Monday, August 27, 2018

Mission: Impossible - Fallout Review












Mission: Impossible - Fallout


Release Date: 2nd August 2018 - Australia


Production Companies
Paramount Pictures (presents)
Bad Robot
Skydance Media (presents)
TC Productions
Alibaba Pictures (in association with)

Distribution
Paramount Pictures Australia


Genre: Action
 
Rating: M

Runtime: 147 minutes


Budget: $178,000,000

Box Office Gross: $791,657,398 (Worldwide)
 

Plot Summary
To prevent a catastrophe of massive proportions, Ethan Hunt and the IMF team must join forces with hard-hitting CIA agent August Walker. Weapons dealer John Lark and a terrorist group known as the Apostles plan to use three nuclear devices to simultaneously attack the Vatican, Jerusalem and Mecca, South Arabia. Ethan and his crew are in a desperate battle to stop
the weapons from falling
into the wrong hands when
they go missing.


Cast
Tom Cruise - Ethan Hunt
Henry Cavill - August Walker
Vanessa Kirby - White Widow
Simon Pegg - Benji Dunn
Rebecca Ferguson - Ilsa Faust
Ving Rhames - Luther Stickell
Michelle Monaghan - Julia Meade-Hunt
Sean Harris - Solomon Lane
Alec Baldwin - Alan Hunley
Angela Bassett - Erica Sloan
Wes Bentley - Patrick
Frederick Schmidt - Zola
Liang Yang - Lark Decoy
Kristoffer Joner - Nils Debrunk
Wolf Blitzer - Himself (Cameo)
Alix Benezech - French Policewoman
Charlie Archer - Delivery Man

Crew
Writer/Producer/Director -
Christopher McQuarrie
Based on the Television
Series - Bruce Geller
Executive Producers - David Ellison, Dana Goldberg and Don Granger
Producers - J.J. Abrams, Tom Cruise and Jake Myers
Co-Producer/First Assistant Director - Tommy Gormley
Casting Directors - Mindy Marin and Toby Whale
Production Designer - Peter Wenham
Supervising Art Director - Phil Sims
Senior Art Director - Matthew Gray
Art Directors - Oliver Hodge,
Gary Jopling and David Weare
UK Art Director: New Zealand Unit -
Steven Lawrence
Set Decorator - Jillie Azis
Property Master - Barry Gibbs
Action Props Supervisor - Toby Shears
Costume Designer - Jeffrey Kurland
Master Armourer - Simon Atherton
Supervising Armourer: New Zealand Unit -
Nick Komornicki
Weapons Master: New Zealand Unit -
Gunner Ashford
Director of Photography - Rob Hardy
Additional Director of Photography/
Director of Photography: New Zealand,
Helicopter Sequence - Fraser Taggert
Underwater Director of Photography - Pete Romano
Aerial Director of Photography - Adam Dale
"B" Camera/Steadicam Operator - Marcus Pohlus
Supervising Location Manager - Ben Plitz
Supervising Location Manager: Norway Unit -
Thor Kjartasson
Unit Production Manager - Chris Brock
Second Unit Director/Stunt Coordinator -
Wade Eastwood
Chief Instructor: Norway Unit - Ray Armstrong
Skydiving Coordinator: Norway Unit - Allan Hewitt
Lead Aerial Coordinator: H-145/Camera
Pilot - Marc Wolff
Fight Coordinator - Wolfgang Stegemann
Animal Wrangler Head Trainer: New Zealand
Unit - James Delaney
Action Vehicles Supervisor - Graham Kelly
Unit Base/Set Coordinator: New Zealand Unit -
Glenn Shaw
Special Effects Supervisors - Neil Corbould
Special Effects Supervisor: New Zealand Unit -
Richard Schuler
Assistant Special Effects Supervisor - Keith Dawson
Visual Effects Supervisor - Jody Johnson
Visual Effects Supervisors: DNEG - Huw J. Evans
and Rohit Prakash Gujar (Uncredited)
Additional Visual Effects Supervisor: Prime Focus
World - Vinod Gundre
Visual Effects Consultant - Nikki Penny
Computer Graphics Supervisor: BLIND Ltd -
Andrew Booth
Film Editor - Eddie Hamilton
Supervising Sound Editor - James H. Mater
Production Sound Mixer - Chris Munro
Re-Recording Mixers - Mike Prestwood Smith
and Gilbert Lane
Additional Re-Recording Mixer - Chris Burdon
Foley Mixer - Glen Gathard
Foley Artists - Peter Burgis and
Zoe Freed
Music - Loren Balfe
Writer: Themes from Mission: Impossible -
Lalo Schifrin
Recording Engineer: Air Studios - Geoff Foster


