Faeries Review

Faeries

Broadcast Date: 20th November 1999 - Australia

Production Companies

Cartwn Cymru 

HiT Entertainment PLC

United Productions

Genre: Animation/Family/

Fantasy

Rating: G

Runtime: 90 minutes

Plot Summary

While holidaying on a

farm, two children find

themselves transported to

Fairyland, but after one of

them eats an enchanted

fairy cake, they must

perform three tasks before

returning to their world.

Unbeknownst to the two

children and the faeries

of this realm, an evil

shapeshifter plots to take

over the fairy kingdom

and has heard of a

prophecy about what will

happen if he plans to

usurp the throne!

Voice Cast

Ciara Hanson - Nellie 

Freddie Ridge - George

Kate Winslet - Brigid

Jeremy Irons - The Shapeshifter

Dougray Scott - The Fairy Prince

Michael Burrell - Mr.

Coombs/Fume

Patrick Marlowe - Mone

Jane Horrocks - Huccaby
Charlotte Coleman - Merrivale

Tony Robinson - Broom
John Sessions - Chudley

Jessica Martin - Helen/Skrawk

Elizabeth Morton - Princess Brigid

Tracey-Ann Oberman - Tippycott

June Whitfield - Mrs. Coombs

Crew

Designer/Director - Gary Hurst

Writer - Jocelyn Stevenson

Executive Producer - Kate Fawkes

Co-Executive Producer: United Productions - Dan Maddicott
Producer - Naomi Jones
Folklore Consultant - Juliette Wood
Directors of Photography: 3D Sets -

Mark Chamberlain, Simon Jacobs and

Sam James

Motion Control Camera - Peter Tyler

Background Layouts - Christopher Evans,

Mark Morgan and Chris Glynn

2D Backgrounds - Graham Howells,

Mike Wall, Monica Herman and

Jocelyn Smith
Animo Supervisor - Martyn Yates
Animatic Editor - Keith Ware

Sound Designer & Re-Recording Mixer -

Peter Jeffreys

Sound Design & Editing - Ian "Spike" Banks
Music - Colin Towns

Review

I didn't imagine HiT Entertainment (the company renowned for its preschool shows) was responsible for this animated movie. Under the careful guidance of looking at the Internet Movie Database (IMDB), the film never existed in its home release in my country and was only shown on television. To my surprise, FAERIES is said to have featured a few talented actors known for their heritage in Britain. The film has good points, such as an advanced visual treat of 2D animation merged with live sets. However, it suffers from disappointing CGI. The movie's story feels underdeveloped and episodic if it could be an animated kids' program. Deeply undeveloped is the interracial love relationship, which failed to engage its audience if Disney or any hand-drawn studio would allow this poorly-developed story to be on their hands for any better development. This disaster could likely be redeemed, which is very optimistic.

My only reason for wanting to watch the movie is that, surprisingly, it contains the benefits of one actor, Jeremy Irons. It's not the first time he's played a power-hungry evil brother. In many similarities, the character is a somewhat less successful and deadly villain than our favourite evil cat, Scar. Still, he did a good performance with his recognisable deep voice. I could have the pleasure of saying he was perfect in this role because he is one of my favourite actors, but unfortunately, I cannot.

It makes FAERIES a dull and prosaic movie that, at the point, needed character building or a sense of adventure. I always believed it was half misconceived and thought it'd turn out worse as a non-Disney musical. I'm Film Guru Lad, and this is my critique of FAERIES.

Star rating: (4/10) Below Average

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After Earth Re-Review

After Earth

Release Date: 13th June 2013 - Australia


Production Companies

Columbia Pictures

Overbrook Entertainment

Blinding Edge Pictures

Distribution

Sony Pictures Australia

Genre: Sci-Fi

Rating: M

Runtime: 100 minutes

Budget: $130,000,000

Box Office Gross:

$243,611,982 (Worldwide)

Plot Summary

A crash landing leaves Cypher Raige, a legendary general, and his son Kitai stranded on Earth, now a dangerous planet after 1,000 years of cataclysmic events that forced humanity's escape. With his father wounded by the crash, Kitai must journey

across the hostile terrain

to recover their rescue

beacon.

If they are to survive and have a chance to get back home, they must learn to trust each other and work together.

Cast

Will Smith - Cypher Raige

Jaden Smith - Kitai Raige

Sophie Okonedo - Faia Raige

Zoë Kravitz - Senshi Raige

Glenn Morshower - Commander Velan

Jaden Martin - 9-Year-Old Kitai

Sincere L. Bobb - 3-Year-Old Kitai

David Denman - Private McQuarrie

Kristofer Hivju - Security Chief

Sacha Dawan - Hesper Pilot

Chris Geere - Hesper Navigator

Diego Klattenhoff - Veteran Ranger

Lincoln Lewis - Running Cadet

Monika Jolly - Female Ranger

Crew

Screenplay/Producer/Director -

M. Night Shyamalan
Story - Will Smith
Screenplay - Gary Whitta

Executive Producer/Unit Production Manager -

E. Bennett Walsh
Producers - James Lassiter,
Jada Pinkett Smith, Caleeb Pinkett and

Will Smith
Co-Producer/First Assistant Director - John Rusk
Co-Producer - Ashwin Rajan

