Tracks Review

Tracks

Release Date: 10th October 2013 - Australia


Production Companies
See-Saw Films

Distribution
Transmission Films


Genre: Drama

Rating: M

Runtime: 113 minutes


Budget: $12,000,000

Box Office Gross: $4,878,242
(Worldwide)


Plot Summary

Tracks is based on the 
inspirational and iconic 
true story of Robyn 
Davidson. Robyn’s 
phenomenal solo trek from 
Alice Springs to Uluru and 
on to the Indian Ocean saw 
her traverse 2700km of 
spectacular yet unforgiving 
Australian desert accompanied 
only by her loyal dog and four 

unpredictable camels. 

Charismatic young New 

Yorker and National 

Geographic photographer 

Rick Smolan travelled from 

the other end of the earth 

to capture, at intervals, 

this epic and remarkable 

journey into one of 

the world’s last great 

wildernesses. Robyn 

reluctantly agreed to a 

visiting photographer in 

return for much needed 

trip funding and could 

only see Rick’s visits as 

intruding on her solitude 

and compromising 

everything the journey 

meant to her. However, 

this uneasy relationship 

between two very different 

people would slowly 

develop into an unlikely 

and enduring friendship.

Set against one of the 

wildest, most dangerous 

and most breathtaking 

backdrops on the planet, 

this unprecedented 

journey pushed Robyn 

to her physical and 

emotional limits and 

taught her that sometimes 

we have to detach from 

the world to feel connected 

to it. In witnessing this 

extraordinary journey we 

realise that the impossible 

is within reach of us all. 
(Source - Metro Cinemas)

Cast
Mia Wasikowska - Robyn Davidson
Adam Driver - Rick Smolan
Rolley Mintuma - Mr. Eddie
Brendan Maclean - Peter
Rainer Bock - Kurt
Jessica Tovey - Jenny
Emma Booth - Marg

Crew
Director - John Curran

Based on Memoir "Tracks" - Robyn Davidson

Screenplay - Marion Nelson

Producers - Iain Canning and 

Emile Sherman

Production Designer - Melinda Doring
Costume Designer - Mariot Kerr

Cinematography - Mandy Walker 

Film Editor - Alexandre de Franceschi 

Music - Garth Stevenson

Review

It's terrible how blockbuster movies end in the afternoon sessions and not start in the mornings. In a heavy burden to choose a film suitable to my schedule, I was forced to choose 'TRACKS' as my new critique. A movie much like 'The Monuments Men' except it isn't a real wartime story and it is like an everlasting journey of poignancy and survival. True, I only wanted to see it for its scenery of the Aussie wastelands and not a single trace or error of CGI is used on screen. This documented feature tangles in a grip of isolation with sometimes there are less parts of the dialogue not said by one of the main characters. Containing a few scenes that there are unsettling and can sometimes feel emotionally disturbing. I guess that I'm completely warped to oversee and criticise a fewer flaws to tick on my list. 

Also the leading female role is neatly concentrated by the young actress Mia Wasikowska. I never saw her as Alice in the title movie by Tim Burton and I'm glad I would never want to review it today. 

This movie may never be my thing to favour, I think it has done well in half of its sad drama.

Star rating: (7/10) Good Movie

Back to Home

The Monuments Men Review

The Monuments Men


Release Date: 13th March 2014 - Australia


Production Companies
Fox 2000 Pictures (present)
Columbia Pictures (present)
Smokehouse Pictures
Studio Babelsberg

Distribution
20th Century Fox Australia


Genre: War

Rating: M

Runtime: 118 minutes


Budget: $70,000,000

Box Office Gross: $154,984,035
(Worldwide)


Plot Summary

Based on the true story of 

the greatest treasure hunt 

in history, The Monuments 

Men focuses on an unlikely 

World War II platoon, tasked 

by FDR with going into 

Germany to rescue artistic 

masterpieces from Nazi 

thieves and returning them 

to their rightful owners. It 

would be an impossible 

mission: with the art trapped 

behind enemy lines, and 

with the German army under 

orders to destroy everything 

as the Reich fell, how could 

these guys – seven museum 

directors, curators, and art 

historians, all more familiar 

with Michelangelo than the 

M-1 – possibly hope to 

succeed? 

