JUNE, 20

MOVIES RELEASED

1-CROOKS

Action / Comedy
Directed by Martin Campbell
Starring Eddie Murphy, Steve Carrell, Eva Longoria, Queen Latifah, Harvey Keitel
Box Office: 55 mill.
Net Gains: 52 mill.

CMP Reaction: No fireworks for this release. A decent box office, but it could have done a bit better.

2-WELCOME TO SUMMER CAMP

Comedy / Children
Directed by Shawn Levy
Starring Steve Martin, Helen Hunt, Spencer Breslin, Skye McCole Bartusiak, Logan Lerman, Taylor Dooley
Box Office: 31 mill.
Net Gains: 10 mill.

CMP Reaction: Saved by DVD sales. As 'Crooks', it wasn’t meant to be a blockbuster, but at least a bit higher box office was expected.

THE CRITICS CORNER

1-CROOKS

“A nice buddy movie that reminded me a De Niro’s funny action comedy titled ‘Midnight Run’. Murphy and Carrell make a good comedic couple. The best of the movie are the 20 first minutes, when it shows how Murphy and Carrell cheat at the casinos and swindle naïve tourists. After that, it all turns out in an ordinary action movie. Campbell feels more comfortable when it turns to action instead of comedy but the comedic side of the story is the really worthy part of the movie”.
-Roy Winslow

“Murphy and Carrell are well balanced in the movie. I mean, trying to respect each other’s show, they make a controlled work, without the excesses of some others of their performances. And that benefits the function as a whole. It has not been a battle of egos but a good team work. Maybe, Campbell has not taken all he could from the story and the starring couple and you end up with the feeling that the movie could have been much more fun”.
-Martin Koplowski

“The best of this movie is its lack of pey. It looks as if Martin Campbell only wanted to make an entertaining 90 minutes show (without the failed ambition of his previous CMP’s work: the pretentious sequel of ‘Corsairs’). And that’s exactly what he has done. An entertaining movie. Murphy and Carrell work so well as a comedy couple and Harvey Keitel is the perfect contrast to them as the serious and tough cop. A good choice for a fun evening at the movies”.
-Lilly Stevens

2-WELCOME TO SUMMER CAMP

“This is a correct movie for all the family. It only has one problem: we’ve seen this before. Most of the premises for the jokes in it were previously seen in ‘Cheaper By The Dozen’ and its sequel (also starred by Martin and directed by Levy), just to mention some other movies of the same kind. But, if you forget about the lack of originality, the movie works as a nice and clean entertainment for all audiences”.
-Wayne Hart

“Steve Martin can make thousands of movies like this one without major effort. In fact, he has. So here he is doing again what he knows to do so efficiently. I’m happy to see Helen Hunt back, even in this not very challenging character. And watch out Spencer Breslin. This kid is a knock out as a comedian. In a few years, he can be up there, competing with all the major comedy stars.”
-Anne Roman

“Take your kids! No violence, no foul language, funny jokes… Some times, a movie like this is very much appreciated. There are enough bad things out there. Just get into a movie theatre and show your kids that the world can also be a funny and easy place to live”.
-Jackie O. Callaghan

AWAITING RELEASE

1-22:01

The Cast: Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Christian Bale, Michael Madsen, Steve Buscemi, Ray Liotta, Josh Hartnett

The Director: Quentin Tarantino
The Screenwriter: Marcus Trax

The Plot: New York City 21.45 pm and two mob gangs are meeting in the docks at a warehouse to make an arrangement for the benefit of them both. Both are powerful, both are distrusting, both are trapping the other. What isn't expected during this meeting is one of the mob members being a deep undercover agent who has arranged for the police to be present. And what all are unaware of it the Triad got wind of this meeting and seeing a chance to eliminate two enemies sent well trained ninja assasins to 'remove' the delegates at this meeting. At approx. 22:01 pm all hell breaks loose as loyalties come undone, fighting ensues and everyone attempts to spring their traps. Two mob familes fight to the death in the warehouse, blockaded by police on the outside and under fire from assasins from the inside. Both families (Father and Sons of both are present) soon find out the ties of blood are as thick as bullets.

Members of one family: Robert De Niro, Christian Bale, Michael Madsen, Steve Buscemi
Members of the other family: Al Pacino, Ray Liotta, Josh Hartnett

The Comment: Welcome to testosterone show. Here is a tough guys reunion. And a peculiar premise: a one-situation story, the final gunfight between two mob families. In some way, Tarantino returns to his origins as there’s a lot of ‘Reservoir Dogs’ in this one. CMP hopes all Tarantino’s fans will pay the ticket. And they are enough to make it a hit.


