Tuesday, January 26, 2016

Malcolm Review (Australia Day 2016)











Malcolm


Release Date: 2nd October 1986 - Australia


Production Companies
Cascade Films
Film Victoria

Distribution
Umbrella Entertainment


Genre: Comedy/Crime

Rating: PG

Runtime: 90 minutes


Budget: A$1,000,000

Box Office Gross: $3,842,129 (Australia)


Plot Summary
Malcolm is an inventor, awkward and shy, but has a gift for making unbelievable devices. One day, for building his tram engine, he loses his job and is forced to bring in a few tenants for accommodation to help pay the bills. He gets Frank, a small-time crook, released from jail and his girlfriend, Judith, to move into his home. His mechanical expertise comes in handy with Frank's criminal knowledge as the trio begins to pull off the most outrageous heist of the decade.


Cast
Colin Friels - Malcolm Hughes
Lindy Davies - Judith
Chris Haywood - Willy
John Hargreaves - Frank Baker
Beverly Phillips - Mrs. T
Judith Stratford - Jenny
Charles 'Bud' Tingwell - Tramways Supervisor

Crew
Producer/Casting/Director - Nadia Tass
Mechanical Devices
Designer and Constructor/
Writer/Producer/Director of
Photography - David Parker
Associate Producer - Timothy White
Executive Producer - Bryce Menzies
Costume Designer - Linda McGuigan
Mechanical Devices Designer and
Constructor - Steve Mills
Mechanical Devices Designer and
Constructor/First Assistant Director -
Tony Mahood
Camera Operators: Second Unit - Clive Duncan,
Ian Jones and Rob Murray
Unit Manager - Chris Haywood
First Assistant Director - Tony Mahood
Second Assistant Director - Paul Grinder
Stunt Coordinator/Stunts - Bill Stacey
Special Effects - Brian Pearce
Visual Effects - Peter Stubbs
Film Editor - Ken Sallows
Assistant Film Editor - Simon James
Sound Editors - Craig Carter and
Dean Gawen
Sound Mixers - Bruce Emery and
Roger Savage
Music - Simon Jeffes


Review
Hello again; many of you didn't watch MALCOLM (or, at least, you would have mistaken it for MALCOLM X). It is not the movie based on a historical figure that you expect. It is a different movie made in Australia in late 1986. It is a comedy caper of sheer inventiveness and is ingenious for its setup, but based on comedies that came out in an era before MALCOLM was way ahead of its existence. You might miss a few jokes on MALCOLM. I liked how the filmmakers perfected the robbery sequences with these amusing gadgets and a vehicle split into two halves. Filmmaking can't get better at pulling these fake robberies bent with sheer comic genius.

I liked how they portrayed the title character as someone with a knack for building these machines, has an interest he's fixated and suffers from either Asperger's or high-functioning Autism (thanks to Colin Friels' acting). The profound yet naive and comical character is the main focus.

It's been quite a movie I've revisited after thirteen years since I last saw it. MALCOLM is a semi-decent, low-budgeted comedy that isn't quite as clever as the movies we've seen through theatres, television, et cetera. It is simple by Aussie cinematic standards that the film would come close as a great movie produced in the land of Down Under, so cheers, mates!

Star rating: (7/10) Good Movie

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Tuesday, January 19, 2016

Labyrinth Review











Labyrinth


Release Date: 4th December 1986 - Australia


Production Companies
Henson Associates (HA) (presents)
Lucasfilm Ltd. (presents)
Delphi V Productions
TriStar Pictures

Distribution
Sony Pictures Australia


Genre: Fantasy/Musical

Rating: G

Runtime: 97 minutes


Budget: $27,680,000

Box Office Gross: $14,580,330 (Worldwide)


Plot Summary
When sixteen-year-old
Sarah is left home alone
to look after her crying
baby brother, Toby, she
cavalierly wishes that
the goblins would take
him away. It ends up
happening at the hands
of the evil Goblin King
Jareth, who kidnaps Toby
and takes him to his
castle. Sarah sets about
getting his brother back
and must solve the
impenetrable labyrinth,
in which she only has
13 hours. It is there that
Sarah meets a few friends
as they accompany her
to rescue Toby before
midnight.


