FEBRUARY, 17


NICK FURY

Action
Cast: Kurt Russell, Michelle Rodriguez, Josh Brolin, Eva Longoria, Christopher Plummer
Director: Jonathan Mostow
Screenwriter: Matt Kubrick


Box Office: 123 mill.
Net Gains: 91 mill.

Stark’s Reaction: …and another ‘100’ for this amazing Season!

UGLY

Drama / Self-Esteem
Cast: Brad Pitt, Robin Williams, Marisa Tomei, Joaquin Phoenix, Spencer Breslin, Amy Adams
Director: Ron Howard
Screenwriter: Joey Stark


Box Office: 90 mill.
Net Gains: 79 mill.

Stark’s Reaction: Outstanding box office! I think this is one of the best box office for a drama ever. A production to feel proud of for CMP.

AFTER THE STORM

Drama
Cast: Kevin Bacon, Kyra Sedwick, Jena Malone, Ryan Gosling, Brittany Murphy, Josh Hutcherson, Tim Robbins, Allison Collins
Director and Screenwriter: Josh Collins
Producer: Grand Island Movies

Box Office: 21 mill.
Net Losses: 10 mill.

Stark’s Reaction: I wasn’t too confident about this one, but box office has been worst than expected. Not a disaster but an uncomfortable flop.


NICK FURY

‘Put a patch in Kurt Russell’s eye and you’ll have a good action movie… Jokes aside, here is a nice action show with no more ambitions than providing a hundred minutes of entertainment. For this spin off, Mostow has designed a movie less pretentious than The Avengers movies, as if he was very much conscious from the beginning that he was just making a spin off not trying to compete with the main products of the Marvel’s superheroes saga. But it works. ‘Nick Fury’ does not pretend to make history in the superhero genre but to be enjoyable enough. An intelligent way of approaching to this big but minor, minor but big production.’
-Vic Carter

‘Russell may be getting a bit too old to play certain characters but still looks believable enough as this patch-eyed Nick Fury jumping from one place to another as a youngster. My complaints go for some other cast choices in the movie. Honestly, I never got to believe Eva Longoria in her character. In fact, it took me out of the story every time she appeared on screen. She just didn’t fit. And also Michelle Rodriguez - a young star that deserves a better option to shine in CMP than this or the horrendous ‘Reform School Girls’ - didn’t look completely adapted to her role as ‘the sexy action girl that helps the hero’. Besides these miscasts, ‘Nick Fury’ is a correct action show entertaining enough.’
-Jackie O’Callaghan

‘It is not completely right to describe this movie as a ‘superhero movie’. At some moments, it brought to my mind the good old Bond / Connery’s movies. Kubrick and Mostow have humanized Fury – the same way Stark did a bit with Silver Sable – to present him more as an action hero than as a superhero. Maybe the movie has a bit irregular pace but it also shows some action set pieces that individually considered make the function worth to watch. Get your popcorns and your soda and enjoy it without more considerations.’
-Alex Stampton

UGLY

‘A perfectly designed product. The perfect director for the story. An allstars cast. A moving storyline. I bet Joey Stark was thinking how good a GMA figure would look in his library as soon as he started to set up this project. ‘Ugly’ works at all levels the way is meant to be. The story touches your heart without cheap sentimentalism, all the acting works are A-class, the screenplay has enough plot and subplots to maintain the viewers interest and Howard makes an efficient directional job dosing the tears, the smiles and even a couple of laughs to make us feel more than satisfied at the end of the show. The Stark brothers know very well this business by now and they know how to build a perfectly calculated product to combine quality and entertainment in a profitable way.’
-Charlie Kiggs

‘It’s Brad Pitt’s show. But not only. Yes, Brad Pitt offers here a mastery acting work proving again that he is very much more than a handsome movie star. And the whole movie is designed to move around him. But the wonderful work of Robin Williams – although playing once again the ‘nice man’ we’ve seen him playing before – and the efficient work of Marisa Tomei and Joaquin Phoenix upgrade the movie to something more than a ‘one man show’. It is a pleasure to watch this bunch of talents interacting. They turn what could have been a simple sentimental drama about a disfigured victim of war into an emotionally epic story that shows us the best and the worst of human nature.’
-Anne Roman

