Our weekly 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 at the official site links.

It’s a lean week for cinematic weirdness, unless you happen to live in the NYC area (where you can always catch something odd). Stranger days are coming, hopefully…

FILM FESTIVALS – New York Asian Film Festival (New York City, NY, 6/30 – 7/16):

Now in its 16th year, the NYAFF (hosted by Lincoln Center) somehow finds high quality pan-Asian movies overlooked by other festivals. A number of strange-sounding features here, plus a surprise film (presented by a surprise guest) screening on July 15th to unofficially close the festivities. There’s a definite “memory” theme to this years offerings: at least three features involve the ability to remove or implant memories, usually via a helmet.

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• Battle of Memories – Chinese sci-fi thriller about a novelist undergoing a future brain procedure who is accidentally implanted with a serial killer’s memories. Screens July 1st only.
• Happiness – A mysterious wanderer brings a helmet that allows the wearer to relive happy memories to a small Japanese town. Screening July 14.
• Jane – A transgender angel takes a misfit teen under her wing in this arty strangeness from South Korea. July 13, with the director and actors on hand for a Q&A.
• Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back – This fantasy/comedy spectacle is already out on DVD, but here’s a chance for New Yorkers to catch it on the big screen on July 8.
• KFC – The fast food giant won’t be using this “sick” Vietnamese omnibus film, featuring cannibalism, in its ads anytime soon. July 6.
• The Mole Song: Hong Kong Capriccio – Fest programmers are playing up the weirdness in Takashi Miike‘s latest (that’s a phrase we type about three times a year), calling it “delirious” and “WTF.” See it July 14.
• Suffering of Ninko – A Japanese Buddhist monk is cursed to be irresistible to members of either sex; Variety promisingly called it “beyond weird even by Japanese standards.” Screens July 9.
• Town in a Lake – A “Twin Peaks” like town in the Philippines hosts moral corruption while supernatural beings haunt the surrounding forest. Screening July 6.
• The Village of No Return – Period Taiwanese martial arts weirdness with multiple plot strands including a Taoist priest with a helmet that removes memories. Catch it July 2.

New York Asian Film Festival home page.

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.

• Chicago, IL, 6/30 – 7/6 – 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968). At Music Box Theater.
• Los Angeles, CA, 6/30 (midnight) & 7/3 – Valerie and Her Week of Wonders (1970). At Cinefamily.
• Los Angeles, CA, 7/3 – 7/5 – Stalker (1979). At Cinefamily.
• New York City, NY, 6/30 – Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004). At Videology Bar & Cinema.
• New York City, NY, 6/30 (midnight) – The Apple (1980). At Videology Bar & Cinema.
• New York City, NY, 6/30 – 7/6 – Stalker (1979). At IFC Center.
• Silver Spring, MD, 6/30-7/3, 7/6 – Mulholland Drive (2001). At AFI Silver Theater.
• Silver Spring, MD, 7/2-7/3, 7/6. Lost Highway (1997). At AFI Silver Theater.

NEPOTISM CORNER:

The Salt Lake City band Visitors is anchored by the bass playing of one Cameron Jorgensen, better known in these parts as your dedicated Saturday Short curator. Visitors is on the move—they’re the first band on the new label Formant Records. They’re releasing the EP “Vortices, a Foreword” in July, with a full-length album tentatively scheduled for February 2018. “Mutineers” (video below) is the teaser single. If hard progressive rock is your bag, give ’em a listen (and a purchase). More Visitors songs and merchandise are available at Formant Records or their Bandcamp page.

Now prepare yourselves to rock.

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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.

Our weekly 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 at the official site links.

IN THEATERS (LIMITED RELEASE):

The Bad Batch (2016): Ana Lily Amirpour‘s much-anticipated followup to A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night features Keanu Reeves and Jim Carrey and was originally pitched as “a dystopian love story in a Texas wasteland and set in a community of cannibals.” Critics didn’t like it much, but then again they hated Southland Tales when it first came out, too. The Bad Batch official site.

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Blood Feast (2016): Faud Ramses wants to host an Egyptian feast to raise Ishtar, which will require lots of gore and cannibalism. This remake of Herschell Gordon Lewis‘ classick pioneering gore feature is understandably drawing little attention (you can’t hope to top Jackie Kong‘s interpretation of the same material, after all). Blood Feast official Facebook page.

The Ornithologist (2016): While searching for an elusive black stork in Portugal, an ornithologist gets lost in the forest and experiences events that mimic the story of St. Anthony of Padua, with a gay twist. An arthouse festival favorite that’s been at the edge of our radar screen for a while now. The Ornithologist U.S. distributor site.

NEW ON DVD:

Tag (2015): Someone or something is killing schoolgirls in Japan. You may have seen viral videos of the notorious bus scene, or you may have noticed Shion Sono‘s gory black comedy sitting in our reader-suggested queue. Buy Tag.

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.

