Limited Releases - Monkeys with Guns
December 8, 2006
There's a short list of limited releases this week with two films of note, Screamers and Monkey Warfare.
The first is a powerful documentary while the second film is smaller Canadian film that is worth making the effort to see.
Guadalupe - No Reviews
Monkey Warfare - Review
Off the Black - Reviews
Screamers - Reviews
The story of the miracle of the Virgin of Guadalupe and the millions who make pilgrimages to her shrine.
Easily the widest release of the week at 250 theatres, the film is aimed at Hispanic Catholics.
However, it is a case of preaching to the choir and will have little or no appeal to non-true-believers.
On a side note, the film opened last weekend in its native Mexico but struggled, placing tenth with $207,000 on 176 screens.
A Canadian film about two bohemians whose comfortable routine is thrown into chaos by the arrival of a radical.
The low-budget film has excellent writing and several great performances, but it very unlikely to get a wide audience.
Part of the reason is it is not commercial enough to appeal to mainstream audiences.
But there's a lack of infrastructure up north to support such films.
Monkey Warfare opens tonight at the Granville Cinemas in Vancouver before spreading to Toronto and Ottawa next week.
A coming of age movie with Trevor Morgan and Nick Nolte.
After the former vandalizes the latter's house, they develop a friendship and Nolte asks the boy to pose as his son during his high school reunion.
Strong performances are a real highlight of the movie, but there's not enough here that feels fresh for the film to work as a whole.
Off the Black opens tonight at the Nuart Theatre in Los Angeles and the Regal Union Square Stadium 14 in New York City.
A
documentary about genocide, which is certainly a festive and heartwarming topic for this time of year.
Starting with the Armenian genocide in Turkey, the film also deals with the Holocaust, Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur and features music and performance by the very politically aware rock band, System of a Down.
The mixture of documentary and concert film may throw some people off, but it an added twist that helps the film's impact with others.
Screamers opens tonight in 4 theatres in the Los Angeles area.
Filed under: Limited Releases, Guadalupe, Off the Black, Screamers