Live-Action Cast
Jennifer Connelly - Sarah
David Bowie - Jareth the Goblin King
Toby Froud - Toby
Christopher Malcolm - Father
Shelley Thompson - Stepmother
Natalie Finland - Fairy

Puppeteers/Voice Cast
Brian Henson - Hoggle
(Face Performance/Voice)/
Goblin (Voice)
Shari Weiser - Huggle (On-Suit Performer)
Ron Mueck - Ludo/Firey
#2/Goblin (Voice)
Rob Mills - Ludo/Firey #3
Frank Oz - The Wiseman
Michael Hordern - The
Wiseman (Voice)
Dave Goelz - Didymus/
The Hat/The Four Guards/
Left Door Knocker/Firey #3
David Barclay - Didymus
David Shaughnessy - Didymus/The Hat/The Four Guards/Goblin (Voices)
Steve Whitmire - The Four
Guards/Firey 4/Ambrosius
Kevin Clash - The Four Guards/Firey #1/Ambrosius
Anthony Asbury - The Four
Guards/Right Door Knocker/
Firey #5
Percy Edwards - Ambrosius (Voice)
Karen Prell - The Worm/
The Junk Lady/Firey #2
Timothy Bateson - The Worm/
The Four Guards (Voices)
Denise Bryer - The Junk Lady (Voice)
David Healy - Right Door Knocker (Voice)
Robert Beatty - Left Door Knocker (Voice)
Charles Augins - Firey #2 (Voice)
Danny John-Jules - Firey #3/Firey #4 (Voices)
Tony Philpott - Firey #1
Ian Thom - Firey #2
Cheryl Henson - Firey #4
Kevin Bradshaw - Firey #4
Alistair Fullarton - Firey #5
Rollin Krewson - Firey #5
Richard Bodkin - Firey #5 (Voice)
Michael Attwell - Goblin (Voice)
Sean Barrett - Goblin (Voice)
John Bluthal - Goblin (Voice)
Peter Marinker - Goblin (Voice)
Kerry Shale - Goblin (Voice)

Crew
Story/Director - Jim Henson
Story - Dennis Lee
Screenplay - Terry Jones
Script Supervisor - Angela Allen
2nd Unit Continuity - Elaine Schreyeck
Associate Producer - Martin G. Baker
Executive Supervising Producer - David Lazer
Executive Producer - George Lucas
Producer - Eric Rattray
Casting Directors: U.K. - Debbie McWilliams
and Michelle Guish
Casting Directors: U.S.A. - Jane Jenkins
and Janet Hirshenson
Production Designer - Elliot Scott
Conceptual/Costume/Creature Designer
and Supervisor - Brian Froud
Art Director: Sets - Roger Cain
Art Director: Decoration - Peter Howitt
Art Directors: Special Effects - Michael White
and Terry Ackland-Snow
Assistant Art Director - Stephen Scott
Storyboard Artist - Martin Asbury
Property Master - Barry Wilkinson
Costume Designer - Ellis Flyte
Chief Hairdresser - Barbara Ritchie
Makeup Artist - Nick Dudman
Goblin Armour Designer - Michael McCormick
Director of Photography - Alex Thomson
Second Unit Director/Cameraman - Peter MacDonald
Third Unit Director/Cameraman - James Devis
Assistant Directors - Ken Baker,
Nigel Gostelow, Simon Haveland,
Patrick Kinney, Paul Taylor and Nikolas Korda
First Assistant Director: Second Unit -
Steve Harding
Director of Choreography and Puppet
Movement - Gates McFadden
"Chilly Down" and "Magic Dance"
Choreographer - Charles Augins
Crystal Ball Manipulation Choreographer
and Performer - Michael Moschen
Puppeteer Coordinator - Brian Henson
Assistant Puppeteer Coordinator/Puppeteer -
Kevin Clash
Production Administrator: Creature Shop -
Connie Peterson
Special Effects Supervisor - George Gibbs
2nd Unit Special Effects Supervisor -
Richard Conway
Special Effects Consultant: Field Recorder -
Dennis Lowe
Optical Visual Effects Consultant - Roy Field
Cameraman: Model Unit - Paul Wilson
Matte Photography: ILM - Craig Barron,
Randy Jonsson and Paul Huston
Editor - John Grover
Sound Editor: Effects - Vernon Messenger
Unit Sound Mixer - Peter Sutton
Re-Recording Mixers - Ray Merrin
and Bill Rowe
Songs - David Bowie
Music - Trevor Jones
Music Editor - Robert Hathaway


Review
Recently, we lost the legendary singer David Bowie, but we were able to listen to his music and watch LABYRINTH after his passing. With its release in 1986, the film wasn't successful in any box office records. It's due to the cost of the movie's production. Many years later, we see LABYRINTH unearthed as it grew a cult following among many Henson enthusiasts and fans of the musician. The feature reminds me a bit of Alice in Wonderland, a girl who is transported to a fantasy world and faced with the consequences of curiosity and regret. Like Alice, she undergoes an adventure but with a darker feel. I like how Jim Henson's masterful puppetry created these fantastical creatures for the movie.

