Take the Day off and Watch a Limited Release

June 1, 2007

Limited releases this week are led by Day Watch, the sequel to the under-appreciated Night Watch. While that film has probably the best shot at some measure of mainstream success, it is not the only one that could expand after this weekend.

Crazy Love - Reviews
A documentary that proves that love can make you crazy. However, quite frankly it can't make you this crazy unless you come into the relationship with a large serving of crazy to begin with. The way this relationship went, I'm surprise someone didn't lock these two in a room full of loaded guns and tell them to work it out or shoot it up. Crazy Love opens tonight in three theaters, all in New York City, but it has a chance to expand as the subjects are entertaining in a human train wreck kind of way.

Day Watch - Reviews
The sequel to Night Watch, this film is earning similar reviews, albeit slightly better. The film's box office chances are also similar, but likely will have to wait until the home market to build on its cult following. Day Watch opens tonight in 5 theaters, mostly in New York City and the Los Angeles area and should expand over the coming weeks, but perhaps slower than its predecessor did.

Fool 'n' Final - No Reviews
The latest Bollywood film opening here without any advance reviews and (nearly) no publicity. No wonder they haven't been able to cross over into mainstream appeal, they aren't even trying to build an audience outside their niche.

Holly Hobbie and Friends - Friends Forever - No Reviews
An animated film based on the doll of the same name. The film stars Alyson Stoner, who is probably best know for her role in Cheaper by the Dozen, while she has appeared in a number of projects including TV shows, music videos, TV commercials, etc. The first three movies were direct-to-DVD releases, but this movie opens tomorrow (that's Saturday), for weekend matinees in more than 100 theaters. It's an interesting release strategy, but not one that I'm sure will work.

I'm Reed Fish - Reviews
Jay Baruchel and Alexis Bledel star in this indie film that seems custom made for lovers of smaller, quirky films. But that is not necessarily a compliment. At times, the film seems designed to be quirky instead of having an natural quirkiness to it and the tough art house crowds can usually tell the difference and will punish the phonies. That said, there is still more than enough to recommend checking it out, even if you have to wait until the home market to do so. I'm Reed Fish opens tonight at the Quad Cinema in New York City.

The Last Hangman - Reviews
This film stars Timothy Spall, best known as the virtual reality operator in the Red Dwarf episode, Back to Reality. Oh yeah, he's also that rat guy in the Harry Potter movies. Here he plays Albert Pierrepoint, one of the last hangmen during the time when the debate to abolished the death penalty was raging in the U.K. The movie is suitably understated and subdued given the subject matter and should find a relatively receptive audience among fans of art house cinema but will have trouble expanding beyond there. The Last Hangman opens in three theaters tonight, all in California.

Rise - Reviews
Not your typical art house offering. Rise is obviously a movie made for a wide opening that just didn't work out so the studio is dumping it in limited release. And it's not just limited release, but with an opening theater count of 24, it's the dreaded select cities. I doubt it will survive much longer than a week.

Ten Canoes - Reviews
A movie about the Australian aboriginal people filmed in their native language, which is a first. The film is earning unbelievably positive reviews with critics praising nearly every aspect of the movie. A bit of word-of-mouth is all it needs to grow and earn some measure of mainstream success. Ten Canoes opens tonight at the Cinema Village in New York City, among other theaters.

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Filed under: Limited Releases, Dnevnoy dozor, Crazy Love, Ten Canoes, Rise: Blood Hunter, The Last Hangman, I'm Reed Fish, , Fool N Final