Transformers: The Last Knight Review

Transformers: The Last Knight

Release Date: 22nd June 2017 - Australia

Production Companies

Paramount Pictures

Hasbro (in association with)

Di Bonaventura Pictures

Huahua Media

Ian Bryce Productions

Amblin Entertainment (Uncredited)

Platinum Dunes (Uncredited)

Distribution

Paramount Pictures Australia

Genre: Sci-Fi/Action

Rating: M

Runtime: 149 minutes

Budget: $260,000,000

Box Office Gross: $605,425,157 (Worldwide)

Plot Summary

Humans are at war with the Transformers, and Optimus Prime is gone. The key to saving the future lies buried in the secrets of the past and the hidden history of Transformers on Earth. Now, it's up to the unlikely alliance of Cade Yeager, Bumblebee, an English lord and an Oxford professor to save the world.

Cast

The Humans

Mark Wahlberg - Cade Yeager 

Josh Duhamel - Lt. Colonel William Lennox

Laura Haddock - Vivian Wembley

Isabela Moner - Izabella 

Jerrod Carmichael - Jimmy

Anthony Hopkins - Sir Edmund Burton

Stanley Tucci - Merlin

Liam Garrrigan - Arthur

Martin McCreadie - Lancelot

Rob Witcomb - Percival

Marcus Fraser - Gawain

John Hollingworth - Tristan

Daniel Adegboyega - Saebert

Ben Webb - Hengist

John Turturro - Agent Seymour Simmons

Glenn Morshower - General Morshower

Nicola Peltz - Tessa Yeager (Voice) (Cameo)

Autobots

Peter Cullen - Optimus Prime (Voice)

John Goodman - Hound (Voice)

Ken Watanabe - Drift (Voice)

John DiMaggio - Crosshairs (Voice)

Omar Sy - Hot Rod (Voice)

Jim Carter - Cogman (Voice)

Reno Wilson - Sqweeks (Voice)

Steven Barr - Topspin (Voice)

Tom Kenny - Wheelie (Voice)

Frank Welker - Canopy (Voice)

Steve Buscemi - Daytrader (Voice)

Mark Ryan - Bulldog (Voice)

Deceptions 

Frank Welker - Megatron (Voice)

Jess Harnell - Barricade (Voice)

Reno Wilson - Mohawk (Voice)

John DiMaggio - Nitro (Voice)

 
Others

Gemma Chan - Quintessa (Voice)

Crew

Executive Producer/Director - Michael Bay

Story - Akiva Goldsman

Story/Screenplay - Art
Marcum, Matt Holloway
and Ken Nolan

Executive Producers -
Steven Spielberg, Brian
Goldner and Mark Vahradian

Producers - Tom DeSanto, Lorenzo Di Bonaventura and Don Murphy

Co-Producers - Matthew Cohan and Michael Kase

Co-Producer/First Assistant Director - K.C. Hodenfield
Casting Director - Denise Chamian

Production Designer - Jeffrey Beecroft
Senior Art Director - Sebastian Schroeder

Costume Designer - Lisa Lovaas

Director of Photography - Jonathan Sela
Second Unit Director/Supervising Stunt Coordinator - Mike Gunther

Stunt Coordinator: Opening Scene - Rob Inch

Special Effects Supervisor - John Frazier
Special Effects Coordinator - Jim Schwalm

Visual Effects Supervisors - Scott Farrar, 
Jason Smith, Wayne Brinton, Sheldon Stopsack,
Antoine Whyte and Rohit Prakash Gujar

Visual Effects Supervisors: ILM - Julian Foddy 
and Dave Fogler
Effects Supervisor - John Hansen

Animation Supervisors: ILM - Paul Kavanagh 
and Rick O'Connor

Editors - Roger Barton, Adam Gerstel, 
Debra Neil-Fisher, John Refoua, 
Mark Sanger and Calvin Wimmer

