Space Jam Review

Space Jam


Release Date: 12th December 1996 - Australia


Production Companies
Warner Bros. Family Entertainment
Northern Lights Entertainment
Courtside Seats Productions


Genre: Family/Comedy

Rating: G

Runtime: 88 minutes


Budget: $80,000,000

Box Office Gross: $230,594,962 (Worldwide)


Plot Summary
When a group of aliens arrives to capture the Looney Tunes as they plan to use them as an attraction for their failing amusement park in outer space, the gang enlists retired basketball champion Michael Jordan to help them win a basketball game.

Cast
Michael Jordan - Himself
Wayne Knight - Stan Podolak

Theresa Randle - Juanita Jordan

Manner Washington - Jeffery Jordan

Eric Gordon - Marcus Jordan

Penny Bae Bridges - Jasmine Jordan

Brandon Hammon - Michael Jordan (10 Years Old)

Thom Barry - James Jordan

Charles Barkley - Himself

Mugsy Bogues - Himself

Shawn Bradley - Himself

Patrick Ewing - Himself

Larry Johnson - Himself

Larry Bird - Himself
Bill Murray - Himself
Ahmad Rashad - Himself (Cameo)
Del Harris - Himself (Cameo)
Vlade Divac - Himself (Cameo)
Cedric Ceballos - Himself (Cameo)
Jim Rome - Himself (Cameo)
Paul Westphal - Himself (Cameo)
Danny Ainge - Himself (Cameo)
Patricia Heaton - Woman Fan (Cameo)
Dan Castellaneta - Male Fan (Cameo)
William G. Schilling - Golfer
Albert Hague - Psychiatrist
A.C. Green - Himself (Cameo)
Charles Oakley - Himself (Cameo)
Derek Harper - Himself (Cameo)
Jeff Malone - Himself (Cameo)
Anthony Miller - Himself (Cameo)
Sharone Wright - Himself

(Cameo)

Bill Wennington - Himself

(Cameo) (Uncredited)

Brian Shaw - Himself (Cameo) (Uncredited)

Steve Kerr - Himself (Cameo) (Uncredited)

Charles Hallahan - Baron's Owner (Uncredited)

Voice Cast
Billy West - Bugs Bunny/

Elmer Fudd
Dee Bradley Baker - Daffy Duck/Tazmanian Devil/Bull
Bob Bergen - Berite/Hubie/

Marvin the Martian/Porky
Bill Farmer - Sylvester/

Yosemite Sam/Foghorn Leghorn

Maurice LaMarche - Pepe LePew
June Foray - Granny
Kath Soucie - Lola Bunny
Danny DeVito - Mr Swackhammer

Jocelyn Blue - Nerdluck Pound

Charity James - Nerdluck Blanko

June Melby - Nerdluck Bang

Catherine Reitman - Nerdluck Bupkus

Colleen Wainwright - Nerdluck Nawt/Sniffles

Dorian Harewood - Monstar Bupkus

Joey Camen - Monstar Bang

TK Carter - Monstar Nawt

M. Darnell Suttles - Monstar Pound

Steve Kehela - Monstar Blanko/Announcer

Frank Welker - Charles the Dog


Crew
Director - Joe Pytka

Directors of Animation - Bruce W. Smith

and Tony Cervone

Writers - Leo Benvenuti, Steve Rudnick,

Timothy Harris and Herschel Weingrod

Executive Producers - David Falk and Ken Ross

Producers - Ivan Reitman, Joe Medjuck and

Daniel Goldberg

Co-Producer/Unit Production Manager -

Gordon Webb

Co-Producer - Curtis Polk
Co-Producer/Editor - Sheldon Kahn

Animation Producers - Ron Tippe,
Jerry Rees and Steven Paul Leiva

Animation Producer/Associate Producer:

