Limited Releases: Going to War

July 26, 2013

There are a huge number of limited releases this week, but the vast majority of them are not earning strong enough reviews to suggest they will thrive in limited release. There are some, like Extracted, that are earning positive reviews, but there are so few reviews, that it is impossible to judge the movie. Drug War is earning the best reviews and it might find an audience. However, it is Blue Jasmine that has the best shot at earning some measure of mainstream success.

Apartment 1303 - Reviews
One of three films on this week's list with no positive reviews, at least at the moment. Mischa Barton stars as a woman investigating the "accidental" death of her sister, Julianne Michelle, by moving into the apartment where her sister died. She soon learns this apartment has a history. Apartment 1303 opened in theaters on Thursday, but has been playing on Video on Demand for a month.

Blue Jasmine - Reviews
The latest from Woody Allen. This is one of his more dramatic films, and given the reviews, it is one of his better. Cate Blanchett plays a woman who finds out her rich investor husband as been cheating on her, and cheating his clients. After this, she is forced to move back with her lower class sister, Sally Hawkins. The reviews are 81% positive and with Woody Allen's track record and fanbase, it should have no trouble finding some measure of mainstream success. Blue Jasmine opens tonight in six theaters split between New York City and Los Angeles.

Breaking the Girl - Reviews
So far, this film is earning zero positive reviews out of six on Rotten Tomatoes. It is a Strangers on a Train set in college, but with a Lesbian twist. It could do well on the home market. Breaking the Girl opens tonight in theaters and on video on demand.

Drug War - Reviews
The best reviewed new release of the week. The film stars Louis Koo as a big time Meth manufacturer who is facing the death penalty, unless he goes undercover for the cops. It is earning some of the best reviews of the summer and could find an audience in limited release. Drug War opens tonight at the IFC Center in New York City, before expand to Los Angeles next weekend and Chicago and Seattle the weekend after that.

Extracted - Reviews
A scientist invents a way to enter someone's dreams and extract memories. He's given the task of entering a heroin addict's dreams to find out if they murdered someone. It could be a good movie, but it only has one review on Rotten Tomatoes, so it is hard to judge. I think Extracted opens tonight in select theaters and Video on Demand, but the official site hasn't been updated since March.

Frankenstein's Army - Reviews
A German commander uses the notebook of Dr. Frankenstein to turn dead Nazi soldiers into monsters to fight the incoming Russian army. I've heard of worse ideas for movies set in World War II. The reviews are not bad, but not great either. It should do well on the home market, but its chances in limited release are weak. Frankenstein's Army opens tonight in select theaters and on Video on Demand.

Stranded - Reviews
Christian Slater stars as a commander of a moon base that is hit by a rogue meteor shower and they are cut off from Earth. Worse still, the meteors contained alien spores, and now shape-shifting aliens are killing the crew. There are ten reviews on Rotten Tomatoes and all of them are negative. Stranded opens tonight in theaters, but has been playing on Video on Demand for a while.

StreetDance 3D - Reviews
A British film about a street dance squad and a ballet troop who have to learn to work together when they are forced to share the same rehearsal space. It is not an original story, but the reviews are strong. Also, when it came out in 2010 in its native U.K., it was a surprisingly strong hit and was the biggest British film of the year in that market. I think StreetDance 3D is opening tonight, but there's no official site, at least not for its North American release.

The Time Being - Reviews
Good cast, terrible reviews. Wes Bentley stars as a struggling artist whose dedication to his craft is killing his marriage to Ahna O'Reilly. He sells one of his paintings to Frank Langella and hopes this will be a boost to his career. However, Frank Langella has something else in mind. The Time Being opens tonight at the Quad Cinema in New York City and the Laemmle Music Hall in Los Angeles.

Tiny Times 1.0 - Reviews
A Chinese film about four friends working in the field of fashion. There is only one review on Rotten Tomatoes, and it is negative. Tiny Times 1.0 opens tonight in three theaters, but since there's no official site, it is hard to tell where those three theaters are.


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Filed under: Limited Releases, Breaking the Girls, Blue Jasmine, Stranded, Frankenstein's Army, Du zhan, StreetDance 3D, Apartment 1303, The Time Being, Extracted, Tiny Times, Cate Blanchett, Woody Allen, Mischa Barton, Wes Bentley, Sally Hawkins, Louis Koo, Frank Langella, Christian Slater, Ahna O'Reilly, Julianne Michelle