But as the Monuments Men, 

as they were called, found 

themselves in a race against 

time to avoid the destruction 

of 1000 years of culture, 

they would risk their lives to 

protect and defend 

mankind’s greatest 

achievements. (Source - Metro Cinemas)

Cast
George Clooney - Lt. Frank Stokes
Matt Damon - Lt. James Granger
Cate Blanchett - Claire Simone
Bill Murray - Sgt. Richard 
Campbell
John Goodman - Sgt. Walter 
Garfield
Jean Dujardin - Lt. Jean Claude Clermont
Bob Balaban - Pvt. Preston Savitz
Hugh Bonneville - Lt. Donald Jeffries
Sam Hazeldine - Colonel Langton
Dimitri Leonidas - Sam Epstein
Justus von Dohnanyi - Viktor Stahl
Holger Handtke - Colonel Wegner
Michael Hofland - Priest (Claude)
Zachary Baharov - Commander Elya
Miles Jupp - Major Fielding
Alexandre Desplat - Emile
Serge Hazanavicius - Rene Armand
Diarmaid Murtagh - Captain Harpen
Udo Kroschwald - Hermann Goering
Michael Dalton - President Roosevelt
Christian Rodska - President Truman
James Payton - Hitler
Nick Clooney - Older Stokes
Joe Reynolds - Stokes' Son
Levi Strasser - Stokes' Grandson

Crew
Screenplay/Producer/Director - George Clooney
Based on Book "The Monuments Men" -
Robert M. Edsel and Bret Witter
Screenplay/Producer - Grant Heslov
Executive Producer - Barbara A. Hall
Co-Producers - Christoph Fisser,
Henning Molfenter and Charlie Woebcken
Production Designer - Jim Bissell
Costume Designer - Louise Frogley
Director of Photography - Phedon Papamichael
Visual Effects Supervisors - Angus Bickerton
and Huseyin Caner
Film Editor - Stephen Mirrione
Music - Alexander Desplat

Review 

Specifically, this is a movie with war as the backdrop and I must've had myself flustered as to whether it was an action comedy or drama. At first, 'THE MONUMENTS MEN' is actually good to see on screen for those who never heard of the true story behind it, thus making it a historical war picture. Then again, it clearly demonstrates that only 80 percent of the accuracy remained faithful to the actual events. I would point out that 'THE MONUMENTS MEN' was in this case, only a fair and decent movie. Everything is in a small scale but it features a spectacular cast of Matt Damon, George Clooney, Bill Murray and John Goodman. I never had lost any of the faith for these actors and they all did well in the movie.

War films are not my speciality. In reflection of this film, it didn't have some of its captivating moments nor it was destined to become the best or the worst movie that's ever been made. This is a rhetorical statement but overall I find that 'THE MONUMENTS MEN' has a very little feeling of being a milestone movie. It's more of a decent one with some value to possibly re-see it.

Star rating: (6/10) Fair Movie

Back to Home

Epic Review

Epic

Release Date: 13th June 2013 - Australia 

Production Companies

20th Century Fox (presents)

Blue Sky Studios

Distribution 

20th Century Fox Australia

Genre: Animation/Family

Rating: PG

Runtime: 102 minutes


Budget: $93,000,000

Box Office Gross: $268,426,634
(Worldwide)

Plot Summary

Transported to a 

magical world, a 

teenager is recruited by

a nature spirit, Queen 

Tara to help the 

"Leafmen" save their 

forest from evil warriors. 

Voice Cast

Amanda Seyfreid - Mary Katherine 

Josh Hutcherson - Non

Colin Farrell - Ronin

Beyoncé Knowles - Queen Tara 

Christoph Waltz - Mandrake 

Aziz Anzari - Mub

Chris O'Dowd - Grub

Steven Tyler - Nim Galuu

Jason Sudekis - Professor 

Bomba

Pitbull - Bufo
Blake Anderson - Dagda

Crew

Story/Director - Chris Wedge

Leafmen Creator/Story/

Screenplay/Executive 
Producer/Production 

Designer - William Joyce

Story/Screenplay/Executive Producer - James V. Hart 

Screenplay - Dan Shere, Tom 

J. Astle and Matt Ember
Additional Dialogue - Joe Tracz

Producers - Lori Forte and 

Jerry Davis
Co-Producer - Michael J. Travers
Production Designer - Greg
Couch
Lead Character Designer -
Sang Jun Lee
Supervising Animators - Galen T. Chu
and Melvin Tan
Cinematography - Renato Falcao
Head of Camera and Staging - Robert Cardone
Film Editor - Andy Keir
Supervising Sound Designer/Editor (Uncredited)/
Re-Recording Mixer - Randy Thom

