Singin' in the Rain Review

Singin' in the Rain

Release Date: 25th December 1952 - Australia

Production Companies

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Loew's Inc (produced by)

Genre: Musical/Romance

Rating: G

Runtime: 99 minutes

Budget: $2,500,000

Box Office Gross: $7,630,288 (Worldwide)

Plot Summary

When silent films began to be replaced by 'talkies', everyone struggled to adapt to this bumpy transition. Don and Lina keep getting cast as a romantic pair, but when their latest film becomes a musical, only Don has the voice to sing. After much practice with a diction teacher, she still sounds awful, so they hire a bright, young, up-and-coming actress, Kathy, to do the dubbing.

Cast

Gene Kelly - Don Lockwood

Debbie Reynolds - Kathy Selden

Donald O'Connor - Cosmo

Brown

Jean Hagen - Lina Lamont

Millard Mitchell - R.F. Simpson

Douglas Fowley - Roscoe

Dexter

Rita Moreno - Zelda Zanders

Cyd Charisse - Dancer

King Donovan - Rod (Uncredited)

Judy Landon - Olga Mara (Uncredited)

Kathleen Freeman - Phoebe Dinsmore (Uncredited)

Madge Blake - Dora Bailey (Uncredited)

Crew

Directors/Musical Numbers Staging and Directors - Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen

Story/Screenplay - Betty

Comden and Adolph Green

Producer/Songs: Lyrics -
Arthur Freed

Art Directors - Randall Duell
and Cedric Gibbons

Set Decorators - Edwin B.

Willis and Jacque Mapes

Costume Designer - Walter Plunkett

Makeup Creator - William Tuttle

Director of Photography -
Harold Rosson

Special Effects - Warren Newcombe and Irving G. Ries

Film Editor - Adrienne Fazan

Recording Supervisor - Douglas Shearer

Songs: Music - Nacho Herb Brown

Musical Director - Lennie Hayton

Awards

1953 Academy Awards

Best Supporting Actress - Jean Hagen (Nominated)

Best Music: Score of a Musical Picture - Lennie Hayton (Nominated)

Review

When SINGIN' IN THE RAIN came out in 1952, it was Gene Kelly's finest hour in one of his best musical performances in cinema history. It didn't even get an Oscar nomination for Best Picture and was a mild showcase until later years when it finally got recognised as a movie classic. However, I managed to watch the film for the second time and revisited it for the late Debbie Reynolds, who passed away two years before I was to complete this review. A triumphant musical comedy from Kelly, co-director Stanley Donen and producer Arthur Freed, who have much in common in handling this film the way Kelly and Freed did it with Vincente Minnelli in An American in Paris. It reminiscences the golden years when movies transitioned into the sound era known as the 'talkies' back then.

It would explain how much the producer has been through this experience where he had his roots as a lyricist co-writing songs for earlier musicals at MGM that he later borrowed for SINGIN' IN THE RAIN as an homage to that period. Kelly's confidence, combined with Donen's co-supervision and Freed's experience, made this movie an all-singing and all-dancing extravaganza. There are bits of slapstick comedy, and the sequences are based on a routine as Kelly sang and choreographed, most of them including the famous number that everyone is humming for a tune.

The cast is full of talents, including Kelly, the standout actor in the movie and the highly-coordinated dancer and prolific director he was. The young actress Reynolds was decent as the loveable sweetheart Kathy Selden, and Donald O'Connor brings joy and laughter into his character role of Don Lockwood. Jean Hagen plays the vain and self-centred actress Lina Lamont, as her bad Brooklyn accent is unsuited for any of the 'talkie' pictures.

There is so much singing and dancing in this kind of picture. SINGIN' IN THE RAIN is a golden oldie and a must-see feature for all, and it will attract a new generation of musical-goers. I look forward to seeing more classic musicals. I intend to review a few shortly.

