Justice League Review

Justice League

Release Date: 16th November 2017 - Australia

Production Companies

Warner Bros. Pictures

RatPac-Dune Entertainment

DC Entertainment

Cruel and Unusual Films

Atlas Entertainment

Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit (CPTC) (with the participation of)

Lensbern Productions (uncredited)

Syncopy (uncredited)

Distribution

Roadshow Films

Genre: Action

Rating: M

Runtime: 121 minutes

Budget: $300,000,000

Box Office Gross: $657,926,987 (Worldwide)

Plot Summary

After Superman's heroic sacrifice brought back his faith in humanity and inspired him, Bruce Wayne gathers a team of metahumans, including his newfound ally, Diana Prince, to form the Justice League and must confront an enemy more menacing than what they've faced.

Cast

Ben Affleck - Bruce Wayne/
Batman

Henry Cavill - Clark Kent/
Superman

Gal Gadot - Diana Prince/
Wonder Woman

Ezra Miller - Barry Allen/The Flash

Jason Momoa - Arthur Curry/Aquaman

Ray Fisher - Victor Stone/
Cyborg

Ciarán Hinds - Steppenwolf

Connie Nielsen - Queen Hippolyta

Jeremy Irons - Alfred Pennyworth

J.K. Simmons - Commissioner

Gordon

Amy Adams - Lois Lane

Diane Lane - Martha Kent

Julian Lewis Jones - King Atlan
David Thewlis - Ares (Cameo)

Amber Heard - Mera

Joe Morton - Dr. Silas Stone
Lisa Loven Kongsli - Menalippe
David Thewlis - Ares

Sergio Constance - Zeus

Julian Lewis Jones - Ancient Atlantean King

Richard Clifford - German Archaeologist

Kobina Holdbrook-Smith - Detective Crispus Allen

Francis Magee - Ancient King of Men

Doutzen Kroes - Venezia

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

Samantha Win - Euboea

Marc McClure - Officer Ben
Sadowsky

Gary A. Hecker - Creature
Vocals
Joe Manganiello - Mr. Wilson (Uncredited)
Billy Crudup - Henry Allen (Uncredited)
Karen Bryson - Elinore Stone (Uncredited)

Robin Wright - Antiope (Uncredited)

Jesse Eisenberg - Lex Luthor (Cameo) (Uncredited)

