Monday, March 28, 2016

Space Jam Review












Space Jam


Release Date: 12th December 1996 - Australia


Production Companies
Warner Bros. Family Entertainment
Northern Lights Entertainment
Courtside Seats Productions


Genre: Family/Comedy

Rating: G

Runtime: 88 minutes


Budget: $80,000,000

Box Office Gross: $230,594,962 (Worldwide)


Plot Summary
When a group of aliens arrives to capture the Looney Tunes as they plan to use them as an attraction for their failing amusement park in outer space, the gang enlists retired basketball champion Michael Jordan to help them win a basketball game.


Cast
Michael Jordan - Himself
Wayne Knight - Stan Podolak
Theresa Randle - Juanita Jordan
Manner Washington - Jeffery Jordan
Eric Gordon - Marcus Jordan
Penny Bae Bridges - Jasmine Jordan
Brandon Hammon - Michael Jordan (10 Years Old)
Thom Barry - James Jordan
Charles Barkley - Himself
Mugsy Bogues - Himself
Shawn Bradley - Himself
Patrick Ewing - Himself
Larry Johnson - Himself
Larry Bird - Himself
Bill Murray - Himself
Ahmad Rashad - Himself (Cameo)
Del Harris - Himself (Cameo)
Vlade Divac - Himself (Cameo)
Cedric Ceballos - Himself (Cameo)
Jim Rome - Himself (Cameo)
Paul Westphal - Himself (Cameo)
Danny Ainge - Himself (Cameo)
Patricia Heaton - Woman Fan (Cameo)
Dan Castellaneta - Male Fan (Cameo)
William G. Schilling - Golfer
Albert Hague - Psychiatrist
A.C. Green - Himself (Cameo)
Charles Oakley - Himself (Cameo)
Derek Harper - Himself (Cameo)
Jeff Malone - Himself (Cameo)
Anthony Miller - Himself (Cameo)
Sharone Wright - Himself
(Cameo)
Bill Wennington - Himself
(Cameo) (Uncredited)
Brian Shaw - Himself (Cameo) (Uncredited)
Steve Kerr - Himself (Cameo) (Uncredited)
Charles Hallahan - Baron's Owner (Uncredited)

Voice Cast
Billy West - Bugs Bunny/
Elmer Fudd
Dee Bradley Baker - Daffy Duck/Tazmanian Devil/Bull
Bob Bergen - Berite/Hubie/
Marvin the Martian/Porky
Bill Farmer - Sylvester/
Yosemite Sam/Foghorn Leghorn
Maurice LaMarche - Pepe LePew
June Foray - Granny
Kath Soucie - Lola Bunny
Danny DeVito - Mr Swackhammer
Jocelyn Blue - Nerdluck Pound
Charity James - Nerdluck Blanko
June Melby - Nerdluck Bang
Catherine Reitman - Nerdluck Bupkus
Colleen Wainwright - Nerdluck Nawt/Sniffles
Dorian Harewood - Monstar Bupkus
Joey Camen - Monstar Bang
TK Carter - Monstar Nawt
M. Darnell Suttles - Monstar Pound
Steve Kehela - Monstar Blanko/Announcer
Frank Welker - Charles the Dog