Music - Danny Elfman

Review

I do take it that the title is very misleading and this is not what we anticipated for an animated movie. Get this mates, 'EPIC' is shamelessly a mixed package with less and less instincts of becoming the 'Avatar' for children. With any disrespects to the film, it feels the story is overdone and clichéd and it shows little promise to any of the viewers. The visual animation design is so significantly a rare beauty and with the nature backdrops helps guaranteed that this can be so realistically done through research in time. Much of the voice cast are somehow not used to the characters or not doing as properly like Christopher Waltz trying to be as bad as his lead villain. Colin Farrell and Josh Hutcherson are the only actors to preserve their good skills and frankly Farrell voices better with an Scottish accent as Ronin. 

Finally, I watched a few movies where comic reliefs are actually contributing to the plot rather than to annoy viewers. Two notable examples are of C3PO and R2D2 or Timon and Pumbaa. The duo Mub and Grub that we are presented in 'EPIC' are definitely an inadequate piece of filmmaking since Jar Jar in 'Star Wars'. Those snails deserve to be stomped than to make laughs for the kiddies parents.

I never want to watch 'EPIC' again and it's deeply in the rank of the below average movies. This is beyond the classic animation realm, a good thing that the movie won't be called epic for sure.

Star rating: (4/10) Below Average

Back to Home

Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves Review

Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves

Release Date: 27th June 1991 - Australia

Production Companies

Warner Bros. Pictures

Morgan Creek Productions

Genre: Adventure

Rating: M

Runtime: 143 minutes
                155 minutes
                (extended cut)

Budget: $48,000,000

Box Office Gross: $390,493,908 (Worldwide)

Plot Summary

After escaping from the

Turks during the Crusades,

Robin, son of Locksley

and a warrior, Azeem,

returns to England, only

to find that the corrupt

Sheriff of Nottingham has

taken over the lands that

belonged to Robin's father

and has murdered him.

Vowing to avenge his father

and with Maid Marian unable

to help him, Robin flees to

the Forest of Sherwood,

home to a band of outlaws

banished from their villages

by the Sheriff of Nottingham.

Uniting the forces of the

outlaws, Robin and his merry

men began a crusade

against the Sheriff of

Nottingham, which would

not only put an end to the

corruption that he spread

in the English countryside

but stop him from taking

over the throne of England's

rightful ruler King Richard.

Cast

Kevin Costner - Robin of Locksley

Morgan Freeman - Azeem

Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio - Lady Marian

Alan Rickman - Sheriff

of Nottingham

Geraldine McEwan - Mortianna

Christian Slater - Will Scarlett

Brian Blessed - Lord Locksley

Michael Wincott - Guy of

Gisborne

Nick Brimble - Little John

Mike McShane - Friar Tuck

Soo Drouet - Fanny

Daniel Newman - Wulf

Daniel Peacock - Bull

Harold Innocent - Bishop of

Hereford

Walter Sparrow - Duncan

Jack Wild - Much

Michael Goldie - Kenneth

Liam Halligan - Peter Dubois

Marc Zuber - Interrogator

Merelina Kendall - Old Woman

Imogen Bain - Sarah

Jimmy Gardner - Farmer

John H. Francis - Courier

John Hallam - Red Headed Baron

Douglas Blackwell - Gray Bearded Baron

Pat Roach - Celtic Chieftain

Andy Hoxley - Ox

John Dallimore - Broth

Derek Deadman - Kneelock

Howard Lew Lewis - Hal

John Tordoff - Scribe

Andrew Lawden - Sergeant

Susannah Corbett - Lady in Coach

Sarah Alexandra - Small Girl

Christopher Adamson - Soldier

Richard Strange - Executioner

Bryan Adams - The Balladeer (Cameo)