Music - Steve Jablonsky

Review

Ten years after the beginning of the 'Transformers' film series tentatively nicknamed by fans as "Bayformers" because Michael Bay was behind its influence. The director unveils a fifth chapter which was his last feature with the toy-line based movie franchise before he could oversee its growth into a cinematic universe. Although Marvel, DC and Star Wars are usually one step ahead of their successes, it doesn't mean that 'Transformers' will continue through a change of direction in a oncoming spin-off and future movies. Though Steven Spielberg and Paramount were the ones that began this explosive series of five movies with an almost fully-capable director. Critics were hostile to the series of its increasing lengths, shaky cams, plotting and lowbrow humour but warmed to the unrealistic action, eye-popping visuals and big explosions. The fans were divided on each movie that was considered the best and the worst with the first instalment being a mild exception. 

Now there hasn't been a 'Transformers' feature this toxic since 'Revenge of the Fallen' came out with a huge critical disdain. 'THE LAST KNIGHT' is outgrowing fans' anticipation as it was a bit self-aware, disjointed, silly and formulaic in its storyline and characterisations. It devoted on the secret history subplot which has been done a few times on the previous films and shown too much screen-time on the humans than most of the Transformers. Even Optimus Prime being brainwashed into Nemesis Prime could have been necessary if it had not been brief for the whole movie. As far as it goes, Bay could be losing his touch with the latest chapter which itself was distinguished by too many writers. It probably wasn't the moment that he was expecting in his send-off for the robots in disguise.

Mark Wahlberg returns as Cade Yeager as well as a few familiar actors like John Turturro and Josh Duhamel from the original three movies are back in this nadir. Newcomers like Isabella Moner and Laura Haddock are welcomed in the newer 'Transformers' movie but their acting wasn't quite up the par with Wahlberg's saving grace of his performance. The other standout player was Anthony Hopkins who was truly a distinguished gentleman whom like John Malkovich and Stanley Tucci are each of the supporting players cast in an instalment of giant robots. Hopkins gets the most fun than they've deserved as he shines in a prominent role as the keeper of the Transformers' hidden origins.

It's time for the franchise to change its gears as 'THE LAST KNIGHT' holds no secrets of being less fun and less exciting in the year's action-packed and power-charged blockbuster. Despite its overhype and shimmering potential, it will soon be the end of 'Transformers', but maybe not. In my opinion, it was subpar and the least unforgettable entry of the series. I'm sorry to say that this is not the movie what fans had wanted to see as the director has worn out of his welcome.

Star rating: (5/10) Average

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The Mummy (2017) Review

The Mummy

Release Date: 8th June 2017 - Australia 

Production Companies

Universal Pictures 

Perfect World Pictures (in association with)

Secret Hideout

Conspiracy Factory

Sean Daniel Company

Dentsu (presented in association with)

Fuji Television Network (presented in association with)

Distribution 

Universal Pictures Australia

Genre: Action/Adventure/

Fantasy

 
Rating: M

Runtime: 111 minutes

Budget: $125,000,000

Box Office Gross: $409,231,607 (Worldwide)

 

Plot Summary 

Believed to be safely entombed in a tomb deep beneath the unforgiving desert, an ancient princess, wrongfully deprived of her destiny, awakens in the present day, bringing thousands of years of hostility and horrors beyond human comprehension.

Cast

Tom Cruise - Nick Morton

Sofia Boutella - Ahmanet

Annabelle Wallis - Jenny Halsey

Jake Johnson - Sgt. Chris Vail

Courtney B. Vance - Col. Greenway

Russell Crowe - Henry Jekyll

Marwan Kenzari - Malik

Simon Atherton - Crusader

Stephen Thompson - First Man

James Arama - Second Man

Matthew Wilkas - Reporter

Sohm Kapila - Reporter

Sean Cameron Michael - Archaeologist

Rez Kempton - Construction Manager

Erol Ismail - Ahmanet's Warrior
Hadrian Howard - MP

Selva Rasalingam - King Menehptre
Shanina Shaik - Arabian Princess

Javier Botet - Set

Dylan Smith - Pilot
Parker Sawyers - Co-Pilot

Neil Maskell - Dr. Whemple

Rhona Croker - Helen

Andrew Brooke - Mr. Brooke (Emergency Worker)

