Scooby-Doo Review

Scooby-Doo


Release Date: 20th June 2002 - Australia


Production Companies
Warner Bros. Pictures (presents)
Mosaic Media Group
Atlas Entertainment (Uncredited)

Distribution
Roadshow Films


Genre: Family/Comedy

Rating: G

Runtime: 86 minutes


Budget: $84,000,000 

Box Office Gross: $275,678,613 (Worldwide)


Plot Summary

After two years of splitting up, Scooby and Shaggy reunite with Fred, Velma and Daphne as the Mystery Inc. gang is brought back together in an invitation to an amusement park/resort, Spooky Island. However, strange things are happening at Spooky Island, seemingly affecting young visitors in unusual ways.

Scooby and the gang will have to work together and resolve their differences to solve this mystery and discover if this is indeed a haunted island. Or it could be the work of a sinister individual behind all these occurrences.


Cast
Matthew Lillard - Shaggy
Neil Fanning - Scooby (Voice)
Freddie Prinze Jr. - Fred
Sarah Michelle Gellar - Daphne
Linda Cardellini - Velma
Rowan Atkinson - Mondavarious
Isla Fisher - Mary Jane
Miguel A. Nunez Jr. - Voodoo Maestro
Steven Grives - N' Goo Tuana
Scott Innes - Scrappy (Voice)
J. P. Manoux - Scrappy Rex
Sam Greco - Zarkos
Charlie Cousins - Velma's Friend
Kristian Schmid - Brad
Nicholas Hope - Old Man Smithers
Jess Harnell - Creatures (Voice)
Frank Welker - Creatures (Voice)
Pamela Anderson - Herself (Cameo)
Sugar Ray - Themselves (Cameos)

Crew
Director - Raja Gosnell
Story - Craig Titley
Story/Screenplay - James Gunn
Based on Characters - Joe Ruby and Ken Spears (Uncredited)

Based on Characters/

Executive Producers - William Hanna and Joseph Barbera

Associate Producer - Sheryl Benko

Associate Producer/Unit Production Manager - Stephen Jones

Associate Producer/First Assistant Director -

Philip A. Patterson
Executive Producers - Robert Engelman,

Andrew Mason and Kelley Smith-Wait
Producers - Charles Roven and

Richard Suckle
Co-Producer - Alan Glazer

Casting - Mary Vernieu
Production Designer - Bill Boes

Art Directors - Bill Booth,

Donna Brown, Helen Gabrielle Gliniak

and Christian Wintter

Set Decorators - Jodie Allen,

Suza Maybury, Matthew Putland

and Sandy Wingrove
Costume Designer - Lessa Evans

Hair/Makeup Supervisor - Lesley Vanderwalt
Director of Photography - David Eggby

Second Unit Director/Stunt Coordinator -

Guy Norris
Special Effects Supervisor - Brian Cox

"Scooby Doo" Designer/Cyber-Scan Model

Sculptor: Jim Henson's Creature Shop/

Rhythm + Hues - Brian Wade

Visual Effects Supervisor - Peter Crosman

Visual Effects Supervisor: Rhythm + Hues -

Betsy Paterson

Additional Visual Effects Supervisor -

Neil Krepela

Visual Effects Producer - Kurt Williams

Digital Effects Supervisor: Rhythm + Hues -

Todd Shifflet

Director of Photography: New Deal Studios -

Tim Angulo
Animation Supervisor - Richard Baneham
Animation Supervisors: Rhythm + Hues -

Leon Joosen and Bill Kroyer

Animation Sequence Supervisors: Rhythm +

Hues - Erik De Boer, Keith Roberts and

Lyndon Barrois

Animation Leads: Rhythm + Hues -

Bud Myrick and Danny Speck

Editor - Kent Beyda

Supervising Sound Editor - Michael D. Wilhoit

Sound Designer - Scott Sanders

Production Sound Mixer - Paul 'Salty' Brincat

Re-Recording Mixers - David E. Campbell,

John T. Reitz and Gregg Rudloff
Music - David Newman

Music Supervisor - Laura Ziffren

Music Recordist and Mixer - Bruce Botnick


Review
Originally made as a risqué, adult-oriented take on the cartoon franchise, SCOOBY-DOO got toned down to be a kids' movie by the studio that owns the property from Hanna-Barbera. I grew up with this film and didn't care how bad it was when it had a few good aspects. For example, Matthew Lillard was consistent with his role as Shaggy. In future reference, he would inherit the character in later Scooby productions. Unfortunately, there are disappointing parts that ruin it for everybody. The attempts at humour (except in a few scenes) and outdated CGI characters didn't age well. Not to mention that the story is poorly executed (concerning a plot twist involving the real villain that comes out of nowhere), and it happens to be written by James Gunn. Yes, that man, James Gunn, who 12 years later would successfully bring Guardians of the Galaxy to the big screen. I didn't even realise that the live-action adaptation was just a rehash of one of the direct-to-video Scooby-Doo movies called Zombie Island.

