Malcolm Review (Australia Day 2016)

Malcolm


Release Date: 2nd October 1986 - Australia


Production Companies
Cascade Films
Film Victoria

Distribution
Umbrella Entertainment


Genre: Comedy/Crime

Rating: PG

Runtime: 90 minutes


Budget: A$1,000,000

Box Office Gross: $3,842,129 (Australia)


Plot Summary

Malcolm is an inventor, awkward and shy, but he has a gift for making unbelievable devices. One day, while building his tram engine, he loses his job and is forced to take in a few tenants for accommodation to help pay the bills. He gets Frank, a small-time crook, released from jail and his girlfriend, Judith, to move into his home. His mechanical expertise, combined with Frank's criminal knowledge, as the trio begins to pull off the most outrageous heist of the decade.

Cast
Colin Friels - Malcolm Hughes
John Hargreaves - Frank Baker

Lindy Davies - Judith
Chris Haywood - Willy

Charles 'Bud' Tingwell - Tramways Supervisor
Beverly Phillips - Mrs. T

Judith Stratford - Jenny

Heather Mitchell - Barmaid

Tony Mahod - Tram Conductor

David Letch - Restaurant Hoon #2

Mike Bishop - Armed Guard

David Johnston - TV Announcer

Katerina Tassopoulos - Jenny's Mother

Ian McFayden - Model Shop Salesman

Ian Shrives - Split Car Cop #1

David Wm Gray - Split Car Cop #2

Roy Edmunds - Highway Patrol Cop #1

Johnny Raaen - Highway Patrol Cop #2

Peter Hosking - Bank Nightwatchman

Laurie Dobson - Bank Guard #1

Bill Stacey - Bank Guard #2

John Kazantzidis - Cleaner #1

Antonios Baxevandis - Cleaner #2

Denise Scott - Willy's Wife

Don Bridges - Postman

John Bishop - Park Worker

Rex Callahan - Milkbar Cop

John Kelly - Warehouse Cop #1

Peter Nicol - Warehouse Cop #2

David Bradshaw - V.K.C

Lou Richards - Himself - Football

Commentator (Voice) (Uncredited)

John Stanton - Armed Guard (Uncredited)

Crew
Producer/Casting/Director - Nadia Tass
Mechanical Devices Designer and

Constructor/Writer/Producer/Director of
Photography - David Parker

Script Consultants - David Allen

and Robert Marchand

Associate Producer - Timothy White
Executive Producer - Bryce Menzies

Costume Designer - Linda McGuigan

Mechanical Devices Designer and

Constructor - Steve Mills

Mechanical Devices Designer and

Constructor/First Assistant Director -

Tony Mahood

Camera Operators: Second Unit - Clive Duncan,

Ian Jones and Rob Murray

Unit Manager - Chris Haywood

First Assistant Director - Tony Mahood

Second Assistant Director - Paul Grinder

Stunt Coordinator/Stunts - Bill Stacey

Special Effects - Brian Pearce

Visual Effects - Peter Stubbs
Film Editor - Ken Sallows

Assistant Film Editor - Simon James

Sound Editors - Craig Carter and

Dean Gawen

Sound Mixers - Bruce Emery and

Roger Savage

Music - Simon Jeffes


Review

Hello again; many of you didn't watch MALCOLM (or, at least, you would have mistaken it for MALCOLM X). It is not the movie about a historical figure that you expect. It is a different movie made in Australia in late 1986. It is a comedy caper of sheer inventiveness, ingenious in its setup, but based on comedies from an era before MALCOLM, which was way ahead of its time. You might miss a few jokes on MALCOLM. I liked how the filmmakers perfected the robbery sequences with these amusing gadgets and a split vehicle. Filmmaking can't get better at pulling these fake robberies, bent with sheer comic genius.

I liked how they portrayed the title character as someone with a knack for building these machines, a keen interest, and who suffers from Asperger's or high-functioning autism (thanks to Colin Friels's acting). The character, profound yet naive and comical, is the primary focus.

It's been quite a movie. I've revisited it after thirteen years since I last saw it. MALCOLM is a semi-decent, low-budget comedy that isn't quite as clever as the movies we've seen in theatres, on television, etc. By Aussie cinematic standards, it's simple that the film comes close to being a great movie produced in the land of Down Under, so cheers, mates!

