JULY, 19


FIRST FLIGHT

Sci-fI / Adventure
Cast: Matthew Fox, Chris Evans, Zoe Saldana, Willem Dafoe, Tyrese Gibson, Ian McShane
Director and Producer: JJ Abrams
Screenwriter: Ben Goldey

Box Office: 189 mill.
Net Gains: 189 mill.

Stark’s Reaction:
Nothing could go wrong and nothing did. Excellent box office and net gains for this one. In fact, it equals ‘Faction 12’ as the most successful movie made by Abrams for CMP.

THE LAMB LIES DOWN ON BROADWAY

Fantasy / Musical
Cast: James Franco, Freddy Rodriguez, Christopher Walken, Tilda Swinton, Tom Baker, Peter Gabriel, Phil Collins
Director, Producer and Screenwriter: Ben Tyler

Box Office: 62 mill.
Net Gains: 26 mill.

Stark’s Reaction:
The thing I like about this strange movie is that it is one of those movies that you may either love it or hate it but one thing is for sure: it won’t leave you indifferent. And while the debate about if it is an artistic creation or an irritating fraud goes on, the good thing is that moviegoers have shown interest enough to make net gains with it.

L.A. WOLF

Action / Crime
Cast: Nathan Fillion, Jennifer Garner, Peter O’Toole, Paul Bettany, Liam Neeson, Nicholas Hoult, Richard Jenkins, James Cromwell
Director and Screenwriter: Chad Taylor
Producer: Silver Lining Entertainment

Box Office: 69 mill.
Net Gains: 65 mill.

Stark’s Reaction:
Step by step, Silver Lining Entertainment is becoming the most profitable affiliate production company for CMP. Taylor’s films – besides the ‘Justice League’ franchise, of course – do not usually become big blockbusters. But they usually make nice box offices and even nicer net gains.


FIRST FLIGHT

‘JJ Abrams is an experienced designer of big shows. And he has done again in ‘First Flight’ what he does best. All he needs is a big budget and a screenplay full of clichés tested before in many other films and he will be able to put up a guaranteed blockbuster with it. That’s what ‘First Flight’ is. Abrams has retaken elements he used before out of CMP in ‘Star Trek’ (from a sophisticated spaceship to Zoe Saldana) and has made the Stuido earn an amazing amount of money. Everybody’s happy. Creativity, innovation or originality are not the issues here.’
-Andrew Stampton

‘Same way it happened past week with ‘Uncharted 2: Among Thieves’, ‘First Flight’ proves again that old formulas never die. The premises and the kind of characters of this movie can be found in many other previous films. Some of them can be even found at CMP’s films vault (an old CMp’s film titled ‘Taurus 3’, if I’m not wrong, comes to my mind, together with an own Abrams’ film in CMP too, ‘Faction 12’). Put a few heroic guys and a few mean guys together in a sophisticated spacecraft and put the Earth in danger too and, unless you have no idea of filming, you have big chances of making an entertaining movie. Fox and Evans are pretty heroic looking stars. Dafoe is a sure bet for a villain. And Abrams moves comfortably in the sci-fi genre. Nothing can go wrong. You’ll forget the movie as soon as you leave the theatre but, in the meantime, you’ll have a very entertaining time.’
-Amy Ratched

‘Ben Goldey shows with his first screenplay that he can easily join the squad of blockbusters’ makers in CMP. Goldey has not been shy or modest with his first proposal for the Studio. He has bet for a spectacular sci-fi adventure. And the turnout of it has been an extraordinary success and a shiny introduction of a new screenwriting talent in CMP. Nothing to complain about it. Maybe Goldey will face riskier challenges in the future. But at least he has reached one first achievement with his debut: he knows how to bring moviegoers into a theatre and he has made CMP to make a lot of money. Can’t be asked for more.’
-Lilly Stevens

