MAY, 18


JUSTICE LEAGUE: CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS

Action / Superhero
Cast: Christian Bale, Henry Cavill, Cobie Smulders, Ryan Reynolds, Joshua Jackson, Mark Strong, Paul Bettany, Paul Walker, Rafi Gavron, Michael Caine
Director: Christopher Nolan
Producer: Silver Lining Entertainment
Screenwriter: Chad Taylor

Box Office: 246 mill.
Net Gains: 233 mill.

Stark’s Reaction:
Ok, ‘JL3’ has not become a record-breaker like ‘JL2’. It does not join the alltimes top lists. But these are wonderful numbers. It is the best release of the Season so far and it confirms ‘Justice League’ as one of the most profitable and successful CMP’s franchises ever. Excellent.

SHORT ON TIME

Suspense Thriller
Cast: Johnny Depp, Melissa George, Barry Pepper, Kyle Chandler, Kathryn Morris, Emily Deschanel, Idris Elba, Joe Anderson, Jessica Chastain
Director: John Dahl
Screenwriter: D.R. Cobb

Box Office: 36 mill.
Net Gains: 0.9 mill.

Stark’s Reaction:
Saved from the flop by only a few thousand dollars… Again, for some unknown reason, it is very difficult to make thrillers work in CMP’s world.

RESTRAINT

Thriller
Cast: Cameron Bright, Josh Hutcherson, Jenna Boyd, Bailee Madison
Director: Neil Jordan
Producer: Grand Island Movies
Screenwriter: Josh Collins

Box Office: 15 mill.
Net Gains: 5 mill.

Stark’s Reaction:
You may be wondering how is it possible that a movie making only 15 millions in box office can make net gains of 5 millions. Easy. First, because this was an extremely cheap movie to produce so production costs were really low. And second, because it has worked pretty nicely at the DVD market. So the paradox is that ‘Restraint’ has made half the box office of ‘Short On Time’ but it has made five times its net gains. Audience will have the feeling that ‘Short On Time’ has worked better but ‘Restraint’ has been a more worthy production for the Studio. Anyway, we have saved a very difficult week.


JUSTICE LEAGUE: CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS

‘This ‘JL3’ had a most difficult mission: to overcome the excellent ‘Justice League 2’. Almost a mission impossible. ‘Justice League 2’ is probably – together with ‘The Avengers 4: Civil War’ and ‘The Flash: Blitz’ – one of the best superheroes movies ever released by CMP. To achieve that mission, Taylor and Nolan have bet for a sophisticated and complex plot, mixing superheroes clichés with sci-fi elements, and spectacular sequences like that 20 minutes battle. The result is an epic film brilliantly made but less innovative and entertaining that ‘JL2’. That long battle sequence is too similar to the one in ‘JL2’ and the complex plot falls at some moments in some confusion that lowers the interest of it. Still, this ‘JL3’ is an ambitious show that will not disappoint fans of comics.’
-Roy Winslow

‘Paul Bettany is one of those actors that automatically upgrades any movie he is in. His incorporation to this saga undoubtedly is one of the main appeals of this new installment. The only pity of it is that Bettany shines so much that he overshadows the other great villain of the show, Mark Strong, who is a bit relegated to the background this time. Also, Taylor establishes again a nice link between his superheroes movies and Dawson Edwards’ recovering Aquaman, another good finding of the movie. On the bad side, it feels a bit strange watching the powerful Batman talking about cancer and I am not completely sure if a future with Rafi Gavron replacing Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne is a future that will please the fans of the character.’
-Vic Carter

‘Whether this is the end of the ‘Justice League’ franchise or not, there’s no doubt that Taylor’s trilogy can be considered as a landmark in the superheroes movies genre. Taylor has worked hard to offer something more than the pattern of the genre: the superhero fighting a villain who wants to rule the world. This trilogy gets closer to the fantasy genre showing those alternative worlds and out of Earth scenarios and it enriches the genre adding to it more elaborated sci-fi concepts. Besides that, the great box office made by the three movies also turn ‘Justice League’ in one of the most profitable franchises developed by CMP. So both in creative and economic terms, these movies have won a deserved prominent place in the Studio’s History’.
-Charlie Kiggs

