Limited Releases: Cash for Limited Releases
February 7, 2014
It's another busy week for limited releases with more than a dozen of them on this week's list. This does mean I'm not going to be as talkative about each individual film, because there are just so many of them. Fortunately, there are also a few that are worth checking out, like Vic + Flo Saw a Bear, Alphaville, etc. If I were to chose just one film, it would be Kids for Cash, but the subject matter will enrage you.
After the Dark - Reviews
Alphaville - Reviews
Cavemen - Reviews
Demi-Soeur - Reviews
A Fantastic Fear of Everything - Reviews
A Field in England - Reviews
Hasee Toh Phasee - No Reviews
Kids for Cash - Reviews
The Last of the Unjust - Reviews
Love and Air Sex - Reviews
Nurse 3D - Reviews
The Pretty One - Reviews
Sex After Kids - Reviews
Someone Marry Barry - Reviews
Vic + Flo Saw a Bear - Reviews
Welcome to the Jungle - Reviews
A teacher proposes a thought experiment to his twenty students at an international school. A nuclear war is going to begin and only ten can be saved to repopulate the planet. The film's reviews are at the 80% positive level that usually indicates a film has a shot at success, so perhaps it will find an audience. After the Dark opens tonight in New York City, Los Angeles, as well as in Video on Demand.
A 1965 film by Jean-Luc Godard about a private eye / secret agent sent to a distant space city who confronts the city's evil scientist leader. It is avante garde. It is also one of the best-reviewed films of the week. A restored print will be shown for a week starting tonight at the Film Forum in New York City.
A romantic comedy about a playboy, Skylar Astin, who decides he wants true love and not another one-night stand. We've seen this story done many times, and most of them are much better than this one. Cavemen opens tonight in nearly a dozen theaters as well as on Video on Demand. Check out the official site for details.
Written, directed, and starring Josiane Balasko. She plays Nénette, an older woman whose mother dies so she decides to go into a group home because she can't really take care of herself. When that falls through, she tries to find her father, only to find she had a half-brother. The reviews are mixed, which will likely prove fatal. Demi-Soeur opens tonight at the City Cinemas Village East in New York City.
Simon Pegg stars as a children's author whose became a crime novelist. While researching Victorian serial killers, he loses his mind and becomes scared of everything. I like Simon Pegg so I was hoping this would be a good film, but the reviews are bad and the buzz is even worse. I can't even find an official site for the film. (There's a Facebook page, but it is for the U.K. release.)
This film is earning some of the best reviews of the weekend, but looking at the plot summary, I'm not sure what to make of it. It is set during the English Civil War when a group of deserters are captured by an Alchemist who wants them to help him find a treasure he believes is buried under a mushroom patch. They eat mushrooms and all hell breaks loose. A Field in England opens tonight in theaters and on Video on Demand.
A Bollywood film about a man trying to prove himself to his prospective in-laws. It is the widest release of the week, but there are no reviews on Rotten Tomatoes.
A documentary about one of the worst corruption scandals in American history. Judges were literally paid by private prisons to put children in their juvenile detention centers to boost the corporations bottom line. Additionally, because the private prisons only cared about profits, they places became nightmares for the kids. It's a powerful movie that needs to be seen, but I don't know how many people will want to see it. It is just too disturbing. Kids for Cash opens tonight in four theaters, mostly where the scandal happened. Check out the official site for details.
A documentary about Benjamin Murmelstein, who was one of the Jewish Elders before and during World War II. Needless to say, he has a powerful story to tell. Fortunately, the movie tells it very well. The Last of the Unjust opens tonight in New York City, Los Angeles, and south Florida. Check the official site for more details.
Stan flies to Austin supposedly to spend time with his friends; however, he's really there hoping to bump into his ex, Cathy, because he wants to get back together. Unfortunately, their friends have also broken up. Also, the movie features air sex. You know, like air guitar, but for sex. It's a real thing and further proof our species has run its course. ... You know what? Your species. If air sex is a thing humans do, I no longer want to be part of that species. The reviews are mostly good with a lot of praise going to the cast. That said, romantic comedies rarely do well in limited release and this one is also opening in Video on Demand, so it will likely perform better there. Love and Air Sex makes its theatrical debut tonight at the Cinema Village in New York City, as well as on Video on Demand.
Paz de la Huerta plays Abby, the titular Nurse. During the day she saves lives, but at night she is a serial killer of cheating men. Its reviews are not bad, but horror films rarely do well in limited release. Nurse 3D opens tonight in theaters and on Video on Demand. It will very likely do better in the latter than the former.
Zoe Kazan plays twins, one shy and one outgoing. When the outgoing one dies in a car crash, she pretends to be the outgoing one and live her life. The reviews are mixed, which wouldn't be bad for a wide release, but it will likely prove fatal for a limited release. According to the official site, The Pretty One opened on Monday and has expanded throughout the week.
A Canadian comedy about a group of people in different stages of relationships trying to deal with romance after having kids, from single parents looking for a new relationship, to a lesbian couple who realize they don't agree on how to raise a child, to a married couple whose youngest kid just left home. Sex After Kids opens tonight in Toronto and expands westward in the coming weeks. Check out the official site for more detals.
Tyler Labine plays the titular Barry, whose inappropriate behavior is starting to trouble his friends. They decide he needs a wife so he will start acting his age. Unfortunately, his new girlfriend, Lucy Punch, is just as bad as he is. There are no reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. In fact, the official site for Someone Marry Barry is 404, not found. That's a bad sign.
A Canadian film about two lesbian ex-cons trying to start a new life in a small town, but their old life isn't making it easy. The reviews are amazing, but it is a French-language film, so its chances of expanding significantly are limited. Vic + Flo Saw a Bear opens tonight in New York City and expands in Portland and in Vancouver and Victoria soon.
A team-building exercise goes horribly wrong for a group of office workers when their leader, Jean-Claude Van Damme, turns out to be a former marine who is more than a little crazy. The reviews are bad and this is the wrong genre for limited release. Welcome to the Jungle opens tonight in select theaters at the AMC Theatres chain.
Filed under: Limited Releases, A Fantastic Fear of Everything, The Pretty One, Cavemen, Nurse 3D, Le dernier des injustes, Kids for Cash, Welcome to the Jungle, After the Dark, Love & Air Sex, Someone Marry Barry, Hasee Toh Phasee, A Field in England, Vic + Flo ont vu un ours, Demi-Soeur, Skylar Astin, Josiane Balasko, Paz de la Huerta, Jean-Luc Godard, Zoe Kazan, Tyler Labine, Simon Pegg, Lucy Punch, Michael Stahl-David, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Ashley Bell