Animation - Dennis Edwards

Animation Line Producer - Richard Sullivan

Animation Co-Producer - Allison Abbate

Studio Producer: Premier Films Ltd. -

John Leatherbarrow

Casting Directors - Jane Jenkins

and Janet Hirshenson

Production Designer - Geoffrey Kirkland

Art Director - David F. Klassen
Set Decorator - Jennifer Williams

Property Master - Sean Mannion

Animation Art Director - Bill Perkins

Assistant Art Directors: Animation -

Laura Corsiglia and Scott Wills

Character Designers/Visual Development

Artists: Animation - Chris Aguirre, Fred Cline,

Jean Giraud, Ashanti Miller, Vladimir Spasojevic,

Tim Watts, Mark Whiting and Bill Wray

Supervising Animators - Neil Boyle,
Uli Meyer, Chuck Gammage, Jim Kammerud,

Jeff Siergey, Dave Spafford, Bruce Woodside

and Robert Stevenhagen

Assistant Animation Supervisor: Premier

Films Ltd. - Brent Odell

Background: Animation - William Dely

Layout: Animation - Gary Mouri

Costume Designer - Marlene Stewart

Costume Supervisor - Christopher Lawrence

Assistant Costume Designer - Lisa Loovas

Director of Photography - Michael Chapman

Camera Operator - Bill Roe

First Assistant Camera - Jamie Barber,

Louis Niemeyer and Vern Nobles Jr.
Stunt Coordinator - Bob Bralver

Basketball Coordinators - Nathaniel Bellamy Jr.

and Nigel Miguel
Special Effects Coordinator - Daniel Pritchett
Additional Special Effects Supervisor -

Raymond Pang

Live-Action/Animation Visual Effects - Ed Jones

Visual Effects Supervisor - James Lima

Digital Effects Supervisors: Cinesite -

Carlos Arguello and Doug Tubach

Lead Producers: Cinesite - Aaron Dem,

Scott Dougherty and Alex Bicknell

Computer Graphics Specialty Compositors:

Cinesite - Kevin Lingenfelser, Sean O'Conner,

Greg Liegey and Jay Cooper

Computer Character Animation: Cinesite -

Roger Kupelian and Michael Kory

Digital Matte Paintings: Cinesite - Charles Darby

Animo Director Applications: Animation -

James C.J. Williams

Supervising Editor: Animation - Nancy Frazen

Editor: Animation Editorial - William D. Gordean

Associate Editors: Animation Editorial -

John Currin, Richard L. McCullough and

Mark Solomon

Supervising Sound Editor - Mark A. Mangini

Supervising Dialogue/ADR Editor -

Curt Schulkey

Production Sound Mixers - James LaRue

and Gene S. Cantamessa

Re-Recording Mixers - Gary Alexander,

Gary C. Bourgeois, Jim Fitzpatrick,

John T. Reitz, Gregg Rudloff,

David E. Campbell and Mark D. Fleming (Uncredited)

Music - James Newton Howard

Score Recordist and Mixer - Shawn Murphy


Review

Taking inspiration from Who Framed Roger Rabbit's innovative techniques of combining hand-drawn animation and live-action into a separate format, here's what you get when Warner Bros unleashes their cartoon brand Looney Tunes and basketball legend Michael Jordan in a movie that some deem to be underwhelming. That type of film is SPACE JAM. And for several years, I've anticipated reviewing this nostalgic flick. Hopefully, my newly resumed schedule for this feature won't be as delayed as I've missed a year of re-watching it simultaneously. As you may have guessed, SPACE JAM is a movie based on the commercials in which Jordan had previously promoted his Air Jordan sneakers with Bugs Bunny. I find it frustrating that these product advertisements get adapted into a single full-length feature. I've always considered the possibility that SPACE JAM, in all of its visual splendour, was a blend of live-action and animation. Though not to the extent that Robert Zemeckis had envisioned for Roger Rabbit.

Michael Jordan wasn't much of an actor when his performance had gotten so uncharismatic and stiff. It could be that he didn't have experience in acting. He excels, however, in basketball. I hated how they expanded Bill Murray's cameo in the final round, which the role should have been the Road Runner. I liked the gorgeous design of Bugs' love interest, Lola Bunny. Her personality is too shallow to be the romantic interest of the cartoon hare. These factors should have slowed the film down in mainstream obscurity when only the soundtrack placement redeems its average quality. "I Believe I Can Fly" is probably one of the most iconic songs I want to hear again.

