Monday, November 27, 2017

Justice League Review











Justice League


Release Date: 16th November 2017 - Australia


Production Companies
Warner Bros. Pictures
RatPac-Dune Entertainment
DC Entertainment
Cruel and Unusual Films
Atlas Entertainment
Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit (CPTC) (with the participation of)
Lensbern Productions (uncredited)
Syncopy (uncredited)

Distribution
Roadshow Films


Genre: Action

Rating: M

Runtime: 121 minutes


Budget: $300,000,000

Box Office Gross: $657,926,987 (Worldwide)


Plot Summary
After Superman's heroic sacrifice brought back his faith in humanity and inspired him, Bruce Wayne gathers a team of metahumans, including his newfound ally, Diana Prince, to form the Justice League and must confront an enemy more menacing than what they've faced.


Cast
Ben Affleck - Bruce Wayne/
Batman
Henry Cavill - Clark Kent/
Superman
Gal Gadot - Diana Prince/
Wonder Woman
Ezra Miller - Barry Allen/The Flash
Jason Momoa - Arthur Curry/Aquaman
Ray Fisher - Victor Stone/
Cyborg
Ciarán Hinds - Steppenwolf
Connie Nielsen - Queen Hippolyta
Jeremy Irons - Alfred Pennyworth
J.K. Simmons - Commissioner
Gordon
Amy Adams - Lois Lane
Diane Lane - Martha Kent
Julian Lewis Jones - King Atlan
David Thewlis - Ares (Cameo)
Amber Heard - Mera
Joe Morton - Dr. Silas Stone
Lisa Loven Kongsli - Menalippe
David Thewlis - Ares
Sergio Constance - Zeus
Julian Lewis Jones - Ancient Atlantean King
Richard Clifford - German Archaeologist
Kobina Holdbrook-Smith - Detective Crispus Allen
Francis Magee - Ancient King of Men
Doutzen Kroes - Venezia
Brooke Ence - Penthesilea
Hari James - Trigona
Ann Ogbomo - Philippus
Samantha Win - Euboea
Marc McClure - Officer Ben
Sadowsky
Gary A. Hecker - Creature
Vocals
Joe Manganiello - Mr. Wilson (Uncredited)
Billy Crudup - Henry Allen (Uncredited)
Karen Bryson - Elinore Stone (Uncredited)
Robin Wright - Antiope (Uncredited)
Jesse Eisenberg - Lex Luthor (Cameo) (Uncredited)