Crew

Story/Director - Zack Snyder

Superman Creators - Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster

Justice League Creator - Gardiner Fox  

Batman Creators - Bob Kane

and Bill Finger

Woman Woman Creator - William Moulton Marston
Fourth World Creator - Jack Kirby

Story/Screenplay/Executive Producer - Chris Terrio

Screenplay/Director: Additional Scenes (Uncredited) - Joss Whedon

Executive Producers -

Christopher Nolan, Emma Thomas,

Michael E. Uslan, Benjamin Melniker,

Ben Affleck, Wesley Coller, Curt Kanemoto

and Daniel S. Kaminsky

Executive Producer/Unit Production Manager -

Jim Rowe

Producers - Geoff Johns, Charles Roven

and Deborah Snyder

Co-Producers/Unit Production Managers -

Marianne Jenkins and Gregor Wilson

Casting Directors - Kristy Carlson,

Lora Kennedy and Kate Ringsell

Horse Master - Daniel Naprous

Production Designer - Patrick Tatopoulos

Concept Artists - Ed Natividad,

Christian Scheurer, Dan Walker,

Victor Martinez, Robert McKinnon and

Alex Caldow

Concept Illustrators - Jerad Marantz,

Ian Joyner, Constantine Sekeris and

Brooke Dibble
Supervising Art Directors - Christian Huband

and Helen Jarvis

Supervising Art Directors: Additional

Photography - David Allday and

Lorin Fleming
Art Directors - Matthew Gray,

Paul Laugier, Samuel Leake, Keith Pain,

Andrew Palmer, Hayley Easton Street,

Helen Xenopoulos and Peter James

Art Director: Additional Photography - Su Whitaker
Set Decorator - Dominic Capon

Property Master - Ben Wilkinson

Supervising Armorer - Joss Skottowe

Costume Designer - Michael Wilkinson

Assistant Costume Designers - Stephanie Porter,

John Norster and Margie Fortune

Costume Supervisor - Ken Crouch

Costume FX Supervisor - Graham Churchyard

HOD Prop/Costume Effects Modeller -

Pierre Bohanna

Makeup Designer - Victoria Down

Makeup Designer: Ben Affleck - Kate Biscoe

Director of Photography - Fabian Wagner

2nd Unit/Additional Director of Photography -

Jean-Philippe Gossart

Aerial Director of Photography - David B. Nowell

Aerial Coordinator - David Paris

Aerial Coordinator (Uncredited)/Helicopter Pilot -

Marc Wolff

First Assistant Director - Misha Bukowski

First Assistant Director: Additional Photography -

Jamie Christopher

Key Second Assistant Director: Additional Photography -

Matthew Sharp

Supervising Location Manager: Additional

Photography - Martin Joy

Second Unit Director/Stunt Coordinator -

Damon Caro

Stunt Coordinator - Eunice Huthart

Assistant Stunt Coordinator - Marc Mailley

Fight Coordinator - Mike Lambert

Fight Choreographers - Freddy Bouciegues and

Matthew Rugetti

Picture Vehicle Coordinator - Alex King

Special Effects Supervisor - Mark Holt

Special Effects Coordinator - Carmila Gittens

Special Effects Coordinator: Additional

Photography - Lucy Thompson

Assistant Special Effects  Supervisor -

Michael Dawson

Senior Visual Effects Supervisor: Weta Digital -

Joe Letteri

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

Visual Effects Supervisor: MPC - Seth Maury

Visual Effects Supervisor: Weta Digital -

Keith Miller

Visual Effects Supervisor: DNEG - Thomas Proctor

Visual Effects Supervisor: Scanline VFX -

Bryan Hirota

Visual Effects Supervisor: Method Studios -

Sean Konrad

Visual Effects: Rodeo FX - Peter Nofz,

Sébastien Francoeur, Andréane Dodier-Villenevue,

Mai-Ahn Tran, James Bond and Colin McLean

Visual Effects Producer - Josh R. Jaggars

Visual Effects Co-Producer - Tricia Mulgrew

Visual Effects Art Director: Scanline VFX -

Claas Henke

Animation Supervisor: Scanline VFX -

Eric Petey

Animation Supervisor: Method Studios -

Daryl Sawchuk

Animation Supervisor: MPC - David Crispino
Animation Supervisor: Weta Digital -

Simeon Duncombe

CG & Compositing Supervisors: DNEG -

Alexander Seaman and Julian Gnass

Pre-Visualisation Supervisor - Steve Yamamoto

Editors - David Brenner, Richard Pearson

and Martin Walsh

Sound Designers & Supervisors - Scott Hecker

and Chuck Michaels

Sound Designers - Phil Barrie,

Casey Genton, Robert Kellough and

Eliot Connors

Production Sound Mixer - John Casali

Re-Recording Mixers - Chris Jenkins

and Michael Keller

Supervising Foley Artist - Gary A. Hecker

Music - Danny Elfman
Composers: Additional Music - T.J. Lindgren,
Pinar Toprak and Geoff Zanelli

Score Recordist & Mixer - Peter Cobbin

Review

Because of my experience over the past years, I had high expectations about the new JUSTICE LEAGUE movie that's said to be DC and Warner's answer to The Avengers. I remember reading a few comics of the Justice League and watching the hit animated TV series on Cartoon Network. Marvel and Disney hit the jackpot with the surprise success of their big-budgeted movie. Audiences everywhere, including comic book fanatics, praised the film that was nothing they'd ever seen. It later inspired DC to make their prominent feature to upstage The Avengers. I have waited for the release of this movie for a long time. The DC Extended Universe was controversial among the fans. The latest and fourth entry, Wonder Woman, was the only one heading in the right direction, as it was the first of these films to set a benchmark for the DCEU. We got a follow-up that underwhelms many fans and over-reliant on visual spectacles.