The acting (save for Matthew Lillard) is far from perfect, including Linda Cardellini, who sounds so bored in her role as Velma. She did a magnificent job with her voice. Freddie Prinze Jr. had no big shoes to fill as Fred. The same goes for Sarah Michelle Gellar when playing Daphne. Rowan Atkinson's character was underused. It should have played a significant part in the movie.

It's "ruh-oh" for Scooby-Doo fans as the movie adaptation felt short of the ongoing mystery in the series. It spawned a sequel that's considered a slight improvement of the original Monsters Unleashed and a few others that have shifted to direct-to-video.

I would rather sit through watching the first few direct-to-video animated movies than revisit the lowbrow cinematic interpretation.

Star rating: (4/10) Below Average

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Saving Private Ryan Review

Saving Private Ryan

Release Date: 19th November 1998 - Australia

Production Companies

DreamWorks Pictures (presents)

Paramount Pictures (presents)

Amblin Entertainment

Mutual Film Company (in association with)

H2L Media Group

Mark Gordon Productions (uncredited)

Distribution

Paramount Pictures Australia

Genre: War

Rating: MA15+ (Not Suitable

for Young Children)

Runtime: 169 minutes

Budget: $70,000,000

Box Office Gross: $482,349,603 (Worldwide)

Plot Summary

On June 6th, 1944, the historic D-Day invasion occurred on Normandy Beach during World War II. Captain John Miller and his squad have embarked on a deadly mission to find and retrieve a missing paratrooper named Private James Ryan, whose three brothers have perished in combat. Those men would face impossible odds as all eight would begin to question their orders and risk their lives to bring back only one person behind enemy lines.

Cast

Tom Hanks - Captain Miller

Tom Sizemore - Sergeant

Horvath

Edward Burns - Private Reiben

Barry Pepper - Private Jackson

Adam Goldberg - Private Mellish

Vin Diesel - Private Caparzo

Giovanni Ribisi - T-4 Medic Wade

Jeremy Davies - Corporal Upham

Matt Damon - Private Ryan

Ted Danson - Captain Hamill

Paul Giamatti - Sergeant Hill

Dennis Farina - Lieutenant

Colonel Anderson

Joerg Stadler - Steamboat

Willie

Max Martini - Corporal Henderson

Dylan Bruno - Toynbe

Daniel Cerqueira - Weller

Demetri Goritsas - Parker

Ian Porter - Trask

Gary Sefton - Rice

Julian Spencer - Garrity

Steve Griffin - Wilson

William Marsh - Lyle

Marc Cass - Fallon

Markus Napier - Major Hoess

Ronald Longridge - Coxswain

Adam Shaw - Delancey

Rolf Saxon - Lieutenant Briggs

Corey Johnson - Radioman

Glenn Wrage - Doyle

Raffaello Degruttola - Goldman

John Sharian - Corporal

Nigel Whitmey - Private Boyd

Sam Ellis - Private Hastings

Stephane Cornicord - Jean

Michelle Evans - Jean's Wife

Martin Beaton - Jean's Son

Anna Maguire - Jean's Daughter

Nathan Fillion - Minnesota Ryan

Leland Orser - Lieutenant DeWindt

David Vegh - Paratrooper Oliver

Ryan Hurst - Paratrooper Michaelson

Nick Brooks - Paratrooper Joe

Harve Presnell - General Marshall

Dale Dye - War Department Colonel

Bryan Cranston - War Department Colonel

Amanda Boxer - Mrs. Margaret Ryan

Harrison Young - Ryan as Old Man

Kathleen Bryon - Old Mrs. Ryan

Rob Freeman - Ryan's Son

Thomas Gizbert - Ryan's Grandson

Leo Stransky - German Sniper (Uncredited)

Crew

Producer/Director - Steven Spielberg

Writer - Robert Rodat

Script Supervisor - Ana Maria Quintana

Associate Producer - Kevin de la Noy

Associate Producer/Production Manager -

Mark Huffam

Producers - Ian Bryce, Mark Gordon and

Gary Levinsohn

Co-Producers - Bonnie Curtis and

Allison Lyon Segan

Senior Military Advisor - Dale Dye

Military Advisor - John Barnett

Casting Director - Denise Chaiman

UK Casting Director - Priscilla John

Production Designer - Thomas E. Sanders

Supervising Art Director - Darren T. Dorrance

Art Directors - Tom Brown,

Ricky Eyres, Chris Seagers, Alan Tomkins

and Mark Tanner (Uncredited)