Crew
Story/Director - Zack Snyder
Superman Creators - Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster
Justice League Creator - Gardiner Fox  
Batman Creators - Bob Kane
and Bill Finger
Woman Woman Creator - William Moulton Marston
Fourth World Creator - Jack Kirby
Story/Screenplay/Executive Producer - Chris Terrio
Screenplay/Director: Additional Scenes (Uncredited) - Joss Whedon
Executive Producers -
Christopher Nolan, Emma Thomas,
Michael E. Uslan, Benjamin Melniker,
Ben Affleck, Wesley Coller, Curt Kanemoto
and Daniel S. Kaminsky
Executive Producer/Unit Production Manager -
Jim Rowe
Producers - Geoff Johns, Charles Roven
and Deborah Snyder
Co-Producers/Unit Production Managers -
Marianne Jenkins and Gregor Wilson
Casting Directors - Kristy Carlson,
Lora Kennedy and Kate Ringsell
Horse Master - Daniel Naprous
Production Designer - Patrick Tatopoulos
Concept Artists - Ed Natividad,
Christian Scheurer, Dan Walker,
Victor Martinez, Robert McKinnon and
Alex Caldow
Concept Illustrators - Jerad Marantz,
Ian Joyner, Constantine Sekeris and
Brooke Dibble
Supervising Art Directors - Christian Huband
and Helen Jarvis
Supervising Art Directors: Additional
Photography - David Allday and
Lorin Fleming
Art Directors - Matthew Gray,
Paul Laugier, Samuel Leake, Keith Pain,
Andrew Palmer, Hayley Easton Street,
Helen Xenopoulos and Peter James
Art Director: Additional Photography - Su Whitaker
Set Decorator - Dominic Capon
Property Master - Ben Wilkinson
Supervising Armorer - Joss Skottowe
Costume Designer - Michael Wilkinson
Assistant Costume Designers - Stephanie Porter,
John Norster and Margie Fortune
Costume Supervisor - Ken Crouch
Costume FX Supervisor - Graham Churchyard
HOD Prop/Costume Effects Modeller -
Pierre Bohanna
Makeup Designer - Victoria Down
Makeup Designer: Ben Affleck - Kate Biscoe
Director of Photography - Fabian Wagner
2nd Unit/Additional Director of Photography -
Jean-Philippe Gossart
Aerial Director of Photography - David B. Nowell
Aerial Coordinator - David Paris
Aerial Coordinator (Uncredited)/Helicopter Pilot -
Marc Wolff
First Assistant Director - Misha Bukowski
First Assistant Director: Additional Photography -
Jamie Christopher
Key Second Assistant Director: Additional Photography -
Matthew Sharp
Supervising Location Manager: Additional
Photography - Martin Joy
Second Unit Director/Stunt Coordinator -
Damon Caro
Stunt Coordinator - Eunice Huthart
Assistant Stunt Coordinator - Marc Mailley
Fight Coordinator - Mike Lambert
Fight Choreographers - Freddy Bouciegues and
Matthew Rugetti
Picture Vehicle Coordinator - Alex King
Special Effects Supervisor - Mark Holt
Special Effects Coordinator - Carmila Gittens
Special Effects Coordinator: Additional
Photography - Lucy Thompson
Assistant Special Effects  Supervisor -
Michael Dawson
Senior Visual Effects Supervisor: Weta Digital -
Joe Letteri
Visual Effects Supervisor - John 'D.J.' Des Jardin
Visual Effects Supervisor: MPC - Seth Maury
Visual Effects Supervisor: Weta Digital -
Keith Miller
Visual Effects Supervisor: DNEG - Thomas Proctor
Visual Effects Supervisor: Scanline VFX -
Bryan Hirota
Visual Effects Supervisor: Method Studios -
Sean Konrad
Visual Effects: Rodeo FX - Peter Nofz,
Sébastien Francoeur, Andréane Dodier-Villenevue,
Mai-Ahn Tran, James Bond and Colin McLean
Visual Effects Producer - Josh R. Jaggars
Visual Effects Co-Producer - Tricia Mulgrew
Visual Effects Art Director: Scanline VFX -
Claas Henke
Animation Supervisor: Scanline VFX -
Eric Petey
Animation Supervisor: Method Studios -
Daryl Sawchuk
Animation Supervisor: MPC - David Crispino
Animation Supervisor: Weta Digital -
Simeon Duncombe
CG & Compositing Supervisors: DNEG -
Alexander Seaman and Julian Gnass
Pre-Visualisation Supervisor - Steve Yamamoto
Editors - David Brenner, Richard Pearson
and Martin Walsh
Sound Designers & Supervisors - Scott Hecker
and Chuck Michaels
Sound Designers - Phil Barrie,
Casey Genton, Robert Kellough and
Eliot Connors
Production Sound Mixer - John Casali
Re-Recording Mixers - Chris Jenkins
and Michael Keller
Supervising Foley Artist - Gary A. Hecker
Music - Danny Elfman
Composers: Additional Music - T.J. Lindgren,
Pinar Toprak and Geoff Zanelli
Score Recordist & Mixer - Peter Cobbin


Review
Because of my experience over the past years, I had high expectations about the new JUSTICE LEAGUE movie that's said to be DC and Warner's answer to The Avengers. I remember reading a few comics of the Justice League and watching the hit animated TV series from Cartoon Network. Marvel and Disney hit the jackpot with the surprise success of their big-budgeted movie. Audiences everywhere, including comic book fanatics, praised the film that was nothing they'd ever seen. It later inspired DC to make their prominent feature to upstage The Avengers. I have waited for the release of this movie for a long time. The DC Extended Universe was controversial among the fans. The latest and fourth entry, Wonder Woman, was the only one heading in the right direction, as it was the first of these films to set a benchmark for the DCEU. We got a follow-up that underwhelms many fans and over-reliant on visual spectacles.

