Casper Review

Casper

Release Date: 22nd June 1995 - Australia

Production Companies

Universal Pictures (presents)

Amblin Entertainment

The Harvey Entertainment Group (in association with)

Distribution

Universal Pictures Australia

Genre: Family/Fantasy

Rating: PG

Runtime: 101 minutes

Budget: $55,000,000

Box Office Gross: $287,928,194 (Worldwide)

Plot Summary

Carrigan Crittenden is angry that her late father left her his grim-looking mansion instead of his millions. She is about to burn it to the ground when 

she discovers a map

showing the treasure

hidden in its interior. But

she is frightened away

by an evil wave of ghosts

when she enters to claim

her right. After trying

everything to get rid of

the apparitions, including

an exorcist and a

professional ghost catcher,

Carrigan decides that the

best way to get rid of these

ghosts is to hire the ghost

therapist, Dr James

Harvey, to exorcise them

from the manor. If the

plan succeeds, she and her

slimy partner, Dibs, will

claim the hidden fortune.

As James and his

daughter, Kat, arrive,

the latter soon meets

Casper, the ghost of

a young boy who is "the

friendliest ghost you

know". But Casper's

uncles, Stretch, Fatso

and Stinkie, are not so

friendly. They are

determined to drive all

the "fleshies" away.

Helping the spirits cross

over to the other side is

ultimately up to James

and Kat.

Cast

Christina Ricci - Kathleen

'Kat' Harvey

Bill Pullman - Dr. James Harvey

Malachi Pearson - Casper (Voice)

Cathy Moriarty - Carrigan Crittenden

Eric Idle - Paul 'Dibbs' Plutzker

Joe Alaskey - Stinkie (Voice)

Joe Nipote - Stretch (Voice)

Brad Garrett - Fatso (Voice)

Ben Stein - Mr. Rugg

Amy Brenneman - Amelia Harvey

Jessica Wilson - Amber Whitmire

Chauncey Leopardi - Nicky

Garette Ratliff Henson - Vic DePhillipi

Wesley Thompson - Mr. Curtis

Spencer Vrooman - Andreas

Devon Sawa - Human Casper

Terry Murphy - Herself (Cameo)

Clint Eastwood - Himself (Cameo) (Uncredited)

Mel Gibson - Himself (Cameo) (Uncredited)

Rodney Dangerfield - Himself (Cameo)

John Kassir - The Crypt Keeper (Voice) (Cameo)

Don Novello - Father Guido Sarducci (Cameo)

Dan Aykroyd - Ray Stentz (Cameo) (Uncredited)

Jess Harnell - Arnold (Voice)

