NOVEMBER, 22


THE CAPED CRUSADER

Action / Superhero
Cast: Christian Bale, Rafi Gavron, Vincent Cassel, Rooney Mara, Kate Mara, Henry Cavill, Michael Caine, Ben Foster, Cam Gigandet, Morgan Freeman.
Director: Nicholas Winding Refn
Producer: Silver Lining Entertainment
Screenwriter: Chad Taylor

Box Office: 345 mill.
Net Gains: 310 mill.

Stark’s Reaction:
Yeah!!!! Here we have the new alltimes top 2 best box office ever!!!! Only 7 millions away from the altimes top 1, ‘Silver Sable and the Wild Pack’. Quite an historical achievement here! Net gains are also excellent, although that does not enter at the alltimes top highest net gains. More than excellent numbers. The bad beginning of this Season is definitely saved with these amazing turnout.

SURVIVOR

Thriller / Drama
Cast: Ryan Gosling, Emily Blunt, Mary Steenburgen, Adam Scott
Director: Mark Pellington
Screenwriter: D.R.Cobb


Box Office: 57 mill.
Net Gains: 57 mill.

Stark’s Reaction:
I am relief I was wrong this time with my predictions about this movie. It has made decent numbers for the kind of movie it is. In fact, it is remarkable that this is the third highest net gains of the Season so far.

ORIGINAL COLONIES

Comedy / Drama
Cast: Jesse Eisenberg, Mia Wasikowska, Katherine Heigl, Jennifer Aniston, Emma Watson, Mila Kunis, Jena Malone, Anna Kendrick, Kevin James
Director: Noah Baumbach
Producer: Grand Island Movies
Screenwriter: Josh Collins

Box Office: 28 mill.
Net Gains: 4 mill.

Stark’s Comment:
Way below my expectations this one but, at least, it didn’t flop. I had a wonderful time watching this movie and it’s a shame that audiences have not supported it as much as it deserves.


THE CAPED CRUSADER

‘Excellent movie. ‘The Caped Crusader’ is a top class visual, entertaining and emotional show. Chad Taylor has written an elaborated and perfectly structured screenplay and Nicholas Winding Refn has turned it into images giving the perfect tone to all the different kind of sequences in it, from the most violent ones to the most sentimental ones. The result is a cinematic masterpiece. ‘The Caped Crusader’ transcends the limits of the superheroes movie genre to become one of the best action adventure movies made in ages. It can be placed as a new and obliged reference for its genre at the same level than ‘The Dark Knight’. In fact, it shares the dark atmosphere and the brilliant author-esque touch of Nolan’s film. If ‘Justice League 2’ was considered at its time a new landmark in superheroes movies, now Taylor has surpassed himself setting another milestone in the genre and definitely creating his own superheroes universe independent from DC Comics’ mainstream plots.’
-Charlie Kiggs

‘Are we going to miss Christian Bale playing Bruce Wayne? Probably yes (although we will have the chance to see him again as Batman out of CMP). But, is Rafi Gavron a worthy successor? Well, I must admit I had some prejudices about it. But after watching this movie, my answer is a definitive yes. That wonderful moment in the movie when Gavron (was it necessary to call him ‘The Robin’? That’s the only silly thing in the movie…) looks at himself in the glass that protects Batman suit as if he was already wearing it was enough to convince me that Gavron can do a great job as the new Batman. And same can be said about Kate Mara playing Catwoman. Great choice. Kate passes that difficult test with a high grade. And, to be fair, I also have to at least mention Vincent Cassel, a great villain for this great movie, and of course, the wonderful screen presence of Michael Caine, who provides with a new dimension here a character he had already played before in and out of CMP.’
-Vic Carter

‘Right when it seemed that superheroes movies had definitely fallen into an immutable and very routine pattern – introduction of the character, first steps as superhero, introduction of the megavillain, weak love story in the background and final duel -, Chad Taylor surprises us all proving that there is still room for creativity and innovation in the genre. ‘The Caped Crusader’ – same way Dawson Edwards partially did with ‘The Flash: Blitz’ – adds and fully develop intimate elements in the superheroes genre without losing the spirit of these kind of films. Watching Bruce Wayne facing a ‘very human’ death due to cancer is something nobody could have ever imagined. And that does not turn ‘The Caped Crusader’ in ‘Terms Of Endearment’. Taylor has perfectly mixed the human drama with the needed epic adventure – even adding to the mix another unexpected soap opera element: Alfred Pennyworth and the new Batman are now relatives – making it all not only believable and acceptable for fans but increasing with all that the bigger-than-life spirit of Batman’s adventures. Daring and creative. After this movie, it will be an embarrassment for anyone to make only the typical superhero movie. ‘The Caped Crusader’ has dynamited the pattern of the genre.’
-Tim Reeve

