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WEIRD HORIZON FOR THE WEEK OF 9/11/09

September 11, 2009 admin Leave a comment

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 (WIDE RELEASE):

9: Mainly of interest do to the involvement of Tim Burton as producer, this feature by Shane Acker was expanded from a short film. Early word is the visuals are spectacular; the story, far less so. 9 Official Site.

IN THEATERS (LIMITED RELEASE):

Ink: At critics has compared this visionary thriller about a father entering the nightmares of his daughter to save her to the work of Terry Gilliam and Jean-Pierre Jeunet; the official press release compares it to Brazil, Dark City and Donnie Darko, among others. Opening this week in Los Angeles, and currently booked in only a few scattered US theaters the week after, this looks like it’s trying to position itself as the cult film of 2009 (although, of course, we’ll be the ultimate judge of that!) Ink official site.

SCREENINGS (NEW YORK CITY, MUSEUM OF MODERN ART):

Blind Pig Who Wants to Fly (2008): The feature debut of the Indonesian director known as “Edwin” is a surrealist-influenced series of interwoven stories on identity, using the identity of ethnic Chinese in Indonesia as a launching pad. Stevie Wonder’s mediocre hit “I Just Called to Say I Love You” is the glue that binds these disparate stories. Blind Pig Who Wants to Fly Official Site.

NEW ON DVD:

Crank 2: High Voltage (2009): This deliberately ridiculous popcorn film about an action hero who must constantly recharge his battery-operated heart by sucking on electrical wires escaped our notice on its theatrical release, but subsequent reports lead us to believe this could just possibly be just demented and over-the-top enough to be considered weird. Buy from Amazon. Also on Blu-ray.

NEW ON BLU-RAY:

Requiem for a Dream (2000): Although there may be a few hallucination sequences, there’s nothing in the description of Requiem, a bleak and depressing story about drug addiction, that implies it’s truly weird (though, not having seen it yet, I could be wrong). It’s mentioned here because it’s visionary director Darren Aronofsky‘s sophomore followup to the his (recently reviewed) weird debut Pi. With Ellen Burstyn, and Jennifer Connelly in a (reportedly) graphic and disturbing sex scene. 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.

366 Exclusive, Shorts

366 EXCLUSIVE: “9″

September 7, 2009 admin 1 Comment

We are pleased to debut Alfred Eaker and Robbin Panet’s short film film “9” on the web. This is the movie they made for the 2009 48 Hour Film Festival. The rules of the contest festival are simple: every team has only 48 hours to complete the film, and each must incorporate three elements given by the festival : a character name, a line of dialogue, and a prop. Look for a character named “Professor Sherman Kane,” a ball, and the line “I’m not talking to you.”

Rather than making a straightforward short that looked like everyone else, “9” takes an experimental approach, becoming a sepia-hued exploration of domestic abuse through the generations, in a Western setting. The bizarre free-association poetry of John M. Bennet replaces traditional narration. It runs approximately seven and a half minutes.

Alfred’s description of the making of the film can be read in his Reflections on the 48 Hour Film Festival and the “9” Diary.

[Our license to display “9” has expired. We will inform you if this film is released, on DVD or otherwise, in the future.]

At the producers’ request, this film will not be released to YouTube or other video hosting sites, and will be available here for one month only. UPDATE: Because this film was reviewed and linked from Rogue Cinema, we are leaving the film up for another week, until October 12, 2009.

Miscellanea

WHAT’S IN THE PIPELINE

September 6, 2009 admin Leave a comment

Here’s what’s coming up on the site next week…

The exclusive web debut of Alfred Eaker and Robin Panet’s short film, “9” (no relation to the Tim Burton feature). This is the movie they made in two days for the 48 Hour Film Festival, as described in the article Reflections on the 48 Hour Film Festival and the “9” Diary. This is the first exclusive video we have ever hosted, and we’re excited about it! It will only be available for streaming for one month.

Also, reviews of Darren Aronofsky’s paranoid experimental debut, Pi (1998), and Godfrey Ho’s nearly nonsensical kung-fu pastiche, Ninja Champion (1985).

Weirdest search term used to locate the site this week: “nuns movies with the cross in the cover.” Winner, brutal honesty division: “stalker 1979 wtf?”

Here’s the ever-growing reader suggested review queue to give you an idea what will be coming further down the road: Nekromantic (still looking for a copy), Pi (next week), Angel’s Egg, Institute Benjamenta, Pan’s Labyrinth, Ex Drummer, Waking Life, Survive Style 5+, The Dark Backward, The Short Films of David Lynch, Santa Sangre, Dead Man, Inland Empire, and Monday (2000).

