DECEMBER, 21


REPLICANT REBEL

Sci-Fi / Action
Cast: Ethan Hawke, Evan Rachel Wood, Ralph Fiennes, William H. Macy, Saoirse Ronan
Director: Luc Besson
Producer: Ridley Scott
Screenwriter: Steve Connors

Box Office: 84 mill.
Net Gains: 96 mill.

Stark’s Reaction:
Definitely, Blade Runner’s movies are not meant to become big blockbusters. But, still, this one has made nice numbers and more than decent net gains. And I think that fans of adult sci-fi will appreciate this solid production.

THRUST FROM SKYLINE

Sci-Fi / Adventure
Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Ving Rhames, Keir Gilchrist, Emma Roberts, Ben Foster
Director: Duncan Jones
Screenwriter: Lawrence Abernathy

Box Office: 89 mill.
Net Gains: 73 mill.

Stark’s Reaction:
I admit I thought this movie was going to make much better numbers. Same as ‘Replicant Rebel’, these are numbers satisfactory enough. But I have got used lately to so many ‘100’ and even ‘200’ releases that 89 now tastes like a slight disappointment.

20 FEET UNDER THE TUB

Adventure / Animation / Comedy
Cast: Adam Sandler, Seth Rogen, Robert Downey Jr.
Director: Brad Bird
Screenwriter: Chad Taylor



Box Office: 76 mill.
Net Gains: 37 mill.

Stark’s Reaction:
Also below expectations… It’s funny: I was convinced that this one was going to be an outstanding week with the three movies making excellent box offices and it has become the weakest week in terms of box office in a long time… Audiences keep being extremely unpredictable…


REPLICANT REBEL

‘Steve Connors returns to the Blade Runner’s universe after ‘Edge Of Human’ with another sophisticated sci-fi production. ‘Replicant Rebel’ is a complex story that needs a deep previous knowledge of the rules of that universe and more specifically of the events that took place in ‘Edge Of Human’ to be fully understood. The plot is based almost 99% in one only question that was part of the plot of both ‘Blade Runner’ and ‘Edge Of Human’ and becomes here the main element of the intrigue: are the main characters – Hawke’s and Woods’ – replicants or human? Everything that happens in the movie is based on that question and as the main suspense element of the story that can be very interesting for Blade Runner’s freaks but it ends up becoming a bit too irrelevant for the general audience. That makes the movie not being as intriguing and interesting as it pretends to be becoming more a product oriented only for the most loyal fans of the saga.’
-Charlie Kiggs

‘Luc Besson is a pretty interesting director but he has never fully adapted to the rules of Hollywood’s mainstream productions. He always tries to save his label of ‘auteur’ and that means to sacrifice a bit the spirit of entertainment needed to reach wide audiences. ‘Replicant Rebel’ wants to be a quality adult-oriented sci-fi production. And maybe it is. The problem is that it is not entertaining. Action sequences are missing. There is an excess of dialogue sequences. Besson’s search of a ‘quality touch’ has made him forget that movies like this not only need a brilliant production design, interesting characters and a solid plot but also they have to be entertaining and include some more action.’
-Mark Anderson

‘Although the potential of the Blade Runner’s universe is almost infinite, it also shows some signs of exhaustion with ‘Replicant Rebel’. The twisted plot of this movie brings back all the elements from ‘Blade Runner’ and ‘Edge Of Human’ – the secrets of Tyrrell Corporation, the peculiarities of replicants’ nature, the permanent doubt about the own identity of the lead character… - and walks in circles around all those familiar elements without really going anywhere new. Again, Woods’ character is the most appealing creation of these new movies, as it happened in ‘Edge Of Human’. Nothing new under the dark sun of Blade Runner’s universe. Connors and Scott could go on making one movie after another based on this universe and probably they would all be interesting but I have the feeling that there’s nothing more to learn about this world shared by humans and replicants that look very much alike ones to the others.’
-Tim Reeve

THRUST FROM SKYLINE

‘It is always difficult to judge the first movie of a new CMP’s author. You don’t have any reference about the writing style to compare. This first Lawrence Abernathy’s screenplay shows a lot of potential but, at the same time, it also shows some limitations and it is not easy to know if it is the screenplay the one to blame or the directional job of another debutante in CMP like Duncan Jones. The main problem here is that Abernathy and Jones have put a lot of interest and dedicated a lot of time to set the preliminaries of the story: that new world that has risen after the so called Gray Day with all its rules and characteristics. But then, once established the universe where the story is going to take place, when it comes to develop the plot, it seems like there was not much of a plot to develop. The wrapping is much better than the content. And that’s always bad in a movie. While it creates a lot of expectations during its first half, then the movie does not turn as spectacular or entertaining or breathtaking as it seemed it was going to be. And that leaves you with the uncomfortable feeling of having watched a movie that does not accomplish the full potential it seemed to have.’
-Roy Winslow