Star rating: (7/10) Good Movie

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Labyrinth Review

Labyrinth

Release Date: 4th December 1986 - Australia

Production Companies

Henson Associates (HA) (presents)

Lucasfilm Ltd. (presents)

Delphi V Productions

TriStar Pictures

Distribution

Sony Pictures Australia

Genre: Fantasy/Musical

Rating: G

Runtime: 97 minutes

Budget: $27,680,000

Box Office Gross: $14,841,416 (Worldwide)

Plot Summary

When sixteen-year-old
Sarah is left home alone

to look after her crying
baby brother, Toby, she
carelessly wishes that
the goblins would take
him away. It ends up
happening at the hands
of the evil Goblin King
Jareth, who kidnaps Toby
and takes him to his
castle. Sarah sets out to
get his brother back
and must solve the

impenetrable labyrinth

in only 13 hours. It is

there that Sarah meets

a few friends as they

accompany her to

rescue Toby before the

stroke of midnight.

Live-Action Cast

Jennifer Connelly - Sarah

David Bowie - Jareth the Goblin King

Toby Froud - Toby
Christopher Malcolm - Father

Shelley Thompson - Stepmother
Natalie Finland - Fairy

Puppeteers/Voice Cast

Brian Henson - Hoggle

(Face Performance/Voice)/

Goblin (Voice)

Shari Weiser - Huggle (On-Suit Performer)

Ron Mueck - Ludo/Firey

#2/Goblin (Voice)

Rob Mills - Ludo/Firey #3

Frank Oz - The Wiseman
Michael Hordern - The

Wiseman (Voice)

Dave Goelz - Didymus/
The Hat/The Four Guards/

Left Door Knocker/Firey #3

David Barclay - Didymus

David Shaughnessy - Didymus/The Hat/The Four Guards/Goblin (Voices)

Steve Whitmire - The Four
Guards/Firey 4/Ambrosius

Kevin Clash - The Four Guards/Firey #1/Ambrosius

Anthony Asbury - The Four

Guards/Right Door Knocker/

Firey #5

Percy Edwards - Ambrosius (Voice)

Karen Prell - The Worm/
The Junk Lady/Firey #2

Timothy Bateson - The Worm/

The Four Guards (Voices)

Denise Bryer - The Junk Lady (Voice)

David Healy - Right Door Knocker (Voice)

Robert Beatty - Left Door Knocker (Voice)

Charles Augins - Firey #2 (Voice)

Danny John-Jules - Firey #3/Firey #4 (Voices)

Tony Philpott - Firey #1

Ian Thom - Firey #2

Cheryl Henson - Firey #4

Kevin Bradshaw - Firey #4

Alistair Fullarton - Firey #5

Rollin Krewson - Firey #5

Richard Bodkin - Firey #5 (Voice)

Michael Attwell - Goblin (Voice)

Sean Barrett - Goblin (Voice)

John Bluthal - Goblin (Voice)

Peter Marinker - Goblin (Voice)

Kerry Shale - Goblin (Voice)

Crew

Story/Director - Jim Henson

Story - Dennis Lee

Screenplay - Terry Jones

Script Supervisor - Angela Allen

2nd Unit Continuity - Elaine Schreyeck
Associate Producer - Martin G. Baker

Executive Supervising Producer - David Lazer

Executive Producer - George Lucas

Producer - Eric Rattray

Casting Directors: U.K. - Debbie McWilliams

and Michelle Guish

Casting Directors: U.S.A. - Jane Jenkins

and Janet Hirshenson

Production Designer - Elliot Scott

Conceptual/Costume/Creature Designer

and Supervisor - Brian Froud

Art Director: Sets - Roger Cain

Art Director: Decoration - Peter Howitt

Art Directors: Special Effects - Michael White

and Terry Ackland-Snow

Assistant Art Director - Stephen Scott

Storyboard Artist - Martin Asbury

Property Master - Barry Wilkinson

Costume Designer - Ellis Flyte

Chief Hairdresser - Barbara Ritchie

Makeup Artist - Nick Dudman

Goblin Armour Designer - Michael McCormick

Director of Photography - Alex Thomson

Second Unit Director/Cameraman - Peter MacDonald

Third Unit Director/Cameraman - James Devis

Assistant Directors - Ken Baker,

Nigel Gostelow, Simon Haveland,

Patrick Kinney, Paul Taylor and Nikolas Korda

First Assistant Director: Second Unit -

Steve Harding

Director of Choreography and Puppet

Movement - Gates McFadden

"Chilly Down" and "Magic Dance"