LABYRINTH is also a musical with all the songs written and performed by David Bowie, who plays Jareth the Goblin King. He was a legend of his time. Bowie did a good show in his villainous role, and the songs he wrote were "Magic Dance" and "As The World Falls Down". I don't mind Jennifer Connelly being in this film as she performs Sarah well for her young age.

The film shows its age from the 80s nostalgia period when puppetry and blue screen effects were in their last days. Jim Henson and George Lucas collaborated to tell a fabulous movie that isn't like a fairy tale you've seen in children's books. Whether you liked it or not, it was not on par with The Dark Crystal, but still an enjoyable fantasy movie for all ages.

Star rating: (8/10) Very Good Movie

Monday, January 18, 2016

88th Academy Awards



Broadcast Date: 29th February - Australia


Hello, moviegoers. After four days of posting two news updates that revolved around the unexpected deaths of David Bowie and Alan Rickman. For the sixth time, I announce the 88th Annual Academy Award nominations. Its host will be actor/stand-up comedian Chris Rock. The Rock will unlikely host this year's ceremony, which got surrounded by controversy. The actor tweeted on social media and discussed none of the African-American actors got nominated for any four categories. As a result, he called the Oscars "The White BET Awards" for their lack of diversity.

It could have been more welcome that one of the contenders of 2015, The Force Awakensisn't nominated for Best Picture when snubbed in favour of movies like Mad Max: Fury Road and The Revenant. Even Jurassic World is not on for the Best Visual Effects award.


Without further ado, let's look at the list of Oscar nominations.


Best Visual Effects

Ex Machina - Mark Williams Ardington, Sara Bennett,
Paul Norris and Andrew Whitehurst
Mad Max: Fury Road - Andrew Jackson, Dan Oliver,
Andy Williams and Tom Wood
The Martian - Anders Langlands, Chris Lawrence,
Richard Stammers and Steven Warner
The Revenant - Richard McBride, Matt Shumway,
Jason Smith and Cameron Waldbauer
Star Wars: The Force Awakens - Chris Corbould,
Roger Guyett, Paul Kavanagh and Neal Scanlan

Best Film Editing

The Big Short - Hank Corwin
Mad Max: Fury Road - Margaret Sixel
The Revenant - Stephen Mirronne
Spotlight - Tom McArdle
Star Wars: The Force Awakens - Maryann Brandon and
Mary Jo Markey

Best Costume Design

Carol & Cinderella - Sandy Powell
The Danish Girl - Paco Delgado
Mad Max: Fury Road - Jenny Beaven
The Revenant - Jacqueline West

Best Makeup and Hairstyling

The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the 
Window and Disappeared - Love Larson and
Eva von Bahr
Mad Max: Fury Road - Lesley Vanderwalt, Elka Wardega
and Damian Martin
The Revenant - Sian Grigg, Duncan Jarman and
Robert Pandini

Best Cinematography

Carol - Ed Lachman
The Hateful Eight - Robert Richardson
Mad Max: Fury Road - John Seale
The Revenant - Emmanuel Lubezki
Sicario - Roger Deakins

Best Production Design

Bridge of Spies - Rena DeAngelo, Bernhard Henrich 
and Adam Stockman
The Danish Girl - Michael Standish and Eve Stewart
Mad Max: Fury Road - Colin Gibson and Lisa Thompson
The Martian - Celia Bobak and Arthur Max
The Revenant - Jack Fisk and Hamish Purdy

Best Sound Mixing

Bridge of Spies - Andy Nelson, Gary Rydstrom 
and Drew Kunin
Mad Max: Fury Road - Chris Jenkins, Gregg Rudloff 
and Ben Osmo
The Martian - Paul Massey, Mark Taylor and 
Mac Ruth
The Revenant - Jon Taylor, Frank A. Montaño, 
Randy Thom and Chris Duesterdik
Star Wars: The Force Awakens - Andy Nelson, 
Chris Scarabosio and Stuart Wilson

