Limited Releases of Summer
July 17, 2009
There are fewer than 500 limited releases coming out this week; in fact, we have fewer than five on this week's list. However, almost all of them are earning strong reviews, and one of the them, (500) Days of Summer, could be the sleeper hit of the summer.
(500) Days of Summer - Reviews
Death in Love - Reviews
The Way We Get By - Reviews
A Woman in Berlin - Reviews
Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt star in this romantic comedy. A romantic comedy opening in limited release? That almost never does well; however, the buzz for this film has been impressive, and now the reviews are as well. The film is opening in a lot of theaters, 27 of them in major cities nationwide, but it has a chance of doing what almost all potential sleeper hits from the past two years have failed to do: earn a real measure of mainstream success. We will know how likely this is when the box office numbers start rolling in. (500) Days of Summer opens tonight in 27 theaters in cities like Seattle, Chicago, Dallas, Washington, as well as New York City and the Los Angeles area.
A film about a woman who seduces a doctor in charge of Nazi experiments during World War II and how this effects her family decades later. This is difficult subject matter to deal with and given the mixed reviews, it is likely the film is not entirely successful at it. 'Pretentious' is being used to describe the movie by more than one critic, in both positive and negative reviews. It has won some film festival awards, and could find a receptive audience at art house cinemas, but its potential to expand is limited. Death in Love opens tonight in three theaters, one in New York City and the other two in the Los Angeles area.
A documentary about a group of senior citizens who greet returning soldiers at the airport in Bangor, Maine. It is a powerful and effective film about aging, wanted to be needed, as well as the effects of war. The subject matter is not one that has shown a lot of box office potential lately, but that could be changing with the success of The Hurt Locker, which expands next week. The Way We Get By opens tonight at the IFC Center in New York City.
A German woman (Nina Hoss) and a Russian officer (Evgeny Sidikhin) meet in Berlin at the end of World War II and develop a complex, and not entirely amicable relationship. The subject matter is difficult to watch, and made worse since it is based on real life events, or based on a book that is based on real life events. However, the reviews might not be strong enough to help it survive in limited release. A Woman in Berlin opens tonight in the Angelika Film Center in New York City.
Filed under: Limited Releases, (500) Days of Summer, The Way We Get By, Death in Love, Anonyma - Eine Frau in Berlin