Godzilla: King of the Monsters Review

Godzilla: King of the Monsters

Release Date: 30th May 2019 - Australia

Production Companies

Warner Bros. Pictures

Legendary Entertainment

Toho Company (based on)

(in association with)

Huahua Media (in association with)

Wanna Qingdao Studios

Distribution

Roadshow Films

Genre: Sci-Fi

Rating: M

Runtime: 132 minutes

Budget: $200,000,000

Box Office Gross: $386,600,138 (Worldwide)

Plot Summary

Earth is changed forever by a mass extinction created by humans. The world is on the edge of its destruction when it experiences earthquakes, explosions and other natural disasters. Scientists believe the creatures called the Titans (hidden for many years) would restore the Earth to its balance. Now, it is time to find them all, and the fate of the entire world and humanity depends on them.

Cast

Kyle Chandler - Mark Russell

Vera Farmiga - Dr. Emma
Russell

Millie Bobby Brown - Madison
Russell

Ken Watanabe - Dr. Ishiro
Serizawa

Ziyi Zhang - Dr. Ilene Chen/
Dr. Ling

Bradley Whitford - Dr. Rick
Stanton

Sally Hawkins - Dr. Vivienne
Graham

Charles Dance - Alan Jonah

Thomas Middleditch - Sam
Coleman

Alisha Hinds - Colonel Diane
Foster

O’Shea Jackson Jr. - Chief
Warrant Officer Barnes

David Strathairn - Admiral
William Stenz

Anthony Ramos - Staff
Sergeant Martinez

Elizabeth Faith Ludlow - First
Lieutenant Griffin

Jonathan Howard - Asner Jonah

CCH Pounder - Senator Williams

Joe Morton - Dr. Houston Brooks

Randy Havens - Dr. Tim Mancini

Lyle Brocato - Executive
Officer Bowman

Jimmy Gonzales - Commander
Crane

T.C. Matherne - Master
Sergeant Hendricks

Kenneth Israel - Argo Deck Officer Zellner

Skylar Denney - Argo Officer Arvin

Kelli Garner - Argo Officer Cross

Tyler Crumley - Young Andrew

Lexi Rabe - Young Madison Russell

Zac Zedalis - Sergeant Travis

Tracie Garrison - Asaj

Natalie Shaheen - Lieutenant Bottin

Jesse O’Neill - Corporal Winston

Joshua Leary - Sergeant Baker

Vince Foster - G-Team Officer Tippett

Shauna Rappold - G-Team Officer Harryhausen

Michael Dougherty - Fighter Pilot (Cameo)

(Uncredited)

Seth Green - Fighter Pilot (Cameo)

(Uncredited)

Zach Shields - Fighter Pilot (Cameo)

(Uncredited)

Crew

Story/Screenplay/Director - Michael Dougherty

Story/Screenplay/Executive Producer -

Zach Shields

Story - Max Borenstein

Executive Producers - Hiro Matsuoka,

Keiji Ota, Yoshimitsu Banno, Roy Lee,
Dan Lin and Kenji Okuhira

Executive Producer/Unit Production Manager -

Barry H. Waldman

Producers - Alex Garcia, Jon Jashni,
Mary Parent, Brian Rogers and Thomas Tull

Co-Producer/First Assistant Director -
Cliff Lanning

Co-Producers - Ali Mendes and

Jay Ashenfelter

Co-Producer/Visual Effects Producer -
Maricel Pagulayen

Co-Producer/Visual Development Supervisor -

Matt Allsopp

Casting Director - Sarah Finn

Production Designer - Scott Chambliss

Concept Artists - Tim Flattery, George Hull,

Craig Sellars, Christopher Lee Shy and

Milena Zdravkovic

Conceptual Creature Design: Amalgamated

Dynamics, Inc. - Tom Woodruff Jr.,

Tim Martin and Mauricio Ruiz

Conceptual Creature Design: Legacy Effects -

Glen Hanz and Darnell Isom

Supervising Art Director - Richard L. Johnson

Art Directors - John Dexter, Natasha Gerasimova,
Harry E. Otto, David Scott and Thomas Valentine

