Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Titan A.E. vs Treasure Planet







                       VS














You are left wondering what happened to the article I posted three years ago. I revamped and upgraded if you get the comparisons when you find it is better or a tie. You might notice they are similar if you watched TITAN A.E. and TREASURE PLANET.

Both animated features, whose main character is a young man who disrespects authority, lost his dad when he was young and would find something to change his life forever. Cale and James found father figures in Korso & Silver, who inspired the boys and gave them self-confidence. Korso and Silver had ulterior motives and used the boys for selfish reasons. They later experience a change of heart near the end when they feel responsible for the boys and saving their lives.

Unfortunately, both movies bombed the box office and nearly killed the 2D animation format, meaning neither one grossed or made an impact. First was TITAN A.E. because people seemed unsure whether to target teenagers or older science fiction fans. While TREASURE PLANET, for unknown reasons presumably similar, competition, or that everyone was more interested in fantasy films than sci-fi.

Now, let the match begin!


  • Round 1: Characterisations
The first difference between TITAN A.E. and TREASURE PLANET is the characters, as they are easy to find in both pictures. Let's start with the two male leads who have daddy issues. Cale Tucker, for example, is a cynic. He was five years of age when his father left him to quickly save the Titan ship into outer space from the Drej before Earth's explosive demise. Cale gets brought up by a friend and suffers discrimination by other alien species for his race for being homeless drifters. Jim Hawkins is much more relatable and less cynical but retains his background. He grew up with a father who left him at age 12 for no good reason, and his mother tries very hard to keep her son comfortable and away from his troubling behaviour.

For the paternal figure characters, Joseph Korso turns Cale from being stubborn and never turns his back on him until the second half shows us that he is working for the alien menace. Then he redeems himself near the end, and thank goodness he regained his hope to save the last relic of humanity. John Silver, unlike Korso, is a pirate who is only motivated by greed when he seeks Treasure Planet and cares for Jim to keep him from discovering the mutiny, so he does after their short-lived bond. Ultimately, Silver firmly gives up the treasure and decides to save Jim's life without sacrificing himself at the cost of his own.

Both films have supporting villains in Preed and Scroop, who meet their demise for their treachery. Preed not only double crosses Cale and Akima to the Drej but also Korso, his superior and another traitor. Scroop, not quite as backstabbing as Preed, still has his motives and never betrays Silver. He only does the threatening parts about him or questions about his mutiny. That proves Preed from TITAN A.E. is the winner, only that he's slightly more treacherous and devious than the latter.

Thoroughly in two at each feature, they all had other characters to help or pity the hero. First, at TREASURE PLANET, which had some of the likeable supporting leads save for the robot B.E.N., an okay character but would have gotten a different personality instead of a loudmouth shown halfway through the movie. At least he is not as aggravating as Jar Jar of Star Wars.

The verdict is that TREASURE PLANET has many more memorable and well-developed characters than TITAN.

Winner - TREASURE PLANET

  • Round 2: Writing
At first, I couldn't figure out which one of the two was the better movie in the quality of writing and structure. Now, TITAN A.E. has a sharp eye for humour and wit, thanks to one of its writers, the legendary Joss Whedon. The film also has twists in the story, including one when Korso turns his back on humanity in the first place. Unfortunately, some glaring holes are in the plot. The most noticeable is why the Drej wanted to destroy humanity when they feared what we might become. The film's storyline is derivative and thus explains the recycled plot ideas and occasional lifted dialogue from previous science-fiction movies.

I will have to nominate TREASURE PLANET for its story because it is an adaptation of a classic tale of literature by Robert Louis Stevenson, even when there are not many plot deficits. It is one of Disney's finest to interpret a well-known classic story.

Winner - TREASURE PLANET

  • Round 3: Setting
TITAN A.E. and TREASURE PLANET were about space travel but were in two distinct settings. The former is a dark and post-apocalyptic future where Earth gets destroyed. The other is in an alternate universe where the reality of space is breathable and spaceships built like 16th-century galleons made with a blend of technology and wood. The feel of TREASURE PLANET is more like a science fantasy genre, and nothing is very profound to Disney to craft imagination than Miyazaki did for anime.

Winner - TREASURE PLANET

  • Round 4: Voice Acting
One thing a cartoon shouldn't be silent about is voice synchronisation. In TITAN A.E. and TREASURE PLANET, both features had an ensemble of celebrity talents like Bill Pullman, Martin Short, Drew Barrymore, John Leguizamo, David Hyde Pierce, Ron Perlman, etc. First, the standouts on TITAN are Matt Damon and Nathan Lane, while TREASURE has Joseph Gordon Levitt, Brian Murray and Emma Thompson. I have no question that two of each cast member are tied instead of just one. Well, I give it a splendid choice!

Winner - Tied

  • Round 5: Animation/Visuals
TITAN A.E. and TREASURE PLANET combined 2D and 3D animation. The two films are the work of the best animation teams from the two studios. In the hand-drawn format, Disney produced the latter and looked good in its character animation. Sometimes, the designs of the minor characters represent the studio's appeal to young children. Only TITAN A.E. succeeds as well-drawn and complex because the character's facial structure is of a signature style created by the team of Don Bluth. At the least, they made the aliens and humans very expressive. 

If these two movies have traditional hand-drawn animation, what about the CGI-enhanced visuals and the backgrounds? TITAN A.E. was perfect in most visual quality except for the ending for some quite unfinished parts, and the directors seemed unhappy about that. It did not help that one of the effects companies that worked on TITAN A.E. was the studio that later became 20th Century Fox's animation unit. The effects of TREASURE came from Disney's in-house animation department through the Deep Canvas software. The latter succeeded without succumbing to age to beat TITAN.

