AUGUST, 2


GREEN ARROW: YEAR ONE

Action / Superhero
Cast: Garrett Hedlund, Saraa Lathan, Paddy Considine, Naomie Harris
Director: Wayne Kramer
Producer: Christopher Nolan
Screenwriter: D.R. Cobb

Box Office: 180 mill.
Net Gains: 209 mill.

Stark’s Reaction:
Outstanding numbers! Third release of the Season making more than 200 million of net gains! Merchandising and DVD market is working even better than box office this Season.

THIS FAR FROM HEAVEN

Western / Action
Cast: Russell Crowe, Diane Lane, Saoirse Ronan, Gabriel Byrne, Joseph Fiennes, Kevin Costner, Bill Paxton, Ryan Gosling
Director: Clint Eastwood
Screenwriter: Richard Franzwa

Box Office: 43 mill.
Net Gains: 11 mill.

Stark’s Reaction:
Everytime we release a western, I feel satisfied enough if it does not flop. This one has made very similar numbers to the other western of the Season, ‘The Sheriff, Saloon and the Storm’. Farewell, Mr. Franzwa!

FRONTIER

Drama / Adventure
Cast: Peter Sarsgaard, Atticus Shaffer, Charlize Theron, Mark Strong
Directors: Joel and Ethan Coen
Producer: Silver Lining Entertainment
Screenwriter: Chad Taylor

Box Office: 66 mill.
Net Gains: 36 mill.

Stark’s Reaction:
Dramas are always a hit or miss. And 66 millions at box office is definitely a hit for a low budget author-esque drama like this.


GREEN ARROW: YEAR ONE

‘One of the immutable patterns of the first movie of any superhero franchise is that it has to tell the origins of the character before he gets involved in his first adventure. The film can spend more or less time to tell those origins. But the problem with ‘Green Arrow: Year One’ is that the film ONLY tells the origins of the character. In fact, Garrett Hedlund is only seen as Green Arrow during a few minutes at the end of the movie. It seems like Kramer and Cobb have decided to make only a long introduction of the character and leave any real adventure for the predictable sequels. So this is not really a superhero movie. It is an action adventure film about goods and bads fighting in an island in which the main character, incidentally, decides to become a superhero at the end of it. As a superhero movie, this film is a fraud. As an action adventure movie, it is only slightly entertaining.’
-Vic Carter

‘I suppose any actor must feel so happy when he is offered to play a superhero. It is a great chance to become a big star but, mainly, to make a lot of money leading a Hollywood’s franchise. Garrett Hedlund is the latest actor to have had that opportunity. Good choice. Hedlund is young, handsome and he has screen presence enough to lead this new franchise. Playing a superhero has nothing to do with acting talent so I won’t judge Hedlund from that perspective now. I’ll rather wait for ‘Oedipus Rex’. Together with him in the film, Paddy Considine makes a routine acting work far away from his acting potential and Sanaa Lathan definitely won’t become a member of the Hall Of Fame of superhero movies’ villains. And it is Naomie Harris who deals with the hardest job on the film playing that hardly believable character.’
-Roy Winslow

‘D.R.Cobb is making an appreciable effort trying to bring something new to the superheroes movie genre. ‘The Question’ was a brilliant new approach to the genre, less spectacular than sagas like ‘The Avengers’ or ‘Justice League’, but more focused on developing a solid plot and introducing elements of suspense and thriller in the genre. The result was a very interesting film and a more ‘adult’ conception of superheroes films. With ‘Green Arrow: Year One’, he has tried to follow that same new way: less digital effects and epic fighting sequences and more suspense and realistic action. But this time the results are not as good as they were in ‘The Question’. And the problem is the weakness of the screenplay. I have the feeling that Cobb has decided to shoot a kind of first draft of the story without polishing it enough. There are too many holes in the story. What’s the origin of the friendship between Ollie and Hackett? In fact, who is Ollie and what’s his background as business man? What has taken Hackett to betray his best friend and become an ally of that China White? And who is and where does come from that China White? Isn’t it too easy for the villains to find Ollie at his island? And are there slaves in Fiji Islands nowadays or only wealthy tourists? There are quite a few inconsistencies and unexplained elements in the plot that weakens the strength and credibility of the story. It is as if the introduction of this new superhero needed its own ‘introduction of the introduction’ to fully make us get into the story’.
-Jackie O’Callaghan

