Tuesday, February 4, 2025

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Box Office Options Feb. 13-16: ‘Two Lovers’ & ‘Gomorrah’ Are Your Limited-Release Best Bets

Another week gone and another weekend of movie-going ahead. As you’d expect, it’s a rather slim week unless you happen to live in a city that will see smaller releases. And so onward to the cineplex in hopes of finding something worth our time!

First up is the widely publicized “Confessions of a Shopaholic” which stars Isla Fisher (“Wedding Crashers“) as a woman who dreams of becoming a writer for her favorite fashion magazine. Based on the popular Sophie Kinsella novels, the movie chronicles the character as she takes a job for a neighboring financial periodical and tries to break into the business of fashion journalism. We imagine a lot of boyfriends will be dragged to this movie over the weekend, but perhaps the presence of the reliable Joan Cusack and John Goodman will brighten the corners somewhat. The 22% rating at Rotten Tomatoes, however, suggests otherwise.

The less said about this the better: tomorrow will see the release of the “Friday the 13th” reboot. (On a Friday the 13th! What are the odds?!?) Helmed by Marcus Nispel, the genius behind the Texas Chainsaw Massacre rehash, the picture features an unstoppable jumpsuit hacking horny teenagers to bits for no real reason. If this sterling premise weren’t enough to scare you off, the 27% that the picture boasts at RT should serve as ample warning.

Fans of Clive Owen and/or formulaic thrillers will have reason to rejoice this weekend. The rugged leading man returns as an Interpol agent who teams with a Manhattan attorney played by Naomi Watts as they try to bring a global money laundering conspiracy to its knees. The film has a respectable 58% rating on RT, though the plot has drawn some criticism. Director Tom Tykwer certainly has an eye for action as he wrote “Run Lola Run” so this probably isn’t a total waste of money.

Oscar hopeful Frank Langella stars in “Caller” directed by Richard Ledes. Langella plays a corporate stooge who blows the whistle on some of his company’s less-than-ethical business practices and effectively signs his own death warrant. He then hires a private eye played by Elliott Gould to follow him for protection. Though this seems like a great premise–especially with Langella and Gould–critics have been less than enthusiastic, as it sits at a 10% right now.

You’ll definitely fare better with “Gomorrah,” the critically-acclaimed, Cannes-winning, Marty Scorsese-endorsed “Traffic“-esque multi-strand drama about the Italian mafia’s control over the town of Naples. The film is a sordid look at the effects that organized crime has on a society. Equally brutal and tragic, this movie paints a fairly grim picture of Italy’s future. With a brilliant 85% rating, this might be the weekend’s best option. If you liked “Traffic,” “The Wire” or “City of God,” see this movie.

Also opening in limited release this weekend and another good bet if you live in New York or L.A.is the critically acclaimed love-triangle, “Two Lovers,”which features the “last” performance by Joaquin Phoenix. It also features two excellent performances by Vinessa Shaw (totally underrated, coming into her own) and Gwyneth Paltrow. The James Gray melodrama about an unstable manchild (a great Phoenix) who is torn between two polar opposite women (the erratic Paltrow, the sturdy Shaw) isn’t perfect and there’s a lot of character hysteria, but its well acted and has a dreamy evocative quality at times. It boasts a very respectable 81% rating on RT.

Good news for fans of documentaries in larger-market towns: this weekend sees the release of two solid pictures. First is “Great Speaches from a Dying World,” which examines nine homeless people in Seattle. With a 100% on RT, the film should be a poignant examination of the causes of the American underclass. Also opening this weekend is “Nerdcore Rising,” a doc that explores the baffling rising trend of nerds rapping about such things as Dungeons and Dragons and math. An odd picture, to be sure, but possibly entertaining.

And that’s about it. Hopefully you live in a place where you can pick up one of the smaller releases this weekend, but if not, you can always celebrate Friday the 13th with…well, you know. Our suggestion is save those recession dollars and don’t endorse that kind of trash.

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