Important Message to Blog Viewers

Dear blog viewers,

I'm writing to inform you that I'll be making a structural change to the star rating component of my reviews. No longer will I be using a 1-5 rating scale, but I will now use a 1 out of 10. The reason is that I will be better able to accurately place each movie on a larger scale with more room for variation, giving blog viewers a more accurate picture of the quality of the film reviewed.

Everything else on my blog will remain the same; I apologise for any inconvenience this change may cause. For all the reviews I have completed and posted on my site, the 1-5 scale will remain the same. I will just be using the new 1-10 scale with current movie reviews from this moment forth.

Please feel free to complement this new scale by posting comments to me. Any feedback you could provide would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you. : )

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Reign of Fire Review

Reign of Fire


Release Date: 31st October 2002 - Australia


Production Companies
Spyglass Entertainment
Touchstone Pictures
Tripod Entertainment
World 2000 Entertainment
The Zanuck Company

Distribution
Walt Disney Studio Motion
Pictures Australia


Genre: Fantasy

Rating: M

Runtime: 101 minutes


Budget: $60,000,000

Box Office Gross: $82,150,183
(Worldwide)


Plot Summary
In present-day London, 

twelve-year-old Quinn 

watches as his mother, a 

construction engineer, 

inadvertently wakes an 

enormous fire-breathing 

beast from its centuries-

long slumber. Twenty years 

later, much of the world 

has been scarred by the 

beast and its offspring. 

As a fire chief, Quinn is 

responsible for warding off 

the beasts and keeping a 

small community alive as 

they eke out a meager 

existence. Into their midst 

comes a hotshot American, 

Van Zan who says he has 

a way to kill the beasts and 

save mankind - a way 

Quinn's never seen done.


Cast
Christian Bale - Quinn Abercromby
Matthew McConaughey - Denton
Van San
Izabella Scorupco - Alex Jensen
Gerard Butler - Creedy
David Kennedy - Eddie Stax
Scott Mouter - Jared Wilke
Alexander Siddig - Ajay
Ned Dennehy - Barlow

Rory Keenan - Devon

Terence Mayward - Gideon

Doug Cockle - Goosh

Randall Carlton - Burke (Tito)

Chris Kelly - Mead
Ben Thornton - Young Quinn
Alice Krige - Karen Abercromby
Malcolm Douglas - Stuart
Duncan Keegan - Michael
Laura Pyper - Lin
David Herlihy - Oliver
Gerry O'Brien - Jerry
Patrick Foy - Paddy
Anne Maria McAuley - Rose
Maree Duffy - Rachel
Alex Meacock - Alvarez
David Garrick - Jefferson
Andy Godbold - Piscatella

Crew

Director - Rob Bowman
Story/Screenplay - Gregg
Chabot & Kevin Perteka
Screenplay - Matt Greenberg
Executive Producer - Jonathan Glickman
Producers - Gary Barber, Roger Birnbaum
and Lili Fini & Richard D. Zanuck

Co-Producers - Chris Chrisafis, 
Derek Evans, James Flynn, Morgan O'Sullivan, 
Rebekah Rudd and Dean Zanuck
Production Designer - Wolf Kroeger
Supervising Art Director - Jonathan McKinstry
Art Directors - Ian Bailie, Alan Tomkins 
and Justin Warburton-Brown

Costume Designer - Joan Bergin
Director of Photography - Adrian Biddle
Stunt Coordinator - Nick Gillard
Special Effects Supervisor - David Gauthier
Special Effects Coordinators - Kevin Byrne, 
John E. Gray
Visual Effects Supervisor - Richard R. Hoover
Visual Effects Supervisor: Cinesite - Jason Piccioni

Co-Visual Effects Supervisor - Dan DeLeeuw
Additional Visual Effects Producer - Tom C. Peitzman

Creature Supervisor - Rob Dressel
Creature Designer/Visual Effects Art Director - 
Mike Meaker
Animation Supervisor: The Secret Lab - 
Eamonn Butler

Film Editors - Declan McGrath (Uncredited) 
and Thom Noble
Music - Ed & Brad Wagner

Review
Incomparable to anything I have seen before and could be described as a bit weird, this film belongs to the genre of a post apocalyptic/fantasy film by the director Rob Bowman. 'REIGN OF FIRE' delivers a story that mashes up two genres, but it is with disappointment to say, its story ends up so underdeveloped. It somehow just ended up a letdown of sorts, sadly more of a less than a fiery grandiose epic than viewers were promised. It's more like a B-grade picture that falls short from reaching its true potential. I just found it a little underwhelming and packed with too much typical glamorised action and not enough intellect used into story development.

