Thursday, January 30, 2014

Important Message to Blog Viewers

Dear blog viewers,

I'm writing to inform you that I'll be making a structural change to the star rating component of my reviews. No longer will I be using a 1-5 rating scale, but I will now use a 1 out of 10. The reason is that I will be better able to accurately place each movie on a larger scale with more room for variation, giving blog viewers a more accurate picture of the quality of the film reviewed.

Everything else on my blog will remain the same; I apologise for any inconvenience this change may cause. For all the reviews I have completed and posted on my site, the 1-5 scale will remain the same. I will just be using the new 1-10 scale with current movie reviews from this moment forth.

Please feel free to complement this new scale by posting comments to me. Any feedback you could provide would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you. : )

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Monday, January 27, 2014

Reign of Fire Review








Reign of Fire


Release Date: 31st October 2002 - Australia


Production Companies
Spyglass Entertainment
Touchstone Pictures
Tripod Entertainment
World 2000 Entertainment
The Zanuck Company

Distribution
Walt Disney Studio Motion
Pictures Australia


Genre: Fantasy

Rating: M

Runtime: 101 minutes


Budget: $60,000,000

Box Office Gross: $82,150,183
(Worldwide)


Plot Summary
In present-day London, 
twelve-year-old Quinn 
watches as his mother, a 
construction engineer, 
inadvertently wakes an 
enormous fire-breathing 
beast from its centuries-
long slumber. Twenty years 
later, much of the world 
has been scarred by the 
beast and its offspring. 

As a fire chief, Quinn is 
responsible for warding off 
the beasts and keeping a 
small community alive as 
they eke out a meager 
existence. Into their midst 
comes a hotshot American, 
Van Zan who says he has 
a way to kill the beasts and 
save mankind - a way 
Quinn's never seen done.


Cast
Christian Bale - Quinn Abercromby
Matthew McConaughey - Denton
Van San
Izabella Scorupco - Alex Jensen
Gerard Butler - Creedy
David Kennedy - Eddie Stax
Scott Mouter - Jared Wilke
Alexander Siddig - Ajay
Ned Dennehy - Barlow
Rory Keenan - Devon
Terence Mayward - Gideon
Doug Cockle - Goosh
Randall Carlton - Burke (Tito)
Chris Kelly - Mead
Ben Thornton - Young Quinn
Alice Krige - Karen Abercromby
Malcolm Douglas - Stuart
Duncan Keegan - Michael
Laura Pyper - Lin
David Herlihy - Oliver
Gerry O'Brien - Jerry
Patrick Foy - Paddy
Anne Maria McAuley - Rose
Maree Duffy - Rachel
Alex Meacock - Alvarez
David Garrick - Jefferson
Andy Godbold - Piscatella

Crew
Director - Rob Bowman
Story/Screenplay - Gregg
Chabot & Kevin Perteka
Screenplay - Matt Greenberg

Executive Producer - Jonathan Glickman
Producers - Gary Barber, Roger Birnbaum
and Lili Fini & Richard D. Zanuck
Co-Producers - Chris Chrisafis, 
Derek Evans, James Flynn, Morgan O'Sullivan, 
Rebekah Rudd and Dean Zanuck
Production Designer - Wolf Kroeger

Supervising Art Director - Jonathan McKinstry
Art Directors - Ian Bailie, Alan Tomkins 
and Justin Warburton-Brown
Costume Designer - Joan Bergin
Director of Photography - Adrian Biddle

Stunt Coordinator - Nick Gillard
Special Effects Supervisor - David Gauthier
Special Effects Coordinators - Kevin Byrne, 
John E. Gray
Visual Effects Supervisor - Richard R. Hoover

Visual Effects Supervisor: Cinesite - Jason Piccioni
Co-Visual Effects Supervisor - Dan DeLeeuw
Additional Visual Effects Producer - Tom C. Peitzman
Creature Supervisor - Rob Dressel
Creature Designer/Visual Effects Art Director - 
Mike Meaker
Animation Supervisor: The Secret Lab - 
Eamonn Butler
Film Editors - Declan McGrath (Uncredited) 
and Thom Noble
Music - Ed & Brad Wagner


Review
Incomparable to anything I have seen before and could be described as a bit weird, this film belongs to the genre of a post apocalyptic/fantasy film by the director Rob Bowman. 'REIGN OF FIRE' delivers a story that mashes up two genres, but it is with disappointment to say, its story ends up so underdeveloped. It somehow just ended up a letdown of sorts, sadly more of a less than a fiery grandiose epic than viewers were promised. It's more like a B-grade picture that falls short from reaching its true potential. I just found it a little underwhelming and packed with too much typical glamorised action and not enough intellect used into story development.

