Wonder Woman 1984 Review

Wonder Woman 1984

Release Date: 26th December 2020 - Australia

Production Companies

Warner Bros. Pictures

Atlas Entertainment

DC Comics

DC Entertainment

The Stone Quarry

Distribution

Roadshow Films

Genre: Action

Rating: M

Runtime: 141 minutes

Budget: $150,000,000

Box Office Gross: $169,601,036 (Worldwide)

Plot Summary

In the era of the colourful 1980s, Diana Prince lives under the radar among the mortal world while maintaining a low

profile as an ancient

artifacts curator and is unrecognised when performing heroic acts. Soon, Diana will have to contend with her new arch-foes, including a media businessman named Maxwell Lord and a colleague turned villainess, the Cheetah, who has agility and strength. The villainous pair have gotten

hold of a wish-granting

artifact, and their desires

would lead the world

toward destruction. All

the while, she reunites

with her old lover Steve

Trevor.

Cast

Gal Gadot - Diana Prince/

Wonder Woman

Chris Pine - Steve Trevor

Kristen Wiig - Barbara Minerva

Pedro Pascal - Maxwell Lord

Robin Wright - Antiope

Connie Nielsen - Hippolyta

Lilly Aspell - Young Diana

Amr Waked - Emir Said Bin Abydos

Kristoffer Polaha - Handsome Man

Natasha Rothwell - Carol

(Co-Worker)

Ravi Patel - Babajide

Oliver Cotton - Simon Stagg

Lucian Perez - Alistair

Gabrielle Wilde - Raquel

Kelvin Yu - Jake

Stuart Milligan - POTUS

Shane Attwooll - Dangerous Drunk

David Al-Fahmi - Mr. Khalaji

Kevin Wallace - Televangelist

Wai Wong - Lai Zhong

Doutzen Kroes - Venelia

Hari James - Herald (Trigona)

Hayley Warnes - Aella

Lyon Beckwith - Buzz Cut

Ryan Watson - Bad Skin

Jimmy Burke - Flat Top

Brandon Thane Wilson - Scowler

Oakley Bull - Kelly (Girl Hostage)

Rey Rey Terry - Courtney

Tina Edwards - Courtney's Mom

Asim Chaudhry - Roger (Co-Worker)

Tessa Bonham Jones - Lucy (Co-Worker)

Mensah Bediako - Leon

Ed Birth - White House Carl

Lambro Demetriou - Max (8 Years Old)

Jonny Barry - Max (15 Years Old)

Asa Sheridan - Jace Valentine

Jaron Varsano - Carousel Father (Cameo)

Alma Varsano - Snowball Girl (Cameo)

Maya Varsano - Carousel Girl (Cameo)

Lynda Carter - Asteria (Cameo)

