SEPTEMBER, 10

THE RUNNING MAN

Action / Sci-Fi
Cast: Mark Whalberg, Famke Jansen, Woody Harrelson, Chris Cooper, Abigail Breslin, Sean Patrick Thomas, Jaime Foxx, Jaden Smith
Director: Danny Boyle
Screenwriter: Ben Tyler

Box Office: 78 mill.
Net Gains: 26 mill.

Stark’s Reaction: I expected much more from this one. Box office has been a bit disappointing and production costs rise very high so net gains are very low. I think it is a quality action movie, but audiences did not respond as massively as I thought they would.

THE ICE PRINCESS

Animation / Adventure
Cast: Cameron Diaz, John Lithgow
Director: Andrew Adamson
Screenwriter: Matt Kubrick



Box Office: 316 mill.
Net Gains: 320 mill.

Stark’s Reaction: Ladies and Gentlemen… HERE WE HAVE THE NEW WORLWIDE GROSS TOP 1!!! Amazing. I just do not have words. The first movie ever to reach the 300 millions landmark. It wasn’t a very expensive movie, so look at those net gains! The movie enters directly in CMP’s History. Who said CMP was not good at animation? Oh, man, what a release…!

THE KILLING RUN

Thriller / Action
Cast: Joshua Jackson, Eva Mendes, Hugh Laurie, Derek Luke, Michelle Williams, Ryan Reynolds. Cameo by James Woods.
Director: Peter Berg
Screenwriter: Dawson Edwards

Box Office: 34 mill.
Net Loss: 2 mill.

Stark’s Reaction: Second flop of the Season. It just didn’t work. Once again, we have difficulties with thrillers. DVD market ignored it and moviegoers were all watching ‘The Ice Princess’.


THE RUNNING MAN

“Danny Boyle has become a regular director in CMP lately. During the last Seasons, he has proved his skill and versatility with the futuristic world created in ‘The Caves Of Steel’, the thriller ‘Daisy Lane’ and now this sci-fi adventure. All of them good movies. ‘The Running Man’ has a few things in common with ‘The Caves Of Steel’: mainly, a dark and pessimistic vision of the future. In both movies, Boyle creates a credible version of the future supported by an appealing and creative production design. While ‘The Caves Of Steel’ focussed on the complex relationships between humans and androids, ‘The Running Man’ is more focussed on action but it mixes it with a disturbing reflection of how the media control our life and where can take us all that sick reality shows that already hypnotize so many people in our days. Boyle’s movies never get to break box office, but they are becoming an obliged reference of how movies can mix entertainment and quality.”
-Vic Carter

“Can a big budget production stand on Mark Wahlberg? The answer is no. When will Hollywood producers realize that Wahlberg is not the big star he and some producers think they are? Imagine this very same movie starred by somebody with the screen presence of Will Smith, Bruce Willis, Matt Damon… big stars that are capable not only to entertain but also to offer solid acting works when they are supported by a solid screenplay, like this one is. ‘The Running Man’ reunites a nice bunch of talented people – Chris Cooper, Woody Harrelson, Famke Jansen, Jamie Foxx… - but they are all wasted in too minor characters not developed enough, while Wahlberg becomes a permanent presence on screen. Boyle has tried to make something more than just an action movie with this scary metaphor of our days. But the inexpressive Wahlberg becomes a burden for that purpose. Anyway, a worth to watch movie much better than most of the crap we can find on screens lately.”
-Roy Winslow

“Definitively, not a remake. Boyle has taken the same Stephen King’s material also used in Shwarzenneger’s 80’s feature with the same title and has built up a completely different movie from that one. A brilliant futuristic vision of how society dehumanize day after day – those amazing reality shows presented in the movie, not as far as it may seem of what we have today… - wrapped in a breathtaking action movie. Self-destruction is the only option at the end if people keep following that way, is what Boyle tells us in this movie. Boyle has reached the perfect balance between entertainment and thought-provoking. It is a shame that audiences have not responded as the movie deserved. But this movie’s reputation will grow up with time without doubt and – together with the other futuristic Boyle’s movie in CMP, the undervalued ‘The Caves Of Steel’ – this production will join one day the list of sci-fi masterpieces together with movies like ‘Blade Runner’ or ‘Total Recall’.
-Charlie Kiggs

THE ICE PRINCESS

“Why has ‘The Ice Princess’ become a massive phenomenon? Here we have, by far, the biggest hit ever in CMP’s history. But what do we really have here? Another tale about a princess saving a fantasy world with the help of a wise man and facing a mean enemy. Kubrick has wrote a screenplay that deliberately runs away from originality and mixes elements a million times seen on screen with obvious references to many movies from CMP’s ‘The Legend Of Zelda’, ‘Dungeons and Dragons’ or ‘Game Boy’ to ‘The Chronicles Of Narnia’, ‘Lord Of The Rings’, even ‘Star Wars’… etc. etc. etc. With that material, Andrew Adamson has built up a kind of tribute to the fantasy genre full of obvious blinks to all those precedents, the same way he did with all the fairy tales clichés in ‘Schrek’. And the formula has worked again in an amazing way. Audiences have gone crazy with a story based on such previously known concepts mixed and presented as something new due to a wonderful animation work that has nothing to envy from the guys at Pixar or Dreamworks. The perfect product for all kind of audiences to break all box office’s records”
-Anne Roman