Crew
Director - Joe Pytka
Directors of Animation - Bruce W. Smith
and Tony Cervone
Writers - Leo Benvenuti, Steve Rudnick,
Timothy Harris and Herschel Weingrod
Executive Producers - David Falk and Ken Ross
Producers - Ivan Reitman, Joe Medjuck and
Daniel Goldberg
Co-Producer/Unit Production Manager -
Gordon Webb
Co-Producer - Curtis Polk
Co-Producer/Editor - Sheldon Kahn
Animation Producers - Ron Tippe,
Jerry Rees and Steven Paul Leiva
Animation Producer/Associate Producer -
Dennis Edwards
Animation/Line Producer - Richard Sullivan
Animation Co-Producer - Allison Abbate
Studio Producer: Premier Films Ltd. -
John Leatherbarrow
Production Designer - Geoffrey Kirkland
Art Director - David F. Klassen
Set Decorator - Jennifer Williams
Property Master - Sean Mannion
Production Designer: Animation/
Visual Development/Character Designer -
Fred Cline
Animation Art Director - Bill Perkins
Original Character Designer - Jenny Lerew
Character Designers - Chris Aguirre,
Jean Giraud, Ashanti Miller, Vladimir Spasojevic,
Tim Watts, Mark Whiting and Bill Wray
Supervising Animator/Sequence Director -
Uli Meyer
Supervising Animators - Neil Boyle,
Chuck Gammage, Jim Kammerud, Jeff Siergey,
Dave Spafford and Bruce Woodside
Supervising Animator: Stardust Pictures -
Robert Stevenhagen
Background Director/Supervisor - William Dely
Background Stylist - Scott Wills
Layout Director - Gary Mouri
Costume Designer - Marlene Stewart
Costume Supervisor - Christopher Lawrence
Assistant Costume Designer - Lisa Loovas
Director of Photography - Michael Chapman
Camera Operator - Bill Roe
First Assistant Camera - Jamie Barber,
Louis Niemeyer and Vern Nobles Jr.
Stunt Coordinator - Bob Bralver
Basketball Technical Advisor - Nigel Miguel
Basketball Coordinator - Nathaniel Bellamy Jr.
Special Effects Coordinator - Daniel Pritchett
Additional Special Effects Supervisor -
Raymond Pang
Live-Action/Animation Visual Effects - Ed Jones
Senior Visual Effects Supervisor: Warner Bros -
John Scheele
Visual Effects Supervisors - Erik Dehkhoda and
James Lima
Digital Effects Supervisor: Cinesite -
Carlos Arguello
Digital Effects Producer - Alex Bicknell
Head of ADA - James C.J. Williams
Supervising Film Editor - Nancy Frazen
Associate Editors - John Currin,
Richard L. McCullough and Mark Solomon
Supervising Sound Editor - Mark A. Mangini
ADR/Supervising Dialogue Editor -
Burt Schulkey
Production Sound Mixers - James LaRue
and Gene S. Cantamessa
Re-Recording Mixers - Gary Alexander,
Gary C. Bourgeois, Jim Fitzpatrick,
John T. Reitz, Gregg Rudloff,
David E. Campbell and Mark D. Fleming (Uncredited)
Music - James Newton Howard


Review
Build in the techniques that combined hand-drawn animation and shot to frequent live-action into the distinct format of Who Framed Roger Rabbit. Here's what you get when Warner Bros unleashes their cartoon brand Looney Tunes and basketball legend Michael Jordan in a movie that some deem to be underwhelming. That type of film is SPACE JAM. And for several years, I've anticipated reviewing this nostalgic flick. Hopefully, my newly resumed schedule for this feature won't be as delayed as I've missed a year of re-watching it simultaneously. As you may have guessed, SPACE JAM is a movie based on the commercials in which Jordan had previously promoted his Air Jordan sneakers with Bugs Bunny. I find it frustrating that these product advertisements get adapted into a single full-length feature. I've always considered the possibility that SPACE JAM was in its regal splendour of blending live-action and animation. Though not to the extent that Robert Zemeckis had envisioned for Roger Rabbit.

Michael Jordan wasn't much of an actor when his performance had gotten so uncharismatic and stiff. It could be that he didn't have experience in acting. He excels, however, in basketball. I hated how they expanded Bill Murray's cameo in the final round that the role should have been the Road Runner. I liked the gorgeous design of Bugs' love interest, Lola Bunny. Her personality is too shallow to be the foil and main centre for the cartoon hare. These factors should have slowed the film down in mainstream obscurity when only the soundtrack placement redeems its average quality. "I Believe I Can Fly" is probably one of the most iconic songs I want to hear again.