Winner - TITAN A.E. - 2D
Winner - TREASURE PLANET - 3D

  • Round 6: Action
All those two movies are known for their sci-fi/futuristic settings, and their action sequences have excited and impacted some older audiences. In TREASURE, there's hardly any violence despite consisting of some action. TITAN A.E. had more exhilarating action and a lot of violence, explicitly shown when the character kills another by breaking its neck, and some scenes show a lot of bleeding. 

Consider what two movies have the same rating classification. It does not matter. One animated film that is more action-oriented has got to be TITAN by far.

Winner - TITAN A.E.

  • Round 7: Music
The music from the two films is known for having original post-grunge/rock-type songs by various artists aimed only at teens and adults. The two film scores often mix with tunes composed by professional and underrated music artists. Eventually, TITAN A.E. would have needed fewer alternative rock songs not to undermine Graeme Revell's unsung score. TREASURE PLANET only had two and was lessened by James Newton Howard's massive arrangements.

I have decided to pick TREASURE PLANET, which only superseded TITAN's complicated array of both kinds of music. You are much easier to track down an out-of-print soundtrack from a car boot sale or eBay.

Winner - TREASURE PLANET


Despite being underrated movies and cult favourites. Which one of these films is way better? The verdict goes to the heavyweight champion of the world! TREASURE PLANET, because it had great story-writing and is more imaginative than the first one. The movie's cult status would lead Disney to leave their regrets behind and package it under their engrossing Diamond Editions. And release it on Blu-Ray and DVD or probably a theatrical re-release. So which one do you decide the more you vote, or can it be both?

Monday, September 29, 2014

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan Review









Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan


Release Date: 13th August 1982 - Australia


Production Companies
Paramount Pictures (presents)

Distribution
Paramount Pictures Australia


Genre: Sci-Fi

Rating: PG

Runtime: 108 minutes


Budget: $11,200,000

Box Office Gross: $97,000,000 (Worldwide)


Plot Summary
Admiral James T. Kirk 
begins believing that 
galloping through the
cosmos is a game for the
young when he senses that
the future is nothing like
the past. But during a
routine inspection of the
U.S.S. Enterprise, Kirk's
career is turned upside
down by his most vengeful
enemy: Khan Noonien
Singh, the genetically
engineered tyrant from
Earth in the late 20th
century.

Now freed from his
forgotten prison, Khan
aims to capture Project
Genesis, a device of god-
like power and destroy Kirk.
Once again, Kirk takes
the helm of the Enterprise.
This time, he meets Khan's
ship in an intergalactic
showdown.


Cast
William Shatner - Admiral
James T. Kirk
Leonard Nimoy - Spock
DeForest Kelley - Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy
James Doohan - Scotty
Walter Koenig - Chekov
George Takei - Sulu
Nichelle Nichols - Uhura
Ricardo Montalbán - Khan
Noonien Singh
Kirstie Alley - Lt. Saavik
Bibi Besch - Dr. Carol Marcus
Merritt Butrick - David Marcus
Paul Winfield - Terrell
Judson Scott - Joachim (Uncredited)
Ike Eisenmann - Preston
John Vargas - Jedda
John Winston - Kyle
Paul Kent - Beach
Nicholas Guest - Cadet
Russell Takaki - Madison
Kevin Sullivan - March
Joel Marston - Crew Chief
Teresa E. Victor - Bridge Voice
Dianne Harper - Radio Voice
David Ruprecht - Radio Voice
Marcy Vosburgh - Computer Voice

Crew
Screenplay (Uncredited)/
Director - Nicholas Meyer
Based on "Star Trek"/Executive Consultant -
Gene Roddenberry 
Story/Executive Producer - Harve Bennett
Story/Screenplay - Jack B. Sowards
Story - Samuel A. Peeples (Uncredited)
Producer - Robert Sallin
Vulcan Translator - Marc Okrand 
Production Designer - Joseph R. Jennings
Art Director - Michael Minor
Set Decorator - Charles Graffeo
Property Master - Joe Longo
Costume Designer - Robert Fletcher
Makeup Artists - Werner Keppler
and James Lee McCoy
Director of Photography - Gayne Rescher
First Camera Assistant - Catherine E. Coulson
Stunt Coordinator/Stunts - Bill Couch
Special Effects Supervisor - Bob Dawson 
Additional Special Lighting Effects - Sam Nicholson
Special Visual Effects Supervisors: ILM -
Ken Ralston and Jim Veilieux
Effects Cameramen: ILM - Don Dow
and Scott Farrar
Camera Operator: ILM - Stewart Barbee
Assistant Camera Operators: ILM - Selwyn Eddy,
David R. Hardberger, Robert Hill,
Michael Owens and Michael Santy
Optical Photography Supervisor: ILM - Bruce Nicholson
General Manager: ILM - Tom Smith
Production Supervisor: ILM - Patricia Rose Duignan
Matte Photography: ILM - Neil Krepela
Matte Photography Assistant: ILM - Craig Barron
Supervising Model Maker: ILM - Steve Gawley
Model Electronics: ILM - Marty Brenneis
Computer Graphics: ILM - Loren Carpenter,
Ed Catmull, Pat Cole, Rob Cook,
Tom Duff, Robert D. Poor, Thomas Porter,
William Reeves and Alvy Ray Smith
Supervising Stage Technician: ILM - Ted Moehnke
Stage Technicians: ILM - Dave Childers,
Harold Cole, Dick Dova, Bob Finley III,
Pat Fitzsimmons, Edward Hirsh, John McCleod
and Peter Stolz
Pyrotechnics: ILM - Thaine Morris
Editor - William Paul Dornisch
Assistant Editors - John Haggar,
Christopher Koeford and Vicky Witt
Supervising Sound Editors - Cecelia Hall
and George Watters II
Sound Effects Editors - Teresa Eckton,
Michael Hilkene, John Kline, Curt Schulkey
and Jim Siracusa
Special Sound Effects - Alan Howarth
Re-Recording Mixers - David J. Hudson,
Mel Metcalfe, Ray West and Noyan Cosarer (Uncredited)
Composer: Theme "Star Trek" - Alexander Courage
Music - James Horner
Music Editor - Bob Badami