(Uncredited)

Sean Connery - King Richard (Cameo)

(Uncredited)

Crew

Director - Kevin Reynolds

Story/Screenplay/Producer - Pen Densham

Screenplay/Producer - John Watson

Executive Producers - Gary Barber,

David Nicksay and James G. Robinson

Producer - Richard Barton Lewis

Co-Producer - Michael J. Kagan

Project Consultant - Stuart Baird

Production Consultant/Producer (Uncredited) -

Kevin Costner

Casting Directors - Noel Davis,

Ilene Starger and Jeremy Zimmermann

Production Designer - John Graysmark

Supervising Art Director - Alan Tomkins

Art Directors - Fred Carter and John Ralph

Assistant Art Directors - Reg Bream

and Giles Masters

Set Decorator - Peter Young

Costume Designer - John Bloomfield

Supervising Makeup Artist - Paul Engelen

Supervising Hairdresser - Colin Jamison

Director of Photography - Douglas Milsome

Steadicam Operator - John Ward

Camera Operator: Second Unit - Mike Brewster

Production Supervisor - Malcolm J. Christopher

Production Manager/Coordinator - Michael Hartman

First Assistant Director - David Tringham

Second Unit Director - Mark Illsley

Second Unit Director: Action Sequence -

Max Kleven
Sword Master - Terry Walsh
Stunt Coordinator - Paul Weston

Special Effects Supervisor - John Evans

Film Editor - Peter Boyle

Editors: Additional Sequences - Marcus Manson,

Peter Hollywood, Carmel Davies and

Michael Kelly

Supervising Sound Editor - Robert Grieve

Sound Mixer - Chris Munro

Re-Recording Mixers - Chris Jenkins,

Anna Behlmer, Doug Hemphill, Paul Massey,

Mark Smith and Otto Snel (Uncredited)

Foley Artists - Dan O'Connell,

John Roesch, Alicia Stevenson and

Ellen Heuer

Music - Michael Kamen

Writer/Performer: "(Everything I Do) I Do It

For You" - Bryan Adams

Awards

1992 Academy Awards

Best Music, Original Song "(Everything I Do)

I Do It For You" - Michael Kamen, Bryan Adams

and Robert John Lange (Nominated)

Review

In the newly written recap of my latest critique, I state that the mythological figure of Robin Hood has been in numerous cinematic versions. One of which, in 1938, was The Adventures of Robin Hood, starring Errol Flynn. Then, in 1973, in justifiably Disney style, the title character was a fox fighting for the poor against the rich, along with his fellow animal characters in their animated universe. Recently, in 2010 came Ridley Scott's version with Russell Crowe in the lead role. Having experienced the Disney version, I found it more entertaining than Scott's effort. PRINCE OF THIEVES, though not as endearing as I expected, it's still promising but imperfect on a grand scale. Aside from anything in the film, Kevin Costner will never be Robin Hood, given his non-British accent. He was miscast for the role because of his looks.

Alan Rickman and Morgan Freeman were the only ones I know who did very well in their performances. For Rickman, it was the deliciously funny and menacing lines for the Sheriff of Nottingham. Freeman performs a character who was a great ally to Robin Hood but was never part of the original mythology. One of the underlying factors for this film is that only a few historical accuracies are in the plot. Some have changed, like replacing Prince John with the Sheriff as the main antagonist. Unless you're a stickler for a historical fact, inaccuracies are unnecessary. The background music went along great, especially the instrumentals done by Michael Kamen and the Bryan Adams song. It evokes the swashbuckling rehash in a resonated splendour.

I give PRINCE OF THIEVES a 7 out of 10 for being a good movie. While not quite firing the arrow, it's usually a movie worth watching with love and adventure by its side.

Star rating: (7/10) Good Movie

Back to Home

Spider-Man 2 Review

Spider-Man 2

Release Date: 30th June 2004 - Australia


Production Companies
Columbia Pictures (presents)
Marvel Enterprises
Laura Ziskin Productions

Distribution
Sony Pictures Australia

Genre: Action

Rating: M

Runtime: 127 minutes

Budget: $200,000,000

Box Office Gross: $795,888,127 (Worldwide)

Plot Summary

Peter Parker has trouble balancing his life as an ordinary person and his superhero identity as Spider-Man. Now, he is about to lose M.J. in the hands of someone else and his powers, which causes him to give up his web-slinging

ways. With a new villain, Doc Ock, terrorising the city and threatening to destroy everything he holds dear, Peter must swing to action.

