MR. THUMB’S SPECIAL:
THE CMP’S 9TH SEASON

THE BEST OF…

This was actually a great season in terms of quality films and many box office hits. Critics were mostly happy with most of the films, but here I will tell you what I think were this season's cream of the crop. Whether or not they get GMA nominations is a different story, but if you're looking for help to vote, you may want to think about these great films. The 10 best of the season. If you were a writer and your movie didn't end up on this list, it's not because I hated it, these were just the films I saw as going above the exceptional line. But I try to make honorable mentions and exceptions for ties when possible.

1. UGLY: a well made deeply moving film. Everything about this film was exceptional and even better, it came out of an original concept.

2. THINGS I FORGOT TO TELL YOU: Another original concept that put five different female characters in front of a camera to share their life stories. It proves you don't need special effects and at many times the best stories are told just like these women tell them, With truth.

3. DARE TO BE PERFECT: Everybody involved in this film should pat themselves on the back. You may very well appreciate your family after seeing this film, no matter how screwed up yours might be, the Bergers are pure examples of the worst family unit...ever.

4. TALES OF THE UNEXPECTED: Anthology film that worked very well in the box office and the critics couldn't stop talking about it. It was well made, the kind of film cinema students and fine cinema appreciators would study and discuss.

5. SHERLOCK HOLMES: Kind of like I said in my review for the movie, one of Kubrick's best films in a long time. He took Sherlock and made this generation of movie goers care about him. An outstanding adaptation.

6. MARY'S DARK SIDE: A brilliant sophisticated comedy that shows Kate Hudson can break free from her acclaimed role in Velcro. It wasn't just her performance that worked, the film overall was just wonderfully done.

7. DRAWING DEAD: The film that kicked off Season 9 and returned a great box office for this sequel to '3s and 7s' was a foreshadowing of how the season would turn out. Quality films and Great box office. Could lightning strike again for this series or will it suffer the first release of the season curse where it could be forgotten. It was still a great film.

8(tie) LAND NOD, MAGIC-THE GATHERING: SINISTER BLACK, FANTASTIC MANSION: The three fantasy films of the Season that each had fine performances, stories and excellent box office returns. I made these films tie because if I said one, I'd have to say the other two because they are all deserving of a special spot in the list, but then I'd end up leaving out other films that deserve being in the top 10 as much as them. Even though they're all three very different fantasies, they all deserve a spot on this list.

9. KILLER ON THE ROAD: Very well made serial killer thriller that might have a chance to at least take home a few GMAs (particularly Guy Pearce as the villainous killer)

10. AFTER THE STORM: Collins returned to his deeply depressing roots when he came up with this one. Just like Kate Hudson in 'Mary's Dark Side' Jena brought out a character that shows she's more than a one trick pony. Perhaps a two trick pony? Who knows. The film in general was definitely deserving of a spot in the list.

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

These films just barely made the top 10 list, and I couldn't go without mentioning them and giving them correct praise.

FLASHMAN'S TRAVELS: What a great sequel to a great franchise. I'm always looking forward to seeing what crazy shenanigans Harry Flashman gets himself into.

SONJA BLUE CHRONICLES: It took the action/horror elements we've seen and turned them up several notches and worked. Very well made, you wouldn't expect it in a film that pretends to be like it.

DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS: What a brilliant adaptation. It took the original Dirty Rotten and did it justice, unlike those horrendous Pink Panther remake movies that take the original and turn it into a silly circus with no backbone.

THE FLASH/SILVER SABLE/NICK FURY: People in CMP often complain about Superhero mania, but this season actually had very few superhero movies, these three were really the only ones that were superheroes films. They were all however well made films, going above and beyond the 'average hero flick' and taking it to the same heights as last year's hollywood superhero flicks, 'Iron Man' or the XMen or Spiderman series. I can stomach superhero movies as long as they're good, these ones were.

That's the films that I see as being the best of this season. I don't suppose anyone would disagree on these picks.

THE HIDDEN GEMS

This season, they may have appeared in some of the best movies. They may have appeared in some of the worst movies. But it is time to reveal who I think were this season's hidden gems. Those actors, writers, directors who stood out to me as having a successful career in CMP. Whether or not it actually happens for them is the big question though, but I hope with these mentions that future films won't forget them.

Michael Cera: Hopefully, Lying Wish won't be the only job Cera has as an actor in CMP. He's a funny guy who just needs something much better to show him off.

William Mosely: Usually seen in a few past Matt Kubrick films except Daisy Lane, this young actor is on his way to being one of the most sought out young actors in the studio.

Tim Allen: He's well known outside of CMP and this season looks to have brought his face forward in two separate films this season (Bond Scum/Haight Ashbury) I have been a lifelong fan of Tim's and I hope these two films released in the same season won't be his only. The old guy can still have it in him to expand his range.

Chase Ellison: Collins saw a few of his films outside of CMP to enlist him to play a troubled delinquent in Dare to be Perfect. If you haven't seen just the kind of challenging roles he's taken before, you must. Talented teen actor he is.