Crew

Director - Brad Silberling

Based on the Character "Casper the Friendly

Ghost"/Book - Joseph Oriolo

Based on the Book - Seymour Reit

Writers - Sherri Stoner and Deanna Oliver

Script Supervisors - Annette Haywood-Carter

and Ana Maria Quintana

Associate Producer/Unit Production Manager -

Paul Deason

Executive Producers - Steven Spielberg,

Gerald R. Molen and Jeffrey Montgomery

Producer - Colin Wilson

Co-Producers - Jeffrey Franklin

and Steve Waterman

Production Designer - Leslie Dilley

Art Directors - Daniel Maltese and

Ed Verreaux

Assistant Art Directors - Greg Papalia

and Brad Ricker

Illustrators - David Lowery,

Sherman Labby, Len Morganti, Peter Ramsey,

Jacques Rey and Dan Sweetman

Set Decorator - Rosemary Brandenberg

Property Master - Russell Bobbitt

Director of Photography - Dean Cundey

"B" Camera Operator - Casey Hotchkiss

First Assistant "A" Camera/VistaVision

Technician - Clyde E. Bryan

Production Supervisor - Steven R. Molen

First Assistant Director - Steve E. Andrews

Second Assistant Director - Michele Panelli-Venetis

Stunt Coordinator - Gary Hymes

Choreographer/Animation Ghost Reference -

Adam Shankman

Special Effects Supervisor - Michael Lantieri

Digital Character Supervisor - Dennis Muren

Digital Character Co-Supervisor - Stefen Fangmeier

Digital Effects Producer - Janet Healy

Animation Directors - Eric Armstrong

and Phil Nibblelink

Supervising Character Animators: ILM -

Mark Anthony Austin, Tom Bertino,

Miguel A. Fuertes, Jeffrey B. Light,

Doug Smith and James Tooley

Supervising Digital Effects Artists: ILM -

Kevin Rafferty, Tom L. Hutchinson,

John Andrew Berton, Jr., Henry LaBounta

and Joe Letteri

Digital Character Modeling Supervisors: ILM -

Kyle Odermatt and Wade Howie

Visual Effects Plate Supervisor: ILM - Scott Farrar

Visual Effects Art Director: ILM - TyRuben Ellingson

Editor - Michael Kahn

Supervising Sound Editor - Richard Hymns

Sound Design/Re-Recording Mixer - Gary Rydstrom

Assistant Sound Designer - Christopher Boyes

Sound Effects Editors - Teresa Eckston

and Frank E. Eulner

Re-Recording Mixer - Gary Summers

Re-Recording Mixer/Music Recordist

& Mixer - Shawn Murphy

Dialogue Editors - Sara Bolders

and Michael Silvers

Foley Artists - Tom Barwick

and Dennie Thorpe

Foley Recordist - Tony Eckert

Music - James Horner

Music Editor - Joe E. Rand

Review

Another childhood movie I grew up watching, it's hard to see why everyone forgot about CASPER when it was a hidden box office gem. Following the runaway success of The Flintstones, Universal Studios and Steven Spielberg's production company Amblin Entertainment took another classic cartoon character to the big screen, this time Casper the Friendly Ghost. Most things have stayed the same since I last saw the film. It's almost as harmless as it could get for young audiences when surprisingly morbid and raunchy for a children's flick. However, the movie is a family-friendly version of Beetlejuice, and it doesn't shy away from its faults that hinder its durability to entertain audiences.

For starters, the narrative has no direction with numerous plot holes (such as Casper not remembering his previous life before he became a ghost) and an unnecessarily dated subplot, occasional coarse language, such as the "B" word, which almost warranted the movie an M rating and the solemn themes about death often dampen the film's comic appeal. The main drawback is the villain, Carrigan, because she's unthreatening and not very menacing (as one reviewer describes her as "a poor woman's Cruella de Vil") when her greed overpowers her judgement that she plans to get the mansion's supposed treasure, which leads to her defeat.

However, the film certainly has its moments. I won't discuss any as there are spoilers ahead. Most of the visual effects hold up well, especially the CGI of the ghosts, even for the time it was released. What makes it better is that this version of Casper is the first main character to be computer-animated. Christina Ricci is headed for Hollywood stardom when looking as sharp and adorable as Kat. Bill Pullman is surprisingly decent in his performance as the father. The surprise cameos of Don Novello, Dan Aykroyd, Clint Eastwood, Rodney Dangerfield and Mel Gibson are amusing. The sets are dark and Gothic, and James Horner's score is beautiful.

While not a flop, per se, CASPER has its fans and gained a bit of a cult following after a successful release. It spawned two direct-to-video prequels, which are unrelated to the original movie. Then again, it's not my favourite film. I would have preferred if it focused more on the relationship between Kat and the titular ghost and cut out the needless subplot where the bullies try to ruin Kat's Halloween party. Overall, this is an okay film, but it is worth a look, as there was a lot more effort put into it than the other live-action films based on the cartoons.

Star rating: (5/10) Average

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Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One Review

Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One

Release Date: 8th July 2023 - Australia

Production Companies

Paramount Pictures (presents)

Skydance Media (presents)

TC Productions

Distribution

Paramount Pictures Australia

Genre: Action

Rating: M

Runtime: 164 minutes

Budget: $291,000,000

Box Office Gross: $567,535,383 (Worldwide)

Plot Summary

Ethan Hunt and the IMF

team are on the trail of a

horrifying new weapon

that threatens the entire

human race if it falls

into the wrong hands.

With the future and fate

of the world at stake, a

deadly global race begins.

In the face of an enigmatic, omnipotent foe, Ethan must consider that nothing may be more important than the mission - not even the lives of those most dear to him.

Cast

Tom Cruise - Ethan Hunt

Hayley Atwell - Grace

Vanessa Kirby - White Widow

Simon Pegg - Benji Dunn

Rebecca Ferguson - Ilsa Faust

Ving Rhames - Luther Stickell

Esai Morales - Gabriel

Pom Klementieff - Paris

Henry Czermy - Kittridge

Shea Whigham - Briggs

Greg Tarzan Davis - Degas

Frederick Schmidt - Zola

Mariela Garriga - Marie

Cary Elwes - Denlinger

Charles Parnell - NRO

Mark Gatiss - NSA

Indira Varma - DIA

Rob Delaney - JSOC

Crew

Writer/Producer/Director -

Christopher McQuarrie

Based on the Television

Series - Bruce Geller

Writer - Erik Jendresen

Executive Producer/Unit Production Manager - Chris Brock

Executive Producers - David Ellison, Dana Goldberg and Don Granger

Executive Producer/Post-Production Supervisor - Susan E. Novick

Executive Producer/First Assistant Director - Tommy Gormley

Producer - Tom Cruise

Casting Director - Mindy Marin

Production Designer - Gary Freeman

Supervising Art Director -

Phil Sims

Set Decorator - Raffaella

Giovannetti

Property Master - David

Cheesman

Costume Designer - Jill Taylor

Supervising Armorer - Joss Skottowe

Prosthetics Supervisor - Kristyan Mallett

Director of Photography - Fraser Taggart

Aerial Director of Photography - Phil Arntz

"A" Camera/Steadicam

Operator - Jonathan

'Chunky' Raymond

"C" Camera Operator: Splinter

Unit - David Worley

Camera/Steadicam Operator: Second Unit - Peter Wignall

Production Manager - Ben Piltz

Second Unit Director/Stunt Coordinator - Wade Eastwood

Skydiving/Base/Speedflying Coordinator - Jon Devore

Base Jump Instructor - Miles Dashier

Special Effects Supervisor - Neil Corbould

Visual Effects Supervisor - Alex Wuttke

Visual Effects Supervisors:

