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 on the official site links.
IN THEATERS (LIMITED RELEASE):
Miss Meadows: Katie Holmes stars as a Marry Poppins-like schoolmarm with a vigilante streak. The irony here seems a little on-the-nose. Miss Meadows official site.
Thou Wast Mild and Lovely: A hired hand has an affair with the farmer’s daughter in what director Josephine Decker describes as “an intimate magical realist erotic thriller.” On opening day only, this film is screening alongside the same director’s 2013 effort Butter on the Latch, a similar (but weirder-sounding) erotic effort about a young woman at a Balkan music retreat. Playing NYC this week only. Thou Wast Mild and Lovely official site.
SCREENINGS – (Cinefamily, Los Angeles, CA, Fri. 11/14, 7:45PM/ 10:30 PM PST):
“SpectreFest”: The opening feature in this mini-festival is a screening of the peerless silent classic Metropolis (1927), with a new score by synthesizer artist “Chrome Canyon.” Next up is Starry Eyes, a horror about Hollywood; a young actress lands a big part, and finds her body and mind transformed. As we always suspected, it turns out a Satanic cult plays a role in casting. The co-directors and cast of Starry Eyes will be in attendance; the film is still touring international film festivals before presumably hitting DVD/VOD. Tickets to each screening are sold separately. SpectreFest 2014 at Cinefamily.
NEW ON DVD:
Mood Indigo (2013): Michel Gondry directs a lighthearted surreal romance from a novel by Boris Vian, starring Amelie‘s Audrey Tautou as the female love interest. No wonder it’s in our reader-suggested review queue. Buy Mood Indigo
The Shooting (1966)/Ride in the Whirlwind (1966): Read our review of The Shooting. Originally B-movie experiments from Roger Corman‘s wild period, these two “existential” Westerns partnering cult director Monte Hellman and future superstar Jack Nicholson are now honored by the Criterion Collection as great works of American movie art. Buy The Shooting/Ride in the Whirlwind
Welcome to the Space Show (2010): An alien dog takes a group of kids to the outermost reaches of the universe in this psychedelic exhibition of kiddie surrealism from (where else?) Japan. Anyone who paid $100,049.00 for a limited-release DVD earlier this year is going to feel silly now that it’s been marked down to $17.97. Buy Welcome to the Space Show
NEW ON BLU-RAY:
“Gamera: Showa & Heisei Collection”: Mill Creek collects 11 of the 12 films featuring the friendly, fire-breathing flying turtle in one Blu-ray bundle. Particularly recommended is 1969’s Gamera vs. Gyaos [AKA Attack of the Monsters], which is sort of like Hansel and Gretel with a giant knife-headed monster. Buy “Gamera: The Showa & Heisei Collection” [Blu-ray]
Mood Indigo (2013): See description in DVD above. Buy Mood Indigo [Blu-ray]
The Shooting (1966)/Ride in the Whirlwind (1966): See description in DVD above. Buy The Shooting/Ride in the Whirlwind [Blu-ray]
UHF (1989): Read our review. Weird Al Yankovich’s cult comedy gets the 25th Anniversary Blu-ray treatment with a rich array of extras. Buy UHF [25th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray]
Welcome to the Space Show (2010): See description in DVD above. Buy Welcome to the Space Show [Blu-ray]
FREE (LEGITIMATE RELEASE) MOVIES ON YOUTUBE:
Mystery Science Theater 3000: Manos: The Hands of Fate: Read our review of Manos. One of the worst movies of all time (“your ‘average Joe’ has never even seen a film like today’s experiment… the ‘average person on the street’ has not even begun to conceptualize the horror which is your experiment today…”) leads to what is widely regarded as one of the movie-mocking crew’s funniest shows (“every frame looks like someone’s last known photograph!”) Asa side note, the fact that they are now putting the most popular episodes of the show up on YouTube (with ads) leads me to suspect they’re running out of ways to monetize this fading franchise—but it’s a good deal for consumers.
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.