OCTOBER, 5

SUPERMAN: LAST SON

Action / Superhero
Cast: Henry Cavill, Zooey Deschanel, Ciaran Hinds, Ali Larter, Josh Hutcherson, Richard Dreyfuss, Catherine Deneuve.Cameos by Michael Fassbender, Nicholas Cage.
Director: James Mangold
Screenwriter: Dawson Edwards

Box Office: 180 mill.
Net Gains: 179 mill.

Stark’s Reaction:
Great! Edwards confirms again his skill making superheroes movies work in box office (…and probably the mega marketing campaign made by the Studio has helped too). I just love how this Season keeps going on!

BASED ON REAL LIFE

Comedy
Cast: Topher Grace, Olivia Thirlby, Zachary Levi, Jay Baruchel. Cameos by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Trent Nielsen, Chad Taylor.
Director: Marc Webb
Screenwriter: Trent Nielsen

Box Office: 49 mill.
Net Gains: 33 mill.

Stark’s Reaction:
Comfortable numbers for this comedy. It wasn’t an expensive production at all so it has been a wonderful business for the Studio.

TOONS

Action / Animation
Cast of Voices: megan Fox, Matt Dillon, Ian McShane, Masasa Moyo, Vince Vaughn, Robert Forster, Mickey Rourke.
Director: Ralph Bakshi
Screenwriter: Matt Kubrick

Box Office: 27 mill.
Net Losses: 13 mill.

Stark’s Reaction:
Ok, here is the first flop of the Season. ‘R’ releases are always hard to save from net losses. I just hope that if Kubrick finally creates Midnight Movies Animation its productions get to work better than this.


SUPERMAN: LAST SON

‘When you have a character like Superman (not ‘A’ superhero but ‘The’ superhero) and a specialist in superheroes movies like Dawson Edwards (who knew how to explode the ‘private life’ side of the hero in ‘The Flash: Blitz’ and the needed epic elements in ‘Wonder Woman: The Hiketeia’), the level of demand necessarily has to be risen. And this movie did not meet the expectations. There are too many things missing in this movie. It is just a chain of spectacular action sequences (no complaint about Mangold’s directional skill here) pasted with an extremely weak plotline (Edwards’ fault here). Superman spends 99% of the movie being Superman (so his interesting alter ego, Clark Kent, is hardly seen on screen, the same way that there is a complete lack of the usual sense of humor in Superman’s movies linked to his Clark’s personality). There’s no interaction either between the characters (surprisingly, Superman and Lois Lane can only be seen together in the movie for a few minutes and same could be said about Superman and his parents). The movie focuses almost exclusively in the superhero routine of the character but absolutely ignores an essential part of him as it is his private life and relationships, the Clark Kent side of him. (By the way, it was really needed that poor cameo by Cage?).’
-Jackie O’Callaghan

‘Not as boring as Singer’s ‘Superman Returns’. Not as remarkable as the original Richard Donner’s ‘Superman’ (the movie that established the golden rules of the superheroes movies genre respectfully followed since then by all its successors). Henry Cavill is much more believable and solid as Clark Kent than Brandon Rough but he does not adapt to the character as naturally as the unforgettable Christopher Reeves. Zooey Deschanel looks extremely similar to the young Margot Kidder of Donner’s movie but, in my opinion, her talent is wasted in the movie. So, in conclusion, we have a correct big screen adaptation of the iconic superhero – only partially independent from the previous movies – but also another missed chance of making the big Superman movie of our days.’
-Chris Burgess

‘Sometimes, there is a problem with top budget movies. The Studio authorizes such a high budget that the director feels obliged to show on screen the reason why the movie has been so expensive. And, at the end, the spectacular special effects eat it all. That’s what happens with this new ‘Superman’ movie. Mangold justifies each and every cent spent in the production. But, at the end, the movie is more than nothing a succession of visually astonishing sequences with nothing else underneath the visual show. Mangold has worried so much on being spectacular that he has forgotten that it is needed more than digital effects and flashy action to put up a quality movie.’
-Roy Winslow

BASED ON REAL LIFE

‘’Based On Real Life’ is what ‘Lyin’ Wish’ tried to be some Seasons ago: a funny story about a rogue wannabe in Hollywood. The movie is a pleasant story that never steps into moving sands and the vision of movie industry is made avoiding any bitter or dark approach to it. In that sense, the movie may be a bit too condescending. That – and being also too predictable looking for the inevitable happy ending – makes the movie a too soft product, a too light comedy, only suitable for that kind of audiences that do not want to get into any kind of trouble when watching a movie.’
-Vic Carter

‘He still may need to gain some screen presence, but Topher Grace could easily become one of top comedians not only in CMP but in Hollywood in general. He is perfect for these characters of ‘nice-guy-with-a-naughty-touch’. He resists the challenge of starring a movie and being on screen all its length with dignity. And that makes me think that – if he is offered the right roles – he can still grow up a lot as comedian. Same could be said about a young actor playing a too minor role here: Jay Baruchel. After watching ‘The Sorcerer’s Apprentice’ and his work in this movie, I have the feeling that he could become a new Zach Braff if he plays his cards with intelligence.’
-Amy Ratched

