Alien vs. Predator: Requiem Review

Alien vs. Predator: Requiem 

Release Date: 26th December 2007 - Australia

Production Companies

20th Century Fox

Davis Entertainment
Brandywine Productions
Dune Entertainment (made in association with)

Distribution 

20th Century Fox Australia 

Genre: Sci-Fi

Rating: MA15+ (Not 

Suitable for Young Children)

Runtime: 96 minutes 


Budget: $40,000,000

Box Office Gross: $128,884,494
(Worldwide)

Plot Summary

After a horrifying PredAlien 

crash-lands near a small 

Colorado town, killing 

everyone it encounters 

and producing countless 

Alien offspring, a lone 

Predator arrives to "clean 

up" the infestation. Soon 

it's an all-out battle to the 

death with no rules, no 

mercy and hundreds of 

innocent people caught 

in the crossfire. As the 

creature carnage 

continues, a handful of 

human survivors attempt 

a daring escape, but the 

U.S. government may 

be hatching a deadly 

plan of its own...

Cast

Steven Pasquale - Dallas
Reiko Aylesworth - Kelly
John Ortiz - Morales
Johnny Lewis - Ricky
Ariel Gade - Molly
Kristen Hager - Jesse
Sam Trammell - Tim
Robert Joy - Col. Stevens
David Paetkau - Dale
Tom Woodruff Jr. - Aliens
Ian Whyte - Predator
Chelah Horsdal - Darcy
Meshach Peters - Curtis
Matt Ward - Mark
Michal Suchanek - Nick
David Hornsby - Drew
Chris William Martin - Deputy Ray
James Chutter - Deputy Joe
Gina Holden - Carrie
Kurt Max Runte - Buddy
Liam James - Sam
Tim Henry - Dr. Lennon
Tom McBeath - Karl
Ty Olsson - Nathan
Rainbow Sun Francks - Earl
Francoise Yip - Ms. Yutani

Crew

Directors/Visual Effects
Supervisors - Colin & Greg
Strause

Based on "Alien" Characters - Dan O'Bannon and Donald Shusett

Based on "Predator" Characters - Jim & John Thomas
Writer - Shane Salerno
Executive Producers - Robbie Brenner and Paul Deason

Producers - John Davis, David Giler and Walter Hill

Production Designer - Andrew Neskoromy
Costume Designer - Angus Straithe
Director of Photography - Daniel C. Pearl

Creature Effects Designers and Creators - Alec Gillis
and Tom Woodruff, Jr.

Special Effects Coordinator - Tony Lazarowich

Animation Supervisor: Hyrdaulx - Joshua Cordes

Film Editor - Dan Zinnerman
Music - Brian Tyler

Review

Much like its predecessor, 'ALIEN vs. PREDATOR (AVP): REQUIEM' comes off as a disappointment in trying to regenerate two of the monster franchises. It is probably still not a good idea to make these two spin-offs with such poor characterisations, fast pace and hackneyed plot-writing. However, the sequel is kept from being a total flop through use of the excessive gore and violence. It accomplishes the tension seen in earlier 'Alien' and 'Predator' movies such as the scare factor. I have no love for 'REQUIEM', nor do I for the direction of the Strause brothers, who, three years later, would later make the near-appendix of all alien invasion features 'Skyline'. Besides the characters, pacing and mediocre story, there are some scenes involving the Predator which were difficult to see when they were poorly lit as well as the dark colour scheme. 

Again mentioning we have a list of unknown actors who were oddly chosen to be in this ensemble. This is only because these human characters that they are portraying should be in a different movie instead of being on an 'AVP' instalment.

Suffice to say, 'REQUIEM' doesn't have a compelling story or a complexity but is far from being worse than an another cash-grabbing experiment from the studio. I'd rather much enjoy the first two 'Alien' instalments and relive the moments seen in the classic 'Predator' movie with Arnold Schwarzenegger than to see these degenerate abominations of movies on TV.