Review
I have seen all five of the previous Mission: Impossible (M: I) movies. It has been three years awaiting the release of the sixth instalment. Since Ghost Protocol and Rogue Nation were released, the ongoing movie franchise has been well-received through the latest instalments, and Tom Cruise is still its dominant figure. Full of jam-packed action and suspense, FALLOUT is a much more exciting addition to the film series than the previous episodes and has exceptional set pieces that balance out with dramatic moments. The stunts displayed high-level coordination, and the movie's pacing is fast but exhilarating. Again, Chris McQuarrie uses his creative talents to shoot FALLOUT as he is the only director who returns to do another M: I feature.

Although it's nice to see Cruise again, he still looks older than in the last movie. He gets brought into an ensemble cast with the other players. Sean Harris returns as the main villain with Simon Pegg, Michele Monaghan, Alec Baldwin, Rebecca Ferguson, etc. And finally, Henry Cavill is cast as the CIA-trained assassin August Walker, an excellent foil to Cruise's Ethan Hunt and is an abrupt change from his previous role as Superman in DCEU.

I never actually believed this film would stand above all its predecessors. It has exceeded the fans' expectations. FALLOUT is an exception to the M: I movies, and it has a load of callbacks to the franchise for those who have previously seen them. I hope to see it again soon.

Star rating: (9/10) Excellent Movie

Monday, August 13, 2018

Ghostbusters (2016) Review











Ghostbusters


Release Date: 14th July 2016 - Australia


Production Companies
Columbia Pictures (presents)
LStar Capital (in association with)
Village Roadshow Pictures (in association with)
Pascal Pictures
Feigco Entertainment
Ghostcorps
The Montecito Picture Company

Distribution
Sony Pictures Australia


Genre: Comedy/Fantasy

Rating: PG
             M (extended)

Runtime: 116 minutes
                134 minutes
                (extended)


Budget: $144,000,000

Box Office Gross: $229,147,509 (Worldwide)


Plot Summary
To prove the existence of ghosts in modern society, Abby Yates, a paranormal researcher, and Erin Gilbert, a physicist, set to find out. When mysterious phenomena started appearing in Manhattan, they enlisted the aid of an engineer named Jillian Holtzman. Patty Tolan, a lifelong New Yorker who knows the city inside out, also joins the team. As more than 1,000 vicious ghosts descend on Times Square, the four women, armed with proton packs and plenty of attitudes, prepare for an epic battle.