‘The post-apocalyptic worlds are something pretty familiar in CMP. From the old days of ‘The Last Lawman’ to more recent productions like ‘Invasion’ or ‘New World’, among some others CMP’s productions, the Studio has developed quite a bunch of movies based on a futuristic world risen after some kind of cataclysm. I could not help having a feeling of déjà vu when this movie begun. After that, I admit that ‘Thrust From Skyline’ is a nice piece of easy entertainment. The main virtue of this movie is its lack of epic pretentions. Duncan Jones does not pretend to change the History of Moviemaking with it but simply to entertain audiences for 90 minutes. And he does. If you don’t look for anything more than that, you will be satisfied with the movie. If you are looking for a unique sci-fi movie that opens your eyes and mind to a new fantastic universe, this is not the right movie for you.’
-Jackie O’Callaghan

‘’Thrust From Skyline’ is obviously conceived to be the beginning of a new CMP’s franchise. It has it all to be the first installment of a blockbuster series: an interesting and exotic setting, a big name leading the cast like Ryan Reynolds and a fresh adventurous spirit. Maybe, only the usual sexy girl co-leading the cast or the ‘wanna-rule-the-world’ villain are missing as indispensable elements of any big franchise. The problem is that it seems like the authors of it might be thinking so much in the possible sequels that they have left too many things for them. The movie seems to be only the introduction of things to come in future installments. And that weakens too much the impact of the movie, as it ends up exactly when you have the feeling that the big action is about to begin.’
-Andrew Stampton

20 FEET UNDER THE TUB

‘Brad Bird has made his debut in CMP recovering the style and the spirit of his most famous works out of the Studio, Pixar’s ‘Ratatouille’ and ‘The Incredibles’. Obviously, when you are responsible of two of the best animated productions of the last decades, like those two movies are, it is very difficult to beat yourself. ’20 feet…’ shares with those movies the visual style and the intelligent sense of humor. Probably, if those movies did not exist, we would be talking here of a revolutionary master piece of the animation genre. But we are in 2010 and we have enjoyed before animated features full of visual findings and / or great comedy like those Bird’s previous works, the first ‘Shrek’, ‘Up’ or ‘Wall-E’. After so many master pieces in a reasonably short period of time, we have become too demanding when talking about animation. And that’s what makes this ’20 feet…’ to be judged only as a good movie but not as an extraordinary one.’
-Anne Roman

‘Of all the animals that have starred an animated movie, I must say that a lizard was the less appealing possible one for me. But a lizard with the voice of Adam Sandler, a comedian I particularly dislike, was just too much. So I went to watch this movie with an almost insurmountable prejudice. Thank God, Rubber Ducky Jr. and Robert Downey Jr. were there to save the function for me. It is that character the best finding of this correct, entertaining but not particularly impressive production. It was him the only thing that made me laughed when watching it. After being exhausted of watching Iron Man once and again in and out of CMP – ‘Iron Man 1 & 2’, the four Avengers movies, the cameo at the first Silver Sable’s movie… it’s more than enough for one character -, his parodic recreation in this movie not only helped me to reconcile with the original Iron Man but also to have a better time than expected watching the movie.’
-Amy Ratched

‘In the area of animated movies, CMP has always moved between trying to create an own and unique style – ‘The Ice Princess’, ‘Mouse Guard’, ‘F-Zero’ would be some worthy examples of that – and competing directly with the already established visual style of Pixar and Dreamworks. And it has always been when CMP has been more daring and innovative when the Studio has released its best animation movies. ’20 Feet Under The Tub’ is a failed attempt to beat Pixar and Dreamworks in a territory in which these Studios are simply unbeatable. That does not mean that we are talking of a bad movie here. But in terms of creativity and innovation, the movie is very little more than a routine work that will please audiences without leaving any special mark in the evolution of contemporary animation.’
-Jake Cobb


REPLICANT REBEL

OPENING STATEMENT: Once again, I don't think anyone could have done a better job keeping the spirit of Blade Runner alive better than Steve Connors. To call Replicant Rebel a sequel to Edge of Human doesn't quite give it the respect it deserves. Particularly since most sequels are terrible. This is more like a continuation of the first film, starting where it left off because nobodies going to want to sit through 4+ hours of a movie. We know there may not be more says Connors, and I'm glad he can stick to his word and not expect a crappy film to close it all off. If there's nothing more to say, then there isn't.