Star rating: (3/10) Disappointing

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Alien vs. Predator Review

Alien vs. Predator 

Release Date: 30th September 2004 - Australia

Production Companies

20th Century Fox

Davis Entertainment
Brandywine Productions
Lonlink Productions (in co-production with)
Stillking Films (in co-production with)
Kut Productions (in co-production with)
Studio Babelsburg (in co-production with)
Inside Track Films (in association with)

Distribution
20th Century Fox Australia

Genre: Sci-Fi

Rating: M

Runtime: 101 minutes
               109 minutes
               (unrated cut)


Plot Summary
The iconic monsters from
two of the scariest film
franchises ever battle each
other on Earth for the first
time. The discovery of an
Ancient pyramid buried in
Antarctica sends a team of
scientists and adventurers
to the frozen continent.
There, they make an even
more terrifying discovery,
two alien races engaged in
a ultimate battle.


Cast
Sanaa Lathan - Alexa Woods
Lance Henriksen - Charles
Bishop Weyland

Raoul Bova - Sebastian De Rosa

Ewen Bremmer - Graeme Miller
Colin Salmon - Maxwell Stafford
Tommy Flanagan - Mark Verheiden
Joseph Rye - Joe Connors
Agathe de La Boulaye - Adele Rousseau

Carsten Noorgard - Rusten 

Quinn
Sam Troughton - Thomas Parks
Petr Jakl - Stone
Pavel Bezdek - Bass
Kieran Bew - Klaus
Carsten Voigt - Mikkel
Jan Pavel Filipensky - Boris
Adrian Bouchet - Sven
Andy Lucas - Juan Ramirez
Tom Woodruff Jr. - Grid
Ian Whyte - Scar

Crew
Screen Story/Screenplay/
Director - Paul W. S. Anderson

Based on "Alien" Characters/
Screen Story - Dan O'Bannon and Donald Shusett
Based on "Predator" Characters - Jim & John Thomas
Executive Producers - Wyck Godfrey, Thomas M. Hammel and Mike Richardson

Producers - John Davis, Gordon Carroll, David Giler and Walter Hill

Co-Producers - David Minkowski, Matthew Stillman and Chris Symes

Production Designer - Richard Bridgland
Original Alien Creatures Designer - H.R. Giger
Conceptual Designers - Richard K. Bueon and Steve Burg

Costume Designer - Magali Guidasci

Creature Effects Designers
and Creators - Alec Gillis and
Tom Woodruff, Jr.

Director of Photography - David Johnson
Second Unit Director - Bharat Nalluri
Stunt Coordinator - Rick Forsayeth
Co-Stunt Coordinator - Pavel Cazj
Special Effects Supervisor - Gerd Nerfzer

Visual Effects Supervisor - John Bruno
Visual Effects Supervisor: MPC - Adam Valdez
Visual Consultant - Patrick Tatopoulos
Miniatures Director/Miniature Unit Supervisor: Prague/
Puppeteer - Richard Van Den Bergh
Miniature Unit Supervisor: UK - Bill Pearson
Digital Effects Supervisor: MPC - Ben Shepherd
3D Digital Supervisor: Cinesite - Ivor Middleton
CG Supervisor: Double Negative - Mattias Lindahl

Film Editor - Alexander Berner

Music - Harald Kloser

Review

It has been not that long since I last critiqued a movie that could be from either the 'Alien' franchise or just based upon the original 'Predator' that featured Arnold Schwarzenegger. Sadly, I wasn't even an actual fan of either of these action horror series. I could have re-watched and liked the first 'Predator' movie because of Arnie and his one-liners which had me stoked from the outset. Many of you die-hard fans of these both franchises are familiar with the two crossover spin-offs of 'ALIEN vs. PREDATOR (AVP)'. Both of these films were released four years before director Ridley Scott's prequel 'Prometheus'. This movie would restore order in building a better continuity of the 'Alien' universe. The previous additions of these 'AVP' crossovers were more of an attempt to rejuvenate the two famous horror series. However, they were underwhelming for the fanatics because I believe it was as if they were reading a fan-fiction story that had come true in form. This might sound like a positive thing, having a story come to life but 'AVP' failed in its delivery.

The first instalment of 'AVP', under the shoddy craftsmanship of director Paul W. S. Anderson is not improved by thinly-scaled plotting, stale characterisations and the immediate lack of intensity. It wouldn't be helped by the brisk pace used in all of the fight scenes. The only factors that redeem this entire feature is the production design and special effects which are a valiant effort in providing a visual look of the film. 