‘Trent Nielsen proves again with this movie how comfortable he feels dealing with comedies. ‘Based On Real Life’ is far better than the awful ‘Faded’ but it does not reach the solid intelligence of ‘Sunshine On Lonely Street’ (in my opinion, his best screenplay so far). In the same sense, Marc Webb does not reach here the brilliant irony reached with ‘(500) Days Of Summer’ (and also with the wonderful CMP’s ‘The Bus’), although he also manages well directing comedic situations. But still the movie can be ok if you are looking for a well built comedy without too many pretentions.’
-Lilly Stevens

TOONS

‘Are audiences interested in a porn animated feature starred by cats? I wonder if anybody at CMP made himself that question before greenlightning ‘Toons’. Making a ‘R’ rated animation movie could make CMP look like a very experimental and daring Studio. But it was an obvious suicide in terms of box office. Besides some freaks of adult animation, it was really difficult to find an audience wide enough to save this movie from a predictable box office’s disaster. After all, if you get hot watching sexy animated cats, you might better go to the doctor than to the movies.’
-Charlie Kiggs

‘It is needed more than Megan Fox with a horny tone to save a risky production like this. I will not deny that Bakshi is a very talented author of adult comics. But his work fits better on paper than on screen, something already happened with ‘Cool World’ more than twenty years ago. ‘Toons’ mixes the clichés of action-movies-with-mobsters with very explicit sex scenes and the formula just doesn’t work. I can respect it as a good attempt to make something different than the usual Pixar or Dreamworks product. But I am afraid that this movie is condemned to become a rarity forgotten in the shelves of any video store waiting for any studious of animation.’
-Tim Reeve

‘I am not particularly conservative. But I must say I was pretty embarrassed with some things I saw on screen. Bakshi has always liked to be provocative as an artist but, when things just don’t work, provocative sequences can easily fall into ridiculous ones. Some sequences of ‘Toons’ pretend to be shocking and they end up being just absurd. So, honestly, call me childish, but if I have to see cats on screen I would rather watch ‘Karate Kat’ than this awful ‘Toons’.’
-Anne Roman


SUPERMAN: LAST SON

OPENING STATEMENT: Here we go, another Superman movie. What have they done this time that they haven't done in the other thirty five versions? Well, this time you get it done by a better director who has used some beautiful shots like many of the wide-angles to make this a much more artistic film. You have different actors who can actually be believable characters and it's nice to see someone other than Lex Luther as the villain.

WHAT I LIKE: Like stated, definitely the cinematography is up there as a thing to look out for. I like we got to spend just a little more time on Krypton, as I felt we really didn't get a dramatic feel from previous versions which included Superman's origins that would blow Krypton up five minutes into the movie.

WHAT I DISLIKE: I guess it can be tiring to see the story of Superman retold.

SHINING STAR/DEAD WEIGHT: Cavill, Hines, Fassbender were fantastic in the roles, definitely the shining stars. The rest of the cast had a few roles that didn't really stand out: including Zooey who was just so-so as Lois.

THE BRAINS BEHIND: Dawson made a great conscious choice of getting Mangold as his director. If it's one thing he did well was work the cinematography and art direction. Dawson has also written here one of his best superhero films.

OVERALL: B+

BASED ON REAL LIFE

OPENING STATEMENT: Trent has really impressed me here with this great comedy of what not to do when writing screenplays(in the movie that is). Destroying relationships and pissing everyone off just to create drama in your life: Sounds tempting, but shouldn't be done. It was also creative that the characters were named after beers. Thumbs up for this clever silly comedy!

WHAT I LIKE: I thought it was a clever comedy, albeit not clever in terms of James Bradley comedies, but more clever than say...the butt of CMP comedy films: Lying Wish.

WHAT I DISLIKE: I think it was too short and the ending was a little too abrupt.

SHINING STAR/DEAD WEIGHT: The problem with these types of films with the cast is they tend to play themselves or play the same kind of character. Nobody really stands out more than another because they're all about the same. They were still funny anyway.

THE BRAINS BEHIND: You can love the movie or hate it, but Trent did pull off a good little comedy that can be enjoyed by those looking for a funny time out at the movies. It may not be remembered in a few seasons in CMP, but it's not horrible.

OVERALL: B-

TOONS

OPENING STATEMENTS: Remember parents, this is an R rated cartoon. Kubrick has done some creative things in his CMP career, but personally this is down there with Reform School Girls. It's as if he wanted a cartoon version of Team America without the puppets and substantial plot. It wanted to be serious with the crime/mafia stuff ala Roger Rabbit, but just couldn't cut the mustard.

WHAT I LIKED: It was a creative attempt that can be done again.

WHAT I DISLIKED: It just doesn't need all the extremities. You can tell a good adult-R-rated animated film without all the porn and sex things. Just look at films like Persepolis.

SHINING STAR/DEAD WEIGHT: Nobody really stands out in the film as going above and beyond.

THE BRAINS BEHIND: Matt Kubrick can do so much better with a film like this. Making adult cartoons is a good idea, just don't have to go over the top with it.

OVERALL: D-

MR. THUMBS' CERTIFIED MUST SEE OF THE WEEK:

SUPERMAN: LAST SON