Star rating: (10/10) Best Movie Ever

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Ready Player One Review

Ready Player One


Release Date: 29th March 2018 - Australia 

 
Production Companies
Warner Bros. Pictures
Village Roadshow Pictures
Amblin Entertainment
Amblin Partners
De Line Pictures

Distribution
Roadshow Distribution 


Genre: Sci-Fi

Rating: M

Runtime: 140 minutes


Budget: $175,000,000

Box Office Gross: $582,890,172 (Worldwide) 


Plot Summary
In 2045, a teenager enters a treasure hunt inside a virtual reality universe called OASIS after its creator dies and the fortune that he leaves behind is the grand prize. (Source - Metro Cinemas)


Cast
Tye Sheridan - Parzival/
Wade
Olivia Cooke - Art3mins/
Samantha
Ben Mendelsohn - Sorrento
Mark Rylance - Anorak/
Halliday
Simon Pegg - Odgen Morror
T.J. Miller - I-R0k
Lena Waithe - Aech/Helen
Philip Zhao - Sho
Win Morisaki - Daito
Hannah John-Kamen -
F'Nale Zandor
Ralph Ineson - Rick
Susan Lynch - Alice

Clare Higgins - Mrs. Gilmore

Laurence Spellman - Lame Tattoo Guy (Reb)

Perdita Weeks - Kira
Joel MacCormack - Sixer #6655

Isaac Andrews - Halliday - 7 Years Old
Letitia Wright - Reb (Safe House)
Mckenna Grace - Elementary
Kid
Lulu Wilson - Elementary Kid
Jacob Bertrand - High School
Kid

Crew
Producer/Director - Steven
Spielberg
Based on Novel/Screenplay/
Co-Producer - Ernest Cline
Screenplay - Zak Penn
Executive Producers - Bruce
Berman and Christopher
DeFaria
Executive Producer/Unit
Production Manager - Daniel
Lupi
Executive Producer/First
Assistant Director - Adam Somner
Producers - Donald De Line,
Dan Farah and Kristie
Macosko Krieger

Co-Producer/Visual Effects
Producer - Jennifer Meislohn

Casting Directors - Lucy
Bevan and Ellen Lewis
Production Designer - Adam
Stockhausen
Set Decorator - Anna Pinnock

Supervising Art Director - Mark Scruton

Senior Art Director - Stuart Rose

Supervising Design Director/
Visual Effects Art Director:
ILM - Alex Jaeger
Costume Designer - Kasia Walicka-Maimone
Cinematography - Janusz Kaminski
Second Unit Director/Stunt Coordinator - Gary Powell
Special Effects Supervisor - Neil Corbould
Special Effects Co-Supervisor - Keith Dawson
Visual Effects Supervisors: ILM - Roger Guyett and
Grady Cofer 

Visual Effects Supervisor: Digital Domain - Matthew E. Butler
Associate Visual Effects Supervisor: ILM - Daniele Bigi
Visual Effects Producer: Digital Domain - Daniel Brimer
Visual Effects Art Director - Christian Alzmann

Digital Effects Supervisor: Digital Domain - Joel Behrens

Animation Supervisor - Kim Ooi

Animation Supervisor: ILM - David Shirk
CG Supervisor: Digital Domain - Brian Gazdik

Film Editors - Sarah Broshar and Michael Kahn
Supervising Sound Designer/
Re-Recording Mixer - Gary Rydstrom
Music - Alan Silvestri


Review
'READY PLAYER ONE' has every fanboy’s dream of having each of their favourite works of popular culture blend with a dystopian setting and elements of a virtual online role-playing game into a huge crossover. I’m surprised that Steven Spielberg is still the world’s most legendary filmmaker and he hasn’t slowed down despite his advanced age. He is slowly regaining his balance at helming what is to become his biggest sci-fi movie ever. 

The visuals were amazing and so does the brisk pace but the huge surprise for us is the endless list of pop cultural references of films, music, literature and video games. I liked how the movie has contained so much that includes 'The Iron Giant' to 'Halo' as each had come from a variety of nostalgia, even Spielberg lend a few self-references of film series like 'Back to the Future' and 'Jurassic Park'. However, the lack of character development prevents this feature from escalating into this year’s best film list. This particular flaw didn’t stop the movie from being lauded by critics as having improvements to the story-line which are not used in the original book.

The actors had some unique talent when being in a star-studded cast and their acting has been ranged from decent to terrific. Actors like Ben Mendehlson and Mark Rylance are no exceptions when they were truly capable on their own performances. Tye Sheridan remains the best of these performers and somehow he just went from being Cyclops of 'X-Men' to a non-superhero role of the main protagonist in a sci-fi film. 

Spielberg isn’t ready to retire just yet and 'READY PLAYER ONE' is his new captivating masterpiece. It's not so much a good feature but actually worth-seeing and therefore is semi-decent. Many pop-cultural fans are excited to see the film again and so am I, you may have to wait until in the near future when the film comes out on Blu-ray, DVD and net-stream. 