Featuring actors like Christian Bale and Matthew McConaughey, also complimenting the great cast are co-stars like Gerard Butler and Izabella Scorupco. The effects for the dragons were really spectacular and horrifying. This is a real testament to CGI magic that created the menacing beasts and also created a very believable world in ruins during a post apocalyptic event. There is some room for improvement with the script and story. If this had of been given more attention, this movie would be much better. 

I must say even though I have awarded this movie a disappointing three stars, that these are three very well earned stars. What this movie does do right it does very right. Incredible action sequences, explosions and edge of your seat moments. Good quality acting and realistic effects with appropriate use of soundtrack during most of the scenes.

For this case, I label 'REIGN OF FIRE' personally as a film with great potential which unfortunately did not reach its high standard due to the weaknesses I have mentioned. In the end, it was an average movie which I would not care to watch again.

Star rating: (3/5) Average

Sunday, January 26, 2014

Australia Review (Australia Day 2014)











Australia


Release Date: 18th November 2008 - 
Australia (Premiere)


Production Companies
20th Century Fox (presents)
Ingenious Film Partners
ScreenWest (produced with 
the assistance of)
Bazmark Films
Dune Entertainment III

Distribution
20th Century Fox Australia


Genre: Drama

Rating: M

Runtime: 165 minutes


Budget: $78,000,000

Box Office Gross: $36,780,000
(Australia)


Plot Summary
Set in northern Australia 
before World War II, an 
English aristocrat who 
inherits a sprawling ranch 
reluctantly pacts with a 
stock-man in order to 
protect her new property 
from a takeover plot. As 
the pair drive 2,000 head 
of cattle over unforgiving 
landscape, they experience 
the bombing of Darwin by 
Japanese forces firsthand. (Source - IMDb)


Cast
Nicole Kidman - Lady Sarah 
Ashley
Hugh Jackman - The Drover
David Wenham - Neil Fletcher
Bryan Brown - Lesley 'King' 
Carney
Jack Thompson - Kipling Flynn
Brandon Walters - Nullah
David Gulpilli - King George
David Ngoombujara - Magarri
Ben Mendelsohn - Captain 
Emmett Dutton

Crew
Story/Screenplay/Producer/
Director - Baz Luhrmann 
Screenplay - Stuart Beattie,
Ronald Harwood and Richard
Flanagan
Producers - G. Mac Brown
and Catherine Knapman
Co-Producer/Production/
Costume Designer - 
Catherine Martin
Director of Photography - Mandy Walker
Visual Effects Supervisor: Animal Logic - Andy Brown
Visual Effects Supervisor: The LaB Sydney - Tony Cole
Film Editors - Dody Dorn and Michael McCusker
Music - David Hirschfelder


Review
I was very keen to review the 2008 film 'AUSTRALIA' for Australia Day. Though I have not seen any movies directed by Baz Luhrmann; Baz has certainly made his presence well known with his cinematic hits over the years. One of his recent movies 'AUSTRALIA' was supposed to be a fictional tale about what life once was in Darwin before the bombing in 1942. In its obvious veins, the plot-line shares similarities to the epic classic 'Gone with the Wind' and pays tribute to its old cinematic qualities. The director developed a film that actually makes sense to some aspects of the Aussie culture and it is an inspiring romantic breath of fresh air. Addressing the issues of war, racial prejudice and land-property rights, without giving away spoilers, it can be said that 'AUSTRALIA' is an emotional roller-coaster that arrives at a happy ending which leaves viewers in a satisfied mood. This movie was not without weaknesses, some of the writing and parts of the film were elementary and unnecessary.

Some of the actors include Hugh Jackman who gives a natural performance as The Drover, which the character is bluntly described as a sort of a suave and old-fashioned romantic hero. Nicole Kidman was at first over-the-top at the beginning as the leading female, but she improves throughout out the film and creates love chemistry with Jackman. Other actors that performed well were Brandon Walters being a promising young fresh actor and David Wenham who takes on a character with a black-hearted nature.

'AUSTRALIA' wasn't as a master medium of mediocrity as other critics had called it, because of its over-length and tedious melodrama. It's an opportunity for Aussies to watch and overcome the misfires that hindered the movie's spirit and find it to be enthralling.

Star rating: (4/5) Good Movie

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Wednesday, January 22, 2014

86th Academy Awards









Broadcast Date: March 2014 - Australia


G'day, blog viewers and posters,
the news had announced for the
Oscars of 2014. The recent
ceremony of the official Academy
Awards is to be hosted by
television actress and hostess
Ellen DeGeneres. Still changed
are the two categories of Best
Makeup and Hairstyling and
Best Production Design.

