Tuesday, April 30, 2019

Avengers: Endgame Review












Avengers: Endgame


Release Date: 24th April 2019 - Australia


Production Companies
Marvel Studios

Distribution
Walt Disney Studios Motion
Pictures Australia


Genre: Action

Rating: M

Runtime: 181 minutes


Budget: $400,000,000

Box Office Gross: $2,797,501,328 (Worldwide)


Plot Summary
With Thanos' plan succeeding after he wipes out half of the universe, Tony Stark and Captain America, Black Widow, and the other Avengers assemble once more when they devise a solution. With the help of Scott Lang, they must reverse the Mad Titan's actions and bring back the people already extinguished by Thanos.


Cast
Chris Evans - Steve Rogers/
Captain America
Robert Downey Jr. - Tony Stark/Iron Man
Scarlett Johannson - Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow
Brie Larson - Carol Danvers/
Captain Marvel
Chris Hemsworth - Thor
Mark Ruffalo - Bruce Banner/
The Hulk
Bradley Cooper - Rocket Raccoon (Voice)
Paul Rudd - Scott Lang/
Ant-Man
Don Cheadle - Lt. James
Rhodes/War Machine
Jeremy Renner - Clint Barton/Hawkeye
Josh Brolin - Thanos
Karen Gillian - Nebula
Chris Pratt - Peter Quill/
Star-Lord
Zoe Saldana - Gamora
Dave Baustia - Drax the
Destroyer
Pom Klementieff - Mantis
Vin Diesel - Groot (Voice)
Terry Notary - On-Set Groot/
Cull Obsidian
Benedict Cumberbatch -
Doctor Strange
Tom Holland - Peter Parker/
Spider-Man
Chadwick Boseman - T'Challa/Black Panther
Elizabeth Olsen - Wanda
Maximoff/Scarlet Witch
Anthony Mackie - Sam Wilson/The Falcon
Sebastian Stan - Bucky
Barnes/Winter Solider
Winston Duke - M'Baku
Danai Gurira - Okoye
Florence Kasumba - Ayo
Letitia Wright - Shuri
Tom Hiddleston - Loki
Tom Vaughan-Lawlor - Ebony May
Carrie Coon - Proxima Midnight (Voice) (Uncredited)
Michael James Shaw - Corvus Glaive
Tessa Thompson - Valkyrie
Taika Waititi - Korg (Voice)
Gwyneth Paltrow - Pepper Potts
Jon Favreau - Happy Hogan
Evangeline Lilly - Hope Pym/
The Wasp
Michael Douglas - Hank Pym
Sean Gunn - On-Set Rocket
Tilda Swinton - The Ancient One
Benedict Wong - Wong
William Hurt - Secretary of
State Thaddeus Ross (Cameo)
Callan Mulvey - Jack Rollins
John Slattery - Howard Stark
Robert Redford - Alexander Pierce (Cameo)
Frank Grillo - Brock Rumlow (Cameo)
Maximiliano Hernandez -
Agent Sitwell (Cameo)
Linda Cardellini - Laura Barton
Ben Sakamoto - Cooper Barton
Ava Russo - Lila Barton
Cade Woodward - Nathaniel Barton
Alexandra Rachael Rabe - Morgan Stark
Ross Marquand - Red Skull (Stonekeeper)
Emma Fuhrmann - Cassie Lang
Hiroyuki Sanada - Akihido
Kerry Condon - F.R.I.D.A.Y. (Voice)
Samuel L. Jackson - Nick Fury (Cameo)
Cobie Smulders - Maria Hill
(Cameo)
Hayley Atwell - Peggy Carter
Ty Simpkins - Harley Keener
(Cameo)
Stan Lee - Driver (Cameo)
James D'Arcy - Jarvis (Cameo)
Natalie Portman - Jane Foster (Cameo)
Marisa Tomei - Aunt May
(Cameo)
Jacob Batalon - Ned (Cameo)
Angela Bassett - Ramona
(Cameo)
Rene Russo - Frigga
Michelle Pfeiffer - Janet Van Dyne
Jackson A. Dunn - Scott Lang (12 Y.O.)
Lee Moore - Scott Lang (93 Y.O.)
Bazlo & Loen LeClair - Scott Lang (Baby)
Ken Jeong - Security Guard (Cameo)
Yvette Nicole Brown - S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent (Cameo)
Joe Russo - Grieving Man (Cameo)
Jim Starlin - Support Group Man #1 (Cameo)
Russell Bobbitt - Diner Owner (Cameo)
Jack Champion - Kid on Bike
Sam Hargrave - New Asgard Truck Driver (Cameo)