SPACE JAM was neither good nor bad, and it should have been the movie that ended the Looney Tunes. Instead, it is enjoyable to younger fans of the cartoon characters and fans of Michael Jordan. Th-th-that's all, Folks!

Star rating: (5/10) Average

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Saturday, March 26, 2016

Olympus Has Fallen Review












Olympus Has Fallen


Release Date: 4th April 2013 - Australia


Production Companies
Millenium Films (presents)
G-BASE
Four Forty Studios (in collaboration with)
West Coast Film Partners

Distribution
Roadshow Films


Genre: Action

Rating: MA15+ (Not Suitable
for Young Children)

Runtime: 119 minutes


Budget: $70,000,000

Box Office Gross: $170,270,201 (Worldwide)


Plot Summary
When a terrorist mastermind
invades the White House
and kidnaps the President,
a disgraced former
Presidential Secret Service
Agent named Mike Banning
finds himself trapped within
the building. While the
national security team
scrambles to respond, they
must rely on Banning's
inside knowledge to help
retake the White House,
save the President and
prevent an even bigger crisis.


Cast
Gerard Butler - Mike Banning
Aaron Eckhart - President Benjamin Asher
Finley Jacobsen - Connor
Dylan McDormett - Forbes
Rick Yune - Kang
Morgan Freeman - Speaker Trumbull
Angela Bassett - Secret Service Director Lynn Jacobs
Melissa Leo - Secretary of Defense Ruth McMillian
Radha Mitchell - Leah
Cole Hauser - Roma
Phil Austin - Vice President Charles Rodriguez
James Ingersoll - Admiral Nathan Hoening
Freddy Bosche - Diaz
Lance Broadway - O'Neil
Sean O'Bryan - Ray Monroe
Ashley Judd - First Lady Margaret Asher
Keong Sim - Lee Tae-Woo
Kevin Moon - Cho
Malana Lea - Lim
Robert Forster - General Edward Clegg
Sam Medina - Yu
Tory Kittles - Agent Jones
Shane Land - Agent Davis
Shanna Forrestall - Mary Jane Fuller
Dorothy Deavers - Ms. Moesley
Hamish MacDonald - Himself (Cameo)
Lawrence O'Donnell - Himself
(Cameo)
Rick Chambers - Himself (Cameo)

Crew
Producer/Director - Antoine Fuqua
Writers - Creighton Rothenberger and Katrin Benedikt
Associate Producer - Danielle Robinson
Executive Producers - Boaz
Davidson, Danny Dimbort,
Avi Lerner, Heidi Jo Markel,
Trevor Short and John
Thompson
Co-Executive Producer -
Christine Otal
Co-Executive Producers/
Executives in Charge of
Production Financing - Will French and Stephen Roberts
Co-Executive Producer/
Production Business & Legal Affairs - Lonnie Ramati
Producers - Gerard Butler, Mark Gill,
Danny Lenrer and Alan Siegel
Producer/Unit Production
Manager - Ed Cathell III
Production Designer - Derek R. Hill
Art Director - Karen Steward
Set Decorator - Cathy T. Marshall
Costume Designer - Doug Hall
Director of Photography - Conrad W. Hall
Director of Photography: Second Unit - Gary Capo
First Assistant Director - Richard L. Fox
Second Unit Director - Jamie Marshall
Stunt Coordinator - Keith Woulard
Stunt/Fight Coordinator - Lin Oeding
Special Effects Coordinator - Jack Lynch 
Senior Visual Effects Supervisor - Evan Jacobs
Visual Effects Studio Supervisor: Worldwide FX -
Wes C. Caefer
Film Editor - John Refoua
Supervising Sound Editor - Mandell Winter
Sound Designer - David Esparza
Re-Recording Mixers - Daniel J. Leahy
and Chris David
Music - Trevor Morris


Review
Because I'm due to see London Has Fallen, I've re-watched its predecessor, OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN, a hardcore, bloodthirsty and political action shooter from 2013. It came out in such a turbulent year when Hollywood took a slight downturn, producing movies that were not so great, such as Iron Man 3, Star Trek Into Darkness and Man of Steel. Luckily, that past year had some remarkable films, you remember, one of which was OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN.

