Limited and VOD Releases: My Kingdom for a Turtle

August 16, 2019

Buñuel in the Labyrinth of the Turtles

There are quite a few limited releases on this week’s list earning strong enough reviews to give them a chance at doing well in theaters. Of these, Kingdom and Buñuel in the Labyrinth of the Turtles are the two I’m most interested in, but I don’t think they are destined to find box office success. Unfortunately, I don’t think any of the films on this week’s list will find box office success.

Adam - Reviews
 This movie is about a man who pretends to be a trans woman in order to date a lesbian. ... Huh? “Men are going to pretend to be trans women in order to sexually assault women in public bathrooms.” is literally a transphobic attack happening right now, so using such a similar premise in a coming of age film is bizarre to say the least.

The Amazing Johnathan Documentary - Reviews
 This documentary starts out about The Amazing Johnathan, a stage magician doing one last tour. However, things take a turn and it becomes more about the documentarian dealing with trying to make the movie and the revelations in it. The reviews are amazing, both the Tomatometer Score and the average score, so it is one of the best bets of the week.

Apocalypse Now: Final Cut - Reviews
One of the best movies of all time is getting a re-release with a new cut. If you haven’t seen it in theaters, now is a great time to fix that.

Aquarela - Reviews
 A documentary about the power and beauty of water. It’s reviews are 100% positive and unlike some of the other films on this week’s list, the average score is also good at 7.8 out of 10. That’s not award-worthy, but certainly better than a lot of its competition.

Buñuel in the Labyrinth of the Turtles - Reviews
 An animated film about... I’m not 100% sure. It is about Luis Buñuel who was a surrealist artist and reading the plot description strongly suggests there’s more than a hint of surrealism here. The reviews are 100% positive, but like many other films on this week’s list, the average score is much weaker at just 6.6 out of 10. Worse still, animated films rarely thrive in limited release, even under the best of circumstances.

Cold Case Hammarskjold - Reviews
 A documentary looking at the death of UN secretary-general Dag Hammarskjöld, who died in a plane crash in 1961 and that many think was assassinated. The reviews are on the boarder between good and good enough for limited release, but it isn’t the only documentary coming out this week and it isn’t the best, so its box office chances are weak.

The Divine Fury - Reviews
 An atheist gets wrapped up in a supernatural war. The reviews are weak and it is a foreign-language film, so its box office chances are nearly zero.

Driven - Reviews
 Video on Demand
This film is one of the few films on this week’s list that is earning any significant pre-release buzz. Unfortunately, it is also earning reviews that are merely good, but not good enough to thrive in limited release. On the other hand, the reviews are good enough for a $6 VOD rental.

Gwen - Reviews
 Video on Demand
This film’s reviews are on the border between merely good and good enough for limited release. However, even a lot of the positive reviews say the film might be too grim for mainstream audiences. Additionally, it is playing on VOD, so its box office chances are minimal. That said, it is worth a $6 rental.

Kingdom - Reviews
 A live-action martial arts movie based on the Manga of the same name. The film’s reviews are 90% positive, but the average score is 6.25 out of 10, which means... say it with me, “Most critics like the movie, but few love it.” Additionally, films like this rarely to very well in limited release and usually have to wait till the home market to find an audience.

Mission Mangal - Reviews
 This film only has two reviews on Rotten Tomatoes; however, it is an Indian film, so that’s two reviews more than most other Indian films get. Additionally, it is about space exploration, so it might be of interest to some here, who would not normally go for Indian films.

Los Reyes - Reviews
 A documentary about the Los Reyes skatepark, more specifically, two stray dogs who live there. It’s a documentary about a pair of dogs. The film’s reviews are 100% positive and people love dogs, so the film could do well, for a documentary. I don’t think it will be a mainstream hit.

What You Gonna Do When The World’s On Fire - Reviews
 A documentary look at the summer of 2017 and the protests against the number of African-Americans killed by cops. The reviews are good, but documentaries haven’t done as well as the genre was doing last year.

Secondary VOD Releases:
Alien Invasion - Reviews - Video on Demand
Already Gone - Reviews - Video on Demand
Awake - Reviews - Video On Demand
The Second Sun - Reviews - Video on Demand
There doesn’t appear to be an undiscovered gem among the secondary VOD titles this week.

Filed under: Limited Releases, VOD Releases, Home Market Releases, Apocalypse Now, Gwen, Driven, Aquarela, What You Gonna Do When The World’s On Fire, Buñuel En El Laberinto De Las Tortugas, Cold Case Hammarskjold, Kingudamu, Already Gone, The Amazing Johnathan Documentary, Los Reyes, Adam, Saja, Mission Mangal, Awake, The Second Sun, After the Lethargy