JUSTICE LEAGUE has a rushed and uneven storyline due to a personal behind-the-scenes tragedy that caused its director, Zack Snyder, to leave through its post-production. Joss Whedon, the former writer/director of the Avengers movies, took over his supervision. I like how Whedon contributed to the writing of the humour and the tone being lighter. The geniuses' visions clashed with Snyder's film-making style being in the picture and Whedon's quips with a sense of fun and entertainment. As these attempts to breathe life into JUSTICE LEAGUE, the movie sometimes works but not on its own. They changed the idea of Superman's resurrection as it could have provided a better explanation to resolve the ending we last saw in Batman v Superman (BvS). I couldn't agree more that Steppenwolf was a weak villain, undeveloped by the numbers and fell into the "wanting to destroy humanity" cliche. But enough about the negative aspects: time to move on to the positives.

Ezra Miller was excellent and funny in the role of Flash. I liked how he conveyed the personality of this character as wisecracking. Jason Momoa gets brought into stardom with a decent portrayal of Aquaman, and so does Ray Fisher for Cyborg. Continuing her Wonder Woman role is Gal Gadot, fresh from her last film and making the character look very attractive. Henry Cavill triumphs in playing Superman, who reverts to his old and heroic self more than the lifeless-driven counterpart in Man of Steel and BvS. Danny Elfman was the right composer for the majestic and upbeat score on the picture and re-used a few themes previously heard in DC's classic features (including his own from Tim Burton's Batman and Batman Returns).

JUSTICE LEAGUE is no longer an anticipated box-office film as audiences have already seen the missteps from the last two entries that Snyder directed. Though it was a mild improvement, this could have gone to Zack Snyder had he not backed out from post-production. A director's cut might contain elements unseen in the theatrical edition. We will wait to see if this version gets released in DVD/Blu-ray format.

Star rating: (4/10) Below Average

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My New Community Page

I have recently started my community page on Facebook as FilmGuruLad, and I encourage my viewers to go on to Facebook and try to find my page type in filmgurulad in the search bar. Otherwise, if you already have an account on the social network, you'll probably know where it is. On my Facebook page, you'll notice each link to my review. Even obituaries, news updates and articles, including those shared on my account, enjoy.

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Space Chimps Review

Space Chimps

 
Release Date: 25th September 2008 - Australia

Production Companies

Vanguard Animation

Odyssey Entertainment

Starz Animation

Starz!

Studiopolis

The Weinstein Company 
 
Distribution

Roadshow Distribution

Genre: Animation/Family

Rating: G

Runtime: 77 minutes


Budget: $37,000,000

Box Office Gross: $64,834,964
(Worldwide)

Plot Summary
Ham III, the grandson of the first chimp astronaut, is blasted off into space by an opportunity-seeking senator. Soon, the fun-loving chimp has to get serious about the mission at hand; ridding a far-away planet of their nefarious leader. Fortunately for Ham III, two of his simian peers are along for the ride. (Source - IMDb)

Voice Cast

Andy Samberg - Ham III

Cheryl Hines - Luna

Patrick Warburton - Titan

Jeff Daniels - Zartog

Kristin Chenoweth - Kilowatt

Kenan Thompson - Ringmaster

Zack Shada - Comet/Nava Boy

Carlos Alazraqui - Houston

Omid Abtahi - Dr. Jagu

Patrick Breen - Dr. Bob

Jane Lynch - Dr. Poole

Kath Soucie - Dr. Smothers

Stanley Tucci - Senator

Wally Wingert - Splork/
Various

Crew

Story/Screenplay/Director - Kirk De Micco

Screenplay - Robert Moreland and Joe Piscatella (Uncredited)