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/Co-Producers - Christopher Markus
and Stephen McFeely
Associate Producer/Unit Production Manager -
JoAnn Perritano
Executive Producers - Louis D'Esposito,
Victoria Alonso, Michael Grillo,
Jon Favreau, James Gunn and Trinh Tran
Producer - Kevin Feige
Co-Producer - Mitchell Bell
Co-Producer/Senior Visual Effects Producer -
Jen Underdahl
Casting Director - Sarah Finn
Production Designer - Charles Wood
Production Designer: Additional Photography/
Supervising Art Director - Ray Chan
Head of Visual Development - Ryan Meinerding
Concept Artists - Bob Cheshire,
Sean Hargreaves, Andrew Reeder, Paul Catling,
Paul Chandler, Roberto Fernandez Castro,
Tim Hill, Chris Kesler, Olivier Pron,
Pete Thompson and Ivan Weightman
Visual Development Concept Illustrators -
Anthony Francisco, Rodney Fuentebella,
Ian Joyner, Alexander Mandradjey,
Jerad Marantz, Fausto De Martini, Josh Nizzi,
Andy Park, Phil Saunders, Constantine Sekeris,
Tully Summers, Justin Sweet and Jackson Sze
Visual Development Concept Artists - Wesley Burt,
Aleksi Briclot, Melissa Encinas, Adi Granov,
Ryan Lang, Iain McCaig, Karla Ortiz,
Stephen Schirle and John Staub
Art Directors - Julian Ashby, Thomas Brown,
Jordan Crockett, Jann K. Engel,
Beat Frutiger, Kevin Houlihan,
Chris 'Flimsy' Howes, Mike Stallion,
Brian Stultz and Kevin Gilbert
Art Directors: UK/Scotland Unit - Jim Barr
and Mark Swain
John Plas, Mike Stallion,
Brian Stultz and Mark Swain
On-Set Art Director - Sean Ryan Jennings
On-Set Art Director: Second Unit - Matthew Gatlin
Set Decorator - Leslie Pope
Property Master - Russell Bobbitt
Costume Designer - Judianna Makovsky
Makeup Department Head - John Blake
Prosthetics Makeup Department Head:
Legacy Effects - Brian Sipe
Hair Stylist: Ms Saldana - Peter Tothpal
Director of Photography - Trent Opaloch
Director of Photography: Second Unit -
Paul Hughen
"A" Camera First Assistant - Taylor Matheson
Supervising Location Manager - James Lin
Supervising Location Manager: UK/Scotland
Unit - Matt Jones
Location Managers: UK/Scotland Unit -
Duncan Bradfoot, Lindsey Powell,
Aurelia Thomas and Naomi Liston
(Uncredited)
Production Supervisor - Jason Tamez
Production & Development Manager - Kyana F. Davidson
First Assistant Director - Chris Castaldi
First Assistant Director: Second Unit - David Sardi
Second Assistant Directors - Jeff Okabayashi
and Matthew Haggerty
Second Unit Director - Sam Hargrave
Second Unit Director: Additional Photography/
Visual Effects Supervisor - Dan DeLeeuw
Aerial Coordinator/Helicopter Pilot - Cliff Fleming
Stunt Coordinator - Monique Ganderton
Fight Coordinator - James Young
Motion Capture/Movement Choreographer -
Terry Notary
Picture Car Coordinator - Dennis McCarthy
Special Effects Supervisor - Daniel Sudick
Legacy Effects Supervisors - Lindsay McGowan
and Shane Mahan
Senior Visual Effects Supervisor: Weta Digital -
Joe Letteri
Visual Effects Supervisors: ILM - Russell Earl,
Dave Dally and Dan Snape
Visual Effects Supervisors: Weta Digital -
Matt Aitken, Phillip Leonhardt and
Sean Noel Walker
Visual Effects Supervisor: Digital Domain - Kelly Port
Visual Effects Supervisor: Cinesite - Simon Stanley-Clamp
Associate Visual Effects Supervisor: ILM - Jay Cooper
Associate VFX Supervisor: Digital Domain -
Scott Edelstein
Additional Visual Effects Supervisors -
Swen Gilberg and MÃ¥rten Larsson
Additional Visual Effects Supervisors: Second
Unit - Stephane Ceretti and Jesse James Chisholm
Visual Effects Producer - Lisa Marra
Visual Effects Producers: ILM - Katherine Farrar,
Danielle Legovich and Kacy McDonald
Animation Supervisors: ILM - Kevin Martel,
Michael Lum and Edward Zhou
Animation Supervisor: Double Negative -
Ben Wiggs
Animation Supervisor: Cinesite - Eamonn Butler
Animation Supervisors - Robert Hemmings
Senior Animation Supervisor: Digital Domain -
Jan Philip Cramer
CG Supervisors: ILM - Jeremy Bloch,
Steve Sauers, Justin Martin and Kevin Sprout
CG Supervisors: Cinesite - Chris Petts
and Rob Andrews
Asset Supervisors: ILM - Bruce Holcomb,
Ben Lambert, Gareth Jensen, Lana Alan
and Michael Kriukow
Senior Virtual Production Supervisor - Matt Madden
Compositing Supervisor: Framestore - Matthew Twyford
Compositing Supervisor: Lola VFX - Edson Eilliams
Creative Finishing Supervisor - Evan Jacobs
Editors - Jeffrey Ford and Matthew Schmidt
Additional Editors - Tia Nolan,
Peter S. Elliot and Craig Tanner
Supervising Sound Editors - Shannon Mills
and Daniel Laurie
Sound Designers - David Farmer and Nia Hansen
Production Sound Mixer - John Pritchett
Re-Recording Mixers - Tom Johnson
and Juan Peralta
Additional Re-Recording Mixer - Tony Villaflor
Foley Artists - John Roesch, Shelley Roden,
Dan O'Connell and John Cucci
Music - Alan Silvestri
Music Supervisor - Dave Jordan
Music Score Recordist - Peter Cobbin


