It (2017) Review

It


Release Date: 7th September 2017 - Australia


Production Companies
New Line Cinema (presents)
RatPac-Dune Entertainment (in association with)
Vertigo Entertainment
Lin Pictures
KatzSmith Productions

Distribution
Roadshow Films


Genre: Horror

Rating: MA15+ (Not Suitable for Young Children)

Runtime: 135 minutes


Budget: $35,000,000

Box Office Gross: $701,842,551 (Worldwide)


Plot Summary
Every 27 years, an ancient evil shapeshifter emerges from the sewers and preys on a small place in Maine called Derry, where the children go missing. A group of friends must face their fears to rid the town of this vicious clown known as Pennywise.


Cast
Bill Skarsgård - Pennywise
Jaeden Martell - Bill Denbrough
Sophia Lillis - Beverly Marsh
Finn Wolfhard - Richie Tozier

Jeremy Ray Taylor - Ben Hanscom
Chosen Jacobs - Mike Hanlon
Jack Dylan Grazer - Eddie Kaspbrak
Wyatt Oleff - Stanley Uris
Nicholas Hamilton - Henry Bowers
Jake Sim - Belch Huggins
Logan Thompson - Victor Criss
Owen Teague - Patrick

Hockstetter
Jackson Robert Scott -

Georgie Denbrough
Stephen Bogaert - Mr. Marsh
Stuart Hughes - Officer Bowers
Geoffrey Pounsett - Zack Denbrough
Pip Dwyer - Sharon Denbrough
Molly Atkinson - Sonia Kaspbrak
Steven Williams - Leroy Hanlon
Elizabeth Saunders - Mrs.

Starret
Megan Charpentier - Gretta
Joe Bostick - Mr. Keene
Ari Cohen - Rabbi Uris
Tatum Lee - Judith

Javier Botet - Hobo

Carter Musselman - Headless

Boy

Roberto Campanella - Organ Player Clown (Cameo)

Crew
Director - Andy Muschietti
Based on the Novel "It" - Stephen King
Screenplay - Chase Palmer, Cary Joji Fukunaga and Gary Dauberman
Executive Producers - Richard Brener, Doug Davison,

Toby Emmerich, Walter Hamada,

Niija Kuykendall, Dave Neustadter

and Jon Silk
Executive Producer/Unit Production Manager -

Marty P. Ewing
Producers - Seth Grahame-Smith,
David Katzenberg, Roy Lee, Dan Lin
and Barbara Muschietti

Choreographer - Roberto Campanella
Production Designer - Claude Pare

Concept Artists - Aaron Sims and

Scott Patton

Art Director - Peter Grundy

Set Decorator - Rosalie Board

Property Master - Christopher Geggie
Costume Designers - Janie Bryant

and Colleen Moore Cook Turner

Special Effects Makeup - Alec Gillis and

Tom Woodruff Jr.

Makeup Effects Designer & Shop Supervisor:

Pennywise and Additional Character

Makeup Effects - Sean Sansom

Makeup Heads of Department -

Sarah Craig McEtheron and Linda Dowds

Hair Head of Department - Stephanie Ingram
Director of Photography - Chung-hoon Chung

First Assistant Director - Richard Cowan

First Assistant Directors: Second Unit -

Simon Board, Travis McConnell and

Bob Warwick

Second Assistant Director: Second Unit -

Adam Bocknek

Third Assistant Director: Second Unit -

Andrew Pritchard

Second Unit Director - William Waring
Pennywise Contortion/Motion Capture -

Ess Hödlmoser (Uncredited)
Stunt Coordinators - Jamie & Kelly Jones
Special Effects Supervisor - Warren Appleby

Special Effects Coordinator - Shuba Dasgupta
Visual Effects Supervisor - Nicholas Brooks

Editor - Jason Ballantine

Supervising Sound Editor - Victor Ray Ennis

Sound Designer - Paul Hackner

Sound Effects Editors - Jamie Hardt,

Kius Fenske and Ken J. Johnson

Sound Mixers - Glen Gauthier

and Sylvain Arsneault

Re-Recording Mixers - Chris Jenkins

and Michael Keller
Music - Benjamin Wallfisch

Music Supervisor - Dana Sano


Review

I have heard of the classic 1990 miniseries adaptation of IT but have never seen it. Nor did I read the book by Stephen King, upon which the 2017 cinematic interpretation based itself in its namesake. I planned to see IT and felt it was time to watch more horror movies. The movie is unsettling, creepy and brutal as it follows its namesake. Audiences have dared to see it for its chilling atmosphere. The movie aims to startle moviegoers. It has a coming-of-age plot with a nostalgic vibe that is darker and reminiscent of Stand by Me (another film based on a Stephen King novel). The director, Andy Muschietti, has managed to bring Stephen King's work into its proper cinematic vision with its terrific cinematography.

