Stealth Review

Stealth

Release Date: 8th September 2005 - Australia

Production Companies

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Original Film

Phoenix Pictures

Laura Ziskin Productions

AFG Talons Productions

Distribution 
Sony Pictures Releasing Australia

Genre: Sci-Fi/Action

Rating: M

Runtime: 121 minutes

Budget: $135,000,000

Box Office Gross:

$76,932,872 (Worldwide)

Plot Summary

Marine fighter pilots Ben

Gannon, Henry Purcell, and

Kara Wade must train a

state-of-the-art, fully

automated, pilotless, super-

stealth aircraft to carry out

strikes on key foreign

targets. After the plane is

struck by lightning and

rewired, Ben loses faith in

artificial intelligence

technology. But even after

it takes on its own, the Navy

is determined to keep it in

the air. With the plane

wreaking havoc worldwide,

the team must embark on

their deadliest mission to

stop it before it causes

World War 3!

Cast

Josh Lucas - Lt. Ben Gannon

Jessica Biel - Lt. Kara Wade

Jamie Foxx - Lt. Henry Purcell

Sam Shepard - Capt. George Cummings

Joe Morton - Capt. Dick

Marshfield

Richard Roxburgh - Dr. Keith Orbit

Ian Bliss - Lt. Aaron Shaftsbury

Ebon Moss-Bachrach - Tim

David Andrews - Ray

Wentworth Miller - EDI (Voice)

Alexandra Davies - Ben's Date

Caroline de Souza - Henry's Date

Jaipetch Toonchalong - Henry's Thai Girlfriend

Megan Gale - Dr. Orbit's Secretary

Jason Lee - Colonel Young

Michael McCabe - Commander 3rd Fleet

Robert L. Keane - Aircraft Carrier Chaplain

Nicholas Hammond - Executive Officer

Joel Tobeck - Black Ops Leader

John Waters - Black Ops Doctor

Michael Denkha - Naval Controller

Rocky Helton - Master at Arms

Clayton Adams - USS Abraham Lincoln Soldier

Maurice Morgan - USS Abraham Lincoln Soldier

Woody Naismith - USS Abraham Lincoln Soldier

Charles Ndibe - USS Abraham Lincoln Soldier

Sara Saliba - Korean Girl

Jim Diamond - Rangoon Terrorist

Jaffar Hussain - Rangoon Terrorist

Gary Quiy - Rangoon Terrorist

Jason Lee - Colonel Yune

Rowan Schlosberg - EDI Technician

Jason Chan - EDI Technician

Matthew Wilkinson - EDI Technician

Johann Walraven - EDI Technician

Randall Mettam - Naval Controller

Lucia Mastrantone - Naval Controller

Dorian Nkono - Naval Controller

Miles Paras - Naval Controller

Harli Ames - Naval Controller

Adriano Cappelletta - Naval Controller

Blazey Best - Naval Controller

Paul Pantano - Naval Controller

Ilya Melbokoff - Russian Pilot

Nikolai Nikolaeff - Russian Pilot

Warwick Young - Russian Pilot

Paul Donazzan - Russian Pilot

Vanessa Grimm - Sky News Reporter

Matthew Jorgensen - Barricade Officer

Colby Sanders - Aviation Plane Captain

Diego Corral - Ships Safety Officer

Crew

Director - Rob Cohen

Writer - W.D. Ritcher
Executive Producer - Arnold Messer

Executive Producer/Unit Production Manager:

Aircraft Carrier Units - E. Bennett Walsh  

Producers - Mike Medavoy,
Neal H. Moritz and Laura Ziskin

Casting Directors - Sarah Finn,

Randi Hiller and Christine King

Senior Military Advisor - David M. Kennedy

Production Designers - Jonathan Lee and
J. Michael Riva

Supervising Art Director - Richard Hobbs

Model Supervisor - Peter Wyborm

Set Decorator - Suza Maybury
Costume Designer - Lizzy Gardiner

Assistant Costume Designer - Jane Johnston

Key Makeup & Hair Supervisor - Lesley Vanderwalt

Director of Photography - Dean Semler

Director of Photography: Second Unit - Brad Shield

First Assistant "A" Camera: Aircraft

Carrier Units - Clyde E. Bryan

Lear Jet Pilots - Alex Kvassy and Craig Hosking

Unit Production Manager - Catherine Bishop

Production Manager: Second Unit - Libby Sharpe

First Assistant Director - PJ Voeten

First Assistant Director: Aircraft Carrier Units -

Lars P. Winther

Second Assistant Director - Deborah Antoniou

Third Assistant Directors - Scott Lovelock

and Eddie Thorne

Second Unit Director/Stunt Coordinator -
Lance Gilbert

Stunt Coordinator - Guy Norris

Stunt Coordinator: Second Unit - Glenn Suter

Parachute Stunts - Tim Rigby

Australian Aerial Coordinator - Gary Tocehurst
Special Effects Supervisor - John Frazier

Special Effects Supervisor: Flying Fish/

Human Dynamo - Scott Harens
Special Effects Coordinators - David Young 
and Jim Schwalm

Visual Effects Supervisor - Joel Hynek

Visual Effects Supervisor: Animal Logic -

Chris Godfrey

Visual Effects Supervisor: Pacific Title and

Art Studio - David Sosalla

Visual Effects Producer: Digital Domain -

Julian Levi

Visual Effects Executive Producer: Digital

Domain - Nancy Bernstein

Executive Producer: Animal Logic -

Zareh Nalbandian

Visual Effects Director of Photography:

Digital Domain - Erik Nash

Director of Photography: Flying Fish/Human

Dynamo - Richard Bluck

Digital Effects Supervisor: Digital Domain - Kelly Port

Computer Graphics Supervisors: Digital Domain -

Markus Kurtz and Vernon R. Wilbert Jr.

Compositing Supervisor: Digital Domain - Bryan Grill

Digital Compositing Sequence Leads:

Digital Domain - Brian Begun, Paul Kirwan

and Lou Pecora

Senior Digital Compositors: Digital Domain -

Ted S. Andre, Eric M. Beaver, Alette Boyce,

Paul Lambert, Kevin Lingenfelser,

Michael Maloney, Michael Melchiorre,

Marc Morissette, Robert Nederhorst,

Marc Dominic Rienzo, Jason Selfe and

Deborah Siltman

CG Effects Animation Sequence Leads:

Digital Domain - Robert A.D. Frick,

John Gibson and Garman Heritstad

CG Animation Lead: Digital Domain - Erik Gamache

Film Editor - Stephen E. Rivkin

First Assistant Editor - Andrew S. Eisen

Supervising Sound Editor - Bruce Stambler

Sound Designer - Tim Walston

ADR Supervisor - Becky Sullivan

Supervising Sound Mixers - Jeffrey J. Jaboush,

Bill W. Benton and Rick Kline

Music - BT

Additional Music - Trevor Morris

Music Supervisor - Bob Badami

Orchestra Recordist and Mixer - Alan Meyerson

Review
STEALTH could have been a good film, but unfortunately, it needs improvement to match its contenders, such as Top Gun. Many viewers claim this box-office misfire took elements and a few ideas from other films to produce this unoriginal picture. Yes, the premise is cheesy, but what more could moviegoers want? STEALTH has faced criticism for its lack of originality and thin characterisation, with some commentators even calling it generic and unoriginal. The aerial sequences, camerawork, and special effects make this film a visual delight. It even includes intriguing parts, such as in the movie's middle act, where something happens to one of the main characters. The acting is typically good, thanks to leading actors like Josh Lucas, Jessica Biel, and Jamie Foxx. They weren't good enough to save STEALTH from crashing down.

This movie is average at best and probably not Rob Cohen's finest work. It's worth watching once, but there is nothing to rush out to see.

