OCTOBER, 19


TRAIL OF THE LOST EMPIRE

Adventure / Comedy
Cast: Tom Cruise, Kate Beckinsale, Pierce Brosnan, Christopher Waltz
Director: Gore Verbinski
Screenwriter: Joey Stark


Box Office: 173 mill.
Net Gains: 158 mill.

Stark’s Reaction:
No disappointment here. This movie simply ‘had’ to work and it has.

AMEDIA

Drama / Action
Cast: George Clooney, Olga Kurylenko, Nicholas Cage, Shia LaBeouf, Bradley Cooper, Zoe Saldana, Leonardo DiCaprio, Juliette Lewis, Jeremy Renner, Sam Worthington
Director: Chad Taylor
Screenwriter: Chad Taylor, Dawson Edwards, Matt Kubrick
Producer: Silver Lining Entertainment

Box Office: 59 mill.
Net Gains: 23 mill.

Stark’s Reaction:
I don’t know why but I had the feeling that this release would go to extremes. I mean, it would become a big hit or a big flop. Finally, I was wrong. It has stayed in a discrete but comfortable territory, making nice net gains and a decent box office. I don’t feel in ecstasy but I am satisfied after all, as it was a risky bet.

THE FANTASTIC ISLAND

Action / Adventure / 3D
Cast: Jeff Goldblum, Jennifer Garner, Nathan Gamble, Madeline Carroll
Director: Alfonso Cuaron
Screenwriter: Josh Collins


Box Office: 69 mill.
Net Gains: 27 mill.

Stark’s Reaction:
I must confess I expected much more from this one. Maybe the action adventure’s fans were all watching ‘Trail Of The Lost Empire’ and that was a too tough competitor for this one.


TRAIL OF THE LOST EMPIRE

‘Here is the typical movie production conceived only to make money. It is difficult to say anything bad about this kind of luxury productions. It has a director that knows very well his job. It has a solid screenplay that mathematically balances action and comedy sequences to keep the pace alive. It has a trustable allstars cast. The high budget allows designing with care all the needed special effects. Nothing can fail. Of course, these kinds of movies are always as entertaining as forgettable. But the brains behind these financial operations do not care about posterity but about net gains. And, in that sense, ‘Trail Of The Lost Empire’ comfortably covers expectations.’
-Roy Winslow

‘It is a shame how Tom Cruise has been making during the last years everything possible to ruin his public image. Cruise can be hated or disdained but the truth is that alongside his career he has proven to be an efficient and talented actor adaptable to all kind of genres from action to drama, romance or comedy. He could still be the big star he has been for decades. In ‘Trail Of The Lost Empire’, he proves once more he is still in good shape to play a charming action hero. Maybe if he keeps making entertaining movies like this, he could still have a chance to revive his glory days… if he stops insisting in destroying his image.’
-Lilly Stevens

‘The best thing that can be said about this movie is that it does not take itself too seriously. Verbinski has been wise enough to put into it a self-parody spirit that becomes its main appeal. That humorous touch is particularly noticeable in the ironic way that Brosnan and Waltz play their characters (their funny acting work is probably the best of the movie). That way, the characters become more anti-heroes than strictly heroes (in the same line that Harrison Ford played Indiana Jones) and that makes them more appealing to the audience. ‘Trail Of The Lost Empire’ becomes at the end a tribute to old classic adventure movies. It knows when it is needed to laugh at old stereotypes while telling an entertaining story.’
-Tim Reeve

AMEDIA

‘When I started watching ‘Amedia’ I was so impressed. Here I had what probably was the best ensemble movie I had seen in ages. A wonderful picture of an interesting gallery of characters. An intelligent web of crossed relationships between them. Brilliant dialogues and unexpected situations. Adult emotional conflicts. It looked to me as the best adult drama I had ever seen coming from CMP. I got so much into the story and felt absolutely absorbed by it. And then… something happened. After two thirds of the movie, everything suddenly changed. It was as if Taylor, Kubrick and Edwards suddenly smoked something wrong while writing the movie… What? DiCaprio had been abducted by aliens? This is all about bombing and aliens? I just wanted to cry. How can a masterly drama be ruined like that? They had written the most interesting plot and they had created the best characters I had seen in ages and then they decided to blow it up all. I am not sure what my strongest feeling about it is: sad or mad.’
-Charlie Kiggs

