All posts by Gregory J. Smalley (366weirdmovies)

Gregory J. Smalley founded 366 Weird Movies in 2008 and has served as editor-in-chief since that time. He is a member of the Online Film Critics Society, and his film writing has appeared online in Pop Matters and The Spool.
Miscellanea

WEIRD HORIZON FOR THE WEEK OF 11/11/2011

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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):

Melancholia (2011): Lars von Trier‘s latest is a metaphorical, apocalyptic sci-fi drama; a planet (called Melancholia) is set to collide with Earth on a woman’s wedding day.  Kirsten Dunst walked away from the Cannes with Best Actress honors; Charlotte Gainsbourg, Keifer Sutherland, and John Hurt round out the fine cast.  Melancholia official site.

IN DEVELOPMENT:

Dueling Snow White’s:  It looks like the story of 2012 will be the Snow White sweepstakes, as it has just come to our notice (why are we always the last ones to hear?) that there are two reimaginings of the fairy tale scheduled to battle it out next year.  Relativity Media/Studio Canal’s “Untitled Snow White Project,” which we reported on a few weeks ago, now has a title (Mirror, Mirror), and it will reach theaters in March 2012.  The higher profile offering is Universal’s Snow White and the Huntsman (from the producers of Alice in Wonderland), starring Kristen Stewart as White and Charlize Theron as the Evil Queen.  Huntsman has an effects-heavy trailer and looks to be another revisionist/feminist/video game styled action/fantasy; it’s slated for a summertime opening.  Our cynical guess is that both fairy-flicks will be underwhelming, but if we have to pick one as more promising than the other, we’ll stick with Mirror, Mirror.  We find an aging Julia Roberts a more intriguing Queen than an aging Charlize Theron.  Director Tarsem Singh (The Cell, The Fall) is a proven commodity vs. first time helmer Rupert Sanders (who comes from the world of television commercials).  But the most important factor in Mirror, Mirror‘s favor is that it is not from the producers of Alice in Wonderland.  Mirror, Mirror on Facebook / Snow White and the Huntsman official page.

NEW ON DVD:

1 in the Gun (2010): Direct-to-DVD erotic neo-noir sees a homeless artist hired to paint a trophy wife’s home, followed by lots of twists and (per the promo material) “David Lynch-style surrealism.”  The director has been quietly busy directing a series of softcore movies reviving the old Emmanuelle franchise, including Emmanuelle vs. Dracula and the upcoming Emmanuelle in Wonderland! Buy 1 in the Gun.

Great Directors (2009):  Interviews with ten auteurs, including , and David Lynch.  Cinephiles and fans of the profilees may want to check it out. Buy Great Directors.

In a Glass Cage [Tras el Cristal] (1987):  A former Nazi pedophile now confined to an iron lung finds himself at the mercy of a young caretaker.  Shocking stuff when it was released, and definitely not for anyone who can’t stand to see children in jeopardy.  The bonus disc includes interviews with director Agusti Villaronga and three of his early experimental short films.  Buy In a Glass Cage (2 Disc Special Edition).

Skeleton Key 3: The Organ Trail (2011):  It’s hard to say exactly what caught our interest about this third microbudget horror-comedy sequel to a movie we’d never heard of before, but it probably had something to do with this odd promotional copy: “Can you handle naked bodies bouncing through every scene? Can YOU! HANDLE! A French puppet?” Plus, it has a cameo from Lloyd Kaufman, and he’s never loaned his presence to any flick that wasn’t of the absolute highest quality—has he? Buy Skeleton Key 3: The Organ Trail.

The Sleeping Beauty (2010): takes her second stab at adapting a classic fairy tale with modern feminist sensibilities (after the strangely muted, very slightly weird Bluebeard).  Much of the narrative here takes place in Beauty’s dreams as she slumbers and encounters dream ogres and dwarfs, giving rise to hopes of more surrealistic imagery this time out.  This French offering is not to be confused with Australian Julia Leigh’s Sleeping Beauty (2011), starring Emily Browning. Buy The Sleeping Beauty.

ThanksKilling (2009):  Read our capsule review.  We have no idea what happened to the previous DVD version of ThanksKilling, or how this disc differs, but here’s a new release of this heartwarming gore classic, just in time for Turkey Day.  Buy ThanksKilling.

NEW ON BLU-RAY:

The Adventures of Shark Boy & Lava Girl (2005): Read our capsule review.  The first movie for 7-year olds written by an actual 7-year old! Buy The Adventures of Shark Boy & Lava Girl [Blu-ray].