Set Decorator - Amanda Moss Serino

Costume Designer - Louise Mingenbach

Makeup Department Head - Joel Harlow

Director of Photography - Lawrence Sher

Director of Photography: Second Unit -

Paul Hughen

"B" Camera/Steadicam Operator: Second Unit -

Bob Gorelick

First Assistant Director: Second Unit -

Marvin Williams

Supervising Location Manager - Janice Polley

Second Unit Director/Stunt Coordinator -
Thomas Robinson Harper

Stunt Coordinator - Todd Warren

Godzilla Performance Capture - T.J. Storm

King Ghidorah Performance Capture -

Jason Liles, Alan Maxson and Richard Dorton

Special Effects Supervisor - Eric Frazier

Special Effects Coordinator: Second Unit -

Eric Allard

Visual Effects Supervisor - Guillaume Rocheron

Visual Effects Supervisor: MPC - Robert Winter

Visual Effects Supervisor: Method Studios -
Daryl Sawchuk

Visual Effects Supervisor: DNEG - Brian Connor

Visual Effects Supervisor: Rodeo FX - Peter Nofz

Senior Animation Supervisor: MPC - Spencer Cook

Animation Supervisors: MPC - Sean Conly,

Patrick Heumann and Randy Link

Previsualisation Supervisor - Rpin Suwannath

Technical Supervisor: The Third Floor -

Casey Schatz

Film Editors - Roger Barton, Bob Ducsay and
Richard Pearson

Additional Editors - Michael P. Shawver,

Josh Schaeffer and Robert Malina

Sound Designers - Erik Aadahl and

Ethan Van der Ryan

Sound Designers: E2 - Brandon Jones

and Tim Walston

Co-Supervising Sound Editors: E2 -

Jason W. Jennings and Nancy Nugent

Production Sound Mixer - Whit Norris

Re-Recording Mixers - Tim LeBlanc

and Tom Ozanich

Additional Mixers - Michael Keller

and John T. Reitz

Composer: Original Godzilla Themes -

Akira Ifukube

Music - Bear McCreary

Music Supervisors - Peter Afterman

and Margaret Yen

Review

Viewers from any generation should know Godzilla because it came out in 1954 in black-and-white glory. Nowadays, our favourite giant lizard is in three remakes from 1998 (click here), 2014 (here) and 2016. The latest episode is GODZILLA: KING OF THE MONSTERS, the sequel to the 2014 version by Gareth Edwards. Unlike its predecessor, KING OF THE MONSTERS shows more scenes of the title character and the monster battle sequences. There are also cutting-edge visual effects that keep the Kaiju fans enthralled. The 2019 iteration draws upon the 1964 version of Ghidorah, The Three-Headed Monster, which might appeal to fans. In this film, alongside Godzilla are his other long-time associates from the Toho originals like Rodin, the pterosaur and Mothra, the giant moth.

Unfortunately, KING OF THE MONSTERS is flawed because of the undeveloped human characters and the predictable storyline. There's no excuse for the poor writing, even in a film that is essentially science-fiction fantasy and relies heavily on special effects. It's not strictly the kind of movie that you would expect.

The human cast, with a few familiar faces, is exceptionally well-chosen for this movie. Add in actors like Kyle Chandler as the father who has socially withdrawn from his family after his son's death. Vera Farmiga portrays a scientist mother with a radical side in her character, and Millie Bobby Brown from Stranger Things is their surviving offspring. Charles Dance of Game of Thrones seems immorally capable of handling the role of the terrorist. Ken Watanabe seemed legit to reprise his role from its predecessor.

KING OF THE MONSTERS should have been an atomic-charged film to keep us entertained with monsters battling against each other while wreaking havoc. Instead, it was an intriguing but decent film sidelined by a few uninteresting aspects. What could have done something for the whole feature is to make the human characters less distracting and for the storyline to shift the focus to the monsters.

Star rating: (6/10) Fair Movie

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Toy Story 3 Review

Toy Story 3


Release Date: 24th June 2010 - Australia


Production Companies
Walt Disney Pictures
Pixar Animation Studios

Distribution
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Australia


Genre: Animation/Family/

Adventure/Comedy

Rating: PG

Runtime: 103 minutes


Budget: $200,000,000

Box Office Gross: $1,067,316,101 (Worldwide)


Plot Summary
Andy is growing up and preparing for college. Buzz, Woody and the other toys are about to be sent into the attic when they mistakenly end up in a daycare centre. Unfortunately for them, the place is not what it seems. They must try to stay together and face many dangers in their great escape to return home.

