These Limited Releases are Good and That's No Lie
October 3, 2014
The list this week is less detailed than usual for reasons I'm not going to go into detail about. I'm just going to say two words, "Food poisoning", and leave it at that. There are not a lot of limited releases on this week's list that are earning good reviews and strong buzz. The Good Lie is the best limited release of the week in that regard, but I already talked about it on the weekend predictions, because I think it will reach the top ten. I don't think any of the films below will earn breakout success.
Bang Bang - Reviews
Bitter Honey - Reviews
The Blue Room - Reviews
Breakup Buddies - Reviews
The Decent One - Reviews
Drive Hard - Reviews
A Good Marriage - Reviews
Haider - Reviews
The Hero of Color City - Reviews
Inner Demons - Reviews
Last Hijack - Reviews
Libertador - Reviews
Men, Women, and Children - Reviews
Nas: Time is Illmatic - Reviews
The Supreme Price - Reviews
A Bollywood remake of Knight and Day. I was hoping this would be a fun movie, but so far both reviews on Rotten Tomatoes are negative. It is opening in nearly 300 theaters and you can find showtimes here.
A documentary about women stuck in polygamous, often abusive marriage. There's only one review on Rotten Tomatoes, which suggests a lack of buzz. It is positive, but that's little comfort.
A French erotic thriller about a man who has an affair and then gets mixed up in a murder case. This is one of the few films on this week's list earning overwhelmingly positive reviews. It is a foreign-language film, so it very likely won't expand significantly, but it should do well in limited release.
A Chinese buddy comedy / road trip. There's only one review on Rotten Tomatoes and it is negative.
A documentary about Heinrich Himmler, a.k.a. The Architect of the Final Solution. It is based on his own personal writings, so it should be a fascinating look into his mind, but if the critics are correct, it is a missed opportunity.
A former professional racer is tricked into becoming a getaway man. I really like John Cusack, but some of his recent choices in movies is puzzling.
While her husband is away on business, a wife discovers he's a serial killer. This is the wrong genre for limited release and the reviews are only mixed. It is based on a short story by Stephen King, who also wrote the screenplay, so perhaps that will help it overcome these issues.
A Bollywood version of Hamlet. There are not a lot of reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, but so far they are all positive. I couldn't find an official site, but this site has showtimes.
A kids' movie opening in limited release and with terrible reviews. That's two strikes against it. I'm not sure where it is opening, because the official site won't work for me. It is playing on Video on Demand and it will likely perform a whole lot better there.
An intervention for a former A-student goes wrong, because she isn't a simple addict, but is dealing with literal inner demons. This is the wrong genre for limited release and the reviews are only mixed. I suspect it will find a bigger audience when it reaches the home market.
A documentary about Somali pirates. The reviews are great, but this isn't the first such film to come out this fall.
A biopic about Simón Bolívar, who fought for independence from Spain for the colonies and had a vision of a united South America. The reviews are very bad for a limited release and unless you have a personal interest in the history, it is likely not worth checking out. Libertador opens tonight in the dreaded "select cities".
A film about high school students and their parents and how the Internet affects them. It has a great ensemble cast, but the reviews are just below the overall positive level. This wouldn't be too bad, if it were opening wide. However, as a limited release, it might be D.O.A. The film opens in New York City and Los Angeles this week before expanding on the 17th.
A documentary about Nas, where he grew up, and how that affected his creative process. This film is earning the best reviews of the week, but it is playing on Video on Demand, so its box office chances are very limited.
A documentary about the pro-democracy movement in Nigeria and the family that has sacrificed everything for their people. There are only three reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, which suggests a lack of buzz, but all three are positive. The film opened in New York City and Los Angeles and it is one of the few films on this week's list worth checking out.
Filed under: Limited Releases, The Hero of Color City, The Good Lie, Libertador, Inner Demons, Der Anstandige, Men, Women and Children, Bang Bang, Drive Hard, The Supreme Price, A Good Marriage, Xin Hua Lu Fang, Bitter Honey, La chambre bleue, Nas: Time is Illmatic, Haider, Last Hijack, John Cusack, Stephen King, Nas