return of the Jedi was the series' best. Now I believe in EMPIRE and consider it my ultimate top favourite movie.


Monday, November 5, 2012

Mission: Impossible II Review














Mission: Impossible II


Release Date: 1st June 2000 - Australia


Production Companies
Paramount Pictures (presents)
Cruise/Wagner Productions
Munich Film Partners
& Company (MIFP)
MI2 Productions

Distribution
Paramount Pictures Australia


Genre: Action

Rating: M

Runtime: 123 minutes


Budget: $125,000,000

Box Office Gross: $546,388,105
(Worldwide)


Plot Summary
Top action director John
Woo brings his own brand
of excitement to the mission
that finds Ethan Hunt
partnering up with the
beautiful Nyah Hall to stop
the renegade agent Sean
Ambrose from releasing
a new kind of terror on
an unsuspecting world.

But before the mission is
complete, they'll traverse
the globe and have to
choose between everything
they love and everything
they believe in.


Cast
Tom Cruise - Ethan Hunt
Dougray Scott - Sean Ambrose
Thandie Newton - Nyah Nordoff-Hall
Ving Rhames - Luther Strickell
Richard Roxburgh - Hugh Stamp
John Polson - Billy Baird
Brendan Gleeson - John C. McCloy
Anthony Hopkins - Mission
Commander Swanbeck (Uncredited)
Rade Serbedzija - Dr. Nekhorvich
William Mapother - Wallis
Dominic Purcell - Ulrich
Matthew Wilkinson - Michael
Kim Fleming - Larabee
Christian Manon - Dr. Gradsky

Crew
Director - John Woo
Based on TV Series: Mission
Impossible - Bruce Geller
Story - Ronald D. Moore &
Brannon Braga
Screenplay - Robert Towne
Executive Producers - Terence Chang & Paul Hitchcock
Producers - Tom Cruise & Paula Wagner
Production Designer - Thomas E. Saunders
Supervising Art Director - Daniel T. Dorrance
Art Directors - Nathan Crowley,
Kevin Kavanaugh & Michelle McGahey
Set Decorators - Kerrie Brown &
Lauri Giffin
Costume Designers - Lizzy Gardiner &
Timothy Everest (Uncredited)
Director of Photography - Jeffrey L. Kimball
Second Unit Director - William H. Burton Jr.
Second Unit Director (Uncredited)/Stunt Coordinator -
Brian Smrz
Special Effect Shop Supervisor - Brian Cox
Special Effects Supervisor: USA - David P. Kelsey
Visual Effects Supervisors - Richard Yuricich and Ralph Maiers
Visual Effects Supervisor: Matte World Digital - Craig Barron
Visual Effects Supervisor: PDI - Henry LaBounta
Visual Effects Producer - Alison O'Brien
Model Supervisor - David B. Sharp
CG Supervisor - John 'D.J.' Des Jardin
Digital Effects Supervisor - Janek Sirrs
Film Editors - Steven Kemper
& Christian Wagner
Music - Hans Zimmer


Review
'MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE II' does package its action scenes and gadgets, but it's not as incredible as 'Ghost Protocol', neither deceptive as its predecessor (click here). This picture is very typical of John Woo's style of directing. Its full of action, action and more action to the point where by the end of the film, you feel it was a great movie but perhaps lacking comedy and romance to balance some of the ongoing action. It's funny that I didn't even know that Anthony Hopkins was on the movie. One asset for this film is that leading actor Tom Cruise actually performed some of his own stunts which is not always the case.

This film is nowhere near as good as the fourth film or even the first, but it's still enjoyable for those who watched the M:I movie series. Cruise was definitely in his prime when he made this film.

Star rating: (4/5) Good Movie

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Thursday, November 1, 2012

Frankenweenie Review









Frankenweenie 


Release Date: 25th October 2012 - Australia


Production Companies

Walt Disney Pictures
Tim Burton Animation Co.
Tim Burton Productions

Distribution
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Australia


Genre: Animation/Family

Rating: PG

Runtime: 87 minutes


Budget: $39,000,000

Box Office Gross: $81,493,846 (Worldwide - figure subject to change)


Plot Summary
After unexpectedly losing
his beloved dog Sparky,
young Victor uses science
to bring his best friend back
to life - with just a few minor
adjustments. He tries to
hide his home-sewn creation,
but when Sparky gets out,
Victor's fellow students,
teachers and the entire town
all learn that getting a new
"leash on life" can be
monstrous. (Source - Metro Cinemas)


Voice Cast
Charlie Tahan - Victor
Frankenstein
Catherine O'Hara - Susan
Frankenstein/Weird Girl
Martin Short - Edward
Frankenstein/Nassor/Mr.
Bergermeister
Martin Landau - Mr. Rzykruski
Winona Ryder - Elsa van Helsing
Atticus Shaffer - Edgar "E" Gore
Robert Capron - Bob
Christopher Lee - Movie Dracula
(Archive Footage Only)
Conchata Ferrell - Bob's Mother
James Hiroyuki Liao - Toshiaki

Crew
Based on Short Film
"Frankenweenie"/Producer/
Director - Tim Burton
Based on Screenplay - Leonard Ripps
Screenplay - John August
Producer - Allison Abbate
Production Designer - Rick Heinrichs
Cinematography - Peter Sorg
Animation Director - Trey Thomas
Film Editors - Chris Lebenzon
& Mark Soloman
Music - Danny Elfman


Review
I never watched the live-action short version of the film, I always knew that director Tim Burton would make 'FRANKENWEENIE' into an animated feature and extended the story. There a couple of few parts that were scary, but I quite liked the film being in black or white which makes it as a tribute to the old horror and sci-fi movies. Martin Landau's voice work as the science teacher is quite superb and the stop-motion animation was good indeed.

'FRANKENWEENIE' is in other ways, cute or dark, it has really followed Tim Burton's vision of what would this film supposed to be like and it had all the good themes like love, loss and science. Trust me, this labour of love from the director is really worth-seeing.

Star rating: (4/5) Good Movie


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