Voice Cast
Tom Hanks - Woody
Tim Allen - Buzz Lightyear
Javier Fernandez-Pena -

Spanish Buzz

Joan Cusack - Jessie
Ned Beatty - Lotso
Don Rickles - Mr. Potato Head
Estelle Harris - Mrs. Potato Head

Wallace Shawn - Rex

John Ratzenberger - Hamm

Blake Clark - Slinky

Jeff Pidgeon - Aliens

Jodi Benson - Barbie
Michael Keaton - Ken

Bonnie Hunt - Dolly

Kristen Schaal - Trixie
Timothy Dalton - Mr. Pricklepants
Jeff Garlin - Buttercup
Bud Luckey - Chuckles
Teddy Newton - Chatter Telephone

R. Lee Emery - Green Army Sarge

John Morris - Andy

Emily Hahn - Bonnie
Lori Alan - Bonnie's Mom

Laurie Metcalf - Andy's Mom
Bea Miller - Molly
Charlie Bright - Young Andy/Pea-in-a-Pod
John Cygan - Twitch
Whoopi Goldberg - Stretch

Jack Angel - Chunk
Jan Rabson - Sparks
Richard Kind - Bookworm
Erik von Detten - Sid Phillips (Cameo)
Amber Kroner - Pea-in-a-Pod
Brianna Maiwand - Pea-in-a-Pod
Jack Willis - Frog

Crew
Story/Additional Screenplay

Material/Director - Lee Unkrich
Story/Executive Producer - John Lasseter
Story - Andrew Stanton
Screenplay - Michael Arndt

Additional Dialogue - David Reynolds

Associate Producer - Nicole Paradis Grindle
Producer - Darla K. Anderson
Production Designer - Bob
Pauley
Art Director - Daisuke 'Dice' Tsutsumi

Sets Art Director - Robert Kondo

Shading Art Director - Belinda Van Valkenburg
Character Designer - Nate

Wragg

Story Supervisor - Jason Katz

Additional Story - Mark Andrews

and Justin Wright

Supervising Technical

Director - Guido Quaroni

Character Supervisors - Sanjay Bakshi and Brian Green

Sets Supervisor - David Eisenmann
Supervising Animators - Bobby Podesta and Michael Venturini

Directing Animators - Robert

H. Russ and Michael Stocker
Director of Photography:
Camera - Jeremy Lasky
Director of Photography: Lighting - Kim White

Simulation & Effects Supervisor -

William Fong

Global Tech Supervisor - William Reeves

Stereoscopic Supervisor: 3D - Bob Whitehill
Film Editor - Ken Schretzmann

Second Film Editors - Axel Geddes,

Greg Snyder and Anna Wolitzky

Re-Recording Mixer/Sound Designer/

Supervising Sound Editor - Tom Myers

Supervising Sound Editor - Michael Silvers

Sound Effects Editors - Dustin Cawood,

Teresa Eckton, Al Nelson and Tim Nielsen

Re-Recording Mixer - Michael Semanick

Foley Artists - Jana Vance and Dennie Thorpe

Foley Mixer - Frank Rinella

Music - Randy Newman

Executive Music Producer - Chris Montan

Music Supervisor - Tom MacDougall

Awards

2011 Academy Awards

Best Animated Feature - Lee Unkrich (Won)
Best Original Song "We Belong Together" -

Randy Newman (Won)
--------------------------
Best Picture - Darla K. Anderson (Nominated)
Best Sound Editing - Tom Myers and

Michael Silvers (Nominated)
Best Adapted Screenplay - Michael Arndt,

John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton and

Lee Unkrich (Nominated)

Review

TOY STORY 3 first came out in 2010 to a glowingly big reception. Still, I was dubious that this threequel would measure up to my expectations, and of course, I was unaware it was better than the first two movies. My doubts were probably because of the inclusion of Barbie and Ken in this addition. I was worried the film would have a romantic side story to the film that might distract the whole feature. Thankfully, I was proven wrong, and several moments in this movie had nothing to do with romance. For instance, the sequences like the climactic incinerator scene and the ending are impressive. The former could leave both young and old viewers with some fear and heartbreak and may be hard to watch for very young kids, but don't worry; it is short-lived. Fans see TOY STORY 3 as the end of one chapter in this much-loved story with the promise of more fun.