Featuring actors like Christian Bale and Matthew McConaughey, also complimenting the great cast are co-stars like Gerard Butler and Izabella Scorupco. The effects for the dragons were really spectacular and horrifying. This is a real testament to CGI magic that created the menacing beasts and also created a very believable world in ruins during a post apocalyptic event. There is some room for improvement with the script and story. If this had of been given more attention, this movie would be much better. 

I must say even though I have awarded this movie a disappointing three stars, that these are three very well earned stars. What this movie does do right it does very right. Incredible action sequences, explosions and edge of your seat moments. Good quality acting and realistic effects with appropriate use of soundtrack during most of the scenes.

For this case, I label 'REIGN OF FIRE' personally as a film with great potential which unfortunately did not reach its high standard due to the weaknesses I have mentioned. In the end, it was an average movie which I would not care to watch again.

Star rating: (3/5) Average

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Australia Review (Australia Day 2014)

Australia

Release Date: 18th November 2008 - 

Australia (Premiere)

Production Companies

20th Century Fox (presents)

Ingenious Film Partners

ScreenWest (produced with 

the assistance of)

Bazmark Films

Dune Entertainment III

Distribution

20th Century Fox Australia

Genre: Drama

Rating: M

Runtime: 165 minutes


Budget: $78,000,000

Box Office Gross: $36,780,000
(Australia)

Plot Summary

Set in northern Australia 

before World War II, an 

English aristocrat who 

inherits a sprawling ranch 

reluctantly pacts with a 

stock-man in order to 

protect her new property 

from a takeover plot. As 

the pair drive 2,000 head 

of cattle over unforgiving 

landscape, they experience 

the bombing of Darwin by 

Japanese forces firsthand. (Source - IMDb)

Cast

Nicole Kidman - Lady Sarah 

Ashley

Hugh Jackman - The Drover

David Wenham - Neil Fletcher

Bryan Brown - Lesley 'King' 

Carney

Jack Thompson - Kipling Flynn

Brandon Walters - Nullah

David Gulpilli - King George

David Ngoombujara - Magarri

Ben Mendelsohn - Captain 

Emmett Dutton

Crew

Story/Screenplay/Producer/
Director - Baz Luhrmann 

Screenplay - Stuart Beattie,
Ronald Harwood and Richard
Flanagan
Producers - G. Mac Brown
and Catherine Knapman
Co-Producer/Production/
Costume Designer - 

Catherine Martin
Director of Photography - Mandy Walker
Visual Effects Supervisor: Animal Logic - Andy Brown
Visual Effects Supervisor: The LaB Sydney - Tony Cole
Film Editors - Dody Dorn and Michael McCusker
Music - David Hirschfelder

Review

I was very keen to review the 2008 film 'AUSTRALIA' for Australia Day. Though I have not seen any movies directed by Baz Luhrmann; Baz has certainly made his presence well known with his cinematic hits over the years. One of his recent movies 'AUSTRALIA' was supposed to be a fictional tale about what life once was in Darwin before the bombing in 1942. In its obvious veins, the plot-line shares similarities to the epic classic 'Gone with the Wind' and pays tribute to its old cinematic qualities. The director developed a film that actually makes sense to some aspects of the Aussie culture and it is an inspiring romantic breath of fresh air. Addressing the issues of war, racial prejudice and land-property rights, without giving away spoilers, it can be said that 'AUSTRALIA' is an emotional roller-coaster that arrives at a happy ending which leaves viewers in a satisfied mood. This movie was not without weaknesses, some of the writing and parts of the film were elementary and unnecessary.

Some of the actors include Hugh Jackman who gives a natural performance as The Drover, which the character is bluntly described as a sort of a suave and old-fashioned romantic hero. Nicole Kidman was at first over-the-top at the beginning as the leading female, but she improves throughout out the film and creates love chemistry with Jackman. Other actors that performed well were Brandon Walters being a promising young fresh actor and David Wenham who takes on a character with a black-hearted nature.

'AUSTRALIA' wasn't as a master medium of mediocrity as other critics had called it, because of its over-length and tedious melodrama. It's an opportunity for Aussies to watch and overcome the misfires that hindered the movie's spirit and find it to be enthralling.

Star rating: (4/5) Good Movie

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86th Academy Awards

Broadcast Date: March 2014 - Australia


G'day, blog viewers and posters,
the news had announced for the
Oscars of 2014. The recent
ceremony of the official Academy
Awards is to be hosted by
television actress and hostess
Ellen DeGeneres. Still changed
are the two categories of Best
Makeup and Hairstyling and
Best Production Design.

