Indie Roundup reviews the past week of news from the independent film community and provides a peek at what's coming soon.

Opening. Two films opened yesterday which couldn't have less in common: Agnès Varda's essay film The Beaches of Agnès and Nia Vardalos' I Hate Valentine's Day. Tomorrow comes Anne Fontaine's comedy The Girl From Monaco.

Deals. Xavier Dolan's family drama I Killed My Mother, Kenneth Branagh's The Magic Flute, and Asghar Farhadi's drama About Elly have all been acquired by Here Films, the company formerly known as Regent Releasing. All three are headed for theaters next year. [indieWIRE]

Online Viewing. The 4th of July weekend inevitably brings thoughts of America as a land of immigrants, and that's the topic of Home, which debuts on Amazon VOD this week, featuring interviews with Mike Myers, Alfred Molina, and Liam Neeson. Also somewhat topical: if Michael Jackson had an impact on race in pop music, what about African-American musicians playing rock 'n' roll exclusively? Raymond Gayle's Electric Purgatory examines the issue (at iTunes). If you're looking for love, you have something in common with two women in the comedy/drama Arranged (also at iTunes.)

Box Office. Kathryn Bigelow's lacerating bomb squad thriller The Hurt Locker earned a per-screen average ($36,338) that bested even the giant robots, albeit on only four screens. Woody Allen's Whatever Works expanded to 35 screens and grossed $10,280 per outing. The combination of star Michelle Pfeiffer and director Stephen Frears could stir up only a tepid $5,338 per-screen at 76 locations for Cheri, which is less than the average for Duncan Jones' Moon in its third week on 21 screens. [Box Office Mojo.]

After the jump: David Hudson's The Daily takes a permanent (?) vacation, portending the end of the world as we know it.

"Slim pickings" is the best way to describe this week's releases. Isn't anyone planning to stay home and watch DVDs?

Two Lovers
Joaquin Phoenix can't decide between Gwyneth Paltrow and Vinessa Shaw. Directed by James Gray, this suffocating drama is dark, thoughtful, and "more true to real human existence than most of the dreck that comes out of Hollywood studios," wrote Kim Voynar. I wasn't quite as impressed by it as she was, but it's still my top pick in a slow week. Also on Blu-ray. Rent it.

12 Rounds
Wrestler John Cena stars in Renny Harlin's latest train wreck (as I described it in my review), a sober drama that resolutely refuses to embrace its loonier plot elements (fire engine smashing through New Orleans, an out-of-control street car). Aidan Gillen (The Wire) provides one of the few pleasures as an exceptionally-nasty master criminal. Also on Blu-ray. The "Extreme Cut" adds less than three minutes of footage. Skip it.

Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li
I was hoping against hope that this might provide some cheesy fun, but Nick Schager slammed that door shut: "Fighting sequences are dreadfully lethargic ... their choreography is of a dull, unimaginative sort." Not even Kristin Kreuk can save this one. Also on Blu-ray. Skip it.

Also out: Jonas Brothers: The 3-D Concert Experience.

After the jump: "Indies on DVD" provides several good rental choices, a landmark film by Spike Lee hits Blu-ray, and a long-dismissed effort by director Hal Ashby gets dusted off.

Hot chicks! Cool nicknames! Broken bones! Director Bob Ray spent five years documenting a fledgling, all-female roller derby league in Austin, Texas, and the result is Hell on Wheels, an energetic, snappy flick that's both entertaining and informative. Our friends at SnagFilms have made it available for free online viewing.

Dan Policarpo (AKA Roller Derby Dan) birthed the idea of a 21st Century version of roller derby, whose initial popularity peaked decades ago. Women readily responded, and Policarpo picked four that he felt would be good team captains: Heather, Anya, Nancy, and April. After he exited, the four decided to forge ahead with plans for a league, forming Bad Girl Good Woman Productions, even though they had no business experience. After two years of struggle, the first bout is held in front of 350 fans. Soon after that, the four decide to incorporate, which provokes a heated response from the players, who felt that they should have a voice in the business. Eventually things come to a head, a new league is formed (Texas Rollergirls) and emotions become heated.

"You not only get to follow women struggling with the world of business, you get to watch some kickass roller derby," wrote Jette Kernion in her review when the film debuted at SXSW in 2007. "Hell on Wheels follows all sides of the league controversies and offers us glimpses into the lives of the women involved."

After the jump: Watch Hell on Wheels!

Indie Roundup looks back at the past seven (or, sometimes, eight) days of news in the indie film community, along with a peak ahead to what's coming soon.

Opening. The highest-profile "indie" is Woody Allen's Whatever Works, wiith Tatia Rosenthal's stop-motion animation feature $9.99, Francois Velle's NYC drama The Narrows, Andy Abrahams Wilson's Lyme disease doc Under Our Skin, and Tommy Wirkola's Nazi zombie flick Dead Snow vying for attention on a limited number of screens. On the festival circuit, CineVegas drew to a close on Monday (Eric D. Snider covered it for us), the same night that Silverdocs opened in Silver Spring, Maryland. The Los Angeles Film Festival starts tonight and the New York Asian Film Festival kicks off tomorrow.