It's legitimately moving and funny, as you expect of a Pixar film or a Toy Story sequel. Characters like Buzz, Woody, Slinky, Hamm, Mr Potato Head, Jessie and Rex, whom fans have grown to love over the years, are all there with new additions like Lotso, who rules Sunnyside Daycare with an iron fist and proves to be a fearsome antagonist. The animation resembles Pixar's artistry and realism, which has improved over the years.

Most actors like Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack and others have returned to their characters. Blake Clark takes over from the late Jim Varney as the voice of Slinky. Ned Beatty gives a significant turn in providing the voice of Lotso as if his character was the cute and cuddly bear that he seems to be on the outside but has the heart of the villain, which Lotso proves to have.

TOY STORY 3 was another excellent instalment. I enjoyed this movie despite my initial reservations. It was one of the greatest Pixar films ever because Cars 2 and Brave didn't have the same depth and emotion explored in TOY STORY 3. I highly recommend it to people who have grown up with their favourite toys and a new generation of fans who want to see more of Buzz and Woody.

Star rating: (10/10) Best Movie Ever

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In Memory of Bill Collins (1934-2019)

Bill Collins (1934-2019)

My fellow movie critics, I am so sad to announce that Bill Collins, the famed Australian film critic and historian known as "Mr Movies", passed away in his sleep at age 84 on June 20th, 2019. Collins was devoted to his love of movies as he talked about them when he presented such films as "Star Wars", "Gone with the Wind", "Scarface", "Singin' in the Rain" and "Young Frankenstein". I never had the chance to watch his show, nor did I get in touch with or meet him in person, but I admired his integrity in reviewing movies with a lot of passion and insight.

Before being a film critic, Collins was a high school teacher and college lecturer. In 1963, Bill began appearing on live television when he presented a series of film appreciation segments on an ABC program, "Roundabout". For five decades, he worked for the ABC, Seven, Nine and Ten networks in presenting classic and contemporary features for television audiences. From 1995 to 2008, Collins began working for Foxtel and became the face of Fox Classics, the platform's movie classic channel. Aside from his work on television, Collins was a newspaper columnist for many years and has authored three books and radio programs in his stead. He received the Order of Australia for distinguished service to film and television in 1987 and got inducted into the TV Week Logie Hall of Fame in 2009.

We will sorely miss him.

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X-Men: Dark Phoenix Review

X-Men: Dark Phoenix

Release Date: 6th June 2019 - Australia

Production Companies

20th Century Fox (presents)
Marvel Entertainment (in association with)
TSG Entertainment (in association with)
Bad Hat Harry Productions
Donners' Company
Kinberg Genre

Distribution

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Australia

Genre: Action

Rating: M

Runtime: 114 minutes

Budget: $200,000,000

Box Office Gross: $252,442,974 (Worldwide)

Plot Summary

When Jean Grey starts to develop powerful psionic abilities, which corrupt her and threaten to eradicate the universe, the X-Men must decide if her life is worth more than all the other living beings.

Cast

James McAvoy - Charles

Xavier/Professor X

Michael Fassbender - Erik

Lensherr/Magneto

Jennifer Lawrence - Raven

Darkholme/Mystique

Nicholas Hoult - Dr. Hank

McCoy/Beast

Evan Peters - Peter

Maximoff/Quicksilver

Sophie Turner - Jean Grey

Tye Sheridan - Scott Summers/Cyclops

Kodi Smit-McPhee - Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler

Alexandra Shipp - Ororo Monroe/Storm

Jessica Chastain - Vuk

Scott Shepherd - John Grey

Ato Essandoh - Jones

Brian D'Arcy James -

President of the United States

Halston Sage - Dazzler

Lamar Johnson - Match

Summer Fontana - Young Jean Grey (8 Years Old)

Hannah Emily Anderson - Elaine Grey

Josh McLaglen - Hospital Doctor (Cameo)

Todd Hallowell - Hospital Doctor (Cameo)

