Producing Results

December 16, 2005

There are several films on this week's list, but only one notable release. Two other releases are getting Oscar qualifying runs this week before their regular release. Both these films will get full write-ups then.

Bluff Master - Reviews
A Con-Man movie from India. Abhishek Bachchan stars as Roy, a con-man whose love for the grift is only overshadowed by his love for Simmi, but when she finds out about his cons she leaves him. In an attempt to get over his lose, he begins to train a con-man wannabe, Aditya. Easily the widest limited release of the week, opening in more than 40 theatres in select cities, but it is unlikely to have the biggest box office over the weekend.

Electric Shadows - Reviews
A Chinese movie about the love of movies and how it can change your life. Nearly every review compared the film to Cinema Paradiso, but this film is not in the same league. Electric Shadows opens tonight at The ImaginAsian in New York City.

The Grace Lee Project - Reviews
Grace Lee is apparently the most common name for Asian-American women. This documentary was directed by one such woman and is about other women who share her name. In a year with a lot of strong documentaries, this one still stands out as one of the best, although it is not eligible for an Oscar for some reason or another. (The rules of eligibility are quite complex, perhaps overly complex.) The Grace Lee Project opens tonight in the Film Forum in New York City.

Happy Here and Now - Reviews
Filmed in 2002, this movie deals with a woman who comes to New Orleans looking for her lost sister. Given the recent disaster that came upon that city, I don't think there could be a worse time to release this film. Add in mediocre reviews and the film doesn't have much of a future. Happy Here and Now opened on Wednesday at the IFC Center in New York City and the Laemmle Fairfax 3 in Los Angeles.

Hoodwinked - Reviews
Technically not opening this weekend, merely having its Oscar qualifying run. Although with its early reviews, I don't think its going to earn any nominations.

The Producers - Reviews
Less of a limited release, and more of a Prestige Opening. For those that don't know the difference, a Prestige Opening refers to a film that opens in limited release before its scheduled wide release; essentially, it is a film that could have opened wide, but the studio choose to give a few theatres a semi-exclusive run first. Overall the reviews are nowhere near as strong as the original's reviews were and, but it is also not the disaster some feared. The Producers opens tonight in a single theatre in each of the following cities: New York City, L.A., Miami, Toronto, San Francisco and Chicago. It then opens wide on Christmas Day.

The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada - Reviews
Another film having a week long Oscar Qualifying run, but unlike the previous such film on this week's list, this one could score some Oscar nods.

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Filed under: The Producers: The Movie Musical, Los tres entierros de Melquiades Estrada