More surprising is that the place that hosted the awards presentation in Los Angeles, California, 6801 Hollywood Boulevard, got renamed from Kodak Theatre to the Dolby Theatre. Click on the link "oscar.go.com" and who you want to be to win these 24 categories.

Don't miss out on the show for two months, Film Guru Lad out.


Best Visual Effects

Gravity - Tim Webber, Chris Lawrence,
Dave Shirk and Neil Corbould
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug - Joe Letteri,
Eric Saindon, David Clayton and Eric Reynolds
Iron Man 3 - Christopher Townsend, Guy
Williams, Erik Nash and Dan Sudick
The Long Ranger - Tim Alexander, Gary Brozenich,
Edison Williams and John Fraizer
Star Trek Into Darkness - Roger Guyett, Patrick
Tubach, Ben Grossmann and Burt Dalton

Best Film Editing

12 Years a Slave - Joe Walker
American Hustle - Jay Cassidy, Crispin Struthers
and Alan Baumgarten
Captain Phillips - Christopher Rouse
Dallas Buyers Club - John Mac McMurphy and
Martin Pensa
Gravity - Alfonso Cuarón and Mark Sanger

Best Costume Design

12 Years a Slave - Patricia Norris

American Hustle - Michael Wilkinson 

The Grandmaster - William Chang Suk Ping

The Great Gatsby - Catherine Martin

The Invisible Woman - Michael O'Connor 

Best Makeup and Hairstyling

Dallas Buyers Club - Adruitha Lee and 

Robin Matthews

Bad Grandpa - Stephen Prouty

The Lone Ranger - Joel Harlow and 

Gloria Pasqua-Carny

Best Cinematography

The Grandmaster - Phillipe LeSourd

Gravity - Emmanuel Lubezki 

Inside Llewyn Davis - Bruno Delbonnel

Nebraska - Phedon Papamichael

Prisoners - Roger Deakins

Best Production Design

12 Years a Slave - Adam Stockhausen 

(Production Design); Alice Baker (Set 

Decoration)

American Hustle - Judy Becker 

(Production Design); Heather Loeffler

(Set Decoration)

Gravity - Andy Nicholson (Production 

Design); Rosie Goodwin and Joanne 

Wollard (Set Decoration)

The Great Gatsby - Catherine Martin 

(Production Design); Beverley Dunn 

(Set Decoration)

Her - K. K. Barrett (Production 

Design); Gene Serdena (Set 

Decoration)

Best Sound Mixing

Captain Phillips - Chris Burdon, Mark 

Taylor, Mike Prestwood Smith and 

Chris Munro

Gravity - Skip Lievsay, Niv Adiri, 

Christopher Benstead and Chris 

Munro

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug - 

Christopher Boyes, Michael Hedges, 

Michael Semanick and Tony Johnson 

Inside Llewyn Davis - Skip Lievsay, 

Greg Orloff and Peter F. Kurland 

Lone Survivor - Andy Koyama, Beau 

Borders and David Brownlow

Best Sound Editing

All is Lost - Steve Boeddeker and 

Richard Hymns

Captain Phillips - Oliver Tarney

Gravity - Glenn Fremantle

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug - 

Brent Burge

Lone Survivor - Wylie Stateman

Best Original Song

"Alone, Yet Not Alone" from Alone Yet 

Not Alone - Bruce Broughton and 

Dennis Spiegel

"Happy" from Despicable Me 2 - 

Pharrell Williams 

"Let It Go" from Frozen - Kristen 

Anderson & Robert Lopez

"The Moon Song" from Her - Karen 

Orzolek and Spike Jonze

"Ordinary Love" from Mandela: 