Chris Claremont - White House

Guest (Cameo)

Andrew Stehlin - Ariki

Kota Eberhardt - Selene Gallio

Crew

Writer/Producer/Director - Simon Kinberg

Associate Producer/Production

Manager - Daniel Auclair

Executive Producer - Stan Lee

Executive Producer/First

Assistant Director - Josh McLaglen

Producers - Hutch Parker and Lauren Shuler Donner

Producer/Second Unit Director: Splinter Unit - Todd Hallowell

Co-Producer - Kurt Williams

Co-Producer/Unit Production Manager - Kathleen McGill

Casting - Alyssa Weisberg

Production Designer - Claude Paré

Production Designer: Additional Photography/

Supervising Art Director - Michele Laliberte

Set Decorator - Elizabeth Wilcox

Decorator/Set Decorator: Additional Photography -

Eve Boulonne

Decorators - Elise de Blois,

José Varela and Ann Victoria Smart

Pierre Antoine Rousse

and Elizabeth Wilcox

Property Master - Claire Alary

Costume Designer - Daniel Orlandi

Special Effects Head Makeup - Adrien Morot

Legacy Effects - Brian Sipe, Scott Stoddard,

Michael Ornelaz, Alexei Dmitriew,

Marilyn Chaney, Tracey Roberts,

Ilona Muschenetz, Kristen Willet,

Damian Fisher, Corey Czekaj,

Constance Grayson Criswell, Mario Torres,

Walter Phelan, Kayla Jo Holland,

Larry Robertson, Gary Yee, Jeff Deist,

A.J. Venuto, Chris Grossnickle,

Aimee Macabeo, Phannin 'Jinni' Jiravilaivudi,

Rapeeporn 'Toi' Rodchumpu, Kenneth Calhoun,

Nyssa Grazda, Kelly Zak, Jaime Siska,

Daniel Driscoll, Lou Diaz, Michelle DeVille,

Tom Ovenshire, Lindsay McGowan,

J. Alan Scott, Shane Mahan, Damon Weathers,

Irvine Green, John Cherevka, Andrea Wiersma,

James Spinner and Steve Adkins

Director of Photography - Mauro Fiore

Director of Photography: Second Unit -

Josh Bleibtreu

Director of Photography: Additional

Photography, Second Unit - Jonathan Taylor

First Assistant Director: Second Unit -

Andrew M. Robinson

Second Unit Director - Guy Norris

Train Sequence/Second Unit Director - Brian Smrz

Stunt Coordinators - Tim Wong and

Michael Scherer

Stunt Coordinator: Additional Photography -

James M. Churchman

Fight Coordinator - Richard Norton

Special Effects Supervisor - Cameron Waldbauer

Special Effects Coordinator - Cara E. Anderson

Special Effects Supervisor: 2nd Unit -

Tom Blacklock

Legacy Effects Supervisor - John Rosengrant

Visual Effects Supervisor - Phil Brennan

Visual Effects Supervisor: Scanline VFX -

Bryan Grill

Visual Effects Supervisor: MPC/On-Set Visual

Effects Coordinator - Greg Butler

Additional Visual Effects Supervisor - Zachary Tucker

Visual Effects: Mels VFX - Jonathan Piche-

Delorme, Frédéric Breault, Cynthia Mourou,

Alexandre Tremblay, Sebastien Cache,

Ramon Ramos, Antoine Rouleau,

Francois Trudel, Benoît Gagnon,

Danielle Taillefer, Reine Bourgault,

Annie Dufresne, Maxime Ducharme,

Francis Bernard and Emmanuel Brassard

Visual Effects Producer: Soho VFX -

Kelly McCarthy

Visual Effects Art Director: Scanline VFX -

Claas Henke

Visual Effects Consultant - John Dykstra

Animation Supervisors: MPC - Wesley Chandler

and Michael Langford

Film Editor - Lee Smith

Associate Editor - John Lee

Sound Designer/Supervising Sound Editor -

Richard King

Supervising Sound Editor - John A. Larsen

Re-Recording Mixers - Paul Massey

and Beau Borders

Music/Score Producer/Synth Programming -

Hans Zimmer

Composers: Additional Music/Score Producers -

David Fleming and Steve Mazzaro

Score Recordist - Alan Meyerson

Review