SPACE JAM was neither good nor bad, and it should have been the movie that ended the Looney Tunes. Instead, it is enjoyable to younger fans of the cartoon characters and fans of Michael Jordan. Th-th-that's all, Folks!

Star rating: (5/10) Average

Back to Home

Olympus Has Fallen Review

Olympus Has Fallen


Release Date: 4th April 2013 - Australia

Production Companies

Millenium Films (presents)

G-BASE

Four Forty Studios (in collaboration with)

West Coast Film Partners

Distribution

Roadshow Films

Genre: Action

Rating: MA15+ (Not Suitable

for Young Children)

Runtime: 119 minutes

Budget: $70,000,000

Box Office Gross: $170,270,201 (Worldwide)

Plot Summary

When a terrorist mastermind

invades the White House

and kidnaps the President,

a disgraced former

Presidential Secret Service

Agent named Mike Banning

finds himself trapped within

the building. While the

national security team

scrambles to respond, they

must rely on Banning's

inside knowledge to help

retake the White House,

save the President and

prevent an even bigger crisis.

Cast

Gerard Butler - Mike Banning

Aaron Eckhart - President Benjamin Asher

Finley Jacobsen - Connor

Dylan McDormett - Forbes

Rick Yune - Kang

Morgan Freeman - Speaker Trumbull

Angela Bassett - Secret Service Director Lynn Jacobs

Melissa Leo - Secretary of Defense Ruth McMillian

Radha Mitchell - Leah

Cole Hauser - Roma

Phil Austin - Vice President Charles Rodriguez

James Ingersoll - Admiral Nathan Hoening

Freddy Bosche - Diaz

Lance Broadway - O'Neil

Sean O'Bryan - Ray Monroe

Ashley Judd - First Lady Margaret Asher

Keong Sim - Lee Tae-Woo

Kevin Moon - Cho

Malana Lea - Lim

Robert Forster - General Edward Clegg

Sam Medina - Yu

Tory Kittles - Agent Jones

Shane Land - Agent Davis

Shanna Forrestall - Mary Jane Fuller

Dorothy Deavers - Ms. Moesley

Hamish MacDonald - Himself (Cameo)

Lawrence O'Donnell - Himself

(Cameo)

Rick Chambers - Himself (Cameo)

Crew

Producer/Director - Antoine Fuqua

Writers - Creighton Rothenberger and Katrin Benedikt

Associate Producer - Danielle Robinson

Executive Producers - Boaz

Davidson, Danny Dimbort,

Avi Lerner, Heidi Jo Markel,

Trevor Short and John

Thompson

Co-Executive Producer -

Christine Otal

Co-Executive Producers/

Executives in Charge of

Production Financing - Will French and Stephen Roberts

Co-Executive Producer/

Production Business & Legal Affairs - Lonnie Ramati

Producers - Gerard Butler, Mark Gill,

Danny Lenrer and Alan Siegel

Producer/Unit Production

Manager - Ed Cathell III

Production Designer - Derek R. Hill

Art Director - Karen Steward

Set Decorator - Cathy T. Marshall

Costume Designer - Doug Hall

Director of Photography - Conrad W. Hall

Director of Photography: Second Unit - Gary Capo

First Assistant Director - Richard L. Fox

Second Unit Director - Jamie Marshall

Stunt Coordinator - Keith Woulard

Stunt/Fight Coordinator - Lin Oeding

Special Effects Coordinator - Jack Lynch 

Senior Visual Effects Supervisor - Evan Jacobs

Visual Effects Studio Supervisor: Worldwide FX -

Wes C. Caefer

Film Editor - John Refoua

Supervising Sound Editor - Mandell Winter

Sound Designer - David Esparza

Re-Recording Mixers - Daniel J. Leahy

and Chris David

Music - Trevor Morris

Review

Because I'm due to see London Has Fallen, I've re-watched its predecessor, OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN, a hardcore, bloodthirsty and political action shooter from 2013. It came out in such a turbulent year when Hollywood took a slight downturn, producing movies that were not so great, such as Iron Man 3, Star Trek Into Darkness and Man of Steel. Luckily, that past year had some remarkable films, you remember, one of which was OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN.