• Columbus, OH, 6/23-24 – The City of Lost Children [La cité des enfants perdus] (1995). At Gateway Film Center.
• New York City, NY, 6/23 (midnight) – Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010) (with a drinking game). At Videology Bar & Cinema.
• New York City, NY, 6/23-24 (midnights) – The Holy Mountain (1973). At Nitehawk Cinema.
• New York City, NY, 6/23-29 – Stalker (1979). At IFC Center.
• Silver Spring, MD, 6/23-29 – Blue Velvet (1986). At AFI Silver Theater.

FREE (LEGITIMATE RELEASE) MOVIES ON YOUTUBE:

FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions (2004): Read our review. A mute male slave’s involvement with romance and rebel pornographers lands him in trouble in a sex-free future ruled by a totalitarian matriarchy. Watch FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions free on YouTube or on Carlos Atanes’ personal site.

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.

Our weekly 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 at the official site links.

IN THEATERS (LIMITED RELEASE):

Can Hitler Happen Here? (2017): A crazy alcoholic woman lives a paranoid existence in her run-down home. Not sure what’s going on with this one–if may still be playing downmarket and specialist film festivals–but the trailer gets intriguing towards the end. Can Hitler Happen Here? Facebook page.

Funeral Parade of Roses (1969): Rare Japanese New Wave weirdness, controversial at the time for it’s sympathetic treatment of drag queens. Restored, and hopefully soon to be released on Region 1 DVD (exhibitor Cinelicious followed a similar trajectory with Belladonna of Sadness last year). Schedule available at the Funeral Parade of Roses official site.

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.

• Columbus, OH, 6/16-22 – Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971). At Gateway Film Center.
• Columbus, OH, 6/22-24 – The City of Lost Children [La cité des enfants perdus] (1995). At Gateway Film Center.
• Los Angeles, CA, 6/22 –Black Moon (1975). At Cinefamily.
• New York City, NY, 6/16 – Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004). At Videology Bar & Cinema.
• New York City, NY, 6/16-17 (midnights) – The Holy Mountain (1973). At IFC Center.
• New York City, NY, 6/16-22 – Stalker (1979). At IFC Center.
• New York City, NY, 6/16-17 (midnights) – Zardoz (1974). At Nitehawk Theater.
• New York City, NY, 6/19 – 8 1/2 (1963). At Film Society of Lincoln Center.
• New York City, NY, 6/19 – Fantastic Planet [La Planète Sauvage] (1973), with a new live score by Morricone Youth (although we can’t imagine why you’d want to mute Alain Goraguer’s iconic acid rock soundtrack). At Nitehawk Cinema.
• Oakland, CA, 6/20 – Nosferatu (1922), with a live score by the Invincible Czars (who will also accompany 1920’s Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde later that night). At The New Parkway.
• Silver Spring. MD, 6/19, 21 & 22. Tokyo Drifter (1966) & Branded to Kill (1967). Seijun Suzuki yakuza double feature (we assume tickets must be purchased separately), with introductions by author Tom Vick on the June 19th screening. At AFI Silver Theater.

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.

Our weekly 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 at the official site links.

IN THEATERS (LIMITED RELEASE):

Dawson City: Frozen Time (2016): It sounds like a starting point for a Guy Maddin movie: 500 silent films are discovered in a vault under a hockey rink in a town near the Arctic Circle. This is more of a straight documentary than the cinematic poems Bill Morrison is best known for, but it still promises to uncover amazing oeneric images from the past. Dawson City: Frozen Time distributor’s page.

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IN DEVELOPMENT (Announced):

Annette (201?): Leos Carax‘s next project will be a musical scored by Sparks (who, you may recall, gifted a memorably scrambled booty song to The Forbidden Room) about a widowed standup comedian and his “gifted” two-year-old daughter. Adam Driver is to star, with the latest news being that Michelle Williams has replaced Rooney Mara as the female lead. Amazon will distribute, so unlike many of Carax’s previous projects that fell apart in development, this will almost certainly see the light of day. Latest news via the A.V. Club.

IN DEVELOPMENT (Post-production):

The Man Who Killed Don Quixote (201?): Terry Gilliam has announced that principal photography on his Quixote project has wrapped up—a mere 17 years after it started. We don’t know how weird the final project will be, but has Gilliam ever played it straight or safe? More at Variety.

NEW ON DVD:

Akira (1988): Read the Certified Weird review! This new steelbook DVD/Blu-ray combo disc from Funimation appears to contain the same features as previous versions of the cyberpunk anime classic, but adds a new 32-page booklet. Buy Akira [DVD/Blu-ray combo].

A Cure for Wellness (2017): Read our list candidate review. Now’s your chance to see if this wanderingly weird psychohorror set at a Gothic wellness retreat has what it takes to make the List. Buy A Cure for Wellness.

Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back (2017): Pacifist demon hunter Xuan Zang continues his journey to India begun in the original Journey to the West, facing new demons. This second installment of the Stephen Chow original international hit saw Tsui Hark take over the directorial reins, to less critical acclaim. Buy Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back.

NEW ON BLU-RAY:

Akira (1988): See description in DVD above. Buy Akira [DVD/Blu-ray combo].