SHORT ON TIME

‘’Short On Time’ is a very mainstream thriller as effective as routine. Hollywood has made hundreds of movies like this. It’s entertaining. It has a correct dose of suspense. It keeps a regular pace during its whole length. It has surprises enough in the plot. And at the end it is as enjoyable as forgettable. Not every movie production must pretend to change the History of Cinema. ‘Short On Time’ definitely won’t. But it will provide you an entertaining enough time at the theatres and that’s reason enough to save this film from any destructive review.’
-Anne Roman

‘We are so used to see Johnny Depp playing the most eccentric and exotic characters that it feels strange when he accepts to play a more standard one. When watching him in movies like ‘The Tourist’ or this ‘Short On Time’, it is as if you are expecting him to show his Jack Sparrow or Mad Hatter routine at any moment. Watching him playing a normal guy is like if you are missing something. But, anyway, it is his presence in the movie what saves it. It is a shame that the rest of the cast is not its height in terms of screen presence. I had the feeling Depp was fighting by himself not only in the plot of the movie but also to save the production from sinking.’
-Jackie O’Callaghan

‘This movie is based on a pretty peculiar premise: you know almost from the very first moment that the lead character is going to die. This is not a completely original concept but it has strength enough to keep you intrigued. The big doubt you have while watching the movie is: will the makers of it resist the pressure of Hollywood’s golden rules or will they surrender and save him at the very last minute? Well, Cobb and Dahl have stayed firm in their approach and outcome of the story. And that is probably the most – the only? – surprising thing in it. Besides that, there is nothing more in ‘Short On Time’ you have not seen before in many other thrillers.’
-Tim Reeve

RESTRAINT

‘There is a subgenre in Hollywood that can be defined as ‘sick relationships movies’. We have seen movies about all kind of them: lovers (‘Fatal Attraction’, probably the best film of that subgenre); brothers (‘The Good Son’, with Macaulay Culkin and Elijah Wood); married couple (‘The War Of The Roses’); mother-in-law and daughter-in-law (I don’t remember now the title of a film with Jessica Lange and Gwyneth Poltrow); boss and employee (‘Disclosure’) and probably any other imaginable. ‘Restraint’ joins that genre with the sick relationship between two teen friends. And, more or less, it respects the rules of the subgenre. Maybe, it keeps the story at a bit too light level (the only crime in it is an attempted rape). But at the end it is another twist of the same premise: be careful with ordinary relationships because they can always hide a risk and turn into a nightmare.’
-Amy Ratched

‘Josh Hutcherson and Cameron Bright confirm themselves as two of the most brilliant talents of their generation with ‘Restraint’. They perfectly carry the weight of this movie with efficiency. As it usually happens with this kind of movies, the villain ends up being more interesting than the good guy. And so, Cameron Bright wins the acting duel – maybe only because he is the villain – showing he knows how to be disturbing and intriguing with just a look. ‘Restraint’ may not have been a box office’s success. But moviemakers should take note of the talent shown by its two main actors for the future.’
-Chris Burgess

‘I have the feeling that CMP has never treated Neil Jordan as he deserves. Jordan is a very talented, experienced and creative director. But CMP has never bet for him as strongly as the Studio bets for directors much less gifted than him. After his interesting debut in the Studio with ‘South East’, the only two other stories offered to him have been the lousy ‘The Hellbowl’ and this weak ‘Restraint’. At least, this time Jordan has endeavored to take the best of the material he had to work with. He has shot the story providing it with the needed suspense, keeping alive the plot until the very last moment and making a good actors’ directional job to make them very much believable in their characters. There is a hint in ‘Restraint’ of what Jordan could do if he is given a good story to film.’
-Mark Anderson

MIDSEASON’S TOP 5

Box Office / Net Gains

1.JUSTICE LEAGUE: CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS: 246 / 233
2.THE UNDERCOVERS: 232 / 198
3.DAUGHTERS OF THE DRAGON 2: 215 / 111
4.ESCAPE FROM HELL: 128 / 63
5.DRAGONLANCE: DRAGONS OF SPRING DAWNING: 97 / 40