Long Walk to Freedom - U2

Best Original Score

The Book Thief - John Williams

Gravity - Steven Price

Her - William Butler and Oliver Pallett 

Philomena - Alexandre Desplat

Saving Mr. Banks - Thomas Newman 

Best Animated Short Film

Feral - Daniel Sousa and Dan Golden

Get a Horse! - Lauren MacMullan and 

Dorothy McKim

Mr. Hublot - Laurent Witz and Alexandre 

Espigares 

Possessions - Shuhei Morita 

Room on the Broom - Max Lang and 

Jan Lachauer 

Best Live Action Short Film

Aquel no era yo (That Wasn't Me) - 

Esteban Crespo 

Avant que de tout perdre (Just 

Before Losing Everything) - 

Xavier Lengrand 

Helium - Andres Walter and Kim 

Magnusson

Pitääko mun kaikki hoitaa? (Do o

I Have to Take Care of Everything?) - 

Selma Vilhunen and Kirsikka Saari 

The Voorman Problem - Mark Gill 

and Baldwin Li

Best Documentary - Short Subject

CaveDigger - Jeffrey Karoff

Facing Fear - Jason Cohen

Karama Has No Walls - Sara Ishaq 

The Lady in Number 6: Music 

Saved My Life - Malcolm Clarke 

and Nicholas Reed 

Prison Terminal: The Last Days 

of Private Dan Hall - Edgar Barens 

Best Documentary - Feature

20 Feet from Stardom - Morgan 

Neville

The Act of Killing - Joshua 

Oppenheimer and Signe Byrge 

Sørensen

Cutie and the Boxer - Zachary 

Heinzerling and Lydia Dean 

Picher

Dirty Wars - Richard Rowley and 

Jeremy Scahill 

The Square - Jehane Noujaim and 

Karin Amer

Best Foreign Language Film

The Broken Circle Breakdown 

(Belgium) in Dutch - Felix Van 

Groeningen 

The Great Beauty (Italy) in 

Italian - Paolo Sorrentino 

The Hunt (Denmark) in Danish - 

Thomas Vinterberg

The Missing Picture (Cambodia) 

in French - Rithy Panh

Omar (Palestine) in Arabic - 

Hany Abu-Assad 

Best Animated Feature

The Croods - Kirk DeMecco, Chris Sanders 

and Kristine Belson
Despicable Me 2 - Pierre Coffin, Chris Renaud
and Chris Meledandri
Ernest & Celestine - Benjamin Renner and
Didier Brunner
Frozen - Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee and Peter
Del Vicho
The Wind Rises - Hayao Miyazaki and Toshio
Suzuki

Best Writing - Adapted Screenplay

12 Years a Slave - John Ridley
Before Midnight - Richard Linklater, Julie 
Delpy and Ethan Hawke
Captain Phillips - Billy Ray
Philomena - Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope
The Wolf of Wall Street - Terence Winter

Best Writing - Original Screenplay

American Hustle - Eric Warren Russell and
David O. Russell
Blue Jasmine - Woody Allen
Dallas Buyers Club - Craig Borten and
Melisa Wallack
Her - Spike Jonze
Nebraska - Bob Nelson

Best Supporting Actress

Sally Hawkins - Blue Jasmine as Ginger
Jennifer Lawrence - American Hustle - Rosalyn
Rosenfield
Lupita Nyong'o - 12 Years a Slave as Patsey
Julia Roberts - August: Osage Country - Barbara
Weston-Fordham
June Squibb - Nebraska - Kate Grant

Best Supporting Actor

Barkhad Abdi - Captain Phillips as Abduwali Muse
Bradley Cooper - American Hustle as Agent
Richard "Richie" DiMaso
Michael Fassbender - 12 Years a Slave as
Edwin Epps
Jonah Hill - The Wolf of Wall Street as Donnie Azoff
Jared Leto - Dallas Buyers Club as Rayon

Best Actress

Amy Adams - American Hustle as Sydney Prosser
Cate Blanchett - Blue Jasmine as Jeannette
"Jasmine" Francis
Sandra Bullock - Gravity as Dr. Ryan Stone
Judi Dench - Philomena as Philomena Lee
Meryl Streep - August: Osage Country - Violet
Weston

Best Actor

Christian Bale - American Hustle as Irving Rosenfield
Bruce Dern - Nebraska as Woody Grant

Leonardo DiCaprio - The Wolf of Wall Street as 

Jordan Belfort

Chiwetel Ejiofor - 12 Years a Slave as Solomon 

Northup

Matthew McConaughey - Dallas Buyers Club 

as Ron Woodroof 

Best Director

Alfonso Caurón - Gravity

Steve McQueen - 12 Years a Slave

Alexander Payne - Nebraska

David O. Russell - American Hustle 

Martin Scorsese - The Wolf of Wall Street

Best Picture

12 Years a Slave - Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, 

Jeremy Kleiner, Steve McQueen and Anthony 

Katagas

American Hustle - Charles Roven, Richard 

Suckle, Megan Ellison and Jonathan Gordon

Captain Phillips - Scott Rudin, Dana Brunetti 

and Michael De Luca

Dallas Buyers Club - Robbie Brenner and 

Rachel Winter

Gravity - Alfonso Caurón and David Heyman 

Her - Megan Ellison, Spike Jonze and 

Vincent Landay

Nebraska - Albert Berger and Ron Yerxa 

Philomena - Gabrielle Tana, Steve Coogan 

and Tracey Seaward

The Wolf of Wall Street - Martin Scorsese, 

Leonardo DiCaprio, Joey McFarland and 

Emma Tillinger Koskoff

Academy Honorary Awards

Angela Lansbury

Steve Martin

Piero Tosi

Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award

Angelina Jolie

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The Land Before Time Review

The Land Before Time

Release Date: 16th September 1989 - Australia

Production Companies

Universal Pictures

Amblin Entertainment

Lucasfilm Ltd. (Uncredited)