More surprising is that the place that hosted the awards presentation in Los Angeles, California, 6801 Hollywood Boulevard, got renamed from Kodak Theatre to the Dolby Theatre. Click on the link "oscar.go.com" and who you want to be to win these 24 categories.

Don't miss out on the show for two months, Film Guru Lad out.


Best Visual Effects

Gravity - Tim Webber, Chris Lawrence,
Dave Shirk and Neil Corbould
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug - Joe Letteri,
Eric Saindon, David Clayton and Eric Reynolds
Iron Man 3 - Christopher Townsend, Guy
Williams, Erik Nash and Dan Sudick
The Long Ranger - Tim Alexander, Gary Brozenich,
Edison Williams and John Fraizer
Star Trek Into Darkness - Roger Guyett, Patrick
Tubach, Ben Grossmann and Burt Dalton

Best Film Editing

12 Years a Slave - Joe Walker
American Hustle - Jay Cassidy, Crispin Struthers
and Alan Baumgarten
Captain Phillips - Christopher Rouse
Dallas Buyers Club - John Mac McMurphy and
Martin Pensa
Gravity - Alfonso Cuarón and Mark Sanger

Best Costume Design

12 Years a Slave - Patricia Norris
American Hustle - Michael Wilkinson 
The Grandmaster - William Chang Suk Ping
The Great Gatsby - Catherine Martin
The Invisible Woman - Michael O'Connor 

Best Makeup and Hairstyling

Dallas Buyers Club - Adruitha Lee and 
Robin Matthews
Bad Grandpa - Stephen Prouty
The Lone Ranger - Joel Harlow and 
Gloria Pasqua-Carny

Best Cinematography

The Grandmaster - Phillipe LeSourd
Gravity - Emmanuel Lubezki 
Inside Llewyn Davis - Bruno Delbonnel
Nebraska - Phedon Papamichael
Prisoners - Roger Deakins

Best Production Design

12 Years a Slave - Adam Stockhausen 
(Production Design); Alice Baker (Set 
Decoration)
American Hustle - Judy Becker 
(Production Design); Heather Loeffler
(Set Decoration)
Gravity - Andy Nicholson (Production 
Design); Rosie Goodwin and Joanne 
Wollard (Set Decoration)
The Great Gatsby - Catherine Martin 
(Production Design); Beverley Dunn 
(Set Decoration)
Her - K. K. Barrett (Production 
Design); Gene Serdena (Set 
Decoration)

Best Sound Mixing

Captain Phillips - Chris Burdon, Mark 
Taylor, Mike Prestwood Smith and 
Chris Munro
Gravity - Skip Lievsay, Niv Adiri, 
Christopher Benstead and Chris 
Munro
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug 
Christopher Boyes, Michael Hedges, 
Michael Semanick and Tony Johnson 
Inside Llewyn Davis - Skip Lievsay, 
Greg Orloff and Peter F. Kurland 
Lone Survivor - Andy Koyama, Beau 
Borders and David Brownlow

Best Sound Editing

All is Lost - Steve Boeddeker and 
Richard Hymns
Captain Phillips - Oliver Tarney
Gravity - Glenn Fremantle
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug 
Brent Burge
Lone Survivor - Wylie Stateman

Best Original Song

"Alone, Yet Not Alone" from Alone Yet 
Not Alone - Bruce Broughton and 
Dennis Spiegel
"Happy" from Despicable Me 2
Pharrell Williams 
"Let It Go" from Frozen - Kristen 
Anderson & Robert Lopez
"The Moon Song" from Her - Karen 
Orzolek and Spike Jonze
"Ordinary Love" from Mandela: 
Long Walk to Freedom - U2

Best Original Score

The Book Thief - John Williams
Gravity - Steven Price
Her - William Butler and Oliver Pallett 
Philomena - Alexandre Desplat
Saving Mr. Banks - Thomas Newman 

Best Animated Short Film

Feral - Daniel Sousa and Dan Golden
Get a Horse! - Lauren MacMullan and 
Dorothy McKim
Mr. Hublot - Laurent Witz and Alexandre 
Espigares 
Possessions - Shuhei Morita 
Room on the Broom - Max Lang and 
Jan Lachauer 

Best Live Action Short Film

Aquel no era yo (That Wasn't Me)
Esteban Crespo 
Avant que de tout perdre (Just 
Before Losing Everything)
Xavier Lengrand 
Helium - Andres Walter and Kim 
Magnusson
Pitääko mun kaikki hoitaa? (Do o
I Have to Take Care of Everything?)
Selma Vilhunen and Kirsikka Saari 
The Voorman Problem - Mark Gill 
and Baldwin Li