Crew

Story/Screenplay/Producer/Director -

Patty Jenkins

Based on Characters from DC Wonder

Woman - William Moulton Marston

Story/Screenplay/Executive Producer -

Geoff Johns

Screenplay - Dave Callahan

Associate Producer/First Assistant Director -

Toby Hefferman

Associate Producers - Elisa Iglesias,

Jason Crain and Anna Obropta

Executive Producers - Wesley Coller,

Walter Hamada, Rebecca Steel Roven Oakley,

Richard Suckle and Chantal Nong Vo

Executive Producer/Unit Production Manager -

Marianne Jenkins

Producers - Gal Gadot, Stephen Jones,

Charles Roven and Zack & Deborah Snyder

Casting Directors - Kristy Carlson,

Pat Moran and Lucinda Syson

Production Designer - Aline Bonetto

Supervising Art Director - Peter Russell

Supervising Art Director: Additional

Photography - Alex Baily

Art Directors - Simon Eisley, Gavin Fitch,

Rod McLean, Richard Selway, Mark Scruton,

Arwel Evans, Giorgio Warner, Anita Gupta and

Darren Tubby

Art Director: Spain Unit - Daniel Nussbaumer

Set Decorator - Anna-Lynch Robinson

Property Master: Washington D.C., USA

Unit - Steve George

Costume Designer - Lindy Hemming

Costume Supervisor - Dan Grace

HOD Costume Modellers - Pierre Bohanna

and Naomi Critcher

Supervising Armourer - Jon Baker

Makeup and Hair Designer - Jan Sewell

Makeup and Hair Supervisor - Karen Cohen

Director of Photography - Matthew Jensen

"C" Camera Operators: Second Unit -

Mark Moriarty and Peter Field

Supervising Location Manager: Washington D.C.,

USA Unit - James Lin

Unit Production Manager/First Assistant Director:

Additional Photography - Tommy Gormley

Second Unit Director - Dan Bradley

Stunt Coordinator - Rob Inch

Fight Coordinator - Liang Yang

Special Effects Supervisor - Mark Holt

Special Effects Coordinator - Lucy Thompson

Special Effects Coordinator: Washington D.C.,

USA Unit - Steve Cremin

Visual Effects Supervisor - John Moffatt

Visual Effects Supervisors: DNEG - Huw J. Evans,

Chris McLaughlin, Jon Bowen and Michael Grobe

Visual Effects Supervisor: Framestore -

Alexis Wajsbrot

Visual Effects Supervisor: Method Studios -

Aidan Fraser

Additional Visual Effects Supervisors -

Charlie Noble and Chris Shaw

Editor - Richard Pearson

Supervising Sound Editors - Richard King

and Jimmy Boyle

Production Sound Mixer - Peter J. Devlin

Re-Recording Mixers - Gary A. Rizzo

and Gilbert Lake

Additional Re-Recording Mixer - Chris Burdon

Foley Artists - Pete Burgis and Zoe Freed

Foley Mixer - Glen Gathard

Music/Score Producer/Synth Programming;

Additional Photography - Hans Zimmer

Composers: Additional Music, Additional

Photography - David Flemming

and Steve Mazzaro

Score Consultant: Additional Photography -

Alan Meyerson

Score Recordist: Additional Photography -

Geoff Foster

Review

After being delayed a few times during COVID-19, WONDER WOMAN 1984 (WW84) has finally made its theatrical release near the end of 2020 and the streaming service HBO Max (only available in the US). However, the film proved divisive for fans and was almost as good as the original. The movie had a good start but became inconsistent in some aspects, probably because of its overindulgence or the plot being cliched and elementary. The characters are undeveloped, there isn't enough action, and the tone is cheesy. While the plot point of bringing back Steve Trevor seemed like a good idea on paper, poor execution and writing got in the way. Then again, that's one of the crucial faults within the storyline.

It could be that the director, Patty Jenkins, got overconfident, or the studio wanted the movie to change in a different direction. I like the 80s aesthetic, which is fitting, given that the film takes place in that era. I'm very disappointed that there is not much 80s music in the movie (except a few, like the one from Frankie Goes to Hollywood).

While Gal Gadot and Chris Pine have returned to their roles, Pedro Pascal and Kristen Wiig perform best for the main villains, Maxwell Lord and Cheetah. Pascal relishes the opportunity to shine as the bad guy who is a bit eerily similar to Donald Trump but has less honourable intentions. Kristen Wiig's role is identical to Michelle Pfieffer's Catwoman in Batman Returns, in which both characters were once good females but turned evil. Hans Zimmer returned to the DCEU to compose the musical score he had written for WW84 and did a spectacular job.

WW84 offers plenty of escapism for audiences, but more is needed to compensate for the lack of originality. WW84 would never lose its impact on fans of DC or comic book readers if it had been better than the original.

Star rating: (7/10) Good Movie

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Klaus Review

Klaus

Release Date: 15th November 2019 - Australia (Netflix)

Production Companies

The SPA Studios

Aniventure

Atresmedia Cine

Netflix Animation

Distribution

Netflix (Worldwide)

Genre: Animation/Family/

Comedy

Rating: G

Runtime: 97 minutes

Budget: $40,000,000

Plot Summary
A story tells the origins of Christmas. Jesper, a disgraced student of the Postal Academy, gets sent to a desolate frozen island where no one sends any letters. He is stuck in a hostile environment but finds redemption upon meeting a lonely carpenter named Klaus,

who gives Jesper a purpose

and delivers toys to the

surrounding people.

