DECEMBER, 20


THE QUESTION: DARK TOMORROW

Action / Superhero
Cast: Ryan Gosling, Christina Hendricks, John Malkovich, Jason Isaacs, Kyle Chandler, Peter Stormare, Kevin Pollack
Director: Duncan Jones
Producer: Zack Snyder
Screenwriter: D.R. Cobb

Box Office: 73 mill.
Net Gains: 16 mill.

Stark’s Reaction:
Damn! Numbers very much below my expectations. The first movie of this franchise made 56 millions at box office, so at least this sequel has done a little better. But the first movie made 21 millions of net gains and that’s better than this one. Anyway, very low numbers for a superhero movie… I feel disappointed and frustrated. But I will go on with a third installment as long as Cobb keeps his interest in it…

NETWORK

Drama
Cast: David Strathairn, Hillary Swank, Mark Ruffalo, Richard Gere, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Lea Michele
Director: David O. Russell
Screenwriter: Chad Taylor

Box Office: 30 mill.
Net Gains: 7 mill.

Stark’s Reaction:
Very poor numbers for such a quality movie. Definitely, this Season we have gone back to the old problems with genres like drama, thriller, western… I hope that does not discourage our screenwriters to keep trying luck with the most difficult genres like these. I wouldn’t like producing only superhero movies and console games adaptations…

BUNNY LAKE IS MISSING

Thriller / Mystery
Cast: Mila Kunis, Dominic Cooper, Robert De Niro, Melissa Leo, Jimmi Simpson
Director: Rodrigo Cortes
Screenwriter: Dwight Gallo


Box Office: 28 mill.
Net Gains: 6 mill.

Stark’s Reaction:
Well, at least we have saved this time the curse of thrillers… I accept that’s reason enough to feel satisfied… or at least, relief. No net losses this week, but still a very hard and disappointing week at box office.


THE QUESTION: DARK TOMOROW

‘Why almost every superhero movie make excellent box office’s numbers except for this franchise? A difficult question about ‘The Question’, specially considering that GMA’s voters and critics very much supported the first installment of this saga. The only possible answer is that this is a very peculiar superhero franchise. D.R.Cobb has created a superhero saga closer to film noir and thriller more than to sci-fi and action. These movies are not based in a flashy CGI show, as it usually happens with superheroes movies. Its production design is closer to a dark crime film from the 1940s or so. ‘The Question’ movies have nothing to do with, for example, ‘The Caped Crusader’ or any Avengers or Justice League movies. And that may be praised by critics but keeps away a wide segment of the audience, those moviegoers that identify superheroes films with spectacular digital effects and epic action sequences. Vic Sage / The Question is more an action hero and a mysterious character closer to a film noir detective than a guy displaying stunning superpowers. And that may provoke a certain disappointment in the fans of the genre at the same time that it gets the applause of a more selected audience. Maybe. Or it is just that you never know with box office…’
-Charlie Kiggs

‘Ryan Gosling returns once more as the big star he has become in CMP’s world. And again audiences deny him the box office’s success. Third movie for Golsing this Season after ‘Bad Family’ and ‘Survivor’ and the three of them have stayed far away from the aspiration to reach the 100 millions. For Gosling, this is his 12th movie in CMP and still he is waiting for his first ‘+100’ release. It must be frustrating for him… Beside that, I have missed in this second installment a solid villain with the screen presence Ray Winstone showed in the first film of the series. But, at least, it was nice to see Jason Isaacs at last in a CMP movie.’
-Mark Anderson

‘D.R. Cobb has written an elaborated screenplay for this sequel of ‘The Question’. But while watching the movie, I had the feeling that it was as if he had wanted to put too much into one movie. He develops different plotlines – the movie begins with a crime conspiracy and then turns into a kind of political intrigue – not fully focusing on any of them and, instead of enriching the story, that changing plot makes it a bit indefinite. Also, this is not a saga of spectacular action sequences but I missed some more action in it. At some moments, the paradox is that it is more interesting Gosling’s character when he is Vic Sage than when he turns into the mysterious The Question. And that’s strange. It is as if, in a Superman movie, you prefer having Clark Kent on screen better than Superman himself.’
-Vic Carter