Best Documentary - Short Subject

CaveDigger - Jeffrey Karoff
Facing Fear - Jason Cohen
Karama Has No Walls - Sara Ishaq 
The Lady in Number 6: Music 
Saved My Life - Malcolm Clarke 
and Nicholas Reed 
Prison Terminal: The Last Days 
of Private Dan Hall - Edgar Barens 

Best Documentary - Feature

20 Feet from Stardom - Morgan 
Neville
The Act of Killing - Joshua 
Oppenheimer and Signe Byrge 
Sørensen
Cutie and the Boxer - Zachary 
Heinzerling and Lydia Dean 
Picher
Dirty Wars - Richard Rowley and 
Jeremy Scahill 
The Square - Jehane Noujaim and 
Karin Amer

Best Foreign Language Film

The Broken Circle Breakdown 
(Belgium) in Dutch - Felix Van 
Groeningen 
The Great Beauty (Italy) in 
Italian - Paolo Sorrentino 
The Hunt (Denmark) in Danish - 
Thomas Vinterberg
The Missing Picture (Cambodia) 
in French - Rithy Panh
Omar (Palestine) in Arabic - 
Hany Abu-Assad 

Best Animated Feature

The Croods - Kirk DeMecco, Chris Sanders 
and Kristine Belson
Despicable Me 2 - Pierre Coffin, Chris Renaud
and Chris Meledandri
Ernest & Celestine - Benjamin Renner and
Didier Brunner
Frozen - Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee and Peter
Del Vicho
The Wind Rises - Hayao Miyazaki and Toshio
Suzuki

Best Writing - Adapted Screenplay

12 Years a Slave - John Ridley
Before Midnight - Richard Linklater, Julie 
Delpy and Ethan Hawke
Captain Phillips - Billy Ray
Philomena - Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope
The Wolf of Wall Street - Terence Winter

Best Writing - Original Screenplay

American Hustle - Eric Warren Russell and
David O. Russell
Blue Jasmine - Woody Allen
Dallas Buyers Club - Craig Borten and
Melisa Wallack
Her - Spike Jonze
Nebraska - Bob Nelson

Best Supporting Actress

Sally Hawkins - Blue Jasmine as Ginger
Jennifer Lawrence - American Hustle - Rosalyn
Rosenfield
Lupita Nyong'o - 12 Years a Slave as Patsey
Julia Roberts - August: Osage Country - Barbara
Weston-Fordham
June Squibb - Nebraska - Kate Grant

Best Supporting Actor

Barkhad Abdi - Captain Phillips as Abduwali Muse
Bradley Cooper - American Hustle as Agent
Richard "Richie" DiMaso
Michael Fassbender - 12 Years a Slave as
Edwin Epps
Jonah Hill - The Wolf of Wall Street as Donnie Azoff
Jared Leto - Dallas Buyers Club as Rayon

Best Actress

Amy Adams - American Hustle as Sydney Prosser
Cate Blanchett - Blue Jasmine as Jeannette
"Jasmine" Francis
Sandra Bullock - Gravity as Dr. Ryan Stone
Judi Dench - Philomena as Philomena Lee
Meryl Streep - August: Osage Country - Violet
Weston

Best Actor

Christian Bale - American Hustle as Irving Rosenfield
Bruce Dern - Nebraska as Woody Grant
Leonardo DiCaprio - The Wolf of Wall Street as 
Jordan Belfort
Chiwetel Ejiofor - 12 Years a Slave as Solomon 
Northup
Matthew McConaughey - Dallas Buyers Club 
as Ron Woodroof 

Best Director

Alfonso Caurón - Gravity
Steve McQueen - 12 Years a Slave
Alexander Payne - Nebraska
David O. Russell - American Hustle 
Martin Scorsese - The Wolf of Wall Street

Best Picture

12 Years a Slave - Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, 
Jeremy Kleiner, Steve McQueen and Anthony 
Katagas
American Hustle - Charles Roven, Richard 
Suckle, Megan Ellison and Jonathan Gordon
Captain Phillips - Scott Rudin, Dana Brunetti 
and Michael De Luca
Dallas Buyers Club - Robbie Brenner and 
Rachel Winter
Gravity - Alfonso Caurón and David Heyman 
Her - Megan Ellison, Spike Jonze and 
Vincent Landay
Nebraska - Albert Berger and Ron Yerxa 
Philomena - Gabrielle Tana, Steve Coogan 
and Tracey Seaward
The Wolf of Wall Street - Martin Scorsese, 
Leonardo DiCaprio, Joey McFarland and 
Emma Tillinger Koskoff