THE LAMB LIES DOWN ON BROADWAY

‘Not very often, a movie deserves to be considered as a masterpiece. And this is the case. Ben Tyler has made one of the most brilliant experiments in the art of moviemaking in years. He has made something only reserved for the best moviemakers ever: he has invented an own movie language with this splendid and artsy writing and directional job. The concepts of time and space disappear in it. The plot/non-plot is diluted in a succession of hypnotizing oniric sequences. And there are some powerful findings – that wall/screen chasing Rael across New York City’s streets ending up with a montage where JFK, MLK and even Fred and Ginger are mixed, that crowded chamber or the pink water pool with reptiles with breasts…. – that inevitably trap and submerge the audience into this frantic fantasy with an amazing visual strength. It’s a completely different way of telling a story without a real story. As said, a creative, innovative and unique masterpiece.’
-Vic Carter

‘Ben Tyler already proved he is a nostalgic of classic rock when he wrote for CMP a remake of ‘Quadrophenia’ some Seasons ago. Now, he has moved from The Who to Genesis to turn into images their baroque album from 1974. And while ‘Quadrophenia’ was a loyal remake of the original movie and a more ‘standard’ film, this time Tyler has completely lost self-control and he has let himself go into an orgy of images directly taken from the iconography of the hippy movement and the lysergic imagery that was created by The Beatles in the ‘Yellow Submarine’ album and then followed and developed by other rock bands like Genesis. To share his creative enthusiasm, you have to share with him too that nostalgia for the spirit of the 70’s. If not, it will be hard for you to understand what’s all this about.’
-Tim Reeve

‘Obviously, this is not a popcorn movie. In fact, to fully appreciate this film you need to take something way much stronger than popcorns… Ben Tyler has suffered a severe attack of brain diarrhea and the result is this pretentious, endless and senseless piece of rubbish mixed with adulterated LSD. Music language and cinematic language are too very different things. Alan Parker already discovered that when he turned the wonderful Pink Floyd’s album ‘The Wall’ into a lousy movie back in 1982. Same has happened here. What can be musically suggestive or creative, becomes an empty excess when turned into images. I am sure Tyler has had fun filming all those surreal sequences. And maybe James Franco has also enjoyed playing them. But once shown on screen, it all becomes as dispensable as all the music Gabriel and Collins have made since they left Genesis. At least, I wished Tyler could have made a bigger effort at the editing room so the film would not have lasted way much more than necessary.’
-Charlie Kiggs

L.A.WOLF

‘A good cop movie. And don’t take that as a cold description. After having watched hundreds of cops movies, it is hard to still find a cops movie engrossing and entertaining enough. Chad Taylor has written a solid screenplay. He puts together different plotlines with efficiency and pictures believable and interesting characters in an intriguing puzzle where each piece has its own sense. And then he has shot it with that distant coldness this kind of movies demand to be disturbing enough. The result is a film that may not offer anything new but only that nice feeling of suspense and intrigue that only good movies are capable to provoke.’
-Roy Winslow

‘I wonder why Chad Taylor decided to choose Nathan Fillion to play David Wolf. While watching the movie, I had the feeling that the character demanded a bit older actor. After all, Wolf has a pretty grown up kid and has gone through quite a few experiences in life. Forty years old Fillion and his youthful look didn’t seem to me the best choice for a tough and tormented guy with a past like Wolf. Besides that, I had the feeling that the screen presence of Liam Neeson and Paul Bettany were underused. Same goes for Jennifer Garner. But, on the other side, Nicholas Hoult’s talent was a nice surprise to me and it was nice to see again Peter O’Toole, still rocking after all these years.’
-Anne Roman

‘Chad Taylor has made a peculiar bet when presenting this movie as a kind of prequel to the two ‘L.A. Wolf’ movies written by Josh Collins. The character created by Collins didn’t reach the status of a CMP’s icon, as the movies did not work that well at box office. So I wonder if it adds anything to this film presenting it as the development of Wolf’s past partially mentioned at ‘L.A. Wolf 2’ and not as a brand new independent story. Specially considering that even the actor playing the character has changed. Once said so, this new ‘L.A.Wolf’ may be less spectacular in terms of action pace than the Collins’ movies – particularly, the first one, which was the best of the two – but in terms of solidness of the storyline and intriguing atmosphere, this one definitely beats its two predecessors.’
-Mark Anderson