Star rating: (3/5) Average

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Star Wars: The Complete Saga Review

Star Wars: The Complete Saga

Release Date: 14th September 2011 - Australia (Blu-ray)

Production Companies
20th Century Fox (4)
Lucasfilm Ltd.

Genre: Sci-Fi

Rating: PG

              M (Revenge)

Cast

Ewan MacGregor - Obi-Wan Kenobi (1-3)

Alec Guinness - Obi-Wan Kenobi (4-6)

Hayden Christensen - Anakin
Skywalker/Darth Vader (2-3 &

6)

David Prowse - Darth Vader

(4-6)

James Earl Jones - Darth

Vader (Voice) (3-6)

Natalie Portman - Padmé Amidala (1-3)

Anthony Daniels - C-3PO

Kenny Baker - R2-D2

Mark Hamill - Luke Skywalker (4-6)

Carrie Fisher - Princess Leia (4-6)

Harrison Ford - Han Solo (4-6)

Peter Mayhew - Chewbacca

(3-6)

Billy Dee Williams - Lando

Calrissian (5-6)

Frank Oz - Yoda (Voice) (1-3 & 5-6)

Ian McDiarmid - Supreme

Chancellor/Emperor

Palpatine/Darth Sidious (1-3 & 5-6)

Christopher Lee - Count Dooku (2-3)

Silas Carson - Nute Gunray/
Ki-Adi-Mundi (1-3)

Ahmed Best - Jar Jar Binks (1-3)

Samuel L. Jackson - Mace Windu (1-3)

Denis Lawson - Wedge Antilles (4-6)

Jeremy Bulloch - Boba Fett (5-6)

Temuera Morrison - Jango Fett (2)/Commander Cody(3)/Boba Fett (Voice Only) (5)

Crew

Writer (1-4 & 6)/Executive Producer and

Director (1-4) - George Lucas

Director - Irvin Kershner (5)

Director - Richard Marquand (6)

Writer - Lawrence Kazdan (5-6)

Producer - Gary Kurtz (4-5)

Producer - Rick McCallum (1-3 &

4-6, Special Edition Only)

Conceptual Artist - Ralph McQuarrie

(4-6)

Film/Supervising Sound Editor (1-3)/

Sound Designer - Ben Burtt

Music - John Williams

Review
I'm glad that all six Star Wars movies are on Blu-ray, but I'm not happy with some changes to the two films of the original trilogy. It includes the heroic sacrifice of one of the main characters and the scene where R2-D2 is busy hiding from the Tusken Raiders. If only the franchise's creator, George Lucas, would stop this excessive tinkering and start with improvements appropriate for Star Wars fans.

THE COMPLETE SAGA Blu-ray has stunning quality, better colour, and many extras, including documentaries and deleted scenes.

Star rating: (5/5) Best Movie Set Ever

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The Avengers (2012) Review

The Avengers


Release Date: 25th April 2012 - Australia


Production Companies
Marvel Studios (presents)
Paramount Pictures (in association
with)

Distribution
Walt Disney Studios Motion
Pictures Australia


Genre: Action

Rating: M

Runtime: 142 minutes


Budget: $220,000,000

Box Office Gross: $1,518,815,515 (Worldwide)


Plot Summary
When the Earth faces an unexpected threat to its global security, the director of the secret agency S.H.I.E.L.D., Nick Fury, assembles a team of heroes from across the globe. The group consists of Captain America, Iron Man, Black Widow, Hawkeye, Thor, and the Hulk to defend their world against Loki (Thor's brother), the God of Mischief. Once united, these superheroes must prepare to stop Loki from conquering the planet and unleashing a powerful force they've never seen.