Choreographer - Charles Augins
Crystal Ball Manipulation Choreographer

and Performer - Michael Moschen

Puppeteer Coordinator - Brian Henson

Assistant Puppeteer Coordinator/Puppeteer -

Kevin Clash

Production Administrator: Creature Shop -

Connie Peterson

Special Effects Supervisor - George Gibbs

2nd Unit Special Effects Supervisor -

Richard Conway

Special Effects Consultant: Field Recorder -

Dennis Lowe

Optical Visual Effects Consultant - Roy Field

Cameraman: Model Unit - Paul Wilson

Matte Photography: ILM - Craig Barron,

Randy Jonsson and Paul Huston

Editor - John Grover

Sound Editor: Effects - Vernon Messenger

Unit Sound Mixer - Peter Sutton

Re-Recording Mixers - Ray Merrin

and Bill Rowe

Songs - David Bowie

Music - Trevor Jones

Music Editor - Robert Hathaway

Review
Recently, we lost the legendary singer David Bowie, but we were able to listen to his music and watch LABYRINTH after his passing. In its initial release in 1986, the film didn't set any box-office records. In part, it's due to the fierce competition with other movies, such as Top Gun and Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Many years later, we see LABYRINTH unearthed as it grew a cult following among many Henson enthusiasts and fans of the musician. The feature reminds me of Alice in Wonderland, a classic story about a girl who is transported to a fantasy world and must face the consequences of her curiosity and regret. She goes on an adventure similar to Alice's, but the atmosphere is darker. It also has similarities to The Wizard of Oz. I love the way Jim Henson's masterful puppetry brought these fantastical creatures to life in the movie.

LABYRINTH is also a musical, with all the songs written and performed by David Bowie, who plays the Goblin King, Jareth. He was a legend of his time. Bowie excelled in his villainous role, and the songs he wrote were "Magic Dance" and "As The World Falls Down." I don't mind Jennifer Connelly being in this film, as she performs well for someone of her young age.

The film shows its age from the 80s nostalgia period, as puppetry and blue-screen effects were in their heyday. Thanks to the collaboration of Jim Henson and George Lucas, a fabulous movie emerged that defies the traditional fairy tale narrative found in children's books. Whether you liked it or not, it was not on par with The Dark Crystal, but it is still an enjoyable fantasy movie for all ages.

Star rating: (8/10) Very Good Movie

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88th Academy Awards

Broadcast Date: 29th February - Australia

Hello, moviegoers. After four days of posting two news updates that revolved around the unexpected deaths of David Bowie and Alan Rickman. For the sixth time, I announce the 88th Annual Academy Award nominations. Its host will be actor/stand-up comedian Chris Rock. The Rock will unlikely host this year's ceremony, which got surrounded by controversy. The actor tweeted on social media and discussed none of the African-American actors got nominated for any four categories. As a result, he called the Oscars "The White BET Awards" for their lack of diversity.

It could have been more welcome that one of the contenders of 2015, The Force Awakens, isn't nominated for Best Picture when snubbed in favour of movies like Mad Max: Fury Road and The Revenant. Even Jurassic World is not on for the Best Visual Effects award.

Without further ado, let's look at the list of Oscar nominations.


Best Visual Effects

Ex Machina - Mark Williams Ardington, Sara Bennett,
Paul Norris and Andrew Whitehurst
Mad Max: Fury Road - Andrew Jackson, Dan Oliver,
Andy Williams and Tom Wood
The Martian - Anders Langlands, Chris Lawrence,
Richard Stammers and Steven Warner
The Revenant - Richard McBride, Matt Shumway,
Jason Smith and Cameron Waldbauer
Star Wars: The Force Awakens - Chris Corbould,
Roger Guyett, Paul Kavanagh and Neal Scanlan

Best Film Editing

The Big Short - Hank Corwin
Mad Max: Fury Road - Margaret Sixel
The Revenant - Stephen Mirronne
Spotlight - Tom McArdle
Star Wars: The Force Awakens - Maryann Brandon and
Mary Jo Markey

Best Costume Design

Carol & Cinderella - Sandy Powell
The Danish Girl - Paco Delgado
Mad Max: Fury Road - Jenny Beaven
The Revenant - Jacqueline West

Best Makeup and Hairstyling

The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the 
Window and Disappeared - Love Larson and
Eva von Bahr
Mad Max: Fury Road - Lesley Vanderwalt, Elka Wardega
and Damian Martin
The Revenant - Sian Grigg, Duncan Jarman and
Robert Pandini