JUSTICE LEAGUE has a rushed and uneven storyline due to a personal behind-the-scenes tragedy that caused its director, Zack Snyder, to leave through its post-production. Joss Whedon, the former writer/director of the Avengers movies, took over his supervision. I like how Whedon contributed to the writing of the humour and the tone being lighter. The geniuses' visions clashed with Snyder's film-making style being in the picture and Whedon's quips with a sense of fun and entertainment. As these attempts to breathe life into JUSTICE LEAGUE, the movie sometimes works but not on its own. They changed the idea of Superman's resurrection as it could have gotten a better explanation to resolve the ending we last saw in Batman v Superman (BvS). I couldn't agree more that Steppenwolf was a weak villain undeveloped by the numbers and fell into the "wanting to destroy humanity" cliche. But enough about the negative aspects: time to move on to the positives.

Ezra Miller was excellent and funny in the role of Flash. I liked how he conveyed the personality of this character as wisecracking. Jason Momoa gets brought into stardom with a decent portrayal of Aquaman, and so does Ray Fisher for Cyborg. Continuing her Wonder Woman role is Gal Gadot, fresh from her last film and making the character look very attractive. Henry Cavill triumphs in playing Superman, who reverts to his old and heroic self more than the lifeless-driven counterpart in Man of Steel and BvS. Danny Elfman was the right composer for the majestic and upbeat score on the picture and re-used a few themes previously heard in DC's classic features (including his own from Tim Burton's Batman and Batman Returns).

JUSTICE LEAGUE is no longer an anticipated box-office film as audiences have already seen the missteps from the last two entries that Snyder directed. Though it was a mild improvement, this could have gone to Zack Snyder had he not backed out from post-production. A director's cut might contain elements unseen in the theatrical edition. We will wait to see if this version gets released in DVD/Blu-ray format.

Star rating: (4/10) Below Average

Saturday, November 25, 2017

My New Community Page

I have recently started my community page on Facebook as FilmGuruLad, and I encourage my viewers to go on to Facebook and try to find my page type in filmgurulad in the search bar. Otherwise, if you already have an account on the social network, you'll probably know where it is. On my Facebook page, you'll notice each link to my review. Even obituaries, news updates and articles, including those shared on my account, enjoy.

Back to Home

Tuesday, November 21, 2017

Space Chimps Review
















Space Chimps

 
Release Date: 25th September 2008 - Australia


Production Companies
Vanguard Animation
Odyssey Entertainment
Starz Animation
Starz!
Studiopolis
The Weinstein Company 
 
Distribution
Roadshow Distribution


Genre: Animation/Family

Rating: G

Runtime: 77 minutes


Budget: $37,000,000

Box Office Gross: $64,834,964
(Worldwide)


Plot Summary
Ham III, the grandson of the first chimp astronaut, is blasted off into space by an opportunity-seeking senator. Soon, the fun-loving chimp has to get serious about the mission at hand; ridding a far-away planet of their nefarious leader. Fortunately for Ham III, two of his simian peers are along for the ride. (Source - IMDb)


Voice Cast
Andy Samberg - Ham III
Cheryl Hines - Luna
Patrick Warburton - Titan
Jeff Daniels - Zartog
Kristin Chenoweth - Kilowatt
Kenan Thompson - Ringmaster
Zack Shada - Comet/Nava Boy
Carlos Alazraqui - Houston
Omid Abtahi - Dr. Jagu
Patrick Breen - Dr. Bob
Jane Lynch - Dr. Poole
Kath Soucie - Dr. Smothers
Stanley Tucci - Senator
Wally Wingert - Splork/
Various

