All I have seen on TV lately is advertisements for “Hell Or High Water.” It has gotten unbelievably good reviews and the trailer makes me want to see it – and now. But for some unknown reason it is only playing on 909 screens across the country. That is known as a slow rollout. Usually a slow rollout is used to get people familiar with a film that has not quite gotten the attention of the public. With “Hell Or High Water” me, you and the people down the road have all seen the advertisements. We know about the movie and we want to see Chris Pine and Ben Foster robbing the bank and Jeff Bridges giving chase. Plus American audiences do not have a long retention span for what is hot at the movies. By the time “Hell Or High Water” gets to our local theater(s) we might have forgotten those ads.
The same is true for “The Light Between Oceans.” I was told it was opening wide which means 2 to 4 thousand theaters, and usually means we will get it in middle Georgia. Obviously I was misinformed as we are not getting it this weekend. That means I might have to drive to Atlanta to see it as I am not the patient type. I want to be among the first to see Michael Fassbender and real life love Alicia Vikander tell the story of a couple who grieve for the loss of their child and rejoice when a baby washes up to their lighthouse in a boat.
Look I am the luckiest of people when it comes to movies. I have actual screeners sent to me of some films; I get movies streamed to me for my review; and sometimes they even book a theater just for me to watch a movie (I am seeing “Sully” on Friday this way). So why am I griping! Because sometimes a movie slips through the cracks and I have to wait on an anticipated movie to arrive at my local theater just as you do. And in the case “Hell Or High Water” and “The Light Between Oceans”, they are not showing up.