Best Cinematography

Carol - Ed Lachman

The Hateful Eight - Robert Richardson

Mad Max: Fury Road - John Seale

The Revenant - Emmanuel Lubezki

Sicario - Roger Deakins

Best Production Design

Bridge of Spies - Rena DeAngelo, Bernhard Henrich 

and Adam Stockman

The Danish Girl - Michael Standish and Eve Stewart

Mad Max: Fury Road - Colin Gibson and Lisa Thompson

The Martian - Celia Bobak and Arthur Max

The Revenant - Jack Fisk and Hamish Purdy

Best Sound Mixing

Bridge of Spies - Andy Nelson, Gary Rydstrom 

and Drew Kunin

Mad Max: Fury Road - Chris Jenkins, Gregg Rudloff 

and Ben Osmo

The Martian - Paul Massey, Mark Taylor and 

Mac Ruth

The Revenant - Jon Taylor, Frank A. Montaño, 

Randy Thom and Chris Duesterdik

Star Wars: The Force Awakens - Andy Nelson, 

Chris Scarabosio and Stuart Wilson

Best Sound Editing

Mad Max: Fury Road - Mark A. Mangini and 

David White

The Martian - Oliver Tarney

The Revenant - Martin Hernández and Lon Bender

Sicario - Alan Robert Murray

Star Wars: The Force Awakens - Matthew Wood 

and David Acord

Best Original Song

"Earned It" from Fifty Shades of Gray - Music and 

Lyrics by Belly, Stephan Moccio, Jason Daheala Quenneville 

and The Weeknd

"Manta Ray" from Racing Extinction - Music by J. Ralph 

and Lyrics by Antony Hegarty 

"Simple Song #3" from Youth - Music and Lyrics by 

David Lang

"Til It Happens to You" from The Hunting Ground - 

Music and Lyrics by Lady Gaga and Diane Warren

"Writing's in the Wall" from Spectre - Music and 

Lyrics by Jimmy Napes and Sam Smith

Best Original Score

Bridge of Spies - Thomas Newman

Carol - Carter Burwell

The Hateful Eight - Ennio Morricone

Sicario - Jóhann Jóhannson

Star Wars: The Force Awakens - John Williams

Best Animated Short Film

Bear Story - Pato Escala Pierart and Gabriel 

Osorio Vargas

Prologue - Imogen Sutton and Richard Williams

Sanjay's Super Team - Nicole Paradis Grindle and 

Sanjay Patel

We Can't Live Without Cosmos - Konstantin Bronzit

World of Tomorrow - Don Hertzfeldt

Best Live Action Short Film

Ave Maria - Eric Dupont and Basil Khalil

Day One - Henry Hughes

Everything Will Be Okay - Patrick Vollrath

Shok - Jamie Donoughue

Stutterer - Serenade Armitage and Benjamin Clearly

Best Documentary - Short Subject

Body Team 12 - David Darg and Bryn Mooser

Chau, Beyond the Lines - Courtney Marsh and 

Jerry Franck

Claude Lanzmann: Spectres of the Shoah - 

Adam Benzine

A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness - 

Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy

Last Day of Freedom - Dee Hibbert-Jones and 

Nomi Talisman

Best Documentary - Feature

Amy - Asif Kapadia and James Gay-Rees

Cartel Land - Matthew Heinerman and Tom Yellin

The Look of Silence - Joshua Oppenheimer and 

Signe Burge Sørensen

What Happened, Miss Simone? - Liz Garbus, 

Amy Hobby and Justin Wilkes

Winter on Fire: Ukraine's Fight for Freedom - 

Evgeny Afineevsky and Den Tolmor

Best Foreign Language Film

Embrace of the Serpent (Colombia) in Spain - 

Cairo Guerra

Mustang (France) in Turkish - Deniz Gamze Ergüven

Son of Saul (Hungary) in Hungarian - László Nemes

Theeb (Jordan) in Arabic - Naji Abu Nowar

A War (Denmark) in Danish - Tobias Lindholm

Best Animated Feature Film

Anomalisa - Charlie Kaufman, Duke Johnson 

and Rosa Tran

Boy & the World - Alê Abreu 

Inside Out - Pete Docter and Jonas Rivera

Shaun the Sheep Movie - Mark Burton and 

Richard Starzak

When Marnie Was There - Hiromasa Yonebayashi 

and Yoshiaki Nishimura

Best Writing - Adapted Screenplay

The Big Short - Adam McKay and Charles Randolph 

from The Big Short by Michael Lewis

Brooklyn - Nick Hornby from Brooklyn by Colm Tóibín

Carol - Phyllis Nagy from The Price of Salt by 

Patricia Highsmith

The Martian - Drew Goddard from The Martian by 

Andy Weir

Room - Emma Donoghue from her own novel

Best Writing - Original Screenplay

Bridge of Spies - Matt Charman and Ethan & Joel Coen

Ex Machina - Alex Garland

Inside Out - Josh Cooley, Ronnie del Carmen, Pete Docter 