While the film may not turn out to be as critical than the next instalment 'Alien vs. Predator: Requiem', 'AVP' brings less faith into us and such potential is wasted on this lacklustre spin-off. This could have been well solved if Paul W. S. Anderson had not tried so hard to succeed in his vision, thus ruining both monsters.

Star rating: (3/10) Disappointing

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Seventh Son Review

Seventh Son

Release Date: 5th March 2015 - Australia

Production Companies

Universal Pictures

Legendary Pictures 

China Film Co. (in association with)
Outlaw Sinema (produced with the participation with)
Pendle Mountain Productions
Thunder Road Pictures

Distribution 

Universal Pictures Australia 

Genre: Fantasy

Rating: M

Runtime: 102 minutes


Budget: $95,000,000

Box Office Gross: $114,178,613
(Worldwide)

Plot Summary
A 18th century adventure
story centered on young
Thomas, who is apprenticed
to the local Spook to learn
to fight evil spirits. His
first great challenge comes
when the powerful Mother
Malkin escapes her
confinement while the
Spook is away.

Cast

Jeff Bridges - Master Gregory

Ben Barnes - Tom Ward

Julianne Moore - Mother Malkin

Alicia Vilkander - Alice

Kit Harington - Billy Bradley

Djimon Hounsou - Radu

Olivia Williams - Mam Ward
Antje Traue - Bony Lizzie
Jason Scott Lee - Urag
John DeSantis - Tusk
Gerald Plunkett - Inquisitor
Kandyse McClure - Sarikin
Luc Roderique - Strix
Zahf Paroo - Virahadra
Timothy Webber - Malcom Ward
Lilah Fitzgerald - Cate Ward
Marcel Bridges - Jack Ward
Primo Allon - Simon Ward
Simon Burnett - Boldmere

Crew
Director - Sergey Bodrov
Based on Novel and
Inspiration "The Spook's
Apprentice" - Joseph Delaney
Screen Story - Matt Greenberg
Screenplay - Charles Leavitt and
Steven Knight
Associate Producer - Martin Cohen
Executive Producers - Alysia Cotter,
Jon Jashni and Brent O'Connor
Producers - Basil Iwanyk,
Thomas Tull and Lionel Wigram
Co-Producer - Jillian Share
Production Designer - Dante Ferretti
Set Decorator - Elizabeth Wilcox
Costume Designer - Jacqueline West
Creature Designer - Ben Mauro
Cinematography - Newton Thomas Sigel
Second Unit Director/Stunt Coordinator -
Paul Jennings
Stunt Coordinator - Danny Virtue
Stunt Coordinator/Peformer - Larry Lam
Fight Coordinator/Stunt Double: Jeff Bridges -
Thomas DuPont
Special Effects Supervisor - Alex Burdett
Special Effects Coordinator - Rashmi Salvi
Visual Effects Designer - John Dykstra
Visual Effects Supervisor: MPC - Nicolas Aithadi
Visual Effects Supervisor: MPC Vancouver -
Erik Nordby
Visual Effects Supervisor: Method Studios
Los Angeles - Mark Breakspear
Visual Effects Producers - Denise Davis
and Justin Gladden
Film Editors - Jim Page and Paul Rubell
Music - Marco Beltrami

Review

Loosely based on a fantasy book, 'SEVENTH SON' has little to justify its existence in the genre and is completely watered down and beige. On its release, the movie went unnoticed at the box office and there could have been new things to best fulfill its ambitions. This takes its toll on 'SEVENTH SON' as it was another attempt to be a proper fantasy adventure flick to carry on the legacy of the original 'Lord of the Rings' films. For starters, the feature tries to brandish digital imagery and some fantasy elements and merge those into an interesting blockbuster but fails. The story revolves around an order of wizards whose magical means is derived from their being a seventh son which gives them the power to hunt witches and warlocks.

I have issues with the actors chosen for the lead roles in this banal adaptation as they were miscast or possibly misdirected. Jeff Bridges has never done a role similar to the mentor figure he plays. This was obvious as he tries to add a fierce side to his character and act differently than Jeremy Irons had done for 'Eragon'. But he comes across as a bad drunken impersonation of Gandalf here. I felt Ben Barnes was too old and miscast and brings no defiance to his character, and Kit Harington's brief appearance is as typecast as it gets. Julianne Moore tries to sink a tooth into her role, but her antagonist bares no teeth and no bite as her performance is hampered by the mundane direction.