Review
Because I was looking forward to seeing the new AVENGERS: ENDGAME movie, I knew the day would come, and I was happy when it did. The film is a bittersweet conclusion to an ensemble superhero team introduced in 2012. Now the 22-film saga is over, culminating in ENDGAME. It was a haunting goodbye for the few main actors like Robert Downey, Jr., Mark Ruffalo and Chris Evans, who have been in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) long enough it's a logical end for their characters. With Marvel shifting their focus to ongoing solo projects, there won't be a new Avengers movie except for a reboot.

ENDGAME certainly has positive aspects, such as direction, acting, entertainment value and emotional weight, particularly outstanding performances from Downey, Jr., Josh Brolin, Scarlet Johannson, Jeremy Renner, Ruffalo, Evans, Paul Rudd and Chris Hemsworth. There isn't any easy way to conclude this chapter, but directors Anthony & Joe Russo did this to surprise moviegoers. I won't tell you exactly why this film has such an emotional impact. But you might take a hanky or a box of tissues. Otherwise, I might pull a Homer Simpson moment.

ENDGAME is the best of both worlds for the MCU and The Avengers series. This sequel is much better than its predecessor, Infinity War and is the best movie of 2019 to date. You won't miss it.

Star rating: (10/10) Best Movie Ever

Tuesday, April 23, 2019

The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996) Review














The Hunchback of Notre Dame


Release Date: 12th September 1996 - Australia


Production Companies
Walt Disney Pictures
Walt Disney Feature Animation

Distribution
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Australia


Genre: Animation/Family

Rating: PG

Runtime: 91 minutes


Budget: $100,000,000

Box Office Gross: $325,338,851 (Worldwide)


Plot Summary
In 15th-century Paris, a deformed bellringer named Quasimodo yearns to live outside of the Cathedral bell tower from his cruel caretaker, the Minister of Justice, Judge Claude Frollo, who has hidden him from the outside world while raising him as part of his penance.

