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):

Watchmen (2009):  The big-budget adaptation of the cult comic book series set in the late Cold War era, in an America where comic book superheroes are part of the normal fabric of society.  Visually impressive and violent, it looks headed to be a small blockbuster.  Watchmen Official Site. 

IN THEATERS (LIMITED RELEASE):

Tokyo! (2008):  A suite of three fantastic, surreal short stories directed by three different international directors (Michel Gondry, Leos Carax and Joon-Ho Bong), all set in Tokyo.  Not surprisingly, the stories appear to focus on the theme of urban alienation.  Tokyo! Official Site (in Japanese)

NEW ON DVD:

Ashes of Time Redux [Dung che sai duk redux] (2008):  Wong Kar Wai’s re-edit of his 1994 martial arts epic finally gets a proper DVD release, after a very limited (in the US, at least) theatrical run.  May not be strictly weird, but it’s a classic entry from an oft-weird genre (the wuxia film) by an occasionally weird director, and it’s something of a milestone in recent world cinema.

Treasures IV: American Avant-Garde Film, 1947-1986:  This 2 disc, 5 hour collection of avant-garde shorts (live action, documentary and animated) is a must for serious students of the subject.   Includes a film from the prolific and provocative George Kuchar (I, an Actress) and Andy Warhol (Mario Banana (No. 1)) alongside the work of many more obscure experimental filmmakers.

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.