JULY, 25

MOVIES RELEASED

1-THE GREAT WAR SERIES: FINAL THUNDER

Action / Drama
Directed by Peter Weir
Starring Christian Bale, Claire Danes, Hayden Christensen, Jeremy Irons, Adrien Brody
Box Office: 74 mill.
Net Gains: 51 mill.

CMP’s Reaction: A severe reduction in box office for this third episode, although it is probably the best of the three movies. Profits are more than satisfactory, although the magic of the two first episodes did not return this time.

2-THE SHRINKING MAN

Sci-Fi / Comedy
Directed by Harold Ramis
Starring Ben Stiller, Reese Witherspoon, Sarah Jessica Parker, Brendan Fraser, Bill Murray
Box Office: 109 mill.
Net Gains: 84 mill.

CMP’s Reaction: A perfect product. It had it all to attract a wide range of audiences and, fortunately, it did.

3-PARODY OF ARTS

Drama / Human Spirit
Directed by David Mamet
Starring Johnny Depp, Peter O’Toole, Katie Holmes, Sean Bean, Judi Dench, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Eric Balfour
Box Office: 71 mill.
Net Gains: 46 mill.

CMP’s Reaction: A nice surprise! Unexpectedly high box office for a beautiful, moving and brilliantly written, directed and performed story. It may be the most successful drama ever released by the Studio.

THE CRITICS CORNER

1-THE GREAT WAR SERIES: FINAL THUNDER

“Epic reaches the sky. Final episode of Weir / Hammer saga becomes the most epic and moving episode of them all. Nostalgic and romantic, the movie has the best screenplay of the saga and rise the Armstrong family story to the level of epic classics like ‘Gone with the wind’ or ‘War and Peace’. Just perfect”.
-Jackie O. Callaghan

“I’m not going to discuss the quality of the movie. But looking at the drop of box office compared with the two previous episodes, it is unquestionable that three movies might be too much for this story. Obviously, the saga has been a great business for CMP, and that only justifies the three movies, but maybe Weir and Hammer should have had more capacity of synthesis to reduce the story to one or probably two movies and that would have been enough.”
-Roy Winslow

“Who missed Colin Farrell? Probably, looking at box office results, some might. But not me. This movie will become a classic. The final sequence honouring the dead is so wonderfully shot that it will become an unforgettable reference in Movie History.”
-Lilly Stevens

2-THE SHRINKING MAN

“I thought for a while that Ben Stiller had been lost for comedy. Movies like ‘Zoolander’ or ‘Starsky & Hutch’ made me feared that Stiller would get lost in auto-complacency forever. Then came ‘Night in the Museum’ and I recovered my faith in him. And now ‘The Shrinking Man’ confirms me that Stiller can still be the best comedian of his generation. A nice and funny comedy”
-Wayne Hart

“A mainstream comedy for all audiences. Harold Ramis has built up the perfect Hollywood’s product for all kind of audiences from kids to romantic comedy fans. Much better than his previous work for CMP, the excessive ‘Ultraman’s Revenge’, Ramis has offered a new perspective to the classic story of shrinking people.”
-Matt Robinson

“Much better than ‘Honey, I shrunk the kid’ but much worse than the classic ‘The Incredible Shrinking Man’, the movie works enough at all levels and the good box office breakdown proves it. It’s not about quality, it’s about bringing moviegoers to theatres. And CMP has reached that that target”
-Anne Roman

3-PARODY OF ARTS

“I have mixed feelings about this movie. It’s a brilliant, touching, intelligent and appealing story. It has wonderful performances from Depp and O’Toole. It entertains and makes you think. But the problem is I’ve seen this movie before. Its title was ‘The Greatest Show On Earth’. It was also written by Marcus Trax. It focussed in a circus troupe instead of an actors troupe. That was the only difference. But the spirit of the story is so similar than it made think I was just watching a remake”
-Charlie Kiggs