Best Sound Editing

Mad Max: Fury Road - Mark A. Mangini and 
David White
The Martian - Oliver Tarney
The Revenant - Martin Hernández and Lon Bender
Sicario - Alan Robert Murray
Star Wars: The Force Awakens - Matthew Wood 
and David Acord

Best Original Song

"Earned It" from Fifty Shades of Gray - Music and 
Lyrics by Belly, Stephan Moccio, Jason Daheala Quenneville 
and The Weeknd
"Manta Ray" from Racing Extinction - Music by J. Ralph 
and Lyrics by Antony Hegarty 
"Simple Song #3" from Youth - Music and Lyrics by 
David Lang
"Til It Happens to You" from The Hunting Ground
Music and Lyrics by Lady Gaga and Diane Warren
"Writing's in the Wall" from Spectre - Music and 
Lyrics by Jimmy Napes and Sam Smith

Best Original Score

Bridge of Spies - Thomas Newman
Carol - Carter Burwell
The Hateful Eight - Ennio Morricone
Sicario - Jóhann Jóhannson
Star Wars: The Force Awakens - John Williams

Best Animated Short Film

Bear Story - Pato Escala Pierart and Gabriel 
Osorio Vargas
Prologue - Imogen Sutton and Richard Williams
Sanjay's Super Team - Nicole Paradis Grindle and 
Sanjay Patel
We Can't Live Without Cosmos - Konstantin Bronzit
World of Tomorrow - Don Hertzfeldt

Best Live Action Short Film

Ave Maria - Eric Dupont and Basil Khalil
Day One - Henry Hughes
Everything Will Be Okay - Patrick Vollrath
Shok - Jamie Donoughue
Stutterer - Serenade Armitage and Benjamin Clearly

Best Documentary - Short Subject

Body Team 12 - David Darg and Bryn Mooser
Chau, Beyond the Lines - Courtney Marsh and 
Jerry Franck
Claude Lanzmann: Spectres of the Shoah
Adam Benzine
A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness
Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy
Last Day of Freedom - Dee Hibbert-Jones and 
Nomi Talisman

Best Documentary - Feature

Amy - Asif Kapadia and James Gay-Rees
Cartel Land - Matthew Heinerman and Tom Yellin
The Look of Silence - Joshua Oppenheimer and 
Signe Burge Sørensen
What Happened, Miss Simone? - Liz Garbus, 
Amy Hobby and Justin Wilkes
Winter on Fire: Ukraine's Fight for Freedom
Evgeny Afineevsky and Den Tolmor

Best Foreign Language Film

Embrace of the Serpent (Colombia) in Spain - 
Cairo Guerra
Mustang (France) in Turkish - Deniz Gamze Ergüven
Son of Saul (Hungary) in Hungarian - László Nemes
Theeb (Jordan) in Arabic - Naji Abu Nowar
A War (Denmark) in Danish - Tobias Lindholm

Best Animated Feature Film

Anomalisa - Charlie Kaufman, Duke Johnson 
and Rosa Tran
Boy & the World - Alê Abreu 
Inside Out - Pete Docter and Jonas Rivera
Shaun the Sheep Movie - Mark Burton and 
Richard Starzak
When Marnie Was There - Hiromasa Yonebayashi 
and Yoshiaki Nishimura

Best Writing - Adapted Screenplay

The Big Short - Adam McKay and Charles Randolph 
from The Big Short by Michael Lewis
Brooklyn - Nick Hornby from Brooklyn by Colm Tóibín
Carol - Phyllis Nagy from The Price of Salt by 
Patricia Highsmith
The Martian - Drew Goddard from The Martian by 
Andy Weir
Room - Emma Donoghue from her own novel

Best Writing - Original Screenplay

Bridge of Spies - Matt Charman and Ethan & Joel Coen
Ex Machina - Alex Garland
Inside Out - Josh Cooley, Ronnie del Carmen, Pete Docter 
and Meg LeFauve
Spotlight - Tom McCarthy and Josh Singer
Straight Outta Compton - Andrea Berloff, Jonathan Herman, 
S. Leigh Savidge and Alan Wenkus

Best Supporting Actress

Jennifer Jason Leigh - The Hateful Eight as 
Daisy Domergue
Rooney Mara - Carol as Therese Belivet
Rachel McAdams - Spotlight as Sacha Pfeiffer
Alicia Vikander - The Danish Girl as Gerda Wegener
Kate Winslet - Steve Jobs as Joanna Hoffman