‘Ron Howard has taken a story that could have very well been an ‘easy-tear’ drama for weak souls into a solid adult drama about friendship, love, family relationships and surmounting adversities. With the help of a wonderful cast, Howard makes look as new what it is not. In fact, Joey Stark has offered us another story with so many similarities. ‘September’s Gone’, directed and starred by Tom Hanks, told the story of a survivor of the September 11th attacks changing the city for the country life and some of the characters there had the same spirit and influence in the main role attitude than the ones here: Nicholson / Williams, Hunt / Tomei and even Fanning / Breslin… But, after all, there’s nothing new under the sun and ‘Ugly’ shines as a perfectly manufactured product to satisfy both audiences and critics… and pick up some awards on the way.’
-Amy Ratched.

AFTER THE STORM

‘Too hard. That sums up this movie. Who wants to go to a movie theatre to watch how a family loses four of its members in a car accident? Josh Collins likes to take dramatic situations to extremes. But maybe this time he’s gone too far. Just as the car accident takes place and you know four of the siblings didn’t make it, you know you are going to watch a too painful story, too hard to stand. Audiences can accept a certain dose of suffering in a drama – after all, that’s what dramas are about -, but the premise of this movie is so devastating that you just feel you have to disconnect to protect yourself from so much pain. Nobody wants to pay a ticket for a session of emotional torture. And that’s exactly what this movie – leaving aside its cinematic virtues – is.’
-Lilly Stevens

‘Collins has returned to the concepts he mixed in another of his directional jobs, the brilliant ‘Blink’. Again, a family is shocked by a tragic event – the raping and murdering of a young girl there, a terrible car accident here -, the mother becomes incapable of facing the loss, the father tries to find some answers… But what worked as a solid and tough drama in ‘Blink’ does not completely work here. ‘Blink’ was an engrossing study of the consequences for a family and a community of such a tragic event. ‘After The Storm’ is only an emotional bomb looking more for tears and frustrated anger than for reflection. ‘Blink’ made us all reflect about the dangers for our kids in this violent society we live in. But ‘After The Storm’ only reminds us how disarmed we all are against random fatality.’
-Roy Winslow

‘The storyline of this movie might have worked for a tv movie but it just does not fit completely to the big screen. I was more impressed by the wonderful work of Ryan Gosling and Brittany Murphy – probably the most interesting element of the movie – than for the family drama. Bacon and Sedgwick do their best to print intensity to their roles but I think that being a real life couple was more a disadvantage than an advantage as I didn’t completely get to believe them in their roles. Jena Malone does not shine at the height she did in ‘Lyra’ but still proves her dramatic potential. And I have to congratulate Mr. Collins for having such a cute and talented daughter.’
-Tim Reeve


I'm surprised Matt Kubrick didn't write that Friday the 13th remake, set to also be released in U.S. theaters on...you guessed it, Friday the 13th! Instead, Matt has sent us his other area of expertise, comic book adaptation with a Nick Fury origin as the subject. Also this week, Brad Pitt's gone from being Dirty Rotten to plain Ugly. Lastly, a fatal car accident alters the lives of a large family and a couple responsible for the crash in the tragedy titled After the Storm.