Box Office. Last weekend saw several strong openings, with Robert Kenner's doc Food, Inc. leading the way ($20,171 per-screen), followed by Duncan Jones' sci-fi drama Moon ($17,006 per screen), and Francis Coppola's family drama Tetro ($15,252). The doc Youssou N'Dour: I Bring What I Love ($10,866) and Le combat dans l'ile ($10,217) also debuted nicely, while the expansion of Sam Mendes' Away We Go brought in good business ($12,463). Daryl Wein's very informative AIDS activist doc Sex Positive drew $3,408 at one theater.

Online Viewing. How about a doc about a doc? Keir Moreano's documentary As the Call So the Echo follows an American doctor who unexpectedly finds himself in Vetnam after he decides to donate unused medical equipment. The film is available for free streaming at Babelgum, courtesy of the good folks at Cinetic.

After the jump: How will AFI Dallas the Dallas International Film Festival fare without AFI?

In the wake of the disputed Presidential election in Iran, film fans might find it interesting to take a look at Iran: A Cinematographic Revolution. Directed by Nader T. Homayoung, the documentary provides an overview of Iranian cinema, spending most of its time on milestones -- both positive and negative -- from the past 40 years. SnagFilms has made it available for free online viewing.

Starting in 1997, Iranian cinema became "an international phenomenon," as Jeffrey M. Anderson wrote in his wonderful, extensive primer for GreenCine, "a New Wave on par with the French movement of the 1950s and 60s, the German movement of the 60s and 70s and the Hong Kong movement of the 80s and 90s." But Iran: A Cinematographic Revolution makes it clear that the country's cinema was flourishing in the late 60s and 70s, producing a flock of vital, progressive pictures that received little attention outside the local territory. Tantalizing glimpses of these films are featured, suggesting that further exploration would indeed be worthwhile. That all came crashing down with the ascendance of Ayatollah Khomeini in 1979.

Khomeini's rule led to the idea of "Islamically-correct cinema," or as filmmakers interviewed in the documentary described them, "films about people in absolute poverty," preferably without any women. Some filmmakers found a way to express themselves artistically within the limitations imposed, eventually gaining international recognition, while nearly everyone was frustrated with censorship issues. The doc is very straightforward -- talking head interviews, archival footage, narration -- but the subject carries the day.

We've embedded the film after the jump for your viewing convenience. More information is available at the official site and at SnagFilms.

Friday the 13th
Marcus Nispel directs a rebooted version of the venerable series, which borrows elements from the first four films and adds precious few of its own. I'm tempted to say "skip it," based on my own review, but those first 20-25 minutes are pretty ferocious, and the "Extended Killer Cut" promises more of everything. Also on Blu-ray. Rent it.

Add to Netflix queue | Buy at Amazon

Tyler Perry's Madea Goes to Jail
Tyler Perry has grown his beloved character Madea "into a larger-than-life force of nature that is genuinely funny," wrote Eric D. Snider. He noted the writer/director's "tendency toward oversimplification," however, and commented: "Maybe if someone would do a better job of making films targeted at a black, female Christian audience, Perry's half-baked didacticism would suffer in comparison. In the meantime, this is the best there is, so it's nice that Perry is improving, albeit in small increments." Rent it.

Add to Netflix queue | Buy at Amazon

Ghostbusters
The comedy classic with Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, Ernie Hudson, and Sigourney Weaver stands ready to imprint itself upon your memory once again, in a new Blu-ray edition. One word to keep in mind before buying, however: grain. "Surprisingly heavy," says DVD Beaver; "heavy wash of grain that never quite dissipates," per IGN; "features plenty of the swirly stuff in most every scene," according to Blu-ray.com. Other than that important factor, which is claimed to reflect the original source print, reviews have been positive. Rent it.

Add to Netflix queue | Buy at Amazon

Also out: What Goes Up, Morning Light, Sword of the Stranger, and a boatload of TV series (a list of the latter at TV Squad).

After the jump: Indies on DVD, more Blu-ray, and Collector's Corner.

Lately, we have seen documentaries with a huge range of subjects, from war to religion, from art to video games. Those subjects are interesting and newsworthy and perhaps even moving or entertaining, but there are only two subjects that directly affect the people of the world on a daily, hourly basis. The first is the climate crisis, for which folks need to learn how to adjust their lifestyle in order to prevent further damage and encourage healing. But even more urgent is the issue of food. Every living man, woman and child eats, or thinks about eating, every single day, several times a day. Yet, as the new Food, Inc. points out, most of us know very little about our food. A very deliberate veil has sprung up between us and what we eat. Fortunately, little by little, we're learning.