Academy Honorary Awards

Angela Lansbury
Steve Martin
Piero Tosi

Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award

Angelina Jolie


The Land Before Time Review







The Land Before Time


Release Date: 16th September 1989 - Australia


Production Companies
Universal Pictures
Amblin Entertainment
Lucasfilm Ltd. (Uncredited)
Sullivan Bluth Studios

Distribution
Universal Pictures Australia


Genre: Animation/Family

Rating: G

Runtime: 69 minutes


Budget: $12,500,000

Box Office Gross: $84,460,846 
(Worldwide)


Plot Summary
An orphaned brontosaurus 
named Littlefoot sets off 
in search of the legendary 
Great Valley. A land of lush 
vegetation where the 
dinosaurs can thrive and 
live in peace. Along the 
way he meets four other 
young dinosaurs, each 
one a different species, 
and they encounter several 
obstacles as they learn 
to work together in order 
to survive. (Source - IMDb)


Voice Cast
Gabriel Damon - Littlefoot
Pat Hingle - Narrator/Rooter
Cadance Hudson - Cera
Judith Barsi - Ducky
Will Ryan - Petrie
Helen Shaver - Littlefoot's 
Mother
Bill Erwin - Grandfather
Burke Byrnes - Daddy Topps

Crew
Production Designer/
Storyboard Artist/Producer/
Director - Don Bluth
Story - Judy Freudberg and Tony Geiss
Story Consultants - Brent Maddock and S.S. Wilson
Screenplay - Stu Krieger
Co-Executive Producers - Kathleen Kennedy and 
Frank Marshall
Executive Producers - Steven Spielberg and 
George Lucas
Producer - Gary Goldman
Producer/Character Animator: "Cera", "Rooter" 
and "Spike"/Directing Animator: "Littlefoot" - 
John Pomeroy
Storyboard Artist/Character Animator: "Littlefoot's Mother"/
Directing Animator - Dan Kuenster
Directing Animators - Lorna Cook, 
Linda Miller, and Dick & Ralph Zondag
Layout Supervisor - David Goetz 
Background Stylist - Don Moore
Special Effects Directing Animator - Dorse A. Lanpher
Film Editor/Supervising Sound Editor - Dan Molina
Film Editor - John K. Carr
Music - James Horner


Review
Years ago, legendary filmmaker Steven Spielberg teams up again with Star Wars entrepreneur and his co-making partner of Indiana Jones, George Lucas and animator Don Bluth to create a special animated movie about dinosaurs. No I'm not talking about 'Jurassic Park' where it hasn't been made till 1993, we are take a trip through nostalgia into one of the old favourites from my childhood. I know 'THE LAND BEFORE TIME' means a lot to me when it happened to be animated in Don Bluth's style not Disney's. If you're looking for a Dino movie from Disney, I suggest it would be the similar and forgettable CGI movie 'Dinosaur'. I've been too proud to admit it, the characterisations and voice acting were all aged timelessly and joined up with Bluth's spectacular animation. It has been brought down by the weak standards of pacing and editing horrendously contributed by either Spielberg or Lucas.

I praise James Horner's score of the movie and was vividly gorgeous to hear. It has many ways to enhance the music, make it as light-hearted, dark or emotional in depth. I had almost forgot that one of the supporting leads Spike was actually a baby stegosaurus and he looked like a dinosaur from a different kind which had me confused?

Not one of his best and I agree with the creator's opinion for not intending the movie to be in 69 minutes. The majesty still remains behind in the old prehistoric classic 'THE LAND BEFORE TIME' for it is bound to be watched for future and younger generations. Find it someday and save up your money for the first, don't get me started on the other instalments that most of them are particularly bland and demeaning.

Star rating: (4/5) Good Movie

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Monday, January 20, 2014

An American in Paris Review








An American in Paris


Release Date: 2nd April 1952 - Australia


Production Companies
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Loew's Inc (produced by)


Genre: Musical/Romance

Rating: G

Runtime: 114 minutes


Budget: $2,724,000

Box Office Gross: $7,272,619 (Worldwide)


Plot Summary
In Paris, struggling American painter Jerry Mulligan has been "spotted" by a powerful heiress whose interest goes beyond Jerry's art. Jerry falls in love with Lisa, a young French girl. She is already engaged to a cabaret singer.

Amidst romantic complications, Jerry sings, jokes and dances with his best friend, a wry would-be concert pianist.