Cast
Melissa McCarthy - Abby Yates
Kristen Wiig - Erin Gilbert
Kate McKinnon - Jillian Holtzman
Leslie Jones - Patty Tolan
Chris Hemsworth - Kevin
Neil Casey - Rowan North
Michael Kenneth Williams - Agent Hawkins
Matt Walsh - Agent Rourke
Andy Garcia - Mayor Bradley
Ed Begley Jr. - Ed Mulgrave
Cecily Strong - Jennifer Lynch
Charles Dance - Harold Filmore
Bill Murray - Martin Heiss
Michael McDonald - Jonathan
Adam Ray - Slimer (Voice)/Lead Singer
Robin Shelby - Lady Slimer (Voice)
Dave Allen - Electrocuted Ghost
Steve Bannos - Flasher Ghost
Elizabeth Perkins - Phyllis Allder
Steve Higgins - Tom Shanks
John Higgins - Baba Booey Shouter
Zach Woods - Garrett
Nate Corddry - Graffiti Artist
Toby Huss - Officer Stevenson
Katie Dippold - Rental Agent
Karan Soni - Bennie
Bess Rous - Gertrude Aldridge Ghost
Eugene Cordero - Bass Guitarist
Milana Yaybtrub - Subway Rat Woman
Sigourney Weaver - Rebecca Gorin (Cameo)
Ernie Hudson - Uncle Bill (Cameo)
Dan Aykroyd - Cabbie (Cameo)
Annie Potts - Desk Clerk (Cameo)
Ozzy Osbourne - Famous Rock
Star
Al Roker - Himself
Pat Kiernan - NY1 News Anchor #1
Greg Kelly - Fox 5 News Anchor
Rosanna Scotto - Fox 5 News Anchor
Chris Gethard - Himself
Theodore Shapiro - Keyboardist (Cameo)
Daniel Ramis - Metal Head (Cameo)
Stephen Boss - Police Officer (Cameo)
Justin Kirk - Phil (Cameo) (Extended Cut
Only)
Brian Baumgartner - Frank (Cameo)
(Extended Cut Only)

Crew
Writer/Executive Producer/
Director - Paul Feig
Based on the 1984 Film "Ghostbusters"
Director/Producer - Ivan Reitman
Based on the 1984 Film "Ghostbusters"
Writer/Executive Producer - Dan Aykroyd
Based on the 1984 Film "Ghostbusters" Writer -
Harold Ramis 
Writer - Katie Dippold
Executive Producers - Ali Bell,
Jessie Henderson, Joe Medjuck and Tom Pollock
Executive Producer/Unit Production Manager -
Michele Imperato
Producer - Amy Pascal
Casting Director - Allison Jones
Production Designer - Jefferson Sage
Illustrators - Peter Rubin,
Shae Shatz, Tully Summers and
Constantine Sekeris
Art Directors - Beat Frutiger,
Lorin Flemming, Iain McFayden,
Brad Rubin and Audra Avery
Set Decorator - Leslie Pope
Property Master - Kirk Corwin
Costume Designer - Jeffrey Kurland
Director of Photography - Robert D. Yeaman
"A" Camera Operator - Casey Hotchkiss
"B" Camera/Steadicam Operator - David Chameides
Location Managers - Mark Fitzgerald
and Charlie Harrington
Unit Production Manager - David Witz
Second Unit Director/Stunt Coordinator -
G.A. Aguilar
Stunt Coordinator - Walter Garcia
Choreographer - Stephen Boss
Special Effects Supervisor - Mark Hawker
Special Effects Coordinator - Andy Weder
Visual Effects Supervisor - Peter G. Travers
Visual Effects Supervisor: SPI - Daniel Kramer
Visual Effects Supervisor: MPC - David Seager
Visual Effects Supervisors: Illoura -
Glenn Melenhorst and Andrew Hellen
Executive Visual Effects Supervisor:
Furious FX - David Lingenfelser
Visual Effects Producer - Sean Santiago
Visual Effects Consultant - Eric Brevig
Animation Supervisor: SPI - Sebastian Kapijimpanga
Lead Animation Supervisor: Illoura - Nicholas Tripodi
Animation Supervisor: Illoura - Terence Bannon
Stereoscopic Supervisor: Legend 3D - Anthony Dunifer
Editors - Melissa Bretherton and Brent White
First Assistant Editors - Alex Hepburn
and Ken O'Keefe
Supervising Sound Editors - Andrew DeCristofaro
and Becky Sullivan
Sound Designers - Karen Treist,
Michael Payne and Tony Lamberti
Sound Mixer - Steve Cantamessa
Re-Recording Mixers - Mark Paterson
and Beau Borders
Foley Artists - Gary A. Hecker
and Rick Owens
Music - Theodore Shapiro
Music Editor/Supervisor - Erica Weis


Review
When they officially announced the new GHOSTBUSTERS movie, I hoped it'd be about a new generation with some original cast members participating as their old characters. Unfortunately, it occurred to me that this was a remake, not a sequel. Its co-creator, Harold Ramis, has died, making the newer film impossible to continue. However, it's a mind-numbing epic fail that could not possibly remake the original of its comical fright with a material of gags and jokes from the original actors. All four new lead protagonists are women. I'm not saying I am a sexist, but it's bad luck to mention some forced female empowerment in this movie. This remake should have had only one or two female lead characters, with the other two (or three) male.