2-NO EVIL

The Cast: Edward Norton, Tea Leoni, Robert Downey Jr., Julian Moore, Gary Sinise, Ariel Gade, Johnny Depp

The Director: David Mamet
The Screenwriter: Marcus Trax

The Plot: In an everyday urban area a family is getting ready to enjoy its Saturday. Frank Howards (E.Norton) is in the garden, his wife Lucy (T.Leoni) is reading in the living room, and their daughter Abby (A.Gade) is heading off to see a friend next door.

But when Abby is going simply next door she is attacked by a alsatian dog that is kept by Mr Paul Dalton (G.Sinise), an unkempt, loud man. As she screams in pain Frank rushes along with others looking at what is happening to save her and they manage to pry the dog off. Some getting bitten in the process. An ambulance is called and so are the police. As Abby is taken to hospital with her worried and anxious parents the police arest Paul Dalton for the animal and put the dog down after it continues to attack people, inlcuding police officers. Paul Dalton angry at the death of this beloved pet tries to fight back.

In the hospital while Abby is being investigated Franks friend Joseph Lock (J.Depp) joins Frank and Lucy. When the doctors come out they inform them that Abby has suffered serious injuries and her eyes have been pierces, her voice box ripped and her ears punctured. She can not currently see, speak or hear anything and there is only a little chance only some of her hearing may return. They are assigned a social worker Jenny Logan (J.Moore) as they try to cope with the new situation and looking after their now cut off daughter. After some time watching her struggle totally cut off from the world they suddenly get a court order Paul Dalton is sueing them for emotional distress from the death of his dog which he says Abby taunted and provoked. They soon hire a young and charasmatic lawyer Dale Beckett (R.Downey Jr.) to fight their case.

As the court case rages more and more pressure builds up on the parents and Frank increasingly looks at ways of ending his daughters life as it is no way for her to live, but is blocked by his friend and Jenny Logan. In the end however he suffocates Abby with a pillow while is he watching her sleeping one night, with tears in his eyes.

The next day he is arrested for murder and is taken away until trial. Getting life imprisonment while Paul Daltons case is refused and he himself eventally gets tried for 10 years.

The Comment: Mamet returns with a low budget drama the way he successfully did with ‘Smoke Signals’. A great cast for an intense family drama. Don’t forget to bring your tissues.


THE STAR PROFILE – GOLDEN MOON AWARDS WINNERS

Now that there’s a new edition of the GMA going on, it looks as a good moment to look back to the history of these prestigious awards. Who won Best Actor or Best Actress in the first three editions? Here we go in the tunnel of time to remember.

NICOLE KIDMAN (‘The Heirs’, Martin Scorsese / Joey Stark): Kidman played a femme fatale whose affections were split between father (Robert De Niro) and son (Sean Penn). Probably, her true love was Penn. But De Niro had the power and the money… So she took her decision: who cares about love when there’s power and money around? Kidman won the award and repeated her role in the next two episodes of the saga. ‘The Heirs – Part 3’ ended with Nicole bringing flowers to Penn’s tomb. The defeated: Halle Berry (‘Dark’) and Dakota Fanning (‘Alice in Wonderland’).

ROBIN WILLIAMS (‘Deadly Sins’, Sidney Pollack / Brian Kelley): Had Williams murdered his wife (Susan Sarandon) or not? That was the main storyline of this brilliant courtroom thriller written by the now retired Brian Kelley. The movie became a box office and critic success and brought the award to Sarandon (Supporting Actress) and Williams, making one of his best dramatic performances ever. The defeated: Paul Giamatti (‘Bill and the Rocketman’) and Ethan Hawke (‘The Crusades’).

CATHERINE ZETA-JONES (‘Fools Game’, Wes Anderson / James Bradley): The 2nd edition of the GMA was Catherine’s night. She won not only Best Actress for her brilliant performance of a bored and eccentric wife but also Best Starring Couple together with her real life husband, Michael Douglas. She gave the introductory speech of the ceremony. And she was about to star in the new Star Wars trilogy. Couldn’t ask for more. ‘Fools Game’ will be remembered as one of her most brilliant acting works. The only talent with two GMA until now. The defeated: Helen Hunt (‘September’s Gone’) and Merryl Streep (‘Cathedral’).