Review
After watching and reviewing Star Trek Into Darkness, I decided to critique one of the famous classic Trek films, THE WRATH OF KHAN, which many consider the best of the seriesIn its history of 1982, the sequel restored the franchise to its former glory and brought back the excitement for fans after its predecessor failed to live up to their high expectations. The Trekkies welcomed the space battles, an original story, a compelling archfoe and a change of pace, something the first movie didn't have. The film begins the story arc that ends with the fourth instalment. The writers are still in the process of creating new stuff in the eye of the storm. It happened during that time of its pre-production. These elements were unshown in the original program and did not belong to the creator's vision. One idea is borrowed similarly in the animated non-Trek movie Titan A.E. There are many allusions to literary classics such as Moby Dick, as one critic has analysed.

Several moments of the original second instalment are memorable. These few iconic scenes include Kirk shouting Khan's name for the unexpected and Spock's death. Most of the original Enterprise crew of William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy and others are present in the main cast of this sequel. Their performances got better since we last saw them in its predecessor. For instance, Shatner didn't act as cheesy as he was in the original television series or the previous movie. Ricardo Montalbán was fantastic as Khan (a role he reprised from the episode Space Seed), though his interpretation is less savage and campy and has no British accent. While his performance is fun to watch, I still prefer the new one as it is more brutal and vengeful and played terrifically by Benedict Cumberbatch.

The Starfleet uniforms look much better than the pyjamas worn in its predecessor. The effects were decent but nowhere near as good as Star Wars five years earlier. It's hard to believe that James Horner composed the film of its score as Jerry Goldsmith was busy scoring other movies. His arrangement was good but took most of its cues from Goldsmith's original theme.

I always knew Into Darkness was just a near repeat of KHAN, let alone director J.J. Abrams rehashed a few of its elements into the plot line. However, THE WRATH OF KHAN is a great Star Trek film, but I prefer something else. It's enjoyable for everyone, including Trekkies and non-Trekkies alike. So I recommend you watch it in your time.

Star rating: (8/10) Very Good Movie

Thursday, September 25, 2014

The Chronicles of Riddick Review










The Chronicles of Riddick


Release Date: 29th July 2004 - Australia


Production Companies
Universal Pictures
Radar Pictures
One Race Films

Distribution
Universal Pictures Australia


Genre: Sci-Fi

Rating: M

Runtime: 114 minutes
                 135 minutes
                 (director's cut)


Budget: $120,000,000

Box Office Gross:
$115,772,733 (Worldwide)


Plot Summary
Riddick has a large bounty on his head while escaping from mercenaries who were out to get him to receive their payment. However, he deals with a race of oppressive beings called
Necromongers that threaten the
existence of the entire universe and the human race. Riddick is the only one who can save them from these overlords.


Cast
Vin Diesel - Riddick
Colm Feore - Lord Marshal
Thandie Newton - Dame Vaako
Judi Dench - Aereon
Karl Urban - Lord Vaako
Alexa Davalos - Jack/Kyra
Linus Roache - The Purifier
Nick Chinlund - Toombs
Yorick van Wageninen -
The Guv
Keith David - Imam
Mark Gibbon - Irgun
Roger Cross - Toal
Peter Williams - Sybar
Christina Cox - Eve Logan
Kim Hawthorne - Lajjun
Alexis Llewellyn - Ziza
Charles Zuckermann - Scales
Kristin Lehman - Shirah (director's cut)

