DECEMBER, 1


UNDER THE GUN

Action
Cast: Orlando Bloom, Monica Bellucci, James Gandolfini, Robert De Niro, Chow Yun-Fat, Ray Stevenson
Director and Producer: Quentin Tarantino
Screenwriter: David Makalaster

Box Office: 55 mill.
Net Gains: 29 mill.

Stark’s Reaction: A box office much lower than expected. Audiences are unloyal and capricious and sometimes it’s hard to keep them interested in the same saga for long and, as it has happened before, this third installment has lost an important number of the followers got by the previous movies.

THE BLACKSMITH’S SWORD

Action / Adventure
Cast: Thomas Sangster, Kenneth Branagh, Colin Firth, Clive Owen, Eric Bana, Emma Watson, Gaspard Ulliel, Rosamund Pike.
Director: Alfonso Cuaron
Screenwriter: Trent Nielsen

Box Office: 101 mill.
Net Gains: 54 mill.

Stark’s Reaction: First ‘100’ of the Season! I wasn’t completely sure audiences would respond well to this classic movie, so I feel relief it finally worked out so well. Congratulations for your first release, Mr. Nielsen, and welcome!

THE MISTAKEN

Drama / Crime
Cast: Brad Pitt, Diane Lane, Timothy Olyphant, Val Kilmer
Director and Producer: Brad Pitt
Screenwriter: Josh Collins



Box Office: 24 mill.
Net Losses: 12 mill.

Stark’s Reaction: Ouch. Once and again, the Studio has hard times managing dramas. Always a difficult genre at box office... This time, the presence of a mega CMP’s star like Pitt wasn’t enough to attract the moviegoers’ interest. Well, we already said this was going to be a risky Season and I’m afraid we may have more bad experiences like this in the upcoming weeks.


UNDER THE GUN

‘This new installment of this minor (in terms of box office’s success) but appreciated saga provides again a nice time of action and simple entertainment. As the previous movies of it, Tarantino has made a well paced movie that keeps you interested in the comes and goes of Bloom and Gandolfini. But there is nothing new in it. ‘Under The Gun’ is just more of the same. Situations, characters and dialogues are so similar to what has already been seen in the two previous movies. The sequences with the two main characters confronting either the triad or the mafia become repetitive and at some moments, no matter the well shot action sequences, you just have the feeling that the story is going nowhere’.
-Roy Winslow

‘The Chinese Dragon saga is probably one of the most interesting franchises put up by CMP. It’s not the usual superheroes franchise or another neverending fantasy story. Using classic cinema elements (mafia, Las Vegas, triads…), Tarantino and Makalaster update them – and at some moments, they even make a slight parody of them – in a fresh adventure story of two guys trying to survive trapped in the middle of a mess that has a Chinese dragon as the ‘mcguffin’ of the story. These movies are without doubt the best works from Tarantino in CMP. And also they take us back the best Makalaster, less baroque and more conceptually concise than when he lets himself go in his mega-fantasy stories like ‘Devil Trigger’ or ‘Magic – The Gathering’.
-Vic Carter

‘After ‘3’s and 7’s’ and ‘Drawing Dead’ – this second one, undoubtedly the best of the three -, Tarantino and Makalaster have brought us this unnecessary ‘Under The Gun’. And audiences have discovered their trick. This movie is just a repetition. In fact, at some moments it does not look as a sequel but as a remake of the previous ones. Some stories cannot be stretched that much. The adventure of the Chinese dragon could be told in one or at least two movies, but there’s no story enough for three. So – although the movie is a correct and entertaining action flick – audiences have decided that three is enough for this plot. And this time audience is right. It’s time to put the Chinese dragon to rest and begin looking for new concepts for both Tarantino and Makalaster’
-Andrew Stampton

THE BLACKSMITH’S SWORD

‘The ‘Pirates Of The Caribbean’ movies – an excessive, out of control and overvalued extravaganza – seemed to have distorted the pirates adventure’s genre forever with that mess that put together pirates, zombies, ghosts and Keith Richards’ impressions. So going back to a traditional pirates movie looked as a risky bet from the debutante Trent Nielsen. But he has honorably survived to the challenge. ‘The Blacksmith’s Sword’ recovers traditional elements from this subgenre, with reminiscences of classics like ‘Treasure’s Island’, to build up a simple but efficient adventure. Almost a vintage movie, ‘The Blacksmith’s Sword’ may look a bit old-fashioned kind of production. But it is only because it does not let itself go by contemporary trends. The movie is made the way old great movies were made. And although it does not reach the level of a classic masterpiece, it is a more than decent attempt to recover a forgotten way of telling adventure stories.’
-Charlie Kiggs

‘Alfonso Cuaron has left aside for once the abuse of special effects he showed in his previous CMP’s movies - particularly in his Transformers’ substitute ‘Zoids’ but also in ‘The Fantastic Mansion’ – to tell us in a classic way a classic adventure. And he has showed he can be a successful director without the support of technology. Although oriented to young audiences, this movie had it hard to connect with the youngest moviegoers, grown up in the ‘console culture’. But still it has made a more than nice box office and proved again that audiences respond when a solid and entertaining classic adventure is offered. And Cuaron has confirmed himself as a trustable director for CMP in any kind of movie with his third hit in a row.’
-Lilly Stevens