It's the moment that has finally come in the X-Men film series where we got to see its closure. This closure comes in the form of DARK PHOENIX. Unfortunately, the film wasn't the proper grand finale that it was supposed to be. DARK PHOENIX retells a story previously told in The Last Stand, only without the numerous subplots and excessive characters. DARK PHOENIX is slightly better, though a bit disappointing. However, I admit that the film's ending confused me. The conclusion fails to connect with the mutant uprising in the other X-Men movies. The situation would have been much more effective if it had ended with Logan. I don't see how DARK PHOENIX maintains the same continuity that had started in the first X-Men movie.

While the film tries to surpass our lofty expectations, its tepid reception and Disney's takeover of the 20th Century Fox studio were instrumental in its defeat at the box office. Several plot points are unresolved in the plot of DARK PHOENIX, such as Magneto figuring out that Quicksilver is his son. What makes things worse is that the writer/director Simon Kinberg tries to make everything he previously wrote irrelevant in The Last Stand. If it were up to me, I would improve DARK PHOENIX. I would go with changes in the plot as it better concludes this epic series.

The cast is impeccable, with returning players like James McAvoy as Xavier and Sophie Turner from Game of Thrones as Jean Grey. Turner gives a fiery performance that almost saves the movie metaphorically extinguished.

DARK PHOENIX was an unfitting and anti-climactic end of the original superhero team. This film barely proves anything but for Disney to reboot the characters for the MCU shortly. X-Men fans will watch this movie, even if it is a mediocre conclusion to the film series.

Star rating: (4/10) Below Average

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Rocketman Review

Rocketman


Release Date: 30th May 2019 - Australia


Production Companies
Paramount Pictures (presents)

Marv Films

New Republic Pictures

Rocket Pictures (in association with)

Distribution
Paramount Pictures Australia


Genre: Drama/Musical

Rating: MA15+ (Not Suitable for Young Children)

Runtime: 121 minutes


Budget: $41,000,000

Box Office Gross: $195,320,400
(Worldwide)


Plot Summary
This film is a story of how Elton John went from being a musical prodigy to an iconic pop superstar in his years through his enduring and long-term collaboration with songwriter Bernie Taupin.


Cast
Taron Egerton - Elton John
Jamie Bell - Bernie Taupin
Richard Madden - John Reid
Gemma Jones - Ivy
Bryce Dallas Howard - Shelia Eileen
Steven Mackintosh - Stanley
Tom Bennett - Fred
Mathew Illesley - Young Reggie
Kit Connor - Older Reggie
Charlie Rowe - Ray Williams
Peter O'Hanlon - Bobby
Ross Farrelly - Cyril
Evan Walsh - Elton Dean
Tate Donovan - Doug Weston
Sharmina Harrower - Heather
Celinde Schoenmaker - Renate
Stephen Graham - Dick James
Aston McAuley - Dave Godin
Jason Pennycooke - Wilson
Alexia Khadime - Diana
Carl Spencer - Richard
Jimmy Vee - Arthur
Leon Delroy Williams - Clint
Leigh Francis - Pete
Rachel Muldoon - Kiki Dee
Benjamin Mason - Bryan
Guillermo Bedward - Geoff
Max Mackintosh - Stephen
Charles Armstrong - Mr. Anderson
Barbara Drennan - Mrs. Anderson
Leon Cooke - Hugh
Lee Bridgman - Steve
Rob Callender - Rory
Demetri Goritsas - Carter

Sharon D. Clarke - Counselor

Crew
Director - Dexter Fletcher

Writer - Lee Hall

Executive Producers - Michael Gracey,
Elton John, Brian Oliver, Claudia Schiffer
and Steve Hamilton Shaw