Against the wishes of his master to never leave his sanctuary, Quasimodo sneaks out to attend the Festival of Fools and meets the beautiful gypsy, Esmeralda and the soldier Phoebus. Frollo's ruthlessness meant that the three ranged against his oppression and attempts to rid the Court of Miracles, the home of the gypsies. It is up
to Quasimodo to defend
Esmeralda and the Notre
Dame cathedral from the
man who raised him.


Voice Cast
Tom Hulce - Quasimodo
Demi Moore - Esmeralda
Heidi Mollenhauer - Esmeralda (singing voice)
Tony Jay - Judge Claude Frollo
Jason Alexander - Hugo
Charles Kimbrough - Victor
Mary Wickes - Laverne
Jane Withers - Additional Laverne Dialogue
Paul Kandel - Clopin
Kevin Kline - Captain Phoebus
David Odgen Stiers -
Archdeacon
Corey Burton - Brutish Guard/Additional Voices
Bill Fagerbakke - Oafish Guard
Mary Kay Bergman -
Quasimodo's Mother/
Additional Voices
Frank Welker - Djali/Baby Bird
Jim Cummings - Gypsies/
Guards

Crew
Directors - Kirk Wise and Gary Trousdale
Based on the Novel - Victor Hugo
Animation Story/Screenplay - Tab Murphy
Story - Kevin Harkey, Ed Gombert, Brenda Chapman,
Jeff Snow, Jim Capobianco, Denis Rich, Burny Mattinson,
John Sanford, Kelly Wightman, James Fujii, Floyd Norman,
Francis Glebas, Kirk Hanson and Christine Blum
Story/Sequence Directors: Paris - Gaetan &
Paul Brizzi
Story/Character Designers/Visual Development -
Geefwee Boedoe and Sue C. Nichols
Animation Screenplay - Irene Mecchi,
Bob Tzudiker, Noni White and Jonathan Roberts
Additional Screenplay Material/Story Supervisor/
Supervising Animator: "Laverne" -
Will Finn
Producer - Don Hahn
Co-Producer - Roy Conli
Art Director - David Goetz
Artistic Coordinator - Randy Fullmer
Character Designer/Visual Development/
Supervising Animator: "Quasimodo" -
James Baxter
Character Designer/Visual Development/
Supervising Animator: "Esmeralda" -
Tony Fucile
Character Designer/Visual Development/
Background Supervisor - Lisa Keene
Character Designers/Visual Development -
Geefwee Boedoe, Marek Buchwald,
Peter DeSeve, Thom Enriquez, Vance Gerry,
Darek Gogol, Joe Grant, Rick Maki,
Jean Gillmore, Sue C. Nichols and
Rowland B. Wilson
Character Designer/Visual Development/
Layout Supervisor - Ed Ghertner
Character Designer/Visual Development/
Animator: "Esmeralda" - Anne Marie Bardwell
Character Designer/Visual Development/
Animator: "Quasimodo" - Shawn Keller
Character Designer/Visual Development/
Rough Inbetweener - Joseph C. Moshier
Layout Supervisor: Paris - Daniel St. Pierre
Production Manager - Patty Hicks
Production Manager: Paris - Jean-Luc Florinda
Supervising Animator: "Frollo" - Kathy Zielinski
Supervising Animator: "Phoebus" - Russ Edmonds
Supervising Animator: "Clopin" - Michael Surrey
Supervising Animator: "Victor" and "Hugo" -
David Pruiksma
Supervising Animator: "Djali" - Ron Husband
Clean-Up Supervisor - Vera Pacheco
Visual Effects Supervisor - Christopher Jenkins
Additional Visual Effects Unit Supervisors:
Additional Visual Effects Animation -
Dave Bossert, Mauro Maressa and
Dave Tidgwell
CG Supervisor - Kiran Bhakta Joshi
Songs: Music/Original Score/
Songs Producer and Arranger/Score
Producer - Alan Menken
Songs: Lyrics/Songs Producer/Latin Lyrics
Adaptation - Stephen Schwartz
Film Editor - Ellen Keneshea
Associate Film Editor - John K. Carr
Supervising Sound Editors - Lon Bender
and Larry Kemp
Re-Recording Mixers - Mel Metcalfe,
Terry Porter and Dean A. Zupancic
Foley Artists - John Roesch and
Hilda Hodges
Executive Music Producer - Chris Montan
Vocal Arrangements/Conductor -
David Friedman
Music Recordist and Mixer - Bruce Botnick