NETWORK

‘I am not particularly against – nor in favor – of remakes. But when a remake is made I always expect it to add something new to the concept, the premise or the production design of the original movie. That’s not the case of this new ‘Network’. Taylor and Russell’s ‘Network’ is an excellent movie. Once said so, I have to say that the original film from 1976 was also an excellent movie. My problem with this remake is an usual question to be made with any remake: was it necessary? This ‘Network’ recreates the original one becoming a loyal copycat of it. Maybe, it is a way of offering a good story to the new generations of moviegoers. But, besides that, there’s nothing new to find in it. The cruel battle for audience ratings was an interesting issue for a movie back in 1976 and still is. So yes, the story in this movie remains very much interesting. But, in terms of cinematic creativity, this remake does not take any risk. Taylor and Russell have taken a great movie and they have made another great movie based on it. You cannot say that about many remakes. But you cannot say more than that about this one.’
-Roy Winslow

‘Step by step, David Strathairn has become ‘Mr. Talent’ in CMP’s world. Any CMP’s author that has a great mature male character in one of his stories seems to instantly think on Strathairn to play it. Movies like ‘Otto Rahn’, ‘Jonestown’ and now this one have put Strathairn on top of the most prestigious talents in the Studio, taking him to a status as movie star much higher than the one he has out of CMP. But that is absolutely justified. Once again, David Strathairn proves with this movie that he can play almost any kind of character in a masterly way. Here we have his candidacy for another Golden Moon Award. And, together with him, we have a wonderful cast at its best. Specially, Hillary Swank. It is great to have her back at CMP. Swank’s acting work as an ambitious and ruthless bitch fulfills the screen every time she shows up. Only great actresses can do that. And also Philip Seymour Hoffman, still hot his impressive work in ‘Flicker’, reminds us once more his inexhaustible talent.’
-Amy Ratched

‘Very interesting debut in CMP from the always interesting director David O. Russell. The excesses and deliberate exaggerations of this denounce of the slavery of ratings in the TV business have been perfectly understood by Russell. He has shot the film with the needed nerve. The brilliant editing of the movie – with sequences built with an accumulation of short takes -, the directional style – with the image moving at some moments as if the sequences were shot with a hand-held camera – and how he always keeps a certain distance as narrator to remark the heartless personality of most of the characters and the sick world they live in perfectly fit with the spirit of the story. Russell has understood that ‘Network’ is a kind of parody, a satire without sense of humor. And he has perfectly adapted his directional job to that spirit making a most brilliant move.’
-Jackie O’Callaghan

BUNNY LAKE IS MISSING

‘Here we have a very entertaining suspense movie to enjoy without expecting nothing particularly special. Well paced, intriguing enough, the film’s main virtue is its lack of pretentions. It does not pretend to be what it is not. It only wants to be a modest but correct piece of entertaining and that’s exactly what it is. But together with its lack of pretentions, it also suffers of a lack of originality. And not only because it is a remake. Movies like ‘Flightplan’ or ‘Unknown’, a recent film starred by Liam Neeson, have also focused on the issue of proving the existence of somebody. It is always a bit too forced premise (is it that difficult for a mother to prove the existence of her own daughter?) and, most of all, it is not an original premise anymore. And that turns the film into a most predictable story. You watch the film comfortably but you don’t really expect to be really surprised by the plot. And that lowers down even more the strength of this entertaining but dispensable movie.’
-Andrew Stampton

‘For the first time in CMP, Mila Kunis has carried upon her shoulders the weight of being the lead star of a movie production. And I think she has passed the test with a correct grade. Mila is one of those actreeses with such a sex appeal that it can difficult to be taken seriously as an actress. She has already showed her acting talent in movies like ‘Black Swan’. Now, with this one, she takes another step forward to be appreciated not only for her sex appeal but also for her acting talent. Dominic West makes here an interesting debut, playing the psycho villain, and I’m sure we’ll hear about him again in CMP soon. De Niro just makes one of his many routine acting works without bigger effort.’
-Tim Reeve

‘Rodrigo Cortes has made an arguable debut in CMP. Cortes is a young and visionary movie director. He is the director of one of the most original, daring and brilliant movies I’ve seen in recent years: ‘Buried’, starred by Ryan Reynolds. Cortes made a whole movie with an only scenario about a man buried alive in a coffin in Iraq. And with that minimal premise, he got to make a most entertaining and engrossing film. Only a very creative moviemaker can do that. If you have not watched that movie yet, don’t wait long to do it! But, to make his debut in CMP, Cortes has surprisingly chosen an extremely mainstream thriller like this ‘Bunny Lake Is Missing’. There was no creative challenge for him in it. I have the feeling that Cortes has been too conformist accepting this project. He can do much better than this.’
-Chris Burgess