I say 'SEVENTH SON' lacks originality, tension and excitement. Everything in the film feels neutered and sanitised as it falls apart the way that other failed fantasy movies had have.

Star rating: (2/10) Bad Movie

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The Cannonball Run Review

The Cannonball Run

Release Date: 20th August 1981 - Australia

Production Companies 

Golden Harvest (presents)
Eurasia Investments

Distribution
Media Asia Distribution

Genre: Comedy

Rating: PG

Runtime: 92 minutes


Budget: $18,000,000

Box Office Gross: $89,819,149
(Worldwide)

Plot Summary

A wild, illegal, and popular 

cross-country car race is 

organized, and the eccentric 

entrants will do anything 

to win, including low-down, 

dirty tricks. (Source - IMDb)

Cast

Burt Reynolds - J.J. McClure

Dom DeLuise - Victor Prinzim
Farrah Fawcett - Pamela

Roger Moore - Seymour
Dean Martin - Jamie Blake
Sammy Davis Jr. - Fenderbaum
Jack Elam - Dr. Nikolas Van Helsing
Adrienne Barbeau - Marcie
Tara Buckman - Jill
Terry Bradshaw - Terry
Mel Tills - Mel
Jackie Chan - Jackie
Michael Hui - Subaru Driver #2
Bert Convy - Mr. Compton
Warren Berlinger - Shakey Finch
Jamie Farr - Sheik
George Furth - A. F. Foyt
Rick Aviles - Mad Dog
Alfie Wise - Batman

Peter Fonda - Chief Biker (Cameo)

Valerie Perrine - Policewoman (Cameo)

Crew
Director - Hal Needham
Writer - Brock Yates
Executive Producer - Raymond Chow
Producer - Albert S. Ruddy
Executive Producer
(Uncredited)/Production Supervisor - Andre Morgan
Director of Photography - Michael C. Butler
Stunt Coordinator - Bobby Bass
Editors - Donn Cambern and
William D. Gordean
Music Supervision - Snuff Garrett

Music - Al Capps

Review
When 'THE CANNONBALL RUN' was first released in 1981, it became the sixth highest grossing film to march into theatres on the U.S. behind other domesticated movies like 'Raiders of the Lost Ark'. At first, I couldn't recognise this racing cult comedy classic when I discovered it in a DVD package. I didn't know if the movie has any hilarity until I began laughing at Dom DeLuise's character as he becomes a superhero..... dum dum daaaahhh! Interestingly enough, the film may bring a lot of surprises with its humour and extraordinary blend of talented actors but overly rely on scenes of street car racing action. 

The movie features some well-known names in this colourfully made picture including Burt Reynolds, Farrah Fawcett, Roger Moore and Sammy Davis Jr., the best in this star-studded cast is DeLuise. Also featured in this hysterical comedy is future martial-arts superstar Jackie Chan who is at the supporting league as it was one of his early international roles.

The film may not always be exciting to all viewers alike as it depends in how will you go getting past the silly plot and stunts. 'THE CANNONBALL RUN' hasn't lost its juvenile sense of hilarity and if this is the kind of comedy you like than you'll enjoy it. I'm not looking forward to the sequels as the consensus seems for both instalments to be terrible.

Star rating: (7/10) Good Movie

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Hook Review

Hook

Release Date: 26th March 1992 - Australia

Production Companies

TriStar Pictures

Amblin Entertainment 

Distribution

Sony Pictures Australia

Genre: Fantasy/Family

Rating: PG

Runtime: 136 minutes


Budget: $70,000,000

Box Office Gross: $300,854,823 (Worldwide)

Plot Summary
When the fearsome Captain Hook kidnaps the children of his arch-foe Peter Pan, who has grown up and forgotten everything from his past adventures. Peter must return to Never Land with the aid of Tinkerbell and the Lost Boys. Learning to rediscover the child within and his memory of being Peter Pan, he must confront the vengeful pirate and rescue his two precious children.

