Skip to Content

Don't miss Joystiq's up-to-the-minute live coverage of E3!

Posts with tag tre

Indies on DVD: 'I'm Not There,' 'Bella,' 'Teeth,' 'Born,' 'Tre,' 'Delirious,' 'Nominated Shorts'

Filed under: Documentary », Drama », Horror », New on DVD », Home Entertainment », Cinematical Indie »

The titles that will probably get the biggest play this week are Todd Haynes' I'm Not There, the indie auteur's take on Bob Dylan that inspired spirited critical debate, and Alejandro Monteverde's romantic drama Bella, which seemed to come out of nowhere to become an audience favorite, playing in theaters for months. Both hit DVD today; I'm Not There is packed with an audio commentary with Haynes, deleted scenes, featurettes, audition tapes, gag reel and more, while Bella has an audio commentary by the director, two featurettes and a music video.

Jess Weixler stars in Mitchell Lichtenstein's Teeth, which inspired no fewer than three reviews here at Cinematical: Scott Weinberg, Kim Voynar and Nick Schager. If that's not enough to lure you in, it's about vagina dentata! Read the reviews to learn more -- each of our reviewers focused on something different that appealed or repelled. The DVD includes an audio commentary by the director, deleted scenes, outtakes and behind the scenes footage.

As a mother of five, Kim Voynar presented a very personal perspective on Abby Ebstein's doc, The Business of Being Born, featuring Ricki Lake. Kim wrote in part: "Epstein does a thorough job of dissecting the cold, hard facts about the history of modern childbirth." Two featurettes are included on the DVD: one takes the viewer behind the scenes, and the other follows up with what happened to the participants.

Indie Weekend Box Office: 'Caramel,' 'Tre,' 'U2 3D,' 'Juno,' '4 Months'

Filed under: Comedy », Documentary », Drama », Foreign Language », Independent », Music & Musicals », Romance », IFC », Box Office », Fox Searchlight », Cinematical Indie », Roadside Attractions »

On a quiet weekend for new indie films, several stories merit attention. Let's begin with Caramel, a film from Lebanon that our own Kim Voynar quite enjoyed, calling the comedy/drama set in and around a Beirut beauty salon "funny, heartwarming, and sensitive." Distributor Roadside Attractions opened the picture at 12 locations, where it earned a tidy $6,210 per screen, according to estimates compiled by Leonard Klady at Movie City News. That was tops among new limited releases.

Kim also recommended Eric Byler's Tre, a relationship drama. I haven't seen Byler's latest, but I agree with Kim that he's a very talented filmmaker; she says that he's "at the top of his game" with Tre. Playing on just two screens in Los Angeles, the film grossed $1,800 at each for distributor Cinema Libre. I'm hoping more people will get to see it as it opens in other cities in the coming weeks. The official site has a trailer and more information on future engagements in Chicago and San Francisco.

U2 3D got thoroughly dusted by the Hannah Montana phenomenon, but I would imagine there was no crossover in the audiences. And earnings of $12,620 per screen at 61 engagements is nothing to sneeze at -- that's good enough for second place in the overall per-screen standings, though far behind Hannah's $43,550 per-screen juggernaut. Have two G-rated 3D concert documentaries ever been 1-2 like that before? I think not!

Speaking of face-offs, Juno continued its remarkable run, dropping just 28% in its ninth week of release while playing on 2,475 screens. Its cumulative total is $110 million for distributor Fox Searchlight. Meanwhile, IFC Films expanded Romanian abortion drama 4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days into 17 theaters where it made $7,176 per engagement, according to Box Office Mojo.

Review: Tre

Filed under: Drama », Independent », Theatrical Reviews », Cinematical Indie »



Tre, the third feature by filmmaker Eric Byler (Charlotte Sometimes, Americanese) continues his theme of exploring relationships, marriage, fidelity and friendship. The film centers on four friends: Kakela (Kimberly-Rose Wolter, who also starred in Charlotte Sometimes and co-wrote this film), an aspiring writer, her boyfriend Gabe (Erik McDowell), Gabe's best friend Tre (newcomer Daniel Cariaga) and Nina (Alix Koromzay), an aspiring actress/waitress who's separated from her husband.

As the film opens Tre, the slacker son of a wealthy family, shows up at Gabe and Kakela's house, where he occasionally lives, only to find Nina has taken over his room after leaving her husband. Angry sparks fly between Nina and Tre from their first encounter, but annoyance soon gives way to more amicable pursuits between them. Nina is on the outs from her husband because he kissed another woman for ten seconds at a party; when her friends question whether that's really a reason to leave a marriage, she notes that "ten seconds is a long time to kiss someone you're not supposed to be kissing" and then methodically counts ten seconds aloud to drive home her point.
Post our RSS feeder to your own Web site!

Sponsored Links