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):
Buster’s Mal Heart (2016): Buster has two (or maybe more) personalities, literally existing in two separate bodies: one a family man, the other a bearded hermit. This crime-mindbender earned mixed reviews. Buster’s Mal Heart official site.
A Dark Song (2016): A woman with ambiguous motives seeks the help of a dubious warlock to enact an occult ritual. Good reviews, but questionable weirdness. A Dark Song official site.
CERTIFIED WEIRD (AND OTHER) REPERTORY SCREENINGS:
- Chicago, IL. Apr. 28-May 4 -“David Lynch: A Complete Retrospective.” Including screenings of Blue Velvet (1986), Eraserhead (1977), INLAND EMPIRE (2006), Lost Highway (1997), Mulholland Drive (2001), Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me (1992), Wild at Heart (1990), and others. Complete schedule at Music Box Theater.
- New York, NY, Apr. 28 – 29 (midnights) – 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968). At IFC Center.
- New York, NY, Apr. 28 – 29 (midnights) – El Topo (1970). At IFC Center.
- Oakland, CA, May 4 – Akira (1988). At The New Parkway Theater.
- Silver Springs, MD, Apr. 30, May 1, & May 4 – Donnie Darko (2001) [director’s cut]. At AFI Silver Theater.
NEW ON DVD:
Catfight (2016): Two middle-aged women (Sandra Oh and Anne Heche) renew a decades-old grudge with a fistfight that gets out of hand. The fight scenes are reputedly brutal, and the Amazon reviews are littered with words like “odd,” “crazy,” “weird”… and “terrible” (admittedly, all of the reviewers probably came in with very mainstream expectations). Buy Catfight
Tampopo (1985): A mysterious stranger helps a failing ramen shop owner conquer the local market in this “noodle western.” Offbeat satire with a few bizarre touches, this new Criterion Collection release ranks as a cult movie among Japanese arthouse devotees, and is in our reader-suggested review queue. Buy Tampopo
NEW ON BLU-RAY:
Catfight (2016): See description in DVD above. Buy Catfight [Blu-ray]
Tampopo (1985): See description in DVD above. Buy Tampopo [Blu-ray]
MISCELLANEOUS (Summer Camps):
“Camp John Waters”: In one of the stranger promotions we’ve heard of, 70-year old bad boy John Waters is hosting a summer camp. Featured activities include watching Waters’ one-man show, Hairspray karaoke, “Bloody Mary Bingo,” a Waters movie marathon, and that old camp standby, Scotch and cigars. Now for the bad news: it’s sold out. Before we could even report on it. Maybe Waters will add additional dates, considering how quickly this one filled up? Regardless, you can see the official announcement at Club Getaway.
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.