Cast
Robert Downey, Jr. - Tony
Stark/Iron Man
Chris Evans - Steve Rogers/
Captain America
Mark Ruffalo - Dr. Bruce Banner/Hulk
Lou Ferrigno - Hulk (Voice) (Uncredited)
Chris Hemsworth - Thor
Scarlett Johansson - Natasha
Romanoff/Black Widow
Jeremy Renner - Clint Barton/Hawkeye

Tom Hiddleston - Loki
Samuel L. Jackson - Nick Fury
Cobie Smulders - Maria Hill
Clark Gregg - Phil Coulson
Stellan Skarsgard - Erik Selvig
Gwyneth Paltrow - Pepper Potts
Paul Bettany - JARVIS (Voice)
Alexis Denisof - The Other
Jerzy Skolimowski - Georgi Luchkov
Maximiliano Hernandez - Agent Sitwell
Powers Boothe - Gideon Malick
Jenny Agutter - Councilwoman Hawley

Kenneth Tigar - German Old

Man

Harry Dean Stanton - Security

Guard

Josh Cowdrey - Maintenance

Guy

Ashley Johnson - Waitress

Robert Clohessy - Police Sergeant

Enver Gjokaj - Young Cop

Brent McGee - Faceless Pilot
Stan Lee - Himself (Cameo)

Crew
Story/Screenplay/Director - Joss Whedon
Based on the Marvel

Comics/Executive Producer -

Stan Lee

Based on the Marvel Comics/"Captain America" Creator - Jack Kirby

"Captain America" Creator - Joe Simon

Story - Zak Penn
Executive Producers - Victoria Alonso, Louis D'Esposito, Jon Favreau, Alan Fine and Jeremy Latcham

Executive Producer/Unit Production Manager -

Patricia Whitcher

Producer - Kevin Feige
Casting Directors - Sarah Finn

and Randi Hiller

Production Designer - James

Chinlund

Visual Development

Supervisors - Charlie Wen

and Ryan Meinerding

Illustrators - Steve Jung,

Taki Kunitake, Paul Ozzino,

Chris Ross and Nathan Schroeder

Visual Development

Illustrators - Rodney

Fuentebella, Adi Granov,

Ian McCaig, Andy Park,

Paul Saunders, Justin Sweet

and Jackson Sze

Supervising Art Director - Richard L. Johnson

Art Directors - Benjamin Edelberg,

Jann K. Angel, Gregory S. Hooper,

William D. Hunter and Randy Moore

Set Decorator - Victor J. Zolfo

Property Master - Andrew Petrotta

Costume Designer - Alexandra Byrne
Director of Photography - Seamus McGarvey

Director of Photography: Second Unit -

Brad Shield

Aerial Director of Photography - David B. Nowell

"B" Camera First Assistant - Harry Zimmerman

Unit Production Managers - Leeann Stonebreaker

Unit Production Manager: New York Unit -

Cheryl Quarantiello

First Assistant Director - Lars P. Winther

First Assistant Director: Second Unit -

Nick Satriano

First Assistant Director: Second Unit

Pennsylvania/Ohio Unit - Brian Relyea

Location Manager: New York - Tyson Bidner

Second Unit Director - John Mahaffie

Aerial Coordinator - Kevin LaRosa
Supervising Stunt Coordinator - R.A. Rondell
Stunt Co-Coordinator - Hank Amos

Stunt Coordinator: Second Unit - Chris O'Hara
Fight Coordinator - Jonathan Eusebio

Special Effects Supervisor - Daniel Sudick
Suit Construction Supervisors: Legacy Effects -

Shane Mahan and Lindsay MacGowan

Visual Effects Supervisor - Janek Sirrs

Visual Effects Supervisor: ILM - Jeff White

Visual Effects Supervisors: Scanline VFX -

Bryan Grill and Stephen Trojansky

Visual Effects Supervisor: Weta Digital -

Guy Williams

Visual Effects Supervisors: Hydraulx -

Colin & Greg Strause

Visual Effects Supervisor: Digital Domain -

Erik Nash
Visual Effects Supervisor: Fuel VFX -

Simon Maddison

Second Unit Visual Effects Supervisor -

Jake Morrison

Associate Visual Effects Supervisor: ILM -

Jason Smith

Associate Visual Effects Supervisor: ILM

Singapore - Nigel Sumner

Visual Effects Producer - Susan Pickett
Visual Effects Producer: ILM - Katie Lynch