Timothy Allsop - Worker

Grace Chilton - Woman in Toliet

Hannah Zoé Ankrah - Woman in Toliet

Dylan Kussman - Writer Tech

Peter Lofsgard - Spider Technician

Shane Zaza - Technician

Bella Ava Georgiou - Technician

Alice Hewkin - Technician

Adrian Christopher - Technician

Vera Chok - Prodigium Tech

Martin Bishop - Senior Technician

Daniel Tuite - Prodigium Technician

Noof Ousellam - Technician in Chamber

David Burnett - Tunnel Agent

Maryam Grace - Female Tech

Crew 

Screen Story/Producer/
Director - Alex Kurtzman

Screen Story - Jon Spaihts and Jenny Lumet

Screenplay - David Koepp, Christopher McQuarrie

and Dylan Kussman
Associate Producer - Kevin Elam

Executive Producers - Jeb Brody and Roberto Orci
Producer/Unit Production Manager -
Sarah Bradshaw

Producers - Sean Daniel and Chris Morgan
Casting Directors - Francine Maisler and
Lucinda Syson

Production Designers - Jon Hutman and
Dominic Watkins

Creature Designer - Mark 'Crash' McCreery
Supervising Art Director - Frank Walsh
Senior Art Directors - Andrew Ackland-Snow
and John Frankish
Set Decorator - Jille Azis
Property Master - David Chessman
Costume Designer - Penny Rose
Master Armourer - Simon Atherton

Hair and Makeup Designer - Elizabeth Yianni-Georgiou

Special Makeup Effects Designer - David White

Director of Photography - Ben Seresin

2nd Unit Director of Photography - Andrew Rowlands

Aerial Director of Photography - Adam Dale

Director of Photography: Underwater Unit -

Pete Romano

Supervising Location Manager - Bill Darby

First Assistant Directors - K.C. Holwell

and Richard Graysmark

2nd Unit Director/Stunt Coordinator - Wade Eastwood
Fight Coordinator - Wolfgang Stegemann

Picture Vehicles Supervisor - Graham Kelly

Aerial Pilot - Marc Wolff

Special Effects Supervisor - Dominic Tuohy
Special Effects Coordinator/Buyer - Alicia Davies

Visual Effects Supervisor - Erik Nash

Visual Effects Supervisor: DNEG  - Darren Poe

Visual Effects Supervisors: Lola Visual Effects -

Edson Williams

Visual Effects Supervisors: ILM - Mark Curtis

and Pablo Helman
Visual Effects Supervisors: MPC - Asregadoo Arundi

and Greg Butler

Visual Effects Supervisor: Factory VFX -
Eric D. Christensen (Uncredited)

Executive Producer: ILM - Wayne Billheimer

CG Supervisors: MPC - Bryan Litson

and Victor Lizarraga

Animation Supervisors: MPC - Matt Kowaliszyn

and Omar Morsy

Animation Supervisor: ILM - Glen McIntosh

Compositing Supervisors: DNEG - Mike Brazelton

and Adam Hammond (Uncredited)

Editors - Gina & Paul Hirsch and
Andrew Mondshein

Supervising Sound Editor/Sound Designer/

Re-Recording Mixer - Christopher Scarabosio

Supervising Sound Editor/ADR Performer -

Daniel Laurie

Additional Sound Design - Jeremy Bowker,

David Farmer and David C. Hughes

Re-Recording Mixer - Paul Massey

Dialogue/ADR Editors - Ryan Frias

and Cheryl Nardi

Foley Supervisor - Frank Rinella

Foley Artists - Ronni Brown and Margie O'Malley

Music/Score Mixer - Brian Tyler

Review

From the 1920s to the late 1950s, Universal Pictures produced most classic horror movies that have become iconic and had many nostalgic qualities for people who grew up with these movies. There were several iconic monsters in Hollywood to choose from, like Hunchback, The Phantom, Frankenstein, Dracula, The Mummy and The Invisible Man, to name a few. Recently, Universal Studios announced that they are creating a line of monster movies in the form of the Dark Universe, which will overlap in the sense these characters will make appearances in the same way that happens in the universes of Marvel and DC. In their reawakening, the Dark Universe was supposed to resurrect the classic ghouls that once haunted the silver screen. Unfortunately, the first of these females for the new franchise was 2017's THE MUMMY, which had a dismal profit at the box office.