Crew
Writer/Director - David Twohy
Based on Characters - Jim &
Ken Wheat
Executive Producers - Ted Field and George Zakk
Executive Producer/Additional Unit Production Manager - David Womark
Co-Executive Producer - Tom Engelman
Producers - Scott Kroopf,
Vin Diesel and Camille Brown (director's cut)
Casting Directors - Correen Mayers,
Anne McCarthy and Mary Selway
Production Designer - Holger Gross
Supervising Concept Designer - Matt Codd
Concept Designers - Daren R. Dochterman,
Tim Flattery, Jim Martin, Mark 'Crash' McCreery,
Brian Murray, James Oxford,
Patrick Tatopoulos and Miles Teves
Supervising Art Director - Kevin Ishioka
Art Directors - Mark W. Mansbridge,
Sandi Tanaka and Bruce Crone
Set Decorator - Peter Lando
Costume Designers - Ellen Mirojnick and
Michael Dennison
Costume Supervisors - Dawn Y. Line,
Bob Morgan and James W. Tyson
Special Makeup Effects - Ve Neill
Assistant Makeup Effects - Joel Harlow
Key Makeup - Victoria Down
Director of Photography - Hugh Johnson
Camera/Steadicam Operator - J. Michael Muro
Camera Operators - Ian Fox, Mike Thomas
and Scott MacDonald
First Assistants Camera: Second Unit -
Taylor Matheson and Christina Kasperczyk
Production Supervisor - John Kreidman
Production Manager: London - Jeremy Johns
Unit Production Manager: Toronto Reshoots -
Bryan A. Martin
First Assistant Director - William M. Elvin
Second Assistant Director - David Ticotin
Second Unit Director - E.J. Foerster
Stunt Coordinators - Bob Brown
and Dean Choe
Stunt Fight Coordinator - Bradley James Allan
Special Effects Coordinator - William H. Orr
Special Mechanical Effects - Brian Bero
Mechanical Effects Supervisor: New Deal
Studios Inc. - Scott Beverly
Visual Effects Supervisor - Peter Chiang
Visual Effects Supervisor: Rhythm & Hues -
Mike Wassel
Visual Effects Supervisor: ILM - Pablo Helman
Visual Effects Supervisor: Hammerhead -
Jamie Dixon
Visual Effects Supervisors: Double Negative -
Tom Debenham and Jesper Kjolsrud
Visual Effects Supervisor: New Deal Studios
Inc. - Ian Hunter
Visual Effects Supervisor: CIS Hollywood -
Thomas J. Smith
Visual Effects Supervisor: Pacific Title & Arts
Studio - David Sosalla
Visual Effects Supervisor: The Farm West/
Lead Compositor: Hammerhead - David Lingenfelser
Additional Visual Effects Supervisor -
Stephen Rosenbaum
Visual Effects Producers - Kimberly Nelson
LoCascio, Allen Maris and Denise Davis
Visual Effects Producer: Double Negative -
Stuart McAra
Executive Producer: Rhythm & Hues - Lee Berger
Visual Effects Director of Photography:
New Deal Studios Inc. - Tim Angulo
Digital Effects Supervisor: Rhythm & Hues -
Mike O'Neal
Lead Digital Artist: Hammerhead - Dave Rand
Technical Supervisor: Hammerhead - Thad Beier
2D Sequence Leads: Double Negative -
Michael Ellis, Steve McGee, John Moffatt,
Tristan Myles, Tor Olsson and Jelena Stojanovoc
Previs Animator: Rhythm & Hues - Bud Myrick
Model Supervisor - Ron Mendell
Model Maker - Gregory Hein
Model Shop Crew Chief: New Deal Studios Inc. -
Forest P. Fischer 
Matte Painters: Rhythm & Hues - Alison Yerxa,
Roger Kupelian, Robert Stromberg,
Rocco Gioffre, Richard Kriegler and
Lopsie Schwartz
Lead Matte Painter: Rhythm & Hues - Dylan Cole
3D Sequence Leads: Double Negative - Pete Bebb,
Martin Hill, Graham Jack, Mathias Larserud,
Xavier Roig, Fredrik Sundqvist, Ged Wright
and Alex Wuttke
Compositing Supervisor: ILM - Dorne Huebler
Editors - Martin Hunter and Dennis Virkler
Additional Editor/Editor (Director's Cut) -
Tracy Adams
Additional Editor - Rick Shaine
Sound Supervision & Design - Scott Martin Gershin
Sound Designers - Peter Zinda,
Jon Title, Bryan Bowen and Ann Scibelli
Re-Recording Mixers - Chris Jenkins,
Frank A. Montano and Rick Kline
Foley Artists - Jeffrey Wilhott
and James Moriana
Music - Graeme Revell
Executive in Charge of Music: Universal
Pictures - Kathy Nelson


Review
Presenting the audience is 2004's imperfect film called THE CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK, which came four years after Pitch Black and nine years before Riddick. Set in a surreal, dark and mythical world. I'm not willing to say it was a great sci-fi film. It's more of an okay and subpar film than my expectations. Irrespective that I never saw the movie in its director's cut or the first instalment of Pitch Black, it was a disappointing flop at the box office. The director's cut version was released a year later, but unfortunately, it did not change the movie from being generally unsatisfactory. Nor was the consensus of Riddick fans.

It's hard for me to understand why Vin Diesel, as the actor and producer, wanted Dame Judi Dench in one of the supporting lead roles. I know of Dench's work from her previous role as the authoritative figure of MI6, known as M in the James Bond series. I read on IMDb that the action star had sent Dench a bouquet to persuade her to play the supporting role. As I have said before, I was never a Karl Urban fan. But in THE CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK, he convincingly plays one of the villainous characters in an unexpectedly decent performance.

THE CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK is a fair movie and no better than the first instalment.
 
Star rating: (6/10) Fair Movie

Back to Home

Monday, September 22, 2014

Hot Fuzz Review















Hot Fuzz


Release Date: 15th March 2007 - Australia


Production Companies
Universal Pictures (presents)
Working Title Films
StudioCanal (in association with)
Big Talk Productions (in
association with)
Ingenious Film Partners (produced
in association with)

Distribution
Universal Pictures Australia


Genre: Action/Comedy

Rating: MA15+ (Not
Suitable for Young Children)

Runtime: 116 minutes


Budget: $12,000,000

Box Office Gross: $80,577,265 (Worldwide)


Plot Summary
Top cop PC Nicholas Angel gets transferred from London to the quiet little village of Sanford. There, he must cope with the daily routines of this crime-free town and a bumbling partner named Danny, who has seen too many action movies.

When several gruesome
murders occurred in Sanford,
Nicholas is on the case,
with Danny at his side as
his dreams of high-octane
explosions, gunfights and
car chases have all come
true.