The performances are first-rate, such as the young actors cast as the outcast characters who must overcome their fears. Bill Skarsgård is freakishly sinister as the evil clown Pennywise, and not even Tim Curry could perform like that. Skarsgård remains a worthy successor to the original actor, and I am grateful to have seen his performance. The soundtrack by Benjamin Wallfisch is creepy and awesome.

Though terror-inducing to the audiences, IT has been considered a great film. Its author, Stephen King, would be proud of the latest adaptation. I cannot wait to see the next chapter as a continuation. I recommend this feature to anyone who may be a Stephen King fan or likes to be terrified.

Star rating: (8/10) Very Good Movie

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Thomas and the Magic Railroad Review

Thomas and the Magic Railroad

Release Date: 8th December 2000 - Australia

Production Companies

Gullane Pictures

Destination Films

Isle of Man Film Commission (in association with)

Britt Allcroft (Thomas) Ltd.

The Magic Railroad Company

Genre: Family

Rating: G

Runtime: 85 minutes

Budget: $19,000,000 (estimated)

Box Office Gross: $19,749,009 (Worldwide)

Plot Summary

In the Island of Sodor, where Thomas and his friends reside, things are not looking good when an evil diesel engine named Diesel 10 and his two cronies, Splatter and Dodge, arrive and intend to cause trouble. Even Mr. Conductor, the magical being who always travels between Sodor and the human world of Shining Time, is low on his gold dust. It is up to a resourceful young girl named Lily, who is on her way to visit her grandfather before she meets Mr. Conductor, along with Thomas and his friends. They embark on an adventure to find more gold dust and save the Magic Railroad.

Cast

Peter Fonda - Grandpa Burnett

Stone

Mara Wilson - Lily

Cody McMains - Patch

Alec Baldwin - Mr. Conductor

Russell Means - Billy Twofeathers

Didi Conn - Stacy Jones

Michael E. Rodgers - Mr. C.
Junior

Lori Hallier - Lily's Mum

Jared Wall - Young Burnett
(Voice)

Laura Bower - Young Tasha
(Voice)

Edward Glen - Thomas (Voice)

Neil Crone - Diesel 10/Splatter/

Gordon/Tumbleweed (Voices)

Colm Feore - Toby (Voice)

Linda Ballantyne - Percy
(Voice)

Kevin Frank - Dodge/Bertie/
Harold/Henry (Voices)

Susan Roman - James (Voice)

Shelley Elizabeth Skinner -
Annie/Clarabel (Voices)

Britt Allcroft - Lady (Voice)

Philip D. Fehrle - Spectator (Cameo) (Uncredited)

Keith W. Strandberg - Passenger (Cameo) (Uncredited)

Crew

Creator/Writer/Producer/
Director - Britt Allcroft

Based on the Railway Series -

Wilbert Awdry

"Shining Time Station" Creator - Rick Siggelkow
Writer - Robin Kingsland

Executive Producers - Brent Baum, John Bertolli, Nancy Chapelle, Charles Falzon, Barry London and Steven Stapler (Uncredited)

Producer - Phillip D. Fehrle

Co-Producer - Mark Jacobson
Creative Consultants - Neil Crone and Kevin Frank

Steam Railroad Consultant - Linn Moedinger

Dog Trainer: Isle of Man - Julie Tottman

Animal Trainers: Toronto - Dawn Barkan and Stacey Basil

Production Designer - Oleg M. Savytski

Art Director - Lucinda Zak

First Assistant Art Directors - Jason Knox-

Johnston and Mark Scruton

Associate Set Designer - Charles Dunlop

Set Decorator: Isle of Man - Cheryl Dorsey

Set Decorator: Toronto - Caroline Gee

Costume Designer - Luis Sequeira

Hair Stylist/Makeup Artist: Pennsylvania -

Pamela Peitzman

Cinematography - Paul Ryan

Location Manager: Isle of Man - James Clearly

Location Manager: Toronto - Rob Gwynne

Unit Production Manager: Pennsylvania Unit - 

Keith W. Strandberg

Special Effects Supervisor: Isle of Man Unit -

Peter Hutchinson

Special Effects Coordinator - Laird McMurray

Special/Visual Effects Supervisor - Bill Neil
Visual Effects Producer - Mike Chambers

