Many Theaters are Hosting Limited Releases this Weekend - Correction
March 9, 2007
Good selection of limited releases this week with two that jump out as must-sees: Fido and The Host. Both are opening with a bigger push than expected, but that might not be enough to help them succeed. Correction: Fido doesn't come out in Canada until next Friday.
I was confused because I've been seeing ads for it all week.
Usually, when it comes to Canadian movies, you don't see ads this far in advance, if you see them at all.
Believe in Me - Reviews
Beyond the Gates - Reviews
Exterminating Angels - Reviews
Fido - Reviews
The Host - Reviews: The Numbers and Rotten Tomatoes
Maxed Out - Reviews
The Namesake - Reviews
An inspirational coach movie about a man who coaches a women's basketball team.
That one sentence description should be enough for regular moviegoers to know everything they need to know about the movie, as this particular genre of film is not known for stretching the envelope.
On the other hand, fans of these films should be satisfied with what they get here.
Believe in Me opens tonight in 45 theaters nationwide.
This movie will likely be cursed by unfair comparisons.
It deals with the same tragedy as Hotel Rwanda, only it isn't as strong.
Part of the problem is use of a white male lead to tell an African story; this is a pet peeve with a lot of people, myself included.
On the other hand, the film is perhaps better at exploring the brutality in a more real way.
Beyond the Gates opens tonight at the IFC Center in New York City.
One of the weaker-reviewed films this weekend, Exterminating Angels is about a film director who uses sexually explicit casting sessions for his next film, a movie about female sexuality.
While there is clearly an artistic intent here, it does skirt closely to porn at times.
In fact, the main complaint from critics is that the sex overtakes the flimsy story.
Exterminating Angels opens tonight at the IFC Center in New York City and the IFC PPV channel.
Fido is a Canadian zombie movie set in the 1950s where the zombies are not just mindless killing machines, but domestic servants, mailmen, and ... uh ... have other uses. - Brilliant film that opens in the States in June, but makes its Canadian debut tonight.
Easily worth checking out, if you can find it playing near you.
Canadian filmmakers can make excellent movies, we just can't seem to figure out how to promote them yet.
Hopefully that will change as there has been a lot of ads for this movie on the TV this past weekend.
The best reviewed new release of the week, The Host has a lot going for it, which you can read about in our review.
On the other hand, it is a foreign language film opening in 75 theaters.
That's two big strikes against it.
I'm afraid the distributor is trying to open the film too wide too soon and that will hurt its box office chances.
However, that said, it is still the best bet for most people reading this and it worth seeing in the theaters.
A documentary about the credit card industry and its predatory lending practices.
One of the best reviewed movies of the week, it is coming out at a near prefect time as the issue is coming to a head.
(Although it is the sub-prime lenders and not credit card companies that have the biggest spotlight in the news right now, but that could change shortly.)
On a side note, I think I know how you solve the problem: use a little caveat venditor.
If you sell something to someone on credit and they obviously don't have the means to pay you back, you shouldn't get any money.
A little bit of personal responsibility for corporations.
Maxed Out opens in three theaters tonight, including the Cinema Village in New York City and a couple in the Landmark Theater chain.
A movie that will make you say, "Hey, that Taj guy can actually act."
The film is earning excellent reviews, arguably the best of Kal Penn's career.
However, it will still struggle at the box office given its niche market appeal.
The Namesake opens tonight in six theaters, three in New York and three in California.
Filed under: Limited Releases, The Namesake, Gwoemul, Fido, Believe in Me, Maxed Out: Hard Times, Easy Credit and the Era of Predatory Lenders, Les anges exterminateurs