It is a more successful feature than its lighthearted competitor, White House Down. Both films are definite throwbacks to Die Hard and share the setting and premise of the White House invaded by terrorists, but OLYMPUS is an incredible movie. It is both tumultuous and patriotic in displaying well-coordinated action and much bloodshed. OLYMPUS is a labour of love for director Antoine Fuqua, whose hybrid and newfound style has nearly outmatched Michael Bay's. I say this because Fuqua never attempted to deliver something with plenty of thrills and action without any logic.

This knockoff featured the relatively strong acting of Gerard Butler, Aaron Eckhart, and Morgan Freeman. Though Butler was no Bruce Willis, he was in a league of his own. Eckhart and Freeman's performances and Butler's make a lethal combination of fine casting choices in this ensemble.

OLYMPUS stands above Die Hard and almost all other movies that have borrowed its plot. It has consolidated its place as one of the best movies of 2013. Viewer discretion advises that this feature is not for those under 15.

Star rating: (10/10) Best Movie Ever

Back to Home

Riddick Review

Riddick 

Release Date: 12th September 2013 - Australia

Production Companies 

One Race Films

Universal Pictures 

Radar Pictures
Riddick Canada Productions

Distribution 

Roadshow Distribution 

Genre: Sci-Fi

Rating: MA15+ (Not 

Suitable for Young Children)

Runtime: 114 minutes
               127 minutes 
               (director's cut)

Budget: $40,000,000

Box Office Gross: $98,337,295 

(Worldwide)

Plot Summary 

Wanted by every bounty 

hunter in the known galaxy, 

the infamous convict 

Riddick has been left for 

dead on a sun-scorched 

planet that appears to be 

lifeless. Abandoned and 

alone, Riddick soon 

becomes the prey of a 

swarm of alien predators 

more lethal than anything 

he has encountered before. 

Forced to make a life or 

death decision, Riddick 

activates an emergency 

beacon and alerts 

mercenaries to his 

whereabouts- there is 

safety in numbers! 

The first ship to arrive 

carries a new breed of 

sadistic mercy who won't 

leave without Riddick's 

head as their trophy, while 

the second is captained by 

a man whose pursuit of 

Riddick is more personal. 

What none of them 

anticipated is that when 

you corner a creature that 

is as much animal as he is 

man, you are the one who 

should be on the run.

