SEPTEMBER, 27


WOMAN OF GOD

Historical
Cast: Cate Blanchett, Liam Neeson, Daniel Craig, Jonathan Pryce, Ian Holm, Jeremy Irons, Tom Wilkinson
Director: Ridley Scott
Screenwriter: James Bradley

Box Office: 53 mill.
Net Gains: 13 mill.

Stark’s Reaction:
Being a historical movie, the Studio has to feel satisfied enough with these numbers. Domestic and foreign markets have behaved completely different with this release. American audiences have absolutely ignored the movie. The box office made at the domestic market was simply ridiculous. But the film has worked extremely well at the foreign market – specially Europe – and that has finally saved it from net losses.

JONESTOWN

Drama
Cast: Josh Brolin, David Strathairn, Val Kilmer, Scott Speedman, Tony Goldwin, Michael Stuhlbarg, Don Johnson, Elizabeth Mitchell
Director: Oliver Stone
Screenwriter: D.R. Cobb

Box Office: 23 mill.
Net Losses: 1 mill.

Stark’s Reaction:
Audiences have mistreated again D.R. Cobb. Same way it happened past week with ‘Skin Tight’, moviegoers have not appreciated this brilliant movie written by Cobb as it deserved. Unfair.

BORN AGAIN

Drama
Cast: Tobey Maguire, Preston Bailey, Ellen Page, Jeffrey Wright, Cayden Boyd, Michael Caine, Jada Pinkett Smith, Patricia Clarkson, Allison Collins, Bailee Madison
Director and Screenwriter: Josh Collins
Producer: Grand Island Movies

Box Office: 104 mill.
Net Gains: 90 mill.

Stark’s Reaction:
Oh, yeah! This is one of those cases that a movie makes numbers I would have never expected even in my happiest dreams. People seem to have fallen in love with this film and it has made a box office way much better than expected. It looks like Mr. Drama is back in such a good shape.


WOMAN OF GOD

‘Ridley Scott and James Bradley have demonstrated before in CMP how well they manage with historical movies. Scott was the director of the Best Picture GMA Winner ‘The Gunpowder Plot’ and the complete ‘Uncommon Valour’ saga. And Bradley is the screenwriter of movies like ‘The Toymaker’ or the also Best Picture winner ‘Pompeii’. In ‘Woman Of God’ they have joined all their talent to recreate the atmosphere, the spirit, the dialogues and the behaviors of ancient times while telling a most interesting story. The very careful production design is one of the many brilliant elements of this excellent movie. The movie takes you back to medieval times and perfectly immerses you in all those conspiracies of the Kings and Popes and all that wonderfully recreated world of power and intrigues. No doubt, Scott and Bradley were the best team possible to put up this film called to become a CMP’s classic.’
-Charlie Kiggs

‘Cate Blanchett has automatically destroyed one of the questions of the next Golden Moon Awards edition: we already know who is going to win the next Best Actress award. What a extraordinary acting job… We have seen before actresses playing women that pretend to be a man (Gwyneth Paltrow and ‘Shakespeare In Love’ come to my mind) but nobody has made it in such a believable way. Watching her characterization, it is very much believable that everybody except for her lovers and the previous Pope do think she is a man. Blanchett gets to transform into a man without losing her charm and appeal but looking absolutely masculine at the same time (in a completely different transformation from the one she already did in ‘I’m Not There’). Simply excellent. And all the talented cast that surrounds her also fits like a glove in their characters, with a special mention for Liam Neeson as the man that loves her and protects her with mixed feelings of father and lover.’
-Anne Roman

‘Very interesting story even if you are not interested in religious issues. I had never heard before of Pope Joan and her amazing life adventure and I have no idea if she ever really existed or not. And I don’t really care. The only thing I know is that we do have here a most interesting story perfectly told with the needed mix of epic and intimate approach by an inspired Ridley Scott. The film has nothing to do with boring historical movies pretending to be a scholarly recreation of ancient times. The story have all the ingredients of any big story – action, passion, intrigue, betrayal, fights for power – and an excellent group of talents making a brilliant acting job. Young moviegoers should watch this film not only because it is very much entertaining but also as an engrossing lesson of History… no matter if that History is legend or truth.’
-Roy Winslow