RUSSELL CROWE (‘Cathedral’, Peter Weir / James Bradley): CMP wasn’t happy with Crowe. He abandoned the shooting of ‘The Crusades’ when production was nearly beginning. But the Studio forgave him and he returned to play this man that leaves a comfortable life in London during the XIX century to travel to Africa chasing a wild dream: building up a cathedral in the middle of the savannah. Crowe made an outstanding work and the movie was a major (and pretty unexpected) success. The defeated: Tom Hanks (‘September’s Gone’) and Will Smith (‘Chevrolet’).

JENNIFER CONNELLY (‘Smoke Signals’, David Mamet / Marcus Trax): Connelly had previously worked in the high budgeted mega-production ‘The Crusades’. And she returned to CMP with this low budget production. There, Connelly was a depressed woman trying to quit smoking and also to forget the death of her boyfriend in a car accident. He could count with the help of Johnny Depp. And the moving and dramatically intense movie did so well in box office and became a cult movie and the best example of how a low budget quality drama should be done. A risky but successful bet for Connelly, who surprisingly defeated the favourite candidate, Keira Knightley. The defeated: Keira Knightley (‘Hitman: Two Ways To Die’) and Kate Winslet (‘The Toymaker’).

COLIN FARELL (‘Hitman: Two Ways To Die’, Tony Scott / John Daws): He was the indisputable favourite to win. And he did. Farell had a major hit with the second episode of the Hitman saga and he had another major hit with ‘Darkening Skies’ that same Season. He was chosen to present the GMA 3rd Edition’s nominations together with Halle Berry. He was, without doubt, the Man of the Season at the time. And his numerous fans did not let him down at voting time. So predictions came true and he could hold the golden statue at the ceremony’s night. The defeated: John Travolta (‘Wild Cards: Aces High’) and Matt Damon (‘Home’).

MOVIES IN DEVELOPMENT

THE GUARDIANS: Two big names for a big project. Tom Cruise (‘Chevrolet’) and Russell Crowe (‘Cathedral’) will co-star this dark sci-fi production directed by Ridley Scott and produced by Steven Spielberg. Both will be agents of a special Security Force genetically manipulated to ‘protect and serve’.

NATHAN ZACHARY AND DRAKE’S GOLD: More names for the cast of Jack Hammer’s adventure. Ian McKellen (‘Wild Cards: Aces High’, ‘The Library’) joins the cast together with Aaron Eckhart, making his debut for CMP.

SYNDROME:PARADISE LOST: This cast keeps growing too. Thomas Haden Church and Shia Lebouf are other survivors of the syndrome. It is also their first work in a CMP’s movie for both. Matt Kubrick directs and produces this production expected to be a major success.

FLASHES OF LIFE: Tom Wilkinson and William H. Macy (‘Vorhees: The Early Years’, ‘Carousel’) complete the cast of this tearjercker drama starred by two characters with two talents playing them in different moments of their life: Natalie Portman / Emma Roberts and Jake Gyllenhaal / Josh Hutcherson.

72 HOURS: Who will be the new victim of the so called Ex Murderer? No other than Famke Jansen, who will play the ex wife of Keanu Reeves in this Joshua Collins’ movie. Jansen was previously seen working for CMP in the flopped ‘Minos’.

PLANETSIDE: James Cameron directs and produces this epic sci-fi adventure about the colonization of a new planet. Cameron has previously directed and produced for CMP the blockbuster ‘Deep Silence’. He was also the producer of ‘Minos’. ‘Planetside’ is a high budget project that, according to CMP’s internal sources, may become a new franchise if it succeeds.

LIEUTENANT USA AND HIS WARM STEEL GANG: CMP wants to put together in the same movie most of their regular comedians. Steve Carrell, who has just released ‘Crooks’, has accepted to play Lieutenant USA himself while Will Ferrell will play the villain of the story, as he previously did in comedies like ‘Eureka!’ and ‘Ultraman’s Revenge’.

GET CHRISTIE LOVE!: Antoine Faqua is setting up the cast of his movie. New talent hired: Samuel L. Jackson, who starred for CMP the blockbuster ‘Taurus 3’ before joining the cast of the Wild Cards movies.

WILD CARDS: ACE IN THE HOLE: A peculiar signing for the third episode of the Wild Cards saga. Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson will be in the movie playing a battle android designed by a crazy scientist. His image will be digitally manipulated to make him look less human and more like an android. Modular Man is the name of the entity.

LEGEND OF THE LAST LAWMAN: And here is the third episode of the acclaimed Lawman saga. Robert Rodriguez and Will Smith get together again for an action adventure in a post-apocalyptic city of Los Angeles in the new (and last?) episode of this successful franchise written by Jack Hammer.

