February 12th, 2020
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It’s another slow week on the home market, but that doesn’t mean there are no first run releases of note. Ford v. Ferrari is the biggest and the best of these releases, but you might have trouble getting it on Amazon. There are some impressive foreign imports on this list, including First Love, Fruits Basket, Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, and Roma. That last one is also the Pick of the Week.
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September 29th, 2019
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It is a mixed bag at the box office this weekend. None of the films are bombing, there are also no wild success stories either. Abominable is leading the way with an estimated $20.85 million opening. This is a little below expectations, but still a fine opening for this time of year. Additionally, its prospects have improved over the weekend, so it is clear its reviews and its A rating from CinemaScore have helped its word-of-mouth and that should help its legs going forward. The film also earned an estimated $8.8 million internationally in 30 markets for an early international total of $10.2 million It is still too early to judge how the film will do overseas.
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September 27th, 2019
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There are a lot of excellent films on this week’s list. Not only that, but there are a wide selections of films as well. Do you want to watch a documentary? Anthropocene: The Human Epoch is your best bet. Want to watch a potential Oscar-winning performance? Then Judy is for you. Want a Neo-Noir love story? First Love has what you need. Want to stay home and watch something on VOD? There are several choices there, both big and small.
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February 13th, 2019
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It’s a shallow week on the home market. That said, Bohemian Rhapsody was a monster hit, especially internationally. It isn’t a Pick of the Week contender, but we do have a trio of contenders: At Eternity’s Gate, Audition, and Shoplifters. It’s a close race, but Shoplifters came out on top.
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March 18th, 2018
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I’ve previously reviewed a couple of Takashi Miike films. However, both of them were period piece martial arts movies and not his more brutal and sadistic films. Ichi The Killer is peak Takashi Miike. Is it as good as his period pieces? Or does it truly earn its infamous reputation?
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February 13th, 2018
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It’s not a good week in terms of box office numbers, as the biggest box office hit to come out this week is Wonder. It is also one of the best new releases of the week and a contender for Pick of the Week. Other contenders for Pick of the Week include Blade of the Immortal, Night of the Living Dead, The Silence of the Lambs, and The Sinner: Season One. In the end, it was a coin toss between Blade of the Immortal and Night of the Living Dead and the former won.
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February 12th, 2018
Blade of the Immortal is directed by Takashi Miike, who is only 57 years old, but has directed 100 movies in his career so far. That’s not an exaggeration; this is literally his 100th film. He has slowed down and is now only making two or three movies a year, rather than the pace of five or so movies a year during his early career. Has this resulted in better films? Does Blade of the Immortal have more mainstream appeal? Or is it only for more hardcore Miike fans?
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November 3rd, 2017
A few films on this week’s list were earning some pre-release buzz. Sadly, LBJ and Last Flag Flying missed expectations with critics, so they could struggle at the box office. On the other hand, Lady Bird is earning 100% positive reviews, while Princess Cyd’s reviews are not that far behind, so perhaps they will succeed where the others fail.
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October 9th, 2015
This is not a particularly deep week for limited releases. Steve Jobs is the only film that has a significant chance of earning some measure of mainstream success. In fact, its reviews and buzz suggest it could be a player during Awards Season. On the other hand, The Forbidden Room, Victoria, and Yakuza Apocalypse are more interesting in my mind.
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July 5th, 2011
13 Assassins is directed by Takashi Miike, whom some might recognize as the director of such films as Ichi the Killer and Audition. His films tends to be part of the Body Horror genre, a genre with extreme violence. As such, he seems like an almost curious choice to direct a period piece set in feudal Japan. Curious choice, but perhaps the right choice?
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