Visual Effects Producer: Digital Domain -

Daniel Brimer

Visual Effects Executive Producer: ILM -

Wayne Billheimer
Visual Effects Art Directors: ILM -

Yanick Dusseault, Aaron McBride

and Alex Jaeger

Digital Effects Supervisors: Weta Digital -

Daniel Macarin and Thrain Shadbolt

Digital Production Supervisors: ILM -

Michael Di Como and Michael Bauer

Animation Supervisor: ILM - Marc Chu

Animation Supervisor: Weta Digital -

Aaron Gilman

CGI Supervisors: ILM - David Meny,

Raul Essig and Kevin Sprout

CG Sequence Supervisors: ILM -

Christopher Balog, Leandro Estebecorena,

Polly Ing, Akira Orikasa, John Walker,

Steve Braggs, Jeremy Goldman,

Cyrus Jam, Cristin Pescosolido,

Jeff Wozniak, Jay Cooper,

Gerald Gutschmidt, Tom Martinek,

Anthony Rispoli, Scott Younkin,

Stephen DeLuca, Jen Howard,

Tory Mercer and Greg Salter

Previsualisation Supervisor: The Third Floor -

Nicholas Markel

Digital Model Supervisors: ILM - Bruce Holcomb

and Giovanni Nakpil

Digital Matte Supervisor: ILM - Richard Bluff

Compositing Supervisors: Weta Digital -

Tim Hey and Matt Holland

Film Editors - Jeffrey Ford and Lisa Lassek

Additional Editor - Paul Rubell

Supervising Sound Editor - Frank E. Eulner
Sound Designer/Supervising Sound Editor/
Re-Recording Sound Mixer - Christopher Boyes

ADR Supervisor - Becky Sullivan

Sound Effects Editors - Steve Boedekker,

Teresa Eckton, J.R. Grubbs, Scott Guitteau

and Kyrsten Mate

Re-Recording Sound Mixer - Lola Hirschberg

Additional Re-Recording Mixer - David Parker

Foley Artists - Jana Vance and Sean England
Music - Alan Silvestri

Music Supervisor - Dave Jordan

Review
Before the film's release, I knew it would be hard to adapt its comic-book stories because they had too many superheroes. With a stunning 3D aspect, it's clear that THE AVENGERS is one big superhero movie with action, comedy, and drama. I want to thank the director, Joss Whedon, for bringing the Avengers comic book series to the big screen, a feat that would have been impossible to adapt. The actors from the previous Marvel films have returned for this one, except for Edward Norton, who plays Dr Bruce Banner, aka The Hulk. Mark Ruffalo now assumes the mantle of the green-skinned character. He has re-envisioned the role with much boldness and ferocity.

I must admit that THE AVENGERS was an enjoyable movie. I highly recommend this motion picture to anyone, especially Marvel fans, who will enjoy it. Here's hoping that Warner and DC will make the Justice League movie similar to Marvel's title film.

Star rating: (5/5) Best Movie Ever

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Predator Review

Predator

Release Date: 20th August 1987 - Australia

Production Companies
Amercent Films
American Entertainment Partners L.P.
Davis Entertainment
Lawrence Gordon Productions
Silver Pictures
20th Century Fox Film
Corporation

Distribution
20th Century Fox Australia


Genre: Sci-Fi/Action

Rating: M

Runtime: 107 minutes


Budget: $18,000,000

Box Office Gross: $98,268,458 (Worldwide)

 
Plot Summary
A seasoned paramilitary

rescue unit led by Major

Dutch Schaefer is looking for hostages held captive by guerrilla fighters in the Central American jungle. At first, while it seems like a successful mission, something horrifying and inexplicable is about to happen. One by one, the men get hunted down by an enemy unimaginably more deadly than any in this world!