Cast
Simon Pegg - Nicholas Angel
Nick Frost - PC Danny
Butterman
Jim Broadbent - Inspector
Frank Butterman
Timothy Dalton - Simon Skinner
Edward Woodward - Prof.
Tom Weaver
Paddy Considine - DS Andy
Wainwright
Rafe Spall - DC Andy
Cartwright
Kevin Eldon - Sgt. Tony Fisher
Olivia Colman - Doris
Thatcher
Karl Johnson - PC Bob
Walker
Peter Wight - Roy Porter
Julia Deakin - Mary Porter
Billie Whitelaw - Joyce
Cooper
Eric Mason - Bernard Cooper
Stuart Wilson - Dr. Robin
Hatcher
Paul Freeman - Rev. Phillip
Shooter
Trevor Nichols - Greg Prosser
Elizabeth Elvin - Sheree
Prosser
Rory McCann - Michael
Armstrong
Kenneth Cranham - James
Reaper
Maria Charles - Mrs. Reaper
Patricia Franklin - Annette
Roper
Lorraine Hilton - Amanda
Paver
Elvis - The Swan
Tim Barlow - Mr. Treacher
Anne Reid - Leslie Tiller
Ben McKay - Peter Cocker
Adam Buxton - Tim Messenger
David Threlfall - Martin Blower
Lucy Punch - Eve Draper
David Bradley - Arthur Webley
Ron Cook - George Merchant
Stephen Merchant - Peter Ian Staker
Alice Lowe - Tina
Bill Bailey - Sgt. Turner
Graham Lowe - The Living Statue
Sampson - Saxon
Tom Strode Walton - Underage Drinker #1
Troy Woollan - Underage Drinker #2
Rory Lowings - Underage Drinker #3
Joe Cornish - Bob
Robert Popper - 'Not' Janine
Chris Waitt - Dave
Alexander King - Aaron A. Aaronson
Colin Michael Carmichael - Heston
Services Clerk
Martin Freeman - Met Sergeant
Bill Nighy - Met Ch Insp. Kenneth
Kevin & Nicholas Wilson - Butcher Brothers
Steve Coogan - Metropolitan Police Inspector
(Cameo) (Uncredited)
Peter Jackson - Thief Dressed as Santa
(Cameo) (Uncredited)
Garth Jennings - Crack Addict (Cameo)
(Uncredited)
Cate Blanchett - Janine (Cameo)
(Uncredited)
Edgar Wright - Shelf Stacker/Voice of
Dave (Cameo) (Uncredited)

Crew
Writer/Director - Edgar Wright
Writer - Simon Pegg
Executive Producer - Natascha Wharton
Producers - Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner
and Nira Park
Casting Director - Nina Gold
Production Designer - Marcus Rowland
Art Director - Dick Lunn
Graphic Designer - Jenny Bowers
Set Decorator - Liz Griffiths
Armorers - Richard Hooper,
Charlie Bodycomb and Greg Corke
Costume Designer - Annie Hardinge
Hair & Makeup Designer - Jane Walker
Director of Photography - Jess Hall
Director of Photography: Second Unit -
Peter Field
Director of Photography: Additional Filming -
Ashley Rowe
"A" Camera/Steadicam Operator - Peter Robertson
Production Manager - James Biddle
First Assistant Director - Mike Elliott
Second Assistant Director - Anthony Wilcox
Second Unit Director - Jeremy Lowering
Stunt Coordinator - Paul Herbert
Lead Special Effects Supervisor - Mike Kelt
Visual Effects Supervisor - Richard Briscoe
Visual Effects Producer: Double Negative -
Steve Garrad
Editor - Chris Dickens
Additional Editor - Jonathan Amos
Supervising Sound Editor - Julian Slater
Sound Designer - Craig Butters
Re-Recording Mixer - Nigel Heath
Foley Artists - Andi Derrick and Peter Burgis
Music - David Arnold
Music Supervisor - Nick Angel
Executive in Charge of Music: Universal
Pictures - Kathy Nelson
Score Mixer/Recordist - Geoff Foster


Review
HOT FUZZ mixes themes of buddy cop films and action elements with comedy and is a clever satire of the subgenre. The movie pushes the envelope to parody every action cliché known to action film lovers and fills it with witty and gag-filled humour. It is one of the three movies of the Cornetto trilogy, which refers to three British comedy hits. Each has featured the same duo of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. It delivers a well-bloated combination of scriptwriting and action; some themes are grim and dark. In addition, there was frequent content of violence, gore and swearing. The movie is full of many thrills and twists that complement the plot.

Pegg and Frost have proven their worth as the two top professional players in their field of British satirical comedy. Seeing this is their second time, they've replenished the winning formula, which worked well in Shaun of the Dead. I greatly admired the two of them; they have been famous since Shaun. Some British actors are in the supporting leads and cameos, such as Timothy Dalton, Jim Broadbent, Martin Freeman and Bill Nighy.

I have not watched Shaun and The World's End, but I'm enthusiastic to see these movies. I will give my opinion on each of them. The film has always been rich with elements of laughter and gun-blazing violence, which is why I consider it one of my top favourites. All mature viewers over age 15 will know with caution when watching HOT FUZZ that it contains violent themes and a heavy amount of coarse language.

Star rating: (10/10) Best Movie Ever

Back to Home

Monday, September 15, 2014

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King Review










The Lord of the Rings: The Return 
of the King


Release Date: 26th December 2003 - Australia


Production Companies
New Line Cinema (presents)
WingNut Films
The Saul Zaentz Company (licensor)

Distribution
Roadshow Distribution


Genre: Fantasy

Rating: M

Runtime: 201 minutes
                254 minutes
                (Special DVD
                Extended Edition)
                263 minutes
                (Blu-ray Extended
                Edition)


Budget: $94,000,000

Box Office Gross: $1,141,982,172 
(Worldwide - figure subject to change)


Plot Summary
The final battle for Middle-
earth begins. Frodo and
Sam, led by Gollum,
continue their dangerous
mission toward the fires of
Mount Doom in order to
destroy the One Ring.
Aragorn struggles to fulfil
his legacy as he leads his
outnumbered followers
against the Dark Lord
Sauron, so that the Ring-
bearer may complete his
quest.


