When Did You Last See a Limited Release?
June 6, 2008
The Promotion was touted at the possibly this summer's sleeper hit. But with reviews that are barely over 50% positive, it's not likely that that will happen. Perhaps Mongol or And When Did You Last See Your Father? will have better luck this weekend.
And When Did You Last See Your Father? - Reviews
Dreams With Sharp Teeth - Reviews
The Go-Getter - Reviews
Miss Conception - Reviews
Mongol - Reviews
Mother of Tears - Reviews
On the Rumba River - Reviews
Operation Filmmaker - Reviews
The Promotion - Reviews
Colin Firth stars as Blake Morrison and Jim Broadbent stars as Arthur, the titular father. Arthur Morrison is dying and his son, Blake is trying to come to terms with their relationship. So far the reviews have been very positive and it is hard to complain about a Tomatometer score of 78% positive, that said, 78% positive generally is not high enough to thrive on the limited release circuit. And When Did You Last See Your Father? opens tonight in 8 theatres, mostly in the Los Angeles area.
A documentary about noted Sci-Fi author and zombie, Harlan Ellison. Okay, granted I have no hard evidence that the man is a zombie, but I remember seeing him being interviewed on Prisoners of Gravity. (A Canadian show on speculative fiction (Sci-Fi, horror, and fantasy.) He was interviewed several times and nearly always his face was a pale gray, except for under his eyes, which was several shades darker. He looked dead. He looked like he had died, but his hatred for all things stupid kept him going after his body failed. ... This has nothing to do with the movie, which is earning tremendous reviews and should please any fan of the author, and may even convert a few who have never heard of the man. However, people will have to see it for that to happen, and I'm not sure how much box office potential this film has. Dreams With Sharp Teeth opened on Wednesday at the Film Forum in New York City.
A coming of age road trip movie with a cast that deserves much better than this. It is not a terrible movie, but there's little here that hasn't been explored in other, better movies. Lack of freshness can be a killer, especially in limited release. The Go-Getter opens tonight in 4 theaters, including one in Portland, Oregon.
Heather Graham stars as a woman in her 30s who suddenly feels her biological clock ticking so she dumps her boyfriend and goes on a father hunt. Heather Graham's box office performance has been erratic as of late, with the missed outnumbering the hit. This will likely fall under the former category, especially with zero positive reviews out of four so far. Miss Conception opens in four theaters in an undisclosed location. (There's not even a website to check.)
A biopic of Genghis Khan. Some are complaining that the movie is not quite textbook accurate in its portrayal of history, but that's not stopping the critics from giving it a lot of praise and historical epics like this have the ability to please both art house crowds and multiplex moviegoers. The foreign language factor could be an issue, however. Mongol opens tonight in 4 theaters, half in New York City and the other half in the Los Angeles area.
The latest from Dario Argento wraps up his Three Mothers trilogy. This film is not as good as Suspiria and is lacking his touch that made so much of his films from the 1970s so memorable. That said, it is better than most of the director's recent work and should find an audience on the home market. Mother of Tears opens tonight in 7 theaters in major cities nationwide.
A documentary about a Congolese Musician from the 1950s and 60s whose music was banned for being too joyous, and thus likely to cause rebellion. (Or something to that effect.) After becoming a superstar, he was forgotten for decades, but rediscovered recently. On the Rumba River is one of several documentaries that opens in limited release tonight, but it is not the mostly likely to succeed.
A documentary about an Iraqi filmmaker taken from his home country and brought to Hollywood to make a movie. What should have been a movie about someone's shot at the big time became a lesson it best intentions gone awry and more than one reviewer has commented on the obvious parallels between the events in this movie and the events in Iraq. With so many documentaries made about Iraq, it takes a real twist for a film to stand out, this film has that twist. Operation Filmmaker opened on Wednesday at the IFC Center in New York City.
John C. Reilly and Seann William Scott star as two mid-level employees of a grocery market chain looking to grab the promotion to become the head manager of the newest big store. Not too long ago there was substantial buzz regarding this movie. Some said it would be the breakout limited release hit of the summer, and with the previous such films failing to live up to expectations, this film's box office potential grew. Sadly, it appears it will be another limited release with possibilities that will have to wait till the home market to find an audience. The Promotion opens tonight in 6 theaters in New York City, the Los Angeles are, and Chicago, Illinois.
Filed under: Limited Releases, Mongol, And When Did You Last See Your Father?, The Promotion, La terza madre, The Go-Getter, Miss Conception