Cast

Tobey Maguire - Peter
Parker/Spider-Man

Kirsten Dunst - Mary Jane

Watson

James Franco - Harry Osborn

Alfred Molina  - Dr. Otto
Octavius/Doc Ock

Rosemary Harris - Aunt May Parker

J.K. Simmons - J. Jonah Jameson

Donna Murphy - Rosalie Octavius

Daniel Gillies - John Jameson

Dylan Baker - Dr. Curt Connors

Bill Nunn - Joseph 'Robbie' Robinson
Vanessa Ferlito - Louise
Aasif Mandvi - Mr. Aziz

Willem Dafoe - Norman Osborn/The Green Goblin (Cameo)

Cliff Robertson - Ben Parker (Cameo)
Ted Raimi - Hoffman
Elizabeth Banks - Betty Brant

Bruce Campbell - Snooty Usher (Cameo)

Gregg Edelman - Dr. Davis

Elya Baskin - Mr. Ditkovich
Mageina Tovah - Ursula
Daniel Dae Kim - Raymond

Hal Sparks - Elevator Passenger

Joe McHale - Mr. Jacks

Stan Lee - Man Dodging Debris (Cameo)

Kelly Connell - Dr. Isaacs

Brent Briscoe - Garbage Man

Emily Deschanel - Receptionist

Jason Fiore-Ortiz - Henry Jackson

Scott Spiegel - Man on Balcony

Christine Estabrook - Mrs. Jameson

John Paxton - Houseman

Joy Bryant - Woman at Web

Peter McRobbie - OsCorp Representative

Taylor Gilbert - Mrs. Watson

Donnell Rawlings - Pizza 'Heist' Witness

Reed Diamond - Algernon

Dan Callahan - 'Jack'

John Landis - Doctor (Cameo)

Joey Diaz - Train Passenger

Dan Hicks - Train Passenger

Chloe Dykstra - Train Passenger

Phil LaMarr - Train Passenger (Cameo)

(Uncredited)

Peyton List - Little Girl Playing on Steps

(Uncredited)

Spencer List - Little Boy Playing on Steps

(Uncredited)

Crew

Director - Sam Raimi

Based on the Marvel Comic Book/

Executive Producer/Consultant - Stan Lee

Based on the Marvel Comic Book - Steve Ditko

Screen Story - Alfred Gough,
Miles Millar and Michael Chabon

Screenplay - Alvin Sargent

Executive Producer/Unit Production Manager -
Joseph M. Caracciolo
Executive Producer - Kevin Feige

Producers - Avid Arad, Laura Ziskin and

Lorne Orleans (IMAX Version)

Co-Producer - Grant Curtis

Casting Director - Dianne Crittenden

Production Designer - Neil Spisak

Conceptual Artists - Paul Catling, James Carson,

Wil Rees, Alex Tavoularis and Jamie Rama

Storyboard Artists - Ted Boonthanakit,

Jack Hsu, David Lowery, Steve Markowski,

Fergal Reilly and Dan Sweetman

Art Directors - Jeff Knipp,

Steve Saklad, Thomas Valentine

and Thomas P. Wilkins

Art Director: New York Unit - Scott P. Murphy

Set Decorator - Jay Hart

Property Master - Doug Harlocker

Costume Designers - James Acheson and
Gary Jones

Assistant Costume Designer - Paul Spadone

Director of Photography - Bill Pope

Director of Photography: New York Unit -

Peter Menzies Jr.