and Meg LeFauve

Spotlight - Tom McCarthy and Josh Singer

Straight Outta Compton - Andrea Berloff, Jonathan Herman, 

S. Leigh Savidge and Alan Wenkus

Best Supporting Actress

Jennifer Jason Leigh - The Hateful Eight as 

Daisy Domergue

Rooney Mara - Carol as Therese Belivet

Rachel McAdams - Spotlight as Sacha Pfeiffer

Alicia Vikander - The Danish Girl as Gerda Wegener

Kate Winslet - Steve Jobs as Joanna Hoffman

Best Supporting Actor

Christian Bale - The Big Short as Michael Burry

Tom Hardy - The Revenant as John Fitzgerald 

Mark Ruffalo - Spotlight as Michael Rezendes

Mark Rylance - Bridge of Spies as Rudolf Abel

Sylvester Stallone - Creed as Rocky Balboa

Best Actress

Cate Blanchett - Carol as Carol Aird

Brie Larson - Room as Joy "Ma" Newsome

Jennifer Lawrence - Joy as Joy Mangano

Charlotte Rampling - 45 Years as Kate Mercer

Saoirse Roman - Brooklyn as Ellis Lacey

Best Actor

Bryan Cranston - Trumbo as Dalton Trumbo

Matt Damon - The Martian as Mark Watney

Leonardo DiCaprio - The Revenant as Hugh Glass

Michael Fassbender - Steve Jobs as Steve Jobs

Eddie Redmayne - The Danish Girl as Lili Elbe/Einar Wegner

Best Director

Lenny Abrahamson - Room

Alejandro G. Iñárritu - The Revenant

Tom McCarthy - Spotlight

Adam McKay - The Big Short

George Miller - Mad Max: Fury Road

Best Picture

The Big Short - Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner and 

Jeremy Kleiner

Bridge of Spies - Steven Spielberg, Marc Platt and 

Kristie Macosko Krieger

Brooklyn - Finola Dwyer and Amanda Posey

Mad Max: Fury Road - George Miller and Doug Mitchell

The Martian - Simon Kinberg, Ridley Scott, 

Michael Shaefer and Mark Huffam

The Revenant - Arnon Milchan, Steve Golin, 

Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Mary Parent and Keith Redmon

Room - Ed Guiney

Spotlight - Michael Sugar, Steve Golin, Nicole Rocklin 

and Blye Pagon Fest

Academy Honorary Awards

Spike Lee

Gena Rowlands

Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award

Debbie Reynolds

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In Memory of Alan Rickman (1946-2016)

Alan Rickman (1946-2016)


Hello, fellow moviegoers. It is with great sadness that the English thespian Alan Rickman died of cancer on January 14th, 2016. He was 69 years old. Rickman was best known to many older audiences as the cold Slytherin teacher of Hogwarts, Severus Snape, in the "Harry Potter" series. His other notable roles include the ruthless German criminal mastermind Hans Gruber in "Die Hard," the Sheriff of Nottingham in "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves," Jamie in "Truly, Madly, Deeply," Colonel Brandon in "Sense and Sensibility," Alexander Dane in "Galaxy Quest," Harry in "Love Actually," the reluctant recluse Alex Hughes in "Snowcake," and Judge Turpin in "Sweeney Todd." I send my condolences to his family and friends who have stood by his side at his passing. The charisma, ego, and sheer brutality that Rickman brought to his famous characters are something I will never forget.

He was born on February 21st, 1946, in Acton, London, and raised by a working-class family. He was about eight years old at the time of his father's death. Rickman worked with British theatre groups and the Royal Shakespeare Company in stage productions after graduating from two colleges and a drama school. He made brief appearances on television in serials and TV shows for ITV and the BBC. His stage stardom transitioned to the cinema when American director John McTiernan discovered him. McTiernan wanted an English actor to portray a foreign terrorist leader in a big-budget action movie entitled "Die Hard." Rickman almost turned down the role in "Die Hard," but the release of his film debut catapulted him into newfound fame at age 41. He went on to play roles in a wide variety of films, including romantic leads in "Truly, Madly, Deeply" and "Sense and Sensibility" and the villainous Sheriff of Nottingham in "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves."