A Cure for Wellness (2017): See description in DVD above. Blu-ray sold separately (i.e. this is not a DVD/Blu combo pack, as is increasingly becoming the trend). Buy A Cure for Wellness Blu-ray.

Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back (2017): See description in DVD above. This release includes a DVD copy as well. Buy Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back [DVD/Blu-ray combo].

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.

• Chicago. IL, 6/9-10 (midnights)- House [Hausu] (1977). At Music Box Theater.
  
• Chicago. IL, 6/10, 13, 14 –Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010). At Music Box Theater.
• Columbus, OH, 6/10 – Manos: The Hands of Fate (1966) (hosted by “Dr. Bob”). At the Gateway Film Center.
• New York City, NY 6/9-10 (midnights) – The Holy Mountain (1973). At IFC Center.
• New York City, NY, 6/9-13 – Stalker (1979). At IFC Center.
• New York City, NY 6/9-10 (after midnight) – Weekend (1967). At IFC Center.
• Oakland, CA, 6/11 – Barbarella (1968) (with a post-film discussion as part of the “Bechdel Test” series). At the New Parkway Theater.
• Sydney, Australia, 6/10 – Belle de Jour (1967). Part of the Sydney Film Festival.

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.

Our weekly 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 at the official site links.

NEW RELEASES (EXCLUSIVE STREAMING):

Gutboy: A Badtime Story (2015): We first mentioned this budget curiosity back in January. It’s an all-marionette feature about a flayed puppet who fights the Man, and proudly advertises itself as “the weirdest movie in the world.” After searching for a brave distributor for two years, it’s now available exclusively (for the present time, at least) on Troma studio’s new streaming service Troma Now! (which currently has a limited catalog but a reasonable price point of $4.99/month after free trail, and includes the Certified Weird Tromeo & Juliet ). Gutboy press release.

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.

• Chicago, IL, 6/3,6/5, & 6/8 – Stalker (1979). At Music Box Theater.
• Los Angeles, CA, 6/3 (midnight) – Akira (1988). At Nuart Theater.
• Los Angeles, CA, 6/3 (midnight) – Wild at Heart (1990). At Cinefamily.
  
• Los Angeles, CA, 6/4 – Fantastic Planet [La Planète Sauvage] (1973). At Zebulon.
• New York City, NY, 6/2 & 6/3 (midnights) – Brazil (1985). At Nitehawk Cinema.
• New York City, NY, 6/2-6/8 –  Stalker (1979). At IFC Center.
• New York City, NY, 6/3 – Angel’s Egg  [Tenshi no Tamago] (1985). Super-rare screening (we didn’t know screenable prints of this even existed), with a new live score by drone musicians Telah. At Spectacle Theater.
  
• Silver Spring, MD, 6/6 & 6/8 – Stalker (1979). At AFI Silver Theater.
• Sydney, Australia, 6/7 – Belle de Jour (1967). Part of the Sydney Film Festival.

FILM FESTIVALS – Sydney Film Festival (Sydney, Australia, June 7-18):

Sydney is a minor festival (sorry Australia!), but it gives folks Down Under a chance to catch a few non-commercial features. Unfortunately, there are not a lot of debuts at Sydney, but visitors will get the chance to check out other festivals’ hits, including a handful of marginal interest to us: the indie comedy Brigsby Bear, Casey Affleck covered in a sheet for A Ghost Story, My Entire High School Sinking Into the Sea, the mildly blasphemous homoerotic allegory The Ornithologist, and the erotic Mexican horror The Untamed. They also have a nice set of revivals, highlighted by a newly restored Belle de Jour (see above, also screening June 10) and Desperate Living (you’ll have to wait until June 17 for that one). We did notice one festival-circuit outlier we had previously overlooked that might be of interest to weirdophiles:

• By the Time It Gets Dark – a filmmaker working on a piece about Thailand’s 1976 military clampdown has elegant Apichatpong Weerasethakul-style hallucinations. Screening June 15 & 17.
  

Sydney Film Festival home page.

NEW ON DVD:

The Blackcoat’s Daughter (2015): Two girls face a mysterious evil while staying at a nearly-empty boarding school during Christmas break. Viewers compared it to David Lynch in tone. Buy The Blackcoat’s Daughter.

“Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Project No. 2”:  Scorsese again collects overlooked movies from world cinema. Most interesting to our readers is Mysterious Object at Noon, Apichatpong Weerasethakul‘s experimental “exquisite corpse” debut, with Brazil’s avant-garde silent poem Limite a close second. Revenge dramas from the Philippines (Insiang) and Soviet Union (Revenge) along with the Turkish “Western” Law of the Border and Taiwanese drama Taipei Story fill out the well-rounded set. Buy “Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Project No. 2” [DVD/Blu-ray combo].

NEW ON BLU-RAY:

The Blackcoat’s Daughter (2015): See description in DVD above. DVD/Blu-ray/”digital copy” combo version. Buy The Blackcoat’s Daughter [DVD/Blu-ray combo].

“Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Project No. 2”: See description in DVD above. Buy “Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Project No. 2” [DVD/Blu-ray combo].

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.