It is a more successful feature than its lighthearted competitor, White House Down. Both films are definite throwbacks to Die Hard and share the setting and premise of the White House invaded by terrorists, but OLYMPUS is an incredible movie. It is both tumultuous and patriotic in displaying well-coordinated action and much bloodshed. OLYMPUS is a labour of love for director Antoine Fuqua, whose hybrid and newfound style has nearly outmatched Michael Bay's. I say this because Fuqua never attempted to deliver something with plenty of thrills and action without any logic.

This knockoff has the relatively strong acting of Gerard Butler, Aaron Eckhart and Morgan Freeman. Though Butler was no Bruce Willis, he was in a league of his own. Eckhart and Freeman's performances and Butler's make a lethal combination of fine casting choices in this ensemble.

OLYMPUS stands above Die Hard and almost all other movies that have borrowed its plot. It has consolidated its place as one of the best movies of 2013. Viewer discretion advises that this feature is not for those under 15.

Star rating: (10/10) Best Movie Ever

Monday, March 21, 2016

Riddick Review














Riddick 


Release Date: 12th September 2013 - Australia


Production Companies 
One Race Films
Universal Pictures 
Radar Pictures
Riddick Canada Productions

Distribution 
Roadshow Distribution 


Genre: Sci-Fi

Rating: MA15+ (Not 
Suitable for Young Children)

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


Budget: $40,000,000

Box Office Gross: $98,337,295 
(Worldwide)


Plot Summary 
Wanted by every bounty 
hunter in the known galaxy, 
the infamous convict 
Riddick has been left for 
dead on a sun-scorched 
planet that appears to be 
lifeless. Abandoned and 
alone, Riddick soon 
becomes the prey of a 
swarm of alien predators 
more lethal than anything 
he has encountered before. 
Forced to make a life or 
death decision, Riddick 
activates an emergency 
beacon and alerts 
mercenaries to his 
whereabouts- there is 
safety in numbers! 

The first ship to arrive 
carries a new breed of 
sadistic mercy who won't 
leave without Riddick's 
head as their trophy, while 
the second is captained by 
a man whose pursuit of 
Riddick is more personal. 
What none of them 
anticipated is that when 
you corner a creature that 
is as much animal as he is 
man, you are the one who 
should be on the run.


Cast
Vin Diesel - Riddick
Jordi Molla - Santana
Matt Nable - Boss Johns
Kate Sackhoff - Dahl
Dave Bautista - Diaz
Bokeem Woodbine - Moss
Conrad Pla - Vargas
Dance Blanco Hall - Falco
Noah Danby - Nunez
Neil Napier - Rubio
Nolan Gerard Funk - Luna
Karl Urban - Vaako
Andreas Apergis - Krone

Crew
Writer/Director - David Twohy
Based on Characters - Jim and Ken Wheat
Producer/Executive 
Producer - Samantha Vincent
Executive Producers - Mike Drake and George Zakk
Producers - Vin Diesel and Ted Field
Co-Producers - Mike Weber, Camille Brown and Jim Finkl
Production Designer - Joseph Nemec III
Costume Designer - Simonetta Mariano
Director of Photography - David Eggby
Stunt Coordinators - Troy Robinson and Michael Scherer
Fight Coordinator - Guillermo Grispo
Special Effects Supervisor - Ryal Cosgrove
Visual Effects Supervisor - Gunnar Hansen
Creature Designer - Patrick Tatopoulos
Editor - Tracy Adams
Music - Graeme Revell


Review
Over the years, I've discovered that 'The Chronicles of Riddick' is not entirely a good nor a bad film, I had high hopes that the third instalment 'RIDDICK' would be a definite improvement to the already passable predecessor. I haven't seen this picture for a while and I still haven't seen 'Pitch Black' which is probably the origination of the two movies that have soon followed and started Vin Diesel's stardom. I get the sense that David Twohy is trying to follow the inspirational patterns of notable franchises such as 'Mad Max' and 'Star Wars'. Because both of these franchises featured roguish types of anti-heroes that he wanted the actor Diesel to continue playing which can be very close compared with the eponymous title character just like Mel Gibson when he solemnly returned to star in two 'Mad Max' features as the hero he plays as Max. 