Military Advisors - James D. Dever

and Quay Terry
Production Designer - Thomas E. Sanders

Art Directors - Robert W. Joseph,

Naaman Marshall and Dean Wolcott

Set Decorator - Rosemary Brandenberg

Property Master - Andrew Petrotta

Costume Designer - Amy Westcott

Costume Supervisor - Lisa Lovaas
Director of Photography - Peter Suschitzky

"B" Camera Operator - John S. Moyer

Second Assistant Directors - John R. Saunders

and John Nasraway

Second Unit Director/Stunt Coordinator -
Chad Stalheski

Stunt Coordinator - R.A. Rondell

Aerial Stunt Coordinator - Tim Rigby

Stunt Coordinator: Second Unit - Brad Martin

E2 Coordinator: Jaden Smith - Darrell Foster

Aerial Helicopter Pilot - Cliff Fleming

Special Effects Supervisor - Tommy Frazier

Special Effects Coordinator: Second Unit -

Richard O. Helmer
Visual Effects Supervisor - Jonathan Rothbart

Digital Pipeline Supervisor - Craig A. Mumma

Visual Effects Supervisors: Tippett Studio -
Blair Clark and Aharon Bourland

Visual Effects Supervisor: DIVE - Mark O. Forker

Visual Effects Producer - Jenny Fulle
Visual Effects Producer: DIVE - David P.I. James
CG Effects Supervisor: Tippett Studio -

Scott Singer
Animation Supervisor: Tippett Studio -

James W. Brown

Digital Environment Supervisor: Tippett Studio -

Craig Barron
Editor - Steven Rosenblum

Assistant Editor - Luke Ciarrocchi

Supervising Sound Editors - Steven Ticknor

and Charles Maynes
Sound Designer - Randy Thom

Sound Mixer - Tod Maitland

Re-Recording Mixers - Paul Massey,

David Giammarco and Deb Abdir
Music - James Newton Howard

Score Recordist and Mixer - Shawn Murphy

Review

I originally reviewed AFTER EARTH in 2013 and didn't care for it. I couldn't wait to turn it off because I thought it was a below-average film. The flick was the brainchild of Will Smith, not M. Night Shyamalan. He wanted to make this coming-of-age story into a post-apocalyptic sci-fi adventure. AFTER EARTH had great potential to be a solid sci-fi survival movie, but due to setbacks like poor acting, weird accent and the misplaced jungle setting, it would've been better if it wasn't a sci-fi film, given its original idea. The visuals were old school in some scenes. The people of ILM (Industrial Light & Magic) must have declined an offer to work with Shyamalan after The Last Airbender.

While still different from his early sci-fi/action film roles, Will Smith's acting is not on par with his previous outings and portrays a stern and cold authority figure. The reason why Will had to act emotionally distant is that that's part of his character. Smith's offspring, Jaden, proves to be ill-suited for the lead hero. I admit it's Will's fault for casting Jaden in a serious movie that was his vanity project. If that isn't nepotism, I don't know what that is. There are a few elements that keep the movie half-intact. The more noticeable was the music by James Newton Howard.

The movie should not be AFTER EARTH. Instead, it'd be called Escape from Earth. This title would have made more sense and related to the plot. It is a far less forgiving movie, given its low re-watch value. But to be fair, M. Night Shyamalan is still a step away from his directorial comeback.

Star rating: (3/10) Disappointing

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X-Men: First Class Review

X-Men: First Class 

Release Date: 2nd June 2011 - Australia

Production Companies

20th Century Fox

Marvel Entertainment

Bad Hat Harry 

The Donners' Company

Ingenious Media (produced in 

association with)

Big Screen Productions (made

in association with)

Ingenious Film Partners (made

in association with)

Distribution
20th Century Fox Australia

Genre: Action

Rating: M

Runtime: 131 minutes


Budget: $160,000,000

Box Office Gross: $353,624,124 (Worldwide)


Plot Summary

Before they became

Professor X and Magneto

and fought each other,

Charles Xavier and Erik

Lensherr were two

young men discovering

their powers and became

close friends. They

assembled an elite team

to form the X-Men and

prevent World War III.

Cast

James McAvoy - Charles
Xavier/Professor X

Michael Fassbender - Erik 

Lehnsherr/Magneto

Jennifer Lawrence - Raven
Darkholme/Mystique 

Kevin Bacon - Dr. Klaus
Schmidt/Sebastian Shaw
Rose Byrne - Moira MacTaggert 

January Jones - Emma Frost 

Nicholas Hoult - Dr. Hank
McCoy/Beast
Oliver Platt - Man in Black Suit
Ray Wise - Secretary of State

Zoë Kravitz - Angel Salvadore
Caleb Landry Jones - Sean
Cassidy/Banshee
Lucas Till - Alex Summers/
Havok
Edi Gathegi - Armando
Munoz/Darwin
Jason Flemyng - Azazel
Alex González - Janos
Quested/Riptide

