FREE ONLINE WEIRD MOVIE ALERT: COMING SOON (2008)

March 23, 2009 admin Leave a comment

I’ve just been alerted to the presence of a recent surrealist Czech film that is available for viewing for free (with the permission of its owners, of course) online. The operators of the webiste say the film will be available for online streaming for a limited time only, but don’t give a date for it to be removed.

I have only briefly glanced at it, but it looks like genuine, certified weirdstuff. A full review in the near future is probable.

WARNING TO VIEWERS: Although the film does not appear to be explicit, it deals with controversial subjects that may upset some people: bestiality and religion.

The film is called Coming Soon (2008) (not to be confused with the 1999 sex comedy of the same name!), and can be accessed at:

http://www.comingsoon.cz/

In case the server load is too high at the official site, it’s also available in a lower resolution on Google Video:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-152460894465175765&hl=en

The film is in Czech, but with English voiceovers.

From the filmmakers’ synopsis:

COMING SOON can be seen as a documentary about our civilization’s eternal quest for “the perfect balance” between love, tolerance, morality, censorship, tradition, experimentation, etc. COMING SOON can be seen as a futuristic tragi-comedy about civilization’s next “Great Debate”. COMING SOON can be seen as a fantastic adventure through world philosophies – both past, present and future. COMING SOON can be seen as championing the rights of animals and zoophiles.

Inspired by Nietzsche, Svankmajer and Pasolini, Sir Tijn Po and dozens of friends have created a challenging journey for the experimental mind.

The film is also being sold on DVD through the site and through Amazon.com. If you enjoy the online version, I encourage you to buy the DVD.

Miscellanea

WEIRD HORIZON FOR THE WEEK OF 3/20/09

March 20, 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)

Knowing (2009): Alex Proyas (Dark City) brings us this “Twilight Zone” style tale with Nicolas Cage about a time capsule that contains coded prophecies for the future. Generally panned, but curiosity rises with descriptions of a conclusion described as “ridiculous” and “ludicrous” that dropped critics jaws. It may be unintentional comedy in the vein of Cage’s recent The Wicker Man remake flop. Knowing Official Site.

FILM FESTIVALS:

The New York International Film and Video Festival begins tonight in Manhattan and runs through Thursday, March 27th, showcasing underground and experimental shorts along with documentaries and feature films. Movies of potential weird interest include the Indian comedy I Am a Love Addict, W the Movie, The Gingerbread House (an Italian retelling of Hansel and Gretel), Let Me Out, Heaven Earth (an “experimental documentary” about hallucinogenic South American plants), Sacred Game, and the violent Malaysian comedy The Dogs.

NEW ON DVD:

The Murnau Collection: From the archivists at Kino comes this essential set of restored classics, containing Nosferatu (1922), the weirdest and scariest Dracula adaptation, and the expressionist masterpiece The Last Laugh (1924), along with the essential historical films The Haunted Castle (1921), The Finances of the Grand Duke (1924), Tartuffe (1925), and Faust (1926). Each disc comes with extensive extras, and The Haunted Castle, The Finances of the Grand Duke and Faust also receive separate special edition releases. A nice catch for lovers of early cinema, although four of these six films were already available, along with the documentary Tabu (1931), on Kino’s earlier box set, “The F.W. Murnau Collection”.

NEW ON BLU-RAY:

Sleepy Hollow (1999)/Sweeny Todd (2007): A double feature release of two Gothic Tim Burton/Johhny Depp collaborations is always worth a mention.

Capsules, List Candidates

CAPSULE: W THE MOVIE (2008)

March 19, 2009 Gregory J. Smalley (366weirdmovies) Leave a comment

DIRECTED BY: Alfred Eaker & Ross St. Just

FEATURING: Alfred Eaker, PinkFreud

PLOT: “W” appears in a meteorite in the Arizona desert, steals the election for

the party of No, and becomes a tyrant opposed by liberal reporter BlueMahler.

WHY IT WON’T MAKE THE LIST: With half the characters distinguished by facepaint that makes them look like either World Wrestling Federation rejects or members of a failed 70s revival glam band, acting in front of shifting psychedelic computer-generated backdrops, this surrealist satire of George W. Bush’s presidency is definitely weird enough to make the list. The problem is that, as a polemic against the 43rd President of the United States, it comes with an expiration date. It’s too particular and too parochial, both in terms of subject matter and target audience, to earn a final place on a list of 366 representative weird movies.