Cast

Dustin Hoffman - Captain Hook
Robin Williams - Peter Banning

Julia Roberts - Tinker Bell

Bob Hoskins - Mr. Smee

Maggie Smith - Granny Wendy
Caroline Goodall - Moira Banning

Charlie Korsmo - Jack 'Jackie' Banning
Amber Scott - Maggie Banning
Laurel Cronin - Liza, Wendy's Housekeeper
Phil Collins - Inspector Good (Cameo)
Arthur Malet - Toodles
Isaiah Robinson - Pockets
Jasen Fisher - Ace
Dante Basco - Rufio
Rasuhan Hammond - Thud Butt
James Madio - Don't Ask
Thomas Tulak - Too Small
Alex Zuckerman - Latchboy
Ahmad Stoner - No Nap
Max Hoffman - 5-Year-Old Peter Pan
Ryan Francis - Young Peter Pan
Lisa Wilhoit - Young Tinker Bell

Kelly Rowen - Peter's Mother
Gwyneth Paltrow - Young Wendy

Rebecca Hoffman - Jane in

Play

Jake Hoffman - Little League

Baseball Player

Geoffrey Lower - Brad

Don S. Davis - Dr. Fields

Cameron Thor - Ron

Brad Blumenthal - Jim
David Crosby - Tickles (Cameo)
Nick Tate - Noodler
Tony Burton - Bill Jukes (Cameo)
Glenn Close - Gutless (Cameo)

Matthew Van Ginkel - Baby Peter Banning

Ray Tveden - Man in Stands

Kim Robillard - Toothless Cripple

Michael Runyard - Screaming Pirate

Gary Epper - Growling Pirate

Jimmy Buffett - Shoe-Stealing Pirate (Cameo) (Uncredited)
Carrie Fisher - Woman Kissing on Bridge (Cameo) (Uncredited)

George Lucas - Man Kissing on Bridge (Cameo) (Uncredited)

Crew

Director - Steven Spielberg

Based on the Stage Play

and Book Series "Peter Pan" -

J.M. Barrie

Screen Story/Screenplay/

Executive Producer - Jim V. Hart

Screen Story - Nick Castle

Screenplay/Associate
Producer - Malia Scotch Marmo

Script Supervisor - Ana Maria Quintana
Associate Producer/First Assistant Director -

Bruce Cohen

Executive Producer - Dodi Fayed

Producers - Kathleen Kennedy and

Frank Marshall

Producer/Unit Production Manager -

Gerald R. Molen

Co-Producers - Gary Adelson and

Craig Baumgarten

Casting Directors - Janet & Michael

Hirshenson and Jane Jenkins

Production Designer - Norman Garwood

Visual Consultant - John Napier

Illustrators - Edward Eyth,

Thomas W. Lay Jr., David Lowery

and Jacques Rey
Art Directors - Andrew Precht and

Thomas E. Sanders

Assistant Art Director - Daniel T. Dorrance

Set Decorator - Garrett Lewis

Choreographer - Vince Paterson
Additional Choreographers - Smith Wordes

and Kim Blank

Costume Designer - Anthony Powell

Special Makeup Creator - Greg Cannom

Makeup Supervisor - Christina Smith

Director of Photography - Dean Cundey

Camera Operator - Raymond Stella

First Assistant Camera - Clyde E. Bryan

and Larry Davis

Stunt Coordinator/Action Choreographer -

Gary Hymes

Animal Trainer - Jules Sylvester

Special Effects Supervisor - Michael Lantieri

Animatronics and Puppets Creator/

Puppeteer - Rick Lazzarini

Visual Effects Supervisor - Eric Brevig

Production Effects Producer - Colin Wilson

Executive Charge in Production: ILM -

Jim Morris

Executive Charge in Post-Production: ILM -

Ed Jones

Art Director: ILM - Harley Jessup

Model Shop Supervisor: ILM - Lorne Peterson

Matte Artists: ILM - Eric Chauvin,

Christopher Evans, Rocco Gioffre and

Yusei Uesugi

Plate Photography Supervisor: ILM - Michael Owens

Post Photography Supervisor: ILM - John Knoll

Bluescreen Unit Manager: ILM - Edward T. Hirsh

Motion/Wing Supervisors: ILM - Patrick T. Myers

and Charlie Clavadetscher

Computer Graphics Supervisors: ILM -

Stefen Fangmeier and John Andrew Berton, Jr.