Reader Recommendations

READER RECOMMENDATION: AFTER HOURS (1985)

September 5, 2009 admin 1 Comment

The “Reader Recommendation” category includes films nominated by our readers as deserving of consideration for the List of the 366 Best Weird Movies of all time.

by reader “Rajiv”

DIRECTED BY: Martin Scorsese

FEATURING: Griffin Dunne, Rosana Arquette, Catherine O’Hara

PLOT: One night, Paul Hackett ( Griffin Dunne), New York computer word-processing consultant, is trapped in SoHo because his last dollar has flown out of the cab window on his way to a late night date with a woman he’s just met. His dream to score with a pretty woman ends up to be a waking nightmare when one mishap after another strands him in a hostile neighborhood in his quest to return home before morning.

Still from After Hours (1985)

<span style="display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;" data-mce-type="bookmark" class="mce_SELRES_start"></span>WHY IT DESERVES TO MAKE THE LIST: From the plot description itself, we should aware that this is a weird film. The execution is also very weird. This is technically a black comedy, but it plays like a suspenseful thriller. A lot of surprisingly unpredictable things happened to force Paul Haggis, who just wants go home that night, to stay in SoH.

COMMENTS: A strange, original, and totally underrated movie from Mr. Scorsese. This film is a little bit ‘Coen brothers-ish,’ full of fantasies and surprises. This film proves Scorsese is a master filmmaker. He can create a moments with any subject matter, and make the audience feel certain feelings. Watch out especially for the ending of After Hours, it will make your feelings turn 180 degrees, it’s a shock! After Hours really deserved more attention as one of Scorsese’s best works.

Miscellanea

WEIRD HORIZON FOR THE WEEK OF 9/4/09

September 4, 2009 admin Leave a comment

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.

Sadly, there’s nothing of even marginal weird interest debuting in American theaters this week.

NEW ON DVD:

TCM Greatest Classic Films Collection: Horror—House of Wax (1953) / The Haunting (1963) / Freaks (1932) / Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1941): All good movies, but it’s Freaks, Tod Browning’s one-of-a-kind disquieting exploitation fable, that catches our attention here. Weird freaks might also get a kick out of seeing Ingrid Bergman’s head used as a champagne cork in Dr. Jekyll. This two double-sided disc set is an interesting way to start a high-end horror DVD collection if you’re not interested in the extras you would get from buying each individual film (all of these films are out on single disc DVDs in more lavish editions). Buy from Amazon.

TCM Greatest Classic Films Collection: Science Fiction—2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)/ Soylent Green (1973)/ Forbidden Planet (1956)/ The Time Machine (1960): All good films, but the obvious weird draw here is 2001, Kubrick’s trippy and ambiguous sci-fi parable about… well, there are lots of theories as to what it’s about. Apply the same caveats about this set as about the Horror collection above—no extras here, in case you want a definitive edition of a particular movie, but a good way to start a collection of smart science fiction films. Buy from Amazon.

Not weird, but potentially of interest to some, is TCM’s collection of classic murder mystery/film noir movies including the beloved The Maltese Falcon (1941) along with The Big Sleep (1946), Dial M for Murder (1954), and The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946). Buy from Amazon.

NEW ON BLU-RAY:

Fire and Ice (1983): Seldom seen animated sword-and-sorcery fantasy by weirdish Rotoscope auteur Ralph Bashki (Coonskin). Animation fans may want to check out the Rotoscoping, which is said to be much better than the story. Poster/book cover artist and chainmail-bikini fetishist Frank Frazetta was involved in some capacity. Buy from Amazon.

NEW FREE (LEGITIMATE RELEASE) ON YOUTUBE:

The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T (1953): A boy dreams that his piano teacher is enslaving children on surrealistic sets in this classic weird children’s musical movie with nonsense lyrics by Dr. Seuss. Show your kids at a young age to ensure they grow up weird. Too good to watch on YouTube, but if you can’t resist… Watch The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T free on YouTube.

Freakmaker [AKA The Mutations] (1974): A scientist experiments with mixing human and plant DNA in this bizarre grindhouse wonder that’s almost a remake of Tod Browning’s Freaks. Watch Freakmaker free on YouTube.

The Wild, Wild World of Jayne Mansfield (1968): The most exploitative biopic ever made, mixing Jayne’s most salacious footage with the slanderous sexcapades of a “lookalike,” ending with totally tasteless footage of Jayne’s fatal car crash and grieving family. Incoherent and unbelievable; will leave you feeling fascinated but very dirty. Watch The Wild, Wild World of Jayne Mansfield free on YouTube.