Blue Velvet (1986):  When young Jefferey discovers a severed ear in the grass, the search for its owner leads him on a voyage where he will discover the dark side of small town America, and of himself, in this nightmarish mystery that ranks as one of David Lynch‘s best.  Blue Velvet on Blu-ray, now there’s a match made in weird heaven.  Buy Blue Velvet [Blu-ray].

Fanny and Alexander (1982): Semi-autobiographical drama from sometimes weird director about a boy who grows unhappy when his widowed mother re-marries a stern bishop.  Though it’s perhaps not the Swedish director’s weirdest, there are fantasy elements, a nephew who is a woman, and blurred realities.  The Criterion Collection fits the five hour television cut, the three hour theatrical cut, and a host of extras on 3  Blu-rays (which are currently cheaper to purchase than the 5 disc DVD set). Buy Fanny and Alexander [The Criterion Collection Blu-ray].

The Fisher King (1991): Terry Gilliam pic about a homeless man (Robin Williams) who believes he’s a medieval knight errant searching for the Holy Grail doesn’t reach the bizarrist heights of the director’s Imagination Trilogy, but there are some inspired flights of fantasy mixed in with the drama (the waltz in Grand Central Station is magical).  Somehow bargain bin releaser Image Entertainment obtained the rights to this, which means no special features (as a trade-off, the price is rock bottom). Buy The Fisher King [Blu-ray].

Frankenhooker (1990):  Frank Henenlotter‘s tale about a man who rebuilds his decapitated fiancée using body parts from Times Square hookers, inventing supercrack in the process, is a bad taste comedy classic.  A very elaborate release from Synapse featuring a restored print; all that’s missing is a button on the cover that says “wanna date?” when you press it. Buy Frankenhooker [Blu-ray].

In a Glass Cage [Tras el Cristal] (1987):  See description in DVD above. Buy In a Glass Cage [Blu-ray].

FREE (LEGITIMATE RELEASE) MOVIES ON YOUTUBE:

Blood Feast 2: All U Can Eat (2002):  “Godfather of Gore” returns to moviemaking after a 30 year hiatus with this uncredited rip-off of the Certified Weird Blood Diner (don’t write in, it’s a joke…)  Watch Blood Feast 2: All U Can Eat on YouTube.

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.

List Candidates

LIST CANDIDATE: ZERO DE CONDUITE (1933)

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AKA Zéro de conduite: Jeunes diables au collège; Zero for Conduct

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DIRECTED BY: Jean Vigo

FEATURING: Delphin, Jean Dasté, Louis Lefebvre, Gilbert Pruchon, Coco Golstein,Gérard de Bédarieux

PLOT: Schoolboys stage a revolt at a French boarding school.

Still from Zero de Conduite (1933)

WHY IT MIGHT MAKE THE LIST:  Zéro de conduite is an important historical film.  It founded the boarding school subgenre, creating a template used by Francois Truffaut (The 400 Blows) and more weirdly by (If…)  With its dwarf headmaster, disappearing balls and drawings that come to life, the film is as playful and experimental as a mock rebellion staged by schoolboys before Sunday dinner.  Its mildly surreal oddness nudges the needle on the weirdometer, but, despite its near-legendary status, it’s not thoroughly strange enough to make its way onto the List on the first ballot.

COMMENTS:  Jean Vigo’s extraordinary backstory is almost as fascinating as his films.  The son of an anarchist who died in prison, the auteur left a tiny (about three hours’ worth of film) but extremely impressive body of work before succumbing to tuberculosis, the age-old nemesis of romantic poets, at the age of 29.  Adding to his mythological stature is the possibility that he may have contributed to his own demise by laboring on his final film up until his last moments, instead of getting much needed bed rest; he may have actually worked himself to death, literally giving his life for his art.

By banning Zéro de conduite, the director’s film about an imaginary rebellion in a boys’ boarding school, for thirteen years, the French censors only augmented Vigo’s legend.  From the perspective of patrons who are used to seeing political leaders openly mocked and clitorises graphically snipped off in movie theaters as they munch on popcorn, the idea of a movie with only a single “merde!’ and no violence, fetal rape, human centipedes, or even an obvious political target would be banned for over a decade is almost unimaginable.  The film contains hardly audible whispers of schoolboy homosexuality, but it was suppressed not for these but for its “anti-French spirit” and “praise of indiscipline.”  Vigo’s anarchic, anti-authoritarian philosophy, which pervades the film’s 44 minute running time, was too hot and subversive for 1933 sensibilities.