Sullivan Bluth Studios

Distribution

Universal Pictures Australia

Genre: Animation/Family

Rating: G

Runtime: 69 minutes

Budget: $12,500,000

Box Office Gross: $84,460,846 

(Worldwide)

Plot Summary

An orphaned brontosaurus 

named Littlefoot sets off 

in search of the legendary 

Great Valley. A land of lush 

vegetation where the 

dinosaurs can thrive and 

live in peace. Along the 

way he meets four other 

young dinosaurs, each 

one a different species, 

and they encounter several 

obstacles as they learn 

to work together in order 

to survive. (Source - IMDb)

Voice Cast

Gabriel Damon - Littlefoot

Pat Hingle - Narrator/Rooter

Cadance Hudson - Cera

Judith Barsi - Ducky

Will Ryan - Petrie

Helen Shaver - Littlefoot's 

Mother

Bill Erwin - Grandfather

Burke Byrnes - Daddy Topps

Crew

Production Designer/

Storyboard Artist/Producer/

Director - Don Bluth

Story - Judy Freudberg and Tony Geiss

Story Consultants - Brent Maddock and S.S. Wilson

Screenplay - Stu Krieger
Co-Executive Producers - Kathleen Kennedy and 
Frank Marshall

Executive Producers - Steven Spielberg and 
George Lucas

Producer - Gary Goldman

Producer/Character Animator: "Cera", "Rooter" 
and "Spike"/Directing Animator: "Littlefoot" - 
John Pomeroy
Storyboard Artist/Character Animator: "Littlefoot's Mother"/
Directing Animator - Dan Kuenster
Directing Animators - Lorna Cook, 
Linda Miller, and Dick & Ralph Zondag
Layout Supervisor - David Goetz 

Background Stylist - Don Moore
Special Effects Directing Animator - Dorse A. Lanpher

Film Editor/Supervising Sound Editor - Dan Molina

Film Editor - John K. Carr

Music - James Horner

Review

Years ago, legendary filmmaker Steven Spielberg teams up again with Star Wars entrepreneur and his co-making partner of Indiana Jones, George Lucas and animator Don Bluth to create a special animated movie about dinosaurs. No I'm not talking about 'Jurassic Park' where it hasn't been made till 1993, we are take a trip through nostalgia into one of the old favourites from my childhood. I know 'THE LAND BEFORE TIME' means a lot to me when it happened to be animated in Don Bluth's style not Disney's. If you're looking for a Dino movie from Disney, I suggest it would be the similar and forgettable CGI movie 'Dinosaur'. I've been too proud to admit it, the characterisations and voice acting were all aged timelessly and joined up with Bluth's spectacular animation. It has been brought down by the weak standards of pacing and editing horrendously contributed by either Spielberg or Lucas.

I praise James Horner's score of the movie and was vividly gorgeous to hear. It has many ways to enhance the music, make it as light-hearted, dark or emotional in depth. I had almost forgot that one of the supporting leads Spike was actually a baby stegosaurus and he looked like a dinosaur from a different kind which had me confused?

Not one of his best and I agree with the creator's opinion for not intending the movie to be in 69 minutes. The majesty still remains behind in the old prehistoric classic 'THE LAND BEFORE TIME' for it is bound to be watched for future and younger generations. Find it someday and save up your money for the first, don't get me started on the other instalments that most of them are particularly bland and demeaning.

Star rating: (4/5) Good Movie

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An American in Paris Review

An American in Paris

Release Date: 2nd April 1952 - Australia

Production Companies

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Loew's Inc (produced by)

Genre: Musical/Romance

Rating: G

Runtime: 114 minutes

Budget: $2,724,000

Box Office Gross: $7,272,619 (Worldwide)

Plot Summary

In Paris, struggling American painter Jerry Mulligan has been "spotted" by a powerful heiress whose interest goes beyond Jerry's art. Jerry falls in love with Lisa, a young French girl. She is already engaged to a cabaret singer.

Amidst romantic complications, Jerry sings, jokes and dances with his best friend, a wry would-be concert pianist.