COMING SOON – THE ADD


RUMOURS AND GOSSIPS

War of the Stars – The Finale Episode? It seems like Trax and Lucas have reached a finale agreement about the next Star Wars movie. Remember that they got into a fuss when Lucas said he wanted to direct it and Trax rejected him as director. Well, after tough negotiations, they have reached an agreement: Lucas will produce and won’t direct the movie but he will keep the right to choose by himself a director for the movie. The funny thing is that Lucas will probably choose Lawrence Kasdan (‘Chevrolet’, ‘Mysteries Of The Sith’) to direct it. So, after all the fight, it seems like things will just stay the way they were in the previous episode of the saga.

Has anyone noticed that John Daws’ movies have always got net gains? The creator of ‘South East’ and the Hitman trilogy has never lost money with the movies he’s written. We’ll see if his upcoming projects, like the weird ‘Lieutenant USA and his Warm Steel Gang’ or ‘He-Man’ can maintain his winning strike.

Midnight Movies, the Production Company headed by Matt Kubrick, and CMP will try a new experience during this Season. Midnight Movies is going to produce two B-series horror movies that will go straight to DVD. CMP has never done this before but, if the experience is worthy, Midnight Movies could keep producing movies oriented directly to the DVD market in the future.


James Cameron is already working on his upcoming new movie, ‘Planetside’. It is said that this outer space adventure may have the most starry cast ever in a CMP’s movie. Cameron is already contacting some of the biggest names in the industry to join this expensive and ambitious production.

STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN… OR HELL

HEAVEN

MATT KUBRICK:’Welcome to Summer Camp’ has not been a major success, but at least has put an end to Kubrick’s unlucky strike. Besides ‘Robotech 3’, his latest movies (‘Calvin and Hobbes’, ‘London Underground’, ‘The Company’) had been major flops. So at least Kubrick is back to net gains. Let’s hope that his new movie as director, ‘Syndrome: Paradise Lost’, will confirm a change of luck for him.

DANIEL RADCLIFFE: First, he was critically acclaimed for his work in ‘South East’ (and we’ll see what happens with the GMA soon) and next, he joined a major production like ‘Game Boy’ and it became an amazing success. Radcliffe has become a name to remember in CMP and new offers are waiting to be accepted by the grown up Harry Potter.

HELL

HARRY STARK: The disagreements between Lucas and Trax about the new Star Wars episode have been a nightmare for CMP’s President. It seems like he has been able to fix the situation, but it hasn’t been an easy task to bring peace back and assure that the new episode will finally be produced.

BEN STILLER: Ego problems? Stiller recently rejected to make a cameo in ‘King Of The World’ (he was replaced by Steve Carrell), and now he has rejected also to play a minor role in a movie that pretends to reunite all major CMP’s comedy stars: ‘Lieutenant USA and his Warm Steel Gang’. It seems like Stiller only wants to be in a movie if he is the lead star…

SPECIAL REPORT – GMA NOMINATIONS
By Roy Winslow

13 movies (almost a 50 % of the whole movies of Season 4) will compete for the GMA. As usual, not everyone agrees with the nominations (what would be an award ceremony without disagreements?) and there are a few (not many, in my opinion) surprises. But, before the awards ceremony takes place, let’s analyze what nominations left… and forgot.

The Ignored – Movies

So almost half of the movies got at least one nomination. Then, what happened with ‘Return of the Last Lawman’? The movie didn’t deserve this mistreat. Not a single nomination! Only with a quick thought, some options come to my mind: Starring Couple (Smith and Hayek), Villain (Christopher Lee, more deserved than the one for ‘Dungeons & Dragons’!), Actor (Smith) or Director (Rodriguez), not to mention Marketing and Most Wanted Sequel. But none? Unfair, definitely unfair.

When will the voters recognize the achievements of the Robotech movies? Three movies, three hits. And a visual milestone for animation movies. Ok, it hasn’t got Claire Danes in it, but this franchise deserves a tribute. We’ll have to wait for another edition again…

The second CMP’s episode of ‘Star Wars’, ‘Mysteries Of The Sith’, could not equalize the previous one. ‘New Order’ won 3 awards, Best Picture included. The second one (much, very much better in all senses) only gets a minor nomination for Most Wanted Sequel. Signs of exhaustion in fan’s hearts for the franchise?