Cast
Gene Kelly - Jerry Mulligan
Leslie Caron - Lise Bouvier
Oscar Levant - Adam Cook
George Guétary - Henri Bauel
Nina Foch - Milo Roberts
The American in Paris
Ballet - Dancers
Madge Blake - Edna Mae Bestram (Uncredited)
Benny Carter - Saxophonist in Cafe (Uncredited)
Noel Neill - American Girl (Uncredited)
Hayden Rorke - Tommy Baldwin (Uncredited)
Dudley Field Malone - Winston Churchill (Uncredited)

Crew
Director - Vincente Minnelli 
Story and Screenplay - Alan Jay Lerner
Associate Producer - Roger Edens (Uncredited)
Producer - Arthur Freed
Art Directors - E. Preston Ames and Cedric Gibbons
Set Decorations - Edwin B. Willis
Associate Set Decorator - F. Keogh Gleason
Costume Designer - Orry-Kelly
Costume Designer: Beaux Arts Ball - Walter Plunkett
Ballet Costumes Designer - Irene Sharaff
Makeup Creator - William Tuttle
Director of Photography - Alfred Gilks
Ballet Photographer - John Alton
Choreographer - Gene Kelly
Special Effects - Warren Newcombe
and Irving G. Ries
Musical Directors - Saul Chaplin
and Johnny Green
Lyrics - Ira Gershwin 
Music - George Gershwin
Film Editor - Adrienne Fazan
Recording Supervisor - Douglas Shearer


Awards

1952 Academy Awards
Best Picture - Arthur Freed (Won)
Best Writing, Story and Screenplay -
Alan Jay Lerner (Won)
Best Cinematography, Color - Alfred Gilks (Won)
Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color - 
Cedric Gibbons, E. Preston Ames,
Edwin B. Willis and F. Keogh Gleason (Won)
Best Costume Design, Color - Orry-Kelly,
Walter Plunkett and Irene Sharaff (Won)
Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture -
Johnny Green and Saul Chaplin (Won)
------------------------
Best Director - Vincente Minnelli (Nominated)
Best Film Editing - Adrienne Fazan (Nominated)


Review
It's quite a spectacular decision to pick a movie that came out of the classics. I decided to release my critique of Reign of Fire before settling down on an old film I had barely watched when I saw only clips of it. This movie is a semi-decent musical that provides non-stop dancing sequences combined with classic jazzy instrumentals and singable tunes by late music legend George Gershwin. Many people were too young to remember AN AMERICAN IN PARIS, a favourite starring Gene Kelly, one of the great dancers before Michael Jackson. It comes to the big and overlong dancing climax, all in a mixture of terrific set-pieces and quietly in silence. Gene's bright vision helps the spectacle to look more prolonged, as Walt Disney did for his animation of Fantasia.

This Oscar-winning musical is not as well-fondly remembered as Singin' in the Rain, its only true successor. AN AMERICAN IN PARIS is at least a refreshment to its ongoing reputation of a minor classic provided to those at home.

Star rating: (4/5) Good Movie

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Monday, January 13, 2014

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Review










The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug


Release Date: 26th December 2013 - Australia


Production Companies
Metro Goldwyn Mayer
New Line Cinema
WingNut Films

Distribution
Roadshow Distribution


Genre: Fantasy

Rating: M

Runtime: 161 minutes


Budget: $225,000,000

Box Office Gross: $958,366,855
(Worldwide)


Plot Summary
Continuing on their epic
quest of adventure to bring
back the lost Dwarf
Kingdom of Erebor. Bilbo
Baggins accompanied by
the wizard Gandalf and
his thirteen Dwarf allies,
led by Thorin Oakenshield
are journeying through
track of peril and must go
to the dragon Smaug, who
still conquers their rightful
home. In order to reclaim
it, they must defeat and
slay Smaug and avoid
many obstacles as they pass.


Cast
Martin Freeman - Bilbo Baggins
Ian McKellen - Gandalf the Grey
Benedict Cumberbatch -
Smaug/The Necromancer
(Voice)
Orlando Bloom - Legolas
Evangeline Lilly - Tauriel
Luke Evans - Bard the Bowman/Girion
Stephen Fry - Master of Laketown
Ryan Gage - Alfrid
Cate Blanchett - Galadriel
Lee Pace - Thranduil
Mikael Persbrandt - Beorn
Sylvester McCoy - Radagast
the Brown
Manu Bennett - Azog
Lawrence Makoare - Bolg
Ben Mitchell - Narzug
Stephen Ure - Fimbul
Craig Hall - Gailon
Robin Kerr - Elros
Simon London - Feren
Dallas Barnett - Bill Ferny Snr
Matt Smith - Squint
Mark Mitchinson - Braga
Kelly Kilgour - Soury
Sarah Peirse - Hilda Blanca
Nick Blake - Percy
John Bell - Bain
Katie Jackson - Betsy Butterbur
Richard Whiteside - Butterbur
Brian Sergent - Spider (Voice)
Peter Vere-Jones - Spider (Voice)
Stephen Colbert - Laketown Spy (Cameo)
Jabez Olssen - Fish Monger (Cameo)
Peter Jackson - Albert Dreary (Cameo) (Uncredited)

