Limited Releases: Long Walk to Success

November 29, 2013

Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom poster

It's not a good week on the limited release front. There's only a couple of films earning overwhelmingly positive reviews: Cousin Jules and The Punk Singer. The former just screams art house and has little hope of finding mainstream audiences. The latter might do better, but it still will be limited to the art house circuit. Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom has the most mainstream appeal, but its reviews are only good and not great.

Caught in the Web - Reviews
A woman is caught on video refusing to give her seat an elderly passenger on a bus and the video goes viral. However, there's a reason she does this; she just learned she has a terminal illness and was in shock. The filmmakers want to make a point about how society comes to rash decisions without looking at the situation more deeply. However, the critics argue that this film is just as superficial as the filmmakers are accusing people of being. Caught in the Web opened on Wednesday in New York City before expanding next week.

Cousin Jules - Reviews
This documentary came out 40 years ago and won universal acclaim. However, despite this, it was never released in the United States, at least not till this week. It is the best reviewed new release this week and it should do well in art house cinemas, but I'm not sure what its long-term potential is. Cousin Jules opened on Wednesday at the Film Forum in New York City.

Journey to the South Pacific - No Reviews
A nature documentary about life under the sea in the South Pacific. It is an IMAX film, so it is probably very visually impressive, but there are no reviews, so I don't know if it is good otherwise.

Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom - Reviews
A biopic about Nelson Mendela coming out right in the heart of Awards Season. I don't think it is unfair to call this film Oscar bait. However, looking at its reviews, it is likely it will end up as busted Oscar bait. Idris Elba is earning a lot of praise for his performance as Nelson Mendela, but most critics are docking points from the film, because it is not as in-depth as a biography should be. Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom opens tonight in four theaters.

The Punk Singer - Reviews
A documentary about Kathleen Hanna, a punk rock singer and feminist icon. After being a very outspoken artist, she disappeared from the spotlight in 2005. This documentary looks at her time in the spotlight and what she is up to now. The reviews are fantastic, but there's a lot of competition on art house screens. The Punk Singer opens tonight in three theaters, two in New York city and the other in Los Angeles, while it expands over the coming weeks and months.


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Filed under: Limited Releases, Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, Sou Suo, Le Cousin Jules, Journey to the South Pacific, The Punk Singer, Idris Elba, Kathleen Hanna