Demetri Gortisas - Levene
Glenn Morshower - Col. Rob Hendry

Annabelle Wallis - Amy
Don Creech - William Stryker

Matt Craven - CIA Director McCone

James Remar - US General

Ludger Pistor - 1st German/Pig Farmer

Wilfried Hochholdinger - 2nd German/Tailor

Rade Serbedzija - Russian General

Olek Krupa - Soviet Captain

Éva Magyar - Edie Lensherr

Beth Goddard - Mrs. Xavier

Laurence Belcher - Charles Xavier (12 Years)

Morgan Lily - Young Raven

(10 Years)
Bill Milner - Young Erik 

Gregory Cox - Dr. Leigh

Michael Ironside - Captain

Sasha Pieterse - Teenage Girl

Brendan Fehr - Communications Officer

Georg Nikoloff - Erik's Dad

Hugh Jackman - Logan/

Wolverine (Cameo) (Uncredited)

Rebecca Romjin - Mystique - Older (Cameo) (Uncredited)

Crew

Screenplay/Director - Matthew Vaughn

Based on Marvel's "X-Men" Comics (Uncredited)/

Executive Producer - Stan Lee
Based on Marvel's "X-Men" Comics -

Jack Kirby (Uncredited)

Story - Sheldon Turner

Story/Producer - Bryan Singer

Screenplay - Ashley Edward Miller,

Zack Stentz and Jane Goldman

Executive Producer - Tarquin Pack

Executive Producer/First Assistant Director:

LA Unit, Main - Josh McLaglen

Producers - Lauren Shuler Donner and

Simon Kinberg

Producer/Unit Production Manager -

Gregory Goodman

Co-Producer - Jason Taylor

Casting Director: UK - Lucinda Syson

Casting Directors: US - Roger Mussenden

and Jeremy Rich

Production Designer - Chris Seagers

Visual Consultant - Russell De Rozario

Supervising Art Directors - John Frankish

and Dawn Swiderski

Supervising Art Director: LA Unit,

Main - Marc Fisichella

Art Directors - Grant Armstrong,

Joe Howard, Alan Gilmore, Les Tomkins,

James Hambidge, Sue Whitaker, Mark Homes,

Ben Munro, Thomas Frohling and

Dawn Snyder

Set Decorators - Erin Boyd and Sonja Klaus

Costume Designer - Sammy Sheldon

Costume Supervisors - Nicole Young and

Wendy Craig

Costume Props Supervisor - Ivo Coveney

Special Makeup Designer - Mike Elizalde

(Uncredited)

Makeup and Hair Department Head -

Frances Hannon

Beast and Special Makeup Designers -

Alec Gillis and Tom Woodruff Jr.