Laura Linney: She's had a few CMP roles before Dare to be Perfect, but Perfect showed just how much of a perfect actress she is. Here's hoping CMP writers will continue to knock on her door.

Saoirse Ronan: A new name in both Hollywood and CMP, Saoirse is a serious little actress who can dish out a mean performance when given the chance. Bedtime Stories may not have developed her too much, but I fear if I don't mention her here she may never be mentioned in CMP again.

Makenzie Vega: Same can be said about her as I did about Saoirse.

Sammi Hanratty: She ran away from zombies in 'The Dead Walk' and for a pretty bad movie she played her part very well. Sometimes you just can't blame the actors for bad movies, they just do their job and try their best to make a bad film work. Hopefully she won't become victim to 'never seen again' in studio.

Ryan Reynolds: CMP writers have been seeing his potential and have been demanding him in their movies, and not just playing him as only the sarcastic funny guy like his Hollywood movies. Killer on the Road displayed his ability to take on intense thrillers. I have no doubt we'll be seeing him again and as a future GMA winner if he keeps it up.

David Ayer: Another guy linked to Killer on the Road, his directorial debut in CMP was very good and well received by critics. It may not have been a box office smash, but he put it together very well.

Steven Soderberg: Recovered greatly from the tremendous flop 'Night Cab' and probably saved his own job in the CMP director department by getting behind the lens in 'Things I Forgot to Tell You."

Selma Blair: Will forever be associated as Sonja Blue, this actress did more than any other bankable actress refused the role to do. That says she will go to great lengths to make a performance work without the diva attitude.

Chiwetel Ejiofor: Put together an amazing performance as Jimmy Hendrix in 'The Experience' this wonderful actor is on the rise, so I encourage film makers to take note of this guy and don't forget him if you're looking for a stunning black talent.

Alfonso Cuaron: He gave us an exciting vision of Fantastic Mansion. If you're looking for a visionary film, don't write this guy off. He may very well make you hundred millions!

Brandon Routh: From Superman to Fantastic, he is every much a lovable 'good looking' hero as CMP's sought out teen idol Orlando Bloom.

Darren Aronofsky: Only did a short story in Tales of the Unexpected, this wonderful director(one of my personal favorites) is a flower waiting to bloom with a film he can call his own.

Josh Hutcherson: Land of NOD and After the Storm showed everyone that this teen actor is a force to reckon with.

I didn't see very many hidden gems in the writers this season, I've already mentioned most of them last season but every writer has done very well with their film choices of casts, directors, producers. I hope to see these listed(and those not listed) to have futures in CMP. Hollywood would literally shit itself if it saw the competition CMP offers.

THE WORST OF…

Season Nine was not only one of the best profitable seasons in CMP history, it also had very few absolutely bad films. Many of them, hits or flops, were good. We shouldn't judge a film based on box office success, but quality in movies.

Some of these I may have praised in my original critiques, but I look for general overall quality and what most of the critics said about the films in general. This is my moment to be a jerk.

Josh Collins this season came out with having some pretty bad films, but was able to make up by having some great films. Lying Wish, if the pun-tastic title didn't turn you off at first glance, legend says that if you sit through the first 10 minutes of this you can actually feel your brain melt.

If Lying Wish didn't kill you, his next bad film was The Dead Walk, once again not the greatest title and I hear he had to pitch a few titles and allow Stark to decide which of them were the best...and that one was the best of all of them? This film gave my wife and I motion sickness and there were way too many questions I had to ask her. You shouldn't have to ask too many questions in a horror movie. I don't see very many people coming out of this movie alive to star in future CMP movies.

Josh Collins isn't the only one I've felt compelled to pick on, he has about as many great films and bad ones as his very busy peer, Matt Kubrick. Matt's Reform School Girls screams 'B' movie. The only thing you can get out of this one was watching scantily clad girls fighting. Not necessarily ground breaking material. If there was a CMP counterpart for Razzies, this one would take home a lot.

Along with Reform School Girls, he didn't do very much new material in the run of the mill slasher 'Sisters' but you can see he was really trying to make it better than his other slashers. You do have to give it to Kubrick though, I appreciate that for every 'sisters' or he gives us, he can still deliver with brilliant well made films 'Home' he proved he can do well with adapting films like 'Sherlock Holmes' and 'The Avengers'

Dawson Edwards didn't escape this season without getting a mention here. Personally I didn't see all that much wrong with Metal Gear Solid but the critics disliked it immensely. As much as I don't enjoy putting it on this list, not to put it on here would cause some sort of critical paradox. Critics might ask why I didn't put it on here.

That makes only five films, 'The Dead Walk' 'Lying Wish' 'Reform School Girls' 'Metal Gear Solid' and 'Sisters' to be the bottom of the bunch in Season 9 out of the 30 released. That doesn't mean the other 25 were brilliant masterpieces, these were the ones that were below the 'okay' line and deep into the BAD section.