DVD Review – Journey 2: The Mysterious Island

MAY 20, 2012 BY JAMES THOMPSON

With the most advance CGI available to filmmakers and the right funding, it is amazing to see the many adventures brought to screen these days in family films. Gone are the days of rather questionable looking landscapes and unconvincing creature models and the new age of computer generated imagery has been embraced within family films to create worlds of splendour and pure beauty. One film to make the most of the technology at its disposable is Journey 2: The Mysterious Island, the 2012 follow-up to the Brendan Fraser-starring Journey To The Centre Of The Earth.

Following his adventures at the age of thirteen, heading to the centre of the Earth, 17-year-old Sean Anderson (Josh Hutcherson) has grown up with a fascination regarding anything remotely involved with Jules Verne. When he picks up a faint radio signal, Sean realises that his long lost grandfather, Alexander (Michael Caine) is attempting to contact him, from what he believes is the island in which the stories of Treasure Island, Gulliver’s Travelsand Mysterious Island are all set. Convincing his stepfather Hank (Dwayne Johnson) that the island is in fact real, the pair set off in an adventure to discover the whereabouts of the island and, indeed, find Alexander after his long period of disappearance.

In order to reach the island they must find a way to get there, and this comes in the form of calamitous plane pilot Gabato (Luis Guzman) and his daughter Kailani (Vanessa Hudgens), who possess a plane that is regularly used for tours. Convincing them that the island is real and must be visited, the adventure is set into motion and, following a horrendous storm, they crash land on the mysterious island only thought as pure fiction. Heading across the resplendent forests of the island, the group are unaware of the wonders and the danger that lies ahead for them and there is no doubt this is the adventure of a lifetime.

Director Brad Peyton brings to viewers a truly remarkable vision of an island so well known in literature and transforms it into a grand spectacle. Journey 2‘s visuals are a remarkable achievement in the family film genre and are a big part of what makes the film a big success. From stunning forest landscapes to larger than life creatures beyond imagination, Peyton roams free with the mythical links in the story and creates a world that all can appreciate and enjoy.

Whilst location plays a huge part in the movie, the characters are essentially the driving force and, in respect of being a family-orientated outing, the casting is exceptional. Younger audiences will no doubt be accustomed with the likes of Josh Hutcherson and Vanessa Hudgens, immediately ticking the likeability factor for the adolescent viewers, and the inclusion of man-of-the-moment Dwayne Johnson and veteran favourite Michael Caine add experience and gusto for the more established film viewers. Whilst the performances are nothing more than good, the combination of great talents almost deflects away from the mediocrity and allows for greater immersion into the film’s pulsating action sequences. Also noteworthy is the insistence that no family film would be the same without a ‘clown’ character and Luis Guzman attempts that feat throughout but rarely hits the mark of laugh-out-loud comedy, appearing more irritating than most.

Average acting aside, Journey 2 provides some of the best and most visually striking moments in family film for some time. Whether following our characters in an awe-inspiring escape on some larger-than-life bees from a group of hungry birds, or a heart-pounding mission through the mazed jungle to avoid the clutches of a giant lizard, Journey 2 delivers in aces. Slowing down the action at key points with some carefully place slo-mo effects and maintaining a steady-cam constantly, Peyton channels a great action movie within the family-friendly genre.

Although depicting a very similar plot to its predecessor, Journey 2 improves vastly in creating an ultimately fun-filled thrill ride suitable for all ages. Pulling together a highly recognisable cast, coupled with spectacular visuals, the film kicks the first film in the series to touch and is a marvellous example of how exciting a family movie should be. Highly entertaining and full of visual marvel.

Rating: 

Special Features

Gag Reel – Whilst having a duration of only 1:30, the gag reel will have you laughing at our actors missing their lines, falling at the worst moments and even gives you Dwayne Johnson’s infamous pec dance!

Deleted / Alternate Scenes – A handful of deleted scenes and one alternate scene on offer, there are some interesting entries here. We get to delve a little more into Hank’s job as a construction worker as well as a struggling stepfather, witness the perils of being a teenager unable to follow a dream and get some more of Michael Caine playing explorer.

Rating: 

Credit :filmoria.co.uk

Dwayne Johnson make Forbes list.

Credit: Forbes.com

Johnson debuts on our Celebrity 100 this year.

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s formula for box office success is twofold: “I can kick ass better than anyone on the planet,” he says. “And I have a decent smile.”

