Last Limited Releases
August 20, 2010
Not a whole lot of limited releases on this week's list, and only one of them is earning overwhelmingly positive reviews. That film is The Tillman Story, which is clearly the best as far as reviews, but I don't think any film here has a real shot at mainstream success.
Altiplano - Reviews
I Am Comic - No Reviews
Mao's Last Dancer - Reviews
The Tillman Story - Reviews
A movie about a war photographer dealing with the aftermath of the violence in Iraq. Her fiancee is a doctor working in Peru, who is killed in riots after the locals blamed the doctors for health problems caused by a nearby chemical spill. There are a lot of ideas explored here, but so far the reviews are only mixed. Altiplano opens tonight at the City Cinemas Village East in New York City.
A documentary about stand up comedy featuring interviews with a huge number of comics. It would be nearly impossible to be a fan of stand up comedy and not be a fan of at least a dozen of the people in this film. However, there are no reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, which makes it hard to tell if it is worth checking out. It opens in theaters tonight, but it has already played on Showtime and comes out on DVD in October.
A biopic about Li Cunxin, a Chinese dancer, who defected to the United States in the 1980s and later moved to Australia. The film started out with excellent reviews, but its Tomatometer Score has since dipped below the overall positive level. Also, it is opening in far too many theaters for this type of release. That said, it was a hit in its native market and maybe it can find some measure of mainstream success here. Mao's Last Dancers opens tonight in 29 theaters in select cities nationwide.
A documentary about Pat Tillman, who after 9/11 gave up a promising football career to join the army. He took part in the Jessica Lynch rescue before being killed in action in Afghanistan. He was hailed as a hero and used to sell the war after his death; however, the facts about his story were not what the military first said they were. This is the best-reviewed film on this week's list and it is the best choice if you want to see a movie this week. On the other hand, after nearly a decade in Afghanistan, I think a lot of people are suffering from fatigue, which could hurt its box office chances. Hopefully that is not the case, as more people should see this film. The Tillman Story opens tonight in four theaters, half in New York City and the other half in the Los Angeles area.
Filed under: Limited Releases, Mao's Last Dancer, I Am Comic, Altiplano