Crew
Story/Screenplay/Director - Kirk De Micco
Screenplay - Robert Moreland and Joe Piscatella (Uncredited)
Additional Screenplay Material - Jason Mayland
Executive Producers - Eric M. Bennett, Morris Berger, Neil Braun, Steve Brown, Jerry Davis and John W. Hyde
Producers - John H. Williams and Barry Sonnenfield
Co-Producer - Curtis Augspurger
Production Designer - Bo Welch
Additional Production
Designers - Keith Graves
and Deane Taylor
Concept Designer - Tohru Patrick Awa
Character Designer/Storyboard Artist - Sterling Sheehy
Character Designers - Stephanie Choi,
Peter DeSeve, Harald Siepermann and Eddie Yang
Animation Director - Adam Wood
Supervising Animators - Claus Pedersen
and Graham Silva
Background Designer - Jose Martinez
Lighting Director: Vanguard Animation - Erik Mattson
Lighting Supervisor - David Hirst
Cinematography - Jericca Clelamd
Head of Layout/Visual Effects - Steven Elford
Film Editor - Debbie Berman
Supervising Editor - Tom Finan
Music - Chris Bacon
Composers: Additional Music - Blue Man Group
and Gad Emile Zeitune


Review
Vanguard Animation, the studio headed by one of the producers of 'Shrek' has been producing a few animated films in the past decade and each of them were ranked as okay to mediocre. Their third movie 'SPACE CHIMPS' had appalling box office takings it was outranked by its formidable competitor 'WALL-E'. While it wasn't a surprise hit by any chance, the film however did spawn a sequel that was never released in theatres. The original movie however feels like an animated movie that wastes its potential and was literally written by monkeys on typewriters. The animation isn't too great and the story-line is much too bland and not original enough. The over-abundance of ape puns were all over the movie like it's all covered with monkey paw-prints. A few bits of comedy remained funny and most of the other jokes don't quite get the same laugh from its intended audience.

The voice cast is imperfect, particularly Andy Samberg who is not a horrible actor but tries to give his character a daredevil persona which falls flat. Jeff Daniels who was a great actor, from his extraordinary supporting and leading parts in acting, drama and comedy has been miscast in the role as the evil alien Zartog and this may be the reason why he never has been offered any more voices in the animated features. Stanley Tucci had bad luck to voice a certain senator who seems to care about himself more than NASA as well as the opportunity that he craves. Only Patrick Warburton succeeds in following the characterisation of by-the-book chimp Titan and he seems to be more quick to follow an ill-gotten script.

Monkey see, monkey don't, this is the phrase I would use to sum up my review. 'SPACE CHIMPS' is a simple, yet juvenile family animation for young kids.

Star rating: (4/10) Below Average

Thursday, November 9, 2017

Thor: Ragnarok Review













Thor: Ragnarok


Release Date: 13th October 2017 - Australia (Gold Coast, Queensland)


Production Companies
Marvel Studios
Marvel Entertainment (presents)

Distribution
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Australia


Genre: Sci-Fi

Rating: M

Runtime: 130 minutes


Budget: $180,000,000

Box Office Gross: $853,979,142 (Worldwide - figure subject to change)


Plot Summary
Building on the events of Avengers: Age of Ultron, Thor is imprisoned on the far side of the universe (the planet Sakaar, to be exact) without his mighty hammer. He's forced to engage
in an intense gladiatorial
contest arranged by the
Grandmaster, and to survive, must defeat his competitor - none other than former ally and fellow Avenger, the Incredible Hulk.