After starring in roles as Sir Alexander Dane in "Galaxy Quest" and Metatron in "Dogma," Rickman came to the attention of author J.K. Rowling and was her personal choice to portray the teacher of potions, Severus Snape, in the movie adaptation series of "Harry Potter." The first is "The Philosopher's Stone" and ends with "Deathly Hallows: Part 2" as his last. Rickman's interpretation of the character has earned critical acclaim throughout the series. It was unanimous for him to be part of the new generation of audiences who now adore him as the actor who plays Professor Snape. During his time portraying the character in the Harry Potter films, Rickman also appeared in "Love Actually" and "Snow Cake," opposite Sigourney Weaver and Carrie-Anne Moss. He also played the Judge in Tim Burton's adaptation of "Sweeney Todd" opposite Johnny Depp. He was also known for his soft-spoken, deep voice that earned him voiceover roles in other live-action movies, such as Marvin the Android in "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" and the Caterpillar in "Alice in Wonderland" and "Alice Through the Looking Glass." The latter of which would be his final feature.

I'll never forget how significant Rickman was to the characters he played, who were either villainous, depressed, or sullen. Alan, wherever you are, we miss you.

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In Memory of David Bowie (1947-2016)

David Bowie (1947-2016)

Hello, movie-goers. It is an important
news update that you might like to read.
As some of you won't know, actor/
singer/musician David Bowie passed
on at age 69 after an eighteen-month
struggle fighting cancer. Bowie was
famous not only for his memorable
songs, flamboyance, and identity of
Ziggy Stardust, but he was best

known for his roles such as the sci-fi

drama "The Man Who Fell to Earth" and Jareth in the musical fantasy "Labyrinth."

There is too much to talk about David Bowie in his long musical career, but his acting career was shorter than his lifetime in rock music. It all began when Bowie first appeared in a short film, and it wasn't until nine years later that he had his breakthrough role in "The Man Who Fell to Earth," where he earned all the acclaim for his performance. Shortly after the film's success, he went on to star in other features. In 1986, while filming a rock musical titled "Absolute Beginners," which would end as a commercial disaster in Britain. Bowie got approached by Muppet creator/director Jim Henson and executive producer George Lucas to star in their forthcoming movie "Labyrinth" after two of Jim's sons persuaded their father to cast him instead of Sting. While not acting as the evil Goblin King, Bowie wrote all the film's songs and did the singing for himself. In the late 80s, while concentrating on his music, David Bowie continued his acting career in films like Martin Scorsese's "The Last Temptation of Christ," "The Linguini Incident," "Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me," "The Prestige," and "August." The latter would end up being his final movie role. Bowie appeared in a minor and pivotal role as Andy Warhol in "Basquiat" and guest-starred as himself in the Ben Stiller comedy "Zoolander." He voiced the antagonist Malthazar in the part-animated and part-live-action film "Arthur and the Invisibles."

Bowie also provided the theme track "Putting Out the Fire" for the horror film "Cat People" in 1982. Most of his classic songs were in numerous features, such as "Happy Feet Two," "Guardians of the Galaxy," "The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou," "Rush," "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty," "Moulin Rouge," and most recently "The Martian."

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Daddy's Home Review

Daddy's Home

Release Date: 26th December 2015 - Australia

Production Companies 

Paramount Pictures

Red Granite Pictures
Gary Sanchez Productions

Distribution 

Paramount Pictures Australia 

Genre: Comedy

Rating: PG

Runtime: 100 minutes


Budget: $50,000,000

Box Office Gross: $242,786,137
(Worldwide)


Plot Summary 

A mild-mannered radio
executive tries hard to be
the world's greatest 

stepfather. But when his 

wife's freeloading ex-

husband comes back into
the picture, he's forced to
compete for the kids' affection. (Source - Metro Cinemas)

Cast

Will Ferrell - Brad Whitaker

Mark Wahlberg - Dusty Mayron
Linda Cardellini - Sara
Scarlet Estevez - Megan
Owen Vacarro - Dylan
Hannibal Buress - Griff
Bobby Cannavale - Dr. Francisco
Bill Burr - Jeff
Jamie Denbo - Doris
Thomas Haden Church - Leo Holt
Kobe Bryant - Himself (Cameo)
Alessandra Ambrosio - Karen
Didi Costine - Dusty's Stepdaughter
John Cena - Cool Dad (Cameo)

Crew
Screenplay/Executive
Producer/Director - Sean Anders
Story/Screenplay - Brian Burns
Screenplay/Producer - John Morris
Executive Producers - Riza
Aziz, Jessica Elbaum, David Koplan, Joey McFarland, Kevin J. Messick and Diana Pokorny