Beast Makeup Effects Supervisor - Dave Elsey

Azazel Makeup Supervisor - Conor O'Sullivan

Prosthetic Supervisor - Mark Coulier

Director of Photography - John Mathieson

Director of Photography: LA, 2nd Unit -

Larry Blanford

Director of Photography: Georgia, 2nd Unit -

Josh Bleibtreu

Aerial Director of Photography: LA,

2nd Unit - Hans Bjerno

2nd Assistant Cameramen - Glen Coulman,

Wil Morris and Chris Clarke

Location Managers - David Pinnington,

Tony Hood and Chris Brock

Unit Production Manager - Janine Modder

Production Supervisor: LA, 2nd Unit -

Eric Hedayat

First Assistant Directors - Kim H. Winther

and Josh Robertson

First Assistant Director: LA, 2nd Unit -

Matthew Dunne

First Assistant Director: Georgia, 2nd Unit -

Lee Cleary

Second Assistant Director: LA Unit, Main -

Maria Battle-Campbell

Second Unit Directors - Brian Smrz

and Spiro Razatos

Second Unit Director/Director of Photography -

Alexander Witt

Stunt Coordinators - Jeff Habberstad and

Tom Struthers

Special Effects Supervisor - Chris Corbould

Special Effects Coordinator - Scott R. Fisher

Visual Effects Designer - John Dykstra

Visual Effects Supervisor: Weta Digital -

Guy Williams

Visual Effects Supervisor: Digital Domain -

Jay Barton

Visual Effects Supervisor: Rhythm & Hues -

Greg Steele

Visual Effects Supervisor: MPC - Nicolas Aithadi

Visual Effects Supervisor: Cinesite - Matt Johnson

Additional Visual Effects Supervisors -

Stephane Ceretti and Rob Hodgson

Visual Effects Set Supervisor - Gregory Nic Nicholson

Visual Effects Producer - Denise Davis

Visual Effects Producer: Weta Digital -

Annette Wullems

VFX Conceptual Consultant - Robert Stromberg

VFX Concept Artists - Aaron Sims,

Andrey Ryabovichev and Steffen Reichstadt

VFX Art Director: Rhythm & Hues - Chris Grun

Digital Effects Supervisor: Digital Domain -

Nikos Kalaitzdis

Digital Supervisor: Rhythm & Hues - John Gibson

Animation Supervisor: Weta Digital - Michael Cozens

Animation Supervisor: Rhythm & Hues -

Roberto Smith

Animation Supervisor: Digital Domain -

Bernd Angerer

Effects Animation Supervisor: Digital Domain -

Brian Gazdik

CG Supervisors: Weta Digital - Daniel Macarin

and Luke Millar

Previs Supervisors - Rpin Suwannath,

Jason McDonald, Faraz Hameed and

Roger Liu

Previsualisation: Digital Domain -

Scott Meadows, Robert Ostir, Patrick Perez

and Kevin Williams

Layout Supervisor: Weta Digital - Shawn Dunn

Creatures Supervisor: Weta Digital - Simon Clutterbuck

Look Development Supervisor: Rhythm & Hues -

Dante Quintana

Character Modelling Lead: Digital Domain -

Dan Platt

Digital Double Lead: Digital Domain -

Chris Norpchen

Film Editors - Lee Smith and Eddie Hamilton

Additional Film Editor - John Lee

1st Assistant Editor - Adam Gough

Supervising Sound Editor - John A. Larsen

Sound Designer/Supervising Sound Editor -

Craig Berkey

Sound Designers - Matthew Collinge and

Rob Prynne

Production Sound Mixer - Simon Hayes

Re-Recording Mixers - Chris Burdon,

Ron Bartlett and Doug Hemphill

Music - Henry Jackman

Additional Music - Chris Willis,

Matt Margeson and Dominic Lewis

Review

An end to the marathon of the X-Men reviews brings to this fifth instalment. The themes are fundamental to the film's plot, including best friends turning foes. X-MEN: FIRST CLASS puts the franchise back on its feet after disappointing fans with The Last Stand and Origins: Wolverine. It revitalises the movie series in a whole new, fresh style. The series' original maker, Bryan Singer, has returned to co-supervise this film's production and sat on the producer's chair. Director Matthew Vaughn had never done any other superhero features apart from the violent and profane Kick-Ass. His sheer mad directional genius combines with Singer's perfection and plausible heartbeats in the original plot.

I applaud the new cast for taking on the original generation of X-Men and a few of the old characters in their young versions. James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender were well-picked to look as young as the two actors who originally played Xavier and Magneto. Jennifer Lawrence is flawless as the blue shape-shifter Mystique, and playing this soon-to-be future henchwoman is like a dream come true for her. Kevin Bacon portrays the vile and sinister Sebastian Shaw in this undiluted prequel.

The acceptable quality of X-MEN: FIRST CLASS redeemed the series. It is a great superhero movie that is more likely to appeal to the fans of the original comic book. That is all with the X-Men movie marathon unless there's a chance to watch Days of Future Past to finish it.

Star rating: (8/10) Very Good Movie

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X-Men: The Last Stand Review

X-Men: The Last Stand

Release Date: 25th May 2006 - Australia

Production Companies

20th Century Fox

Marvel Entertainment
The Donners' Company

Ingenious Film Partners

(produced in association with)
Dune Entertainment (made

in association with)

Major Studio Partners

(made in association with)

Distribution
20th Century Fox Australia


Genre: Action

Rating: M

Runtime: 110 minutes


Budget: $210,000,000

Box Office Gross: $459,359,555 (Worldwide)


Plot Summary

It has been a few months

since the X-Men put a stop

to William Stryker, which

costs the life of Jean Grey

as she sacrifices herself

to save them from a

collapsed reservoir. Still

mourning her loss is Scott

Summers (Cyclops). Once

he arrived at where Jean

Grey had given herself.

At that moment, Jean Grey

appeared right in front of

his eyes. However, Scott

seemed to have vanished

after that.

In the meantime, the rift

between the humans and

the mutants had finally

reached the boiling point.

The discovery of the

cause of human mutations

has led to the discovery

of a cure for them. Not

everyone was happy,

as this idea horrified

the X-Men. Before long,

news of it reached Magneto.

He plans to form an army

of mutants and wage war

on humanity. After that, it

became apparent that Jean

Grey had evolved into the

Phoenix, her mutant

powers so strong that she

could no longer control

her body.

Cast

Hugh Jackman - Logan/
Wolverine

Patrick Stewart - Charles 
Xavier/Professor X

James Marsden - Scott 

Summers/Cyclops

Famke Janssen - Jean 
Grey/Phoenix

Halle Berry - Ororo Munroe/

Storm

Ian McKellen - Erik 

Lehnsherr/Magneto

Anna Paquin - Marie/Rogue

Rebecca Romijn-Stamos - 

Raven Darkholme/Mystique

Shawn Ashmore - Bobby
Drake/Iceman
Ellen Page - Kitty Pryde/
Shadowcat
Kelsey Grammer - Dr. Hank
McCoy/Beast

Vinnie Jones - Juggernaut
Ben Foster - Warren 

Worthington III/Angel

Aaron Stanford - John

Allardyce/Pyro

Michael Murphy - Warren

Worthington II

Dania Ramirez - Callisto

Shohreh Aghdashloo - Dr. Kavita Rap

Josef Summer - President of the United States

Bill Duke - Secretary Trask

Cayden Boyd - Young Warren Worthington III

Haley Ramm - Young Jean Grey

Daniel Cudmore - Peter

Rasputin/Colossus

Eric Dane - James Madrox/

Multiple Man

Melling Melancon - Psylocke

Omahyra Mota - Arclight

Ken Leung - Kid Omega

Cameron Bright - Jimmy/Leech

Via Saleaumua - Phat

Richard Yee - Little Phat

Kea Wong - Jubilee

Shauna Kain - Siryn

Lance Gibson - Spike

Desiree Zurowski - Mrs. Grey

Adrian Hough - Mr. Grey

Bryce Hodgson - Artie (Uncredited)