‘Original. Different. Intelligent. Creative. Daring. Surprising. Chad Taylor’s debut as movie director is without doubt one of the greatest movies of the Season and probably one of the best movies in CMP’s history. The sum of the creative talents of Taylor, Edwards and Kubrick has produced a wonderful movie with the skill to both interest and surprise from first minute to end. The constant twists of the plot together with the talent of making believable the unbelievable turn ‘Amedia’ into a unique piece of art. The authors have built up a story that deliberately avoids any cliché or stereotype. This is not a movie for comfortable audiences that do not look for novelties when watching a movie. This is a master piece oriented to open minded audiences looking for something new and unpredictable. A great work.’
-Anne Roman

‘In 1993, Robert Altman directed what probably is one of the best ensemble dramas ever made in Hollywood: ‘Short Cuts’. ‘Amedia’ retakes the spirit of that master piece and becomes a kind of ‘Short Cuts 2.0’. Altman would have never gone as far as Taylor has gone here, introducing those unexpected fantastic elements in the plot as a climax for all the intimate conflicts of the characters (something that Dawson Edwards also did – but not as wildly as here – with the final meteor in ‘Asterios Polyp’). A daring plot twist that increases the common feeling of loneliness, hopeless and confusion shared by all the characters in the story. ‘Amedia’ is a disturbing drama that may please part of the audience as much as it will irritate others. Dense, excessive, but also thought-provoking and creative. One thing is for sure: it won’t leave you indifferent.’
-Jackie O’Callaghan

THE FANTASTIC ISLAND

‘Alfonso Cuaron seems to be specializing in entertainment movies oriented to the youngest audiences. Movies like ‘Zoids’, ‘The Blacksmith’s Sword’ or this one have their main target in young kids. And that is not something to be criticized. But it turns all his movies into a bit too simple products with not too many new ideas. They are perfectly manufactured, budget perfectly adapts to the production design and Cuaron proves once and again that he is an efficient moviemaker. But his movies stay in a correct level without providing anything particularly remarkable. They are ok. You know you will have a good time going to watch them with your kids. And everything will be fine if you don’t look for anything more than that.’
-Vic Carter

‘The problem with 3D movies is that, sometimes, the whole production becomes slave of the 3D effects. If you make a movie using the 3D technique, you feel obliged to shoot sequences that take the most of it (you know: throwing things directly to the audience, making monsters or animals come out of the screen, etc.). ‘Avatar’ was an intelligent example of how 3D can be just another element of a movie but not necessarily the main appeal of it. But ‘The Fantastic Island’ is not ‘Avatar’. The story and the planning of the sequences seem conceived only to impress the audience with the usual ‘3D tricks’. The main worry of Cuaron seems to be that audiences feel that all the peculiar creatures shown in the movie are there to bite them or to roar as close to their faces as possible. And that ends up becoming a heavy weight for the story as you end up forgetting about the plot and just waiting for the next 3D effect coming up.’
- Amy Ratched

‘This non-sequel of ‘The Fantastic Mansion’ has tried to repeat some of the elements that made that movie a big blockbuster: lot of fantasy, impressive digitally generated creatures, a non-stop pace and a return to the adventure spirit of many old Steven Spielberg’s productions. I particularly found many reminiscences of ‘Jurassic Park’ here (and I’m not talking only of Goldblum’s presence). But ‘The Fantastic Island’ does not reach the charm of ‘The Fantastic Mansion’ (you just cannot compare the powerful screen presence of Abbie and Dakota with the weak presence of Gamble and Carroll) and it only becomes a correct popcorn movie for those who are still amazed by 3D.’
-Jake Cobb


TRAIL OF THE LOST EMPIRE

OPENING STATEMENT: It's very rare we get an adventure film that actually leaves us with a sense of wanting more. Trail of the Lost Empire does just that. It had just enough elements to go above and beyond what most adventure films offer us lately.

WHAT I LIKE: The cast works, and the writing done by none other than the great Joey Stark.