'RIDDICK seems to have recycled the plot from out of the first movie and while it's good to see the story taken back to its roots, it just seems effortless and almost like film makers were just making a quick grab for cash instead of really applying their creative skills to mould a new and innovative story. 

My final thoughts with this review are that it is not completely unbearable, its just that I had higher hopes for this film and feel that it had some deficits which let down the overall quality. That's not to say others would not enjoy it.

Star rating: (6/10) Fair Movie

Wednesday, March 16, 2016

Chronicle Review












Chronicle


Release Date: 2nd February 2012 - Australia


Production Companies
20th Century Fox
Davis Entertainment
Dune Entertainment (made in association with)

Distribution
20th Century Fox Australia


Genre: Sci-Fi/Action
 
Rating: M

Runtime: 80 minutes


Budget: $12,000,000

Box Office Gross: $126,636,097
(Worldwide)


Plot Summary
Witness the mind bending
chronicle of great power
gone awry. When three
ordinary high school friends
make an extraordinary
discovery, they acquire
amazing abilities beyond
their understanding. They
can move objects with
their minds, crush cars
at will, and even fly. But
as their strength grows,
so do their darker sides.
When harmless pranks
give way to more
dangerous escapades,
their lives spin recklessly
out of control, leading to
an explosive, high-flying
climax that will leave you
breathless!


Cast
Alex Russell - Matt Garetty
Dane DeHaan - Andrew Detmer
Michael B. Jordan - Steve Montgomery
Michael Kelly - Richard Detmer
Ashley Hinshaw - Casey Letter
Anna Wood - Monica
Bo Petersen - Karen Detmer
Anna Wood - Monica
Rudi Malcolm - Wayne
Luke Tyler - Sean
Crystal-Donna Roberts - Samantha
Adrian Collins - Costly
Grant Powell - Howard
Armand Aucamp - Austin
Nicole Bailey - Cala

Crew
Story/Director - Josh Trank
Story/Screenplay - Max Landis
Executive Producer/Unit Production Manager - James Dodson
Producers - John Davis and Adam Schroeder
Casting Director - Ronna Kress
Production Designer - Stephen Altman
Costume Designer - Diane Cilliers
Director of Photography - Matthew Jensen
Stunt Coordinator - Kerry Gregg
Stunt Supervisor - Franz Spilhaus
Special Effects Supervisor - Mickey Kirsten
Visual Effects Supervisor - Simon Hansen
Visual Effects Supervisor: Rhythm & Hues - Raymond Chen
Visual Effects Producers - Balakrishnan, 
Kathy Chasen-Hay and Thilak
Editor - Elliot Greenberg
Music Supervisor - Andrea von Foerster


Review
Before Josh Trank moved to Hollywood and made an infamy with the unsuccessful if not tedious reboot of 'Fantastic Four'. He made his directorial debut on a found footage movie that he filmed in 2012 entitled 'CHRONICLE'. It remains as an absolute one-hit wonder to his promising and doomed career. The director at the time was new, young and fresh to Hollywood and has not yet delivered his latest and failed dark interpretation of Marvel's beloved superhero team to the big screen. The subject of this movie was not that of a typical superhero action movie but rather is all about three teenagers that gain superpowers and none of them are interested in saving the world. 'CHRONICLE' should have been a game changer to director Josh Trank who is more suited to produce pictures out of small scale rather than doing big budget projects. Much like M. Night Shyamalan whose repetitiveness and change of style has lead to the outcome of having disappointing movies like 'The Happening' and 'The Last Airbender'.