Best Supporting Actor

Christian Bale - The Big Short as Michael Burry
Tom Hardy - The Revenant as John Fitzgerald 
Mark Ruffalo - Spotlight as Michael Rezendes
Mark Rylance - Bridge of Spies as Rudolf Abel
Sylvester Stallone - Creed as Rocky Balboa

Best Actress

Cate Blanchett - Carol as Carol Aird
Brie Larson - Room as Joy "Ma" Newsome
Jennifer Lawrence - Joy as Joy Mangano
Charlotte Rampling - 45 Years as Kate Mercer
Saoirse Roman - Brooklyn as Ellis Lacey

Best Actor

Bryan Cranston - Trumbo as Dalton Trumbo
Matt Damon - The Martian as Mark Watney
Leonardo DiCaprio - The Revenant as Hugh Glass
Michael Fassbender - Steve Jobs as Steve Jobs
Eddie Redmayne - The Danish Girl as Lili Elbe/Einar Wegner

Best Director

Lenny Abrahamson - Room
Alejandro G. Iñárritu - The Revenant
Tom McCarthy - Spotlight
Adam McKay - The Big Short
George Miller - Mad Max: Fury Road

Best Picture

The Big Short - Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner and 
Jeremy Kleiner
Bridge of Spies - Steven Spielberg, Marc Platt and 
Kristie Macosko Krieger
Brooklyn - Finola Dwyer and Amanda Posey
Mad Max: Fury Road - George Miller and Doug Mitchell
The Martian - Simon Kinberg, Ridley Scott, 
Michael Shaefer and Mark Huffam
The Revenant - Arnon Milchan, Steve Golin, 
Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Mary Parent and Keith Redmon
Room - Ed Guiney
Spotlight - Michael Sugar, Steve Golin, Nicole Rocklin 
and Blye Pagon Fest

Academy Honorary Awards

Spike Lee
Gena Rowlands

Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award

Debbie Reynolds

Saturday, January 16, 2016

In Memory of Alan Rickman (1946-2016)











Alan Rickman (1946-2016)


Hello, fellow moviegoers. It is with great sadness in this obituary that English thespian Alan Rickman died of cancer on January 14th, 2016. He was 69 years old. Rickman was best known to many older audiences as the cold Slytherin teacher of Hogwarts, Severus Snape, in the "Harry Potter" series. His other notable roles include the ruthless German criminal mastermind Hans Gruber in "Die Hard", the Sheriff of Nottingham in "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves", Jamie in "Truly, Madly, Deeply", Colonel Brandon in "Sense and Sensibility", Alexander Dane in "Galaxy Quest", Harry in "Love Actually", the reluctant recluse Alex Hughes in "Snowcake" and Judge Turpin in "Sweeney Todd". I send my condolences to his family and friends who have stood by his side at his passing. The charisma, ego and sheer brutality that Rickman brought to his famous characters is something I will never forget.

He was born on February 21st, 1946, in Acton, London and raised by a working-class family. He was about eight years old at the time of his father's death. Rickman worked with British theatre groups and the Royal Shakespeare Company in stage productions after graduating from two colleges and a drama school. He made brief appearances on television in serials and TV shows for ITV and BBC. His stardom on the stage moved into the cinema when discovered by American Director - John McTiernan, who was looking for an English actor to portray a foreign terrorist leader in a big-budget action movie that is to be entitled "Die Hard". Rickman almost turned down the role in "Die Hard", but the release of his film debut catapulted him into his newfound fame at age 41. He went on to play roles in a wide variety of characters in the films "Truly, Madly, Deeply" and "Sense and Sensibility" in romantic leads and as the evil Sheriff of Nottingham in "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves".

After starring in roles as Sir Alexander Dane in "Galaxy Quest" and Metatron in "Dogma", Rickman came to the attention of author J. K. Rowling and was her personal choice to portray the teacher of potions, Severus Snape, in the movie adaptation series of "Harry Potter". The first is "The Philosopher's Stone" and ends with "Deathly Hallows: Part 2" as his last. Throughout the series, Rickman's interpretation of the character has been the subject of critical acclaim. It was unanimous for him to be part of the new generation of audiences who now adore him as the actor who plays Professor Snape. During his time as the character that he portrayed in the Harry Potter films, Rickman also featured in films like "Love Actually", and "Snow Cake", opposite Sigourney Weaver and Carrie Anne-Moss, and as the Judge in Tim Burton's adaptation of "Sweeney Todd" opposite Johnny Depp. He was also known for his soft-spoken, deep voice that earned him voiceover roles in other live-action movies, such as the character Marvin the Android in "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" and the Caterpillar in "Alice in Wonderland" and "Alice Through the Looking Glass". The latter of which would be his final feature.

