FEBRUARY, 1


DARK SHADOWS

Romance / Horror
Cast: James Franco, Daniel Craig, Blair Brown, Zoe Saldana, Malcolm McDowell, Briana Evigan, Jared Padalecki, Marley Shelton, Preston Bailey
Director: Nick Cassavetes
Screenwriter: Matt Kubrick

Box Office: 35 mill.
Net Gains: 12 mill.

Stark’s Reaction:
It’s a shame that audiences have not appreciated this very original movie. It’s sad to see how a wide range of moviegoers only watch console games adaptations and superheroes movies.

THE SHOW

Comedy / Satire
Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Nicole Kidman, Chloe Moretz, Robert De Niro, Tom Hanks, Paul Giamatti, Maggie Gyllenhaal
Director: Jason Reitman
Screenwriter: James Bradley

Box Office: 94 mill.
Net Gains: 43 mill.

Stark’s Reaction:
I must say here the opposite of what I’ve said about ‘Dark Shadows’: I’m glad audiences have appreciated this great comedy. Similar numbers to the previous Bradley’s comedy, ‘Queens’. Here, net gains are lower because the Studio had to spend a huge amount of money paying the salaries of the big names involved.

SAVAGE STREETS

Action
Cast: Kristen Stewart, Jaimie Alexander, Ariel Gade, Diego Luna, Shawn Ashmore, Victor Rasuk, Matt Dallas. Cameo by Linda Blair.
Director: Marcus Nispel
Screenwriters: Joey Stark & Matt Kubrick
Producer: Midnight Movies

Box Office: 42 mill.
Net Gains: 40 mill.

Stark’s Reaction:
Only correct box office. Net gains increased thanks to DVD market. It seems like people preferred to watch this one at home. Every time an ‘R’ rated movie makes net gains, I feel relief.


DARK SHADOWS

‘’Dark Shadows’ is a delicious vintage gothic movie. It very much reminds the old British horror movies from Hammer. It is like if you would not be surprised if Vincent Price, Peter Cushing, Donald Pleasence or Christopher Lee suddenly showed up on scene. Of course, the movie is deliberately old fashioned and out of trend but that’s precisely its charm. You can understand that the youngest moviegoers cannot appreciate the spirit of this movie and the tribute it is to an old way of making movies definitely lost. But if you are a fan of the golden days of the horror genre and you love those old dark and baroque atmospheres, don’t miss this brilliant revival.’
-Charlie Kiggs

‘It may be exaggerated to consider this movie a master piece. But at least it is a remarkable experiment. I wasn’t too confident when I read that it was Nick Cassavetes who was directing the movie. I have never considered Cassavetes a great moviemaker, like his father was. So his work in this movie has been a very nice surprise. He has perfectly mixed classic elements with a contemporary narrative style, taking the best of the looks of the original tv series, the use of a very special cinematography and a contemporary narrative style full of suspense. I know Tim Burton will make soon his own version of this story and probably he will be more successful and praised than Cassavetes. But I doubt that he can really make a better movie than this.’
-Vic Carter

‘From time to time, there’s something really new and innovative coming from CMP. And this is one of those cases. ‘Dark Shadows’ has nothing to do with the usual superheroes movies, action flicks or horror shows often developed by the Studio. It is something different from everything. It’s a movie with its own personality. It takes all kind of classic elements – the B-series spirit, vampires, horror, suspense, romance… - but when putting them together, the final result looks fresh and unique. There’s nothing new under the sun. But sometimes, moviemakers – director, screenwriter and cast – get to make look as something brand new what in fact isn’t. And that demands something that can be summarized in just one word: talent.’
-Jackie O’Callaghan

THE SHOW

‘Here is another excellent comedy from James Bradley. This movie has all the ingredients of the ‘Bradley touch’: subtle sense of humor, intelligence, irony, a criticism to social uses and hypocrisy… everything wrapped with brilliant dialogues, excessive but at the same time believable situations and great acting works. ‘The Show’ is acid, funny, irritating and thought-provoking all together. It definitely joins ‘Bill and the Rocket Man’, ‘Nude!’ or ‘The Miracle Men’ as one of the best works of this master in adult comedy that Bradley has come to be.’
-Anne Roman

‘Having a top-notch cast is not a guarantee of good acting works. Big names also make lousy movies (isn’t that right, Mr. Robert ‘Little Fockers’ De Niro?). James Bradley usually works with big names in his movies. But the good thing is that he knows how to take the best of them. The best of this movie are the ‘negative’ characters. De Niro, Hanks, Kidman, Giamatti and Gyllenghaal wonderfully play those characters with mean souls decided to take the biggest benefit possible of the dramatic situation. You really get to hate their egotism. It is their brilliant acting works what upgrades the social denounce of this story without losing its comedic spirit. When big names make a big acting work it is a real pleasure watching them on screen.’
-Tim Reeve

‘Jason Reitman proves again that he is one of the most brilliant young directors in today’s Hollywood. The ironic spirit of ‘Juno’ is back in this completely different story. Reitman finds again the perfect tone to tell the story avoiding excesses and keeping the interest alive during its whole length. Reitman is one of those directors that shine when they have a solid material to work with and Bradley’s screenplay fits like a glove with his directional style. I hope we have more chances to see his name in the credits of future CMP’s movies.’
-Mark Anderson

SAVAGE STREETS

‘Joey Stark and Matt Kubrick have reached their objective: yes, this ‘Savage Streets 2011’ is much better than ‘Savage Streets 1984’. But that does not mean that this is a good movie. The original one was so bad that, to be honest, the challenge was not that difficult. The 1984 version was a terrible movie and this 2011 version is only a weak one. ‘Savage Streets’ is nothing more than an ultraviolent exploitation movie. The only possible entertainment watching this movie is to throw up your popcorns high and shout and applaud while Kristen Stewart kicks ass the bad guys one after another. If watching people being mean and violent on screen helps you to relax, this is your movie.’
-Andrew Stampton

‘Kristen Stewart tries to prove that she can be something more than the sweet and tormented girl from the ‘Twilight’ saga. I can’t imagine any other objective in this production than that. CMP knows that she has a legion of fans that will religiously pay a movie ticket to see her on screen doing anything. So at the end ‘Savage Streets’ is nothing more than a vehicle for Kristen to shine. The girl is not precisely the best actress in the world and it is a bit hard to see her as a tough girl but still she has screen presence enough to keep the story slightly interesting. This movie may help her career but definitely won’t make her part of Movie History.’
-Amy Ratched

‘Just in case we have not had enough violent girls with the lousy ‘Reform School Girls’ series, Stark and Kubrick picture here another girl you better not mess around with, this time with a cause. This is not a movie for soft souls or weak stomachs. Marcus Nispel shoots without complexes the graphic ultraviolent sequences – the terrible sequence of Gade’s rape, the final revenge showdown… – showing in the short takes editing style the influence of his background as music videos director. He tries not being as explicit as the original movie but still you have to go through really hard sequences. Not my cup of tea.’
-Lilly Stevens