Review
Like most people, I was appalled by the news of the near-destruction of Notre Dame's cathedral. It was engulfed in flames and caused by a short circuit. I decided to look back at THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME, by which I mean the Disney animated version in the wake of this devastation. I have been waiting to review a childhood classic I had not seen for a long time. I had never read the book nor watched the other film adaptations that preceded the animated version. It is, therefore, said that HUNCHBACK is one of Disney's darker films churned out. Because the movie contains adult themes such as religion, lust and genocide, I believe it would be a surprise for anyone watching this Disney film.

HUNCHBACK could have been aimed entirely at adults if it weren't for the gargoyles, particularly the one voiced by Jason Alexander, who provided comic relief. However, implementing characters who are second bananas to the main character in this film is not a good idea for Disney. It is not appropriate because it creates a tonal shift. These secondary characters aren't significant to the plot. What's important is the main character of Quasimodo, who yearns to be accepted by mainstream society and escape his confinement inside the walls of Notre Dame. One main character in the movie I compliment is the main villain, Judge Claude Frollo. Frollo is a particularly frightening villain who seeks to destroy the gypsies. It is up to the hero Quasimodo to stop Frollo from carrying out his plans of damnation. Not since Scar in The Lion King have we seen a villain so menacing and scary.

The animation is beautiful, and the backgrounds depict the scenery of 15th-century Paris, for instance, the entire Notre Dame cathedral. Most of the songs by Alan Menken, including "Hellfire", "God Help the Outcasts", and "Out There", are good and fit effectively into the score of an animated musical like HUNCHBACK. The voice-overs are equivalent to live acting, with superb performances from Tom Hulce, Demi Moore, Kevin Kline and Tony Jay. They all have lent their voices to HUNCHBACK, thus creating a rich and complex set of characters.

Not exactly the best Disney animation, but HUNCHBACK still comes close to The Lion King or Beauty and the Beast by high standards. You better watch it with a parent or guardian or if younger viewers have questions about the mature content in the film. So exercise viewer discretion, everyone.

Star rating: (7/10) Good Movie

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Monday, April 15, 2019

Shazam! Review












Shazam!


Release Date: 4th April 2019 - Australia 


Production Companies
Warner Bros. Pictures
New Line Cinema
DC Comics
DC Entertainment 
Seven Bucks Productions
The Safran Company

Distribution
Roadshow Distribution 


Genre: Action

Rating: M

Runtime: 132 minutes


Budget: $100,000,000

Box Office Gross: $365,971,656 (Worldwide)


Plot Summary
We all have a superhero
inside of us -- it just takes a
bit of magic to bring it out. In
14-year-old Billy Batson's
case, all he needs to do is
shout out one word to
transform into the adult
superhero Shazam. Still a kid
at heart, Shazam revels in
the new version of himself by
doing what any other teen 
would do -- have fun while 
testing out his newfound 
powers. But he'll need to 
master them quickly before 
the evil Dr. Thaddeus Sivana 
can get his hands on 
Shazam's magical abilities. (Source - Google)