NICK FURY

I have been happy with this season's comic book adaptations. There were very few and the ones that were in this season failed to disappoint me, same goes for the origin retelling of Nick Fury. Kurt Russell embodies the hero perfectly but when I see him in that eye patch I still think of Snake from the 'Escape From' films. All in all it set out what it wanted to do, entertain and give a great action show. It's nice to see Kurt go back to said genre.
ACTING: 8/10 the cast fit their roles well enough!
DIRECTING: 4/10 I still haven't forgiven Mostow for the mess he made of the Terminator franchise.
WRITING: 7/10
CONCEPT/PLOT: 6/10 Character not originally conceived out of a CMP writer's mind = lower score.
REWATCH VALUE: 9/10
FINAL NOTES: Very nice to see a Marvel character not usually explored, and it's even better when it can work with the right actor to portray the hero and a decently written script. In both cases, it worked just enough for you to want to pay to see the film.
OVERALL: 7.5/10

UGLY

Brad Pitt proves yet again he's not just a lucky heartthrob and that he actually has talent and deserves his successes. Here is a well made film that shows us just how decent people can be towards those who don't look like the rest of us on the outside(that was sarcasm) even though they may have a heart of gold on the inside. But particular standout performances also go to Robin Williams who shows us he still has some fight left in him and Marissa Tomei and Jaoquin Phoenix did great, even Spencer Breslin showed off a talent we've never seen him with..ever. All in all, an excellent drama with a huge heart.
ACTING: 10/10 not a weak link in any of the stars.
DIRECTING: 10/10 Ron Howard pulls off a kind of film he enjoys doing and he did it brilliantly
WRITING: 10/10 Coming just out of 'Funeral Drum' Stark has written another great story of finding oneself and overcoming a harsh world that perceives Pitt's character as a monster, even if he has a lot of goodness inside him.
CONCEPT/PLOT: 9.5/10
REWATCH VALUE: 8/10
FINAL NOTES: A timeless classic, a masterpiece!
OVERALL: 10/10

AFTER THE STORM

Very haunting. Like Blink, our other fear of something happening to our children that we can't always control is brought to our attention. Josh Collins tugs at our heartstrings yet again and this time I found myself in love with the acting work of Jena Malone whom in her second CMP film has shown a huge amount of range. Ryan Gosling also continues to impress. I wasn't too much into the ending though but overall I didn't have much to complain about.
ACTING/CAST: 8/10
DIRECTION: 9/10 Collins adds his trademark and dramatic style he wouldn't trust other directors to do with this film.
WRITING: 7/10 Some of the characters were good, but some I felt were just a bit underdeveloped and I wasn't fond of the ending.
PLOT/CONCEPT: 9/10 Gotta hand it to Josh for not being afraid to step into territories not many want to think about.
REWATCH VALUE: 4/10 Too sad to see more than once.
FINAL NOTES: When award season comes around you want to see these kinds of films to figure out what the appeal is to garner award buzz. The acting on Jena and Ryan's parts were superb(even Josh Hutcherson played a great brain damaged kid) and Kevin was also gold! Best pic of the season? One of them, but not THE best.
OVERALL: 8.5/10

MR. THUMBS' CERTIFIED PICK OF THE WEEK:
UGLY

SEASON 9 – THE FINAL REPORT

(Brackets: Same data from Season 8)

MOVIES RELEASED: 30 (30)
SEQUELS RELEASED: 4 (8)
ORIGINAL CONCEPTS: 17
ADAPTATIONS: 13

MOVIES WITH NET GAINS: 25 (22)
MOVIES WITH NET LOSSES: 5 (8)

NET GAINS TOTAL: 2375 (1744)
NET LOSS TOTAL: 42 (89.5)
FINAL BALANCE: 2333 (1654.5)

MOVIES WITH BOX OFFICE SUPERIOR TO 200 MILL.: 2 (1)
-The Dark Tower: The Drawing Of The Three (Sam Raimi / Matt Kubrick)
-The Land Of Nod (Peter Jackson / Marcus Trax)

MOVIES WITH BOX OFFICE SUPERIOR TO 100 MILL.: 9 (5)
-Bird Of A Feather (Chris Columbus / Josh Collins)
-Drawing Dead (Quentin Tarantino / David Makalaster)
-Silver Sable (Bryan Singer / Joey Stark)
-The Flash (Antoine Fuqua / Dawson Edwards)
-Magic: The Gathering – Sinister Black (Michael Campbell / David Makalaster)
-Sherlock Holmes (Tim Burton / Matt Kubrick)
-The Fantastic Mansion (Alfonso Cuaron / Josh Collins)
-Tales Of The Unexpected (Allen, Tyler, Aronofsky / Ben Tyler)
-Nick Fury (Jonathan Mostow / Matt Kubrick)

TOP 1 NET GAINS: TDT: THE DRAWING OF THE THREE - 349 mill.
TOP 1 NET LOSSES: METAL GEAR SOLID – 21 mill.