“The Academy Award has always denied an Oscar to Peter O’Toole. I just hope CMP can fix that with their GMA. O’Toole proves again in this movie that he deserves a comfortable place in the actors Olympus.”
-Jack Carter

“Thanks God the trio Mamet / Trax / Depp exists. Here is another great movie from them. A present for the ones like me that are tired of wars in the stars, dragons in dungeons, planets colonization or replicant guardians. I can only say thanks, guys”
-Bob Felton

AWAITING RELEASE

1-DUNGEONS & DRAGONS: THE SHATTERED ORB

The Cast: Nicholas Cage, Bruce Willis, Claire Danes, Sean Connery, Natalie Portman, Andy Serkis, Thomas Jane, Christopher Lee. Voice of Judi Dench

The Director and Producer: Peter Jackson
The Screenwriter: Marcus Trax

The Plot: Avery Rothin (N. Cage) is enjoying his new and law abidding lifesyle even though he still cons the odd merchant here and womanises there much to the disgust of his patner Det. Miles Strider (B. Willis) However when old friends Morin Orcsbane (A. Serkis) and Beth (C. Danes) return to the city of Waterdeep things get out of control once more. Morin and Beth come back seeking aid for the dwarvern mines up north and the barbarian tribes that have recently come under attack by a mysterious force led by cultists and made up of all manner of monsters (orcs, minotaurs, harpees, even some undead) Importantly the great dwarvern city of Giroknor has fallen. However their cries fall on deaf ears from the Waterdeep council, even though the head of the army General Orad Eriss (E. Bana) supports some aid. Things are made worse when Xanaphilia Evenwood (A.Hathaway) comes from the south east claming similar goings on down in the elven domain but again the request of help is ignored.

Being in Waterdeep however they all meet with their friends Avery and Miles when while in the tavern they are ambushed by city guards wearing an odd creast. Taken prisoner they are taken to the castle of Waterdeep and imprisoned. It is when General Eriss comes down and frees them, that it becomes apparent there are sinister forces at work. Eriss talks of how the coucil have been obsessed over 'A shattered orb' and locating the fragments. It is now Morin and Xanaphilia both recount legends of such an item of immense magic that it caused a war between mortals and the gods and the item was eventually broken as it could not be destroyed. And that it was rumored the shards were spread over the land and the lands invaded by the forces unknown were lands suspected to hold some of the shards.

Avery seeing what is coming tries to avoid the coming conversation but Eriss petions the group to find more information and report to him and his allies, Miles accepts the task much to Avery's chargrin. Eriss then leads them out of the city limits and sets them on their way.

It is on the road that after light banter, they come across an eldery man (S. Connery) wayland by monsters and some dark robed people. Going to his aid they help the man, although he seems quite competant. They learn his name is Marcus Philus a wandering cleric of the Travelling God. And that these cultists were extremely interested in him. When Marcus learns of their task he sitting around the camp fire recounts his own stories of days of old including one a great and wise dragon who was rumoured to sit upon a shard of deepest red that made the mountains glow. Miles taking faith in this story convinces Avery to help lead the group forward.

As they make their way along the road now dragon hunting, they come upon a small town where Avery catches a young and beutiful thief, Aria Long (N. Portman) who is trying to rob him. Getting talking she boasts how she has stolen from even dragons and learning of their quest offers to lead them to the mountains where the dragon resides. Marcus seems suspicious of Aria from the start.
As they journey Aria seems to tempt Avery to give up his 'comfortable' life and rejoin the ranks of thieves and con-men but Avery seem reluctanct if tempted, especially with Miles looking over his shoulder.

Back in the city Eriss is fighting the council who start to threaten him and he eventually pulls out and heads to his army camped outside the city.