Cast

Vin Diesel - Riddick

Jordi Molla - Santana

Matt Nable - Boss Johns

Kate Sackhoff - Dahl

Dave Bautista - Diaz

Bokeem Woodbine - Moss

Conrad Pla - Vargas

Dance Blanco Hall - Falco

Noah Danby - Nunez

Neil Napier - Rubio

Nolan Gerard Funk - Luna

Karl Urban - Vaako

Andreas Apergis - Krone

Crew

Writer/Director - David Twohy

Based on Characters - Jim and Ken Wheat
Producer/Executive 

Producer - Samantha Vincent

Executive Producers - Mike Drake and George Zakk

Producers - Vin Diesel and Ted Field

Co-Producers - Mike Weber, Camille Brown and Jim Finkl

Production Designer - Joseph Nemec III

Costume Designer - Simonetta Mariano

Director of Photography - David Eggby

Stunt Coordinators - Troy Robinson and Michael Scherer

Fight Coordinator - Guillermo Grispo
Special Effects Supervisor - Ryal Cosgrove

Visual Effects Supervisor - Gunnar Hansen
Creature Designer - Patrick Tatopoulos

Editor - Tracy Adams

Music - Graeme Revell

Review

Over the years, I've discovered that 'The Chronicles of Riddick' is not entirely a good nor a bad film, I had high hopes that the third instalment 'RIDDICK' would be a definite improvement to the already passable predecessor. I haven't seen this picture for a while and I still haven't seen 'Pitch Black' which is probably the origination of the two movies that have soon followed and started Vin Diesel's stardom. I get the sense that David Twohy is trying to follow the inspirational patterns of notable franchises such as 'Mad Max' and 'Star Wars'. Because both of these franchises featured roguish types of anti-heroes that he wanted the actor Diesel to continue playing which can be very close compared with the eponymous title character just like Mel Gibson when he solemnly returned to star in two 'Mad Max' features as the hero he plays as Max. 

'RIDDICK seems to have recycled the plot from out of the first movie and while it's good to see the story taken back to its roots, it just seems effortless and almost like film makers were just making a quick grab for cash instead of really applying their creative skills to mould a new and innovative story. 

My final thoughts with this review are that it is not completely unbearable, its just that I had higher hopes for this film and feel that it had some deficits which let down the overall quality. That's not to say others would not enjoy it.

Star rating: (6/10) Fair Movie

Back to Home

Chronicle Review

Chronicle

Release Date: 2nd February 2012 - Australia

Production Companies

20th Century Fox

Davis Entertainment
Dune Entertainment (made in association with)

Distribution

20th Century Fox Australia

Genre: Sci-Fi/Action

 
Rating: M

Runtime: 80 minutes


Budget: $12,000,000

Box Office Gross: $126,636,097
(Worldwide)

Plot Summary

Witness the mind bending
chronicle of great power
gone awry. When three
ordinary high school friends
make an extraordinary
discovery, they acquire
amazing abilities beyond
their understanding. They
can move objects with
their minds, crush cars
at will, and even fly. But
as their strength grows,
so do their darker sides.
When harmless pranks
give way to more
dangerous escapades,
their lives spin recklessly
out of control, leading to
an explosive, high-flying
climax that will leave you
breathless!

Cast

Alex Russell - Matt Garetty

Dane DeHaan - Andrew Detmer

Michael B. Jordan - Steve Montgomery

Michael Kelly - Richard Detmer

Ashley Hinshaw - Casey Letter

Anna Wood - Monica

Bo Petersen - Karen Detmer
Anna Wood - Monica
Rudi Malcolm - Wayne
Luke Tyler - Sean
Crystal-Donna Roberts - Samantha
Adrian Collins - Costly
Grant Powell - Howard
Armand Aucamp - Austin
Nicole Bailey - Cala

Crew

Story/Director - Josh Trank

Story/Screenplay - Max Landis
Executive Producer/Unit Production Manager - James Dodson
Producers - John Davis and Adam Schroeder

Casting Director - Ronna Kress
Production Designer - Stephen Altman

Costume Designer - Diane Cilliers
Director of Photography - Matthew Jensen

Stunt Coordinator - Kerry Gregg

Stunt Supervisor - Franz Spilhaus

Special Effects Supervisor - Mickey Kirsten

Visual Effects Supervisor - Simon Hansen
Visual Effects Supervisor: Rhythm & Hues - Raymond Chen

Visual Effects Producers - Balakrishnan, 

Kathy Chasen-Hay and Thilak
Editor - Elliot Greenberg
Music Supervisor - Andrea von Foerster

Review

Before Josh Trank moved to Hollywood and made an infamy with the unsuccessful if not tedious reboot of 'Fantastic Four'. He made his directorial debut on a found footage movie that he filmed in 2012 entitled 'CHRONICLE'. It remains as an absolute one-hit wonder to his promising and doomed career. The director at the time was new, young and fresh to Hollywood and has not yet delivered his latest and failed dark interpretation of Marvel's beloved superhero team to the big screen. The subject of this movie was not that of a typical superhero action movie but rather is all about three teenagers that gain superpowers and none of them are interested in saving the world. 'CHRONICLE' should have been a game changer to director Josh Trank who is more suited to produce pictures out of small scale rather than doing big budget projects. Much like M. Night Shyamalan whose repetitiveness and change of style has lead to the outcome of having disappointing movies like 'The Happening' and 'The Last Airbender'.