COMMENTS: Because it is a vehemently partisan mockery of a former President, as opposed to a generic political satire, W the Movie is difficult to review. Your reaction may depend on your politics; the far left might applaud it as a hilarious send-up of a dangerous political hack, those on the right may be outraged (and personally insulted), or simply dismiss it as liberal piffle. Moderates and fence-sitters are unlikely to be swayed. All sides will recognize it as deliberately unfair; Bush’s foibles are exaggerated past the point of absurdity. W is cruel, crude and stupid, and at his most decisive when he demands his pancakes with “lots of syrup”; his foil, BlueMahler, is brave and righteous, and his only character flaw is neglecting his wife and son as he devotes his life to exposing the truth about the alien demagogue and his infernal war. W the Movie makes the work of Michael Moore (who himself makes as appearance as a ghostlike, babbling puppet) look fair and balanced. There’s a place in the film world for narrowly political art and clever character assassination, and in this sense the producers are to be commended for not fearing to enter the fray, take sides, and name names.

But, polarizing political content aside, there’s quite a bit to be admired in the low-budget production. It’s an excellent example of how a unique, almost mesmerizing visual style can be forged through CGI on the cheap, when artistic effect and atmosphere is placed above the fetish for strict realism. About 90% of the film was shot in front of a green-screen, and memorable virtual sets include W riding on a missile against a cloudscape (a la Dr. Strangelove), W worshipping at an altar of giant gold coins, and an amusing black and white parody sequence with W in Ford’s Theater. The effect is a bit like the old studio-bound pictures of the 30s and 40s, where the backgrounds were matte paintings, but modern technology combined with a hallucinogenic vision makes these brightly colored living mattes slip, morph and shift before the viewer’s eye. Therefore, the film is constantly interesting to the eye, even when the plot gets difficult to follow. Furthermore, Eaker does quite well in multiple roles, including both W and his nemesis BlueMahler. Actors cast in smaller roles range from adequate to distracting. The humor is also uneven, ranging from the highly effective (the Ford’s Theater scene) to the painfully embarrassing (the 9/11 tragedy is used as an excuse for cheap jokes about W’s pro-life stance and lack of geographical acumen). More genuine funny and fewer pointed potshots would have made it a happier movie experience. All in all, W‘s well worth checking out, but if you’re to the right of Obama politically, you may want to check your party of No pin at the door.

WHAT THE CRITICS SAY:

“…this is one seriously messed up flick and… I mean that in the best possible way… wild and wonderful, weird and whacked out.”–Richard Propes, The Independent Critic

4/23/09 UPDATE: W the Movie won the “Best Experimental Feature” award at the New York International Independent Film and Video Festival.

7/22/10 UPDATE: For a limited time, we are screening “W” for free on YouTube. Enjoy!

Canonically Weird (The List)

14. BLOOD DINER (1987)

March 16, 2009 Gregory J. Smalley (366weirdmovies) 5 Comments

“I mean, I don’t know how to describe it. But I just did. It’s just an insane f***in’ movie with insane parts. You’re watching it, it gives these curves that you didn’t see coming, until probably I just told you and showed you in the review. But it’s just I don’t even know how else to review it, you know, the, it’s just insane. It’s an insane f****in’ movie. Uncle Bill, you’re insane for liking it, and I’m insane for liking it too. It’s just insanity incarnate. But it’s a lot of fun.”–youtube fan review of Blood Diner

Beware

DIRECTED BY: Jackie Kong

FEATURING: Rick Burks, Carl Crew

PLOT: At the direction of their uncle Anwar, a talking brain in a jar, two restaurateur brothers assemble a vessel composed of body parts harvested from immoral women to receive the spirit of the ancient Egyptian goddess Sheetar. They are opposed by a pair of mismatched cops and the owner of a rival vegetarian restaurant intent on stealing their secret recipe. After many bloody murders, they must complete only the last ritual, a “Lumerian feast” where Sheetar will take the life of a virgin, along with the attendees at the banquet.