It contains only a few jokes, with the rest being not humorous. The actresses who played the four female Ghostbusters have better movies in their careers than this one, especially from the gorgeous talents of Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones. They did not live up to the reputation of these classic actors trained to their best. However, some like Sigourney Weaver, Dan Aykroyd, Annie Potts and Eddie Hudson got piled into unnecessary cameo roles, with Bill Murray in a supporting role. The CGI is terrible, which makes the original effects look better in comparison (save for the stop-motion animation, which didn't age well).

I recommend you not watch the new GHOSTBUSTERS as it is an unsuccessful revamp of the original. All female viewers should note that it's a soulless and misguided attempt to improve the 1984 classic.

Star rating: (2/10) Bad Movie

Tuesday, August 7, 2018

Edge of Tomorrow Review












Edge of Tomorrow


Release Date: 5th June 2014 - Australia


Production Companies
Warner Bros. Pictures (presents)
Village Roadshow Pictures (in association with)
RatPac-Dune Entertainment (in association with)
3 Arts Entertainment
Viz Productions (in association with)

Distribution
Roadshow Films


Genre: Sci-Fi

Rating: M

Runtime: 113 minutes


Budget: $178,000,000

Box Office Gross: $370,541,256 (Worldwide)


Plot Summary
When a powerful alien race
attacks Earth, the military
doesn't stand a chance
against the marauders.
Maj. William Cage gets
assigned on a suicide
mission, and within
moments, he gets killed, only
to be brought back again in
a time loop where he has to
relive the same battle and
his death many times. With
each encore, Cage's fighting
skills improve, which brings
him and a comrade closer
to defeating the aliens.


Cast
Tom Cruise - Cage
Emily Blunt - Rita
Brendan Gleeson - General Brigham
Bill Paxton - Master Sergeant Farell
Jonas Armstrong - Skinner
Tony Way - Kimmel
Kick Gurry - Griff
Franz Drameh - Ford
Dragomir Music - Kuntz
Charlotte Riley - Nance
Masayoshi Haneda - Takeda
Noah Taylor - Dr. Carter
Lara Pulver - Karen Lord
Madeleine Mantock - Julie
Terence Waynard - Cruel Sergeant
Beth Goddard - Secretary - Iris
David Kaye - UDF Commercial (Voice)