I'll never forget how significant Rickman was to Professor Snape and the other characters he played who were either villainous, depressed or sullen. Alan, wherever you are, we miss you.

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Tuesday, January 12, 2016

In Memory of David Bowie (1947-2016)







David Bowie (1947-2016)


Hello, movie-goers. It is an important
news update that you might like to read.
As some of you won't know, actor/
singer/musician David Bowie passed
on at age 69 after an eighteen-month
struggle fighting cancer. Bowie was
famous not only for his memorable
songs, flamboyance and identity of
Ziggy Stardust, but he was best
known for his roles such as the sci-fi
drama "The Man Who Fell to Earth" and Jareth in the musical fantasy "Labyrinth".

There is too much to talk about David Bowie in his long musical career, but his acting was shorter than his lifetime in rock music. It all began when Bowie first appeared in a short film, and it wasn't until nine years later that he had his breakthrough role in "The Man Who Fell to Earth", where he earned all the acclaim for his performance. Shortly after the film's success, he went on to star in other features. In 1986, while filming a rock musical titled "Absolute Beginners", which would end as a commercial disaster in Britain. Bowie got approached by Muppet creator/director Jim Henson and executive producer George Lucas to star in their forthcoming movie "Labyrinth" after two of Jim's sons persuaded their father to cast him instead of Sting. While not acting as the evil Goblin King, Bowie wrote all the film's songs and did the singing for himself. In the late 80s, while concentrating on his music, David Bowie continued his acting career in films like Martin Scorsese's controversial religious epic "The Last Temptation of Christ", "The Linguini Incident", "Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me", "The Prestige" and "August". The latter would end up being his final movie role. Bowie appeared in a minor and pivotal role as Andy Warhol in "Basquiat" and guest-starred as himself in the Ben Stiller comedy "Zoolander". He has voice acted for the role of the antagonist Malthazar in the part-animated and part live-action film "Arthur and the Invisibles".

Bowie also provided the theme track "Putting Out the Fire" for the horror film "Cat People" in 1982. Most of his classic songs were in numerous features, such as "Happy Feet Two", "Guardians of the Galaxy", "The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou", "Rush", "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty", "Moulin Rouge" and most recently "The Martian".



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Monday, January 11, 2016

Daddy's Home Review











Daddy's Home


Release Date: 26th December 2015 - Australia


Production Companies 
Paramount Pictures
Red Granite Pictures
Gary Sanchez Productions

Distribution 
Paramount Pictures Australia 


Genre: Comedy

Rating: PG

Runtime: 100 minutes


Budget: $50,000,000

Box Office Gross: $242,786,137
(Worldwide)


Plot Summary 
A mild-mannered radio
executive tries hard to be
the world's greatest 
stepfather. But when his 
wife's freeloading ex-
husband comes back into
the picture, he's forced to
compete for the kids' affection. (Source - Metro Cinemas)


Cast
Will Ferrell - Brad Whitaker
Mark Wahlberg - Dusty Mayron
Linda Cardellini - Sara
Scarlet Estevez - Megan
Owen Vacarro - Dylan
Hannibal Buress - Griff
Bobby Cannavale - Dr. Francisco
Bill Burr - Jeff
Jamie Denbo - Doris
Thomas Haden Church - Leo Holt
Kobe Bryant - Himself (Cameo)
Alessandra Ambrosio - Karen
Didi Costine - Dusty's Stepdaughter
John Cena - Cool Dad (Cameo)

Crew
Screenplay/Executive
Producer/Director - Sean Anders
Story/Screenplay - Brian Burns
Screenplay/Producer - John Morris
Executive Producers - Riza
Aziz, Jessica Elbaum, David Koplan, Joey McFarland, Kevin J. Messick and Diana Pokorny
Producers - Will Ferrell, Chris Henchy and Adam McKay
Production Designer - Clayton Hartley
Director of Photography - Julio Macat
Film Editors - Eric Kissack and Brad Whilite
Music Supervisor - Dave Jordan
Music - Michael Andrews


Review
In the theatres, a few movies are due to be released in late 2015 and some of them lost a game of tug of war with the new 'Star Wars' adventure 'The Force Awakens'. While the space craze has not yet ended, there was a comedy that came out five days before the end of last year about what will happen when a full-time stepdad is about to be blown away by the macho father of his stepchildren. 'DADDY'S HOME' is insipid and generic which has to do with a lack of originality and there is nothing else but a few chuckles to entertain us.