'CHRONICLE' introduced new stars such as Dane DeHaan and Michael B. Jordan who have both progressed as consistent performers. DeHaan was an extraordinarily talented youth of an actor and he portrays a huge part of character that is soon to be fallen on his dark side and probably a better villain than his own Harry Osborn in 'The Amazing Spider-Man' sequel.

This movie is surprisingly a very watchable and thrilling cinematic experience, in watching 'CHRONICLE', the use of the video camcorder in a way that it looks like the actors are holding the camera as they are running and it is shaking and moving all over the place. Much as you would see in a documentary or in a horror feature, this camera adds a sense of realism and grittiness. If you had not seen this great picture, you should definitely give it a chance.

Star rating: (8/10) Very Good Movie

Back to Home

The Cable Guy Review

The Cable Guy

Release Date: 20th June 1996 - Australia

Production Companies

Columbia Pictures (presents)

Light/Mueller Film Corp.

Distribution

Sony Pictures Australia

Genre: Comedy

Rating: M

Runtime: 92 minutes

Budget: $47,000,000

Box Office Gross: $102,825,796 (Worldwide)

Plot Summary

Having been dumped by

his girlfriend recently,

Steven Kovacs thought

he'd have a lot of time to

watch TV ...but that was

before he met Chip

Douglas! 

He's a cable guy with a

few loose wires in his

brain and a talent for

hijacking people's lives.

To make matters worse,

all he wants is a friend,

and he won't take no for

an answer.

Cast

Jim Carrey - Chip Douglas

Matthew Broderick - Steven Kovacs

Leslie Mann - Robin Harris

Jack Black - Rick

George Segal - Mr. Kovacs

Diane Baker - Mrs. Kovacs

Eric Roberts - Himself

Ben Stiller - Sam/Stan Sweet

Owen Wilson - Robin's Date

Janeane Garofalo - Medieval Waitress

Andy Dick - Medieval Host

David Cross - Sales Manager

Harry O'Reilly - Steven's Boss

Amy Stiller - Steven's Secretary

Cameron Starman - Cable Boy

Kathy Griffin - Cable Boy's Mother

Crew

Director - Ben Stiller

Writer - Lou Holtz Jr.

Executive Producers - Brad
Grey, Bernie Brillstein and
Marc Gurvitz

Producers - Judd Apatow,
Andrew Licht and Jeffrey A. Mueller

Co-Producer/Unit Production Manager - William Beasley

Production Designer - Sharon Seymour

Art Director - Jeff Knipp

Set Decorator - Maggie Martin

Director of Photography - Robert Brinkmann

First Assistant Director - Nilo Otero

Stunt Coordinator - Freddie Hice

Special Effects Coordinator - Matt Sweeney

Visual Effects Supervisor: SPI - John Nelson

Art Director: SPI - Martin A. Kline

Visual Effects Director of Photography: SPI -

David Drzewiecki

Film Editors - Steven Weisberg

and Samuel Craven

Supervising Sound Editors - Robert Grieve

and Gregory King

Re-Recording Mixers - Chris David,

Scott Millan and Tom Perry

Foley Artists - Andy Malcolm

and Alicia Stevenson

Music - John Ottman 


Review

With the release of Ben Stiller's latest sequel of Zoolander, I decided to take a trip over and refresh my memory with a classic movie he directed with fellow comedian Jim Carrey. Though the second time I watched it in its original DVD format, the comedy wasn't quite as dark, spine-tingling, or funny as everyone has said recently. THE CABLE GUY was Ben Stiller's first big-budget movie as director, and he did an incredible job with this production. I've only enjoyed some portions of the film, but as I said, I haven't watched it many times. I noticed Jim Carrey was having so much fun acting like a child, and he greatly upstaged his co-star Matthew Broderick and even a few supporting players, such as future lead actor/comedian Jack Black. It's the first movie for Carrey where he plays a more serious character than his usual goofball roles.

