A look at what’s weird in theaters, on hot-off-the-presses DVDs, and on more distant horizons…
Trailers of new release movies are generally available on the official site links.
IN THEATERS (LIMITED RELEASE):
Anaglyph Tom (Tom with the Puffy Cheeks) (2009): Here’s a weird one I wasn’t aware of. In 1969 SUNY Binghampton film professor Ken Jacobs took the old Thomas Edison Biograph short Tom, Tom the Piper’s Son (1905) and performed nutty psychedelic manipulations on the film stock to create what some regarded as an avant-garde masterpiece. Now, he’s revisited the same material using modern film techniques, and it’s in 3-D! Unlikely to play much outside of Manhattan, but keep an eye out of you live in a large city with an artsy community (there’s also a showing in Salt Lake City). No official site.
Big Man Japan [Dai-Nipponjin] (2007): A postmodern Japanese superhero tale about an unglamorous slacker who transforms into a giant man periodically to fight kaiju (giant monsters a la Godzilla). Very well reviewed. Big Man Japan official site: (English)
The Brothers Bloom (2008): Looks to be a quirky indie comedy about a pair of con-men brothers pulling one last job. Kurt Loder of MTV called it “wonderfully weird,” but for all I know he thinks “Masterpiece Theater” is weird. The Brothers Bloom official site.
O’Horten (2007): Apparently a pleasant quirky comedy about a recently retired (and therefore directionless) Norwegian train engineer. Opens this week in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco. O’Horten official site.
NEW ON DVD:
S. Darko: A Donnie Darko (2009): The much-dreaded sequel to Donnie Darko (2001) lands directly on DVD. Try to keep an open mind. Buy from Amazon
Wise Blood (1979): John Huston’s adaptation of Flannery O’Connor’s (only) novel is a southern Gothic tale of a preacher who founds his own church sans Jesus Christ. The movie fell through the cracks on release and is finally being released on DVD. Buy from Amazon
NEW ON BLU-RAY:
Fargo (1996): Not really weird, but the Coen brothers are always offbeat enough to be worth a watch, and this is one of their classics for videophiles who want to upgrade their copy. Buy from Amazon
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.