Cast
Arnold Schwarzenegger - Major Alan "Dutch" Schaefer
Carl Weathers - George Dillon
Elpidia Carrillo - Anna
Bill Duke - Mac Eliot
Jesse Ventura - Blain Cooper
Sonny Landham - Billy Sole
Richard Chaves - Jorge "Poncho" Ramirez
Shane Black - Rick Hawkins
R. G. Armstrong - Major General Homer Phillips
Kevin Peter Hall - The
Predator/Helicopter Pilot
Peter Cullen - The Predator (Voice) (Uncredited)

Crew

Director - John McTiernan

Writer/Executive Producer - Jim Thomas

Writer - John Thomas
Associate Producer/
Production Designer - John Vallone
Associate Producer/
Production Manager/First Assistant Director -

Beau Marks
Executive Producer - Laurence Pereira

Producers - Lawrence Gordon,

Joel Silver and John Davis
Technical Advisor - Gary Goldman
Casting Director - Jackie Burch

Art Directors - Frank Richwood

and Jorge Sainz

Set Decorator - Enrique Estévez

Costume Designer - Marilyn Vance

Creature Creator - Stan Winston
Makeup Designer and Creator - Scott H. Eddo

Mud Makeup - Jeff Dawn

Director of Photography - Donald McAlpine

Director of Photography: Second Unit -

Frank E. Johnson

Director of Photography: Mexico -

León Sánchez

First Camera Assistant/Steadicam Operator -

Robert Agganis

Thermal Camera: Second Unit - David Eggby

Unit Managers - Anna Roth and Antonio Rubio

Second Assistant Directors - J. Tom Archuleta

and K.C. Colwell
Second Unit Director/Stunt Coordinator -

Craig R. Baxley

Special Effects Supervisors - Laurencio Cordero

and Al Di Sarro

Art Department Coordinator/Concept Artist:

Creature Effects Unit - Steve Wang

Art Department Coordinators: Creature

Effects Unit - Matt Rose and Shannon Shea

Mechanical Department: Creature Effects

Unit - David Kindlon, Richard J. Landon,

Brent Scrivner and Wayne Sturm

Visual Effects Supervisors - Michael Bigelow
and Joel Hynek

Visual Effects Producer - Robert M. Greenberg
Visual Consultant - Richard Greenberg

Design Consultant - Jeff Burks

Thermal Vision Effects Supervisor -

Stuart Robertson

Editors - Mark Helfrich and John F. Link

Assistant Film Editors - Kimberley Bennett,

Bryan H. Carroll, Mark Elson, Julie Feiner,

Carol Fitzgerald, Rudy Freeman,

John Henzel, William J. Meshover

and Willie Navarro

Supervising Sound Effects Editors -

Richard L. Anderson and David E. Stone

Special Sound Effects - John Pospisil

Special Vocalisation - Peter Cullen

Re-Recording Mixers - Don J. Bassman,

Kevin F. Cleary and Richard Overton

Foley Artists - Vanessa Theme Ament

and Robin Harlan

Music - Alan Silvestri


Awards

1988 Academy Awards
Best Visual Effects - Joel Hynek, Robert M. &

Richard Greenberg and Stan Winston (Nominated)


Review
Although PREDATOR may sound frightening, it is an action-packed sci-fi film with surprises. The movie blends two genres with a horror feel and features an engaging, suspenseful plot. It had groundbreaking visual effects and explosive action sequences. I liked the titular creature's design. What makes it notable is its intimidating presence and advanced technology. Arnold Schwarzenegger did a terrific job with his acting performance because he is my all-time favourite actor. Adding to the film's charm is the ensemble cast's chemistry and memorable one-liners. It is the second time I have seen Chubbs. Oops! I mean, the character played by Carl Weathers gets killed off, the first being Happy Gilmore, and I love the quote by Arnie, "GET TO THE CHOPPER!"

I describe this movie in one word. SPECTACULAR. It is a timeless movie that, even with age, will never become boring and unwatchable, especially for those who were once too young to watch the PREDATOR films.

Star rating: (4/5) Good Movie

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