Today, of course, the movie is notably tame.  In fact, if you’ve been exposed to any of the Continue reading LIST CANDIDATE: ZERO DE CONDUITE (1933) →

Capsules

CAPSULE: ZENITH (2010)

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DIRECTED BY: Vladan Nikolic

FEATURING: Peter Scanavino, Jason Robards III, Ana Asensio, David Thornton

PLOT:  In the year 2044 people have been genetically engineered to feel perpetually happy, so

Still from Zenith (2010)

they perversely seek out illegal drugs that bring intense pain; in this society, a dealer in pharmaceutical misery stumbles upon what may be a generations old conspiracy that goes by the code name “Zenith.”

WHY IT WON’T MAKE THE LIST:  More confusing than weird, Zenith is at the same time a laudable and thought-provoking, but forced and undramatic, attempt to create a cult-y reality-bender along the lines of more organic puzzle movies like Primer.

COMMENTS:  Zenith is one bewildering conspiracy movie.  It creates frustration and paranoia by chopping up its narrative with lots of fast-forwards, rewinds, out-of-sequence scenes, and even episodes of déjà vu.  Elisions, false clues and dead end leads increase the confusion quotient.  Although the sloppiness of the story is an intentional strategy meant to put us inside the paranoid heads of the protagonists, the procedure still occasionally comes off as the director jerking the viewer around—especially when it comes to the rug-pulling conclusion, which tempts alienating the movie’s core audience.  Writer/director Vladan Nikolic crafts an intricate scenario here that may please fans of “difficult” stories, but it’s more rewarding, above and beyond the plot level, to think of the movie as an examination of the conspiracy fan’s psychology.  “Dumb” Jack, the pain-pill pusher (a grungy and intense Peter Scanavino), begins the story thinking of his defrocked priest father, Ed, who’s obsessed with trivia about the Illuminati and the Bilderbreg group, as a crazy old coot.  But the more he watches old VHS tapes of dad’s decades-old investigations of the “Zenith” conspiracy, the more he comes to be just like him, until at the end the two men have become virtual doppelgängers.  The movie suggests that it may be able to easier to get sucked into irrational conspiratorial beliefs than it seems, especially seeing as how it asks the viewer to take pleasure in following the clues and tagging along as they track down that mysterious man who, if only he can only be located and Continue reading CAPSULE: ZENITH (2010) →

Capsules

CAPSULE: THE RUM DIARY (2011)

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DIRECTED BY:

FEATURING: Johnny Depp, , Amber Heard, Michael Rispoli, Giovanni Ribisi

PLOT: An alcoholic journalist goes to Puerto Rico where he encounters unscrupulous capitalists and bottomless mini-bars.

WHY IT WON’T MAKE THE LIST: The confluence of three offbeat talents—-seldom seen cult auteur (How to Get Ahead in Advertising) directing quirk king Johnny Depp in an adaptation of a semi-autobiographical novel by gonzo godfather —produces a movie that’s far more conventional than you might have guessed.

Still from The Rum Diary (2011)

COMMENTS: For better or worse, it’s impossible to avoid comparing Rum Diary (unfavorably) with Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. The film’s producers can’t complain the comparison is unfair, because they cut a trailer that’s obviously aimed at hooking Loathing fans: it’s filled with boozy shenanigans, a bowling ball knocking down ten pin rum bottles, and Johnny Depp promising, in his best deadpan Hunter S. Thompson drawl, “all of this might sound like some crazed hallucination…” Diary even contains a mild LSD trip sequence that sees Michael Rispoli’s tongue extend six feet in the air “like an accusatory giblet”; of course, this sixty seconds of psychedelics occupies a prime place in the marketing scheme. There’s also a scene with a voodoo priestess who coughs up frogs—and that’s about it on the weirdness front. The rest of the movie is a series of drunken war stories in which part-time journalist, full-time imbiber and would-be novelist Paul Kemp (Thompson’s alter-ego, played by Depp as a less manic and assured Raoul Duke) worries about “finding his voice” and flirts with joining up with the “Bastards.” Why the Bastards (represented by real-estate developer Aaron Eckhart) are so keen to recruit horoscope writer Kemp into their venal cabal isn’t clear; corrupting idealists is what makes them Bastards, I guess. Also not clear is what’s so darn evil about their plan to build a hotel that would supply thousands of jobs for the local populace on land previously only used for the noble purpose of naval test bombing. Their marketing plan, which would involve Kemp slipping some favorable words into his columns, is unethical, sure, but hardly a screaming headline, page one outrage. But the scheme’s investors smoke cigars and complain about Negros and Communists, so they are pretty clearly villainous. Despite their wickedness, though, the only moral objections Kemp actually raises have to do with the way Eckhart treats his flighty, arm-candy lover (Amber Heard, who looks fabulous in a bikini but disappears from the movie like a neglected girlfriend). Joining Depp, Eckhart and Heard are Rispoli and Giovanni Ribisi as a couple of colorful drinking buddies (Rispoli plays his photographer role like a 1940s New York City cabbie, while Nazi-obsessed basket case Ribisi affects an annoying whine). The trio’s wandering adventures build to a remarkable anticlimax. None of the plot lines dangled off this tropical pier snag a catch, but Kemp/Thompson does eventually find his literary voice—too bad for us it only happens after he’s finished narrating this tale. It’s pleasant to see Depp reprise his role as Thompson, and there are memorable lines of dialogue and set pieces (all of which find their way into the trailer). But the movie sips at drunken insanity rather than gulping it down; it never goes four-sheets-to-the-wind crazy. The tone of muted madness here doesn’t do justice to Thompson’s gonzo spirit. Call it “Mild Concern and Dislike in San Juan.”