'CHRONICLE' introduced new stars such as Dane DeHaan and Michael B. Jordan who have both progressed as consistent performers. DeHaan was an extraordinarily talented youth of an actor and he portrays a huge part of character that is soon to be fallen on his dark side and probably a better villain than his own Harry Osborn in 'The Amazing Spider-Man' sequel.

This movie is surprisingly a very watchable and thrilling cinematic experience, in watching 'CHRONICLE', the use of the video camcorder in a way that it looks like the actors are holding the camera as they are running and it is shaking and moving all over the place. Much as you would see in a documentary or in a horror feature, this camera adds a sense of realism and grittiness. If you had not seen this great picture, you should definitely give it a chance.

Star rating: (8/10) Very Good Movie



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Monday, March 14, 2016

The Cable Guy Review












The Cable Guy


Release Date: 20th June 1996 - Australia


Production Companies
Columbia Pictures (presents)
Light/Mueller Film Corp.

Distribution
Sony Pictures Australia


Genre: Comedy

Rating: M

Runtime: 92 minutes


Budget: $47,000,000

Box Office Gross: $102,825,796 (Worldwide)


Plot Summary
Having been dumped by
his girlfriend recently,
Steven Kovacs thought
he'd have a lot of time to
watch TV ...but that was
before he met Chip
Douglas! 

He's a cable guy with a
few loose wires in his
brain and a talent for
hijacking people's lives.
To make matters worse,
all he wants is a friend,
and he won't take no for
an answer.


Cast
Jim Carrey - Chip Douglas
Matthew Broderick - Steven Kovacs
Leslie Mann - Robin Harris
Jack Black - Rick
George Segal - Mr. Kovacs
Diane Baker - Mrs. Kovacs
Eric Roberts - Himself
Ben Stiller - Sam/Stan Sweet
Owen Wilson - Robin's Date
Janeane Garofalo - Medieval Waitress
Andy Dick - Medieval Host
David Cross - Sales Manager
Harry O'Reilly - Steven's Boss
Amy Stiller - Steven's Secretary
Cameron Starman - Cable Boy
Kathy Griffin - Cable Boy's Mother

Crew
Director - Ben Stiller
Writer - Lou Holtz Jr.
Executive Producers - Brad
Grey, Bernie Brillstein and
Marc Gurvitz
Producers - Judd Apatow,
Andrew Licht and Jeffrey A. Mueller
Co-Producer/Unit Production Manager - William Beasley
Production Designer - Sharon Seymour
Art Director - Jeff Knipp
Set Decorator - Maggie Martin
Director of Photography - Robert Brinkmann
First Assistant Director - Nilo Otero
Stunt Coordinator - Freddie Hice
Special Effects Coordinator - Matt Sweeney
Visual Effects Supervisor: SPI - John Nelson
Art Director: SPI - Martin A. Kline
Visual Effects Director of Photography: SPI -
David Drzewiecki
Film Editors - Steven Weisberg
and Samuel Craven
Supervising Sound Editors - Robert Grieve
and Gregory King
Re-Recording Mixers - Chris David,
Scott Millan and Tom Perry
Foley Artists - Andy Malcolm
and Alicia Stevenson
Music - John Ottman 


Review
With the release of Ben Stiller's latest sequel of Zoolander, I decided to take a trip over and refresh my memory with a classic movie he directed with fellow comedian Jim Carrey. Though the second time I watched it in its original DVD format, the comedy wasn't quite as dark, spine-tingling, or funny as everyone has said recently. THE CABLE GUY was Ben Stiller's first big-budget movie as director, and he did an incredible job with this production. I've only enjoyed some portions of the film, but as I said, I haven't watched it many times. I noticed Jim Carrey was having so much fun acting like a child, and he greatly upstaged his co-star Matthew Broderick and even a few supporting players, such as future lead actor/comedian Jack Black. It's the first movie for Carrey where he plays a more serious character than his usual goofball roles.