Cast
Elijah Wood - Frodo Baggins
Ian McKellen - Gandalf the
White
Viggo Mortensen - Aragorn
Sean Astin - Samwise "Sam"
Gamgee
Orlando Bloom - Legolas
John Rhys-Davies - Gimli/
Treebeard (Voice)
Billy Boyd - Peregrin "Pippin"
Took
Dominic Monaghan - Meriadoc "Merry" Brandybuck
Christopher Lee - Saruman
the White (Extended Edition)
Andy Serkis - Gollum
Liv Tyler - Arwen
Hugo Weaving - Elrond
Cate Blanchett - Galadriel
Ian Holm - Bilbo Baggins
Bernard Hill - Theoden: King of Rohan
Karl Urban - Eomer
Miranda Otto - Eowyn
Brad Dourif - Grima Wormtongue (Extended Edition)
David Wenham - Faramir
Sean Bean - Boromir
Marton Csokas - Lord Celeborn
John Noble - Denethor
Paul Norell - The King of the
Dead
Lawrence Makoare - Witch-
king of Angmar/Gothmog
Ali Astin - Eleanor Gamgee
Bruce Spence - Black Lieutenant (Extended Edition)
Sadwyn Brophy - Eldarion
Allstair Browning - Damrod
Noel Appleby - Everard Proudfoot
Bruce Hopkins - Gamling
Ian Hughes - Irolas
Sarah McLeod - Rosie Cotton
Maisy McLeod-Riera - Baby Gamgee
Bruce Phillips - Grimbold
Thomas Robins - Deagol
Harry Sinclair - Isildur
Peter Tait - Shagrat
Alan Howard - Voice of the Ring (Voice)
Peter Jackson - Corsair Buson (Cameo) (Uncredited)

Crew
Screenplay/Producer/Director -
Peter Jackson
Based on Novel "The Return of the King" - J.R.R. Tolkien
Screenplay/Producer - Fran Walsh
Screenplay - Philippa Boyens
Executive Producers - Bob & Harvey Weinstein,
Michael Lynne, Mark Ordesky & Robert Shaye 
Producer - Barrie M. Osborne
Co-Producer/Additional Unit Director - Rick Porras
Co-Producer - Jamie Selkirk
Casting Director: USA - Victoria Burrows
Casting Directors: UK - Amy & John Hubbard
Casting Director: New Zealand - Liz Mullane
Casting Director: Australia - Ann Robinson
Supervising Dialect Coach - Andrew Jack
Production Designer - Grant Major
Supervising Art Director/Set Decorator - Dan Hennah
Art Directors - Joe Bleakley, Simon Bright, 
Philip Ivey & Mark Robins (Uncredited)
Storyboard Artist (Uncredited)/Visual Effects 
Conceptual Designer - Christian Rivers
Set Decorator/Conceptual Designer - Alan Lee
Conceptual Designer - John Howe
Special Makeup, Creatures, Armour & Miniatures
Supervisor/Costume Designer - Richard Taylor
Costume Designer - Ngila Dickson
Director of Photography - Andrew Lesnie
Second Unit Director/Visual Effects Producer - Dean Wright
Second Unit Directors - John Mahaffie & Geoff Murphy
Second Unit Director (Uncredited)/Visual Effects Supervisor -
Jim Rygiel
Sword Master - Bob Anderson
Stunt Coordinator - George Marshall Ruge
Physical Effects Supervisor - Steve Ingram
Visual Effects Supervisor: Weta Digital - Joe Letteri
Visual Effects Producer: Weta Digital - Eileen Moran
Visual Effects Consultant - Mark Stetson
Visual Effects Art Directors - Jeremy Bennett &
Paul Lasaine
Visual Effects Cinematographer - Brian Van’t Hul
Visual Effects Director of Photography: 
Miniature Unit - Alex Funke
Animation Supervisor: Weta Digital - Richard Baneham
Animation Supervisor and Designer: Weta Digital - 
Randall William Cook
Models Supervisor - Matt Aitken
Film Editor - Jamie Selkirk
Sound Designer - David Farmer
Supervising Sound Co-Designer/Editor - Ethan Van der Ryn
Music Designer - Janet Roddick
Music - Howard Shore


Awards

2004 Academy Awards
Best Picture - Peter Jackson, Barrie Orsbone
and Fran Walsh (Won)
Best Director - Peter Jackson (Won)
Best Adapted Screenplay - Philippa Boyens,
Fran Walsh and Peter Jackson (Won)
Best Art Direction - Dan Hennah, Alan Lee
and Grant Major (Won)
Best Costume Design - Ngila Dickson and
Richard Taylor (Won)
Best Makeup - Peter King and Richard
Taylor (Won)
Best Visual Effects - Jim Rygiel, Joe
Letteri, Randall William Cook and Alex
Funke (Won)
Best Film Editing - Jamie Selkirk (Won)
Best Sound Mixing - Christopher Boyes,
Michael Semanick, Michael Hedges and
Hammond Peek (Won)
Best Original Score - Howard Shore (Won)
Best Original Song "Into the West" -
Howard Shore, Fran Walsh and Annie
Lennox (Won)


Review
In his moment of triumph, Peter Jackson has finally finished the original chronicles of 'LOTR' by making everyone's favourite 'THE RETURN OF THE KING'. Quite accurately, it remains as the second film sequel to win the Best Picture Oscar and in history it broke the world records for that. It almost ran longer than the classic movies directed by David Lean. The film pushed the limits in every aspect of the word achieving cinematic magic on the screen, so perfectly orchestrated and managing to craft a grand epic mega blockbuster hit. Might Jackson have spent too much of his time and resources to extend the film budget. The answer is no, as all of his hard work was paid off in the end, as he earned the Best Picture Oscar. He also spent mass amounts of the money to do the visualising and location scouting in both the islands of NZ to film the big finale of J. R. R. Tolkien's vision. That Peter Jackson we knew is an actually a visionary like George Lucas when he was creating 'Star Wars' for the public display. 

