Our weekly look at what’s weird in theaters, on hot-off-the-presses DVDs and Blu-rays (and hot off the server VODs), and on more distant horizons…
Trailers of new release movies are generally available at the official site links.
IN THEATERS (WIDE RELEASE):
The Beach Bum (2019): Harmony Korine‘s first feature film since 2012’s Spring Breakers stars Matthew McConaughey as a comic hippy beach bum sentenced by a judge to finish his novel. Looks fairly conventional by Korine standards. The Beach Bum official site.
IN THEATERS (LIMITED RELEASE):
The Burial of Kojo (2019): A Ghanaian girl recalls her childhood, focusing on a conflict between her father and uncle. Visually experimental magical realism that’s making an awards-qualifying run in New York and Los Angeles this week; the rest of his will likely have to catch it when it debuts on Netflix on the 31st of March. The Burial of Kojo official site.
The Field Guide to Evil (2018): Short horror films based on folktales, legends and myths. It’s an anthology horror film, so who knows? But it features directors who’ve gone weird in the past like Peter Strickland, Agnieszka Smoczynska and Calvin Reeder. It’s getting a very limited release (primarily at Alamo Drafthouse franchises) and a simultaneous VOD release
IN DEVELOPMENT (crowdfunding):
Sister Tempest (est. 2019): The next project from Joe Badon (confessed 366 fan) describes itself as Mulholland Drive meets The Holy Mountain meets Zardoz (!) It’s the story of an art teacher who’s abducted by aliens and forced to confront her relationship with her sister (who’s also mysteriously missing). There’s also a giant astronaut stomping around. The producers are looking for $25,000 and have raised at this writing a little over $7,000. (Badon made The God Inside My Ear for under $10,000). Check out the Kickstarter for rewards.
NEW ON HOME VIDEO:
Against the Clock (2019): A CIA agent in a coma dreams while his wife fights with the agency to learn the truth. Among the one-star audience reviews, one simply titled “So so so bad and weird” caught our eye, and further investigation suggests this might be a bona fide strange film. Buy Against the Clock
MFKZ (2017): In the urban dystopia of “Dead Meat City,” meek Angelino and his roommate (a flaming skull) uncover a conspiracy that brings them into contact with tentacled aliens and a secret society of luchadores. This gritty and absurd adaptation of a French graphic novel has an anime-meets-postmodern-hip-hop-wannabe-underground-comic feel; now on DVD, Blu-ray, limited VOD platforms. Buy MFKZ
Perfect Blue (1997): Read the Canonically Weird entry! Shout! Factory’s new edition of Satoshi Kon‘s animated psychological thriller about a J-pop idol losing her sense of self is newly remastered for HD and comes with a few new featurettes (lectures by the late Kon and new interviews from others) along with some extras recycled from previous editions. In a DVD/Blu-ray combo pack (we gather the DVD hosts an SD version of the film). Buy Perfect Blue
CERTIFIED WEIRD (AND OTHER) REPERTORY SCREENINGS:
The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975). We won’t list all the screenings of this audience-participation classic separately. You can use this page to find a screening near you.
- Baltimore, MD, 3/31-4/2 – Mandy (2018). At the Senator.
- Chicago, IL, 4/2 – The Trial (1962). At Gene Siskel Film Center.
- Cleveland, OH, 3/29-3/30 – Audition [Ôdishon] (1999). At the Cleveland Institute of Art.
- Jersey City, NJ, 3/29 – A Clockwork Orange (1971). At the Lowe’s Jersey Theatre.
- Los Angeles, CA, 3/29 (midnight) – Beyond the Black Rainbow (2010). At the Nuart Theatre.
- New York City, NY, 3/29-3/30 (midnights) – The Holy Mountain (1973). At IFC Center.
- New York City, NY, 3/29-3/30 (midnights) – Mulholland Drive (2001). At IFC Center.
- New York City, NY, 3/29-3/31 – Weekend (1967). At IFC Center.
- Portland, OR, 3/29 – The Company of Wolves (1984). At the Hollywood Theatre.
- Portland, OR, 3/30 – Audition [Ôdishon] (1999). At the Hollywood Theatre.
- San Francisco, CA, 4/3 – Vertigo (1958) with Dark Passage (1947) (double feature). At the Castro Theatre.
- San Francisco, CA, 4/4 – Pal Joey (1957) with Vertigo (1958) (double feature). At the Castro Theatre.
- Toronto, Ont., Canada – Stalker (1979). At the Royal.
YOU LINK US! YOU REALLY LINK US!:
The Best Psychedelic Movies Ever Made – Cinema Dailies compiled a meta-list of movies considered “psychedelic,” using us as one of the input sources. Obviously, you are going to see a good number of familiar titles pop up. Light up a “J” (IF IT IS LEGAL IN YOUR JURISDICTION!) and pop on over to check it out.
WHAT’S IN THE PIPELINE: Next week we continue our March Mad Movie Madness tournament (yes, we know we’ll be out of March) with the announcement of the round of 32 and the official Strange Sixteen. We’ll also announce a giveaway contest to disgorge a few of the promotional DVDs we’ve got lying around. And we’re hoping to have another exciting administrative announcement very soon…
In terms of new reviews, we will have something, but we’re not going to say exactly what just yet (this is getting to be a trend, we know).
The big news will be the return of cranky Alfred Eaker, who’s back to these pages after a long post-#366 sabbatical. Welcome back Al! Onward and weirdward!
What are you looking forward to? If you have any weird movie leads that I have overlooked, feel free to leave them in the COMMENTS section.