Olivia Williams - Moria MacTaggert

(Uncredited)

Chris Claremont - Lawnmower Man (Cameo)

Stan Lee - Waterhose Man (Cameo)

Crew

Director - Brett Ratner

Writers - Simon Kinberg and Zak Penn

Script Supervisor: Second Unit - Jessica Clothier
Executive Producers - Kevin Feige,

Stan Lee and John Palermo
Producers - Lauren Shuler Donner,

Ralph Winter and Avi Arad

Co-Producer/Unit Production Manager - Ross Fanger
Co-Producer - Kurt Williams
Co-Producers/First Assistant Directors -

Lee Clearly and James M. Freitag
Production Designer - Ed Verreaux

Supervising Art Director - Geoff Hubbard

Art Directors - Chas S. Frey, Helen Jarvis,

and Sandi Tanaka

Set Decorator - Elizabeth Wilcox

Property Master - James H. Chow
Costume Designer - Judianna Makovsky
Co-Costume Designer - Lisa Tomczeszyn

Specialty Costume Supervisor: Spectral Motion,

Inc. - Linda Benavente-Notaro

Makeup Effects Supervisor: Spectral Motion,

Inc. - Mike Elizalde

Special Makeup Effects Consultant - Rick Baker

Prosthetic Supervisor: Spectral Motion, Inc. -

Roland Blancaflor

Key Prosthetics: Spectral Motion, Inc. -

Bart Mixon, Jayne Dancose and

Thom Floutz

Mold Department Supervisor: Spectral Motion,

Inc. - Brent Baker

Additional Mutant Prosthetics and Young Angel:

W.M. Creations, Inc. - Matthew W. Mungle,

Clinton Wayne, Ryan McDowell and

Kris Kobzina

Creature Effects "Angel" Wings Supervisor

Fabricator - Robin Dufay

Director of Photography - Dante Spinotti

Additional Director of Photography/

"A" Camera/Steadicam Operator - J. Michael Muro

"A" Camera/Steadicam Operator: Second Unit -

Jim Van Dijk

2nd Unit Directors of Photography -

Jonathan Taylor and Paul Hughen

"A" First Assistant Camera: Second Unit -

Taylor Matheson

Location Manager - Ann Goobie

Production Supervisor - Jason McGatlin

First Assistant Directors: Second Unit -

Terry Madden and Richard Cowen

Second Assistant Director: Second Unit -

David Klohn

Additional Second Assistant Director: Second

Unit - Misha Bukowsko

Third Assistant Directors - Gary Hawes

and Katherine Keizer

Second Unit Director/Stunt Coordinator - Simon Crane
Stunt Coordinators - Wade Eastwood and
Mike Mitchell

Stunt Consultant - Conrad E. Palmisano
Special Effects Coordinator - Mike Vezina
Special Effects Coordinator: Second Unit -
Cameron Waldbauer
Senior Visual Effects Supervisor: Weta Digital -
Joe Letteri

Visual Effects Supervisor - John Bruno

Visual Effects Supervisor: Framestore CFC - Craig Lyn
Visual Effects Supervisor: Weta Digital - Eric Saindon
Visual Effects Supervisor: MPC - Nicolas Aithadi
Visual Effects Supervisors: Cinesite Europe -

Sue Rowe, Thrain Shadbolt, Ben Shepherd

and Simon Stanley-Clamp

Visual Effects Supervisor: CIS Hollywood -

Bryan Hirota

Visual Effects Supervisors: Soho VFX -

Berj Bannayan and Allan Magled

Visual Effects Supervisor: Lola Visual Effects -

Edson Williams
Visual Effects Supervisor: New Deal Studios -

Ian Hunter

Visual Effects Supervisor: Hydraulx/Lead

Inferno Artist: Lola Visual Effects - Greg Strause

Visual Effects Supervisors: Hydraulx/2D

Technical Supervisor: Lola Visual Effects -

Colin Strause

Visual Effects Supervisor/Producer: Kleiser-

Walczak - Jeff Kleiser

Additional Visual Effects Supervisor - John 'D.J.' Des Jardin

Visual Effects Coordinators - Ryan Stafford,

Keith Hamakawa and Scott Shields

Visual Effects Producer: Weta Digital - Cyndi Ochs

Visual Effects Executive Producer: Weta Digital -

Eileen Moran

Visual Effects Consultant - Daniel J. Lombardo
Digital Effects Supervisor: Weta Digital - Guy Williams
Animation Supervisor: Weta Digital - Richard Frances-Moore

Animation Supervisor: Hydraulx - Joshua Cordes

CG Supervisors: Weta Digital - Jon Allitt,

Simon Clutterbuck, Christopher Horvath

and Mark Tait

2D Supervisor: Framestore CFC - Matthew Twyford

Miniature Supervisor - Pat McClung

Compositing Supervisor: Weta Digital -

Erik Winquist

Composite Supervisor: MPC - Charley Henley
Editors - Mark Goldblatt, Mark Helfrich
and Julia Wong

