Limited Releases are Putting Up a Fight
December 10, 2010
Another week, another Oscar hopeful coming out in limited release. Unfortunately, very few of the films on this week's list are earning Award-worthy reviews. In fact, most are not even earning reviews that are strong enough to suggest they will thrive in limited release. Hopefully we will still get a few hits out of the mix.
And Everything is Going Fine - Reviews
The Company Men - Reviews
The Fighter - Reviews
Hemingway's Garden of Eden - Reviews
The Tempest - Reviews
Trigger - Reviews
You Won't Miss Me - Reviews
Director Steven Soderbergh uses a collection of interview and performance clips to create a tribute to Spalding Gray. Your desire to see this movie will obviously be promotional to your opinion on Spalding Gray, but most critics are giving it praise. And Everything is Going Fine opens tonight at the IFC Center in New York City.
Ben Affleck, Tommy Lee Jones, Kevin Costner, Chris Cooper, Maria Bello. And those are just cast members that appear on the poster. In the movie, Ben Affleck plays a successful white collar guy who is downsized and is forced to work a blue collar job with his brother-in-law, Kevin Costner. It was previously set for October, but it was pushed back till December, which is a great month for Awards Season contenders. However, its reviews, while good, do not suggest it will be winning awards. Also, it might be hard for audiences to sympathize with with a guy who lost a six-figure income when a lot of people are a lot worse off. The Company Men opens tonight in two theaters, one in New York City and the other in Los Angeles.
The best reviewed limited release on this week's list, it is also the one earning the most buzz, which is a great combination. Additionally, with a scheduled wide release next weekend, the studio will be pushing it harder, which gives it another advantage over most limited releases. Will it be enough to warrant a wide release next week? Time will soon tell. The Fighter opens tonight in a few theaters in New York City and the Los Angeles area, but also in the Boston area, which is where Mickey Ward is from.
Based on a novel that was published 25 years after Hemingway's death. At the time it was published, a lot of people complained about the excessive editing done to the manuscript, cutting it from 200,000 words to 70,000 words, so it is hard to even call it a Hemingway novel. This could explain why the film is earning terrible reviews; perhaps the source material was too badly butchered to be saved. Or perhaps there's another explanation. Regardless, the reviews are terrible and it has very little chance in limited release. Hemingway's Garden of Eden opens tonight in 14 theaters across the nation.
The adaptation of the Shakespeare play has an amazing cast, but its reviews are at the "What were they thinking?" level. Most critics complain that the special effects are not only overwhelming, but poorly done, which will likely turn off art house crowds. The Tempest opens in five theaters, three in the Los Angeles are and two in New York City.
This film is earning some of the best reviews of the weekend, this Canadian film stars Molly Parker and Tracy Wright as two women who used to be friends in a neighborhood band, but as their careers were taking off, their friendship ended. Now ten years later, they are getting back together for a tribute concert honoring women in rock'n'roll, but they still have a few issues to work out. If you live in Vancouver, try and head out to the Vancity Theatre to see it, but first head over to First Weekend Club to print out a $2 off coupon.
A 23-year old tries to adjust to life after being recently released from a mental institution. It won last year's Gotham Award for Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You. This year it is opening in limited release, but it is earning reviews that are only good, not great. It's appeal depends on your opinion of the Mumblecore genre. If you liked films like Funny Ha Ha or the more recent Tiny Furniture, then this is worth checking out as well. You Won't Miss Me opens tonight at the Cinema Village in New York City.
Filed under: Limited Releases, The Fighter, The Tempest, The Company Men, Tiny Furniture, You Won’t Miss Me, Hemingway's Garden of Eden, And Everything is Going Fine