I Trust You to Watch a Limited Release This Weekend
September 8, 2006
Nearly a dozen limited releases hit theatres this week, including several on Wednesday. The list includes a handful of documentaries and what looked like a possible Oscar contender. However, none look poised to reach far beyond their limited release beginnings.
Broken Bridges - Reviews
I Trust You To Kill Me - Reviews
Iraq for Sale: The War Profiteers - Reviews
Man Push Cart - Reviews
Paper Dolls - Reviews
La Petite Lieutenant - Reviews
Red Doors - Reviews
Rolling Family - Reviews
Saint of 9/11 - Reviews
Salvadore Allende - Reviews
Sherrybaby - Reviews
The widest release of the week also sports the weakest reviews. Add in the dreaded Select Cities release schedule and this film will likely crash and burn this weekend. Then again, it is opening mostly in the south where Toby Keith's popularity is the highest, but musician turned actor is not an easy transition to make. Broken Bridges opens tonight in 86 theatres, but that is likely as wide as it will go.
Rockumentary following Kiefer Sutherland's favorite indie band, Rocco DeLuca & the Burden, on tour in Europe. This film isn't bad and should satisfy fans of the band, but it won't convert many others. I Trust You To Kill Me opens tonight at the Sunshine Cinema in New York City before expanding to California over the next few weeks.
The latest documentary for Robert Greenwald, who brought us Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism and Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Prices, so you pretty much know where this man's political leanings are, but that's not a bad thing. Documentaries with a point of view can be great, as long as they are backed up by evidence, and in this film they are. (If you don't believe him, check out GAO reports on the $21 billion, BILLION, that has gone missing since the beginning of the war.) Iraq for Sale: The War Profiteers opens tonight in a handful of theatres before hitting
DVD on the 26th of this month.
A story about an immigrant from Pakistan who works at a push cart selling coffee and donuts. But what his customers don't know is he was a famous rock star back home. After an award-winning run in festivals worldwide, including stops in Greece, London, and Seattle, this film finally gets its theatrical debut this week. Given the number of awards it picked up, there's little surprise it is the best-reviewed film of the week. However, while this should mean a strong run in the art-house circuit, it doesn't have much in the way of mainstream potential. Man Push Cart opens tonight at the Angelika Film Center in New York City.
A documentary about Gay/transvestites/transexuals from the Philippines who live and work in Israel taking care of elderly orthodox Jews. It's a fascinating subject and while the film isn't bad, it just isn't in-depth enough to be completely satisfying. Paper Dolls opened on Wednesday at the Film Forum in New York City while it expands into Boston tonight.
A French Neo Noir film about a detective who moves into a plain clothes department in Paris. One of the best reviewed films of the weekend, in fact, it is only one of two to earn overwhelmingly positive reviews. However, the foreign language aspect will limit its box office chances. La Petite Lieutenant opens tonight at the Angelika Film Center and the Lincoln Plaza, both in New York City.
While this film is only getting mixed reviews, much of the complaints are focused on the sense of Deja vu. Yes, the film covered a lot of ground that other films have tread, but it does it with enough charm that this is forgivable. However, that said it is still not likely to generate the word-of-mouth needed to escape its limited release roots. Red Doors opens tonight at the Angelika Film Center and the ImageAsian Theatre, both in New York City.
A family travels from Buenos Aires to Misiones in a broken down van to attend a wedding. More than one person is comparing the Argentinean film to Little Miss Sunshine, which is not good because it suffers in nearly every way. It's not terrible, it's just slow moving and uneventful, which wouldn't be so bad if there were more character development. Rolling Family opened on Wednesday at the Cinema Village in New York City.
On the one hand, this documentary about a Franciscan priest and New York City Fire Department chaplain who died during the terrorist attacks of 9/11 is a touching tribute to his life. On the other hand, it is not in-depth enough to be entirely compelling. Overall, the film will satisfy most people, but leave them wanting to know more, which isn't an entirely bad thing for a documentary. Saint of 9/11 opened on Wednesday at the IFC Center in New York City.
A political documentary about former Chilean president, Salvadore Allende. Not the most unbiased documentary on this week's list, as it ignores many of the flaws in his reform plans, but I guess looking back they pale compared to the brutal regime that followed. (Also, a lot of the issues that plagued the administration came from outside sources including the collapse of international copper prices and CIA attempts to... uh, remove the democratically elected government because of its political leanings.)
Out of all of the limited releases this week, this is the one that I figured had the most potential for mainstream success. At least I felt that way till the reviews started to come in. The film stars Maggie Gyllenhaal, who not only has a huge amount of indie cred, but mainstream name recognition. However, the reviews are just mixed. It's probably not enough to hurt the film's opening weekend, but it won't help it build the word-of-mouth needed to escape the art-house circuit. Sherrybaby opens in five theatres, mostly from the Laemmle chain in the Los Angeles area.
Filed under: Limited Releases, Broken Bridges, Sherrybaby, Red Doors, Bubot Niyar, I Trust You To Kill Me, Familia rodante, Saint of 9/11