July 12th, 2019
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For the first time in a while, there are a lot of limited releases to talk about. This includes a trio that have a real shot at mainstream success: The Art of Self-Defense, The Farewell, and Sword of Trust. It is very unlikely all three will thrive at the box office, but hopefully one of them will.
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October 14th, 2018
Down a Dark Hall opened in limited release and VOD in August. Its early reviews were good, but its current Tomatometer Score is exactly 50% positive. Is it worth a rental? Is there enough replay value to be worth picking up?
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August 17th, 2018
It’s a short week for limited releases, as it is an awkward time of year to release a film. It’s too late to take advantage of the summer holidays, while it is far too soon for Awards Season buzz. That doesn’t mean there are no films earning amazing reviews. In fact, there are several: Blaze, Minding the Gap, We The Animals, The Wife, and The Wild Boys. Hopefully at least one of them will find an audience in theaters.
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July 4th, 2016
It's a strange week on the home market, as there are no first-run releases and very few other releases to make up the difference. There are some contenders for Pick of the Week, but all of them are foreign-language films, which is again odd. In fact, two of them, Only Yesterday and The Boy and the World, are animated. However, in the end, I went with The Mermaid, which deserves to be seen by more and Blu-ray is a great way to see it.
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February 26th, 2016
It's Oscar weekend, so obviously there's not many new limited releases worth paying attention to. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny is the biggest, but Only Yesterday is the best.
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December 21st, 2013
PANIC! If you haven't finished your Christmas shopping yet, it is officially time to panic. Personally, I got the last of my shopping done on Wednesday, although I don't think the gift will arrive in time for Christmas. For those still looking for a last minute gift, Part IV of our Holiday Gift Guide focuses on books, CDs, and of course anything else I missed the first time around, beginning with...
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November 15th, 2013
The Way Way Back is written by Nat Faxon and Jim Rash. For most of their careers, they have been actors. However, they wrote the script for The Descendants, which won them an Oscar. This time around, they not only co-wrote the screenplay, but co-directed the film as well. Was The Descendants a fluke? Or do they have another critical darling on their hands?
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October 1st, 2012
2012 continues its downward path. After a record-breaking spring, thanks to The Hunger Games, and a record-breaking start to the summer, thanks to The Avengers, the box office hasn't been able to maintain any real momentum. For most of the month, September was no better than August and now the year-over-year gains are just a little more than inflation. October will need to improve or 2012 will be in real trouble. Unfortunately, that might be tough. There's not a single film coming out in October that looks like it will be a guaranteed $100 million hit and there are only two films with a realistic chance, Taken 2 and Paranormal Activity 4. (There's also Cloud Atlas, which is a wild card. That movie could bomb or be the biggest hit of the month and I wouldn't be surprised either way.) There is a chance all three will get to the century mark, but there's a better chance none of them will. Last October, two films cracked $100 million: Paranormal Activity 3 and Puss in Boots, with the latter nearly reaching $150 million. I don't see any film coming close to matching that figure. On the other hand, last year there were six films that one could accurately describe as bombs. So while 2012 is weaker at the top, it could have better depth than 2011 did. Let's hope so, because we can't afford more bad news.
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