Director of Photography: Second Unit -

Jonathan Taylor

Camera Operator: Second Unit/Steadicam

Operator: "B" Camera - Kenji Luster

First Assistant Camera - Greg Luntzel

Production Supervisor - David J. Grant

Unit Production Manager - Denis L. Stewart

Unit Production Manager: New York Unit -

Richard Barratta

First Assistant Director - Eric Heffron

Second Assistant Directors - Bac DeLorme

and Michael J. Moore

Second Unit Director/Stunt Coordinator -
Dan Bradley

Second Unit Director - Jeffrey Lynch

Location Manager: New York Unit - John Fedynich

Stunt Coordinator - Scott Rogers

Assistant Stunt Coordinator - Darrin Prescott

Fight Choreographer - Dion Lam

Special Effects Supervisor - John Frazier

Special Effects Supervisor: New York Unit -

J.C. Brotherhood

Special Effects Coordinator - James D. Schwalm

Doc Ock Animatronic Construction: Edge FX -

Steve Johnson

Doc Ock Animatronic Producer: Edge FX -

Heide Waldbaum

Puppet Master: Edge FX - Eric Hayden

Additional Suit Design: Edge FX - Alec Gillis

and Tom Woodruff Jr.

Visual Effects Designer - John Dykstra
Visual Effects Supervisor - Scott Stokdyk

Visual Effects Supervisor: Miniatures Unit -

Eric Durst

Visual Effects Supervisor: Zoic Studios -

Rocco Passionino

Senior Visual Effects Producer - Lydia Bottegoni

Visual Effects Executive Producer: SPI - Jenny Fulle

Visual Effects Editor - Jody Fedele

Visual Effects Editor: SPI - Kevin J. Jolly

Director of Photography: Miniatures Unit -

Tim Angulo

CG Character Animation Supervisor: SPI -

Anthony LaMolinara

CG Supervisors: SPI - Daniel Eaton,

Kee-Suk 'Ken' Hahn, Seth Maury and

Peter Nofz

Motion Control Supervisor: SPI - Gregory Nic Nicholson

Supervisor: Light Stage 2 - Tim Hawkins

Film Editor - Bob Murawski

Supervising Sound Mixers - Jeffrey J. Haboush,

Kevin O'Connell and Greg P. Russell

Supervising Sound Editor & Sound Design -

Paul N.J. Ottosson

Foley Artists - Gary A. Hecker and Catherine Rose

Music - Danny Elfman

Music Consultants - Darren Higman and

Laura Ziffren

Awards

2005 Academy Awards
Best Visual Effects - John Dykstra, Scott Stokdyk,
Anthony LaMolinara and John Fraizer (Won)
----------------------------
Best Sound Mixing - Kevin O'Connell,

Greg P. Russell, Jeffrey J. Haboush and

Joseph Geisinger (Nominated)
Best Sound Editing - Paul N.J. Ottosson

Review

Years ago, I didn't watch SPIDER-MAN 2 when it came out on its home video release. Let me tell you. I wish I had watched it, and boy, was I missing out! Years later, the sequel would become a popular choice in the superhero movie category and a much-loved fan-favourite. In its magnitude, a well-developed narrative is in the film with an explosive pulse of action. Containing the similarities to Superman II in the film's story, I never got too quick to see the comparison. Tobey Maguire is still far from evoking the sense of heroism as the title character. Sadly, he still has one year to portray Spidey in the third instalment. Alfred Molina was outstanding in playing one of Spider-Man's deadliest foes. The antagonist, Dr. Octopus, is added to evoke sympathy from the audience but mainly develops into a worthy adversary. It's a shame to see a villain lose everything he had and hoped for in following his dream.

One last main section to note in this review is the visuals, like the machine tentacles for Dr. Octopus, are a clever mix of practical and CGI effects. The CGI is better rendered graphically than the first, far from aging and put together seamlessly.

Although it's not one of my favourites, it's incredible for SPIDER-MAN 2 to come off as being enjoyable for audiences. It's a very great movie at the top of its game. I highly recommend this to anyone, including fans of the character.

Star rating: (8/10) Very Good Movie

Back to Home

Winners of the 86th Academy Awards

Greetings, blog viewers and here are the winners of the 86th Oscar ceremony. Not to mention, I felt happy with Gravity for awarding itself in seven popular categories. Another surprise is the animated feature Frozen, in which the first time, the studio Disney has one of its films in the entry for the Best Animated Feature award. Never has several times succeeded from 2002 to 2003, until now!