SURVIVOR

‘Dark, sick, disturbing and highly satirical. This original story provokes a peculiar mix of attraction and rejection. As long as the film is taken for what it is – a deliberately exaggerated denounce of some elements of our contemporary societies such as the mass-media and how they instantly create icons, the loneliness that lies underneath most people’s lives, the conventions of modern society… - you may get to appreciate this very different kind of film. It takes some time to fully get into this strange story and you will keep feeling that hypnotizing attraction / rejection for Gosling’s character during the whole length of the movie, but once you get into the sick world of this member of a suicidal cult and the sick joke the whole story is, you will begin to understand the twisted message in it and to enjoy a film not complacent at all and much deeper and intelligent than it may seem at first sight’.
-Roy Winslow

‘This is probably the best acting work from Ryan Gosling in his whole CMP’s career. It is not easy to play such a peculiar character and to make believable all the events he goes through along the film. Gosling keeps his work at a right tone, not emphasizing the weirdest aspects of his character, avoiding any overacting temptation and reinforcing the sickness of the whole show with a cold and content acting work that works much better than any exaggerated performance. Together with him, Emily Blunt also makes believable her complex character and the way she behaves along the story. And it is a nice surprise watching Mary Steenburgen playing a character very different from the ones we are used to see her playing.’
-Amy Ratched

‘Chuck Palaniuk is one of those writers that create an own universe to tell his stories. ‘Fight Club’ and ‘Survivor’ share a same twisted vision of reality not easy to translate to movie language. David Fincher did a great job with ‘Fight Club’. But Mark Pellington has nothing to envy. Pellington has perfectly understood Palaniuk’s style: telling an ironical story under the guise of a very serious one. With the help of the solid screenplay written by D.R. Cobb, Pellington has succeeded at the difficult challenge of making a movie far away from what we usually see on the big screen, not falling into any commercial demand and exploring narrative territories not often visited by movies.’
-Andrew Stampton

ORIGINAL COLONIES

‘The return of the Baumbach / Collins couple eleven Seasons after the wonderful ‘Lyra’ already is great news by itself. But watching ‘Original Colonies’, the best we can do is to ask for more reunions of these two talents. ‘Original Colonies’ is the perfect definition of what a dramedy is: Collins’ screenplay – one of his best writing works, together with the unforgettable ‘Whatever Happened To Holden Caulfield?’ – perfectly balances dramatic and comedic moments. It makes audience jump in the most natural way from the dramatic side – the relationship between the siblings – to the comedic one, each time they visit one of the brother’s lovers. Without transition, you go from laughing to feeling moved and that difficult changing mood in the story is reached without looking forced or confusing. At the end, you have the feeling you have watched two very different movies in one: the classic ‘feel good’ romantic comedy and a thought-provoking family drama. And both are equally good.’
-Anne Roman

‘In some way, ‘Original Colonies’ is an ensemble movie. And that parade of peculiar women starring each of them their own segment of the movie is the best finding of it. All the actresses involved make an excellent work creating their excessive characters. Just to remark some of them, maybe Emma Watson – who stars the easiest but at the same time the riskiest gag –, Jena Malone and Jennifer Aniston – with the help of a hilarious for once Kevin James – shine a bit over the rest. But all of them deserve a praise. And Jesse Eisenberg and Mia Wasikowska confirm themselves as two of the most promising talents of their generation. They get to create a most believable chemistry in their complex brother and sister relationship, perfectly adapting to both the most comedic and the most dramatic moments in the story.’
-Lilly Stevens

‘Here is one of the most entertaining and hilarious road movies I’ve seen in a long time. Once more, it’s a shame that audiences have not paid the attention a movie deserves. While most of the audience was watching this weekend ‘The Caped Crusader ‘ and the cool and more snobby segment was watching ‘Survivor’, this film was also on theatres being mostly and unfairly ignored. ‘Original Colonies’ is a refreshing and creative film that builds upon the clichés of the teen comedy genre an original and intelligent story about both family and love – or should I say sexual? – relationships. This is not just a ‘boy meet many girls’ movie but an ironic approach to some essential questions in everybody’s life: Where is my place in the world? Where am I going and what I really want to be? Does love exist or we call love what in fact it is only sex? Not minor questions at all. And this great movie may not give you the answers to these questions. But at least it will make you think about them.’
-Mark Anderson