Unlike its previous interpretations, it is an overblown and misguided attempt to re-embrace the titular character's origins and supernatural themes. Audiences had no interest in a revival of an iconic monster less mummified and gender-swapped. The story becomes too wrapped up in exposition. Some plot points got unnecessarily added to the beginning of Universal's newly rejuvenated universe of scary monsters.

The aging star Tom Cruise should be ashamed for starring in this unrelenting big-budgeted picture. He is not to blame for his career setback, though he took the fall when it should have been the writer/director Alex Kurtzman's. He still has a touch of charisma left from his middle-aged looks, but not enough to save a remake beyond worth saving. Russell Crowe was in the supporting cast as the mysterious Dr. Jekyll, a character borrowed from a classic novel. Sofia Boutella delights in her acting playfulness with sheer fright and seduction as Ahnamet, the undead Princess of Egypt.

THE MUMMY has a few scares to terrify the moviegoers but not enough to thrill them into this forgettable monster mash. I advise viewers who may or may not have seen the classic 1932 movie or the campy fun of the 1999 remake to see this film for one time and not bother to rewatch it. Otherwise, if you are looking for a good monster movie, rewatch The Mummy trilogy instead.

Star rating: (4/10) Below Average

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In Memory of Adam West (1928-2017)

Adam West (1928-2017)

Hello everyone, it's with sadness that I inform you that Adam West, the noted television and film actor known for portraying Batman in the 1960s titular campy show and movie adaptation, died on June 9th, 2017, at age 88, after a short battle with leukaemia. West is known as the third actor to play the caped crusader and a favourite of many comic book readers. When the dark, gritty feel was introduced in the 1980s and became an integral part of the comic series, not everyone admired his horseplay and the show's goofy tone. He had a huge sensation with the Bat fandom, and we will remember him within our memories.

West's acting in television began in the late 50s in a children's show, though he did not take the stage name of Adam West until he moved to Hollywood in 1959. West's film appearances before Batman include supporting roles in "The Young Philadelphians" opposite Paul Newman, "Robinson Crusoe on Mars" and "The Outlaws Is Coming" with The Three Stooges and numerous guest appearances and supporting roles on various classic television programs. It was then that producer William Dozier discovered the young actor after seeing him perform in a commercial for Nestle Quik and cast him as Bruce Wayne and his eponymous alter-ego in the campy television series, which aired on American television from 1966 to 1968. Aside from playing the titular character for television and film, West also featured in a public service announcement telling schoolchildren to heed Lyndon B. Johnson's call to buy stamps of U.S. savings to support the Vietnam War. Shortly after Batman, West and his few co-stars like Yvonne Craig and Burt Ward fell on hard times when they got severely typecast because of their high-profile roles. Not even his first post-Batman film, "The Girl Who Knew Too Much", tried to avoid his status with Batman, and despite all of his issues, West continued acting in more films. He even did more guest spots in television programs like "Fantasy Island", "Bewitched", "Bonanza", "Maverick", "The Love Boat", "Laverne and Shirley", etc. In later years, during his celebrity status, he appeared as himself in shows like "NewsRadio", "The Adventure of Pete and Pete", "Murphy Brown", "The Ben Stiller Show", "The Drew Carey Show", and "The Big Bang Theory" and also in the feature "Drop Dead Gorgeous".