With his home world of Asgard under threat of destruction by the powerful and ruthless goddess of death Hela, the stakes for Thor have never been higher. Can he save it from the fierce villain's clutches? (Source - Metro Cinemas)


Cast
Chris Hemsworth - Thor
Tom Hiddleston - Loki
Cate Blanchett - Hela
Idris Elba - Hemdall
Jeff Goldblum - Grandmaster
Tessa Thompson - Valkyrie
Karl Urban - Skurge
Mark Ruffalo - Bruce Banner/
The Hulk
Anthony Hopkins - Odin
Benedict Cumberbatch - Doctor Strange
Taika Watiti - Korg (Voice)/
Surtur
Rachel House - Topas
Clancy Brown - Surtur (Voice)
Tadanobu Asano - Hogun
Ray Stevenson - Volstagg
Zachary Levi - Fandral
Steven Oliver - Cousin Carlo
Luke Hemsworth - Actor Thor
(Cameo)
Sam Neill - Actor Odin (Cameo)
Charlotte Nicdao - Actor Sif
(Cameo)
Matt Damon - Actor Loki
(Cameo) (Uncredited)
Stan Lee - Barber (Cameo) (Uncredited)

Crew
Director - Taika Watiti
Based on Comic/Executive
Producer - Stan Lee
Based on Comic - Larry Lieber
and Jack Kirby
Writers - Eric Pearson, Craig
Kyle and Christopher Yost
Executive Producers - Victoria Alonso, Louis D'Esposito and Brad Winderbaum
Executive Producer/Unit Production Manager - Thomas M. Hammel
Producer - Kevin Fiege
Co-Producer - David J. Grant
Casting Director - Sarah Finn
Production Designers - Dan
Hennah and Ra Vincent
Senior Concept Designer -
Sean Hargreaves
Set Decorator - Beverley Dunn 
Costume Designer - Mayes
C. Rubeo
Director of Photography -
Javier Aguirresarobe
Second Unit Director/Stunt
Coordinator - Ben Cooker
Stunt Coordinator - Kyle
Gardiner
Fight Coordinator - Jon Valera
Special Effects Supervisors - Brian Cox and 
R. Bruce Steinheimer
Visual Effects Supervisors - Jake Morrison 
and Stuart White
Visual Effects Supervisor: ILM - Chad Wiebe
Animation Supervisors - Ben Anderson and 
Raphael A. Pimentel
Animation Supervisor: ILM - Steve Nichols
Editors - Zene Baker and Joel Negron
Sound Designers - David Farmer and 
Nia Hansen
Music Supervisor - Dave Jordan
Music - Mark Mothersbaugh


Review
Marvel has taken one of the Avengers through the cosmos into a completely new standalone film as 'THOR: RAGNAROK' becomes a full-scale interstellar action comedy with less balance. This movie doesn't mesh well with sci-fi, considering what has happened to its predecessor 'The Dark World' and the mistake has not entirely been fixed. The sequel has too much humour displaying that playful tone similar to one of Marvel’s previous entries, 'Guardians of the Galaxy' and fails to return the omnipresence found in the first instalment. 

'RAGNAROK' has great visual eye-candy to behold the maximum impact and has no romantic subplot involving Jane Foster who was nowhere to be found as this relationship was quickly forgotten after the second film was criticised for putting too much focus on it. The film even featured the addition of everyone’s favourite Avenger, the Incredible Hulk who was once again played by Mark Rufalo. Having not read the original comics and neither Planet Hulk, I believe that this film should have been a continuation for the character who hasn’t been the main lead since 2008’s 'The Incredible Hulk'

Jeff Goldblum makes up for a terrifically entertaining performance as the Grandmaster. Cate Blanchett was the villainess Hela who succeeds at overpowering Thor which is something that Loki could not do and she was a better sequel antagonist than Malekith. Karl Urban convincingly portrays Skurge who unwillingly switches his allegiance to Hela as he becomes her right-hand man. Tessa Thompson was then added to the cast as Thor’s new reluctant ally Valkyrie. Mark Mothersbaugh’s background score fits the movie of its retro-spacey feel and its new colourful integration.

Although 'THOR: RAGNAROK' was newly appreciated by fans and critics who proclaim this to be the cinematic holy grail of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, I have to disagree on what they say about the movie. It is a bit of an improvement of 'The Dark World' but it’s a solid addition to the ongoing cinematic franchise of Marvel and therefore, a must-see film for all fans.

Star rating: (7/10) Good Movie

Back to Home