“The Rum Diary” was written by Thompson some time in the late 1950s or early 1960s but was rejected by several publishers. Johnny Depp reportedly discovered the manuscript in Thompson’s basement while he was researching the writer’s mannerisms in preparation for his role in Fear and Loathing. Depp encouraged Thompson to revise the lost novel; it was published in 1998. The actor also served as executive producer for this adaptation.

WHAT THE CRITICS SAY:

“…has no mighty gonzo wind… it leaves our freak flag limp.”–David Edelstein, New York Magazine (contemporaneous)

Canonically Weird (The List)

97. MULHOLLAND DRIVE (2001)

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“Do not demystify.  When you know too much, you can never see the film the same way again. It’s ruined for you for good. All the magic leaks out, and it’s putrefied.”–David Lynch, explaining to Terrence Rafferty why he will not record director’s commentaries

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DIRECTED BY: David Lynch

FEATURING: , ,

PLOT: A woman (Harring) is involved in a nighttime accident on Mulholland Drive and flees into the city of Los Angeles with amnesia; she sneaks into an apartment soon to be occupied by naive young Betty (Watts), who has come to Hollywood hoping to find stardom.  Meanwhile, a film director (Theroux) finds himself pressured by mysterious mobsters to cast an unknown actress in his upcoming project.  Betty helps the amnesiac woman try to recover her identity, but the clues only lead to a strange avant-garde nightclub, a key, a box, and a sudden reality shift that throws everything that came before into confusion.

Still from Mulholland Drive (2001)

BACKGROUND:

  • Lynch originally intended Mulholland Drive as a TV series in the mold of “Twin Peaks.”  When the networks passed on the pilot, the French producer Studio Canal stepped in with additional financing to turn the pilot into a feature film.  In between ABC’s proactive cancellation of the series and the creation of the film version, all of the sets and props were dismantled, forcing Lynch to come up with a different way to complete the story.
  • Monty Montgomery, whose appearance as “The Cowboy” is an uncanny show-stopper, is a Hollywood movie producer (who produced Wild at Heart for Lynch).  Mulholland Drive is his only acting credit (he’s listed as “Lafayette Montgomery” in the credits).
  • Lynch insisted no chapter stops be included on the DVD.
  • The original DVD release included an insert from Lynch containing “10 Keys to Unlocking This Thriller.”
  • Mulholland Drive received significant critical acclaim, nabbing Lynch a Best Director award at Cannes (shared with Joel Coen for The Man Who Wasn’t There) and a Best Director Oscar nomination.  It was voted best picture of the Year by the Boston Film Critics Society, the Chicago Film Critics Association, the new York Film Critics Circle, and the Online Film Critics Society (where it tied with Memento in the voting).  It was also voted best foreign picture by the Academy Award equivalents of Brazil, France, Spain, and Australia.

INDELIBLE IMAGE: The Silencio nightclub, decorated in Lynch’s trademark red velvet drapes and staffed by his trademark subconscious monsters.

WHAT MAKES IT WEIRD: If the massive reality shifts and actresses unexpectedly playing multiple roles is not enough for you, then the monster behind the Winkie’s, a Spanish version of Roy Orbison’s “Crying” delivered by a woman who collapses onstage, and a mafia-style media syndicate run by a deformed dwarf who uses an eyebrowless cowboy as his right-hand man will convince you that we are deep in that subconscious pit of eroticism, kitsch and weirdness that can only go by the name Lynchland.


Original trailer for Mulholland Drive

COMMENTS:  Oddly enough, what may be the most important scene in Mulholland Drive Continue reading 97. MULHOLLAND DRIVE (2001) →