Visual Effects Producer: GVFX - Dave Axford

Visual Effects Co-Producer: GVFX - Sasha Jarh

Model Supervisor - Steve Asquith

Creative Consultant: Model Unit - David Mitton

Key Model Builders - Dave Aisling,

David Johnston and Jason Ehl

Director of Photography: Model Unit - Terry Permane

First Assistant Camera: Model Unit - Nigel Permane

Film Editor - Ron Wisman

ADR Editor (Uncredited)/Sound Supervisor/

Supervising Sound Editor (Uncredited) -

Nelson Ferreira

Original "Thomas" Music and Songs -

Junior Campbell and Mike O'Donnell

Lyrics - Don Black and Sue Ennis

Songs/Music - Hummie Mann

Review

I remember watching the Thomas the Tank Engine series at a young age. It was back when I had it on VHS. As I got older, I outgrew it. Even today, small children still watch the show. Some adults enjoy the series but not the later seasons. It may be due to HiT and later Mattel that owned the series. Recently, I started rewatching the original British series. I hate to admit that I have rewatched the episodes of Thomas, so please try not to laugh. I never wanted to review any Thomas movies because they were all preschool-oriented, but I made an exception. I have mixed feelings about seeing this film again. I am doing this to have it as a tribute to Peter Fonda, who has recently passed away and is one of its main actors.

I heard not many good things about THE MAGIC RAILROAD, not because it spun off from a children's show, but because the movie seemed bizarre and inconsistent. I read an article about the film that was changed and truncated by the studio. Test audiences complained about it for several reasons. One was that a few character voices proved too old for the engines. And secondly, one villain was too scary for younger kids. These changes would confirm the perceived "Americanisation" when international critics were unfamiliar with Shining Time Station. This American kids' show existed when Thomas was at the peak of its popularity.

Another problem with MAGIC RAILROAD is that some fans suggested that the feature may have derailed the franchise. It also may have led to Britt Allcroft stepping down as head of Gullane. Allcroft helped co-found this company, which later got bought by HiT in 2002.

MAGIC RAILROAD is cutesy yet too confusing, and the plot is easily convoluted and meandering. That is why it got re-edited. The mouths of the trains are unable to move. It has been an ongoing problem since the TV series. However, the transition to CGI is not possible until 2008. The acting from the late Peter Fonda is not engaging for a kids' film as the character he portrays is quite similar to his role in Ulee's Gold. Alec Baldwin does his best with Mr. Conductor, but unfortunately, he overacts. Mara Wilson painfully interacts in her performance as Lily. Also, James's voice sounds too feminine and boyish.

I urge you, viewers, to watch the TV series and, for one time, watch the movie and compare it to the kids' show unless the director's cut is released.

Star rating: (3/10) Disappointing

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The Meg Review

The Meg

Release Date: 16th August 2018 - Australia

Production Companies
Warner Bros. Pictures
Apelles Entertainment
Di Bonaventura Pictures
Flagship Entertainment Group
Gravity Pictures
Maeday Productions

Distribution
Roadshow Films

Genre: Sci-Fi/Action

Rating: M

Runtime: 113 minutes

Budget: $130,000,000

Box Office Gross: $530,517,320 (Worldwide)

Plot Summary

A deep-sea submersible explored the Mariana

trenches below the Pacific

Ocean when came under

attack by a Megalodon, a 75-foot prehistoric shark thought to be extinct. Desperate, a Chinese oceanographer hires Jonas Taylor, an expert sea rescue diver who had once escaped from the same shark years earlier. Jonas must embark on a daring rescue mission to save the crew from this gigantic deep-sea predator and confront his fears.

Cast

Jason Statham - Jonas Taylor

Li Bingbing - Suyin

Rainn Wilson - Morris

Ruby Rose - Jaxx

Winston Chao - Shang

Cliff Curtis - Mac
Shuya Sophia Cai - Meiying
Page Kennedy - DJ
Robert Taylor - Heller
Ólafur Darri Ólafsson - The Wall
Jessica McNamee - Lori
Masi Oka - Toshi

Hongmei Mai - Mother

Wei Yi - Awesome Kid on Beach

Rob-Kipa Williams - D'Angelo

Tawanda Manyimo - Marks

Mark Trotter - Injured Sailor

James E. Gaylyn - David E. Jordan

Andrew Grainger - Morris' Lawyer

Steven A. Davis - Speedboat

Crewman

Glen Levy - Speedboat

Mercenary

Edwin Wright - Morris'