He flashes his teeth winningly to try to underscore his point. But the numbers are more impressive: This 6-foot-5 wrestler’s 15 movies have grossed more than $2.3 billion at the global box office. Then there’s how he’s done it. Rather than launch franchises, Johnson saves them. Last year he climbed onboard the tired Fast and Furious series and turned Fast Five into the franchise’s highest-grossing film ($626 million). Then he took over Journey to the Center of the Earth from Brendan Fraser, and Journey 2brought in $81 million more than its predecessor. Next up: the second installment of G.I. Joe.

Producers have taken note: We estimate The Rock earned $36 million in the last 12 months, and his first spot on The FORBES Celebrity 100 seems to be a floor, not a ceiling.

“The second you see Dwayne on screen,” says Paramount Film Group President Adam Goodman, “it’s like everything you ever imagined in an action hero and then some.”

A college football star, Johnson broke into entertainment as a pro wrestler in 1996, following in the footsteps of his father and ­grandfather (his wrestling moniker, Rocky Maivia, combined their names). While his dad was upset—he had spent years getting pounded in high school gyms nationwide and struggled to support young Dwayne and the family—Johnson recognized that pro wrestling in the 1990s offered more upside than it did for generations past.

Still, cast in the role of a good guy, fans quickly tired of his nonstop smiling attitude and began to chant, “Rocky sucks!” Faced with the prospect of failing, Johnson implored World Wrestling Entertainment head Vince McMahon to give him 30 seconds onlive TV to respond to the fans.

Throwing off the sunny, third-generation Rocky character dreamed up by the WWE, he became The Rock, and he antagonized the crowd right back. They ate it up. Now a funny bad guy with a penchant for catchphrases, a star was born. When fans would try to join in on a chorus of “Do you smell what The Rock is cooking?” He would cut them off and yell, “This ain’t sing-a-long with The Rock!” And they loved him for it.

Hollywood came calling in 2001. Johnson took a small part in The Mummy Returns and was immediately bitten by the acting bug. The next year he starred in a Mummy spinoff, The Scorpion King, which earned $165 million worldwide. Johnson continued to wrestle, playing up his new movie fame by pretending to be too big for the WWE and singing songs mocking whatever city he was performing in. And eventually he did get too big: By 2006 he had basically retired from the ring.

Around that time Johnson’s movie career took a strange turn. The Rock found himself at the center of family films like Gridiron Gang, The Game Plan andRace to Witch Mountain.

“When he was wrestling, he was at 270 pounds and the ruler of the world,” says Dany Garcia, his manager and ex-wife. “When he went into movies he dropped to 230 pounds and they told him to stop talking about wrestling.”

To Johnson and Garcia, who’s been an integral part of Johnson’s ­career since they met as teens, it felt very much like the early days with the WWE when Johnson was encouraged to play a character that didn’t quite fit. “It reached a point where I felt that ­instead of me trying to conform to Hollywood, I needed to have ­Hollywood conform to me and ­embrace my past,” says Johnson.

So last year Johnson took matters into his own hands. He ditched his agents at CAA in favor of Ari Emanuel’s WME, decided to focus mostly on action movies—and decided to start wrestling again. “People love him as a wrestler,” says WME’s Brad Slater, “and because he left seven years ago, there’s a whole generation of young fans who never saw him.” In April The Rock fought John Cena in a Wrestlemania battle, the most-watched in the history of the 27-year event, which raked in $67 million, thanks to 1.3 million pay-per-view downloads in 105 countries.

Such wrestling cred only burnishes his action hero status, allowing him to become, as Goodman of Paramount says, “toyetic.” And there are many more merchandise-friendly roles lined up in his immediate future. After G.I. Joethere’s Snitch, about a father who goes undercover to try to free his imprisoned son. Then Michael Bay’s Pain & Gain, where Johnson costars with Mark Wahlberg as a couple of former bodybuilders who kidnap a rich man and try to steal his life. After that he’ll hit Fast and Furious 6, and he’s just attached himself to Lore, based on a graphic novel about a man fighting legendary beasts.

The studios are falling over one another not just because of his ­newfound box office power but also because of his unwavering ­enthusiasm when it comes to promoting his films. Most stars negotiate how few days they’ll have to be on the road promoting their films. Johnson is happy to talk about how he can help ­promote the film from day one.

“That’s the wonderful part about being in this business,” says Johnson. “I love knowing the audience and listening to the audience.” Oh, and kicking a little ass, too.

Rihanna Fast Furious 6 latest villian

The Fast And The Furious 6 (Fast 6), the 6th installment of the Fast and the Furious movie franchise, is set to start filming this month in the U.K. We already updated you through Dwayne Johnson of the Fast 6 movie gearing up for filming where it was confirmed of previous cast members making a return to the automotive action-packed sequel. Reportedly, Rihanna will join the cast as a Villain.