It seems the writers are short of ideas that they have appeared to have given up and left the movie relying on cheap laughter. It is a wasted opportunity of the talents of Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg whom are both enjoying a good chemistry together and delivered their great performances when they last collaborated together in 'The Other Guys'. But all they can to do aside from their first-class acting is to stick to the mediocre script. 

This picture is forgettable to many and almost works like a charm. 'DADDY'S HOME' would have been better than any of the other comedies from 2015, but now it's more of a near reverse than what you have seen in the unforgettable trailer. 

Star rating: (4/10) Below Average

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Thursday, January 7, 2016

There goes the label...

I reviewed some disaster movies since I now realised that the label "disaster" is a subgenre. These films are devoted to action, science fiction and drama, causing me to re-label San Andreas, Dante's Peak, Armageddon, Deep Impact and recently, The Day After Tomorrow (excluding a few that don't need to be re-labelled).

I've then fixed most of the reviews for the movies that they've been awarded and nominated for the Academy Awards. And before that, I added a featured post of a movie I once saw, as this gadget is on the right side, where it sits below the Google Plus+ application. 

Feel free to comment on this post or have it read.

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Wednesday, January 6, 2016

The Day After Tomorrow Review














The Day After Tomorrow


Release Date: 27th May 2004 - Australia


Production Companies
Twentieth Century Fox (presents)
Centropolis Entertainment
Lionsgate Films
Mark Gordon Company

Distribution 
20th Century Fox Australia


Genre: Sci-Fi

Rating: M

Runtime: 118 minutes


Budget: $125,000,000

Box Office Gross: $544,272,402 (Worldwide)


Plot Summary
Paleoclimatologist Jack Hall
is in Antarctica when he
discovers that the ice sheet
is cracking. He doesn't
realise that this event may
result in massive climate
change and affect the world
population. Meanwhile, his
son Sam attends an event
in New York with his friends
and discovers it has been
raining non-stop for three
weeks. Then, weather-
related disasters began
appearing, including
tornadoes scattered in Los
Angeles, a tidal wave
flooding New York City
and the entire Northern
Hemisphere starting to
freeze. Now, Jack has to
undergo a dangerous trek
to rescue his son and his
friends as they're stuck
in New York City, trying
to survive the cold
temperatures that could kill
them. Can Jack save Sam
in time before it's too late?
Will the world survive the
new Ice Age?


Cast
Dennis Quaid - Jack Hall
Jake Gyllenhaal - Sam Hall
Ian Holm - Terry Rapsom
Emmy Rossum - Laura Chapman
Sela Ward - Dr. Lucy Hall
Dash Mihok - Jason Evans
Austin Nichols - J.D.
Tamlyn Tomita - Janet Tokida
Kenneth Welsh - Vice President Becker
Arjay Smith - Brian Parks
Jay O. Sanders - Frank Harris
Sasha Roiz - Parker
Perry King - President Blake
Adrian Lester - Simon
Glenn Plummer - Luther
Nestor Serrano - Gomez
Vitali Makarov - Yuri
Christopher Britton - Vorsteen
Caroline Keenan - Tina
Jason Blicker - Paul
Russell Yuen - Hideki
Amy Sloan - Elsa
Shelia McCarthy - Judith
Christian Tessier - Aaron