(Uncredited)

Animation Supervisor: ILM - Wes Takahashi

Storyboard Artist: ILM - Iain McCaig

Film Editor - Michael Kahn

Additional Editor - William Goldenberg

Supervising Sound Editors - Charles L. Campbell

and Richard C. Franklin

Sound Mixer - Ron Judkins

Re-Recording/Music Scoring Mixer -

Shawn Murphy

Re-Recording Mixers - Andy Nelson

and Steve Pederson

Foley Artists - John Roesch,

Hilda Hodges, Catherine Rowe,

Joseph Sabella, Kevin Bartnof and

Jeffrey Cupernell

Music - John Williams

Lyrics: Songs - Leslie Bricusse

Music Editor - Kenneth Wannberg

Awards

1992 Academy Awards
Best Art Direction - Norman Garwood and
Garrett Lewis (Nominated)
Best Costume Design - Anthony Powell (Nominated)
Best Visual Effects - Eric Brevig, Harley Jessup,
Mark Sullivan and Michael Lantieri (Nominated)
Best Makeup - Christina Smith, Monty Westmore
and Greg Cannom (Nominated)
Best Music, Original Song "When You're Alone" -
John Williams and Leslie Bricusse (Nominated)

Review

Many will recall J.M. Barrie's classic story of Peter Pan and its screen adaptations like the one made by Disney. PP tells a heartwarming tale about children who never grow up and swashbuckling pirates like Captain Hook. HOOK was shown on the Disney Channel years ago when I first saw it. It introduced me to the presence of Robin Williams on the big screen and the name of Steven Spielberg. I never knew it wasn't on par with the director's highly acclaimed works until I got older. Since the actor Robin Williams passed away, I wanted to revisit some of his golden classics in memory of his energetic charisma, such as his character Genie in Aladdin.

This once nostalgic fantasy adventure has become almost the lowest common denominator for Spielberg and the actor/comedian Williams himself. With HOOK, the director was a far cry from his usual potential. As a result, this movie was considered one of the low points in his career. The legend of Peter Pan has come and gone. Maybe Spielberg had too much creative control of this film. HOOK was problematic in certain illogical scenes, and there was no explanation of how certain events unfolded.

Then there is the art direction, which looks fantastic. Williams' portrayal of a grown-up Peter Pan was remarkable, and Dustin Hoffman's interpretation of the main character is fun to watch. The background music by John Williams fits the movie by my standards.

I wanted to enjoy this film, but I must be honest about HOOK and admit that it did lack a few crucial aspects.

Star rating: (4/10) Below Average

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Space Cowboys Review

Space Cowboys

Release Date: 5th October 2000 - Australia

Production Companies

Warner Bros. Pictures (presents)

Village Roadshow Pictures (in association with)

Clipsal Films (in association with)
Mad Chance
Malpaso Productions

Distribution 

Roadshow Distribution

Genre: Action/Adventure

Rating: PG

Runtime: 125 minutes


Budget: $60,000,000

Box Office Gross:

$128,884,132 (Worldwide)

Plot Summary

It was 1958. Team
Daedalus, the elite test
pilot team of the US Air
Force, was training to
become the first

Americans in space.
But at the last minute,
NASA cancelled the
mission, sending a
chimpanzee into space
instead. History has
forgotten Team Daedalus.

Until now...

NASA has intercepted a

distress call from Russian

space control - a giant

Soviet-era satellite is on

the verge of crashing into

the Earth, with the

potential for a global power

outage...

Only one team of astronauts

is competent enough to

carry out the dangerous

mission, and they are

familiar with Sputnik's

outdated technology.

Team Daedalus captain

Frank Corvin and his crew

are finally on their way

to space, albeit more than

forty years late.