Supervising Sound Editor - John A. Larsen

Sound Designer - Craig Heinghan

Sound Mixers - David Husby,

Steve Maslow, Doug Hemphill and

Rick Kline

Additional Sound Mixer - James Bolt

Foley Artists - Alicia Stevenson

and Dawn Fintor

Music - John Powell

Music Recordist and Mixer - Shawn Murphy

Review

Bryan Singer has bravely proven himself in his grand design of the first two X-Men movies and now can hang up his hat in THE LAST STAND. Sadly, however, Singer hands over the title of director to an unworthy recipient, Brett Ratner. In a way, THE LAST STAND is subpar, and Ratner didn't follow Bryan's character-building and style. The film is by no means the best of the series; it leaves viewers disappointed when this movie comes off unfavourably compared to the first two hits. The plot comes off as deliberately rushed. It reflects a poor merging of a few story concepts. Some new mutants miss out on screen time due to the reliance on fighting action and comedy. Also, a few characters got reduced to minor roles, and they sealed their fate, such as Cyclops and Mystique.

It explains why a few actors are too busy doing other movies. Most notable is James Marsden, who went on to star in a supporting role in Superman Returns. It was a movie outside of Marvel adapted from the DC comics and directed by the old boy-wonder of X-Men. Had the third film not concluded with Singer's absence and Marsden's reduced role, this film could have been improved, along with the character Cyclops' portrayal. The character rivalry between him and Wolverine would progress to end their jealousy and differences. THE LAST STAND did, however, cut short the conflict they had with Jean Grey as their main romantic interest, but it too was rushed.

I blame the deficits of this movie on Ratner's poor direction. This film would have been better if it had a cohesive plot. The character depth and subplots need to align with the original storyline. Without Bryan Singer at the helm, the team can't do it. All hope of my liking the third movie is gone. Being an X-Men fan, I remain optimistic about the next instalment. Kelsey Grammer respectfully plays Beast and is identical to this character. Another new choice of actor is Ellen Page, who receives the role of the ghosting mutant Shadowcat.

You should ignore the third movie and wait for Days of Future Past. Just keep waiting for the prequel X-Men: First Class, which the review will be in next week.

Star rating: (4/10) Below Average

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Another Important Message

Hello, I'm FilmGuruLad.

I'm just informing you that I have made changes to my site. I included the search engine I removed, located on the right side of the homepage. I deleted this bar because having two search engines on one page is confusing. You can instead use the nav bar shown in the image below and just type in the movie you wish to view. If I reviewed it, it would come up.

The other tweak I have made is renaming one of the categories. I have changed the category, documentary, to the other labels. The rationale for this decision is that I rarely reviewed documentaries and thought I should have a classification that broadly covers all the genres I rarely critique.

If you're wondering if the X-Men critique marathon will continue, look forward to Monday, when my review of the third and possibly most disappointing film of the series, The Last Stand, is published.

I hope the changes have not inconvenienced you, and I invite you to send me feedback. Please check my reviews of Tron: Legacy, X-Men 2 and Origins: Wolverine I updated yesterday.

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X-Men 2 Review

X-Men 2

Release Date: 30th April 2003 - Australia

Production Companies

20th Century Fox (presents)

Marvel Enterprises (in association with)

Donners' Company

Bad Hat Harry Productions

XF2 Canada Productions

XM2 Productions

Distribution

20th Century Fox Australia

Genre: Action

Rating: M

Runtime: 128 minutes


Budget: $110,000,000

Box Office Gross: $407,711,549 (Worldwide)

Plot Summary
There is growing hostility
and suspicion between
human beings and

mutants. An unwarranted
attack by mutants on the
President presents General
William Stryker with an
opportunity he has long

been waiting for - to
launch a full-scale assault
on the mutants. A war from
which only one race will

emerge victorious. It is up
to Xavier, Wolverine,
Storm and the other X-
Men as they team up with

their old adversary,

Magneto, to stop this

menace from destroying

everything.

Cast

Hugh Jackman - Logan/

Wolverine

Patrick Stewart - Charles

Xavier/Professor X

James Marsden - Scott

Summers/Cyclops

Famke Janssen - Dr. Jean Grey

Halle Berry - Ororo Munroe/

Storm

Ian McKellen - Erik

Lehnsherr/Magneto

Anna Paquin - Marie/Rogue

Rebecca Romjin-Stamos -

Mystique

Alan Cumming - Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler

Brian Cox - General William

Stryker

Bruce Davison - Senator Kelly

Shawn Ashmore - Bobby
Drake/Iceman
Aaron Stanford - John
Allerdyce/Pyro
Kelly Hu - Yuriko Oyama/
Deathstrike
Katie Stuart - Kitty Pryde (Cameo)
Kea Wong - Jubilation Lee/Jubilee (Cameo)

Cotter McSmith - President McKenna

Chiari Zanni - White House Tour Guide

Jackie A. Greenbank - President's Secretary

Michael Soltis - White House Checkpoint Agent

Michael David Simms - White House Agent (Lead Agent)

David Fabrizio - Oval Office Agent Fabrizio

Roger Cross - Oval Office Agent Cartwright

Richard Bradshaw - Special Ops Agent
Bryce Hodgson - Artie (Cameo)