BEST OF IT: Replicant Rebel delivers what a science fiction film should deliver. A fantasy 'what-if' universe mixing in a taste of reality.

WORST OF IT: It ended

SHINING STAR/DEAD WEIGHT: The cast returned from Edge of Human, so no original standouts here. They still did a great job in their roles. Oscar nominee Saiorse Ronan has been given a few minor roles in CMP, but she is a standout for future roles to say she is much more than a filler.

THE BRAINS BEHIND: A wonderful writer, awesome producer, visionary director. The combination of these elements were truly what kept this movie floating in mid-air. Connors took his time, energy and patience to flesh out the story and keep it every bit as good as the first installment. I love it when Ridley Scott goes back to his sci-fi action roots, even if he was just producer, you can see he had a big hand in making the production work.

OVERALL: A+ Definitely a blockbuster!

THRUST FROM SKYLINE

OPENING STATEMENT: Some may say that it's a mistake to put two huge sci-fi action films together in the same week. I myself appreciate the competition seeing as how there seems to never be any in Hollywood anymore. Don't you remember? When movies actually went head to head the same weekend and it was may the best one win? Now when it comes to summer movies, everyone is all nice to each other, "oh you want the weekend of May 3rd? ok, we'll take May 10th!" WHERE'S THE BLOOD?! Sorry, Thrust From Skyline has a lot to live up to for a debuting author, but I am proud to see that it's actually worth watching with the innovative plot and characters.

BEST OF IT: The plot, characters, direction, effects, all those cool things that go into making a great sci-fi classic.

WORST OF IT: Predicting that 3150 is going to look like it did in the film. Back to the Future thought that 2015 was going to already have flying cars. 5 years from now, I don't see that happening.

SHINING STAR/DEAD WEIGHT: Keir Gilchrist is a name not many are familiar with, but after seeing this film his name should be remembered. He holds his own very well against the established actors in the film.

THE BRAINS BEHIND: Excellent work from the debuting Lawrence Abernathy and a fantastic show from director Duncan Jones. They mixed well an idea we've seen before and added in their own brand of originality. It's too bad we haven't been hearing from Lawrence since. Why pitch a film then disappear before the movie even gets released? Especially when we are left with the possibility of a sequel.

OVERALL: A+ good show, old man!

20 FEET UNDER THE TUB

OPENING STATEMENT: Parents rejoice! You have somewhere to go with the kiddies this weekend. Chad Taylor tried his hand at making a film for families to enjoy together and he does yet again a fine job of creating an interesting original story. Who would have thunk a story about a lizard and a bathtub would actually be so good? CMP has attempted to get to Pixar quality but usually has fallen short. 20 Feet Under the Tub is one of the very few CMP animated films to reach that status. Nice parody of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea title, by the way.

BEST OF IT: Wrapped up in jokes that both adults and kids can laugh at without trying to make the jokes purposely fly over their heads; making sure it doesn't insult the intelligence of the little ones. It acts as an animated parody film from the title to Rubber Ducky Jr and more. I haven't laughed this much at a family-friendly film in CMP since Woodland Creatures.

WORST OF IT: Nothing!

SHINING STAR/DEAD WEIGHT: The voice cast did particularly well. One thing that's annoyed me in animated films is they worry so much about 'whose in it' and never give them the chance to actually create a voice for the character. There are so many talented voice actors out there who never get voice-over work in major films and they can actually change their voices. Robert Downey Jr on the other hand definitely stood out to create a new voice for Rubber Ducky Jr.

THE BRAINS BEHIND: Brad Bird has been the man to go to for animation and this film shows why. He can make a great story and focus on it and the characters more than trying to wow the audience with CGI. The animation seems to be a bonus in the storyline. Once again, I applaud Chad Taylor's work in always seeking to do something new and original. I don't think I've hated one of his movies yet.

OVERALL: A+ see it whether you are 6 months old or 101 years old.

MR. THUMBS' CERTIFIED MUST SEE OF THE WEEK:

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IMPORTANT:
CMP GOES ON CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS
BACK IN JANUARY, THE 7th!