Cast

Clint Eastwood - Frank Corvin

Tommy Lee Jones - Hawk Hawkins

Donald Sutherland - Jerry O'Neill

James Garner - Tank Sullivan

James Cromwell - Bob Gerson

Marcia Gay Harden - Sara Holland

William Devane - Eugene Davis

Loren Dean - Ethan Glance
Courtney B. Vance - Roger Hines
Barbara Babcock - Barbara Corvin
Rade Serbedzija - General Vostov
Blair Brown - Dr. Anne Caruthers
Jay Leno - Himself
Nils Allen Stewart - Tiny
Chris Wylde - Jason

Anna Steid - Jason's Girlfriend

Toby Stephens - Young Frank

Corvin

Eli Craig - Young Hawk Hawkins

John Mallory Asher - Young Jerry O'Neill

Matt McColm - Young Tank Sullivan

Billie Worley - Young Bob Gerson

Jon Hamm - Young Pilot #2

Crew

Producer/Director - Clint Eastwood

Writers - Ken Kaufman and

Howard Klausner
Executive Producer/Second Assistant Director -

Tom Rooker

Producer - Andrew Lazar

Casting Director - Phyllis Huffman

Production Designer - Henry Bumstead

Art Director - Jack G. Taylor Jr.

Set Decorator - Richard C. Goddard
Costume Designer - Deborah Hopper

Director of Photography - Jack N. Green

Underwater Director of Photography - Pete Romano

Camera/Steadicam Operator - Stephen S. Campanelli

Camera/Spacecam Operator - Hans Bjerno

Unit Production Manager - Patricia Churchill

First Assistant Director - Robert Lorenz
Second/Aerial Unit Director - Craig Hosking

Additional Unit Director (Uncredited)/

Visual Effects Supervisor - Michael Owens

Stunt Coordinator - Buddy Van Horn

Special Effects Supervisor - Joe Fraizer

Additional Visual Effects Supervisor: ILM -

Scott Farrar
Associate Visual Effects Supervisor: ILM -

Pablo Helman
Visual Effects Senior Producer: ILM -

Judith Weaver

Visual Effects Producer: ILM - Dana Friedman

Visual Effects Director of Photography: ILM -

Martin Rosenberg

CG Supervisor: ILM - Barry Armour

Compositing Supervisor: ILM - Jon Alexander

Model Supervisor: ILM - Steve Gawley

Chief Model Makers: ILM - Barbara Affonso,

Bryan Dewe, Jon Foreman, Brian Gernand,

Lorne Peterson and Adam Savage

Lead Digital Matte Artist: ILM - Paul Huston

Editor - Joel Cox

Lead R&D Technical: ILM - R. Christopher White

Assistant Editors - Michael Cipriano,

Gary Roach and Don Roth

Supervising Sound Editors - Bub Asman

and Alan Robert Murray
Sound Designer/Re-Recording Mixer -
Christopher Boyes

Sound Designer - David Farmer

Sound Effects Editors - Howard S. M. Neiman,

Gary Krivacek, Steve Mann, Glenn Hoskinson,

Jason King, Anthony R. Milch, Teresa Eckton,

Ken Fischer, Phil Benson and Scott Guitteau

Assistant Sound Editors - Shawn Egan,

Beaudine Credle and Coya Elliott

Sound Mixer - Walt Martin

Re-Recording Mixer - Michael Semanick

Supervising ADR Editor - Juno J. Ellis
Music - Lennie Niehaus

Awards

2001 Academy Awards
Best Sound Editing - Alan Robert Murray and
Bub Asman (Nominated)

Review

In 2002, I first saw the movie SPACE COWBOYS on pay TV when it was on at midday, and then I forgot its existence as I recently became a film critic. In 2014, I was interested in its director and one of its leading actors, Clint Eastwood, since I watched a few of his classic westerns. So, I revisited this movie. In all fairness, it's the old school that's put the old school into this space-age action drama. SPACE COWBOYS is daring to believe that the second chances are that people don't have an expiry date and that it's crucial to stay young in heart and mind.

The movie can be unoriginal, and the story sometimes feels like I have already seen it before. It is more than being made up for in return for some of its good points like the humour and the acting pair of Eastwood and Tommy Lee Jones, who at best are the cantankerous old spacemen and bounce each other well. James Garner and Donald Sutherland are other veterans who have pulled off this acting style. The visuals were a hard-copied blend of practical and CGI effects that can create a sequence in space as other movies can, as in today's modern films such as Gravity.