Glen Curtis - Museum Teenager #1

Greg Rikaart - Museum Teenager #2
Shauna Kain - Theresa Rourke/Siryn

Ty Olsson - Mitchell Laurio

Alfonso Quijada - Federal Bldg. Cleaning Twin #1

Rene Quijada - Federal Bldg. Cleaning Twin #2

Brad Loree - Stryker at age 40

Sheri G. Feldman - Augmentation Room Doctor

Connor Widdows - Jones

Daniel Cudmore - Piotr Rasputin/Colossus

Peter Wingfield - Stryker Soldier Lyman

Charles Siegel - Dr. Shaw

Steve Bacic - Dr. Hank McCoy (Cameo)

Michael Reid McKay - Jason 143

James Kirk - Ronny Drake
Jill Teed - Madeline Drake
Alf Humphreys - William Drake

Michasha Armstrong - Plastic Prison Guard

Robert Hayley - Cop

Mark Lukyn - Cop #1 (Lead Cop)

Kendall Cross - Cop #2

Lori Stewart - F-16 Fighter Pilot

Keely Purvis - Little Girl 143

Dylan Kussman - Stryker Soldier Wilkins

Jason Whitmer - Stryker Soldier Smith

Aaron Pearl - Stryker Soldier

Aaron Douglas - Stryker Soldier

Colin Lawrence - Stryker Soldier

Richard C. Burton - Stryker Soldier

Michael Joycelyn - Stryker Soldier

Nolan Gerard Funk - X-Kid (Captured)

Devin Douglas Drewitz - X-Kid (Captured)

Jermaine Lopez - X-Kid (Captured)

Sideah Alladice - X-Kid (Captured)

Kurt Max Runte - Chief of Staff Abrahams

Benjamin Glenday - Cameraman

Ted Friend - News Reporter

Mi-Jung Lee - News Reporter

Marrett Green - News Reporter

Jill Krop - News Reporter

Brian Peck - News Reporter

Layke Anderson - Blond X-Kid Dressed in Blue

(Uncredited)

Newton Thomas Sigel - Cop (Cameo) (Uncredited)
Bryan Singer - Prison Security Guard (Cameo) (Uncredited)

Crew
Story/Executive Producer/

Director - Bryan Singer

Story/Screenplay - David Hayter
Story - Zak Penn
Screenplay - Michael Dougherty
and Dan Harris

Associate Producer - David Gorder
Executive Producers - Avi Arad, Stan Lee

and Tom DeSanto
Producers - Lauren Shuler Donner

and Ralph Winter

Co-Producer/Unit Production Manager -

Ross Fanger

Co-Producer - Kevin Feige

Casting Director - Roger Mussenden

Technical Advisors - Ron Blecker

and Robert Snow
Production Designer - Guy Hendrix Dyas

Supervising Art Director - Geoff Hubbard

Art Director - Helen Jarvis

Illustrators - Mark Goerner,

Jean-Francois Mignault, James Oxford,

Paul Ozzimo, Nathan Schroeder and

Dean Sherriff

Set Decorator - Elizabeth Wilcox

Property Master - James H. Chow
Costume Designer - Louise Mingenbach

X-Men Uniforms - Jose Fernandez
Special Makeup Designer - Gordon J. Smith

Makeup Designer - Norma Hill-Patton
Director of Photography - Newton Thomas Sigel

Director of Photography: Second Unit -

Gary Capo

Spacecam Camera Operators: Vancouver -

Hans Bjerno and Ron Goodman

First Assistant Director - Lee Clearly

Trainee Assistant Directors - Gary Hawes

and Ashley Bell

Third Assistant Director: Second Unit -

Misha Bukowski
Second Unit Director - Brian Smrz
Stunt Coordinators - Ernie Jackson,
Gary Jensen, Jacob Rupp and Melissa R. Stubbs

Stunt Coordinator: Second Unit/Stunts -

Mike Mitchell

Movement Coach - Terry Notary
Special Effects Coordinator - Mike Vezina
Special Effects Supervisor - Andrew Verhoeven

Special Effects: Shop Supervisor/Special Effects

Coordinator: Second Unit - Gord Davis

Special Effects: Shop Supervisor - Cameron Waldbauer

Senior Visual Effects Supervisor: Asylum,

Main Titles - Nathan McGuinness

Senior Visual Effects Supervisor: Kleiser-Walczak

Digital Effects - Jeffrey Kleiser (Uncredited)

Special Visual Effects: VCE.com - Peter Kuran

Visual Effects Supervisor - Michael J. Fink
Visual Effects Supervisor: Cinesite - Stephen Rosenbaum

Visual Effects Supervisor: Rhythm & Hues - 
Richard E. Hollander

Visual Effects Supervisor: Frantic Films - Chris Bond

Visual Effects Supervisor: Pacific Title - David Sosalla

Visual Effects Supervisor: CIS Hollywood - Bryan Hirota

Visual Effects Supervisor: Pixel Magic - Ray McIntyre Jr.

