FEBRUARY, 5

MOVIES RELEASED

1-THE CAVES OF STEEL

Sci-Fi / Thriller
Cast: Bruce Willis, Paul Bettany, Ray Liotta, Laura Linney, Salma Hayek, William Hurt
Director: Danny Boyle
Screenwriter: Steve Connors

Box Office: 83 mill.
Net Gains: 68 mill.

Stark’s Reaction: It could have done better. But I like this movie and feel so proud of it, so I’ll keep my mind open for a possible sequel in the future. (By the way, outstanding DVD sales...)

2-MCMILLAN AND WIFE: MURDER BY GAME

Action / Comedy
Cast: Harrison Ford, Rene Russo, Billy Bob Thornton, Kathy Bates, Ashton Kutcher
Director and Producer: Ron Howard
Screenwriter: Bill Cougan

Box Office: 64 mill.
Net Gains: 50 mill.

Stark’s Reaction: Well, It didn’t make it as well as the original movie. I can’t avoid enjoying these old fashioned action movies, but audiences were not interested enough in repeating the experience. Just satisfactory.

3-BLOOD BEACH

Horror / Teen Scream
Cast: Misha Barton, Emile Hirsh, Michelle Trachtenberg, Matt O’Leary, Ellen Page, Nikki Reed, Lou Taylor Pucci
Director: Eli Roth
Screenwriter: Matt Kubrick

Box Office: 12 mill.
Net Loss: 11 mill.

Stark’s Reaction: I conceived this production as a nice chance to make their debut in CMP for a young group of talents. Box office breakdown has been disappointing but I hope it will only be the beginning for some of the young stars involved in it.

THE CRITICS CORNER

1-THE CAVES OF STEEL

“The formula: ‘I, Robot’ x ‘Blade Runner’. The movie is extremely debtor of both movies. Baley – Willis’ character – is a twin reproduction of the tormented and cool character played by Harrison Ford in Ridley Scott’s classic, not to mention the dark atmosphere of New York City. And his relationship with robots is so similar to Will Smith’s. So the feeling of déjà vu becomes too extreme. An entertaining movie that leaves you with a question: haven’t I seen this before? And an obvious answer: yes.”
-Bob Felton

“I must confess I’m a Paul Bettany’s fan. I loved him as the villain of the Hitman’s movies as much as the brave soldier of ‘Dive In The Sun’. But, without doubt, he has made his best work for CMP in this one. His composition of the human-looking android is the best of this movie. Willis and Bettany build up a buddies relationship that goes beyond the ‘Lethal Weapon's buddies style’ and watching them interact becomes the biggest appeal of a movie that does not offer as much as it promised.”
-Anne Roman

“CMP announced that they wanted to make ‘an adult sci-fi movie’ here. And Danny Boyle publicly said that he wanted to stay away from directing just a flashy action story. How to do that? Imposing a background of philosophical reflections and likely transcendental dialogues to what simply is a whodunit futuristic thriller. And at the end, all that philosophy about the future of mankind and the pretentious comments made both by Willis and Bettany’s characters become a dead weight for the action and the story’s pace. The effort to dress the storyline with a moral and to make it look ‘deep’ is as evident as annoying’
-Chris Merlon

2-MCMILLAN & WIFE: MURDER BY GAME

“Although the movie was defined by CMP as an action / comedy, the same as the first one, this time Ron Howard – director of both episodes – has forgotten about the comedy side. Probably, the only originality in McMillan’s adventures was – both in the old tv show and in the original CMP’s movie – the sense of humour in the way the starring couple faced every situation. Without it, this sequel just becomes a regular serial killer thriller without any difference from many others. Ford and Russo escape from various dangerous situations, investigate and capture the criminal, but they don’t interact as much as they did in the first movie so the chemistry between them is wasted here and that affects the whole show. Comedy is left now to Kathy Bates and Ashton Kutcher and that’s not enough’.
-Charlie Kiggs

“A standard action movie. Ron Howard does not take any risk here. He does not know what to add to the previous McMillan’s movie so he just resigns himself to shoot a mainstream action thriller full of the clichés of the genre. The sequel does not add anything to any episode from the original tv series. Dispensable”.
-Greg Norman

“A routine production from CMP. This kind of movies has a loyal audience. Probably, the Studio could make five or six more McMillan’s episodes and they would all become profitable. But, besides a decent box office breakdown, the question is: what for?”
-Vic Carter

3-BLOOD BEACH

“When I see movies like ‘London Underground’ or ‘Blood Beach’ I wonder if Matt Kubrick loves the horror genre or just enjoys laughing at it. This movie looks more like a parody of the teen scream genre – a scary-movie-version of it could be easily made – than a serious approach to horror. It deliberately steps into each and every cliché of this genre and, at the end, you can’t take it seriously. In fact, I wonder if Kubrick and Roth were taking it too seriously when making it or they just wanted to laugh at as”.
-Jackie Williams

“Should Mischa Barton have an acting career? Did Ellen Page deserve to make her debut in CMP in a movie like this? Is there any reason to pay a ticket for this? Do I hate my boss for sending me to review this release? I’ll give you freedom to search for the answers to these questions.”
-Tom Holmes

“Probably, nobody will understand this kitsch masterpiece. Come on, leave all your prejudices at home. Just go to the theatres and enjoy flesh and blood! It’s so easy to destroy this movie. But the really intelligent thing is to join the party and have fun with the latest and wildest horror fantasy coming from Mr.Kubrick”.
-Tim Reeve