The Company of Dwarves
Richard Armitage - Thorin Oakenshield
Graham McTavish - Dwalin
Ken Stott - Balin
Aidan Turner - Kili
Dean O'Gorman - Fili
Mark Hadlow - Dori
Jed Brophy - Nori
Adam Brown - Ori
John Callen - Oin
Peter Hambleton - Gloin
William Kircher - Bifur
James Nesbitt - Bofur
Stephen Hunter - Bombur


Crew
Screenplay/Producer/Director - Peter Jackson
Based on Novel "The Hobbit" - J.R.R. Tolkien
Screenplay/Producer - Fran Walsh
Screenplay/Co-Producer - Phillippa Boyens
Screenplay/Project Consultant - Guillermo del Toro
Executive Producers - Carolyn Blackwood,
Toby Emmerich, Callum Greene, Alan Horn
& Ken Kamins 
Producer - Carolynne Cunningham
Producer/Unit Production Manager - Zane Weiner
Co-Producer - Eileen Moran
Casting Director: U.S. - Victoria Burrows
Casting Directors: UK - Amy & John Hubbard
Casting Directors: New Zealand - Liz Mullane &
Miranda Rivers
Supervising Dialect Coach - Roisin Carty
Dialect Coach - Leith McPherson
Movement Choreographer - Terry Notary
Production Designer - Dan Hennah
Conceptual Designers - John Howe & Alan Lee
Storyboard Artist (Uncredited)/Splinter Unit Director - 
Christian Rivers
Supervising Art Director/Set Decorator - Simon Bright
Set Decorator - Ra Vincent   
Costume Designers - Bob Buck,
Ann Maskrey and Richard Taylor 
Director of Photography - Andrew Lesnie
Second Unit Director - Andy Serkis 
Stunt Coordinator - Glenn Boswell
Special Effects Supervisor - Steve Ingram
Visual Effects Supervisors - Joe Letteri,
Eric Saindon, R. Christopher White and
Jeff Capogreco
Visual Effects Supervisor: Weta Digital - Matt Aitken
Animation Supervisor/Visual Effects - David Clayton
Animation Supervisor - Eric Reynolds
Film Editor - Jabez Olssen
Music - Howard Shore


Review
Continuing on this trilogy of the 'LOTR' prequels, 'THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG' pops in with another breath for visual eye-candy and spectacular new layer of translation. Director Peter Jackson has got cultivation to tinker yet again in nearly completing a heavy forgoing saga with one final chapter left to go. I have not yet seen 'The Return of the King'. Owing the return of Orlando Bloom's character of Legolas is enough to contemplate the movie's good parts; he's my favourite 'LOTR' character. The last and neatest detail would be British actor Benedict Cumberbatch lending the terrifying performance of the dragon Smaug to the audiences with not just his mo-cap (motion capture) technique. His deep and intense vocabulary also makes him in the top spot highlight; particularly this Smaug succeeds to be the greatest visual counterpart of a dragon shown on cinemas.

'THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG' is a hypnotic volume which proves far or less like the other 'LOTR' instalments. This is a finest hour that takes fans through a fantasy world again and it is with relief that I can say this film is better than the first prequel.

Star rating: (5/5) Best Movie Ever

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Monday, January 6, 2014

Toy Story 2 Review











Toy Story 2


Release Date: 16th December 1999 - Australia


Production Companies
Walt Disney Pictures (presents)
Pixar Animation Studios

Distribution
Walt Disney Studios Motion
Pictures Australia


Genre: Animation/Family/
Adventure/Comedy

Rating: G

Runtime: 89 minutes


Budget: $90,000,000

Box Office Gross: $511,358,276 (Worldwide)


Plot Summary
While Andy is away at cowboy camp, a greedy toy collector named Al steals Woody so that he needs to complete his collection of Roundup Gang. It's up to Buzz and the other toys to explore the city and rescue him before being sold to a museum in Japan, where he'll spend the rest of his life behind glass.