This movie has themes that are part comedy and part thriller. THE CABLE GUY didn't compare and rank up to his earlier hits like Ace Ventura, The Mask and Dumb and DumberEven in later years, he would be burgeoning more seriously in his acting career with some of his other features that would dramatically propel his reputation into superstardom.

THE CABLE GUY tells an entertaining, scary, funny and sad story in one basket. It is a movie you have not seen before if you are in the mood for something easy to follow and provides instant thrills with a well-paced, engaging plot. Then this would be worth a watch.

Star rating: (7/10) Good Movie

Wednesday, March 9, 2016

400th Review! The Lorax













The Lorax


Release Date: 29th March 2012 - Australia


Production Companies
Universal Pictures (presents)
Illumination Entertainment
Dentsu (in association with)

Distribution
Universal Pictures Australia


Genre: Animation/Family

Rating: G

Runtime: 86 minutes


Budget: $70,000,000

Box Office Gross:
$349,183,316 (Worldwide)


Plot Summary
To impress a girl he likes and win her affection, a 12-year-old boy named Ted looks for a tree she wishes to see. But before he can find it, Ted has to hear a story from the Once-ler about how he met the Lorax, who speaks for the trees and defends them and the woodland creatures who live there.


Voice Cast
Ed Helms - The Once-ler
Danny DeVito - The Lorax
Zac Efron - Ted Wiggins
Taylor Swift - Audrey
Rob Riggle - Aloysius O'Hare
Betty White - Grammy Norma
Jenny Slate - Ted's Mom
Nasim Pedrad - Once-ler's Mom
Stephen Tobolwsky - Uncle Ubb
Elmarie Wendel - Aunt Grizelda
Danny Cooksey - Bret and Chet
Chris Renaud - Forest Animals

Crew
Director - Chris Renaud
Co-Director - Kyle Balda
Based on the Book "The Lorax" - Dr. Seuss
Screenplay/Executive Producer/Songs - Cinco Paul
Screenplay/Executive
Producer - Ken Daurio
Executive Producer - Audrey Geisel
Producers - Janet Healy and Christopher Meledandri
Production/Character
Designer - Yarrow Cheney
Art Director/Character
Designer - Eric Guillon
Character Designers - Jeremie Moreau, Carter Goodrich and Robin Joseph
Character Designer/Colorist - Colin Stimpson
Story Supervisor - Dave Rosenbaum
Story Consultant - Mike Reiss
Animation Director - Lionel Gallat
Animation Supervisor - Laurent De La Chapelle
Supervising Animators - Pierre Avon, Nicolas Bauduin, Jean Hemez, Fabrice Joubert, Pierre Leduc and Julien Soret
Computer Graphics Supervisor - Bruno Chauffard
Co-Computer Graphics Supervisor - Simon Thomas
Lighting Supervisor - Nicolas Brack
Rough Layout Supervisor - Regis Schuller
Editors - Claire Dodgson,
Steven Liu and Ken Schretzmann
Sound Designer/Supervising Sound
Editor/Re-Recording Mixer - Randy Thom
Supervising Sound Editor - Dennis Leonard
ADR/Dialogue Supervisor - Daniel Laurie
Re-Recording Mixer - Gary A. Rizzo
Foley Artists - Sean England,
Dennie Thorpe, Jana Vance and
Ronni Brown (Uncredited)
Foley Mixer - Frank Rinella
Songs/Music - John Powell
Executive Song Producer - Christopher Stewart
Score Recordist and Mixer - Shawn Murphy


Review
I have already been disappointed by the adaptation from the beloved children's author, Dr. Seuss, with How the Grinch Stole Christmas, which failed to deliver a worthy experience for me except for Jim Carrey's hilarious and grouchy performance. After being so disappointed by this movie, I've decided not to watch another Dr. Seuss movie. Critics compared THE LORAX for having similar messages to Disney/Pixar's WALL-E. It was an animated musical adaptation from the same makers known to have created Despicable Me. THE LORAX is Illumination's second animation feature to date, and it has that social message to teach children how to save the environment. Unfortunately, it destroys the complete ambiguity in the original book that carries its meaning.

