JANUARY, 27


SHERLOCK HOLMES

Adventure / Mystery
Cast: Johnny Depp, Heather Graham, Anthony Hopkins, Philip Seymour Hoffman
Director: Tim Burton
Screenwriter: Matt Kubrick


Box Office: 190 mill.
Net Gains: 179 mill.

Stark’s Reaction: Oh, yeah! Unexpected box office blockbuster! The European audiences have particularly responded with enthusiasm to this redefinition of Sherlock Holmes. More than 125 millions in box office only in Europe! It becomes the new 3rd best release of the Season. It is so great when quality and box office go hand in hand.

KILLER ON THE ROAD

Thriller / Crime
Cast: Guy Pearce, Mark Wahlberg, Ryan Reynolds, Chris Cooper, Sigourney Weaver
Director: David Ayer
Screenwriter: Josh Collins
Producer: Mark Wahlberg

Box Office: 26 mill.
Net Losses: 3 mill.

Stark’s Reaction: Ouch! The profitable releases strike ends up with a new record of 16 movies in a row. I just don’t know why the word ‘thriller’ included in the description of the genre of a movie is equal to box office poison in CMP. Once again, a hard time for a thriller. A shame.

THINGS I FORGOT TO TELL YOU

Drama / Comedy
Cast: Kate Winslet, Jodie Foster, Diane Lane, Meg Ryan, Frances McDormand
Director: Steven Soderbergh
Screenwriter: James Bradley


Box Office: 58 mill.
Net Gains: 37 mill.

Stark’s Reaction: The box office breakdown of this movie must be considered more than outstanding. First, this is a production with no special effects, almost no expenses in wardrobe or settings building or soundtrack… in fact, it is the cheapest production ever developed by CMP. Second, it has also been the CMP’s production with the lowest expenses in marketing. And third, it has only been released in 2.500 theatres, also the lowest number ever for a CMP’s movie. And now look at those numbers… A wonderful experience for the Studio.


SHERLOCK HOLMES

‘I think I have discovered why Matt Kubrick has adapted so brilliantly The Avengers comics. Because he is like Hulk. When he gets green, Kubrick produces movies like ‘Silent Night, Deadly Night’, ‘Blood Beach’, ‘Damnation Road’, ‘Reform School Girls’ or the upcoming ‘Sisters’. And then, when the green phase is over, he comes out with movies like ‘Turning Point’, ‘The Ice Princess’, ‘The Dark Tower’, ‘Home’ or this wonderful ‘Sherlock Holmes’. And the good thing about Kubrick is that, like Hulk / Wayne, we like him both ways! ‘Sherlock Holmes’ definitely joins the list of his best works and can be added also to the exclusive group of CMP’s best productions’.
-Jackie O’Callaghan

‘This Holmes created by Kubrick and Burton abandons most of the clichés of the character built around him by the classics creations of actors like Basil Rathbone or Peter Cushing. In fact, this Holmes could be considered closer to the teen version of the character seen in ‘Young Sherlock Holmes’ (improving it). Depp’s Holmes is not just a wise serious guy locked in his Baker Street apartment playing mind games. Depp has humanized the character giving him a more appealing personality: he can even be nice, tender, romantic, show some sense of humour and enjoy a bit of action. And Burton has taken the best of the correct Kubrick’s screenplay. There is all kind of sequences in the film. Burton wisely mixes set pieces of suspense, action, mystery, drama, romance… everything in a brilliant and disturbing recreation of the Victorian times in London, some times visually close to Burton’s ‘Sweeney Todd’. A Movie – with capital letter – to watch if you consider yourself a movies lover.’
-Charlie Kiggs

‘The perfect cast for a great movie. We all know by now that Tim Burton is the man who takes the best of Johnny Depp – with the permission of David Mamet. Once again, Depp makes a superb work not losing control with a risky character like this. Philip Seymour Hoffman gives us another reason to demand as soon as possible a GMA for him. Hopkins could very well win his third GMA for Best Villain with his chilling incarnation of Professor Moriarty. And Heather Graham proves at last she can be a good actress after a few bad experiences in CMP.’
-Alex Stampton

KILLER ON THE ROAD

‘It is obvious that this movie wasn’t oriented to wide audiences. But its box office flop is an undeserved sign of the times we are living in the industry. David Ayer has made a more than brilliant movie. A disturbing – very disturbing – picture of a cold and sick serial killer – masterly played by Guy Pearce, by the way – shot without concessions. Obviously, this is not a movie oriented to the teen audiences that usually fill up movie theatres. But it is a more than interesting movie for adult audiences that deserves much more recognition than box office results show.’
-Vic Carter

‘I don’t know where the future will take him, but Guy Pearce will always be remembered for his work in this movie. Pearce has created a complex character, disgusting and charismatic at the same time, far away from a flat serial killer without shades. His relationships with the rest of the characters – particularly Mark Wahlberg’s but also Chris Cooper’s – and his slavery to violence – intelligently showed by Ayer using more an implied than an explicit style – are so disturbing but also so engrossing. This is not a movie for accommodated viewers. But it is a talented product for those wanting to taste – even if it is a disturbing taste – something different from time to time.’
-Roy Winslow

‘Now that there is a debate going on between original and adapted ideas, this movie shows how a good adaptation should be made. David Ayer’s movie is much better that the novel it is based in – not one of the best Ellroy’s books at all – and upgrades the original story to an epic, even Shakespearean, drama about a tormented man and his uncontrollable thirst for blood. A dark, very dark story about a killer and the mix of repugnance and fascination he can inspire in people – shown by the wonderfully played supporting characters – talented written and brilliantly shot. The movie stands a few steps above the simple serial killer genre to become a picture of a man, a time and a society.’
-Tim Reeve

