Small Soldiers Review

Small Soldiers

Release Date: 17th September 1998 - Australia

Production Companies

DreamWorks Pictures (present)

Universal Pictures (present)

Amblin Entertainment (copyright holder)

Distribution

Universal Pictures Australia

Genre: Action/Comedy

Rating: PG

Runtime: 106 minutes

Budget: $40,000,000

Box Office Gross: $71,743,823 (Worldwide)

Plot Summary

Alan Abernathy is a teenager whose dad runs the toy store and tries out a new line of action figures called The Commando Elite vs. The Gorgonites. Unfortunately, these were no ordinary toys and the company that manufactures them has installed military microchips into their series of action figures and given them a mind of their own. Alan gets recruited to help the peace-loving Gorgonites battle against the dangerous Commandos. Can Alan defend his home and family and rescue the girl of his dreams before his whole neighbourhood gets terrorised?

Cast

Gregory Smith - Alan Abernathy

Tommy Lee Jones - Chip
Hazard (Voice)

Frank Langella - Archer (Voice)

Kirsten Dunst - Christy Fimple

Jacob Smith - Timmy Fimple

Wendy Schaal - Marion Fimple

Phil Hartman - Phil Fimple

Jay Mohr - Larry Benson

Kevin Dunn - Stuart Abernathy

Ann Magnuson - Irene Abernathy

Denis Leary - Gil Mars

David Cross - Irwin Wayfair

Dick Miller - Joe

Alexandra Wilson - Ms. Kegel

Jonathan Bouck - Brad

Robert Picardo - Ralph, Clean Room Technician

Ernest Borgnine - Kip Killagin (Voice)

Jim Brown - Butch Meathook (Voice)

Bruce Dern - Link Static (Voice)

George Kennedy - Brick Bazooka (Voice)

Clint Walker - Nick Nitro (Voice)

Christopher Guest - Slamfist/
Scratch-It (Voice)

Michael McKean - Insaniac/
Freakenstein (Voice)

Harry Shearer - Punch-It (Voice)

Sarah Michelle Gellar - Gwendy
Doll (Voice)

Christina Ricci - Gwendy
Doll (Voice)

Marcia Mitzman Gaven -
Globotech Announcer (Voice)

Crew

Director - Joe Dante

Writers - Gavin Scott, Adam Rafkin, Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio

Executive Producers - Walter F. Parkes and Steven Spielberg (Uncredited)

Producers - Colin Wilson and Michael Finnell

Co-Producer/Unit Production Manager -

Paul Deason

Casting Director - Denise Chaiman

Production Designer - William Sandwell

Supervising Art Director - Mark W. Mansbridge

Art Director - Brad Ricker

Character Designer/Effects Supervisor/

Puppeteer: Stan Winston Studio - John Rosengrant

Character Designers: Stan Winston Studio -

Mark 'Crash' McCreery, Greg Figiel, Jim Charmatz,

Craig Jablonski and Jason Matthews

Set Decorator - Rosemary Brandenburg

Property Master - Jerry Moss

Costume Designer - Carole Brown-James

Effects Supervisor/Key Animatronic Design/

Puppeteer: Stan Winston Studio - J. Alan Scott

Director of Photography - Jamie Anderson

Director of Photography: Second Unit -

Rexford L. Metz

First Assistant Director - Benita Allen

Second Unit Director/Stunt Coordinator -
M. James Arnett

Special Effects Coordinator - Ken Pepiot

Action Figures and Animatronics Design -
Stan Winston

Visual Effects Supervisors - Stefen Fangmeier
and Jeff Matakovich

Visual Effects Co-Supervisor - Ellen Poon

Visual Effects Art Director - George Hull

Computer Graphics Supervisors: ILM -
Gerald Gutschmidt, Erik Mattson and
Carl N. Frederick (Uncredited)

Computer Graphics Sequence Supervisors:

ILM - Michael DiComo, David Meny

and Sean Schur

Animation Supervisor - David Andrews

Film Editors - Marshall Harvey and

Michael Thau

Supervising Sound Editor - Eric Lindemann

Co-Supervising Sound Editor - Mark A. Mangini

Sound Designer (Uncredited)/Effects 

Design Editor - John Pospisil

Re-Recording Mixers - Robert Litt,

Elliot Tyson and Michael Herbick

Additional Re-Recording Mixer - Ron Bartlett

Foley Artists - John Roesch and

Hilda Hodges

Music - Jerry Goldsmith

Music Scoring Mixer - Bruce Botnick

Review

As a kid, I saw SMALL SOLDIERS for the first time, and before viewing the movie, I didn't know that the main antagonists were the Commando Elite, not the heroes I thought they would be. This film had a neat and creative concept of toys attacking humanity, and each other makes Toy Story look kid-friendly and less violent. SMALL SOLDIERS is not a kids' movie as was advertised by DreamWorks. It's intended for teens, which explains some dark scenes in the finished product.