Best Visual Effects

Gravity - Tim Webber, Chris Lawrence,
Dave Shirk and Neil Corbould

Best Film Editing

Gravity - Alfonso Cuarón and Mark Sanger

Best Costume Design

The Great Gatsby - Catherine Martin

Best Makeup and Hairstyling

Dallas Buyers Club - Adruitha Lee and 

Robin Matthews

Best Cinematography

Gravity - Emmanuel Lubezki 

Best Production Design

The Great Gatsby - Catherine Martin 

(Production Design); Beverley Dunn 

(Set Decoration)

Best Sound Mixing

Gravity - Skip Lievsay, Niv Adiri, 

Christopher Benstead and Chris 

Munro

Best Sound Editing

Gravity - Glenn Fremantle

Best Original Song

"Let It Go" from Frozen - Kristen 

Anderson & Robert Lopez

Best Original Score

Gravity - Steven Price

Best Animated Short Film

Mr. Hublot - Laurent Witz and Alexandre 

Espigares 

Best Live Action Short Film

Helium - Andres Walter and Kim 

Magnusson

Best Documentary - Short Subject

The Lady in Number 6: Music 

Saved My Life - Malcolm Clarke 

and Nicholas Reed 

Best Documentary - Feature

20 Feet from Stardom - Morgan 

Neville, Caitrin Rogers and Gil 

Friesen

Best Foreign Language Film

The Great Beauty (Italy) in 

Italian - Paolo Sorrentino 

Best Animated Feature

Frozen - Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee and Peter
Del Vicho

Best Writing - Adapted Screenplay

12 Years a Slave - John Ridley

Best Writing - Original Screenplay

Her - Spike Jonze

Best Supporting Actress

Lupita Nyong'o - 12 Years a Slave as Patsey

Best Supporting Actor

Jared Leto - Dallas Buyers Club as Rayon

Best Actress

Cate Blanchett - Blue Jasmine as Jeannette
"Jasmine" Francis

Best Actor

Matthew McConaughey - Dallas Buyers Club 

as Ron Woodroof 

Best Director

Alfonso Caurón - Gravity

Best Picture

12 Years a Slave - Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, 

Jeremy Kleiner, Steve McQueen and Anthony 

Katagas

Academy Honorary Awards

Angela Lansbury

Steve Martin

Piero Tosi

Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award

Angelina Jolie

Back to Home

Lara Croft: Tomb Raider Review

Lara Croft: Tomb Raider


Release Date: 21st June 2001 - Australia


Production Companies
Paramount Pictures (presents)
Mutual Film Company
Lawrence Gordon Productions
Eidos Interactive Ltd (in association with)

BBC Films (produced in association with)

Tele München Fernseh Produktionsgesellschaft (TMG) (produced in association with)

Distribution
Paramount Pictures Australia


Genre: Action/Adventure

Rating: M

Runtime: 100 minutes


Budget: $115,000,000

Box Office Gross: $274,703,340 (Worldwide)


Plot Summary
For adventurer Lara Croft,
it's all in a day's work to
explore lost empires, find
priceless treasures and
punish villains in deadly
combat. But Lara will
have to face her most
challenging task yet:
finding the Triangle of
Light, a legendary
artefact with the power to
change times and spaces.
Lara must find the Triangle

before it becomes the
property of the Illuminati,
a secret society bent on
global conquest. Lara must
survive a cross-continental chase filled with unimaginable danger to defeat the Illuminati.


Cast
Angelina Jolie - Lara Croft
Daniel Craig - Alex West
Iain Glen - Manfred Powell
Jon Voight - Lord Richard Croft
Noah Taylor - Bryce
Chris Barrie - James "Hilly" Hilary
Leslie Phillips - Mr. Wilson
Julian Rhine-Tutt - Mr. Pimms
Robert Phillips - Julius, Assault Team Leader
Rachel Appleton - Young Lara
Richard Johnson - Distinguished Gentleman