Visual Effects Supervisor: 4-Ward Productions,

"Forest Wave" Sequence - Robert Skotak

Visual Effects Producer - Joyce Cox

Executive Producer: 4-Ward Productions,

"Forest Wave" Sequence - Elaine Edford

Visual Effects Directors of Photography -

Eric Swenson and David Stump

Digital Effects Supervisor: Cinesite - Serge Sretschinsky

2D Digital Effects Supervisor: Cinesite - Jason Piccioni

Effects Lead: Rhythm & Hues - Mike O'Neal

Tornado Effects Lead: Rhythm & Hues - Douglas Bloom
CG Supervisor: Cinesite, Cerebro

Sequence - David Satchwell
CG Supervisor: Cinesite, Nightcrawler

Sequence - Greg Anderson

Animation Supervisor: Cinesite, Nightcrawler

Sequence - Chris Bailey

Director of Photography: Miniature Unit -

David Drzewiecki

Director of Photography: Pyro Crew - Barry Walton

3D Supervisor: VCE - Kevin Kutchaver

2D Supervisor: Cinesite, Cerebro

Sequence - Brian Leach

2D Supervisor: Cinesite, Nightcrawler

Sequence - David Lingenfelser

Compositing Supervisor: Rhythm & Hues - Edwin Rivera

Design Supervisor: Rhythm & Hues - Mike Meaker

Previz Artist: Rhythm & Hues - Bud Myrick

Film Editor/Music - John Ottman

Co-Film Editor - Elliot Graham

Supervising Sound Editor - John A. Larsen

Sound Designer/Co-Supervising Sound Editor - Craig Berkey

Effects Editors - Dave Kulczycki

and Erik Aadahl

Sound Mixers - Ron Young,

Paul Massey, Doug Hemphill and

Michael Hedrick

Additional Sound Mixer - James Bolt

ADR Supervisor - Donald Sylvester

Foley Artists - Alyson Dee Moore,

John Roesch and Marilyn Graf

Review
Now, this is a spectacular entry to the X-Men film series. X-MEN 2 (also known in the US as X2) continues the movie franchise established by Bryan Singer. The sequel has everything it needs, making it better than the original. Bryan was supposed to make two more features of X-Men. However, he left the franchise after this movie to produce Superman Returns. Based on what I've heard, Brett Ratner had to step in and helm the third instalment, which was disappointing.

The element of Bryan Singer's direction is his passion for conceiving a movie with a terrific story and a visual display of impressive fight scenes. He successfully manages his profound creativity to accomplish a sequel of its structure. No one could be prouder than Bryan Singer at having this smash-hit feature he magnificently directed. All the cast from the predecessor is back as the mutants fighting between good and evil. Hugh Jackman is back as our heroic slasher Wolverine. One actor I didn't mention among the mutant ensemble in the first movie is James Marsden. He returned as Cyclops but could have had more opportunities to expand his role. But that's nothing compared to what will happen to his character in the next instalment.

Scottish actor Alan Cumming camouflages in dark-blue makeup as the teleporting mutant Nightcrawler. He even willingly provides a fake German accent to have the character sound more authentically like his nationality.

I have no problem picking X-MEN 2 as the best of the series. It isn't unexceptional (no pun intended). It's awe-inspiring, and it's a near-perfect superhero movie. For the record, X-MEN 2 is my third favourite superhero film.

Star rating: (10/10) Best Movie Ever

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In Memory of Bob Hoskins (1942-2014)

Bob Hoskins (1942-2014)


Sorry to delay the mutant

marathon of the X-Men.

The British actor Bob

Hoskins, known for

many of his movie roles as Eddie Valiant in "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" and Mario in the infamous "Super Mario Bros", passed away of pneumonia on April 29th, 2014, at 71 years old. Hoskins was born on the Southern English border of Suffolk, and at that time, he was two weeks old when he left his birthplace with his parents when the war bombing occurred in London. Bob was 15 when quitting school and began odd jobs, including performing in a circus. In his love for theatre, Hoskins's career was only started by accident when he had only seen auditions with a mate and was then given a script by one director and told: "You're next."

This mistake would later get his career full-on in theatre plays and television. Later, he went to the cinema in 1975, receiving supporting roles. In 1980, it got him the attention that his career going up was building to fame in one of his roles in a movie called "The Long Good Friday". He is also famous for portraying characters in worthy films, such as "The Cotton Club" and "Brazil". Bob gets nominated for an Oscar for Best Actor for his performance in "Mona Lisa". 1988 saw Bob as he went to Disney and got cast in a leading role by Robert Zemeckis and Steven Spielberg in their new motion picture. The movie of its story would be about a cop teamed up with a toon supposedly wanted for murder entitled "Who Framed Roger Rabbit". The pride of this recognition earned him the chance to be a national star for playing once in Roger Rabbit as the cartoon-hating detective Eddie. His other prolific roles include "Mermaids" with Cher, "Hook", "Nixon", "The Inner Circle", "Enemy at the Gates", "Vanity Fair", and a voice role in "Balto". In 1993, he gained infamy from video gamers for being miscast as Mario in the underwhelming "Super Mario Bros" with John Leguizamo and Dennis Hopper. The film got squeezed to the point of financial ruin, and Bob grew to despise the adaptation. In later years, Bob made his last credit to "Snow White and the Huntsman", playing one of the dwarfs. After this, health took its toll on Bob when suffering from Parkinson's, which settled him into a two-year retirement.

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