This movie has themes that are part comedy and part thriller. THE CABLE GUY didn't compare and rank up to his earlier hits like Ace Ventura, The Mask and Dumb and Dumber. Even in later years, he would be burgeoning more seriously in his acting career with some of his other features that would dramatically propel his reputation into superstardom.

THE CABLE GUY tells an entertaining, scary, funny and sad story in one basket. If you are in the mood for something easy to follow that will provide instant thrills with a well-paced, engaging plot. Then this would be worth a watch.

Star rating: (7/10) Good Movie

Back to Home

400th Review! The Lorax

The Lorax

Release Date: 29th March 2012 - Australia

Production Companies

Universal Pictures (presents)

Illumination Entertainment

Dentsu (in association with)

Distribution

Universal Pictures Australia

Genre: Animation/Family

Rating: G

Runtime: 86 minutes


Budget: $70,000,000

Box Office Gross:
$349,183,316 (Worldwide)

Plot Summary
To impress a girl he likes and win her affection, a 12-year-old boy named Ted looks for a tree she wishes to see. But before he can find it, Ted has to hear a story from the Once-ler about how he met the Lorax, who speaks for the trees and defends them and the woodland creatures who live there.

Voice Cast

Ed Helms - The Once-ler

Danny DeVito - The Lorax

Zac Efron - Ted Wiggins

Taylor Swift - Audrey

Rob Riggle - Aloysius O'Hare

Betty White - Grammy Norma

Jenny Slate - Ted's Mom

Nasim Pedrad - Once-ler's Mom

Stephen Tobolwsky - Uncle Ubb

Elmarie Wendel - Aunt Grizelda

Danny Cooksey - Bret and Chet

Chris Renaud - Forest Animals

Crew

Director - Chris Renaud
Co-Director - Kyle Balda
Based on the Book "The Lorax" - Dr. Seuss
Screenplay/Executive Producer/Songs - Cinco Paul
Screenplay/Executive
Producer - Ken Daurio
Executive Producer - Audrey Geisel
Producers - Janet Healy and Christopher Meledandri
Production/Character

Designer - Yarrow Cheney

Art Director/Character
Designer - Eric Guillon
Character Designers - Jeremie Moreau, Carter Goodrich and Robin Joseph

Character Designer/Colorist - Colin Stimpson

Story Supervisor - Dave Rosenbaum

Story Consultant - Mike Reiss
Animation Director - Lionel Gallat

Animation Supervisor - Laurent De La Chapelle

Supervising Animators - Pierre Avon, Nicolas Bauduin, Jean Hemez, Fabrice Joubert, Pierre Leduc and Julien Soret
Computer Graphics Supervisor - Bruno Chauffard

Co-Computer Graphics Supervisor - Simon Thomas
Lighting Supervisor - Nicolas Brack
Rough Layout Supervisor - Regis Schuller
Editors - Claire Dodgson,
Steven Liu and Ken Schretzmann
Sound Designer/Supervising Sound

Editor/Re-Recording Mixer - Randy Thom

Supervising Sound Editor - Dennis Leonard

ADR/Dialogue Supervisor - Daniel Laurie

Re-Recording Mixer - Gary A. Rizzo

Foley Artists - Sean England,

Dennie Thorpe, Jana Vance and

Ronni Brown (Uncredited)

Foley Mixer - Frank Rinella

Songs/Music - John Powell

Executive Song Producer - Christopher Stewart

Score Recordist and Mixer - Shawn Murphy

Review

I have already been disappointed by the adaptation from the beloved children's author, Dr. Seuss, with How the Grinch Stole Christmas, which failed to deliver a worthy experience for me except for Jim Carrey's hilarious and grouchy performance. After being so disappointed by this movie, I've decided not to watch another Dr. Seuss movie. Critics compared THE LORAX as having similar messages to Disney/Pixar's WALL-E. It was an animated musical adaptation from the same makers known to have created Despicable Me. THE LORAX is Illumination's second animation feature to date, and it has that social message to teach children how to save the environment. Unfortunately, it destroys the complete ambiguity in the original book that carries its meaning.