Travelling north the main party start to notice more and more monsters and cultists patrolling the land and find a village ransacked and destroyed by them. Seeing this gets all of them including Morin the dwarf and Xanaphilia the elf riled. But when the town is shown to be a trap and they are captured, after a large fight, they are soon taken up the mountains to see Elorea, The Great Red Dragon (Voiced by Judi Dench) Who is orchestrating the search for the shards, but she speaks as if those are not her words and Marcus suspects the cult to be controlling her. When her monstrous Minotaur captain informs an army is approaching from the south she is confused rambling about how it is possible. But soon recovers and orders the forces to attack.

The prisoners meanwhile are sent deep within the caves of the dragon to stew while armies march against eachother. It is when Aria demonstrates a remarkable talent of getting out the prison and frees everyone, much to the suspicion of Marcus, that they investigate further and find a occult circle heavily guarded that seems to be controlling Elorea. Morin being Morin, and Beth being Beth both charge the cultists intiating a fight just as the armies of Waterdeep and the monstrous/cultist armies clash.

As the party kill the last of the cultists the symbols of the occult circle flash and merge and glow and then suddenly go and a large roar is heard for miles around which stops the fighting in the main battle for a second. Marcus leading the way, unerringly through the tunnels back to the main cavern finds Elorea devouring and killing the remaining cultists around here and when she spins on them Marcus defends them all by a firey red energy shield much to everyones surprise. Marcus informs her, with interjection from everyone else, of the cultists and the shards and she is angry at the manipulation, also notices her shard is missing obviously taken by the cultists, and flies off in revenge.

On the field of battle Eriss realises his forces are loosing and orders a general retreat when out from the sky Elorea swoops killing masses of her, once, own troops who fearing her wrath retreat soon after and the battle is turned.

After the battle Elorea is no where to be seen and Eriss is in camp when the party approaches. Much has been learned about the shards and the orb and it holds a power so vast gods themselves fought over it. Also the city of Waterdeep has been taken over at the highest level and there is now an order for the arrest of Ex-General Eriss. However much still needs to be done and obviously this is just the start.

Meanwhile in an occult cermony in a dark temple somewhere, is being perfomred and the result is the rebirth of Lord Deravis (C. Lee) in human force who upon being revived instantly sucks the life energy from one of his summoners and smiles. Then he walks to a table on it lay 4 shards of deep red that look like they will form an orb only piece looks to be missing. The cultists behind Lord Deravis chant..."...Talona...Talona..."

The Comment: Sequel of the successful ‘Dungeons & Dragons’ (Box Office: 194 mill / Net Gains: 231 mill.), the major event of the Season for CMP (specially after ‘SW: Balance Of The Force’ didn’t work as expected). On of those movies that can only be considered a success if they reach an outstanding box office.


2-AMERICAN HEARTLAND

The Cast: Jodie Foster, Denzel Washington, Daniel Radcliffe, Haley Joel Osment, Shia Lebouf, Robin Wright-Penn

The Director: Sean Penn
The Producer: Martin Scorsese
The Screenwriter: Matt Kubrick

The Plot: Based on a true story. In the year 1993 three kids were found brutally murdered in the Robin Hood hills of West Memphis Tenesee. In the morning a man walks into a restaraunt all covered with blood in a dazed state and uses the women bathroom and soon leaves. A witch hunt erupts and soon three local male teenagers are arrested for the crime. This is their story Damion Echols (D.Radcliffe), Jessie Misskelley (H.Joel Osment) and Jason Baldwin (S.Lebouf). Damion Echols is sentenced to death and the other two get life in prison. But that isn't the end, Mishandling of the crime scene by authorites, more questions than answers,a mysterious bleeding man in a resteraunt lead many to question, who really did it? The true shocking court case is brought to life in this riveting drama.
Other characters:
Jodie Foster: The lawyer trying to open the case again to prove the innocence of the three teenagers, based on the mistakes of the police investigation.
Robin Wright-Penn: A woman that will confess her testimony accusing the three teenagers was coerced by Police
Denzel Washington: A journalist that will face the FBI and local Police in his search of truth.