Producer/Unit Production Managers -

Adam Bohling and David Reid

Producers - David Furnish and Matthew Vaughn

Choreographer - Adam Murray

Pianist & Vocal Coach: Mr. Egerton -

Michael L. Roberts

Voice Coach: Mr. Egerton - Michael Dore

Production Designer - Marcus Rowland

Supervising Art Director - Tim Blake

Set Decorator - Judy Farr

Costume Designer - Julian Day

Makeup & Hair Designer - Elizabeth Yianni-Georgiou

Director of Photography - George Richmond

Director of Photography: Additional

Photography - Ed Wild

Supervising Location Manager -

Andrew Michael Buckley

Stunt Coordinator - James O'Donnell

Special Effects Supervisor - Steve Warner

Visual Effects Supervisor: Cinesite - Holger Voss

Visual Effects Consultant - Angus Bickerton

Editor - Chris Dickens

Supervising Sound Editor - Danny Sheeman

Supervising Sound Editor/Re-Recording

Mixer - Matthew Collinge

Sound Designer - Rob Prynne

Re-Recording Mixer - Mike Prestwood Smith

Foley Artists - Pete Burgis and Zoe Freed

Music Producer/Supervisor - Giles Martin

Music - Matthew Margeson

Review

For many years, Elton John has proven himself to be a legendary musical genius with his hit songs like "Your Song", "Candle in the Wind", "Rocket Man", "Crocodile Rock", and "Tiny Dancer". He was the original piano man and was way ahead of Billy Joel. Elton John is also known for contributing to a few movies like The Lion King. This particular movie introduced a young generation to his music. For a long time, I have enjoyed Elton's music through CDs and music streaming. I am looking forward to his local concert in January 2020. I was even more thrilled at the prospect of seeing the latest biopic, ROCKETMAN, now in cinemas. It is not all glitz and glamour with this film. ROCKETMAN is a colourful and in-depth look at the famous singer, which shows a greater depth than what we had in Bohemian Rhapsody. It portrays Elton as a complicated figure who succumbs to fame when grappling with his identity and drug addiction before finding sobriety.

Director Dexter Fletcher (the man who had completed Bohemian from Bryan Singer) got in touch with Elton John, creating a movie that portrayed the fantasy and reality of his life, unlike Bohemian, which maintains a simplistic approach. ROCKETMAN is a jukebox musical that lets you relieve several moments of his musical career. Though the film is inaccurate to historical terms, some facts remain true while others got altered for storytelling methods. It's told in flashbacks where Elton is in group therapy as he explains his life.

Taron Egerton is perfect for Elton John, as the pair have acted together in Kingsman: The Golden Circle. While Taron almost looked like the musician he portrays, he does display a heart-wrenching and incredible performance that bonds with his personality. Egerton may shine in his acting, but not without his stunning vocals. Audiences have already heard that Taron can sing because he voiced a gorilla in the animated movie Sing, where he funnily sang one of Elton's songs, "I'm Still Standing". Still, it is nice to hear him perform his renditions of classics like the title song, "Crocodile Rock", "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting", and "Bennie and the Jets". The costumes are marvellous as they recreate the look of his outrageous sense of fashion.

ROCKETMAN earns any positive appraisal as this film is a musical biopic that is one of a kind. If you are an Elton John fan or only new to his music, why not rush to theatres and see ROCKETMAN? Never miss this movie because you will sit and enjoy singing his tunes.

Star rating: (10/10) Best Movie Ever

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Aladdin (2019) Review

Aladdin

Release Date: 23rd May 2019 - Australia 

Production Companies 

Walt Disney Pictures 

Lin Pictures

Rideback 

Marc Platt Productions

Distribution 

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Australia 

Genre: Musical

Rating: PG

Runtime: 128 minutes

Budget: $183,000,000

Box Office Gross: $1,050,693,953 (Worldwide)

Plot Summary 

Princess Jasmine wants to
escape the confines of her
palace and her father, the
Sultan, who wants her to get
married to Prince Anders.
Once outside the palace and
on the streets of Agrabah,
she encounters the poor but
warmhearted Aladdin, who is
known as a scoundrel and a
thief who charms his way into
her heart. 