Outside of his acting, West was a professional voice actor because of his distinctive voice and did voiceovers in a few films like "Chicken Little" and "Meet the Robinsons". Even on television, where he did guest voices on shows like "Rugrats", "The Simpsons", "The Critic", "Johnny Bravo", "Kim Possible", "Futurama", and "SpongeBob SquarePants". Before that, he often reprises the Batman character in Saturday morning cartoons produced by Filmation and Hanna Barbera and recently in two direct-to-DVD movies (with one forthcoming), including "Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders" and "Batman vs. Two-Face". West also voiced in an episode "Beware the Gray Ghost" of "Batman: The Animated Series". Instead of the dark-winged avenger (whose role has been taken by Kevin Conroy), he plays Simon Trent. Like him, his character is a former actor who has trouble finding work after portraying a superhero in the classic TV series The Gray Ghost. He later had a recurring role in "The Batman" animated series as Mayor Grange and guest-starred as Thomas Wayne in "Batman: The Brave and the Bold". In Seth MacFarlane's animated sitcom "Family Guy", he was the voice of the eccentric mayor of Quahog. He voices a parody of himself as portraying a cat-like superhero obsessed with felines, Catman, in Nickelodeon's "The Fairly OddParents".

Anyone old enough to remember Adam West will miss him as long as his memory lives on.

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Wonder Woman (2017) Review

Wonder Woman

Release Date: 1st June 2017 - Australia

Production Companies

Warner Bros. Pictures

Atlas Entertainment

DC Entertainment

Rat-Pac Dune Entertainment (in association with)

Cruel & Unusual Films

Tencent Pictures

Wanda Pictures

Distribution

Roadshow Films

Genre: Action

Rating: M

Runtime: 141 minutes


Budget: $149,000,000

Box Office Gross: $822,854,286 (Worldwide)

Plot Summary

All her life, Diana grew up as the Princess of Amazons on the island of Themyscira, surrounded by females, cut off from the society of men and the entire human race, and is a warrior in training. When an American pilot named Steve Trevor crashes his plane offshore and reveals a war in the outside world, Diana decides to step in and assist.

Discovering her full

powers and embracing

her destiny as Wonder

Woman, she leaves home

to fight alongside men

in the war to end all wars.

Cast

Gal Gadot - Diana Prince/
Wonder Woman

Chris Pine - Steve Trevor

Robin Wright - Antiope

Connie Nielsen - Hippolyta

David Thewlis - Sir Patrick

Danny Huston - Ludendorff

Lucy Davis - Etta

Saïd Taghmaoui - Sameer

Ewen Bremmer - Charlie

Eugene Brave Rock - The Chief

Elena Anaya - Dr Maru

Lilly Aspell - Young Diana (8
Years Old)

Lisa Loven Kongsli - Menalippe

Ann Wolfe - Artemis

Ann Ogbomo - Phillippus

Emily Carey - Diana (12 Years Old)

James Cosmo - Field Marshall Haig

Martin Bishop - Kaiser
Wilhelm II

Doutzen Kroes - Venezia

Brooke Ence - Penthesilea
Hari James - Trigona
Ann Ogbomo - Philippus

Samantha Jo - Euboea

Crew

Director - Patty Jenkins
Creator: Wonder Woman -
William Moulton Marston

Story/Producer - Zack Snyder
Story/Screenplay - Allan
Heinberg
Story - Jason Fuchs
Executive Producers - Jon Berg, Wesley Coller, Geoff Johns, Stephen Jones, Rebecca Steel Roven and Steven Mnuchin
Producers - Charles Roven,
Deborah Snyder and Richard
Suckle

Co-Producer/First Assistant Director - Tommy Gormley
Co-Producer - Curt Kanemoto

Casting Directors - Kristy Carlson, Lora Kennedy and Lucinda Syson

Military Advisors - Paul Hornsby and Andrew Robertshaw

Horse Master - Daniel Naprous

Production Designer - Aline
Bonetto
Supervising Art Directors -
Dominic Hyman and Peter
Russell

Art Directors - Steve Carter, James Collins, Phil Harvey, Stuart Kearns, Dominic Masters, Arwel Evans and Remo Tozzi