Cast
Asher Angel - Billy Batson
Zachary Levi - Shazam
Mark Strong - Dr. Thaddeus Sivana
Jack Dylan Grazer - Freddy Freeman
Grace Fulton - Mary Bromfeld
Faithe Herman - Darla Dudley
Ian Chen - Eugene Choi
Jovan Armand - Pedro Pena
Cooper Andrews - Victor 
Vasquez
Marta Milans - Rosa Vasquez
Djimon Hounsou - Wizard
Adam Brody - Super Hero Freddy
Ross Butler - Super Hero Eugene
Michelle Borth - Super Hero Mary
D.J. Cotrona - Super Hero Pedro
Meagan Good - Super Hero Darla
John Glover - Mr. Sivana
Wayne Ward - Sid Sivana
David Kohlsmith - Young Billy
Ethan Pugiotto - Thaddeus Sivana (1974)
Landon Doak - Sid Sivana (1974)
Caroline Palmer - Billy's Mom
Keisha T. Fraser - Rachel Batson
Andi Osho - Ms. E.B. Glover
Lotta Losten - Dr. Lynn Crosby
Lisa Truong - Ms. Kwan
Carson MacCormac - Brett Breyer
Evan Marsh - Burke Breyer
Steve Blum - Sin (Voice)
Darin De Paul - Sin (Voice)
Fred Tatasciore - Sin (Voice)

Crew
Director - David F. Sandberg
Shazam Creators - Bill Parker and C.C. Beck
Superman Creators - Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster
Story/Screenplay - Henry Gayden
Story - Darren Lemke
Executive Producer/Unit Production Manager -
Jeffrey Chernov
Executive Producers - Richard Brener,
Christopher Godsick, Walter Hamada,
Dave Neustadter, Dany & Hiram Garcia,
Geoff Johns, Adam Schlagman and
Dwayne Johnson
Producer - Peter Safran
Co-Producer - David Witz
Production Designer - Jessica Spence
Set Decorator - Shane Vieau
Costume Designer - Leah Butler
Director of Photography - Maxime Alexandre
Second Unit Director - John Mahaffie
Stunt Coordinators - Kyle Gardiner and
Larry Lam
Fight Coordinator - Chan Griffin
Special Effects Supervisors - Mark Lawton and
Cameron Waldbauer
Special Effects Coordinator - Rocco Larizza
Visual Effects Supervisors - Kelvin McIlwain
and Mike Wassel
Visual Effects Producer - Cari Thomas
Additional Visual Effects - John Dykstra
Animation Supervisor - Peter Dydo
Film Editor - Michel Aller
Music Supervisor - Season Kent
Music - Benjamin Wallfisch


Review
The DC Extended Universe (DCEU) hasn’t had a great film since 'Wonder Woman', although the release of 'Aquaman' changed all of the fans’ perception of DCEU for the most part in 2018. However, after years of unsuccessfully copycatting the Marvel Cinematic Universe. 'SHAZAM!' marks a definite shift away from this mimicry and is among the latest movies to come from DCEU along with the forthcoming release of 'The Joker'. I remember the title character when I first watched the episode of 'Justice League' which was called Captain Marvel. However, this name has nothing to do with Marvel’s titular super heroine. Although the 'SHAZAM!' comic is hardly obscure for DC, it predates the film by about 80 years.

This cheerful, exciting romp reminds me of Richard Donner’s 'Superman' where you get this lighthearted feel to the movie and be highly entertained. In 'SHAZAM!', there’s even a heartwarming subplot about the foster home and the occasional bits of drama where the main character is desperately searching for his long-lost mother from whom he was separated when he was younger. The way the film portrays 'SHAZAM!' it is as if it was more like a comedy rather than any average superhero feature. Not many films from the genre, like 'Iron Man' or 'Guardians of the Galaxy', had the ability to convey this infectious hilarity, nor had the sense of cheesiness which isn't a bad thing.

I must say Zachary Levi was a perfect casting choice for the role of Shazam. This is because he usually does comedies, so he was playing to his strengths. Young Jack Dylan Grazer does well as Billy's foster brother and best friend Freddy Freeman. Even Mark Strong gets his chance to shine in a DC movie as Shazam's arch-nemesis. He seems to be doing better in this role in a DC movie than what he did as Sinestro in 'Green Lantern'.

'SHAZAM!' is an outstanding film for both DC fans or anyone who has never read the comics. It is a fast-paced, lighthearted popcorn blockbuster that is bound to keep audiences excited and enthralled. Remember, to say the magic word!

Star rating: (9/10) Excellent Movie


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