THINGS I FORGOT TO TELL YOU

‘This is not a movie. I mean, this is not what most of us understand for ‘a movie’. It may be closer to a theatre play. Once said so, it is a most interesting experience. We are witness of how five women open up their heart and their privacy to tell a camera about their dreams, secrets and frustrations. All of them have something different to tell and all of them are capable to wake up in us very different feelings, from laughter to tears. As a viewer, it is like a voyeur experience, as if the five women nude their soul in front of you. You feel empathy for them, you feel sorrow, rejection, understanding… and even a bit guilty watching and knowing so much about them. But the final feeling is so rewarding, as you end up with the feeling of having met five women whose stories deserved to be told and heard’.
-Amy Ratched

‘Don’t make me choose… It is an inevitable temptation to play the game: which one of the five actresses makes a better work? I just can’t choose. James Bradley has proved before he can create great female characters but this time he has overcome himself. Kate Winslet is so moving as the sweet but tough prostitute. Jodie Foster is just perfect as the ironic and cynical Governor. Diane Lane perfectly plays her bittersweet character. Frances McDormand made me burst out laughing. And Meg Ryan shows a dramatic side she has never shown before in a movie screen. It was such a pleasure to watch all this excellent acting works that I won’t fall in the mistake of choosing my favourite.’
-Lily Stevens

‘My applause to CMP for taking the risk of producing this movie. And box office has proved than when a quality product is offered – no matter if it is not a mainstream production and if a huge marketing campaign is not behind it – moviegoers will show their appreciation. This little production has connected with audiences a way not many movies do. Soderbergh – yes, the same director that recently made the poor ‘Night Cab’ – has shown what can be than with just a camera if you have a good screenplay and five talented women. And all the premises of the industry just blow up. Female characters are not as interesting as male ones. Adult stories flop at box office. A movie without action cannot work in our days. Forget about it all. Quality always finds its way and here is this big little movie to prove it. A good lesson not just for CMP but for all Movie Studios.’
-Susan Stanford


Tim Burton and Johnny Depp return for the umpteenth time in a Burton/Depp retelling of the legendary detective. Ryan Reynolds chases a nomadic serial killer and five women share their stories to an unseen video camera operator in what I would call CMP's first experimental film. This week we have three of CMP's most active writers all with over 15-20 features.

SHERLOCK HOLMES

Johnny Depp shows off yet again that you give him a character, he'll create it. Even if they've been created before (Sweeney/Willy Wonka/Icabob Crane, etc) I had no doubt that Burton could bring to us a recreation of 1800s London. The screenwriter credit made me look at least two or three times to see make sure I wasn't dreaming. Despite it being an adaptation, it's definitely up there as one of Matt Kubrick's best movies. I bought the chemistry of Depp and Hoffman and hope to see them work together again. Hopkins great as always doing what he does best, making us hate him. Heather Graham held her own very well against these talented award winning/nominated men. Not a remake so much as a retelling to give this generation their version of Sherlock.
ACTING/CAST: 9/10 Everyone worked off each other very well.
DIRECTING: 9/10 Tim has a knack for honoring classics, not destroying them.
WRITING: 8/10 I'll forgive it being an adaptation of the legend because the film came out great.
PLOT/CONCEPT: 8/10
RE-WATCH VALUE: 8.5/10
FINAL NOTES: Matt Kubrick should be proud of this product. I went into it expecting little and came out wanting to see more.
OVERALL: 9/10

KILLER ON THE ROAD

Ellroy's brought forth very interesting crime novels in his career (L.A. Confidential, Black Dahlia, Dark Blue) but it was Killer on the Road that started them all. A film taking place more in the mind of the killer than the police hunting down their suspect, could very well be CMP's answer to No Country for Old Men (just with the following of the killer's mind) but I wouldn't go extremely far to say it was the best picture of the season. It was still good though and Collins redeems himself from his latest release, and his other book adaptation where he focused on too many stories all at once. David Ayer seems to have tapped into the feel the book had '70s/80s crime' and every once in a while Whalberg can dish out a good performance, but I would say Reynolds(whose come a long way from being just 'a comedy guy' to being a more serious actor) and Pearce were the show stealers.
CAST/ACTING: 8.5/10
DIRECTION: 8/10
WRITING: 8/10 once again I'll forgive the adaptation over originality but the writing certainly made it an intense story.
CONCEPT/PLOT: 7/10
RE-WATCH VALUE: 8/10
FINAL NOTES: I fear it being as forgotten as another good CMP intense crime thriller like Daisy Lane, but best of luck for it to find its audience. Many people actually do enjoy seeing fine cinema over the superhero/fantasy/horror/remake of the week.
OVERALL: 8/10

THINGS I FORGOT TO TELL YOU

No intense action. No thrills, no screams. It's got as much appeal to the mainstream movie crowd as the thought of Rosie O Donnell making a sex-tape. But if you're the one in ten people who go to these films, then this is one not to miss. 5 women, different personalities, backgrounds, stories tell 5 truths about women in the world that caters to men. It was so real but you didn't see these famous actresses as themselves, they still had a lot of character to them. It was the kind of cinema I appreciate as a film major myself.
CAST/ACTING: 9/10
DIRECTION: 8.5/10
WRITING: 9/10
CONCEPT/PLOT: 8.5/10
RE-WATCH VALUE: 8/10, I don't know what most of these movie-goers would do, but I'd buy it on DVD and watch it several times when I'm in the mood to see cinematic gold.
FINAL NOTES: Nothing much left that I can say. These women tell their stories as if we were right there with them to listen. That's what makes it so real and so good.
OVERALL: 8.5/10

MR. THUMBS' CERTIFIED PICK OF THE WEEK
gosh I don't know this week. Usually we have a week where I can easily pick one, but I loved them all so
SEE 'EM ALL