Henry Wyndham - Boothby's Auctioneer

Crew
Adaptation/Director - Simon West

Story - Sam B. Cooper,

Mike Webb and Michael Colleary

Screenplay - Patrick Massett and

John Zinman

Associate Producers - Michael Levy

and Jib Polhemus

Executive Producers - Jeremy Heath-Smith

and Stuart Baird

Producers - Lawrence Gordon,

Lloyd Levin and Colin Wilson

Co-Producers - Chris Kenny and
Bobby Klein

Casting Directors - Daniel, John & Ros

Hubbard

Casting Directors: Additional, US - Sarah Finn

and Randi Hiller

Production Designer - Kirk M. Petruccelli

Supervising Art Directors - John Fenner
and Leslie Tomkins

Art Directors - David Allday,

David Lee, Jim Morahan and

Su Whitaker

Draughtsmen - Ted Ambrose,

Alistair Bullock, Anthony Caron-Delion

and Robert Cowper

Concept Artists - Adam Brockbank,

Paul Catling, Ravi Bansal, Rob Bliss

and Simon Bowles

Storyboard Artists - Martin Asbury,

Julian Caldow and Tracey Wilson

Set Decorator - Sonja Klaus

Costume Designer - Lindy Hemming

Assistant Costume Designers -

Jacqueline Durran and Guy Speranza

Weapons Supervisor - Joss Skottowe

Chief Makeup Artist - Paul Engelen

Chief Hair Stylist - Colin Jamison
Director of Photography - Peter Menzies Jr.

Director of Photography: Second Unit -

Ben Seresin

Additional Photography/Camera Operator:

Second Unit - Peter Field

Camera/Steadicam Operator: Second Unit -

Kate Robinson

Supervising Location Manager - Chris Brock

Location Manager - Robin Higgs

Location Manager: Cambodian Unit -

Sam Breckman

First Assistant Directors - Gerry Gavigan

and Terry Madden

Second Unit Director/Stunt Coordinator -

Simon Crane

Stunt Supervisor - Steve Griffin

Action Vehicle Coordinator - Graham Kelly
Special Effects Supervisor - Chris Corbould

Special Effects Floor Supervisor: First Unit -

Steve Hamilton
Visual Effects Supervisor - Steven Begg
Visual Effects Supervisor: Mill Film, Soho -

Karl Mooney
Digital Effects Supervisor: Cinesite - Sue Rowe
CG Supervisor: Mill Film, Soho - Laurent Hugueniot
Film Editors - Dallas Puett, Glen Scantlebury,
Eric Strand and Mark Warner

Sound Designer/Supervising Sound Editor -

Steve Boeddeker

Co-Supervising Sound Editors -

Alan Robert Murray and Bub Asman

Sound Effects Editors - Ron Eng,

Doug Jackson, Michael Jonascu, Chuck Michael

and David Grimaldi

Sound Design Editors - Addison Teague,

Charles Maynes, Andrea Gard, Krysten Mate

and Frank E. Eulner

Sound Mixer - Chris Munro

Re-Recording Mixers - Steve Maslow

and Gregg Landaker

Additional Re-Recording Mixer - Frank Montano

Foley Artists - Sarah Monat and

Vince Nicastro
Music - Graeme Revell

Music Supervisor - Peter Afterman

Music Recordists - John Kurlander

and Nick Wollage

Review
It is one of those films that failed to push the benchmark of its source. I'm vaguely familiar with the Tomb Raider series and have only played the second game, but I would like to play more. Unfortunately, I never succeeded in all the stages or got past its difficulties, and I wound up watching the movie instead. Now known as a movie guru in later years, I looked back at LARA CROFT and saw that it lacked the detail of a great game movie adaptation. The film gets weakened by outdated CGI, and the writing structure is dull with the game's presentation. Remained untouched by its achievements are the cinematic action scenes.

The scenes are well-choreographed and save the movie from failing. It has a good cast, including the future 007 Daniel Craig in one of his early acting roles. I positively commend Angelina Jolie's superficial performance as Lara Croft. Actors get cast for roles every once in a while. And as the responder, you know they are the right performers for that role and could not possibly be replaced by another actor, for example, Arnie for The Terminator. It was one of those parts that Angie was born for this role.

When it comes to the film LARA CROFT: TOMB RAIDER, it isn't as deplorable as it should not have been. History has shown game movie adaptions sometimes flop at the box office, e.g. Super Mario Bros and Doom. It doesn't surpass Indiana Jones in its approach, but it's a rather average flick that is good at spawning one sequel. It is okay to watch it for one-time viewing.

Star rating: (5/10) Average

Back to Home