Joe Dante, known for directing cult classics (apart from his only success with Gremlins), has never done something this similar to his hit film. The special effects are nifty, but some didn't age well. The acting performances are first-rate, but they never stood out so well in the movie. I like how Dante hired some surviving Dirty Dozen members to voice the soldiers while Christopher Guest and his fellow Spinal Tap players portray the friendly Gorgonites. The film even features a heartwarming dedication to the late Phil Hartman, who plays Kirsten Dunst's fictional dimwitted dad.

While clever and funny, SMALL SOLDIERS was almost as good as Gremlins and is worth seeing.

Star rating: (7/10) Good Movie

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Into the Storm Review

Into the Storm

Release Date: 4th September 2014 - Australia

Production Companies

Broken Road Productions

New Line Cinema

RatPac-Dune Entertainment

Village Roadshow Pictures

Distribution

Roadshow Films

Genre: Thriller

Rating: M

Runtime: 89 minutes

Budget: $50,000,000

Box Office Gross: $161,515,959 (Worldwide)

Plot Summary

An unprecedented onslaught of tornadoes begins to ravage the entire town of Silverton, where a group of storm chasers is busy tracking the storms, and a widowed vice-principal of a high school with two teenage sons is organising the graduation ceremony. These people must get to a safer haven even if they seek shelter or get sucked into the vortex.

Cast

Richard Armitage - Gary

Sarah Wayne Callies - Allison

Matt Walsh - Pete

Max Deacon - Donnie

Nathan Kress - Trey

Alycia Debnam-Carey - Kaitlyn

Arien Escarpeta - Daryl

Jeremy Sumpter - Jacob

Lee Whittaker - Lucas

Kyle Davis - Donk

Jon Reep - Reevis

Scott Lawrence - Principal Thomas Walker

David Drumm - Chester

Brandon Ruiter - Todd White

Jimmy Groce - Studious Male

Linda Gehringer - Linda

Keane Wayne Winterhalt - Grace

Maryann Nagel - Ms. McGee

Crew

Director - Steven Quale

Writer/Co-Producer (Uncredited) - John Swetnam

Executive Producers - Bruce Berman, Richard Brener, Walter Hamada, Dave Neudstater and Jeremy Stein

Executive Producer/Unit Production Manager - W. Mark McNair

Producer - Todd Garner

Casting Director - Mindy Marin

Production Designer - David Sandefur

Art Director - Marco Rubeo

Set Decorator - Baren Rosenfeld

Costume Designer - Kimberly Adams-Galligan

Director of Photography - Brian Pearson

"B" Camera Operator/Director of Photography:

Second Unit/Second Unit Director (Uncredited) -

Ronald Hersey

Production Supervisor - Matthew Hirsch

Production Supervisor: Second Unit - Jennifer Conroy

First Assistant Director - Richard Cowan

Second Assistant Director - David Waters

Stunt Coordinators - Bob Brown and Scott Workman

Special Effects - Joe Pancake, Donnie Dean,

Rich E. Cordobes and Steve Austin

Visual Effects Supervisor: Digital Domain -

Jay Barton

Visual Effects Supervisors: MPC -

Guillaume Rocheron and Anders Langlands

Visual Effects Producer - Randy Starr

Digital Effects Supervisor: Digital Domain -

Nikos Kalaitzidis

Visual Effects: Cinesite - Simon Stanley-Clamp,

Carrie Rishel, Jane Ellis, Jamie Wood,

Joel Bodin and Rafal Kaniewski

Editor - Eric A. Sears

Supervising Sound Editor - Per Hallberg

Sound Designers - Christopher Assels

and Jon Title

Supervising Dialogue Editor - Daniel Saxlid

Supervising ADR Editors - Chris Jargo

and Anna MacKenzie

Re-Recording Mixers - Steve Pederson

and Brad Sherman

Music - Brian Tyler

Review

There's a reason why INTO THE STORM is not the best disaster movie of the year. It's very similar to another disaster film, Twister, which came out 18 years before this film. Interestingly, this movie proved different from what we expect from a Hollywood feature.

Most of it is in found footage, which gives the film a natural look, besides using regular and modern cinematography for additional effects. Unfortunately, the movie is much too reliant on its visual aspects than the characterisation and writing, which is short on energy. Director Steven Quale, known for directing Final Destination 5, was probably not to blame for helming this feature, but his efforts are nothing special.

One thing that also bothered me in the film is that two of its minor characters are amateur daredevils, given that they chase these storms, as the title suggests. They are misplaced, and they should have been in a different movie. They weren't necessary for INTO THE STORM. The film could have been a Michael Bay movie. For example, these two characters would have worked as comic relief. If those hillbillies could have died by getting sucked into a tornado, they should have stayed dead, given how useless they were in the plot.

There are non-recognisable names in the cast except for Richard Armitage, Sarah Wayne Callies, Nathan Kress and Matt Walsh, who were the only known actors in the film. Armitage does give in to a subdued performance in this movie rather than any of his co-stars.

Not in the way I expected, but it had its flaws. INTO THE STORM is a decent movie. Its entertainment value will probably suit average moviegoers.

Star rating: (6/10) Fair Movie

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