Survival of the Limited Releases
May 28, 2010
Just a trio of limited releases opening this week, but one of them, Micmacs, has potential. Granted, it's a foreign Language film and that will likely prevent it from become a truly mainstream success, but it still has potential.
Agora - Reviews
George A. Romero's Survival of the Dead - Reviews
Micmacs - Reviews
This Spanish film was a big hit when it opened in its native market, which was welcome news, as it reportedly cost more than $70 million to make. In the film, Rachel Weisz stars as astronomer-philosopher Hypatia of Alexandria, who taught at a Platonic Academy and was one of the earliest, if not the earliest influential woman in the world of mathematics. Her story is certainly one that deserves to be told and so far the reviews are good. However, and this is something I tend to say about a least one limited release every week, good is not good enough for a limited release. It might surprise, but it will likely have to wait till the home market to find an audience. Agora opens tonight in two theaters, both in New York City.
The ...of the Dead series has been a classic of the horror genre for more than 40 years and helped create the Zombie sub-genre. That said, the series has fallen a long way from the incredible first installment and there are a lot of people who think that after Diary of the Dead disappointed, it was time to retire the franchise. Since this film is earning even weaker reviews, and it is opening in half as many theaters, it likely won't make as much theatrically. This in turn could kill the franchise, at least for a while. Survival of the Dead opens tonight in more than 20 theaters in select cities nationwide.
The latest from French director, Jean-Pierre Jeunet, who previously directed , among other films. It's about a man, Brazil, who lost his father to a roadside bomb and who recently was hit by a stray bullet in a drive-by shooting incident. He now plots revenge against the arms manufacturer that made the bomb that killed his father and the gun that shot him in the head. While this film isn't earning quite the same level of critical praise as Amelie did, it is close enough to suggest it has serious potential in limited release. There should be plenty of his fans that will want to check out his latest movie. After all, it has been more than five years since he made a film, while the word-of-mouth should boost the film's chances going forward. Micmacs opens tonight in five theaters, mostly in New York City.
Filed under: Limited Releases, Agora, Micmacs, George A. Romero's Survival of the Dead