So I found out early yesterday afternoon that my theatrical pick this week, Fears of the Dark, was dropped from the release schedule. According to our buyer the film might still be released in December, but for now it is totally off the booking sheet, which is an ominous sign.

Evidently the film simply didn’t do very well in other markets (ie New York and Los Angeles) so the decision was made to ax the film instead of releasing it. This in spite of the heavy promotion it has received at all three Landmark Theatres (The Uptown, Lagoon and The Edina) over the past few months. It is pretty rare that a film that has been this heavily invested in by our company will be so unceremoniously dropped. It has happened before, but Fears of the Dark is the first one that I can recall that was dropped after being promoted at all three theatres.

But what really got my goat was when I discovered what Fears of the Dark was being replaced with at The Lagoon, that being Quantum of Solace. Now the decision to play Quantum of Solace at The Lagoon had been made several months ago, and one that has plenty of regulars irked ever since Landmark decided to have both The Dark Knight and Mamma Mia play on two screens this past summer.

Now The Dark Knight is at least defensible, as it made massive amounts of money all across the land and The Lagoon was relatively slow at the time, but Mamma Mia? But bunlike the rest of the world, both ended up doing rather mediocre business at The Lagoon, even the vaunted Dark Knight, and early signs are that Quantum of Solace won’t meet expectations either.

But what is most frustrating, is that Quantum of Solace is on two screens. That means the largest theatre chain in the US that is dedicated to Independent film simply dropped a foreign Independent film for a second screen of the massively mainstream James Bond. It was strictly financial decision, and one that had already backfired at this location in the past, to ax a film that had been garnering decent buzz from their regular clientel just so they could possibly draw in crowds for a film that is decidedly different from the rest of their yearly fare.

Do the expect those customers who come to see Quantum of Solace to return for other films?

Do they expect their regulars to be excited about losing an impressive looking Independent film just so Quantum of Solace can be shown every hour?

I know what my decision is. I won’t be watching Quantum of Solace. Not at The Lagoon, or anywhere else for that matter.

And if anyone else is as bothered by this as I am, feel free to visit landmarktheatres.com and let them know what you think.

I dare you.

First off, I’d like to apologize for getting so literary with this column. I always assume Matt breaks down in tears whenever sees one of my posts. I do have reviews of Federico Fellini’s La Strada, John Carpenter’s Prince of Darkness, and Jonathan Glazer’s Sexy Beast (which might just have one of the greatest and most compact scripts in cinema history) in line; however, they are not finished. I also want to talk about the amazing pop cultural pastiche that is The Venture Bros. sometime down the road as well. I was in the process of working on a two part piece about liberature (no, I spelled it right) and how video games can provide hints to literature’s ability to remain valid in the 21^st century, when I decided it would be best to do something a little more…light. Don’t worry though, the literary torture will resume next week.

In the meantime, since I’ve been living in Poland for five years this month, I thought it might be fun to make some general observations about Polish pop culture from an American’s perspective. (more…)

Pretty simple update this week as the theatrical new releases all seem to be cowering in fear of The Bat Man. Now I’m sure the movie is great and Heath Ledger is perfection and Christopher Nolan finally has discovered how to shoot an action sequence, but something about the torrential buzz for the film is really giving me a bad taste in my mouth. I’d boycott the film but it seems pop culture would then be legally required to put a bounty on my head.

For DVD releases next Tuesday it all comes down to one simple release, Spaced: The Complete Series. The brilliant brainchild of Simon Pegg, Jessica Hynes, Edgar Wright and Nick Frost about a pair of friends (Pegg and Hynes) who lie about being a couple so that they can rent an awesome apartment. But with oodles of geeky references, and fantastic camera work and absurd characters. It is one of the best television shows ever made, and should be required viewing for any fan of the all powerful Pegg/Wright/Frost triumvirate.

As always trailers are after the break! (more…)