Cast

Gene Kelly - Jerry Mulligan

Leslie Caron - Lise Bouvier

Oscar Levant - Adam Cook

George Guétary - Henri Bauel

Nina Foch - Milo Roberts

The American in Paris

Ballet - Dancers

Madge Blake - Edna Mae Bestram (Uncredited)

Benny Carter - Saxophonist in Cafe (Uncredited)

Noel Neill - American Girl (Uncredited)

Hayden Rorke - Tommy Baldwin (Uncredited)

Dudley Field Malone - Winston Churchill (Uncredited)

Crew

Director - Vincente Minnelli 

Story and Screenplay - Alan Jay Lerner

Associate Producer - Roger Edens (Uncredited)

Producer - Arthur Freed

Art Directors - E. Preston Ames and Cedric Gibbons

Set Decorations - Edwin B. Willis

Associate Set Decorator - F. Keogh Gleason

Costume Designer - Orry-Kelly

Costume Designer: Beaux Arts Ball - Walter Plunkett

Ballet Costumes Designer - Irene Sharaff

Makeup Creator - William Tuttle

Director of Photography - Alfred Gilks

Ballet Photographer - John Alton

Choreographer - Gene Kelly

Special Effects - Warren Newcombe

and Irving G. Ries

Musical Directors - Saul Chaplin

and Johnny Green

Lyrics - Ira Gershwin 

Music - George Gershwin
Film Editor - Adrienne Fazan

Recording Supervisor - Douglas Shearer


Awards

1952 Academy Awards
Best Picture - Arthur Freed (Won)
Best Writing, Story and Screenplay -

Alan Jay Lerner (Won)
Best Cinematography, Color - Alfred Gilks (Won)
Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color - 
Cedric Gibbons, E. Preston Ames,

Edwin B. Willis and F. Keogh Gleason (Won)
Best Costume Design, Color - Orry-Kelly,
Walter Plunkett and Irene Sharaff (Won)
Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture -
Johnny Green and Saul Chaplin (Won)
------------------------
Best Director - Vincente Minnelli (Nominated)
Best Film Editing - Adrienne Fazan (Nominated)

Review

It's quite a spectacular decision to pick a movie that came out of the classics. I decided to release my critique of Reign of Fire before settling down on an old film I had barely watched when I saw only clips of it. This movie is a semi-decent musical that provides non-stop dancing sequences combined with classic jazzy instrumentals and singable tunes by late music legend George Gershwin. Many people were too young to remember AN AMERICAN IN PARIS, a favourite starring Gene Kelly, one of the great dancers before Michael Jackson. It comes to the big and overlong dancing climax, all in a mixture of terrific set-pieces and quietly in silence. Gene's bright vision helps the spectacle to look more prolonged, as Walt Disney did for his animation of Fantasia.

This Oscar-winning musical is not as well-fondly remembered as Singin' in the Rain, its only true successor. AN AMERICAN IN PARIS is at least a refreshment to its ongoing reputation of a minor classic provided to those at home.

Star rating: (4/5) Good Movie

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The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Review

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug


Release Date: 26th December 2013 - Australia


Production Companies
Metro Goldwyn Mayer
New Line Cinema
WingNut Films

Distribution
Roadshow Distribution


Genre: Fantasy

Rating: M

Runtime: 161 minutes


Budget: $225,000,000

Box Office Gross: $958,366,855
(Worldwide)


Plot Summary
Continuing on their epic
quest of adventure to bring
back the lost Dwarf
Kingdom of Erebor. Bilbo
Baggins accompanied by
the wizard Gandalf and
his thirteen Dwarf allies,
led by Thorin Oakenshield
are journeying through
track of peril and must go
to the dragon Smaug, who
still conquers their rightful
home. In order to reclaim
it, they must defeat and
slay Smaug and avoid
many obstacles as they pass.


Cast
Martin Freeman - Bilbo Baggins
Ian McKellen - Gandalf the Grey
Benedict Cumberbatch -
Smaug/The Necromancer
(Voice)
Orlando Bloom - Legolas
Evangeline Lilly - Tauriel
Luke Evans - Bard the Bowman/Girion
Stephen Fry - Master of Laketown
Ryan Gage - Alfrid
Cate Blanchett - Galadriel
Lee Pace - Thranduil
Mikael Persbrandt - Beorn
Sylvester McCoy - Radagast
the Brown
Manu Bennett - Azog
Lawrence Makoare - Bolg
Ben Mitchell - Narzug
Stephen Ure - Fimbul
Craig Hall - Gailon
Robin Kerr - Elros
Simon London - Feren
Dallas Barnett - Bill Ferny Snr
Matt Smith - Squint
Mark Mitchinson - Braga
Kelly Kilgour - Soury
Sarah Peirse - Hilda Blanca
Nick Blake - Percy
John Bell - Bain
Katie Jackson - Betsy Butterbur
Richard Whiteside - Butterbur
Brian Sergent - Spider (Voice)
Peter Vere-Jones - Spider (Voice)
Stephen Colbert - Laketown Spy (Cameo)
Jabez Olssen - Fish Monger (Cameo)
Peter Jackson - Albert Dreary (Cameo) (Uncredited)