Crew
Story/Screenplay/Executive Producer/Director - Roland Emmerich
Writer - Jeffrey Nachmanoff
Suggested in Part by the Book "The Coming Global Superstorm" - Art Bell and Whitley Strieber
Associate Producer/First Assistant Director - Kim Winther
Executive Producers - Ute Emmerich
and Stephanie Germain
Executive Producer/Unit Production Manager -
Kelly Van Horn
Producer - Mark Gordon
Co-Producer/Unit Production Manager -
Thomas M. Hammel
Casting Director - April Webster
Production Designer - Barry Chusid
Supervising Art Directors - Claude Paré
and Tom Reta
Art Directors - Martin Gendron,
Michele Laliberte, Réal Proulx,
and Marc Bonin
Set Decorator - Victor J. Zolfo
Costume Designer - Renée April
Special Makeup Effects Supervisor -
Adrian Morot
Director of Photography - Ueli Steiger
Second Assistant Directors: El Paso Unit -
Lars P. Winther and David Footman
Second Unit Director: Splinter Unit/
Visual Effects Director of Photography:
Digital Domain - Anne Foerster
Wolf Trainer - Mark Dumas
Stunt Coordinator: Los Angeles & El Paso -
Charlie Brewer
Stunt Coordinator: Montreal - Brando Racki
Special Effects Supervisor - Neil Corbould
Special Effects Coordinator: Los Angeles Unit -
Al Broussard
Visual Effects Supervisor - Karen E. Goulekas,
Visual Effects Supervisors: ILM - Eric Brevig
and Jim Mitchell
Visual Effects Supervisors: Ring of Fire Studios -
Greg Anderson and Jerry Spivack
Visual Effects Supervisor: The Orphanage -
Remo Balcells
Visual Effects Supervisor: Tweak Films -
Christopher Horvath
Visual Effects Supervisors: Hydraulx -
Colin & Greg Strause
Visual Effects Supervisor: Zoic Studios -
Rocco Passionini
Associate Visual Effects Supervisor: Digital
Domain - Matthew E. Butler
Visual Effects Producer - Mike Chambers
Visual Effects Producer: ILM - Shari Hanson
Visual Effects Producers: Digital Domain -
Todd Isorelit and Julian Levi
Visual Effects Art Director: ILM - Alexander Laurant
Digital Effects Supervisor: Digital Domain -
Bryan Gill
Computer Graphics Supervisors: ILM -
Gregor Lakner and Christopher Townsend
Computer Graphics Supervisors: Digital Domain -
Sean Andrew Faden, David Prescott
and Andrew Waisler
CG Supervisor: Zoic Studios - Andrew Orloff
Animation Supervisor: ILM - Danny Gordon Taylor
Associate Animation Supervisor: ILM - Scott Benza
Motion Capture Lead Engineer - Mike Sanders
Compositing Supervisor: The Orphanage - Ben Grossman
Film Editor - David Brenner
Additional Editors - Peter S. Elliot and
Michael McCusker
Supervising Sound Editors - Larry Kemp
and Mark P. Stoeckinger
Sound Designer: Ice Flow, Flood & Tidal
Wave - Alan Rankin
Sound Designer: L.A. Tornado & Destruction -
Michael Kamper
Sound Designer: Wind, Thunder &
Superfreeze - Ann Scibelli
Sound Designer: Vehicles and Animals -
Randy Kelley
Sound Designer: Superfreeze - Harry Cohen
Sound Mixers - Paul Massey and
Doug Hemphill
Additional Mixer - James Bolt
Foley Artists - Alicia Stevenson and
Dawn Fintor
Music - Harald Kloser


Review
So sorry about it. I didn't have to publish a review every Monday since I got so driven to finish my three movie critiques and ended up having a break. Before New Year's Eve, I'd been unable to find the world-ending feature of 2012 when I was supposed to watch it before writing a critique. I eventually switched to an alternative movie from the same filmmaker when it was released six years before he went on to produce that glorious, over-lengthened disaster epic. THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW isn't one of those doomsday movies made as scientifically accurate. It blends seamlessly with the visual graphics and images that create a world from its climate-changing catastrophe to its big chill.

Many climatologists didn't like how the film that the issues of global warming that caused the endless winter were greatly exaggerated since it has nothing to do with any scientific research. Director Roland Emmerich may not have been an avid believer in science. But he never fails to make this picture suspenseful in the post-9/11 wake and have the temperatures cooled to a maximum.  

Naturally, I did notice a few elements of the movie that might need more work, even the story and character development that needed the most. The acting would be the least of my worries, and it wouldn't matter to such talented movie players that their careers are seemingly unaffected by this film. It doesn't have to fail when you have someone like Dennis Quaid, Jake Gyllenhaal and soon-to-be-famed newcomer Emmy Rossum when they can only provide the notch of their performances.

I thought that THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW was so good at being a visual spectacle, though it's not supposed to have any scientific patterns. It's a believable film that nearly gives out the impact of the other disaster hits. Even 2012 is darker and more shocking compared to this film and Independence Day. I recommend you watch the movie or rent it now, whether it is your option.

Star rating: (7/10) Good Movie

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