Full Steam Ahead

March 18, 2005

The long awaited Steamboy highlights this week's list of limited releases. How long awaited? It was featured on one of our first news stories over two years ago.

16 Years of Alcohol - Reviews
The best reviewed movie of the weekend, but while the reviews are mostly positive, they are not overly enthusiastic. Told through flashbacks, the story focuses on three periods in the life of Frankie (played by Kevin McKid of Trainspotting fame), whose life has centered on alcohol and violence. It's similar in many ways to Trainspotting and is just good enough to make its flaws stand out that much more.

The Helix Loaded - Reviews
A spoof of the Matrix movies starring Vanilla Ice. Yes, that Vanilla Ice, the rapper who previously starred in Cool as Ice, which was one of the worst movies ever made. The fact that this low-budget film is using that as a selling point is worrisome.

Melinda and Melinda - Reviews
The latest from Woody Allen is an interesting exercise in storytelling at the very least. A group of friends are dining in a restaurant discussing the difference between comedy and tragedy and in doing so that tell the same story as both. It is the best reviewed Woody Allen film since Sweet and Lowdown and is going with a similar release strategy , opening in 1 theater in New York tonight before expanding over the coming weeks / months. Also worth noting, chances are this movie will lead the per theater charts this weekend, and it has already earned more than $10 million at the international box office.

Milk and Honey - Reviews
Relationships crumble when a stockbroker proposes a second marriage to his wife and she turns him down. A follow-up to Virgil Bliss, which is the superior film. The film opens at the Quad Cinema in New York tonight before expanding to Los Angeles later.

Schizo - Reviews
A coming of age story set in Kazakhstan during the 90s revolving around a boy, nicknamed Schizo, who falls into a life of crime when he is hired to find fighters for an underground boxing circuit. The film is moving at times, but overall the film is unsatisfying and forgettable. The film opens at the Angelika Film Center in New York tonight before expanding to Los Angeles next week.

Steamboy - Reviews
Famed director Katsuhiro Ôtomo's follow up to Akira, a film that revolutionized Anime. Steamboy is set in Victorian England and depicts a futuristic past in which there are fantastic technologies based on steam power. The film isn't as powerful as Katsuhiro Ôtomo's earlier work but even the negative reviews admit that it is a visual feast. And those that do like it are very enthusiastic in their praise. It opens in a few dozen theaters in major markets across the country and will hopefully expand in the coming weeks. However, Anime has never been able to break out of its niche market so far.


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Filed under: Melinda and Melinda, Steamboy, Schizo, Milk & Honey, The Helix…Loaded