The Company of Dwarves
Richard Armitage - Thorin Oakenshield
Graham McTavish - Dwalin
Ken Stott - Balin
Aidan Turner - Kili
Dean O'Gorman - Fili
Mark Hadlow - Dori
Jed Brophy - Nori
Adam Brown - Ori
John Callen - Oin
Peter Hambleton - Gloin

William Kircher - Bifur
James Nesbitt - Bofur
Stephen Hunter - Bombur


Crew
Screenplay/Producer/Director - Peter Jackson
Based on Novel "The Hobbit" - J.R.R. Tolkien
Screenplay/Producer - Fran Walsh
Screenplay/Co-Producer - Phillippa Boyens
Screenplay/Project Consultant - Guillermo del Toro
Executive Producers - Carolyn Blackwood,
Toby Emmerich, Callum Greene, Alan Horn
& Ken Kamins 
Producer - Carolynne Cunningham
Producer/Unit Production Manager - Zane Weiner
Co-Producer - Eileen Moran
Casting Director: U.S. - Victoria Burrows
Casting Directors: UK - Amy & John Hubbard
Casting Directors: New Zealand - Liz Mullane &
Miranda Rivers
Supervising Dialect Coach - Roisin Carty
Dialect Coach - Leith McPherson
Movement Choreographer - Terry Notary
Production Designer - Dan Hennah
Conceptual Designers - John Howe & Alan Lee

Storyboard Artist (Uncredited)/Splinter Unit Director - 

Christian Rivers

Supervising Art Director/Set Decorator - Simon Bright

Set Decorator - Ra Vincent   
Costume Designers - Bob Buck,
Ann Maskrey and Richard Taylor 
Director of Photography - Andrew Lesnie
Second Unit Director - Andy Serkis 
Stunt Coordinator - Glenn Boswell
Special Effects Supervisor - Steve Ingram
Visual Effects Supervisors - Joe Letteri,
Eric Saindon, R. Christopher White and
Jeff Capogreco
Visual Effects Supervisor: Weta Digital - Matt Aitken
Animation Supervisor/Visual Effects - David Clayton
Animation Supervisor - Eric Reynolds
Film Editor - Jabez Olssen
Music - Howard Shore


Review
Continuing on this trilogy of the 'LOTR' prequels, 'THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG' pops in with another breath for visual eye-candy and spectacular new layer of translation. Director Peter Jackson has got cultivation to tinker yet again in nearly completing a heavy forgoing saga with one final chapter left to go. I have not yet seen 'The Return of the King'. Owing the return of Orlando Bloom's character of Legolas is enough to contemplate the movie's good parts; he's my favourite 'LOTR' character. The last and neatest detail would be British actor Benedict Cumberbatch lending the terrifying performance of the dragon Smaug to the audiences with not just his mo-cap (motion capture) technique. His deep and intense vocabulary also makes him in the top spot highlight; particularly this Smaug succeeds to be the greatest visual counterpart of a dragon shown on cinemas.

'THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG' is a hypnotic volume which proves far or less like the other 'LOTR' instalments. This is a finest hour that takes fans through a fantasy world again and it is with relief that I can say this film is better than the first prequel.

Star rating: (5/5) Best Movie Ever

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Toy Story 2 Review

Toy Story 2

Release Date: 16th December 1999 - Australia

Production Companies

Walt Disney Pictures (presents)

Pixar Animation Studios

Distribution

Walt Disney Studios Motion

Pictures Australia

Genre: Animation/Family/

Adventure/Comedy

Rating: G

Runtime: 89 minutes

Budget: $90,000,000

Box Office Gross: $511,358,276 (Worldwide)

Plot Summary

While Andy is away at cowboy camp, a greedy toy collector named Al steals Woody so that he needs to complete his collection of Roundup Gang. It's up to Buzz and the other toys to explore the city and rescue him before being sold to a museum in Japan, where he'll spend the rest of his life behind glass.