Voice Cast
Tom Hanks - Woody
Tim Allen - Buzz Lightyear
Joan Cusack - Jessie
Kesley Grammer - Stinky Pete
Wayne Knight - Al
Don Rickles - Mr. Potato Head
John Ratzenberger - Hamm
Wallace Shawn - Rex
Jim Varney - Slinky the Dog
Joe Ranft - Wheezy/Heimlich (Cameo)
Estelle Harris - Mrs. Potato
Head
Annie Potts - Little Bo Peep
Andrew Stanton - Emperor Zurg
R. Lee Ermey - Sarge
Jodi Benson - Barbie
John Morris - Andy
Lauren Metcalf - Andy's Mom
Jeff Pidgeon - Squeeze Toy
Aliens/Mr Spell
Mary Kay Bergman - Jessie - Yodeling/Additional Voices
Jonathan Harris - Geri the Cleaner
John Lasseter - Blue Rock
'Em Sock 'Em Robot (Cameo)
Lee Unkrich - Red Rock 'Em
Sock 'Em Robot (Cameo)
Hannah Unkrich - Molly Davis
Dave Foley - Flik the Ant
(Cameo) (Uncredited)

Crew
Original Story/Director -
John Lasseter
Original Story/Animator/
Character Designer: New
Characters/Co-Director - Ash Brannon
Additional Story Material/Co-Director/Film Editor - Lee Unkrich
Story/Screenplay - Andrew Stanton
Original Story - Pete Docter
Additional Story Material/Story Supervisors - Joe Ranft and Dan Jeup
Additional Story Material -
Elias Davis, Jimmy Hayward,
David Pollock, Steve Boyett
and David Reynolds
Additional Story Material/
Story Artists - Jim Capobianco
and Jeff Pidgeon
Additional Story Material/
Character Designer: New Characters -
Colin Brady
Screenplay - Rita Hsiao,
Doug Chamberlin and Chris Webb
Executive Producer - Sarah McArthur
Producers - Karen Robert Jackson and
Helene Plotkin
Production Designer - William Cone
Production Designer/Character Designer:
New Characters - Jim Pearson
Shading Art Director - Byrn Imagire
Additional Art and Technical Consultants -
Tia W. Kratter, Bob Pauley and
Rick Sayre
Character Designers: New Characters/
Story Artists - Jill Culton, Bud Luckey
and Ken Mitchroney
Production Manager - Graham Walters
Set Dressing Supervisor - David Eisenmann
Supervising Animator - Glenn McQueen
Directing Animators - Kyle Balda and
Dylan Brown
Modelling Supervisor - Eben Ostby
Modelling & Shading Coordinators - Mark Nielsen
and Vanessa Ross
Shading Supervisor - Brad West
Lighting Supervisor - Jean-Claude Kalache
Director of Photography - Sharon Calahan
Supervising Technical Director - Galyn Susman
Associate Technical Directors - Oren Jacob
and Larry Aupperle
Layout Supervisor - Jerrica Cleland
Layout Supervisor/Effects Technical Artist -
Ewan Johnson
Sequence Leads - Shawn Brennan,
Jeremy Lasky, Patrick Lin and Gregg Olsson
Film Editors - Edie Bleiman and
David Ian Salter
Second Editor - Robert Grahamjones
Additional Editors - Richard Halsey,
Mildred Iatrou, Ken Schretzmann and
Jim Stewart
Sound Designer/Supervisor (Uncredited)/
Re-Recording Mixer - Gary Rydstrom
Sound Designer - Tom Myers
Supervising Sound Editor - Michael Silvers
Assistant Sound Design/Sound Effects
Editor - Shannon Mills
Sound Effects Editor - Teresa Eckton
Assistant Sound Effects Editor - Al Nelson
Re-Recording Mixer - Gary Summers
Foley Artists - Jana Vance and
Dennie Thorpe
Foley Mixer - Tony Eckert
Songs/Music - Randy Newman
Executive Music Producer - Chris Montan
Music Production Manager - Tom MacDougall


Awards

2000 Academy Awards
Best Music, Original Song "When She Loved
Me" - Randy Newman (Nominated)


Review
It's me, Film Guru Lad. I am still here to round the nostalgia with my review of TOY STORY 2. Looking back now, watching number two again, after a very long period, as a sequel, it has proven to be much better than the first movie (click here). TOY STORY 2 results in much-improved CGI that the studio Pixar has undertaken to get it going in three more years. Nowadays, the sequel is renowned for showcasing a backstory for one of the new characters with tragedy and emotion. It transitions the series from a more cheerful animated delight into a heartfelt approach. I like how there's still a double-dose of comedy left to amuse all generations, and for once, the subplot of Buzz replaced by the false Buzz is the one crucial plot point played for laughs.

In the elements, joining the cast of voices by Allen and Hanks is comedienne Joan Cusack. She voices the modelling cowgirl Jessie, and her voice is pivotal to driving this film, even though I have seen her in only a few movies. That said, her character would be significant to the film's plot.

TOY STORY 2 surpasses the original by adding pushovers with better-visualised rendering and is considered one of Pixar's better movies. If not better than other triumphs like WALL-E and The IncrediblesYou won't miss this film, but you can hire or watch it for a recommendation.

Star rating: (5/5) Best Movie Ever

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