The Comment: Kubrick gets serious with this dramatic story about three teenagers accused of murder. Based on a true story (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Memphis_3), it is the second work of Scorsese only as producer, after the acclaimed ‘The Toymaker’, and Penn’s debut as director for CMP. Besides box office, it is expected to become a critical success.


3-THREE WOODEN CROSSES

The Cast: Jude Law, Claire Danes, Jennifer Connelly, Chris Cooper, Billy Bob Thornton

The Director: Billy Bob Thornton
The Screenwriter: Ted Froats

The Plot: A preacher (Billy Bob Thorton) greets his congregation with a question.

"Just down the road here, off the highway exit, there are three wooden crosses. Who knows the crosses I'm talking about?"

The entire congregation raises their hands.

"Good. Now...who knows why they're there?"

No one raises their hand.

"Well...then I'll tell you. This is the story of four people...three will die, one will live. But the question isn't which one lives. The question...is why?"

1956 - A preacher (Jude Law) conducts the Saturday congregation at the very same church that the narration is taking place in...but, of course, some 50 years earlier. He is charming but strict, and allows no temptation into his life. In fact, whenever he does face temptation, he simply pulls the Bible out of his pocket and begins reciting a verse at random. As his portion of the story comes to a close, he receives a letter from his brother, a missionary.

And so we transition to the farmer's story. The farmer (Cooper) is a good Christian man. We see how he loves tending the land on his 80-acre farm, we see how his wife and two young sons adore him and we see how he adores them back...we even see the four of them each attend mass at the same church the beginning of the film takes place in. But because they attend the Sunday mass, they have seemingly never met Jude Law. Finally, it is time to harvest, and it has been a good year...we see the farmer with some spare cash for the first time in his life.

And so we transition to the teacher (Danes). She teaches at the same school that the farmer's sons attend, but a different grade, so she has seemingly never met them. We see that she cares passionately for her students, especially the most troubled ones. She stays well after school hours to tutor, she is exceptionally patient, and she sincerely believes in every one of them. Her life revolves around the school...so when summer arrives, she doesn't know what to do with herself.

Which brings us to the prostitute (Connelly). This is not a prostitute with a heart of gold...this is a prostitute with a heart of prostitution. She doesn't even have a passing connection with the other three people...in fact, she lives in the city, while the other three live in a small farming community. We see her addicted to every drug known in '56, we see her attack anyone who tries to help her...and, finally, we see her kill a wealthy "John", unprovoked, and steal his wallet. Then we see her impulsively catch a bus headed for Mexico.

We follow her on the bus...and several stops later...two young boys get on the bus. Followed by their mother. And, finally, their father.

It's the farmer. And several stops later? The teacher gets on, with two of her girlfriends. And the next stop, of course, is where the preacher gets on.

And though they are strangers, they all get to talking. The farmer has decided to take the extra money he made from this year's harvest and take his children on vacation south of the border. The teacher finally caved into her girlfriends' insistance that she actually go out and live a little this summer, with them down in Mexico. And the preacher is responding to his brother's request for assistance, at a Mexican mission.

And then they all turn to the prostitute, not realizing that's what she is, and ask her why she's heading south. She begins to open her mouth...

When an 18-wheeler slams into the side of the bus, knocking it right off the overpass.

A quick vinette of scenes follow...the children and their mother, at the farmer's funeral, and then continuing to farm the land that he loved.

We see the school renamed after the teacher, and the troubled students she focused on succeeding.

And we see the bus wreck...the preacher and the prostitute are pinned together in the wreckage, and they both are dying. A rescuer comes and begins working to free the priest. He reaches into his pocket, pulls out the bible now covered in blood, and reads a verse to himself.

And, finally, we see Billy Bob Thorton standing again at the podium present day, holding the blood stained bible before the congregation.

"God bless the farmer...and the teacher..."

Back at the bus, the preacher looks up at the rescuer.

"No...take her."The preacher places the blood-stained bible in the hooker's hands.