Voice Cast

Tom Hanks - Woody

Tim Allen - Buzz Lightyear

Joan Cusack - Jessie

Kesley Grammer - Stinky Pete

Wayne Knight - Al

Don Rickles - Mr. Potato Head

John Ratzenberger - Hamm

Wallace Shawn - Rex

Jim Varney - Slinky the Dog

Joe Ranft - Wheezy/Heimlich (Cameo)

Estelle Harris - Mrs. Potato

Head

Annie Potts - Little Bo Peep

Andrew Stanton - Emperor Zurg
R. Lee Ermey - Sarge

Jodi Benson - Barbie

John Morris - Andy

Lauren Metcalf - Andy's Mom

Jeff Pidgeon - Squeeze Toy

Aliens/Mr Spell
Mary Kay Bergman - Jessie - Yodeling/Additional Voices
Jonathan Harris - Geri the Cleaner
John Lasseter - Blue Rock
'Em Sock 'Em Robot (Cameo)
Lee Unkrich - Red Rock 'Em
Sock 'Em Robot (Cameo)
Hannah Unkrich - Molly Davis
Dave Foley - Flik the Ant
(Cameo) (Uncredited)

Crew

Original Story/Director -

John Lasseter

Original Story/Animator/

Character Designer: New
Characters/Co-Director - Ash Brannon

Additional Story Material/Co-Director/Film Editor - Lee Unkrich

Story/Screenplay - Andrew Stanton

Original Story - Pete Docter

Additional Story Material/Story Supervisors - Joe Ranft and Dan Jeup

Additional Story Material -

Elias Davis, Jimmy Hayward,

David Pollock, Steve Boyett

and David Reynolds

Additional Story Material/

Story Artists - Jim Capobianco

and Jeff Pidgeon

Additional Story Material/

Character Designer: New Characters -

Colin Brady

Screenplay - Rita Hsiao,

Doug Chamberlin and Chris Webb

Executive Producer - Sarah McArthur

Producers - Karen Robert Jackson and

Helene Plotkin

Casting Directors - Ruth Lambert

and Mary Hildago

Production Designer - William Cone

Production Designer/Character Designer:

New Characters - Jim Pearson

Shading Art Director - Byrn Imagire

Additional Art and Technical Consultants -

Tia W. Kratter, Bob Pauley and

Rick Sayre
Character Designers: New Characters/

Story Artists - Jill Culton, Bud Luckey

and Ken Mitchroney

Production Manager - Graham Walters

Set Dressing Supervisor - David Eisenmann

Supervising Animator - Glenn McQueen

Directing Animators - Kyle Balda and

Dylan Brown

Modelling Supervisor - Eben Ostby

Modelling & Shading Coordinators - Mark Nielsen

and Vanessa Ross

Shading Supervisor - Brad West

Lighting Supervisor - Jean-Claude Kalache

Director of Photography - Sharon Calahan

Supervising Technical Director - Galyn Susman

Associate Technical Directors - Oren Jacob

and Larry Aupperle

Layout Supervisor - Jerrica Cleland

Layout Supervisor/Effects Technical Artist -

Ewan Johnson

Sequence Leads - Shawn Brennan,

Jeremy Lasky, Patrick Lin and Gregg Olsson

Film Editors - Edie Bleiman and

David Ian Salter

Second Editor - Robert Grahamjones

Additional Editors - Richard Halsey,

Mildred Iatrou, Ken Schretzmann and

Jim Stewart

Sound Designer/Supervisor (Uncredited)/
Re-Recording Mixer - Gary Rydstrom

Sound Designer - Tom Myers

Supervising Sound Editor - Michael Silvers

Assistant Sound Design/Sound Effects

Editor - Shannon Mills

Sound Effects Editor - Teresa Eckton

Assistant Sound Effects Editor - Al Nelson

Re-Recording Mixer - Gary Summers

Foley Artists - Jana Vance and

Dennie Thorpe

Foley Mixer - Tony Eckert

Songs/Music - Randy Newman

Executive Music Producer - Chris Montan

Music Production Manager - Tom MacDougall


Awards

2000 Academy Awards
Best Music, Original Song "When She Loved

Me" - Randy Newman (Nominated)

Review

It's me, Film Guru Lad. I am still here to round the nostalgia with my review of TOY STORY 2. Looking back now, watching number two again, after a very long period, as a sequel, it has proven to be much better than the first movie (click here). TOY STORY 2 results in much-improved CGI that Pixar has undertaken to get it going in three more years. Nowadays, the sequel is renowned for showcasing a backstory for one of the new characters with tragedy and emotion. It transitions the series from a more cheerful animated delight into a heartfelt approach. I like how there's still a double-dose of comedy left to amuse all generations, and for once, the subplot of Buzz replaced by the false Buzz is the one crucial plot point played for laughs.

In the elements, joining the cast of voices by Allen and Hanks is comedienne Joan Cusack. She voices the modelling cowgirl Jessie, and her voice is pivotal to driving this film, even though I have seen her in only a few movies. That said, her character would be significant to the film's plot.

TOY STORY 2 surpasses the original by adding pushovers with better-visualised rendering and is considered one of Pixar's better movies. If not better than other triumphs like WALL-E and The Incredibles. You won't miss this film, but you can hire or watch it for a recommendation.

Star rating: (5/5) Best Movie Ever

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