Rihanna is making her big screen debut in the movie Battleship. Already, one of music’s baddest girls, Rihanna is on a non-stop path to big screen star-status. With such an action packed movie franchise, we are sure to see RiRi bring a new level of automotive bliss in the upcoming Fast 6 film especially acting as a villain. We just want to know what type of cars she will be driving, or in the case of Fast and Furious 6, what type of car she will be racing.

automotiveaddicts.com

Skai Jackson and Dwayne Johnson Photos

Here’s two new pics of Dwayne Johnson with Skai Jackson and her mom on set of G. I. Joe

Source: magazine3k.com

New Photo of Dwayne and a Fan

Here’s a photo of Dwayne Johnson with a long time fan who is a cancer survivor. What a sweet way to celebrate your Birthday!!!

Steven Tyler – Steven Tyler Pleased With G.I Joe Song

Steven Tyler believes Aerosmith’s song for the ‘G.I. Joe: Retaliation’ soundtrack is ideal because its overall theme mirrors the movie’s onscreen battles.

Steven Tyler believes Aerosmith’s song for the ‘G.I. Joe: Retaliation’ soundtrack is ideal because it mirrors the movie’s themes.

The band’s frontman thinks their track, ‘Legendary Child’, is the perfect song to accompany the forthcoming action movie – which stars Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, Channing Tatum and Bruce Willis – because its theme of the group struggling to overcome adversity in the music industry is reflected in the film characters’ onscreen battles.

He said: ”’G.I. Joe’ [is] about deep space and ‘let’s go fight the foe.’ And then I thought about where the band came from, and going [into] the music business.

”If there ever… was a foe, the music business was. So to be successful you had to learn how to climb ladders, jump through hoops and live through burning houses.”

Steven revealed the group spent 12 hours filming a video for ‘Legendary Child’, and he is excited about its release because guitarist Joe Perry was ”on fire” while they were recording the song.

Speaking to ABC News Radio, he added: ”It’s gonna be slammin’. Joe was on fire. Wait, you’ll see.”

‘G.I Joe: Retaliation’ is to be released later this summer.

contactmusic.com

Luke Evans Joins Fast & Furious 6

BY PIETRO FILIPPONI
PUBLISHED: MAY 11, 2012 – 6:30AM

Last summer’s Fast Five exceeded financial and critical expectations, and Universal is reteaming with director Justin Lin for the next film in the franchise. Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson and other cast members are set to reprise their roles, and a new addition has now been revealed.

Luke Evans (Immortals, The Three Musketeers) has now entered into negotiations to join the large ensemble cast. According to Variety.com, “plot details are being kept under wraps, but sources say it would involve the crew heading overseas to work on a heist job. Evans would play the leader of another crew trying to pull off the same job.” He can next be seen in Peter Jackson’s highly anticipated film The Hobbit which hits theaters this December.

The Fast and the Furious franchise follows former police detective Brian Connor and street racer Dominic Toretto as they attempt to evade law enforcement while participating in high stakes races and heists around the country. Dwayne Johnson was the latest addition to the franchise in the role of federal agent Luke Hobbs. Fast and Furious 6 is currently slated for theatrical release on May 24, 2013.

Credit: Variety

New Pain & Gain Set Photos [Dwayne"The Rock"Johnson]

Here’s some new pics from the set of Pain and Gain. Enjoy!

Credit: zimbio.com

Dwayne Johnson Birthday Project 2012

The Rock’s Birthday Project

Hey guys, I going to make a 1600 x 900 banner with your names and personal messages for DJCENTRAL’S B-Day project. Please email me your personal comments your want on the banner. Deadline for this project is May 1, 2012 @ 10:30pm. This will be posted to Mr. Johnson FB Page and twitter accounts. Contact me here or email me at dwaynejohnsoncentral@gmail.com if you wish to participate.

Lisa Marie

DWAYNE-JOHNSON CENTRAL

Posted: 4/28/12

Dwayne Johnson’s New Tv Series

Wrestling star-turned-actor Dwayne Johnson is launching a new TV competition series.

The Fast Five star and his producer pal Dany Garcia are teaming up with executives at Electus Entertainment to create The Hero, which will send ordinary people on a high-stakes adventures across three continents as a test of their inner strength.

The professional fighter will serve as a mentor and support coach for the contestants on the show.

Electus founder Ben Silverman tells trade publication Variety, “While Dwayne’s physical stature is unmatched, it is his uncompromising moral character and humanity that proves what an inspirational hero he is.”

And Johnson fans will have a chance to get involved.

The actor adds, “The Hero will bridge the digital and physical world on the small screen in an unmatched fashion, enabling fans to determine the fate of the show’s contestants entirely through social media and onscreen decision making.”

Credit: contactmusic.com