“Kubrick and Adamson may be still laughing. ‘The Ice Princess’ is a hard lesson to learn for all those ambitious CMP’s productions with wild budgets, a neverending list of big names in the cast, plenty of FXs and exhausting marketing campaigns. A medium budget animated production, with just two names in the cast of voices and a low profile marketing campaign has suddenly – and unexpectedly – become the biggest hit ever from the Studio. ‘The Ice Princess’ is a nice movie with a correct animation work. Nothing more than that. But audiences are unpredictable. Maybe simplicity is the only key of its success. While sophisticated productions only inspire indifference in moviegoers, this nice little story has hit the target and seems to be exactly just what everybody wanted to see in a movie screen. Funny. One of the charms of movie industry is how unpredictable it can be. Don’t look for answers.”
-Amy Ratched

“Is it justified the huge success of this movie? I think ‘The Ice Princess’ has appeared in the right place in the right moment. Animation movies have always been audience’s favourites. Disney created the genre and for decades ruled it. Then, after years of decadence, Pixar redefined it and begun a new era in animation. But, in the last years, the threat of a new decadent time for animated movies has begun to show up. Technological perfection is beginning to devour the charm of these movies and audiences may get tired of just watching technical digital shows without soul. Some of the last animation productions seemed to be designed looking only for two purposes: showing how perfect digital technology could be – some times more oriented to attract computers freaks than to children - and making profits with merchandising. ‘The Ice Princess’ – not renouncing to technical quality – has recovered some of the essences of classic animation features: magic and enchantment. Although visually it may be closer to Pixar’s productions, the spirit of this fairy tale is much closer to old Disney’s features. And audiences have recovered the enjoyment of watching nice animated tales where digital animation quality is only a mean to tell a story and not the aim of the movie itself.”
-Tim Reeve

THE KILLING RUN

“Probably, if we were in the 70’s, this movie would have been received by audiences and critics as a daring, innovative and prestigious release. I can imagine Sidney Lumet directing it and a young Robert Redford starring it. But those days are gone. Peter Berg does not have half the talent Lumet has. And Joshua Jackson is not and never will be Redford. And a conspiracy story around the White House isn’t something new anymore. In the era of ‘24’, a flat narration of a killing presidential run is not appealing enough to expect moviegoers will get interested in it.”
-Jackie Callaghan

“The main problem of this movie can be summarized in just one word: credibility. Or the lack of it. First, the storyline. Come on, who would believe the US President – by the way, what an embarrassing performance by Hugh Laurie… - himself may be a kind of serial killer taking care by himself of eliminating his political rivals? Second, the cast. Joshua Jackson, a presidential candidate? And what’s even worse, Eva Mendes? Oh, no… I can believe almost anything in a movie screen. But not that much.”
-Chris Burguess

“Inconsistencies and weak points in the storyline and some wrong choices in the cast are two dead weights too heavy to load for a movie feature. And this production finally tumbles down due to both reasons. Conspiracy movies need a particularly solid screenplay to work. As soon as the viewer starts to not believing what’s going on things will go wrong. And that happens soon with ‘The Killing Run’. Although the movie has some interesting elements and a few thrilling moments, it just does not work as a whole. Edwards has offered us here some hints of his talent, but I am sure he will get better if he goes on with his screenwriting career in the future.”
-Lily Stevens

THE RUNNING MAN

Ben Tyler expects us critics to sit here and cry about this film being a remake and boo hooing about the original being a classic. But it wasn't. I didn't consider this one a "remake" but I considered it a "retelling" you could watch this film and know to yourself that it's more closer to the original material than the other one. I liked the Willy Wonka retelling more than the original since it was closer to the book(and you know you have crap when the author of the book hated the original film) But talking about the Running Man, I'm not usually a Whalberg fanatic but he can do some good work and the film left me wanting more. It was intense, edge of the seat thrills!
Two thumbs and big toes up!

THE ICE PRINCESS

It's not so much of a Pixar film but more on the animation and storyline as a Final Fantasy film. Here we have a correct fantasy film with great action sequences, animation, plot and character development. Kids may want to watch it, but do parents want to take them to this kind of movie or drag them to see Wall*E, something they know they're going to enjoy as much or more than their children. The film however, isn't only for kids, but for the older 'Magic the Gathering' 'Dungeons and Dragons' 'Final Fantasy' crowd. No matter what the box office numbers show, I thoroughly enjoyed this Kubrick pic, something we haven't seen from him in a while. Two thumbs and big toes up!

THE KILLING RUN

Outstanding all around movie. Plot, direction, cast, writing, everything about it just made it one of the most perfect films of this season so far. It's nice to know there's movies out there still that assume the audience isn't always going to want to watch raunchy humor, big explosions, and scary movies where the only thing scary is how much you paid to watch it and the rest of the same crap that gets churned out from Hollywood all the time. No, this is a smart movie for a smart crowd. Great debut from a promising writer should he choose to continue work for CMP if he turns up again.
Two thumbs and two big toes up!