Still from Blood Diner (1987)

<br /> BACKGROUND:

Blood Diner was originally intended to be a sequel to Herschell Gordon Lewis’ transcendently bad Blood Feast (1963), but when the collaborators could not agree on a scenario the project was changed to a black comedy tribute in the spirit of Lewis’ movie.
Blood Diner was originally banned in some Canadian provinces and in Iceland, and was heavily cut for release in other countries.

INDELIBLE IMAGE: As drug-zombies rave and cultists in Egyptian dress attempt to channel the goddess into a stitched-together corpse, a punk band (composed of a singer in a Roman helmet, two backup singers in blue wigs, four sidemen dressed as Hitler and a pantomime horse roaming the stage) plays in the background.

WHAT MAKES IT WEIRD: Most movies featuring talking brains in a jar are weird, and Blood Diner is no exception.

Original trailer for Blood Diner

COMMENTS: There was little in female exploitation director Jackie Kong’s brief oeuvre to Continue reading 14. BLOOD DINER (1987) →

Miscellanea

WEIRD HORIZON FOR THE WEEK OF 3/13/09

March 13, 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):

Race to Witch Mountain (2009): This remake of Disney’s popular 1975 fantasy Escape to Witch Mountain, about two orphan kids with supernatural powers and unknown origins, has been getting hammered by critics who think it’s shallow but action-packed. With The Rock (Dwayne Johnson), whose presence provides another reason to be skeptical. Escape to Witch Mountain Official Site.

IN THEATERS (LIMITED RELEASE):

The Perfect Sleep (2009): An existential film noir tribute about a retired assassin who returns to a nameless city to protect the only woman he has ever loved. Sounds intriguing. The Perfect Sleep Official Site.

Severed Ways: The Norse Discovery of America (2009): This micro-budget, DIY film about two Vikings stranded in North America in 1007 AD has been savaged by critics who are unimpressed by its “independent spirit.” With a black metal soundtrack, amateur production values, dialogue in Old Norse, rape and defecation, this appears to be a genuine el cheapo oddity of the sort that in years past might have played at the bottom third of a drive-in triple bill. Severed Ways Official Site

UPCOMING NEXT WEEK:

W the Movie (2008): Politically charged, psychedelic assault on the presidency of George W. Bush. From the trailer, it seems to have that NYC underground film spirit that has gone AWOL of late. Premiering at the New York International Film Festival on March 20th, 10:00 PM, at the Village East Cinema. Future dates to be decided. W the Movie Official Site.

NEW ON DVD:

Ben X (2007): Under-the-radar Belgian fest-favorite about a mildly autistic boy who blurs the line between video game reality and high school reality. Variety says it’s “a potential crowd-pleaser that could appeal to auds predisposed toward the likes of ‘Donnie Darko.'”

Escape to Witch Mountain (1975) (Special Edition): Disney is re-releasing the 70s children’s fantasy to coincide with the remake (see above). Also receiving special edition treatment this week is the 1978 sequel, Return from Witch Mountain.

Groom Lake (2002): All you need to know is that it’s a cheap “UFOs are out there!” movie written by, directed by, and starring the inimitable William Shatner.

Howard the Duck (1986) (Special Edition): This notorious George Lucas produced 80s kiddie fantasy bomb about a cigar-smoking duck from an alternate universe who winds up saving the universe from evil aliens in Cleveland is finally getting a long-awaited video release. It’s your chance to judge for yourself whether it deserves its reputation as one of the worst big-budget pictures ever, or if its an underacknowleged masterpiece.

Let the Right One In (2008): Innovative Swedish movie about a 12 year old boy who falls in love with a neighbor girl who is a vampire. A presumedly inferior Hollywood remake is already in the works for those too lazy to read subtitles.

Synecdoche, New York (2008): The directorial debut by weird scriptwriter Charles Kaufman (Being John Malkovich, Adaptation, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) is a typically twisty tale of a director who seeks to recreate a miniature New York City inside a giant warehouse.

NEW ON BLU-RAY:

Se7en (1995): The visually innovative debut film from David (Fight Club) Fincher about a serial killer who models his crimes on the seven deadly sins became both a box-office and cult success despite its morbid and depressing nature. The presence of Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman certainly helped.

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 Weird Movies