Limited and VOD Releases: Take a Souvenir from Your Trip to the Theaters
May 17, 2019
It’s a rather busy week for limited releases, but few of them are earning overwhelmingly positive reviews. In fact, some on this list couldn’t even make it to the overall positive level. There are some films that are worth checking out, including Last Year at Marienbad, Walking on Water, and The Souvenir. Of these three, I suspect The Souvenir will have the best box office run.
All Creatures Here Below - Reviews
Aniara - Reviews
Asako I & II - Reviews
Last Year at Marienbad - Reviews
Photograph - Reviews
The Professor - Reviews
Slaughterhouse Rulez - Reviews
The Souvenir - Reviews
The Third Wife - Reviews
Trial by Fire - Reviews
The Unseen - Reviews
Walking on Water - Reviews
We Have Always Lived in the Castle - Reviews
Secondary VOD Releases:
-1-News.jpg)
Video on Demand
A couple steal a baby and go on the run to their hometown, a hometown they previously fled. The reviews are barely over the overall positive level, so it is unlikely to find an audience in theaters. On the other hand, its reviews are good enough for a VOD rental.
Video on Demand
A Sci-fi movie about one of the spaceships transporting people from a dying Earth to their new home on Mars. However, this particular spaceship hits some space debris and goes off course, so much so that they will never be able to make it to Mars. The film then explores what the psychological effects of this would be on the passengers. It’s an interesting premise, but the reviews are far below what is needed to thrive in limited release.
Erika Karata plays a woman whose lover disappears. Then two years later, she meets his doppleganger and when the original returns, it sets off a very strange love triangle. The reviews are good, but not quite good enough for limited release.
A re-release of a 1961 French New Wave film. It is widely considered a classic and the Criterion Collection DVD / Blu-ray has been out of print for a while, so this is a great chance to see it. It also could be a sign that a new Blu-ray is in the works.
A photographer is being pressured into marrying, so he convinces a shy stranger to pretend to be his fiancée. The reviews are good, perhaps good enough to thrive in limited release. On the other hand, it is a foreign-language film, so its chances of expanding significantly are very limited.
This movie is earned 0% positive reviews. Not only that, but many of the reviews are aggressively negative with critics comparing Johnny Depp to the unsympathetic character.
Video on Demand
This is the biggest disappointment of the week, as I was really looking forward to this movie. It is a B-movie horror comedy starring some of my favorite actors. However, the reviews are just bad. Maybe I will check it out on VOD, but it’s more out of morbid curiosity.
This is arguably the biggest limited release of the week and fortunately, it is also one of the best. It stars Honor Swinton Byrne as a shy woman beginning her first serious relationship. However, everyone around her doesn’t trust the man. The reviews are over 90% positive and A24 has an excellent track-record when it comes to limited releases.
This film is set in Vietnam in the 1800s and focuses on a 14-year old girl, May, who becomes the third wife of a landowner. She has to navigate her new world and try to advance in whatever way she can. The reviews are excellent and it could do well, for a foreign-language import.
A real-life story about a man on death row for a triple-homicide by arson and the woman who fought to prove he was innocent. Unfortunately, while it has a good cast and a compelling story, the execution was flawed and it only managed mixed reviews. I doubt it will go anywhere in theaters.
Video on Demand
A couple struggles with the death of their son. The film’s reviews are merely good and not good enough for limited release. It is playing on VOD, under its original name, and it is worth a rental.
A documentary about Christo, an artist who is trying to complete an art project that he and his late wife had been working on for years. The reviews are 100% positive and we’re due for a documentary hit. Unfortunately, I think this one is a little too art house to reach mainstream audiences.
Video on Demand
A family lives in a secluded mansion after the death of several of their family members. A distant cousin arrives and they could be there to reveal a big family secret, or their agenda could be more sinister. The reviews are good, but probably not good enough for limited release; however, since it is playing on VOD, its theatrical run is immaterial to its overall success.
Zilla and Zoe - No Reviews - Video on Demand
There’s only one secondary VOD film on this week’s list. It has no reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, but I read a couple online and they were moderately positive. The film has a good idea, but mixed execution. In other words, it’s just fine for a VOD rental.
Filed under: Limited Releases, VOD Releases, Home Market Releases, L'Année Dernière à Marienbad, The Souvenir, Trial by Fire, We Have Always Lived in the Castle, Slaughterhouse Rulez, Aniara, Walking on Water, The Third Wife, Photograph, All Creatures Here Below, The Professor, The Unseen, Netemo Sametemo, Zilla and Zoe, Johnny Depp, Laura Dern, Jack O'Connell, Honor Swinton Byrne, Masahiro Higashide, Nguyen Phuong Tra My, Christo, Erika Karata