The evil sorcerer Jafar, the
grand vizier of Agrabah is the
chief advisor to the Sultan,
but he is secretly devising a
plot to unseat the Sultan and
rule Agrabah for himself. In
order to stop Jafar, Aladdin
discovers the Genie’s lamp in
a cave, rubs it and sets the
mystical entity free, leading
the Genie to pledge his
undying loyalty to the youth.
Aladdin begins his quest to
defeat Jafar and win the
hand of the princess, with
the Genie’s help. (Source -
Metro Cinemas)

Cast

Mena Massoud - Aladdin

Naomi Scott - Jasmine 

Will Smith - Genie

Marwan Kenzari - Jafar

Frank Welker - Abu/Cave of Wonders (Voices)

Alan Tudyk - Iago 

Navid Negahban - The Sultan

Nasim Pedrad - Dalia

Billy Magnussen - Prince Anders

Jordan A. Nash - Omar

Taliyah Blair - Lian

Aubrey Lin - Omi

Amid Boutrous - Jamal

Numan Acar - Hakim

Omar Abidi - Chubby Aladdin

Stefan Kalipha - Imam

Nina Wadia - Zulla

Crew

Screenplay/Director - Guy Ritchie

Based on Disney’s Aladdin 

Animation Screenplay/Creative Consultants -
John Musker and Ron Clements

Based on Disney’s Aladdin Animation
Screenplay - Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio 

Screenplay - John August

Executive Producers - Kevin De La Noy and Mark Platt

Producers - Jonathan Eirich and Dan Lin

Co-Producer - Max Keene

Co-Producer/Unit Production Manager - Mark Mostyn

Choreographer/Dance Double - Jamal Sims

Choreographer - Leah Hill

Production Designer - Gemma Jackson

Art Directors - Renate Nicolaisen,
Peter Russell and Steve Summersgill 

Set Decorator - Tina Jones

Costume Designer - Michael Wilkinson

Director of Photography - Alan Stewart

Splinter Unit Director - Thomas Napper

Stunt Coordinator - Adam Kirley

Special Effects Supervisor - Mark Holt

Special Effects Coordinator - Lucy Meyers

Visual Effects Supervisors - Jeff Capogreco
and Chas Jarrett

Visual Effects Supervisors: ILM - Daniele Bigi
Michael Mulholland and David Seager

Animation Supervisors - Matthew Cowie and
Tim Harrington

Animation Supervisor: ILM - Mike Beaulieu

Film Editor - James Herbert

Songs: Lyrics - Howard Ashman, Tim Rice,
Benj Pasek and Justin Paul

Songs: Music/Score - Alan Menken

Review

The original 'ALADDIN' was a bold, daring and innovative wonder for Disney that showed audiences a whole new world of a breathtaking fantasy. The 1992 film featured the unmatched voice talent of Robin Williams, whose comic genius brought a level of energy to his scene-stealing performance as the Genie. Jump forward to 2018 and word had just got out that Disney was producing a live-action update of the 1992 animated classic. People were sceptical about how this newer version would capture its predecessor especially fans of the original. This could be attributed to the studio’s apparent ongoing trend to cash in with remakes of their hit animated movies (in my opinion). 

While trying to be politically correct, the new 'ALADDIN' is not exactly a crowd-pleaser and it does deviate with changes made in the storyline and characters from the original film. Guy Ritchie is certainly not the right kind of person to handle this movie as a director. This family musical is unfit for a filmmaker who is known for action-packed dramas which appear to be his preferred genre. However, the costumes and sets are impressive and so are the dance sequences. Some of the bazaar chase scenes reminded me from one of the movies from the Indiana Jones series.

The acting is full of hit-and-miss performances. Those that stand out are from Mena Massoud and Naomi Scott while others that don’t came from Marwan Kenzari. I was sceptical of Will Smith portraying the Genie as I thought he'd never match the late Robin Williams in terms of comic ability. However, Will made his own unique take of the character with his wisecracking attitude. I didn’t like the actor who played Jafar, Marwan Kenzari because his creepy high-pitched voice didn’t suit the antagonist compared to the sauve take of the original given by Jonathan Freeman. While the songs by Alan Menken are about the same, there is a new song sung by the character Jasmine that wasn't in the original film. I was expecting that one of the songs deleted from the 1992 film, "Proud of Your Boy" might be included in this version. I was mildly disappointed when this didn’t happen.

Not exactly the film that is "shining and shimmering splendid", it could never beat the original in its magic. 'ALADDIN' is a semi-decent movie that some audiences may love as they did the classic film. I do hope that Jon Favreau will do a better job on the remake of 'The Lion King' than Guy Ritchie has done for 'ALADDIN'.

Star rating: (7/10) Good Movie

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