JONESTOWN

‘Many moviegoers may have wrongly thought that it was not interesting enough to recreate events that took place back in 1978. Big mistake. I felt an immediate interest for this film. And I must say it has not disappointed me at all. On the contrary, I was instantly absorbed by this crazy and hard to believe story. ‘Jonestown’ is a wonderful story about human madness, manipulation, sects and the weird influence some leaders may develop over ordinary people. It is also a most engrossing thriller in some way. What happened at Guyana is a unique and sick event and Stone and Cobb have turned it into an excellent movie unfairly mistreated by audiences but absolutely indispensable for any fan of quality films.’
-Vic Carter

‘I knew it would happen sooner or later. I knew some day Josh Brolin would finally get the perfect character to fully display his extraordinary acting skills. He has been close to that level of excellence in some of his previous works like ‘W.’ (also directed by Stone) or ‘No Country For Old Men’ among others. But playing Jim Jones means reaching the top of his acting career. He is simply perfect as the cold, manipulative, both intelligent and crazed leader of the People Temple. Brolin must feel more than happy with this CMP’s Season: he sure had fun making ‘The Goonies II’ and now he has shined like never before with ‘Jonestown’. With the permission of the also excellent David Strathairn, this is Brolin’s moment.’
-Tim Reeve

‘Oliver Stone is an irregular moviemaker. Sometimes, he is so dominated for his personal and political obsessions or his will to leave his message clear, than the moral in them ends up eating his movies. But sometimes he is just one of the most brilliant moviemakers of our days. ‘Jonestown’ joins the group of my favorite Stone’s movies, together with ‘Platoon’, the first ‘Wall Street’ and my personal favorite ‘JFK’. I think he has made the most intelligent choice telling this sick story from a certain distance. With a deliberate coldness, Stone just tells us the story without making an explicit denounce of the events. He lets the audience to reach its own conclusions without forcing or provoking the inevitable amazement with what happened at Guyana. And that kind of impartial way of telling the story works as it makes you feel as disturbed as Stone pretends. Brilliant.’
-Chris Burgess

BORN AGAIN

‘Here is another case of ‘thesis movies’. That kind of movies pretend to develop and establish a thesis about some specific issue. ‘Born Again’ pretends to offer a reflection about the transition from life to death and reincarnation. At least, that’s what it seems. The problem with this film is that it only establishes the premise: people die, no matter if they are old or young, rich or poor, good or bad… Everybody dies. Ok. And the movie states that obvious premise through seven different stories about different kind of people facing death. Still ok. The problem is that after following those different stories you just want to ask: so what? The movie suddenly ends. But where is the thesis? What’s the conclusion? Is there any moral or message in all that? People die. They are all linked by those petals of roses. But that moral or message or conclusion or whatever is so hidden that, after all, it is never told in the movie. The ending is so abrupt that this simple question – so what? – keeps floating in the air waiting for an answer long after the movie has finished.’
-Jackie O’Callaghan

‘’Born Again’ shows a succession of sad, tragic or heart-breaking stories about people living the last moments of their life (by the way, Dawson Edwards made a movie with the same premise although a different perspective in ’24 Hours To Live’). Watching people going through that intimate moment of death always has a certain morbid element. But it is also a hard emotional experience. That segment played by Preston Bailey, Allison Collins and Patricia Clarkson can’t be watched without shedding a tear… Josh Collins has written again a most intense emotional drama and the cast of talents perfectly express the sadness, desperation, resignation and all the wide range of feelings that dying or losing a close person may provoke. Take a box of Kleenex with you and enjoy the acting works, without doubt the best of this film.’
-Amy Ratched

‘It has happened to me with ‘Born Again’ the same thing that it happened to me before with Clint Eastwood’s ‘Hereafter’. I was very much interested in the premise of these movies when I heard about them. Any reflection about what might be waiting for us after death is always an appealing issue. The problem is that cinematic language is not like an essay or a novel. Movies need to be entertaining besides and beyond the message in the story. ‘Hereafter’ disappointed me because it was a most boring film. And I felt something similar watching ‘Born Again’. It’s an interesting movie. It is well done. Talents do a good job. But it is not entertaining. And that is something almost unforgivable in any movie.’
-Andrew Stampton