WHAT I DISLIKE: It took a little while to really get into the film.

SHINING STAR/DEAD WEIGHT: It's a film where everyone in the cast had something great to bring to the table, yes even that crazy kat, Tom Cruise.

THE BRAINS BEHIND: Gore's experience in adventure shows how far he's come in this film. Like Alfonso Cuaron with mainly a Sci-Fi Fantasy, he seems to be the Alfonso of the Adventure genre. Joey also happens to make a great effort here; hopefully critics and moviegoers respond well to this great little movie. I think Joey should do more adventure movies!

OVERALL: A it delivers on exactly what it sets out to do!

AMEDIA

OPENING STATEMENT: Wow. Talk about CMP's most ambitious movie ever conceived. Three writers working hard to keep the main vision of the film in focus. The rest of the films this season might shiver at the thought that this film might just be the GMA sweeper; and if that's the case: There's a good chance we'll have our first ever 'trio-screen-writer-team' GMA nod. It's going to happen, you know it.

WHAT I LIKE: Again, the cast works well together and the plot of the film is original. I'm a sucker for original material.

WHAT I DISLIKE: For a film with a big cast and a big movie, you just know it's going to be hard for the simple-minded to follow.

SHINING STAR/DEAD WEIGHT: This is one of the cases where the shining stars are the writing team more than the cast. Taylor, Kubrick and Edwards: remember those names. That's not to say the cast was all that bad either, everyone showed off an impressive work: But they are just going under the direction and saying words put on paper by the three writers.

THE BRAINS BEHIND: I will be unhappy if this film goes ignored by GMA writers. These writers made a fantastic effort and went above and beyond the call of duty. Nice work, guys!

OVERALL: A+ no more, no less!

THE FANTASTIC ISLAND

OPENING STATEMENT: I like how Josh Collins made the film a sequel-non-sequel of the Fantastic Mansion; only using two actors from the original 'Fantastic' film. Making it 3D however felt like a ditch effort to jump on the 3D bandwagon. You can watch the 3D and 2D version of the film and feel like you didn't miss much.

WHAT I LIKE: Definitely a good attempt to deliver a theory on what happened to the disappearing boats/planes that came near Bermuda Triangle. Like Joey delivering a sense of adventure with his film this week, Josh made a great effort at delivering a great shot at fantasy.

WHAT I DISLIKE: The plot was a little short compared to the other films released. Felt like there should have been more; and like I said, the 3D didn't feel more than just being part of the Hollywood 3D phase.

SHINING STAR/DEAD WEIGHT: Yet again, the cast perfectly fits their roles and works well together. The adults, the kids: everyone did well with what they were given.

THE BRAINS BEHIND: It can be difficult to direct a film with all these CGI creatures, taking from ideas that have already been done before(who didn't sing the JAWS theme when the Megalodon attacked?) and Alfonso has done so many fantasy films that it can be a challenge to make another fantasy film unique, but he still delivered! The film may not be as good as the first Fantastic film, but it is entertaining and something to bring the kids to this week if you think the other releases are too much for the little ones.

OVERALL: B not as good as the first, but not horrible altogether!

MR. THUMBS' CERTIFIED MUST SEE OF THE WEEK

I loved them all, so..

SEE ALL THREE!!

MIDSEASON’S TOP 5

After 15 movies released, Season 15 is going extremely well so far. It seems like CMP had gone through a kind of box office’s crisis during the last Seasons and the crisis is finally over. Audiences are back to the theatres and numbers are being higher than ever. If things keep going this way, Season 15 could become one of the most profitable Seasons in the Studio’s history. There has been at least one ‘100+ millions’ (and two ‘200+’!!!) release every week so far, a record breaker like ‘Metroid’ and only two flops out of the 15 movies released. CMP just can’t ask for more.

(Numbers: Box Office / Net Gains)

1.METROID: 279 / 406
2.ASSASSIN’S CREED: 224 / 224
3.SUPERMAN: LAST SON: 180 / 179
4.TRAIL OF THE LOST EMPIRE: 173 / 158
5.THE DARK TOWER: SONG OF SUSANNAH: 159 / 126