Star rating: (7/10) Good Movie

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In Memory of Margot Kidder (1948-2018)

Margot Kidder (1948-2018)

The actress Margot Kidder died on May 14th, 2018, at age 69. She was notable for portraying Lois Lane in the original "Superman" film series. We always remember her as the one and only actress capable of playing this sassy female character.

In her 20s, she started her acting career in television before venturing into cinematic roles. In 1978, she became famous as the ace reporter of the Daily Planet in "Superman" opposite Christopher Reeve. Kidder and Reeve were largely unknown as these two leading characters. According to what she said in a 2004 interview, Kidder and Reeve were like siblings and displayed affection and hostility for each other. Still, it would have been more interesting for these two actors to have wed than the on-screen chemistry that they've had. It would have surprised all the moviegoers. She reprises the role in three more movies before ending with "Superman IV: The Quest for Peace". Other of her film roles include "Sisters", "The Great Waldo Pepper", "The Amityville Horror", "Trenchcoat", "Heartaches", etc.

Over the years, Margot has appeared on television for minor roles, guest appearances and voice-overs in shows including "Captain Planet", Phantom 2040", "Smallville", and "The Haunted Hour". Unfortunately, she had some troubling experiences, including her mental breakdown in 1996, which affected her acting career, as it was slowly declining. It's a cruel world to miss such an actress despite her shortcomings. She is good at portraying some strong-willed female characters. We will deeply miss her, and no other actress could play Lois Lane better than Margot can.

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Avengers: Infinity War Review

Avengers: Infinity War

Release Date: 25th April 2018 - Australia

Production Companies

Marvel Studios

Distribution

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Australia

Genre: Action

Rating: M

Runtime: 149 minutes

Budget: $400,000,000

Box Office Gross: $2,048,359,754 (Worldwide)

Plot Summary

The quest begins for Thanos, an intergalactic warlord, as he ventures to the cosmos to search for the Infinity Stones that will give him the power to eradicate half of the universe. Now it's up to the Avengers, with Doctor Strange, Spider-Man, Black Panther and the Guardians of the Galaxy, to risk everything to stop the invincible Mad Titan before he collects all the stones and carries out his insane plan.

Cast

Chris Evans - Steve Rogers/

Captain America

Robert Downey, Jr. - Tony Stark/Iron Man
Mark Ruffalo - Bruce Banner/
Hulk
Chris Hemsworth - Thor

Chris Pratt - Peter Quill/

Star-Lord

Josh Brolin - Thanos

Scarlett Johansson - Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow

Don Cheadle - Lt. James

Rhodes/War Machine

Benedict Cumberbatch - Doctor Strange

Tom Holland - Peter Parker/

Spider-Man

Chadwick Boseman - T'Challa/Black Panther

Benedict Wong - Wong

Zoe Saldana - Gamora
Karen Gillan - Nebula
Tom Hiddleston - Loki

Paul Bettany - Vision

Elizabeth Olsen - Wanda

Maximoff/Scarlet Witch

Anthony Mackie - Sam Wilson/The Falcon

Sebastian Stan - Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier

Idris Elba - Hemdall
Danai Gurira - Okoye
Vin Diesel - Groot (Voice)

Bradley Cooper - Rocket Raccoon (Voice)
Gwyneth Paltrow - Pepper Potts

Dave Bastille - Drax the Destroyer

Pom Klementieff - Mantis

Peter Dinklage - Eitri

Benicio del Toro - The Collector

William Hurt - Secretary of State Thaddeus Ross

Letitia Wright - Shuri

Sean Gunn - On-Set Rocket

Terry Notary - Cull Obsidian/

On-Set Groot

Tom Vaughan-Lawlor - Ebony Maw

Carrie Coon - Proxima Midnight

Michael James Shaw - Corvus Glaive

Winston Duke - M'Baku

Florence Kasumba - Ayo

Kerry Condon - F.R.I.D.A.Y. (Voice)

Monique Ganderton - On-Set Proxima Midnight

Jacob Batalon - Ned (Cameo)

Tiffany Espensen - Cindy

Isabella Amara - Sally

Ethan Dizon - Tiny

Ariana Greenblatt - Young Gamora

Ameenah Kaplan - Gamora's Mother

Ross Marquand - Red Skull

(Stonekeeper)