SCREENWRITERS ACTIVITY
(Number of movies released / Best box office)

-JOSH COLLINS: 8 (The Fantastic Mansion)
-MATT KUBRICK: 7 (The Dark Tower: The Drawing Of The Three)
-RICHARD FRANZWA: 3 (Bond Scum)
-JAMES BRADLEY: 2 (Flashman’s Travels)
-STEVE CONNORS: 2 (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels)
-JOEY STARK: 2 (Silver Sable)
-DAVID MAKALASTER: 2 (Magic: The Gathering – Sinister Black)
-DAWSON EDWARDS: 2 (The Flash)
-BEN TYLER: 1 (Tales Of The Unexpected)
-MARCUS TRAX: 1 (The Land Of Nod)

SOME CONCLUSIONS
By Harry Stark

Any way you look at it, we finish now the best CMP’s Season ever. And I’m not talking only about money and profits here. CMP is more alive than ever. Quality of the movies keeps growing: if you look back at some of our oldest movies, they would never be greenlighted compared to the ones we produce now. Screenwriters are more involved in the Studio’s life than ever. This Season, we had 10 screenwriters, but I can announce we will have 11 next Season, including the awaited return of John Daws. CMP is a lot of work but you bet is also a lot of fun!

For the good:
-Amazing profits. Final net gains of 2333 millions beat by far the best CMP’s Season until now. It was Season 7 with a number around 1700 mill.
-Two movies from this Season enter into the alltimes top 6 best releases: ‘The Dark Tower: The Drawing Of The Three’ and ‘The Land Of Nod’.
-The Dark Tower movie is also the alltimes top 1 movie in terms of net gains, even superiors to ‘The Ice Princess’.
-It is also the Season with a highest number of ‘100 millions’ movies ever.
-The good thing is that this Season all kind of genres have succeeded at box office. We made great box offices not only with action or sci-fi but also with drama, comedy or suspense.
-And there have been very innovative experiences, from the experimental ‘Things I Forgot To Tell You’ to the three episodes movies ‘Bedtime Stories’ and ‘Tales Of The Unexpected’
…a lot of new and good things this Season!

For the bad:
-Not much really. ‘Metal Gear Solid’ was an unexpected and painful flop also mistreated by critics. But I can’t think of other disappointments that may deserve to be highlighted here.

SEASON 9 - BOX OFFICE TOP 6

1.THE DARK TOWER: THE DRAWING OF THE THREE: 285 mill.
2.THE LAND OF NOD: 243 mill.
3.SHERLOCK HOLMES: 190 mill.
4.MAGIC: THE GATHERING – SINISTER BLACK: 179 mill.
5.THE FANTASTIC MANSION: 166 mill.
6.SILVER SABLE: 130 mill.
SEASON 9 - NET GAINS TOP 6

1.THE DARK TOWER: THE DRAWING OF THE THREE: 349 mill.
2.THE FANTASTIC MANSION: 282 mill.
3.MAGIC: THE GATHERING – SINISTER BLACK: 209 mill.
4.THE LAND OF NOD: 191 mill.
5.SHERLOCK HOLMES: 179 mill.
6.BIRD OF A FEATHER: 167 mill.

THE ALLTIMES WORLWIDE GROSS TOP 6

(Box Office / Net Gains)

1.THE ICE PRINCESS - 316 / 320
2.THE DARK TOWER: THE DRAWING OF THE THREE - 285 / 349
3.GAME BOY: WARLANDS - 265 / 206
4.THE LAND OF NOD - 243 / 191
5.STAR WARS: NEW ORDER – 229 / 250
6.GAME BOY – 211 / 242