Widest Limited Release in a Long Time

May 21, 2004

Six limited release movies open either tonight or have already opened on Wednesday. And one of them is opening in more theatres than the combined theatres of all the limited releases in the average week. Unfortunately, that release also has by far the weakest reviews.

Control Room - Reviews
A balanced and compelling look at the Arab news network, Al-Jazeera, and its coverage of the war in Iraq. To call this film a must-see would not be an understatement as it shows both sides filter the news and call it the truth and that you have to listen to every voice in order to hear the truth.

Love Me If You Dare - Reviews
A love story between two people and their lifelong game of escalating dares. Comedy, unlike drama or action is often very language specific and has a bit more trouble translating into other languages. Even if the joke is translated perfectly linguistically, the humor can be lost on the audience. This is partially true of this film but if you give the film a chance you will find a movie about either life-long love or the destruction nature of compulsive competition, depending on your interpretation.

S-21: The Khmer Rouge Death Machine - Review
A look at one of the darkest periods of recent history when nearly 2 million Cambodians were killed in a four year period. In the single 'Interrogation Center' that is the focus of the movie, 17,000 people were killed. This documentary brings together a handful of guards and a few survivors as well. The horror of the events is magnified by the mechanical and cold nature of the guards' reenactments of intimidation, torture and murder, all with the simple justification, 'I was only following orders.'

Stateside - Reviews
Can a movie based on real life be unrealistic? This seems to be one of the complaints with regards to this film, which is based on the director's life. The other major concern is the lack of cohesion; the film tries to be too many things, (a teenaged romance, a story of mental illness and a military drama) and fails to tell any of the stories in a convincing manner. I guess it shows that even the most universal truths can sound like outrageous lies if they are told without conviction.

Twist - Reviews
A modern retelling of the classic Dickens novel Oliver Twist. While many of the social commentary aspects of Charles Dickens novel apply today, this film wasn't very successful in translation them to the big screen.

Yuva - Reviews
The average Bollywood film tends to be a sugary love story told with extravagant dance numbers. And even though India has the largest film industry making nearly one thousand feature films a year. However, because of there nature very few of these films have made an impact outside of India. And that is the reason Yuva is an important film; it has an edgier, more mature feel that should help draw in a larger audience outside Bollywood enthusiasts.


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Filed under: Limited Releases, Control Room, Love Me If You Dare, Yuva, Stateside, Twist, S-21: The Khmer Rouge Death Machine