Asif Kapadia’s documentary “Senna” hits theaters this weekend via the Producers Distribution Agency (the company’s second release after forming for “Exit Through the Gift Shop”), and its the pick of the week, according to the folks polled on criticWIRE.
The film follows the story of Ayrton Senna, perhaps the greatest race-car driver who ever lived. In the mid ’80s, Senna burst onto the world of Formula One racing. As a Brazilian in a predominantly European sport, he had to fight hard both on (against his nemesis, French World Champion Alain Prost) and off (against the politics which infest the sport) the track.
Six critics gave “Senna” an average of A- on the film’s criticWIRE page, which beat out two other well received specialty films opening this weekend: Mike Ott’s “Littlerock” and Alex de la Iglesia’s “The Last Circus.” Together, the trio offers an eclectic mix of options this weekend, and more extensive takes on them all are linked to below. Also offered is the top 10 criticWIRE scores for films already in theaters, which is currently topped by Steve James’ “The Interrupters.” Note that only films with four or more grades have their averages included.
iW Film Calendar & criticWIRE:
criticWIRE | Opening this week | Opening this month | All Films A – Z
criticWIRE: Films Opening This Week
NOTE: The averages listed here are current as of the publishing of this article. They are subject to change as new grades come in, and will be updated in next week’s edition of this article.
Senna (iW film page)
Average criticWIRE rating: A-
Littlerock (iW film page)
Average criticWIRE rating: B+
The Last Circus (iW film page)
Average criticWIRE rating: B
criticWIRE: 10 Best Bets Already In Theaters
1. The Interrupters (iW film page)
Average criticWIRE rating: A-
2. Attack The Block (iW film page)
Average criticWIRE rating: A-
3. Mysteries of Lisbon (iW film page)
Average criticWIRE rating: A-
4. Project Nim (iW film page)
Average criticWIRE rating: A-
5. Conan O’Brien Can’t Stop (iW film page)
Average criticWIRE rating: B+
6. Page One (iW film page)
Average criticWIRE rating: B+
7. Buck (iW film page)
Average criticWIRE rating: B+
8. Terri (iW film page)
Average criticWIRE rating: B+
9. The Trip (iW film page)
Average criticWIRE rating: B+
10. The Guard (iW film page)
Average criticWIRE rating: B+
Previous Picks of the Week:
August 3: Raoul Ruiz’s “Mysteries of Lisbon”
July 26: Steve James’ “The Interrupters”
July 20: Mike Cahill’s “Another Earth”
July 13: Errol Morris’ “Tabloid”
July 6: James Marsh’s “Project Nim”
June 29: Azazel Jacobs’ “Terri”
June 22: Rodman Fletcher’s “Conan O’Brien Can’t Stop”
June 15: Andrew Rossi’s “Page One: A Year Inside The New York Times”
June 8: Michael Winterbottom’s “The Trip”
June 1: Richard Ayoade’s “Submarine”
May 25: Terrence Malick’s “The Tree of Life”
May 18: Woody Allen’s “Midnight In Paris”
May 11: Lu Chaun’s “City of Life and Death”
May 4: Koji Wakamatsu’s “Caterpillar”
April 27: Clio Barnard’s “The Arbor”
April 20: Denis Villeneuve’s “Incendies”
April 13: Janus Metz’s “Armadillo”
April 6: Kelly Reichardt’s “Meek’s Cutoff”
March 30: Michaelangelo Frammartino’s “Le Quattro Volte”
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