Almost everyone thought 'THE RETURN OF THE KING' was one of the huge tapestries to the motion picture industry. In fact, the entire movie is great but with the exception of the ending as I feel they should have concluded with a fade to black shot at the point where Frodo gets on the boat with Gandalf and the elves at the end. Instead that they had to include a unnecessary scene of Sam going back to shire. This should have been left in the cutting room archive. When years ago, I watched the last 'Harry Potter' movie (click here) for the second time, a few people I knew thought its ending showed no gradual sense. My truer words describe that it's exactly the opposite to my opinion of 'TROTK's overstretched ending. There's nothing about 'RETURN OF THE KING' than having the precious original cast featured together for a magical mystery tour. Main leading actors featured are Elijah Wood, Viggo Mortensen, Sean Astin, Andy Serkis and Ian McKellen. I still think Orlando Bloom was the best actor of the movie. 

I'm going to re-watch 'The Fellowship of the Ring' and 'The Two Towers', maybe sometime soon I will post a re-review on either one or both of these movies. 'THE RETURN OF THE KING' is as good as a fantasy movie can possibly get, but would have been patterned stronger to edit the part out of the closing scene. I highly recommend watching this movie if you have not seen it. 

Star rating: (7/10) Good Movie


Back to Home

Saturday, September 13, 2014

In Memory of Richard Kiel (1939-2014)








Richard Kiel (1939-2014)


Most of you know this actor
is familiar with his famous
portrayal as the steel-teethed,
brutish and silent minion Jaws
in the two classic movies
from the James Bond series.
The actor Richard Kiel sadly
passed away on September
10th, 2014. Nearing three days
short of his 75th birthday in
Fresno, California, USA succumbed to unknown causes besides a leg injury.

Kiel suffers from acromegaly, which shows his facial displays and intimidating stature, heightening about 7 feet, 1.5 inches tall in centimetres 127. His gigantic appearance got others to cast him in multiple performances involving giants, monsters, etc. Kiel was a nightclub bouncer and a cemetery plot salesman when he moved to television in 1960, such as an episode of "The Twilight Zone". In 1962, Kiel went to the movies while continuing early TV appearances before becoming a night school math teacher. In 1965, after two years, he returned to acting roles in shows like "The Wild, Wild West" when playing a lethal minion to an evil mad scientist. Kiel continued to do more extensive appearances in notable shows such as "I Dream of Jeannie", "Gilligan's Island", "The Monkees", "Starsky & Hutch", etc. Richard got phoned by Albert R. Broccoli, the producer of the James Bond movies, when he assigned him to be in the series' tenth instalment, "The Spy Who Loved Me", and thus the character of Jaws was born. This infamous Bond henchman of lethal jaws was due to Richard's portrayal and appearance. The character's popularity helped the actor to return to "Moonraker". He also guest-starred the character in cameo appearances in a few non-Bond features.

In 1992, Kiel ended up in a car accident that wounded his head and triggered the loss of control of his balance. Because of this, Richard had to use a cane to help him walk, as seen in one of the supporting parts in "Happy Gilmore", where he played the main hero's former boss and big fan, Mr Larson. We are all going to miss you, big guy;-(

Back to Home

Monday, September 8, 2014

Skyline Review












Skyline


Release Date: 11th November 2010 - Australia


Production Companies
Hydraulx
Transmission Pictures
Rat Entertainment (in association with)
Relativity Media
Rogue Pictures

Distribution
Hopstotch Films


Genre: Sci-Fi

Rating: M

Runtime: 93 minutes


Budget: $20,000,000

Box Office Gross: $78,693,371
(Worldwide)


Plot Summary
Jarrod and Elaine's trip to
L.A. was supposed to be
a fun weekend away to
visit Jarrod's best friend,
Terry. But when they are
awakened by mysterious
blue lights raining down
over the city skyline, their
weekend away quickly
turns into a nightmare.

As day breaks, the full
extent of the catastrophe
becomes clear. Tankers,
drones and hydra-like
machines are invading the
city. The human race faces
annihilation as thousands
of terrified people are
sucked up into the alien
ships. Inescapable and
seemingly indestructible,
it will take every survival
instinct they have to elude
capture. (Source - iTunes)


Cast
Eric Balfour - Jarrod
Scottie Thompson - Elaine
Brittany Daniel - Candice
Donald Faison - Terry

Crew
Producers/Directors/Visual
Effects Supervisors - Colin
& Greg Strause
Writer/Second Unit Director/
Camera Operator/Animation Supervisor - Joshua Cordes
Writer/Producer - Liam O'Donnell
Executive Producers - Brett Ratner, Brian Kavanaugh-Jones and Brian Tyler
Producer - Kristian James Andersen
Co-Producer - Paul Barry
Production Designer - Drew Dalton
Costume Designer - Bonnie Mannix
Creature Designers - Alec Gillis and
Tom Woodruff, Jr.
Director of Photography - Michael Watson
Stunt Coordinator - Mark Norby
Film Editor - Nicholas Wayman-Harris
Music - Matthew Margeson


Review
An unnecessary movie that nobody in their right mind would purchase or bother watching for the weekend. This attempt at an action-packed terrorising sci-fi thriller 'SKYLINE' disappoints all the sci-fi viewers. The film attempts to create a stimulating and exciting alien invasion theme, but the finished product turns out to be a cheesy and mediocre flop. I find it to be a very boring and shallow flick, I regard myself as a true sci-fi film lover so when it comes to me watching a new sci-fi film, I usually have high expectations and I am sorry to say, this film did not even come close to my expectations. Especially seeing the ending that felt unresolved and left you wondering who had won the battle anyway? The characters were completely bland and so of cheap design that it was impossible to immerse into the fictitious alien invasion. The actors don't know how to be human and if performing is not the only obstacle, I don't know what is. There are no more problems to discuss in this cold film except in a certain way. Next, I'll talk about the good parts of the film, because they did exist. 