ILM - Simone Coco and Jeff Sutherland

Associate Visual Effects Supervisors: ILM -

Sam Bassett, Dave Dalley, Bill Georgiou

and Matt Middleton

Computer Graphics Supervisor: BLIND LTD -

Andrew Booth

Film Editor - Eddie Hamilton

Supervising Sound Editor - James Mather

Production Sound Mixer - Chris Munro

Re-Recording Mixers - Chris Burdon

and Mark Taylor

Music - Lorne Balfe

Review

Hello, everyone. I've been taking a two-month hiatus from my blog since I've struggled to balance writing my reviews, updating the old ones, etc. Fortunately, I returned to finish a critique, which took me five months before I could publish it and get back to completing the other reviews. Hollywood is in turmoil after the writers and actors went on strike over getting underpaid and their growing concerns about AI taking over their jobs, the latter, which proved that people are becoming less involved in the film industry and is a cautionary tale. Thankfully, the writers' strike in Hollywood ended when they agreed to a new deal, followed by the actors' strike a few months later. Ironically, the movie I'm reviewing contains an AI that went rogue, which is eerily prophetic in the storyline. Then again, many viewers didn't care for the AI subplot, regarding it as one of its weaknesses. Once again, actor Tom Cruise outdoes the impossible in the first part of his latest Mission: Impossible movie, DEAD RECKONING. At this point, he may very well be the last movie star on the planet.

With the James Bond series currently in the process of rebooting after culminating with No Time to Die and other film franchises like Fast & Furious, Transformers and Indiana Jones have gotten to the point where they reach franchise fatigue, which is an ongoing problem for Hollywood as they either begin to run out of ideas or finally being put to rest, the Mission: Impossible franchise is the only one to avoid it. Its latest entry had gone through many constant delays in production and release due to COVID-19 until it hit theatres. Audiences enjoyed DEAD RECKONING PART ONE, while critics gave it similar acclaim to its predecessor, Fallout, which many (or most) consider the best of the series and has a 97% higher rating on Rotten Tomatoes. However, it doesn't reach the same impact as Tom Cruise's last movie, Top Gun: Maverick, did to save Hollywood.

This film is a pulse-pounding spy-fi thriller with exhilarating stunt-driven action and marvellous set pieces, which it does deliver in terms of excellence. Christopher McQuarrie has been in the franchise since 2011 with the uncredited script revisions he did for Ghost Protocol and has gotten to direct the later instalments, beginning with Rogue Nation. Here, he returns to outdo himself in perfecting each action sequence, regardless of detail. One issue regarding DEAD RECKONING PART ONE is that it feels complete and doesn't end with an abrupt cliffhanger like in other films such as Fast X and Across the Spider-Verse.

Cruise is doing much better in the series, even though he was about 61 years of age when he's still doing his outrageous stunts like he did in its predecessors that occasionally require no digital effects or stunt doubles. For example, he drives his motorcycle, jumps it off the cliff and skydives onto a train, which is beyond anything ever accomplished. It harkens back to the pre-credits scene in The Spy Who Loved Me, where Roger Moore does the same thing, only by doing a ski jump and then opening his parachute. Hayley Atwell is a new addition to the cast, as she plays a pickpocket and is remarkably talented after being in the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe). Esai Morales is surprisingly capable of bringing chills to our spines in his performance as Gabriel, a villain who works for a benevolent AI and has a connection with Ethan's past.

Rebecca Ferguson returns as the elusive Ilsa Faust, which adds a level of conspiracy to the narrative, and her on-screen chemistry with Cruise is undeniable. Simon Pegg injects his trademark wit and charm while reprising the role of Benji Dunn, ensuring the necessary comic relief amid the thrilling action scenes. Fellow MCU veteran Pom Klementieff plays a henchwoman who is much deadlier than anyone else. A huge surprise in the film is when actor Henry Czerny returns as Kittridge from the first instalment. Fraser Taggart's cinematography is praise-worthy, encapsulating the spirit of the spy genre. Lorne Balfe's thumping score livens up the film, while the sound design is superb.

DEAD RECKONING PART ONE is a splendid film but is a close second to its predecessor, Fallout, which remains the best of the franchise. Moviegoers and fans will have to sit through its long-running time of 164 minutes to watch the movie and wait for Dead Reckoning Part Two to hit theatres in 2024, should they choose to accept it.

Star rating: (9/10) Excellent Movie

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