Our weekly look at what’s weird in theaters, on hot-off-the-presses DVDs and Blu-rays (and hot off the server VODs), and on more distant horizons…
Trailers of new release movies are generally available at the official site links.
IN THEATERS (SPECIAL EVENT SCREENINGS):
Howl’s Moving Castle (2004): Read the Certified Weird entry! Hayao Miyazaki‘s steampunk fairy tale gets a nationwide revival via GKIDS/Fathom Entertainment screenings on April 7, 8 &10. Find a theater near you.
The Man Who Killed Don Quixote (2018): Terry Gilliam‘s ill-fated Quixote variation, 20 years in the making, is finally released, though not perhaps in the manner Gilliam hoped. The finally-revealed scenario, which involves Adam Driver as an ex-director confronting his former star (Jonathan Pryce) who now believes himself to be Quixote, sounds more than a little Fisher King-esque. Do an old man a favor and catch it at a theater near you: one night only, April 10.
IN THEATERS (LIMITED RELEASE):
High Life (2018): Claire Denis joint about astronaut Robert Pattinson and daughter onboard a deserted spaceship headed towards a black hole, trying to figure out what happened to the rest of the crew. Weird-hating critic Rex Reed (I could have sworn he retired?) raved that it was “baffling, non-linear to the point of near-schizophrenia… [i]ts abstract ideas about life and death don’t make one lick of sense.” High Life official site.
Suburban Birds [Jiao qu de niao] (2018): An engineer investigating a sinkhole discovers a diary what seems to contain prophecies about his own life. A 4.0 on IMDB and 71% positive on Rotten Tomatoes; that’s the kind of spread that suggests a movie is either really boring, or really weird (or both). Suburban Birds official site.
IN DEVELOPMENT (POST-PRODUCTION):
Shakespeare’s Sh*tstorm (est. 2019): We’re a little late to the party in breaking the news about this “spiritual sequel” to Tromeo & Juliet from shock shlock studio Troma; it’s probably nearly complete by now. This time, Lloyd Kaufman gives Shakespeare’s “The Tempest” his scatological treatment. Neither James Gunn nor Lemmy will be helping out this time. The grossout trailer is filled with bodily fluids (some chunky) and is definitely not-SFW; watch at your own peril.
NEW ON HOME VIDEO:
The Man Who Killed Hitler and then The Bigfoot (2018): Read Giles Edwards’ festival mini-review. Not as weird as the title suggests—it’s actually more of a character study—but certainly an out-of-the-ordinary turn for the popular Sam Elliott. On DVD, Blu-ray and VOD. Buy The Man Who Killed Hitler and Then the Bigfoot
The Man With the Magic Box (2017): In Warsaw in the near future, an amnesiac man (whose memory may have been wiped by the government) goes to work as a janitor and falls in love with a superior, but the past inevitably catches up to him. We expect to review this low-budget Polish film with an imaginative dystopia and a hard-to-swallow twist soon. Buy The Man With the Magic Box
Terra Formars (2016): A manned mission to Mars must contend with a race of mutant cockroaches. Having apparently settled in to making batty B-movie manga adaptations in the twilight of his career, Takashi Miike hasn’t produced any (sur)real classics in the past twenty years; but then again, we haven’t seen any real bombs from him (well, possibly one…) Arrow Video releases this one on Blu-ray only. Buy Terra Formars
Terror 5 (2016): Five interlocking tales of Argentine “terror.” Expect a review soon. Buy Terror 5
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.
- Cleveland, OH, 4/6 & 4/8 – Glen or Glenda (1953). At the Cleveland Institute of Art.
- Denver, CO, 4/7 – Spirited Away (2001). At the Alamo Drafthouse.
- Los Angeles, CA, 4/5 (midnight) – Akira (1988). At the Nuart Theatre.
- Nashville, TN, 4/5-4/6 – House [Hausu] (1977). At the Belcourt.
- Nashville, TN, 4/5 (midnight) – Black Swan (2010). At the Belcourt.
- Nashville, TN, 4/6 (midnight) – Perfect Blue (1997). At the Belcourt.
- New Braunfels, TX, 4/6 – Spirited Away (2001). At the Alamo Drafthouse.
- New York City, NY, 4/5-4/7 –Weekend (1967). At IFC Center.
- New York City, NY, 4/5-4/6 (midnights) – The Holy Mountain (1973). At IFC Center.
- New York City, NY, 4/5-4/6 (midnights) – Mulholland Drive (2001). At IFC Center.
- New York City, NY, 4/11 – Female Trouble (1974). At the Museum of Modern Art.
- New York City, NY, 4/11 – Vertigo (1958). At Nitehawk Cinema (Prospect Park).
- Oakland, CA, 4/11 – 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968). At the New Parkway Theater.
- San Francisco, CA, 4/5 – Dark Passage (1947) with Vertigo (1958) (double feature). At the Castro Theatre.
- San Francisco, CA, 4/6 – Vertigo (1958) with San Francisco (1936) (double feature). At the Castro Theatre.
- Tuscon, AZ, 4/5-4/6 – Fight Club (1999). At the Loft Cinema.
WHAT’S IN THE PIPELINE: Continue voting in our Mad March April Movie Madness tournament, please, and/or enter our April “pick-your-prize” giveaway while it lasts (contest closes April 8). While you’re doing that, you can also check out our upcoming reviews of a the violent/absurd French cartoon MFKZ and a pair of DVD-only releases from our friends at Artsploitation pictures: Terror 5 and The Man with the Magic Box (see descriptions in “Home Video” above). And is prodigal Alfred Eaker really back and ready to take his punishment? Find out next week!
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.