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 (LIMITED RELEASE):
Diamantino (2018): A Portuguese soccer star adopts an African lesbian immigrant, while his twin sisters are conducting secret genetic experiments. This bonkers-sounding comedy has garnered good reviews, and a limited stateside release, after a successful festival run. Diamantino official site.
NEW ON HOME VIDEO:
Dead Hooker in a Trunk (2009): Four friends find the titular Macguffin in the titular locale, which eventually leads to surreal confrontations with the Cowboy Pimp and the Almighty himself. A feminist work by identical twin sisters (the Soskas) whose title perhaps oversells the level of subtlety here. Makes its Blu-ray debut this week. Buy Dead Hooker in a Trunk
The Image Book (2018): Jean-Luc Godard takes images from films of the past, digitally alters them, and philosophizes in voiceover. More late Godard for cinema masochists (we’ll probably end up joining them). On DVD or Blu-ray from Kino-Lorber. Buy The Image Book
The Perfection (2019): Psychological thriller about a musical prodigy. The trailer makes it look like Black Swan meets Get Out. A Netflix exclusive movie exclusively streaming on Netflix.
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.
- Boston, MA, 5/28 – The Color of Pomegranates [Sayat Nova] (1969). At the Brattle.
- Cleveland, OH, 5/26 – The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T (1953). At the Cleveland Institute of Art.
- Columbus, OH, 5/26-5/29 – Evil Dead II (1987). At Gateway Film Center.
- Los Angeles, CA, 5/24 (midnight) – The Love Witch (2016). At the New Beverly Cinema.
- Los Angeles, CA, 5/24 (midnight) – Vertigo (1958). At the Nuart Theatre.
- Los Angeles, CA, 5/25 – 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968). At the Aero Theatre.
- New York City, NY, 5/24 & 5/27 – Daisies [Sedmikrásky] (1966). At the Film Society of Lincoln Center.
- New York City, NY, 5/24-5/26 (midnights) – Fight Club (1999). At IFC Center.
- New York City, NY, 5/25 – The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972). At the Museum of Modern Art.
- New York City, NY, 5/25 & 5/27 – Valerie and Her Week of Wonders (1970). At the Film Society of Lincoln Center.
- New York City, NY, 5/30 – Eyes Without a Face [Les Yeux sans Visage] (1965). At the Metrograph.
- Oakland, CA, 5/27 – Nosferatu (1922), with live score by the Invincible Czars. At the New Parkway Theater.
- Omaha, NB, 5/27 – Zardoz (1974). A portion of all proceeds will be donated to Angels Among Us (fighting childhood cancer) . At the Alamo Drafthouse.
- Pittsburgh, PA, 5/24, 5/26-5/30 – Daisies [Sedmikrásky] (1966). At the Row House Cinema.
- San Diego, CA, 5/24 (midnight) & 5/25 – Mandy (2018). At Ken Cinema.
- San Francisco, CA, 5/24-5/25 – Eraserhead (1977). At the Roxie.
- Santa Ana, CA, 5/24-5/25 – Belladonna of Sadness (1973). At the Frida Cinema.
- Santa Ana, CA, 5/35-5/26 – Brazil (1985). At the Frida Cinema.
- Toronto, Ont., Canada, 5/25 – The Tin Drum (1979). At the Royal.
- Washington, D.C., 5/27 – The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimension (1984). At Smoke & Barrel.
WHAT’S IN THE PIPELINE: Next week Shane Wilson digs into the long-neglected reader-suggested review queue for a look at Jean-Luc Godard‘s Alphaville, a strange 1965 noir-sci fi-philosophy mashup, while G. Smalley is back from vacation with a report on the fake-Japanese-TV-show mockumentary Top Knot Detective. That rapscallion Smalley’s vacation has delayed the upcoming print release of the 2018 Yearbook—proofing revealed a new problem with the margins that cropped up just before his departure—so hopefully next week we’ll get that little issue sorted out and get those collectible items up for sale before too long. We swear, next year the Yearbook will arrive much earlier… well, at least we plan on it. Onward and weirdward!
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.
Any update you can give us on Eaker vs the Summer Blockbusters now that two of the films that were chosen have been released, or has he gone AWOL? (Can’t say I really blame him, considering how last year turned out for him and us all)
The Perfection looks promising, might have to give in and shell some money for Netflix on this one.
We’ll let you know about Alfred’s plans when we know. I guess if you watch just 2-3 movies, a Netflix subscription would be worth it for a month. You can also catch Skins, the only Canonically Weird movie exclusive to Netflix. Just don’t forget to cancel if your budget is tight!
If you don’t have a Netflix subscription, don’t bother getting one just so you can watch The Perfection. The film isn’t worth it. Yes, the trailer looks intriguing, but the end product can’t make good on those promises. It’s a badly scripted and weakly acted mess of a movie that has high ambitions, but in the end amounts to barely more than an exploitation flick with a decent budget.
Of course, that’s just my personal opinion and your own mileage may certainly vary. But don’t go into this expecting something like Black Swan.
Also, on June 21 Neon Genesis Evangelion should be available on Netflix.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAg-jZgn_dk
Hunter: Update-Alfred’s first review should post one week from tomorrow.
Jone: Thanks for the reminder, we’ll surely mention “Neon Genesis Evangelion” again in June.