Limited and VOD Releases: Endless Choices

July 14, 2017

Swallows and Amazons

There’s not a wide selection of films coming out in limited release this week, but there are number of them that are worth checking out. This includes To The Bone, which is playing on Netflix right now. Endless Poetry is about the early life of Alejandro Jodorowsky and fans of his movies should be very interested. Lady Macbeth is a costume drama and that’s a genre that tends to do well in limited release. Finally there’s Swallows and Amazons, a family film that will likely do much better on Video on Demand than in theaters.

Birthright: A War Story - Reviews
 A documentary about the battle for reproductive rights in the United States. There are only six reviews, but all six are positive.

Blind - Reviews
 Video on Demand
Alec Baldwin plays a novelist who lost his sight in a car crash. Demi Moore plays a woman who is sentenced to community service after being implicated in her husband’s insider trading. The pair fall in love, buy when her husband gets out of jail, she has to decide if she wants to remain with the man she has fallen in love with, or the man she built a life with. The cast is good, but the reviews are terrible and it is not even worth renting on VOD.

Chasing Coral - Reviews
 A nature documentary about the state of the world’s coral reefs and what needs to be done to save them. The film is earning 100% positive reviews, so fans of nature documentaries, especially ones shot underwater, will want to see it in theaters.

Endless Poetry - Reviews
 An auto-biographical look at the life of Alejandro Jodorowsky. This is one of the best reviewed films of the week and cinephiles should be very interested in the subject matter. On the other hand, it is a foreign-language film, so its chances of expanding significantly are very limited.

Footnotes - Reviews
 Pauline Etienne plays Julie, a woman who has struggled to find steady employment. When she finally finds a job she should be able to stick with, the management decide to close the factory. The reviews are good, but merely good usually isn’t good enough for limited release.

Lady Macbeth - Reviews
 A costume drama about a woman stuck in a loveless marriage. She begins an affair and this gives her more confidence to take control of her life. The reviews are excellent, but it has struggled to find an audience in the several international markets it has debuted in and I don’t think it will perform better here.

Man Underground - Reviews
 An alien conspiracy theorist meets an aspiring actress and amateur filmmaker and decides to make a movie about his encounters with aliens. This film’s earning great reviews, but its buzz is too quiet to suggest success in limited release.

Swallows and Amazons - Reviews
Video on Demand
A group of kids on vacation with their family decide to spend their time on an island. Once there, they realize they are not alone. The film is earning incredible reviews, but it is a live action family film and those almost never do well in limited release. On the other hand, it is perfect for a rental, if you don’t want to head out to the theaters this summer.

To The Bone - Reviews
 Video on Demand
Lily Cole plays a young woman dealing with anorexia who hasn’t responded to any other treatment, so goes to a residential home run by an unconventional doctor. The film is now playing on Netflix and the reviews are good enough that it would have a shot at thriving in limited release. It is certainly worth your time if you have a Netflix account.

Secondary VOD Releases:
Battle Scars - Reviews - Video on Demand
Belief: The Possession of Janet Moses - No Reviews - Video on Demand
There are only two secondary VOD releases, one has terrible reviews and the other has none.

Filed under: Limited Releases, VOD Releases, Home Market Releases, Swallows and Amazons, Lady Macbeth, Poesia Sin Fin, Blind, Man Underground, Belief: The Possession of Janet Moses, Sur quel pied danser, Battle Scars, Chasing Coral, Birthright: A War Story, Keanu Reeves, Alec Baldwin, Lily Cole, Dylan McDermott, Demi Moore, Alejandro Jodorowsky, Pauline Etienne, Florence Pugh