Producers - Will Ferrell, Chris Henchy and Adam McKay
Production Designer - Clayton Hartley
Director of Photography - Julio Macat
Film Editors - Eric Kissack and Brad Whilite
Music Supervisor - Dave Jordan
Music - Michael Andrews

Review

In the theatres, a few movies are due to be released in late 2015 and some of them lost a game of tug of war with the new 'Star Wars' adventure 'The Force Awakens'. While the space craze has not yet ended, there was a comedy that came out five days before the end of last year about what will happen when a full-time stepdad is about to be blown away by the macho father of his stepchildren. 'DADDY'S HOME' is insipid and generic which has to do with a lack of originality and there is nothing else but a few chuckles to entertain us.

It seems the writers are short of ideas that they have appeared to have given up and left the movie relying on cheap laughter. It is a wasted opportunity of the talents of Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg whom are both enjoying a good chemistry together and delivered their great performances when they last collaborated together in 'The Other Guys'. But all they can to do aside from their first-class acting is to stick to the mediocre script. 

This picture is forgettable to many and almost works like a charm. 'DADDY'S HOME' would have been better than any of the other comedies from 2015, but now it's more of a near reverse than what you have seen in the unforgettable trailer. 

Star rating: (4/10) Below Average

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There goes the label...

I reviewed some disaster movies since I now realised that the label "disaster" is a subgenre. These films are devoted to action, science fiction and drama, causing me to re-label San Andreas, Dante's Peak, Armageddon, Deep Impact and recently, The Day After Tomorrow (excluding a few that don't need to be re-labelled).

I've then fixed most of the reviews for the movies that they've been awarded and nominated for the Academy Awards. And before that, I added a featured post of a movie I once saw, as this gadget is on the right side, where it sits below the Google Plus+ application. 

Feel free to comment on this post or have it read.

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The Day After Tomorrow Review

The Day After Tomorrow

Release Date: 27th May 2004 - Australia

Production Companies

Twentieth Century Fox (presents)

Centropolis Entertainment

Lionsgate Films

Mark Gordon Company

Distribution 

20th Century Fox Australia

Genre: Sci-Fi

Rating: M

Runtime: 118 minutes


Budget: $125,000,000

Box Office Gross: $544,272,402 (Worldwide)

Plot Summary

Paleoclimatologist Jack Hall

is in Antarctica when he

discovers that the ice sheet

is cracking. He doesn't

realise that this event may

result in massive climate

change and affect the global

population. Meanwhile, his

son Sam attends an event

in New York with his friends

and discovers it has been

raining nonstop for three

weeks. Then, weather-

related disasters began

to appear, including

tornadoes scattered in Los

Angeles, a tidal wave

flooding New York City,

and the entire Northern

Hemisphere starting to

freeze. Now, Jack has to

undergo a dangerous trek

to rescue his son and his

friends as they're stuck

in New York City, trying

to survive the cold

temperatures that could kill

them. Can Jack save Sam

in time before it's too late?

Will the world survive the

new Ice Age?

Cast

Dennis Quaid - Jack Hall

Jake Gyllenhaal - Sam Hall

Ian Holm - Terry Rapsom

Emmy Rossum - Laura Chapman

Sela Ward - Dr. Lucy Hall

Dash Mihok - Jason Evans
Austin Nichols - J.D.
Tamlyn Tomita - Janet Tokida
Kenneth Welsh - Vice President Becker
Arjay Smith - Brian Parks
Jay O. Sanders - Frank Harris
Sasha Roiz - Parker
Perry King - President Blake
Adrian Lester - Simon
Glenn Plummer - Luther
Nestor Serrano - Gomez
Vitali Makarov - Yuri
Christopher Britton - Vorsteen
Caroline Keenan - Tina
Jason Blicker - Paul
Russell Yuen - Hideki
Amy Sloan - Elsa
Shelia McCarthy - Judith
Christian Tessier - Aaron

Crew

Story/Screenplay/Executive Producer/

Director - Roland Emmerich

Writer - Jeffrey Nachmanoff

Suggested in Part by the Book "The

Coming Global Superstorm" - Art Bell and

Whitley Strieber

Associate Producer/First Assistant Director -

Kim Winther
Executive Producers - Ute Emmerich

and Stephanie Germain

Executive Producer/Unit Production Manager -

Kelly Van Horn

Producer - Mark Gordon

Co-Producer/Unit Production Manager -

Thomas M. Hammel

Casting Director - April Webster

Production Designer - Barry Chusid

Supervising Art Directors - Claude Paré

and Tom Reta

Art Directors - Martin Gendron, Michele Laliberte,

Réal Proulx and Marc Bonin

Set Decorator - Victor J. Zolfo

Costume Designer - Renée April

Special Makeup Effects Supervisor - Adrian Morot

Director of Photography - Ueli Steiger

Second Assistant Directors: El Paso Unit -

Lars P. Winther and David Footman

Second Unit Director: Splinter Unit/

Visual Effects Director of Photography:

Digital Domain - Anne Foerster

Wolf Trainer - Mark Dumas

Stunt Coordinator: Los Angeles & El Paso -

Charlie Brewer

Stunt Coordinator: Montreal - Brando Racki

Special Effects Supervisor - Neil Corbould

Special Effects Coordinator: Los Angeles Unit -

Al Broussard

Visual Effects Supervisor - Karen E. Goulekas,

Visual Effects Supervisors: ILM - Eric Brevig
and Jim Mitchell

Visual Effects Supervisors: Ring of Fire Studios -

Greg Anderson and Jerry Spivack

Visual Effects Supervisor: The Orphanage -

Remo Balcells

Visual Effects Supervisor: Tweak Films -

Christopher Horvath

Visual Effects Supervisors: Hydraulx - Colin &

Greg Strause

Visual Effects Supervisor: Zoic Studios -

Rocco Passionini

Associate Visual Effects Supervisor: Digital

Domain - Matthew E. Butler

Visual Effects Producer - Mike Chambers

Visual Effects Producer: ILM - Shari Hanson

Visual Effects Producers: Digital Domain -

Todd Isorelit and Julian Levi

Visual Effects Art Director: ILM - Alexander Laurant

Digital Effects Supervisor: Digital Domain - Bryan Gill

Computer Graphics Supervisors: ILM - Gregor Lakner

and Christopher Townsend

Computer Graphics Supervisors: Digital Domain -

Sean Andrew Faden, David Prescott and Andrew Waisler

CG Supervisor: Zoic Studios - Andrew Orloff

Animation Supervisor: ILM - Danny Gordon Taylor

Associate Animation Supervisor: ILM - Scott Benza
Motion Capture Lead Engineer - Mike Sanders

Compositing Supervisor: The Orphanage - Ben Grossman

Film Editor - David Brenner

Additional Editors - Peter S. Elliot and

Michael McCusker

Supervising Sound Editors - Larry Kemp

and Mark P. Stoeckinger

Sound Designer: Ice Flow, Flood & Tidal Wave -

Alan Rankin

Sound Designer: L.A. Tornado & Destruction -

Michael Kamper

Sound Designer: Wind, Thunder & Superfreeze -

Ann Scibelli

Sound Designer: Vehicles and Animals - Randy Kelley

Sound Designer: Superfreeze - Harry Cohen

Sound Mixers - Paul Massey and Doug Hemphill

Additional Mixer - James Bolt

Foley Artists - Alicia Stevenson and Dawn Fintor

Music - Harald Kloser

Review

So sorry about it. I didn't have to publish a review every Monday since I felt so driven to finish my three movie critiques and ended up taking a break. Before New Year's Eve, I'd been unable to find the world-ending feature of 2012, which I was supposed to watch before writing a critique of it. I eventually switched to an alternative movie from the same filmmaker when it was released six years before he went on to produce that glorious, over-lengthened disaster epic. THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW isn't one of those doomsday movies made to be scientifically accurate. It blends seamlessly with the visual graphics and images, creating a world that spans from its climate-changing catastrophe to its big chill.

Many climatologists disliked how the film greatly exaggerated the effects of global warming, portraying it as causing the endless winter, a portrayal that contradicts scientific research. Director Roland Emmerich may not have been an avid believer in science. But he never fails to make this picture suspenseful in the post-9/11 wake. Even setting the temperature to a maximum.

Naturally, I did notice a few elements of the movie that could use improvement, including the story and the character development that needed the most work. The acting would be the least of my worries, and it wouldn't matter to such talented movie players that their careers are seemingly unaffected by this film. It doesn't have to fail when you have someone like Dennis Quaid, Jake Gyllenhaal, and soon-to-be-famed newcomer Emmy Rossum, who can only provide the notch in their performances.

I thought that THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW was so good at being a visual spectacle, though it's not supposed to have any scientific patterns. It's a believable film that nearly gives the impact of other disaster hits. Even 2012 is darker and more shocking compared to this film and Independence Day. I recommend watching or renting it now.

Star rating: (7/10) Good Movie

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