Limited Releases: Are Limited Releases Up to the Challenge?
January 4, 2013
Because you need to release a film before January 1st to quality for Oscars, many studios release their best limited releases right before the year ends. This means January is the worst time of year to release a limited release. Not only is it too late for Oscar glory, but they have to compete with films going for Oscar glory. So it comes as no surprise there are not a lot of films on this week's list, and only one of them, 56 Up, is earning great reviews.
56 Up - Reviews
All Superheroes Must Die - No Reviews
Crawlspace - Reviews
A Dark Truth - Reviews
Sushi Girl - Reviews
The latest in a documentary series that begin 49 years ago with 7 Up. The filmmakers took 14 kids from across England, all seven years old, and interviewed them about their lives and what they wanted to do in the future. Every seven years, the filmmakers would interview the same people and look at how their lives have changed. It is an interesting idea and so far the films have been brilliant. This installment is earning perfect reviews at the moment. 56 Up opens tonight at the IFC Center in New York City.
A group of superheroes are kidnapped, stripped of their powers, and forced to complete a series of challenges in order to save the lives of innocent civilians. The film was made on a $20,000 budget and under very limited time constraints. It was a minor miracle it was made. It is not surprising there are no reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. There are some reviews online from genre critics and they are mostly positive. Its limited budget does get in the way of a good idea. Hopefully it will make enough money that the possible sequel gets made with a bigger budget. All Superheroes Must Die opens tonight in 10 theaters, while it comes out on DVD and Blu-ray at the end of the month.
Justin Dix has a pretty long resume, but mostly in special effects, make-up, art design, etc. He is making his feature-length debut as a director with this film. So far there are almost no reviews online, but the ones I've seen are mostly positive. Not positive enough to suggest it will thrive in limited release, but it might find an audience on the home market.
This film has a good cast that includes Forest Whitaker, Andy Garcia, Eva Longoria, and others. That's a lot of name recognition, but so far the film has not earned one positive review on Rotten Tomatoes. It is already on Video on Demand, but opens tonight in theaters.
Noah Hathaway plays a man just out of prison who meets up with his fellow thieves at a sushi restaurant where they eat high-end sushi off a naked girl. (This is not something invented for this movie and there are restaurants like that out there.) At first they are all cordial to each other, but soon the topic of the missing loot comes up, then they begin to turn on each other. There are not a lot of reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, but most of them are positive. Still, this is not the kind of film that does well in limited release. Also, it is already on Video on Demand. Perhaps it will do better on DVD or Blu-ray.
Filed under: Limited Releases, Sushi Girl, A Dark Truth, 56 Up, Crawlspace, All Superheroes Must Die, Forest Whitaker, Andy Garcia, Eva Longoria, Justin Dix