‘Pirates have always been part of CMP’s universe. Many Seasons ago, the Studio already succeeded in this genre with ‘Corsairs’ - a good movie that had a weaker sequel – and later we have seen pirates again in movies like ‘Dr. Jones and the Cursed Treasure’ and ‘Flashman’s Travels’. Now, ‘The Blacksmith’s Sword’ shows again that moviegoers are always up for an entertaining pirates’ adventure. This movie is not perfect or excellent or wonderful, but it is a decent piece of simple entertainment. Correct debut from Trent Nielsen. I am not absolutely enthusiastic about it but still it makes me wait with interest for his future works. It seems like Nielsen, no matter his youth, may bring some quality classicism to CMP… before he might be absorbed by superheroes’ franchises, as everybody else in CMP’.
-Jackie O’Callaghan

THE MISTAKEN

‘Brad Pitt has become a constant presence lately in CMP. During the last Seasons, he has showed up regularly in CMP’s productions in a successful variety of movies like ‘Ugly’, ‘Stanley & Livingstone’, ‘Dirty Rotten Scoundrels’ or ‘Deadly Force’, winning a Best Actor GMA and increasing his power in the Studio. And that successful career has taken him to look for full control in his movies. With ‘The Mistaken’, he has built up a one man show, being the main star, the director and the producer of it. And he has proved he is a brilliant actor, he can be an interesting director and he can control a movie production. But he has made one mistake: the lack of a consistent story as the main pillar of it all. ‘The Mistaken’ is a well done movie that lacks of enough interest in the story. And that’s a too heavy weight to make a movie float no matter the quality of the main actor, the director or the producer behind it’.
-Anne Roman

‘The main problem of ‘The Mistaken’ is its hard to believe premise. We all know that even in the most democratic nations judicial systems make mistakes. But can you believe that a man cannot get to prove his innocence just because he shares the same name with a serial killer? To keep this premise, Collins’ screenplay is obliged to make too many tricky twists and to force too much some situations. And that turns it at the end into an unbelievable story. As the movie progresses, the plot also loses progressively its credibility. And at the end you just can’t believe the denounce in the story: yes, judicial systems fail… but not that much.’
-Amy Ratched

‘Here we have one of those movies that are presented as an interesting adult audiences oriented quality production but, at the end, they are not much more than a luxuriously packed tv movie. Pitt has tried hard to provide a certain epic to this drama both as actor and director. But he cannot lift up what is only a conventional story you can see any Sunday afternoon on tv. A dispensable movie you can watch comfortably at home when the DVD is release... only if you can’t find something better at your DVD rental store.’
-Chris Burgess


I hope you all enjoyed the GMAs as much as I did. Congratulations to everyone who got nominated and won. Happy Thanksgiving to all who celebrate it!

UNDER THE GUN

CRITIQUE: A film series that is only getting better as it progresses, Under the Gun is the third installment of the Chinese Dragon films, brought to us by David Makalaster. Makalaster has spent some time away from these films to give us fantasy and sci-fi epics, but his time away has not brought down the quality of Under the Gun. It's a film made with something for everyone. When oh when will GMA voters realize the genius behind this franchise and give it more credit? An outstanding start for the new season!
ACTING/CAST: A
DIRECTION: B+ One issue I have with Tarantino's work is he loves dialogue a little too much. But Makalaster held the whip and made sure Quentin didn't have his scenes go on for 20 minutes of just talking.
WRITING: A
PLOT/CONCEPT: B+
PRODUCTION VALUES: A
ENTERTAINMENT: Tarantino fans will watch anything with his name attached, as well as the cast involved. The acting, storyline and action and the film series' name value will undoubtedly make this film a hit.
REWATCH VALUE: A
OVERALL: A-

THE BLACKSMITH'S SWORD

CRITIQUE: Finally, we get to see the debut of Trent Nielsen! I was impressed with the attention to detail given to his film and I wonder if he's either a natural or this wasn't his first rodeo. It was good and I'm very glad to see the return of films involving pirates again, seeing as how every movie in Hollywood these days involves vampires. Even though it might be considered old fashioned, it's still a wonderful breath of fresh air. I miss these kinds of films. In a way, there's a hint of old Greek storytelling in the film as well. Maybe only I can see it, but that's fine. Very nice work, Trent and an impressive debut. It has me wanting to see what you can do next.
ACTING/CAST: B+ Eric Bana not being a sci-fi action hero? *blinks and rubs eyes*
DIRECTION: A Cuaron usually dips his hands into fantasy but he did a great job staying true to his style and trying something new as well.
WRITING: A
PLOT/CONCEPT: A didn't feel like I've seen the same story over and over again.
PRODUCTION VALUES: A
ENTERTAINMENT: Despite the current trend of vampire love, people still have a love for pirates and will definitely see it for that aspect. The old fashioned adventurous spirit that we don't see anymore also added to the entertainment for me. It was a fun ride full of something for everyone.
REWATCH VALUE: A
OVERALL: A

THE MISTAKEN

CRITIQUE: Josh Collins' crime drama about the corruption of the judicial system was nice, but in my personal opinion it was a little too unbelievable. Yes, some innocent people have been locked up for sharing the same name as the real criminal. I haven't heard of innocent people being locked up for the heinous crimes the real villain is wanted for. It's not by means a bad movie, but we have seen a lot better from the recent GMA nominated screenwriter. It was an alright attempt, but I think it tried a little too hard in some aspects of the film.
ACTING/CAST: B
DIRECTION: C+
WRITING: C+
PLOT/CONCEPT: C
PRODUCTION VALUES: C+
ENTERTAINMENT: A-listers Brad Pitt and Diane Lane would cause fans to flock to the theaters. Aside from that I can see if most critics might call it a snooze fest.
REWATCH VALUE: D
OVERALL: C

MR. THUMBS' CERTIFIED MUST SEE OF THE WEEK:

I rarely do this but I can't recommend all films if I didn't like one of them so:

THE BLACKSMITH'S SWORD and UNDER THE GUN