Additional Screenplay Material - Jason Mayland

Executive Producers - Eric M. Bennett, Morris Berger, Neil Braun, Steve Brown, Jerry Davis and John W. Hyde

Producers - John H. Williams and Barry Sonnenfield

Co-Producer - Curtis Augspurger

Production Designer - Bo Welch

Additional Production
Designers - Keith Graves
and Deane Taylor
Concept Designer - Tohru Patrick Awa

Character Designer/Storyboard Artist - Sterling Sheehy
Character Designers - Stephanie Choi,
Peter DeSeve, Harald Siepermann and Eddie Yang

Animation Director - Adam Wood
Supervising Animators - Claus Pedersen
and Graham Silva
Background Designer - Jose Martinez
Lighting Director: Vanguard Animation - Erik Mattson
Lighting Supervisor - David Hirst

Cinematography - Jericca Clelamd
Head of Layout/Visual Effects - Steven Elford

Film Editor - Debbie Berman

Supervising Editor - Tom Finan

Music - Chris Bacon

Composers: Additional Music - Blue Man Group
and Gad Emile Zeitune

Review

Vanguard Animation, the studio headed by one of the producers of 'Shrek' has been producing a few animated films in the past decade and each of them were ranked as okay to mediocre. Their third movie 'SPACE CHIMPS' had appalling box office takings it was outranked by its formidable competitor 'WALL-E'. While it wasn't a surprise hit by any chance, the film however did spawn a sequel that was never released in theatres. The original movie however feels like an animated movie that wastes its potential and was literally written by monkeys on typewriters. The animation isn't too great and the story-line is much too bland and not original enough. The over-abundance of ape puns were all over the movie like it's all covered with monkey paw-prints. A few bits of comedy remained funny and most of the other jokes don't quite get the same laugh from its intended audience.

The voice cast is imperfect, particularly Andy Samberg who is not a horrible actor but tries to give his character a daredevil persona which falls flat. Jeff Daniels who was a great actor, from his extraordinary supporting and leading parts in acting, drama and comedy has been miscast in the role as the evil alien Zartog and this may be the reason why he never has been offered any more voices in the animated features. Stanley Tucci had bad luck to voice a certain senator who seems to care about himself more than NASA as well as the opportunity that he craves. Only Patrick Warburton succeeds in following the characterisation of by-the-book chimp Titan and he seems to be more quick to follow an ill-gotten script.

Monkey see, monkey don't, this is the phrase I would use to sum up my review. 'SPACE CHIMPS' is a simple, yet juvenile family animation for young kids.

Star rating: (4/10) Below Average

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Thor: Ragnarok Review

Thor: Ragnarok


Release Date: 13th October 2017 - Australia (Gold Coast, Queensland)


Production Companies
Marvel Studios
Marvel Entertainment (presents)

Distribution
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Australia


Genre: Sci-Fi

Rating: M

Runtime: 130 minutes


Budget: $180,000,000

Box Office Gross: $853,979,142 (Worldwide - figure subject to change)


Plot Summary
Building on the events of Avengers: Age of Ultron, Thor is imprisoned on the far side of the universe (the planet Sakaar, to be exact) without his mighty hammer. He's forced to engage
in an intense gladiatorial
contest arranged by the
Grandmaster, and to survive, must defeat his competitor - none other than former ally and fellow Avenger, the Incredible Hulk.