"And you...take this."

And back at the church, where Billy Bob is finishing his sermon.

"And the preacher. He gave this bible to my mother...and she read it to me. It's not what you take when you leave this world behind you...it's what you leave behind you, when you go."

The Comment: A most peculiar concept. A religious fable with a moral based on a country standard song. It way work in middle America… but a movie needs the rest of the world to become a hit. Extremely uncertain future for this one.


MOVIES IN DEVELOPMENT

AN AMERICAN STROLL: Here is the complete peculiar cast for a story taking place in a small and forgotten village in Arizona: Tobey Maguire, Paul Giamatti, Kate Winslet, Winona Ryder, Michelle Pfeiffer, Chris Rock, Tommy Lee Jones and Sylvester Stallone. Ang Lee directs this James Bradley’s story about lost souls without a destiny.

CELL MATES: An ex-convict, a strange boss, a SWAT team, a marijuana plantation and a wounded girl are the exotic elements of this comedy directed bu Joel and Ethan Cohen with Johnny Depp, Jack Nicholson, Winona Ryder, Woody Harrelson and Elle Fanning in it.

POWERHOUSE: A complete redefinition of this story. Now, it’s not taking place in the US but in the UK. Robert Redford is not longing directing it, but Gus Van Sant and the cast includes names like Daniel Craig, Daniel Radcliffe, right after shooting the upcoming ‘American Heartland’, Eva Green or Demi Moore, in her first role after starring ‘Red Light’ and making a cameo in Lieutenant USA.

RUMOURS AND GOSSIPS

David Mamet, Marcus Trax and Johnny Depp are confirmed as a winning team after the great box office of ‘Parody Of Arts’. The three of them met in the set of ‘Smoke Signals’ and, since them, they have become a kind of stable society, after reuniting again in ‘No Evil’. It looks like their names will be probably heard in the next GMA ceremony. And it is rumoured that their society has not got to an end as they are planning to keep working together in future projects.

Season 5 is being the most ‘serious’ and ‘adult’ one for CMP. So many dramas have been released during this Season and it seems like action and sci-fi shows have been left a little bit aside. Lot of quality movies have been released and some critics have pointed out that next GMA edition could be the most competitive one as there have been so many award-style movies.

A bunch of talents have been extremely busy this Season. Johnny Depp will soon release his third movie of the Season (‘No Evil’, ‘Parody Of Arts’ and now ‘Cell Mates’). Winona Ryder has shot almost simultaneously ‘An American Stroll’ and ‘Cell Mates’), Daniel Radcliffe has jumped from ‘American Heartland’ to ‘Powerhouse’… and once again Claire Danes has turned almost crazy shooting in a row ‘Three Wooden Crosses’, ‘Dungeons & Dragons: The Shattered Orb’ and ‘Final Thunder’.

As it was feared, the third episode of The Great War Series did not become the major hit the two first episodes were. The reason? Maybe the change of HM’s version, maybe the absence of Colin Farrell, maybe – as some critics pointed out – three movies were too much for the story. Anyway, the saga will be remembered as one of the most beautiful and moving stories ever told in a CMP’s movie.

Paris Hilton's boycott over Hollyweird has come to an end. She threatened a lawsuit, but was denied when no standing evidence showed the character was based on her. "It's all just another pointless story to make sure we don't stop talking about her." director Collins said. "She's really only insulting herself and admitting she has some...issues. By dragging on with it" he continued with a chuckle. Hilton says despite everything, she will still not see the film. "John's character commits adultery. Does that mean every man who cheats on their wife should sue?"

INSIDE CMP

Harry Stark has announced that he won’t be completely resting during his upcoming holidays. Stark is considering new ideas to improve CMP and, specially, these issues. Some novelties might be seen with CMP returns in September.

Finally, some changes will be introduced in the Golden Moon Awards’ voting process. Slight changes anyway. They will be announced in the last issue of the Season.