Why on Earth I am beginning this week's column like this is a mystery to me, since, in fact, to be honest, the week of Feb. 29, the one I'll be ruminating about today, does not offer much cause for rejoicing. There are only two limited releases and, whichever way those two go, there won't be many people tempted to dissertate on box-office justice (or injustice) based on the outcome. So let's call this week's Dances with the Arthouse a small week (my current endless headaches would certainly appreciate that).

The first of this week's twosome is Bonneville. (Fun fact: Did you know that means "good city" in French? Now you do.) A quick overview of this film might make it look like an arthouse winner: It's a first feature by newcomer Christopher N. Rowley, which debuted at the Toronto Film Festival and features a trio of prestigious actresses. Two of the three are Academy Award winners (Jessica Lange and Kathy Bates), and the other one is a nominee (Joan Allen). Together, they these three 50-something female friends embark on a road trip with the ashes of one woman's husband.

If you read just that and don't go deeper, then you might see a $6 price tag in Ultimate Movie Moguls leagues and think, Hey, that's a great opportunity. The truth is, however, that Bonneville doesn't really seem like such a great catch. For an arthouse film, much of its fate is often determined by reviews, and in the case of this one, critics have not been kind. Nor have viewers, really. In the aftermath of the Toronto presentation, the IMDb User Rating is a bordering-on-bad 5.1 (with more than 180 votes). Will the film be able to find success despite a lack of enthusiasm from reviewers and so-so word of mouth? It seems almost impossible. So I think it's safe to say goodbye to all Fantasy Moguls predictions, from the $900,000 box-office to the single PTA point, and definitely to the 6.8 User Rating score, which will have and uphill climb just to hit 6.0. Now, in that perspective, $6 does not seem like a great catch anymore, does it?

It would be wiser to show interest in City of Men, which costs only one dollar more ($7) and offers a much more solid basis on which to hope for productivity. Like its title suggests, City of Men is a cinematic relative of Fernando Meirelles's justly famous City of God, which took the film world by storm almost six years ago. A little reminder for those of you who were not that much into movies back then, or who have only a short-term cinematic memory: City of God was one of the hottest films of 2002, putting an amazing director on the map, collecting awards by the dozens (including four Oscar nominations), cashing in tons of money (for a Brazilian film) and spinning off into a TV series which lasted four seasons. If this is not a successful film, then I wonder what is.

City of Men, the film that interests us today, is not a sequel to City of God per se; it is instead a derivation from the TV series. It follows two friends from Rio's favellas who will see their friendship tested by gang wars, and a secret from the past. Fernando Meirelles no longer directs (he's been keeping pretty busy, since The Constant Gardener, with Blindness, which is scheduled to open at the end of the summer), though he's still involved as producer, and entrusted close collaborator Paulo Morelli with the direction of the film. Of course, City of Men won't attract as much interest as it might if it were a real sequel directed by Meirelles, but there is probably still enough credibility on the artistic side of the film to have City of God's fans interested and curious to see it.

Miramax is releasing the film in the United States, and although they probably don't expect numbers in the range of City of God (which collected $7.5 million at the U.S. box-office), they certainly do hope to capitalize on Meirelles's film's cinephile fame. Fantasy Moguls is predicting $2.7 million, with one PTA point and a 7.1 User Rating. I don't know if the film will manage to get millions of dollars at the box-office, even if only two of them, but it can definitely grab one or two PTA points, depending on the number of theaters involved in the release (currently unknown). As for the User Rating on IMDb, it currently sits at 7.4 with almost 400 votes, which is a pretty good sign, and should stay above the 7 mark overall. For a $7 investment in Ultimate leagues, it will not be a big winner, but you could do worse ... much worse.

Well, I'm sorry friends, guests and unexpected visitors, but this is all I have for you this week. I know it is shorter than what I usually offer, but I'll be back next week with a much more dense insight into the arthouse releases, once these terrible headaches that stricken me have passed on by. Gus Van Sant and David Gordon Green are among those whose films I will take a look at next time around. In the meantime, you can always watch again some of their past films again ... or see them for the first time!!! How about Gerry for Van Sant and Undertow for Green?

Indie Jones is not that Dr. Jones (not really), but his skull does feel as though it might be made out of crystal ... and has just been given a heavy blow with a sledgehammer. Tell him about your favorite headache remedies at danceswiththearthouse@gmail.com.