Helicopter Pilot

Marc Copage - Interrogator

Ivy Tsui - Bride

Jeremy Tan - Groom

Yao Yao - Dude on Raft

Kelly the Dog - Pippin the Dog

Crew

Director - Jon Turteltaub

Based on the Novel "Meg" -

Steve Alten

Screenplay - Dean Georgaris

and Jon & Erich Hoeber

Executive Producers - Randy Greenberg, Wayne Wei Jiang, Gerald R. Molen, Barrie M. Osborne and Catherine Xujun Ying

Executive Producer/Executive Charge of Production - Chantal Nong

Producers - Belle Avery and Lorenzo di Bonaventura

Producer/Unit Production Manager: China Unit - Colin Wilson

Co-Producers - Ben Erwei Ji

and Alexander Loewy
Casting - PoPing AuYeung

and Mindy Marin

Casting: Australia - Nikki Barrett

Casting: New Zealand - Liz Cullane

Production Designer - Grant Major
Supervising Art Director - Kim Sinclair

Construction Supervisor - Neil Kirkland

Set Decorator - Amber Richards

Costume Designer - Amanda Neale

Makeup and Hair Designer - Jane O'Kane
Director of Photography - Tom Stern

First Assistant Director - Geoffrey Hansen
Second Unit Director - James Madigan

Second Unit Director: H20 Unit - John Mahaffie
Stunt Coordinator - Allan Poppleton

Dive Coordinator - Dave Morrell

Special Effects Supervisor - Steve Ingram
Special Effects Coordinators - Phil McLaren,

Karl Chisholm, Dean Clarke and Amy Ingram

Visual Effects Supervisor - Adrian De Wet

Visual Effects Supervisor: SPI - Sue Rowe

Additional Visual Effects Supervisors: Scanline

VFX - Stephan Trojansky and Jan Krupp

Visual Effects Producer: Soho FX - Allan Magled

Visual Effects Executive Producer: Image

Engine - Shawn Walsh

Animation Supervisor: Scanline VFX -

Clement Yip

Compositing Supervisor: Double Negative -

Brian Connor
Editors - Steven Kemper and Kelly Matsumoto

Supervising Sound Editors - Erik Aadahl

and Ethan Van der Ryan

Supervising Sound Editor: E2/Sound Designer -

Jason W. Jennings

Production Sound Mixer - Tony Johnson

Re-Recording Mixers - Ron Bartlett

and Doug Hemphill
Music - Harry Gregson-Williams

Review
Apart from Jaws, I haven't seen a good shark film since, though many other thrillers have attempted to replicate its suspenseful impact. All have failed, with notable exceptions like Deep Blue Sea and THE MEG. The decision to watch THE MEG is easy since I have the movie on my hard drive. The film feels like a cheesy low-grade B movie, and the whole giant shark idea has been done to death many times. Excuse the pun. However, if you can't get enough of seeing unsuspecting victims become shark bait, THE MEG will feed your appetite. The movie doesn't have memorable one-liners like in Jaws. The production is of high value. And that's what saves it from a big sinker. There are some thrills in the feature that satisfy your craving for excitement.

I knew Jason Statham was a good action star, but he has never been in a big fishy tale. Despite this, his performance remained unshadowed by the sea-based threat. Nor was Rainn Wilson in the supporting cast. Each of these players did fine acting in the feature.

While the movie is ridiculous, there is fun, action and suspense in THE MEG, making it an enjoyable aquatic experience. If you haven't seen this film, it is worth watching for shark-loving moviegoers.

Star rating: (7/10) Good Movie

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Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw Review

Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw

Release Date: 1st August 2019 - Australia

Production Companies

Universal Pictures

Dentsu (presented in association with)

Seven Bucks Productions
Chris Morgan Productions

Distribution

Universal Pictures Australia

Genre: Action

Rating: M

Runtime: 136 minutes

Budget: $200,000,000

Box Office Gross: $760,381,706 (Worldwide)

Plot Summary
Muscle-bound lawman Luke Hobbs and outlaw Deckard Shaw have often engaged in smack talk and butted heads and were enemies. That is until, one day, they decided to stop a cybernetically enhanced terrorist with superhuman strength from unleashing a bio-chemical that could change humanity's fate.