Art Director: Italy Unit - Domenico Sica

Action Vehicles Supervisor -

Alex King

Set Decorator - Anna
Lynch-Robinson

Costume Designer - Lindy
Hemming

Costume Armourer Supervisor - Patrick Whitaker

Makeup & Hair Designer - Christine Blundell

Supervising Armourer - Ben Rothwell

Armourers - Jon Baker,

Lee Garside, Liam McCartney,

Mick O'Toole and David Bayliss
Director of Photography -
Matthew Jensen

Supervising Location Manager - Charlie Somers

Second Second Assistant Directors:

Second Unit - Paul Cathie and Tom Browne

Second Unit Director/Stunt Coordinator -

Damon Caro
Stunt Coordinators - Tim Rigby,

Wayne Dalglish and Marcus Shakesheff
Stunt/Fight Coordinators (Uncredited) - Allen Jo

and Ryan Watson

Fight Choreographer - Guillermo Grispo

(Uncredited)
Special Effects Supervisor - Mark Holt
Special Effects Coordinator - Carmila Gittens
Visual Effects Supervisor - Bill Westenhofer

Visual Effects Supervisor: Double Negative -

Alex Wuttke

Visual Effects Supervisor: MPC - Jessica Norman

Visual Effects Supervisor: UPP - Viktor Muller

Visual Effects: Weta Digital - René Borst,

Jong Jin Choi, Simeon Duncombe,

Steve McGillen, Keith Miller and

Lena Scanlan

Additional Visual Effects Supervisor - Frazer Churchill
Visual Effects Consultant - Jim Bergstrom
Visual Effects Producer - Amber Kirsch

Visual Effects Consulting Producer - Emma Norton

Visual Effects Producer: MPC - Laurence Berkani

Animation Supervisors: Double Negative -

Ben Wiggs and Nicholas Symons

Compositing Supervisors: Double Negative -

Brian Connor and Daniel Rauchwerger
Editor - Martin Walsh

Associate Editor - Matthew Tucker

Supervising Sound Editor - James M. Mather

Production Sound Mixer - Chris Munro

Re-Recording Mixers - Chris Burdon

and Gilbert Lake

Foley Artists - Peter Burgis,

Jason Swanscott and Zoe Freed
Music - Rupert Gregson-Williams
Composers: Additional Music - David Buckley,
Tom Howe, Andrew Kawczynski and
Paul Mounsey

Score Mixers - Alan Meyerson and

Forest Christenson

Review

When WONDER WOMAN came out recently in cinemas, I was relieved that all the rumours about the movie not exceeding its huge expectations got put to rest. The DC Extended Universe (DCEU) finally attained its mojo when (in my opinion) it all started with Suicide Squad. It wasn't the first time I'd seen Wonder Woman in a standalone film, as I saw the 2009 direct-to-video animated version on pay TV. It is a privilege that this female character has her cinematic spotlight, especially when the other female-led superhero movies that came before, such as Supergirl, Catwoman and Elektra, couldn't dominate the box office charts, especially when competing against other films of the genre that were male-centred. Unlike the few previous entries from DCEU, which were mediocre to average at best, this one does not, by all means, disappoint DC fanatics.

However, the action sequences were perfectly timed and flowed well with the editing and detailed storyline. I have no problems with the movie whatsoever. Zack Snyder's involvement is limited as he helped co-envision the plot and was also an acting producer. WONDER WOMAN has rightfully earned its place as an uplifting, intense, but pro-feminist-focused film that portrays women as resourceful, skilful and powerful. Traditionally, in superhero films, you often see females as damsels in distress or supporting heroes (not lead actor status). But this can be a very anti-feminist perspective.

Continuing the Wonder Woman mantle is Gal Gadot, who continues her astonishing performance of the superheroine who's now transformed into a god-like figure similar to Superman. Co-starring with the lead actress is Chris Pine, who magnificently portrays Steve Trevor, her soon-to-be ill-fated love interest. They both provide sensational chemistry in professing their on-screen love and successfully convince the audience of their unbreakable romance.

I can't think of anything negative to say about this movie. It is a worthy addition to being one of the all-time greats in the DC movie archives. I would be surprised if this film does not follow up with a sequel. I hope it leaves as big an impression as this terrific movie did on me.

Star rating: (10/10) Best Movie Ever

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