MARCH, 9


UNCOMMON VALOUR: ONLY THE VALIANT

Adventure
Cast: Pierce Brosnan, Keira Knightley, Johnny Depp, Jude Law, John Cleese, Olivia Wilde, Hayden Christensen, Judi Dench. Cameo by Sean Connery.
Director: Ridley Scott
Screenwriter: Jack Hammer
Producer: Tony Scott

Box Office: 96 mill.
Net Gains: 66 mill.

Stark’s Reaction: Great movie and very good box office. It confirmes that the ‘Uncommon Valour’ saga has gained prestige and followers with time because this one has made the best box office of the four movies. I’m ready for the fifth, Mr. Hammer.

ZOIDS: EVE

Action / Sci-Fi
Cast: Jeremy Sumpter, Hayden Pannettiere, Jamie Bell, Jason Patric, Cole Hauser, Meagan Good, Jacob Kogan, Steve Buscemi
Director: Alfonso Cuaron
Screenwriter: Dawson Edwards

Box Office: 136 mill.
Net Gains: 83 mill.

Stark’s Reaction: Yeah! First ‘100’ of the Season! It has made almost the same box office than the first installment of the franchise. Net gains have been lower as production costs where much higher this time. Cuaron confirms himself as one of the main ‘blockbusters makers’ of the Studio. I’m ready for the third, Mr. Edwards.

OUT PARTYING

Comedy / Teen
Cast: Dave Franco, Briana Evigan, Reece Thompson, Anthony Traina, Emma Stone, Lauren Storm, Jason Bateman
Director and Screenwriter: Trent Nielsen


Box Office: 11 mill.
Net Losses: 20 mill.

Stark’s Reaction: This was a hard to sell product. No big names, a debutante director, a very specific target audience… It has flopped even harder than I expected. Being it predictable doesn’t make it less painful.


UNCOMMON VALOUR: ONLY THE VALIANT

‘Probably, Ridley Scott is one of the most versatile and experienced movie directors of our days. He knows his trade so well that he knows how to make it look as something easy to put up such a complex movie like this. Without abusing of directing virtuosity, Scott has built up a production where everything is almost perfect: the impressive scenarios, the action sequences, the whole production design, the beautiful cinematography, the dialogues, the different storylines, the acting works, the story pace… As they did before with ‘The Gunpowder Plot’, Ridley and Tony Scott have taken us to another time period attending every detail from wardrobe to decoration to make it believable and, at the same time, focusing not just in the excellent cinematography or the perfect atmosphere but on the story itself. That way, the movie becomes not only a highly seductive historical recreation but, most of all, a highly entertaining and spectacular adventure movie.’
-Jake Cobb

‘It is a pleasure when actors and actresses adapt so well to their characters. Pierce Brosnan is simply the perfect John Sinclair. Johnny Depp wonderfully composes the devious Montaigne. Dench and Christensen took the best of their disturbing characters. But this time, my preferences go for two actresses. First, Keira Knightley, whose character has become much more interesting in this movie than in the previous ones, growing up from just a sweet and romantic young lady to a strong and brave woman. And second Olivia Wilde, an actress I didn’t know much before. Although she only plays a minor role here, I was impressed by her class, beauty and screen presence and I dare to augur for her a most successful acting career in the future.’
-Andrew Stampton

‘Despite the inevitable reminiscence of Patrick O’Brien’s books, the ‘Uncommon Valour’ saga is an obliged and original reference in the genre of sea adventures. The movies of the saga perfectly reflect the epic spirit of the original books and become a wonderful revival of a classic and classy way of making movies. This fourth movie probably has the most solid and elaborated plot of the saga, mixing Sinclair’s adventures at sea with Tara’s own adventures ashore, and both storylines flow parallel sharing a high level of interest. Personally, I was particularly impressed with the magnificent grandeur of the sea sequences. Watching all those beautiful ships sailing on screen was a hypnotizing and thrilling experience. A five stars movie.’
-Anne Roman

ZOIDS: EVE

‘Dawson Edwards and Alfonso Cuaron insist with this game adaptation franchise mixing without any embarrassment elements from Star Wars and Transformers. And the sad thing is that audiences keep supporting it enthusiastically. Of course, CMP has accepted to invest a lot of money in this sequel, feeling confident after the success of the first movie, so digital effects are luxurious class and the whole show looks as spectacular… as empty. At the end this is only a children oriented movie without any particular contribution to the sci-fi genre. Just put old concepts in a mixer, switch it on and you’ll have this movie ready to be served’.
-Tim Reeve

‘I have to refer again to the amazing double personality of Mr. Edwards. Yes, we are talking here of the man that has written brilliant pieces like ‘Fallen Kings’, ’24 Hours To Live’ or ‘Blood Meridian’. But yes, we are also talking of the author of ‘Aquaman’, ‘Metal Gear Solid’ or this one. What’s wrong with this man? One day, he wakes up and he can be one of the most creative, intelligent and solid writers in CMP. Next day, he turns into the author of the most childish inconsistent stories. Watching Edwards’ movies I have understood what a love / hate relationship means. Because sometimes I love his movies and sometimes I just absolutely hate them.’
-Jackie O’Callaghan