The aliens are similar to those in 'War of the Worlds' except that they have an organic brain but the rest I think is inside of their machinery. I love the visual effects, the aliens and starship were truly designed to comes across as monstrous or wildly exotic. 

'SKYLINE' is conspicuously lacking a soul in its visualised depiction and to think, two brothers who were known effects maestros seem to know nothing about directing. It's otherwise known as 'Skyfall' and I'm not referring to the film in the Bond series (click here). 'SKYLINE' is a mess PERIOD! 

Star rating: (3/10) Disappointing 


Back to Home

Tuesday, September 2, 2014

My Fourth Important Message

Hey, it's Film Guru Lad. I was so thrilled when everyone noticed that to the right. You would see the new category I've added on the label gadget, which some of the action movies are part of the James Bond collection aptly titled the same name as the character. Because of the recent Bond film, You Only Live Twice, I have now summarised. All the Bond film reviews are now newly labelled in this classification. I've also popped in to add more updates on my critiques of three well-known movies from director Chris Nolan that are still my favourites The Dark Knight, its sequel, The Dark Knight Rises and the mind-boggling Inception. Now you wonder why I didn't do more reviews on some of the films Chris had done before the upcoming release of his latest feature, Interstellar. I didn't watch either of those films when too busy doing the other critiques.

I've also made changes to update my review of The Lego Movie unless you already looked here at first. Also, in a mere mention, I relabelled and fixed Hugo from the drama category to the family section.

I will return to publish Skyline this Monday, September 8th, don't forget to feed me some feedback when I least expect it or if you don't know how. As one character of a villain said once in two films of TRON when ending this message, END OF LINE...

Back to Home

Monday, September 1, 2014

You Only Live Twice Review









You Only Live Twice


Release Date: 14th December 1967 - Australia


Production Companies
EON Productions
Danjaq (Uncredited)


Genre: Action

Rating: PG

Runtime: 106 minutes


Budget: $10,300.000 

Box Office Gross: $111,600,000 (Worldwide - figure subject to change)


Plot Summary
Agent 007 and the Japanese 
secret service ninja force 
must find and stop the true 
culprit of a series of space-
jackings before nuclear war 
is provoked. (Source - IMDb)


Cast
Sean Connery - James Bond
Donald Pleasence - Ernst 
Stavro Blofeld
Karin Dor - Helga Brandt
Akiko Wakabayashi - Aki
Mie Hama - Kissy Susuki
Tetsuro Tamba - Tiger Tanaka
Bernard Lee - M
Lois Maxwell - Miss Moneypenny
Desmond Llewelyn - Q
Teru Shimada - Mr. Osato
Charles Gray - Henderson
Tsai Chin - Ling
Burt Kwouk - Spectre #3
Michael Chow - Spectre #4
Ronald Rich - Hans

Crew
Director - Lewis Gilbert
Based on Novel "You Only 
Live Twice" and Characters 
"James Bond" - Ian Fleming
Screenplay - Roald Dahl
Additional Screenplay 
Material - Harold Jack Bloom
Associate Producer - Stanley Sopel (Uncredited)
Producers - Albert R. 
Broccoli and Harry Saltzman
Technical Advisor - Kikumaru Okuda
Production Designer - Ken Adam
Cinematography - Freddie Young
Aerial Unit Cameraman - Johnny Jordan
Second Unit Director/
Supervising Editor - Peter R. Hunt
Location Manager - Robert Watts
Assistant Director - William P. Cartlidge
Action Sequences - Bob Simmons
Special Effects - John Stears
Film Editor - Thelma Connell (Uncredited) 
Dubbing Editors - Harry Miller and 
Norman Wanstall
Main Title Designer - Maurice Binder 
Composer: James Bond Theme - Monty Norman
Music - John Barry
Lyrics: You Only Live Twice - Leslie Bricusse
Singer: You Only Live Twice - Nancy Sinatra


Review
Here we are, after the Bond set taking a two year break, finally, I decided to treat fans to the long-awaited sequel. This one is supposedly the end to Sean Connery's tenure as the famed sophisticated spy 007 until 71. Nothing is more simpler in 'YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE', with a three course serving of action for entre' dinner and desert. This movie sets a good pace that keeps the viewers entertained from start to finish with a good balance of action unlike 'Thunderball' which is overdone. The tight story was done by Roald Dahl when he was not working on his books for younger children. I'm quite surprised the film's plot never got cheesy or trashy, perhaps Dahl didn't use any of his known usual themes to make the storyline utterly incomprehensible. I loathe Ernst Stravo Blofeld as he's always the villain that survives from Bond, the other known actor of the film Donald Pleasence plays fittingly well as the duplicitous head of SPECTRE. 

Twice as it goes with all that sense and twice how it supplies the danger and presented audiences with sheer excitement. The fifth Bond film nonetheless proves evidently as a great essential addition to the film catalogue, I wasn't expecting it would be on the same ranking level as the other Connery features. 

I'll continue to review the series as I do it in fruition for 'On Her Majesty’s Secret Service' which I plan to review next.  

Star rating: (8/10) Very Good Movie