Phenomenally, it was enjoyable for all of us. We would never have seen this film without the combined talents of Clint, Tommy, James and Donald. It's not a space western. I'm sure this title will mislead you from falling through that.

Star rating: (7/10) Good Movie

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Film Guru Lad's Top 6 Movie Dads

Hello, this is your favourite blogger RadDingo here and those who were born or lived in Australia would know that today is Father's Day (Sunday 6th). In theme with our celebration of our fathers, here's a list of the top movie dads that helped establish the dynamic onscreen relationships between father/son and father/daughter. This list will include films such as 'Star Wars' and 'The Lion King'. My selection criteria included whether they were worthy of being a role model, or if they had interesting characteristic flaws like being estranged, absent, comically inept or overly serious.

#6. Jor-El (Superman)

Our first candidate is Jor-El, (no, not the
one in 'Man of Steel'). The
original interpretation of this
character serves as a sort of
a spiritual guide to his
son Kal-El (famously known as
Superman or as his 

human alter ego Clark Kent);

after Jor-El sacrificed himself 

to save the infant 

from the destruction of 

Planet Krypton. It helps 

that even within death,
Jor-El can be seen teaching his son through holograms of his wisdom. The character was portrayed by Marlon Brando who also played another famous dad as Don Vito Corleone in 'The Godfather'.

#5. Darryl Kerrigan (The Castle)

It's no surprise that when 

you meet average people 

in Australia like Darryl 

Kerrigan. He is not only 

a loving husband and a 

tow truck driver, but is a 

kind-hearted patriarch to 

his children. This good-

natured, optimistic father 

may not be as comical 

as Clark Griswold in the 

'National Lampoon' series but is able to get along well with his children and prevent them, his wife, neighbours and himself from being forced off their homes by the Aussie government. 

#4. Cooper (Interstellar)

While not the best of the
cinematic dads, Cooper does
what is best for his own
children even drifting in
outer space to save the 

world's population from
extinction. Before this
distant relationship had
happened to Cooper, in 
the movie's first half he was 
able to maintain a decent 
fatherly bond to his children, 
yes, even his own daughter whom he calls her Murph is affectionate towards her. It would take years after his time in space that he would then reunite with his daughter when after communication through the black hole that they would see each other again.

#3. Henry Jones (Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade)

Judging from where Indy
gets his obsession with

artefacts from Henry
Jones is a work-detached
father who is never around
with his son because of
his time spending his

research with the Holy Grail
and the two would then
reunite as the former sets out
to rescue him from the Nazis.
Besides all the differences
that both of them had in
their previous lives, they wonderfully provide their impeccable father/son chemistry and this is because director Steven Spielberg has cast old James Bond actor Sean Connery to get on good terms with the supporting role.

#2. Mufasa (The Lion King) 

This list of the top six
characters couldn't be
completed without Mufasa
who is Simba's kingly
powerful father and is 

teaching him the ways in 

the circle of life. Though 

normally Simba does very 

little to follow in his father's 

paws until his evil

treacherous uncle Scar kills
him in the middle of the
stampede and places the guilt into Simba's head to forget this responsibility of ruling the pride lands and leave. However, this couldn't have happened when after Simba was being raised by two companions and then got older, as his ghost suddenly appears and tells him that he must take his place as king and defeat Scar in battle. The true fact within this character is that he is voiced by James Earl Jones who also does a voice of the galaxy's notorious father Darth Vader.

#1. Darth Vader (Star Wars)

And finally, our last dad to be
on this category is Darth 

Vader. Though not the 

greatest dad in the universe, 

especially when he chops off 

his son's hand to have him 

disarmed in a lightsaber duel 

or he is unaware that he 

tortured his daughter when 

he intends to find the
location of the Rebel
Alliance. Furthermore, he is 
a compelling character that 
is downright responsible for 
the main plot twist in 'The Empire Strikes Back' when he reveals himself to Luke as his own father. To his shocking discovery, Luke was then able to get away from Vader's clutches to have him at his side if not for the horrifying truth. Fortunately, Vader redeems himself in Return of the Jedi when he gives his own life to save his son from being killed by the Emperor.

Honourable Mentions

Bob Parr/Mr. Incredible (The Incredibles)

Mr. Miyago (The Karate Kid)

Homer Simpson (The Simpsons Movie)