‘I won’t bother to write a serious review about this movie. ‘Zoids: Eve’ is not about directing, acting or producing a good movie. It’s about money-making. In these days when CMP’s releases are not making as good box office’s numbers as they used to, I can understand why the Studio bets for a movie like this. It is a perfect financial operation. Theatre tickets, DVD sales, tv rights, merchandising, console games… Everything will work with this production as efficient as investment as despicable in terms of cinematic interest. So I won’t lose my time trying to analyze its cinematic qualities. It’s a great work as it has made a wonderful box office. That’s all. I’ll wait for something better from Cuaron and Edwards next time.’
-Chris Burgess

OUT PARTYING

‘I use to write that any CMP’s author must be applauded and supported when he dares to try something new. But Trent Nielsen has put it really hard for me to do it this time. CMP has presented this movie as ‘the first teen comedy ever produced by the Studio’. And does that mean something big really? Teen comedies are what they are: silly brainless movies with a bit of sex, a few sexy teens, some gross humor jokes and a greatest hits soundtrack. ‘Out Partying’ does not even have any of those at a substantial level. It’s not funny. It’s not sexy. It only has a weak storyline, easy dialogues and poorly solved situations. Things went so wrong when watching this movie that it made me miss ‘Porky’s’…’
-Charlie Kiggs

‘All the talents in this movie should urgently been sent to an intense and strict acting school. I had never heard of any of them before and you bet I don’t need to hear of any of them again for the rest of my life. Poor Jason Bateman. He is becoming an interesting actor lately, far away from his old days as a teen star himself. He tries hard to save this insurmountable function. But he had no chance. I just wondered what was he doing in this movie. I guess his will to make his debut in a CMP’s movie was so strong that he just accepted the first offer he got. And bad luck, Jason: the offer was for this lousy movie.’
-Vic Carter

‘I can understand the pressure that Trent Nielsen must have felt releasing a new movie right after winning a polemic Best Screenplay GMA. While some movie critics are still discussing if ‘Running On Empty’ deserved that award or not, this new movie is not going to help much to Nielsen’s prestige as screenwriter. ‘Out Partying’ is an undefined story that begins as a typical teen comedy, goes through a brief attempt to put some suspense into the plot and ends up as the story of a gay guy gaining self-esteem… It seems like Nielsen didn’t decide what kind of movie he wanted to make and that leaves the plot at the end as a vague and diffused story that finally does not work at any level. Well, we all make mistakes…’
-Amy Ratched


UNCOMMON VALOUR: ONLY THE VALIANT

BEST OF IT The overall well put together plot, writing, direction, cast. It's been a long time since we've seen an Uncommon Valour film, so the makers of this film wanted to make sure they took their time to live up to the previous movies.

WORST OF IT Nothing wrong with the movie itself. But have we waited too long to make a continuation of the series?

SHINING STAR/DEAD WEIGHT With a star studded cast like this, it's hard to find that one single actor who stood out as being the one to look out for. They all had something to bring to the table that added to the film.

BRAINS BEHIND The production crew paid close attention to detail with the set and costumes. Ridley always has a fantastic vision and remains humble about it unlike some certain directors who make movies about blue people who shall remain nameless.

IN CONCLUSION A+ put a second mortgage on your house just to buy tickets and popcorn for this movie!

ZOIDS: EVE

BEST OF IT Zoids:Eve does all that it can to ensure that the special effects CGI is worth seeing. It does an okay job trying to show that it's more than a game adaptation.

WORST OF IT The cast didn't know what they were doing most of the time. They were all over the place overacting, underacting. Another one of those films where the veterans(Buscemi/Patric) were not really given the opportunity to show they still have "it" as actors.

SHINING STAR/DEAD WEIGHT It's nice to see Hayden Panettiere in a film instead of just providing her voice. She seemed to be the best, though that's not really saying much.

BRAINS BEHIND Alfonso and Dawson did a fair attempt at keeping their Zoids saga alive. The production with CGI is the best of the film, though the cast left something to be desired.

IN CONCLUSION C+/B- well the popcorn might be good.

OUT PARTYING

BEST OF IT I think the best thing about this film is the fact we haven't seen it before in CMP in the last 12 seasons. We don't even see these films that often in Hollywood either. Yes, every once in a blue moon we should turn off our brains and laugh at teens getting drunk and partying.

WORST OF IT For every person who loves these comedies, there will be someone else who despises them. The characters aren't meant to be deeply conflicted and the plot isn't meant to breathtaking. Some of the jokes are a little dumb, but there are some really funny lines too. You can't laugh at every joke in a comedy.

SHINING STAR/DEAD WEIGHT I think the best of this film came out of Dave Franco and Emma Stone. The dead weight was Jason Bateman who I didn't quite believe as the character of Tank.

BRAINS BEHIND A good attempt to the director/writer Trent Nielsen for bringing in ideas to CMP that haven't been done yet.

IN CONCLUSION B+ have fun, turn off that brain and pull that stick out of your ass.

MR. THUMBS' CERTIFIED MUST SEE OF THE WEEK:

UNCOMMON VALOUR: ONLY THE VALIANT