Limited Releases: Bless These Limited Releases
February 22, 2013
With the Oscars being handed out this weekend, moviegoers will likely be too distracted to see limited releases. There are a few that are earning great reviews and perhaps one of them will find an audience. 11 Flowers is earning perfect reviews, while Alex Karpovsky has a double-bill with Red Flag and Rubberneck. Both have a shot at doing well. Bless Me, Ultima is earning great reviews, but it is opening in too many theaters to thrive.
11 Flowers - Reviews
Bless Me, Ultima - Reviews
Inescapable - Reviews
Kai Po Che - Reviews
Red Flag - Reviews
Rubberneck - Reviews
Stand Off - No Reviews
Xiaoshuai Wang co-writes and directs this autobiographical tale about growing up during the tail end of the Cultural Revolution in China. The film is earning perfect reviews so far, but there are only six of them on Rotten Tomatoes, so that could change quickly. 11 Flowers opens tonight in Quad Cinema in New York City.
Carl Franklin's first theatrical release since Out of Time. The film is based on a controversial novel and the reviews are overwhelmingly positive. On the other hand, it is opening in 263 theaters, which is way too many for a limited release. I hope it thrives, but I have my doubts.
Writer / director Ruba Nadda teams up again with Alexander Siddig. The pair previously made Cairo Time, which earned excellent reviews and did very well in limited release. Unfortunately, this film's Tomatometer Score is a mere fraction of its predecessor. Inescapable opens tonight at the IFC Center in New York City and the Laemmles NoHo 7 in Los Angeles.
A Bollywood film with reviews. That doesn't happen a lot. Granted, the reviews are only good and not great, but this is still a positive sign compared to most films aimed at this target audience. This film is about three guys, who try and start a cricket academy in India hoping to produce the next great stars, as well as finding fame and fortune for themselves. Kai Po Che opens tonight in select cities.
Alex Karpovsky stars as Alex Karpovsky, a fictionalized version of himself. He is an Indie filmmaker who just broke up from his partner and now has to hit the road to promote his latest movie. He travels with an old friend, but along the way he is hounded by an obsessive fan. The film's reviews are excellent, but it is perhaps aimed too much at Indie movie fans to escape the art house circuit. Red Flag opens tonight with Rubberneck at the Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center in New York City.
Part two of the Alex Karpovsky double-shot. In this film, he stars as a research scientist who has a one-night stand with a co-worker, Jamie Ray Newman. He wants it to build into a full relationship, she does not. He doesn't take rejection well. The reviews are not very good and it is the wrong genre for limited release, but it is paired with Red Flag, so it should do relatively well. Rubberneck opens tonight at the Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center in New York City.
Martin McCann stars as Jimbo, a man with a gambling debt to a local mafia boss. With no other way to pay it back, he decides to rob a fish market, only to rob the fish market owned by the mafia boss he owes money to. He then gets into a hostage situation where he is surrounded by the cops, and hitmen working for the mafia boss. Stand Off opens tonight in select theaters, while it is already playing on Video on Demand.
Filed under: Limited Releases, Bless Me, Ultima, Inescapable, Wo 11, Stand Off, Kai Po Che, Red Flag, Rubberneck, Carl Franklin, Martin McCann, Alexander Siddig, Ruba Nadda, Alex Karpovsky, Wang Xiaoshuai