Crew
Executive Producer/Director - Doug Liman
Based on the Novel "All You Need Is Kill" - Hiroshi Sakurazaka
Screenplay - Christopher McQuarrie and Jez & John-Henry Butterworth
Script Supervisor - Lisa Vick
Executive Producers - David
Bartis, Bruce Berman,
Hidemi Fukuhara, Joby Harold
and Steven Mnuchin
Producers - Jason Hoffs, Gregory Jacobs, Tom Lassally and Erwin Stoff
Producer/Unit Production Manager - Jeffrey Silver
Co-Producer/Unit Production Manager - Tim Lewis
Co-Producer/First Assistant Director - Kim H. Winther
Production Designer - Oliver Scholl
Concept Artists - Harald Belker,
Tim Browning, Steve Burg,
Stephen Forrest-Smith, James Hegedus,
Will Htay, Jeff Julian, Tani Kunitake,
Magda Kusowska, Michele Moen,
Ed Natividad, Jamie Rama,
Matthew Savage and Henrik Tamm
Illustrators - David Allcock
and Martin Asbury
Supervising Art Director - Neil Lamont
Art Directors - Alastair Bullock,
Mark Harris, Christian Huband,
Jason Knox-Johnston, Andrew Palmer,
Hayley Easton Street, Stephen Swain
and Gary Tomkins
Assistant Art Directors - Jordana Finkel,
Robert Hochstoeger, Ashley Lamont,
Will Coubrough and Jeffrey D. Simon
Set Decorators - Elli Griff and
Gene Vazquez (Uncredited)
Head ExoSuit Builder - Pierre Bohanna
Costume Designer - Kate Hawley
Costume Supervisor - Dan Grace
Supervising Armourer - Simon Atherton
Armourers - Roy Stratford and Tim Wildgoose
Director of Photography - Dion Beebe
Director of Photography: Second Unit -
Fraser Taggart 
"A" Camera/Steadicam Operator - Peter Robertson
"A" Camera Operator: Second Unit - Peter Field
Supervising Location Manager - Sue Quinn
First Assistant Directors - Chris Carreras
and Max Keene
Second Unit Director/Stunt Coordinator - Simon Crane
Stunt Coordinator - Wade Eastwood
Special Visual Consultant - Guillermo del Toro
Special Effects Supervisor - Dominic Tuohy
Special Effects Coordinator - Jess Lewington
Visual Effects Supervisors - Nick Davis
and Rohit Prakash Gujar (Uncredited)
Visual Effects Supervisor: SPI - Daniel Kramer
Visual Effects Supervisor: Framestore - Jonathan Fawkner
Visual Effects Supervisor: Cinesite - Simon Stanley-Clamp
Additional Visual Effects Supervisor: Framestore -
Christian Kaestner
Visual Effects Producers - Alex Bicknell
and Emma Norton
Senior Visual Effects Producer: SPI - Eric Scott
Visual Effects Producers: Framestore -
Chloë Grysole and Danielle Legovich
Digital Effects Supervisor: SPI - Kee-Suk 'Ken' Hahn
Art Director and Lead Concept: Framestore -
Kevin Jenkins
Animation Supervisor: SPI - Steve Nichols
Animation Supervisor: Cinesite - Eamonn Butler
CG Supervisors: Framestore - Alexis Wajsbrot
and Neil Weatherley
Editors - James Herbert and Laura Jennings
Supervising Sound Editor - Dominic Gibbs
Sound Designer - Jimmy Boyle
Additional Audio - Mark P. Stoeckinger
and Ann Scibelli
Production Sound Mixer - Stuart Wilson
Re-Recording Mixers - Chris Burdon
and Mark Taylor
Foley Mixer - Glen Gathard
Foley Artists - Jason Swanscott
and Peter Burgis
Music - Christophe Beck
Music Supervisor - Julianne Jordan


Review
Director Doug Liman has turned his attention to helm EDGE OF TOMORROW, an ideal sci-fi action blockbuster based on a Japanese manga. It's interesting how the director has attempted to make another science-fiction breakthrough, unlike his failed effort, Jumper. The film is well-written with an intriguing concept and full of non-stop action, but it is fascinating to look at its style of repetitiveness, which feels like Groundhog Day all over again. Although the time loop structure of EDGE OF TOMORROW is hard to understand, that was all part of its premise and style. The producers managed to get actor Tom Cruise in the lead role and his screenwriting collaborator Chris McQuarrie to write the feature-length film adaptation.

The actor Cruise deserves to be in the movie as he seems confident and is better at handling another terrific performance in his career. Emily Blunt is a fantastic leading actress who has done so well in her part and shares some incredible chemistry with the aforementioned male actor. The cinematography is impressive, and the alien race Mimics are strangely perfect in their visual design.

EDGE OF TOMORROW is terrific and stylish, but it was a great movie overall. I did enjoy it, and at some time, I will have to compare it to the other films that came before that I have and have not experienced.

Star rating: (8/10) Very Good Movie

Thursday, August 2, 2018

Skyscraper Review











Skyscraper 


Release Date: 12th July 2018 - Australia 


Production Companies 
Legendary Entertainment
Flynn Picture Company
Seven Bucks Productions

Distribution 
Universal Pictures Australia


Genre: Action
 
Rating: M

Runtime: 102 minutes 


Budget: $125,000,000

Box Office Gross: $304,868,961 (Worldwide)


Plot Summary 
Former FBI Hostage Rescue Team leader and U.S. war veteran Will Sawyer has the job of assessing the safety and security of The Pearl - one of the world’s tallest buildings.