I'm not thrilled with some of the voice acting of Zac Efron and Taylor Swift. I preferred Danny DeVito, who has very expressive and charismatic acting talents that defined the title character's personality. Unfortunately, he is no Jim Carrey, which leads to some of the movie's shortcomings. The feature adaptation's watch-ability is severely limited by dated pop-cultural references, lightheartedness, a rushed plot and few added characters. These are nothing more than attempts at expansion that tried to convince audiences that it would be as great as the source material.

I enjoyed THE LORAX more than The Grinch or The Cat in the Hat. The animation is colourful and is true to the original vision of Dr. Seuss's art style. Overall, this big-screen interpretation of the book may well be average. It's somewhat disappointing for readers of the original story. However, this movie could be enjoyable for the little ones who have yet to read more of Dr. Seuss.

Star rating: (5/10) Average

Back to Home

Ride Along 2 Review

Ride Along 2

Release Date: 18th February 2016 - Australia


Production Companies
Cube Vision
Universal Pictures
Will Packer Productions

Distribution
Universal Pictures Australia

Genre: Action/Comedy

Rating: M

Runtime: 102 minutes


Budget: $40,000,000

Box Office Gross: $124,608,438 (Worldwide)

Plot Summary
New police academy
graduate Ben tags along
from Atlanta to Miami
with James to track down
a fugitive criminal just
hours before Ben's
wedding to James' sister. (Source - Metro Cinemas)


Cast
Ice Cube - James Payton
Kevin Hart - Ben Barber
Tika Sumpter - Angela Payton
Benjamin Bratt - Antonio Pope
Olivia Munn - Maya
Ken Jeong - A.J.
Bruce McGill - Lt. Brooks
Michael Rose - The Hitter/Gates
Sherri Shepard - Cori
Arturo del Puerto - Alonso
Eric Goins - Assface
Carlos Gomez - Captain Hernandez
Utkarsh Ambudkar - Amir
Glen Powell - Troy
Nadine Velazquez - Tasha
Bresha Webb - Shayla
Tyrese Gibson - Mayfield
James Martin Kelly - Port Commissioner Griffin
Robert Pralgo - Port Commissioner Nunez

Crew
Director - Tim Story
Based on Characters - Greg Coolidge
Writers - Phil Hay and
Matt Manfredi
Executive Producers - Scott
Bernstein, Ronald G.
Muhammad and Nicolas Stern
Producers - Matt Alvarez,
Larry Brezner, Ice Cube,
William Packer and J.C. Spink
Production Designer - Chris Cornwell
Cinematography - Mitchell Amundsen
Second Unit Director/Stunt Coordinator - Jack Gill
Co-Stunt Coordinator - Brian Machleit
Film Editor - Peter S. Elliott
Music - Christopher Lennertz

Review

I'm not necessarily new to the 'Ride Along' movies as these two are typical buddy-cop films which were more or less cut-and-pasted from other films in the sub-genre such as 'Lethal Weapon' and the parody 'Hot Fuzz'. I could have stopped watching once I noticed this, but I only remembered snippets from the original and in the end 'Ride Along 2' was a half-decent sequel. There was lots of excitement in this sequel but it was still filled with too many cliches that are in every buddy cop film. I would have chosen the 'Lethal Weapon' series over the two 'Ride Along' movies if I hadn't watched the latter.

Leading actor Kevin Hart was good at being the main hero and the comical relief. His humour carries most of the sequel and he is in a odd-pair with fellow performer Ice Cube. He upstages him just like he did with the previous installment.

In closing, I think 'RIDE ALONG 2' is probably an above average movie that would entertain anyone for an afternoon. Despite this, I hope they don't make another sequel of 'Ride Along' as it would put to sleep the already tired buddy-cop format.

Star rating: (6/10) Fair Movie

Back to Home