Voice Cast

Jason Schwartzman - Jesper

J.K. Simmons - Klaus

Rashida Jones - Alva

Joan Cusack - Mrs. Krum

Will Sasso - Mr. Elingboe

Norm MacDonald - Mogens

Neda Margrethe Labba - Márgu

Sergio Pablos - Pumpkin/Olaf

Crew

Original Story/Screenplay/

Producer/Director - Sergio Pablos

Co-Director - Carlos Martinez López

Screenplay - Zach Lewis and Jim Mahoney

Executive Producer - Warren Franklin

Producers - Gustavo Ferrada,

Mercedes Gamero, Jinko Gotoh,

Mikel Lejarza, Marisa Roman

and Matthew Teevan
Creative Consultant/Story

Artist - Olivier Clert
Creative Consultants - Steven

Pierre Gordon and Alex Orrelle
Production Designers - Szymon Biernacki and Marcin Jakubowski
Lead Character Designer -

Torsten Schrank

Additional Character Design - Marta Andreeva, Jorge A. Capote, Daniel Fernandez Casas and Fernando Moro

Head of Story - Edgar Martins

Layout Supervisors - Armen Melkinian and Jean-Luc Serrano
Background Supervisor -

Gabriel Gomez

Animation Supervisor: "Krums &

Ellingboes" - Charlie Bonifacio
Animation Supervisor: "Klaus" - Victor Ens
Animation Supervisor: "Alva" -

Sergio Martins
Animation Supervisor: "Margu" -

Slaven Reese
Animation Supervisor:

"Jesper" - Yoshimichi Tamura

Animation Supervisor: "Mogens" - Matt Williames

3D Animation Supervisor - David Lamas
CG Supervisors - Fernando Jareigo and

Gabriel G. Roy
Film Editor - Pablo Garcia Revert

Supervising Sound Editor/Re-Recording

Mixer/Sound Designer - Gabriel Gutiérrez

Re-Recording Mixer - Nicolas de Poulpiquet
Music - Alfonso G. Aguilar

Awards

2020 Academy Awards

Best Animated Feature - Sergio Pablos,

Jinko Gotoh and Marisa Roman (Nominated)

Review

Ho, ho, ho, Merry Christmas, everyone! You probably did not watch KLAUS, as the movie came out earlier in 2019 before the holidays and is only available on Netflix. The film recaptures the glory days of 2D animation, honouring the likes of Disney. The minimalist animation format (as opposed to excessive CGI) has not been used in films for a long time in the wake of computer-animated movies that preceded it. KLAUS is genuinely hilarious and heartfelt in its plot, and there's no denying this movie is becoming a holiday classic.

It marks the directorial debut of animator Sergio Pablos, who once worked for Disney and is one of the creative minds behind Despicable Me. Pablos and his studio create a movie that breathes new life by giving a distinguished look to a timeless myth. The animation is well-drawn and beautiful, using lighting and texture to create a dimensional depth, making it seem like a proper 3D animated feature. Similar to how Sony made Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, but did the opposite.

Jason Schwartzman was fine for the role of a selfish postman who winds up helping to bring joy in a hostile environment in the North. J.K. Simmons is notable for playing gruff and detestable characters, yet he goes against that type when he voices a lonely woodsman who would become known as Santa Claus. Rashida Jones was terrific as the schoolteacher. Norm MacDonald plays the ferryman Mogens, who is witty and sarcastic.

KLAUS has echoed the past Christmas movies and is a magical holiday movie that anyone will never forget. I hope more animated films have followed the same pattern as KLAUS did to bring back the same old-fashioned animation style.

Star rating: (10/10) Best Movie Ever

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