THIS FAR FROM HEAVEN

‘Obviously, western is an old fashioned and out of trend movie genre. From time to time, new westerns try to revitalize the genre with only a partial success at best. Some moviemakers have also tried to redefine the patterns of the genre looking for new visual or plot concepts but results, in terms of box office’s success, have not been too spectacular either. Only a few weeks ago, CMP tried that with ‘The Sheriff, Saloon and The Storm’ and, although it was an original and different way of making a western, audiences responded again in a cold way. And at least that film tried to update the genre. ‘This Far From Heaven’ is a much more classic western. There is no intention of updating or redefining the genre here. On the contrary, it is a deliberate attempt to make a strictly classic western absolutely loyal to the concepts and the kind of characters from the golden days of the genre. The result is a honest film but, inevitably, also a too old fashioned and out of trend film for the taste of nowadays moviegoers.’
-Charlie Kiggs

‘I understand that any actor or actress is willing to work with such a brilliant and prestigious moviemaker as Clint Eastwood is. Eastwood is one of those directors anyone would say ‘yes’ when he offers a job even before reading the screenplay. That’s probably the reason why this movie has such an interesting cast. Because the truth is that quite a few of the talents involved – Fiennes, Costner, Gosling… - play characters not developed enough and with a weak presence in the story. Probably, most of them would have not accepted those too minor roles if it wasn’t Mr.Eastwood the man behind the cameras as their talent and screen presence is highly underused in the film. It is only Crowe, Byrne, Lane and Ronan who have the opportunity to shine in the film playing characters developed enough. And the four of them do it with talent upgrading the quality of the film with their jobs.’
-Anne Roman

‘In my own personal opinion, the last great western Hollywood made was ‘Unforgiven’. And that film was made in 1992. And yes, Clint Eastwood directed and starred that masterpiece. 19 years later, Eastwood has accepted to return to the genre again – for the second time in CMP – and again, as it happened with ‘Dakota North’, he hasn’t reached the quality level of the unforgettable ‘Unforgiven’. Eastwood is the last of his kind and he knows it. He is the last icon alive of the good old days of western. That’s probably why he has wanted here to pay tribute to his teachers with this film. The spirit of Howard Hawks, John Sturges, Raoul Walsh, Henry Hathaway, Anthony Mann, Lesley Selander, Michael Curtiz, Samuel Fuller and of course John Ford, among many other masters of the genre, is present in this film. Even Russell Crowe acts as if he was Gary Cooper or Burt Lancaster. So maybe this well made film should not be judged in terms of box office’s success or cinematic quality but only be considered as a faithful homage to an old way of making movies forever gone.’
-Amy Ratched

FRONTIER

‘Beautiful movie. Joel and Ethan Coen have treated this Chad Taylor’s story in a caring, loving and detailed way. The wonderful cinematography, the intelligent use of open spaces and wide camera angles to remark the loneliness of the characters and the smooth pace of the narration provide the film of a perfect lyrical and poetic atmosphere. The intimate journey of those father and son becomes that way an epic and moving tale. As both characters face not only dangers and risks but also their own feelings, the relationship between them evolves in a most interesting process where redemption, melancholy, self-growth and other intimate aspects of both mix in a most believable, touching and engrossing way.’
-Lilly Stevens

‘This movie would have never worked if the chemistry between Peter Sarsgaard and Atticus Shaffer wouldn’t have worked. Luckily, it does. Besides the action moments, the flashbacks (maybe the weakest part of the story) and the beautiful landscapes shown on screen, it is the dialogue sequences when the movie reaches its top moments of quality. The interaction of the two main characters, how they rediscover and get closer to each other, how they express all kind of feelings from love to admiration to camaraderie, is the best of this brilliant film. Sarsgaard and Shaffer reach the perfect level of emotional intensity without falling into any acting excess. They avoid all the risks the story has of being too corny or overacting in any way. Charlize Theron and Mark Strong accept their condition of supporting characters, not stealing the show to the two main stars of the function: those unforgettable father and son that Sarsgaard and Shaffer play.’
-Andrew Stampton

‘Besides his big action shows like the Justice League movies, Taylor is specializing lately in minimalist dramas very much focused on only a few characters. Not an easy kind of movies at all. Dissecting a human being soul can be a much harder adventure than saving the world with superpowers. Logically, sometimes Taylor hits that difficult target, sometimes doesn’t. ‘Frontier’ is one of those cases when the objective is fully reached. Of course, with the invaluable help of the Coen Brothers. Joel and Ethan Coen confirm once more how comfortably they manage all kind of genres. They can make wild comedies, more sophisticated ones, thrillers, intimate dramas, almost any kind of movie and always look as if they are specialized in it. Their infinite versatility as moviemakers allows them to adapt their style to any kind of story. Can’t imagine anyone better than them to have taken this great story to the big screen.’
-Tim Reeve