Stan Lee - Bus Driver (Cameo)

Samuel L. Jackson - Nick Fury (Cameo) (Uncredited)

Cobie Smulders - Maria (Cameo) (Uncredited)

Crew

Directors - Anthony & Joe Russo

Based on the Marvel Comics/Groot Creator/

Executive Producer - Stan Lee

Based on the Marvel Comics/Captain America

and Groot Creator - Jack Kirby

Star-Lord/Mantis Creator - Steve Englehart

Star-Lord Creator - Steve Gan

Gamora, Thanos and Drax Creator - Jim Starlin

Groot Creator - Larry Lieber

Rocket Raccoon Creators - Bill Mantlo and

Keith Giffen

Mantis Creator - Don Heck

Captain America Creator - Joe Simon

Screenplay - Christopher Markus and

Stephen McFeely

Associate Producer/Senior Visual Effects

Producer - Jen Underdahl

Associate Producer/Unit Production Manager -

JoAnn Perritano

Executive Producers - Louis D'Esposito,

Jon Favreau, Michael Grillo, James Gunn

and Trinh Tran

Producer - Kevin Feige

Co-Producer - Mitchell Bell

Casting Director - Sarah Finn

Production Designer - Charles Wood

Concept Artists - Bob Cheshire,

Sean Hargreaves, Andrew Redder.

Paul Catling, Paul Chandler,

Roberto Fernandez Castro, Tim Hill,

Chris Kesler, Oliver Pron, Pete Thompson

and Ivan Weightman

Head of Visual Development - Ryan Meinerding

Visual Development Concept Illustrators -

Anthony Francisco, Rodney Fuentebella,

Ian Joyner, Alexander Mandradjiev,

Jerad Marantz, Fausto De Martini,

Josh Nizzi, Andy Park, Phil Saunders,

Constantine Sekeris, Tully Summers,

Justin Sweet and Jackson Sze

Supervising Art Director - Ray Chan

Art Directors - Julian Ashby,

Thomas Brown, Jordan Crockett,

Jann K. Engel, Beat Frutiger,

Kevin Houlihan, Chris 'Flimsy' Howes,

David Scott, Mike Stallion and Brian Stultz

Set Decorator - Leslie Pope

Property Master - Russell Bobbitt

Costume Designer - Judianna Makovsky

Hair Stylist: Ms Saldana - Peter Tothpal

Makeup Department Head - John Blake

Department Head: Prosthetics Makeup,

Legacy Effects - Brian Sipe

Makeup Effects Consultant: Vision - Mike Elizalde

Director of Photography - Trent Opaloch

Director of Photography: Additional

Photography - Paul Hughen

"A" Camera Operator: Second Unit/

Edge Director of Photography - Ronald Hersey

First Assistant Camera: "A" Camera - Taylor Matheson

"B" Camera: 2nd Unit, Edinburgh - David Worley

Production Supervisor - Jason Tamez

Supervising Location Manager - James Lin

Location Managers: UK/Scotland -

Duncan Bradfoot, Lindsey Powell,

Aurelia Thomas and Naomi Liston (Uncredited)

First Assistant Director - Chris Castaldi

First Assistant Director: Second Unit - David Sardi

Second Assistant Directors - Jeff Okabayashi

and Matt Haggerty

Second Unit Director/Director of Photography:

Second Unit - Alexander Witt

Additional Second Unit Director/Fight (Uncredited)/

Stunt Coordinator - Sam Hargrave

Aerial Coordinator/Pilot - Cliff Fleming

Stunt Coordinator - Vic Armstrong

Stunt Coordinator: New York Unit - Stephen A. Pope

Fight Coordinator/Stunt Double (Uncredited) -

James Young

Fight Coordinator - Daniel Hernandez

Motion Capture/Movement Choreographer -

Terry Notary

Picture Car Coordinator - Dennis McCarthy

Special Effects Supervisor - Daniel Sudick

Legacy Effects Supervisors - Lindsay MacGowan

and Shane Mahan

Senior Visual Effects Supervisor: Weta Digital -

Joe Letteri

Visual Effects Supervisor - Dan DeLeeuw

Visual Effects Supervisor: Digital Domain -

Kelly Port

Visual Effects Supervisors: Weta Digital -

Matt Aitken and Charlie Tait

Visual Effects Supervisors: ILM - Russell Earl,

Jeff Caprogeco and Dan Snape

Visual Effects Supervisor: Method Studios -

Greg Steele

Visual Effects Supervisor: Cinesite - Andrew Morley

Visual Effects Supervisor: Framestore - Patric Roos

Visual Effects Supervisor: Cantina Creative -

Stephen Lawes

Visual Effects Supervisor: Additional - Swen Gillberg

Associate Visual Effects Supervisor: ILM -

Robert Weaver

Associate Visual Effects Supervisor: Cinesite -

Aleksandar Pejic

Additional Visual Effects Supervisor: Second

Unit - Mark O. Forker

Senior Visual Effects Producer: Double

Negative - Melinka Thompson-Godoy

Visual Effects Producer - Lisa Marra

Visual Effects Producers: ILM - Katherine Farrar

Danielle Legovich and Cabral Rock

Executive VFX Producer: RISE Visual Effects

Studios - Florian Gellinger

DFX Supervisor: Digital Domain - Scott Edelstein

Animation Supervisors: ILM - Kevin Martel,

Shawn Kelly, Eric Leong and Gang Trinh

Animation Supervisors: Weta Digital -

Sidney Kombo and Paul Story

Senior Animation Supevisor: Method Studios -

Keith Roberts

Animation Supervisors: Method Studios -

Daniel Mizuguchi and Christopher Perkowitz-Colvard

Animation Supervisor: Cinesite - Eamonn Butler

Animation Supervisor: Digital Domain -

Jan Philip Cramer

CG Supervisors: Weta Digital -

Gourdal Sebastien, Glen Sharah and

Sean Noel Walker

CG Supervisor: Cinesite - Chris Petts

Senior Virtual Production Supervisor - Matt Madden

Digital Model Supervisor - Bruce Holcomb

Compositing Supervisor: Framestore - Christian Zeh

Compositing Supervisor: Lola Visual Effects -

Edson Williams

3D Stereoscopic Supervisor - Evan Jacobs

Editors - Jeffrey Ford and Matthew Schmidt

Sound Designer - David Farmer

Sound Designer/Effects Editor (Uncredited) -

Nia Hansen

Supervising Sound Editors - Daniel Laurie

and Shannon Mills

ADR Supervisor - Daniel Laurie

Sound Mixers - Arda Koca and John Pritchett

Re-Recording Mixers - Tom Johnson and

Juan Peralta

Foley Artists - Shelley Roden and John Roesch

Music Supervisor - Dave Jordan

Music - Alan Silvestri

Score Recordist - Peter Cobbin

Review

When Thor: Ragnarok came out with acclaim in 2017, and so did Black Panther in the following year, both these films strengthened box office records while outperforming most features that aren't even part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The hype gets large as the wait is over for the newly released film AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR, which the ongoing public has all been enthusiastic about its larger-than-life scale. Better than Age of Ultron, this is the franchise's darkest and most unexpected movie that contains a melancholic cliffhanger copied off from the same scenario as The Empire Strikes Back. This ending is heart-wrenching and may shock and surprise everyone who isn't a Marvel fan.

INFINITY WAR has a profound emotional impact on the storyline with action sequences and splendid visuals. Additions to the movie were the additional heroes that just crossed over from previous stand-alone films of the MCU. These include Spider-Man, Guardians of the Galaxy, etc. (except a few like Ant-Man, The Wasp and Captain Marvel, who all have forthcoming movies before they appear in the second part of the feature). All this big movie with an excessive running time of 149 minutes. It is even better than the first instalment of The Avengers.

The actors are back in the large ensemble cast as the lead and supporting characters for this hugely structured and big-budgeted crossover. Josh Brolin is one of these actors. He gets a chance to portray the known villain Thanos after being introduced to the character in fewer early Marvel movies. Brolin gives all he has to make the infamous Mad Titan a complex character with powerful motives. It achieved a constantly threatening antagonist than the MCU has envisioned in Killmonger and Loki. The music score was perfect with the continuing collaborations of Alan Silvestri, who has returned to compose the third instalment of The Avengers.

INFINITY WAR is a thrilling edge-of-a-seat experience and possibly the best movie of MCU that we have come to this far. I recommend watching the first two films before deciding on which one you plan to see if it'll be this one.

Star rating: (10/10) Best Movie Ever

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