Cast

Dwayne Johnson - Luke Hobbs

Jason Statham - Deckard Shaw

Idris Elba - Brixton

Vanessa Kirby - Hattie

Helen Mirren - Queenie
Eiza Gonzalez - Madame M
Eddie Marsan - Professor
Andreiko
Eliana Sua - Sam
Cliff Curtis - Jonah
Lori Pelenise Tuisano - Sefina
John Tui - Kal
Joshua Mauga - Timo
Joe Anoa'i - Mateo
Rob Delaney - Agent Loeb
Alex King - Lt. Grapefruit
Tom Wu - Tsoi
John Macdonald - Lermotov
Joshua Coombes - Young
Deckard
Meesha Garbett - Young Hattie
Harry Hickles - Young Owen

Ryan Reynolds - Eteon Director/Locke (Cameo) (Uncredited)

Nathan Jones - Russian Fighter Pilot

Spencer Wilding - Eteon's Uber Merc

David Leitch - Eteon Helicopter Pilot (Cameo)

Kevin Hart - Air Marshal
Dinkley (Cameo) (Uncredited)

Crew
Director - David Leitch
Based on Characters - Gary Scott Thompson
Story/Screenplay/Producer - Chris Morgan
Screenplay - Drew Pearce
Executive Producers - Steven Chasman, Ainsley Davies, Dany Garcia, Kelly McCormick and Ethan Smith
Producers - Hiram Garcia,
Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham
Casting Directors - Lucy Bevan,

Marisol Roncali and Mary Vernieu
Production Designer - David Scheunemann
Supervising Art Director - Dominic Hyman
Art Directors - David Allday,
Will Coubrough, Charlotte Malynn, Wolfgang Metschan, Simon McGuire and Remo Tozzi
Set Decorator - Lisa Chugg

Set Decorator: Hawaii Unit - Shane Vieau

Property Master - Roy Chapman

Property Master: Hawaii Unit - Sean Mannion

Armourer: Hawaii Unit - Harry Lu
Costume Designer - Sarah Evelyn
Director of Photography - Jonathan Sela

Director of Photography: Second Unit - Fraser Taggart

Aerial Directors of Photography: Hawaii

Unit - David B. Nowell and Hans Bjerno

First Assistant Director - Paul Barry
Second Unit Directors/Stunt Coordinators -

Simon Crane and Chris O'Hara
Second Unit Director - Greg Rementer

Stunt Coordinator: UK - Pete White

Picture Vehicles Supervisor - Alex King

Picture Cars Coordinator: Hawaii Unit -

Dennis McCarthy

Helicopter Pilot/Aerial Coordinator - Frédéric North

Special Effects Supervisor - Alistair Williams

Special Effects Supervisor: Hawaii Unit -

J.D. Schwalm

Visual Effects Supervisor - Dan Glass

Visual Effects Supervisors: DNEG -

Michael Brazelton and Stuart Lashley

Visual Effects Supervisors: Framestore -

Benjamin Loch and Kyle McCulloch

2nd Unit VFX Supervisor - Felix Pomeranz

Digital Effects Supervisors: DNEG - Chris Keller,

Rick Leary, Jolene McCaffrey, Steve Newbold

and Shailendra Swarnkar

Editor - Christopher Rouse

Sound Design and Supervision - Mark Stoeckinger

and Peter Brown

Sound Design - Stephen P. Robinson,

Alan Rankin, Eliot Connors, Ann Scibelli

and Luke Gibleon

Production Sound Mixer - John Casali

Re-Recording Mixers - Jon Taylor

and Frank A. Montano

Additional Re-Recording Mixers - Andy Koyama

and Greg P. Russell
Music/Score Programming - Tyler Bates

Review

The Fast and the Furious series earned a ton of money at the box office and gained positive reviews from critics through its later instalments. While the movie franchise is far from over, HOBBS & SHAW is the latest spin-off that sees the two supporting characters team up as the film enters the buddy-cop sub-genre, with comedy and a running time of 136 minutes. I had not yet been able to re-watch all the movies at home before watching the spin-off at the cinema. Seeing Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham pair in their self-produced film is lovely. While being over-the-top and silly, the film relies on the action choreography in scenes with the visual style in its place.

This film's director, David Leitch, is known for his successful endeavours, such as John Wick, Atomic Blonde and Deadpool 2. Despite his unfamiliarity with the franchise, Leitch did well with the spin-off.

Aside from Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham as the dynamic onscreen duo, their buddy chemistry helped save this movie. Vanessa Kirby looks dapper as Deckard's sister, and Idris Elba portrays the main antagonist, Brixton. There are special appearances courtesy of Ryan Reynolds and Kevin Hart, which is unexpected.

HOBBS & SHAW did not rise as the best action movie like the few other instalments, possibly due to its length. It remains a modest, stand-alone, action-packed blockbuster with plenty of adrenaline to catch on with the viewers' excitement. If you must, go and see this film.

Star rating: (7/10) Good Movie

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