With his home world of Asgard under threat of destruction by the powerful and ruthless goddess of death Hela, the stakes for Thor have never been higher. Can he save it from the fierce villain's clutches? (Source - Metro Cinemas)


Cast
Chris Hemsworth - Thor
Tom Hiddleston - Loki
Cate Blanchett - Hela
Idris Elba - Hemdall
Jeff Goldblum - Grandmaster
Tessa Thompson - Valkyrie
Karl Urban - Skurge
Mark Ruffalo - Bruce Banner/
The Hulk
Anthony Hopkins - Odin
Benedict Cumberbatch - Doctor Strange
Taika Watiti - Korg (Voice)/
Surtur
Rachel House - Topas
Clancy Brown - Surtur (Voice)
Tadanobu Asano - Hogun
Ray Stevenson - Volstagg
Zachary Levi - Fandral
Steven Oliver - Cousin Carlo
Luke Hemsworth - Actor Thor
(Cameo)
Sam Neill - Actor Odin (Cameo)
Charlotte Nicdao - Actor Sif
(Cameo)
Matt Damon - Actor Loki
(Cameo) (Uncredited)
Stan Lee - Barber (Cameo) (Uncredited)

Crew
Director - Taika Watiti
Based on Comic/Executive
Producer - Stan Lee
Based on Comic - Larry Lieber
and Jack Kirby
Writers - Eric Pearson, Craig
Kyle and Christopher Yost
Executive Producers - Victoria Alonso, Louis D'Esposito and Brad Winderbaum

Executive Producer/Unit Production Manager - Thomas M. Hammel
Producer - Kevin Fiege

Co-Producer - David J. Grant
Casting Director - Sarah Finn
Production Designers - Dan
Hennah and Ra Vincent
Senior Concept Designer -
Sean Hargreaves
Set Decorator - Beverley Dunn 
Costume Designer - Mayes
C. Rubeo
Director of Photography -
Javier Aguirresarobe
Second Unit Director/Stunt
Coordinator - Ben Cooker
Stunt Coordinator - Kyle
Gardiner
Fight Coordinator - Jon Valera
Special Effects Supervisors - Brian Cox and 

R. Bruce Steinheimer
Visual Effects Supervisors - Jake Morrison 

and Stuart White
Visual Effects Supervisor: ILM - Chad Wiebe
Animation Supervisors - Ben Anderson and 

Raphael A. Pimentel
Animation Supervisor: ILM - Steve Nichols
Editors - Zene Baker and Joel Negron
Sound Designers - David Farmer and 

Nia Hansen

Music Supervisor - Dave Jordan
Music - Mark Mothersbaugh


Review

Marvel has taken one of the Avengers through the cosmos into a completely new standalone film as 'THOR: RAGNAROK' becomes a full-scale interstellar action comedy with less balance. This movie doesn't mesh well with sci-fi, considering what has happened to its predecessor 'The Dark World' and the mistake has not entirely been fixed. The sequel has too much humour displaying that playful tone similar to one of Marvel’s previous entries, 'Guardians of the Galaxy' and fails to return the omnipresence found in the first instalment. 

'RAGNAROK' has great visual eye-candy to behold the maximum impact and has no romantic subplot involving Jane Foster who was nowhere to be found as this relationship was quickly forgotten after the second film was criticised for putting too much focus on it. The film even featured the addition of everyone’s favourite Avenger, the Incredible Hulk who was once again played by Mark Rufalo. Having not read the original comics and neither Planet Hulk, I believe that this film should have been a continuation for the character who hasn’t been the main lead since 2008’s 'The Incredible Hulk'. 

Jeff Goldblum makes up for a terrifically entertaining performance as the Grandmaster. Cate Blanchett was the villainess Hela who succeeds at overpowering Thor which is something that Loki could not do and she was a better sequel antagonist than Malekith. Karl Urban convincingly portrays Skurge who unwillingly switches his allegiance to Hela as he becomes her right-hand man. Tessa Thompson was then added to the cast as Thor’s new reluctant ally Valkyrie. Mark Mothersbaugh’s background score fits the movie of its retro-spacey feel and its new colourful integration.

Although 'THOR: RAGNAROK' was newly appreciated by fans and critics who proclaim this to be the cinematic holy grail of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, I have to disagree on what they say about the movie. It is a bit of an improvement of 'The Dark World' but it’s a solid addition to the ongoing cinematic franchise of Marvel and therefore, a must-see film for all fans.

Star rating: (7/10) Good Movie

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