I'm not thrilled with some of the voice acting of Zac Efron and Taylor Swift. I preferred Danny DeVito, who has very expressive and charismatic acting talents that defined the title character's personality. Unfortunately, he is no Jim Carrey, which leads to some of the movie's shortcomings. The feature adaptation's watch-ability is severely limited by dated pop-cultural references, lightheartedness, a rushed plot and few added characters. These are nothing more than attempts at expansion that tried to convince audiences that it would be as great as the source material.

I enjoyed THE LORAX more than The Grinch or The Cat in the Hat. The animation is colourful and is true to the original vision of Dr. Seuss's art style. Overall, this big-screen interpretation of the book may well be average. Somewhat disappointing for readers of the original story. It could be enjoyable for the little ones who have yet to read more of Dr. Seuss.

Star rating: (5/10) Average

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Monday, March 7, 2016

Ride Along 2 Review














Ride Along 2


Release Date: 18th February 2016 - Australia


Production Companies
Cube Vision
Universal Pictures
Will Packer Productions

Distribution
Universal Pictures Australia


Genre: Action/Comedy

Rating: M

Runtime: 102 minutes


Budget: $40,000,000

Box Office Gross: $124,608,438 (Worldwide)


Plot Summary
New police academy
graduate Ben tags along
from Atlanta to Miami
with James to track down
a fugitive criminal just
hours before Ben's
wedding to James' sister. (Source - Metro Cinemas)


Cast
Ice Cube - James Payton
Kevin Hart - Ben Barber
Tika Sumpter - Angela Payton
Benjamin Bratt - Antonio Pope
Olivia Munn - Maya
Ken Jeong - A.J.
Bruce McGill - Lt. Brooks
Michael Rose - The Hitter/Gates
Sherri Shepard - Cori
Arturo del Puerto - Alonso
Eric Goins - Assface
Carlos Gomez - Captain Hernandez
Utkarsh Ambudkar - Amir
Glen Powell - Troy
Nadine Velazquez - Tasha
Bresha Webb - Shayla
Tyrese Gibson - Mayfield
James Martin Kelly - Port Commissioner Griffin
Robert Pralgo - Port Commissioner Nunez

Crew
Director - Tim Story
Based on Characters - Greg Coolidge
Writers - Phil Hay and
Matt Manfredi
Executive Producers - Scott
Bernstein, Ronald G.
Muhammad and Nicolas Stern
Producers - Matt Alvarez,
Larry Brezner, Ice Cube,
William Packer and J.C. Spink
Production Designer - Chris Cornwell
Cinematography - Mitchell Amundsen
Second Unit Director/Stunt Coordinator - Jack Gill
Co-Stunt Coordinator - Brian Machleit
Film Editor - Peter S. Elliott
Music - Christopher Lennertz


Review
I'm not necessarily new to the 'Ride Along' movies as these two are typical buddy-cop films which were more or less cut-and-pasted from other films in the sub-genre such as 'Lethal Weapon' and the parody 'Hot Fuzz'. I could have stopped watching once I noticed this, but I only remembered snippets from the original and in the end 'Ride Along 2' was a half-decent sequel. There was lots of excitement in this sequel but it was still filled with too many cliches that are in every buddy cop film. I would have chosen the 'Lethal Weapon' series over the two 'Ride Along' movies if I hadn't watched the latter.

Leading actor Kevin Hart was good at being the main hero and the comical relief. His humour carries most of the sequel and he is in a odd-pair with fellow performer Ice Cube. He upstages him just like he did with the previous installment.

In closing, I think 'RIDE ALONG 2' is probably an above average movie that would entertain anyone for an afternoon. Despite this, I hope they don't make another sequel of 'Ride Along' as it would put to sleep the already tired buddy-cop format.

Star rating: (6/10) Fair Movie

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