So Season 4 was Musicmania Season? Ok, then we have a winner in the battle of the musicals: ‘Carousel’. Finally, ‘Piece Of My Heart’ and ‘Nine’ were completely ignored at the GMA. Drew Barrymore and Antonio Banderas will have to wait for another chance to be awarded for their singing skills.

It made a great box office. It looks as the beginning of a new major franchise. But it seems it did not left any mark in moviegoers memory. ‘Visionaries’ stayed out of sight in nominations…

The Ignored 2 – Talents

She has previously won the GMA for Best Supporting Actress (‘Cathedral’). And she made an outstanding work as the undercover FBI agent that becomes Sean Penn’s lover (finally murdered by him) in ‘The Heirs – Part 3’. In my opinion, the best supporting work of the Season. But she didn’t make it at the nominations. Dakota Fanning for ‘Carousel’ instead? Come on…

As usual, making comedy does not get as much recognition as being dramatic. Matthew Perry made two nice movies this Season, ‘Casual Day’ and ‘King Of The World’. But nobody remembered it when voting. Poor comedians…

Ignored as a whole. The cast of ‘The Library’ deserved nominations both as a whole and also individually. But, although I know they got some votes, they couldn’t make it to the finale three. Box office disaster hurts the chances of being nominated, I know. But Hopkins, Holm or Duncan could have been there…

And what’s left after all the hype? Jim Carrey will be at the ceremony as nominated for Best Starring Couple… but he couldn’t make it for Best Actor, as everyone expected. Sorry, Jim.

The Returns

The GMA reach its 4th edition. And most of the nominees in this edition are veterans by now. Lots of returns this time:

Jack Hammer: Previously nominated as screenwriter for ‘Darkening Skies’, maybe the sequel will be the lucky one for him.

Joey Stark: Already won Best Screenplay in the 1st edition with ‘The Crusades’.

Claire Danes: Past edition, she was already nominated as Best Supporting Actress (‘Darkening Skies’) for the same character than this time. First record for Danes this edition: second nomination playing the same character. It doesn't happen often.

Robert De Niro: Also in the 3rd Edition, De Niro fought for Best Supporting Actor (‘The Toymaker’) This time, he’s upgraded: Best Actor.

Scarlett Johansson: She was the favourite to win Best Supporting Actress for ‘Chevrolet’ in the 2nd edition. But she was finally defeated by Charleze Theron. This time, I have the feeling that her options to win are lower.

Dakota Fanning: Nominated for Best Actress in the 1st Edition for her magnificent work in ‘Alice In Wonderland’. This time, she’s back as supporting actress.

John Goodman: He was nominated together with Tim Roth as Best Starring Couple for the undervalued and brilliant ‘Sam & Twitch’. They deserved the award, but didn’t win that time. Will this be his option for revenge?

Julia Roberts: Previously nominated as Best Starring Couple together with Tom Hanks for the courtroom thriller ‘Court Appeal’, she was later ignored for her brilliant work in ‘The Passion Beneath’. This time, fighting for Best Actress.

Kirsten Dunst: She did not have many chances with her previous nomination for Best Supporting Actress in the comedy ‘Singles’. Now running for Best Actress, I have the feeling that her chances aren’t too many this time either (Roberts and Danes are tough rivals to beat).

Colin Farell: first talent nominated twice in a row for Best Actor in the GMA. He won that award with ‘Hitman: Two Ways To Die’ in the past edition. Will he make it two awards in a row now? Farrell playing for the record.

Peter Weir: There have been 4 editions of the GMA. And Weir has been nominated as Best Director in 3 of them. He didn’t win with ‘Cathedral’ and ‘Darkening Skies’, but maybe the time has finally come for him.

The Favourites

So hard to point out any favourite. Traditionally, the most nominated movies have not been the movies that finally won more awards in previous editions of the GMA. Votes move a lot from nomination to winning. So anything can happen. But these ones look as obvious favourites anyway:

Claire Danes: No doubt, this is Claire Danes Edition. She has been nominated in three different categories for three different movies. It will take long for any talent to repeat an achievement like that. So Danes is already a winner. But the night of the awards can be heaven or hell for her.

The Great War Series: Storm Breaks: The first movie of the Great War Series got 5 nominations and did not win any award. So this time could be the night for revenge or just for living the same old story again. Sequels rarely win major awards (‘The Godfather – Part 2’ is the only case that comes to my mind, besides 'Lord Of The Rings'), but the truth is that Peter Weir’s movie is a masterpiece that probably won’t go empty handed.

DON’T FORGET TO VOTE FOR THE GOLDEN MOON AWARDS WINNERS BEFORE NEXT FRIDAY