Standby Art Director - Gary Freeman

Assistant Art Director - Kevin Kavanaugh

Construction Coordinator - Terry Apsey

Set Decorator - Lisa Dean

Costume Designer - Joanna Johnston

Armourer - Simon Atherton

Key Makeup Artist - Lois Burwell

Makeup Artist: Mr Hanks - Daniel C. Striepeke

Prosthetics Supervisor - Conor O'Sullivan

Director of Photography - Janusz Kaminski

First Assistant Director - Sergio Mimica-Gezzan

Second Assistant Director - Adam Goodwin

Third Assistant Directors - Martin Krauka

and Andrew Ward

Picture Vehicle Coordinator - Simon Lamonby

Stunt Coordinator - Simon Crane

Special Effects Supervisor - Neil Corbould

Special Effects Coordinator - Carol McAulay

Special Effects Workshop Supervisor - Trevor Wood

Special Corpse and Animal Effects - Neill Gorton

and Steven Painter

Lead Senior Special Effects Technicians -

David Brighton, Kevin Herd, Paul Corbould,

Dave Hunter and John Evans

Visual Effects Supervisor: ILM - Stefen Fangmeier

Visual Effects Co-Supervisor: ILM - Roger Guyett

Visual Effects Producer: ILM - Kim Bromley

Visual Effects Art Director: ILM - Alexander Laurant

Modelmaking Supervisor - John Schoorand

CG Sequence Supervisor: ILM - Gregor Lakner

Sabre Supervisor: ILM - Pablo Helman

Visual Effects Camera Operator: ILM - Martin Rosenberg

Film Editor - Michael Kahn

Sound Designer/Re-Recording Mixer - Gary Rydstrom

Assistant Sound Designer - Shannon Mills

Supervising Sound Editor - Richard Hymns

Effects Editors - Teresa Eckton,

Frank E. Eulner, Larry Oatfield,

Ethan Van der Ryan and Karen G. Wilson

Dialogue Editors - Gwendolyn Yates Whittle,

Sara Bolder and Ewa Satompe

Foley Editors - Sandina Bailo-Lape

and Bruce Lacey

Foley Artists - Dennie Thorpe and Jana Vance

Foley Mixer - Tony Eckert

Sound Mixer - Ron Judkins

Re-Recording Mixers - Andy Nelson

and Gary Summers

Music - John Williams

Music Editor - Kenneth Wannberg

Music Recordist and Mixer - Shawn Murphy

Awards

1998 Academy Awards

Best Director - Steven Spielberg (Won)

Best Cinematography - Janusz Kaminski (Won)

Best Sound - Gary Rydstrom, Gary Summers,

Andy Nelson and Ron Judkins (Won)

Best Film Editing - Michael Kahn (Won)

Best Effects, Sound Effects Editing -

Gary Rydstrom and Richard Hymns (Won)

--------------------

Best Picture - Steven Spielberg, Ian Bryce,

Mark Gordon and Gary Levinsohn (Nominated)

Best Actor in a Leading Role - Tom Hanks (Nominated)

Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly

for the Screen - Robert Rodat (Nominated)

Best Art Direction-Set Decoration -

Thomas E. Sanders and Lisa Dean (Nominated)

Best Makeup - Lois Burwell, Conor O'Sullivan

and Daniel C. Striepeke (Nominated)

Best Music, Original Dramatic Score -

John Williams (Nominated)

Review

SAVING PRIVATE RYAN is an extraordinary film by Steven Spielberg and is unlike any other movie he has made (except for Schneider's List). It's known for its downbeat tone and realistic approach to war, conveying the harsh realities many soldiers have endured in this turmoil. While the storyline lacks something, Spielberg's direction proves he has the aptitude for pushing certain limits on this picture with attention to detail. Especially when he sinks his teeth in bringing the atmosphere into the hellish war-torn landscapes in which many soldiers lose their lives during this skirmish, Janusz Kaminski's cinematography is a bit shaky. Still, it is groundbreaking, and the battle sequences are stunning. Even the visual representation of the famous battle in Omaha Beach is impressive.

Tom Hanks delivers a terrific performance consisting of depth in his character. He could have won an Oscar had it not been for Roberto Benigni in Life is Beautiful. While a supporting player, Matt Damon has a pivotal role as the titular soldier who gets lost on the battlefield. Most people will be surprised to learn that this was one of Vin Diesel's early movies before he became an action star. John Williams' musical score was haunting and beautiful.

A gritty war drama like SAVING PRIVATE RYAN has redefined the genre and is often admired and appreciated as one of Spielberg's greatest hit films. It is unsuitable for all young ages as SAVING PRIVATE RYAN is considered violent and depressing. It is even hard for some moviegoers to watch.

Star rating: (10/10) Best Movie Ever

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