Limited and VOD Releases: Far from Perfect, but Still Worth Checking Out
September 15, 2017
It’s almost Awards Season. Awards season is an amazing time of year for limited releases. Sadly, this means a lot of films that are not good enough to compete during Awards Season are being pushed out now. That doesn’t mean there are no good films worth checking out, but they are a minority compared to the films earning bad reviews, or not enough reviews to talk about. Abracadabra, Ex Libris, The Future Perfect, and Indivisible all have a shot at success on the art house circuit, even if none of them will likely expand beyond that.
Abracadabra - Reviews
Brad’s Status - Reviews
Dayveon - Reviews
Ex Libris: The New York Public Library - Reviews
The Force - Reviews
The Future Perfect - Reviews
Indivisible - Reviews
Rat Film - Reviews
Secondary VOD Releases:
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An hypnotism act at a wedding results in one of the guests being possessed by a ghost, much to the annoyance of his wife, played by Maribel Verdu. This film is written and directed by Pablo Berger, who previously wrote and directed the amazing Blancanieves. This film only has three reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, but all three of them are positive, so that’s a good sign. Perhaps this film can find a home on the art house circuit.
This film has the best star-power of any film on this week’s list and its Tomatometer Score is over 80% positive. However, the average score is only 6.6 out of 10. That means most critics are only giving it tepid approval. It’s worth checking out, but I would wait till you can rent it on Video on Demand.
We previously mentioned this release here, but it was pushed back till now. The reviews are still good, but likely not good enough to thrive in limited release.
This documentary is directed by Frederick Wiseman, who has directed more than 40 documentaries during his 50-year career. He was recently awarded an honorary Oscar for his career, but he might be in with a chance to win a regular Oscar with this film. It’s Tomatometer Score is 100% positive and the average rating is 8.6 out of 10, making it the best film on this week’s list.
A documentary that looks at the Oakland police force as it tries to reform to overcome recent controversies. This is a very timely movie and the reviews are overwhelmingly positive. They are not enthusiastically positive though. It is definitely worth checking out, but it isn’t Award-worthy and Award Season is starting soon.
Xiaobin Zhang plays a 17-year old Chinese immigrant who moves to Argentina. She doesn’t speak the language and as she tries to learn, her limited Spanish creates a number of adventures. There are only nine reviews on Rotten Tomatoes right now, which normally wouldn’t be enough to be included here. However, all nine reviews are positive, so that’s a good sign. It could find an audience in limited release, at least in the art house circuit.
An Italian drama about a pair of Conjoined twins who are about to turn 18. They’ve spend their lives together, obviously, but they also support their family as singers, so they are more than just sisters. They then meet an English doctor who says he can separate them. The reviews are great and there’s not a lot of top notch competition this week. That said, it is a foreign-language film, so it likely won’t escape the art house circuit.
This is a documentary about Baltimore, that uses the rats that live there, and the humans that deal with them, as a way into the story. It is sort of like Kedi, but with rats instead of cats. It’s reviews are similar to Kedi’s reviews, but its box office chances are not. I don’t think it is controversial to claim cats are more popular than rats.
Justice - Reviews - Video on Demand
Ryde - Reviews - Video on Demand
September Morning - Reviews - Video on Demand
The Show - Reviews - Video on Demand
Vengeance: A Love Story - Reviews - Video on Demand
The Wilde Wedding - Reviews - Video on Demand
The Wilde Wedding has three positive reviews out of eight on Rotten Tomatoes. September Morning is one for two. The other four have no positive reviews combined. Some weeks there is a hidden gem among the Secondary VOD releases, but this is not one of those weeks.
Filed under: Limited Releases, VOD Releases, Home Market Releases, Vengeance: A Love Story, Indivisibili, Dayveon, The Show, Brad’s Status, Justice, The Wilde Wedding, The Force, Abracadabra, September Morning, Ex Libris: The New York Public Library, Rat Film, Ryde, El Futuro Perfecto, Frederick Wiseman, Pablo Berger