While on assignment in China, Sawyer is invited to stay at The Pearl, a 240-floor luxurious skyscraper, along with his wife and children. He attends a meeting to give his findings on the safety of The Pearl, a fire starts on the 96th floor, trapping his family. When Sawyer goes to save them, he’s captured and the lives of his wife and kids are threatened. Sawyer must free himself, find out why this is happening and figure out how to rescue his loved ones. (Source - Metro Cinemas)


Cast
Dwayne Johnson - Will Sawyer
Neve Campbell - Sarah Sawyer
McKenna Roberts - Georgia
Sawyer
Noah Cottrell - Harry Sawyer
Chin Han - Zhao Long Ji
Noah Taylor - Mr. Pierce
Roland Møller - Kores Botha
Bryon Mann - Inspector Wu
Pablo Schreiber - Ben
Hannah Quinlivan - Xia
Kevin Rankin - Ray
Gretal Montgomery - Ray's Wife
Jett Klyne - Ray's Son
Kayden Magnuson - Ray's Daughter
Adrian Holmes - Ajana Okeke
Tzi Ma - Fire Chief Sheng
Elfina Luk - Sergeant Han

Crew
Writer/Director - Rawson Marshall Thurber
Executive Producers - Dany Garcia, Eric Hedayat, Wendy Jacobson and Eric McLeod
Producers - Beau Flynn, Hiram Garcia, Dwayne Johnson and Mary Parent
Co-Producer/First Assistant Director - James Bitonti 
Co-Producer/Visual Effects Producer/Post-Production Supervisor - Petra Holtof
Production Designer - Jim Bissell
Supervising Art Director - Helen Jarvis
Costume Designers - Ann Foley
and Luca Mosca
Director of Photography - Robert Elswit
Second Unit Director - J.J. Perry
Fight/Stunt Coordinator - Allan Poppleton
Stunt Coordinator - Robert Alonzo
Co-Fight Coordinator/Stunt Actor/Stunts/
Utility Stunts - Brian Ho
Special Effects Supervisors - Dan Cervin and
Joel Whist
Visual Effects Supervisor - Jason M. Bergman
Associate Visual Effects Supervisor: ILM -
Jose Burgos
Visual Effects Producers - Geoff Anderson
and Karin Johnson
Film Editors - Julian Clarke and
Michael L. Sale
Music - Steve Jablonsky


Review 
Throughout his career, Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson has played a number of heroes and now the former wrestler/well-known actor gets to be the new John McClane in this new fully action-packed movie, 'SKYSCRAPER', so-named due to its setting. However, viewers would find 'SKYSCRAPER' to be too familiar; resembling other movies like 'Die Hard' and 'The Towering Inferno'. 'SKYSCRAPER' appears to have copied off elements from these two films making the plot look very predictable and unoriginal by today’s standards. 'SKYSCRAPER' does contain scenes which are remotely intense and provide an adrenaline rush; defying all logic that it would be possible for the action to take place in a fictional skyscraper that would have been taller than the actual Burj Khalifa building in Saudi Arabia.

Despite 'SKYSCRAPER's predictable aspects, Johnson has never been as good in his wonderful performance. Even Bruce Willis himself would be pleased that Johnson - as Willis’ would-be successor - is doing the action-hero role very differently in the 'Die Hard' series, in his younger years. Neve Campbell is a remarkable actress in doing her part as a survivor and she did it in her very own way. 

Good but at-times ludicrous, 'SKYSCRAPER' may not be as exciting and thrilling as moviegoers have been anticipated. It offers pure escapism for everyone who is living in a dull life and has yet to experience the movie that is currently showing on the big screen. If you have not seen 'Die Hard' and 'The Towering Inferno', then this movie is for you. If you did watched these two films, you would surely find it that it is okay, but nothing new.

Star rating: (7/10) Good Movie