introducing the dwights Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Indies on DVD: 'Gone Baby Gone,' 'Shadow of the Moon,' 'Introducing the Dwights'
Filed under: Comedy », Documentary », Drama », Independent », Music & Musicals », Romance », ThinkFilm », Warner Independent Pictures », New on DVD », Home Entertainment », Miramax », Cinematical Indie »
My pick of the week is Ben Affleck's directorial debut, Gone Baby Gone, which far exceeded my expectations. Casting his younger brother Casey Affleck as a savvy private eye investigating a child kidnapping might have been a disaster, but Casey turned in an exceptional performance, as did Amy Ryan as the missing girl's severely damaged mother. The film has a handsome, autumnal look, and the surfeit of close-ups should make it ideal on the small screen. Miramax's DVD includes an audio commentary by Ben Affleck and his co-scenarist Aaron Stoddard, behind the scenes footage, a casting featurette, deleted scenes, and an extended ending. (See Erik's DVD review here)Our own James Rocchi said that In the Shadow of the Moon is "one of the best science documentaries in recent memory, and also much more." Directed by David Sington, the film features new interviews with the surviving Apollo astronauts and archival footage of the moon missions. I'm a space nut from way back and I'm sorry I missed this in theaters, but I plan to sit very close to the television when I watch this. ThinkFilm's DVD appears to be a bare-bones edition.
In the mood for a coming-of-age tale from Australia? Introducing the Dwights might tickle your fancy. Revolving around a "somewhat eccentric family" of entertainers, Erik Davis called it "sweet, quirky, sincere." (You'll have to read his review again to be reminded why he was left blushing at one point.) Warner Independent's DVD doesn't appear to have any additional features of note, so a rental might do the trick.
Other indie releases include John Turturro's musical drama Romance & Cigarettes, with an audio commentary and deleted scenes, and comedy / drama / romance Blue State, featuring Anna Paquin and Breckin Meyer.
Indie Weekend Box Office: 'Sicko' Still Healthy
Filed under: Independent », Box Office », Cinematical Indie »
Michael Moore is not as popular a magician as Harry Potter, but he can still draw a crowd. Sicko made an estimated $2.6 million over the weekend, according to Variety, reflecting a downturn of just 26% from the previous weekend. In view of the expansion by distributor The Weinstein Co. to 756 screens, the relatively small percentage drop-off in box office indicates that word of mouth is good. So far, Sicko has earned $15.8 million, which puts it on pace to overtake Moore's earlier Bowling for Columbine and last year's Oscar-winning documentary An Inconvenient Truth. My Best Friend, the latest from French director Patrice Leconte, had the highest per-screen average among indie releases, chalking up $15,508 each at three screens. Not far behind was Talk to Me, which had an average take of $11,841 from 33 screens in its opening weekend. Also in its first weekend of release on six screens, Interview made an estimated $41,620, while Rescue Dawn averaged more than $9,000 on 38 screens. Introducing the Dwights sank to $2,600 per screen. The weekend's financial stars include You Kill Me ($620,288; cumulative total $1.5 million), La Vie en Rose ($545,693; $6.9 million) and Once ($325,000; $5.0 million). All of these films -- except one -- have been covered at Cinematical, either with reviews or an interview, and I've linked to our coverage so you can have a look at what our critics had to say.
More on Sicko: Kim Voynar just posted her Film Clips column this morning, in which she puts the earnings of Sicko in broader perspective, among other things. As a further point for discussion, Variety notes that The Weinstein Co. avoids box office comparisons to Fahrenheit 9/11 -- and rightly so, as that film was a phenomenon not likely to be repeated -- but then adds its own opinion that Fahrenheit had a topic "much broader in appeal." Is that true for you? Did you see Fahrenheit 9/11 but decide to skip Sicko because its topic isn't as appealing?
Review: Introducing the Dwights
Filed under: Comedy », Drama », Independent », Romance », New Releases », Theatrical Reviews »
Folks looking for this summer's Little Miss Sunshine might find similarities in Introducing the Dwights (previously known as Clubland when it premiered at Sundance earlier this year). Like Sunshine, Dwights revolves around a somewhat eccentric family whose members all aspire to be bigger than they are. While there's no physical road trip in Dwights, each character embarks on an inner journey -- one of physical exploration and, eventually, transformation. It's sweet, quirky, sincere, and provides a perfect escape from the hustle and bustle of those big-budgeted extravaganzas currently invading your local theater.
Told from a few different perspectives, this Aussie coming-of-age tale is, essentially, about growing up and giving in to the forces that control our own personal universe. Jean (Brenda Blethyn), a UK-born comedienne and stage performer nearing middle age, works tirelessly to keep her family and career on track. She's up at the crack of dawn for the morning shift at the canteen, and in between giving music lessons to the neighborhood kids, she's practicing for her own shows later that night. Somewhere amidst the hectic schedule, she needs to find time to be a mother to her two teenage boys; one of which suffers from brain damage, while the other is being wooed into his first mature, sexual relationship with the opposite sex. And the more Jean fights for control, the harder it becomes for her to just let go.
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