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):
The Rumperbutts (2015): A married musical couple sell out to become children’s entertainers. A kickstarter-funded indie with magical realist elements, starring the singing duo Mates of State. Opening in L.A. The Rumperbutts Facebook page.
IN DEVELOPMENT:
Alice Through the Looking Glass (2016): Remember Tim Burton reimagining Alice in Wonderland as a video game, with Johnny Depp sleepingwalking his way through another role as a nutty eccentric, letting his makeup do the acting? Well, despite, by any sane measure of quality, sucking, Alice made a ton of money, so Disney is sending our aging Victorian lass through the looking glass next year. Good news: Mia Wasikowska is back as Alice. Bad news: Depp is back as the Hatter. Good news: Burton will not direct (that duty goes to James “The Muppets” Bobin). Bad news: Alice scripter Linda Woolverton will write the screenplay. Overall, we’re not hopeful. Alice Through the Looking Glass IMDB entry.
Forbidden Zone 2 (201?): Richard Elfman continues to make (slow) progress on producing a sequel to his 1980 Certified Weird original Forbidden Zone, which has been stuck in whatever the Sixth Dimension’s version of Development Hell is for over 30 years now. The latest encouraging info says Jenna Elfman is definitely attached and that Richard has signed a three-film development deal with Belgium’s Galaxy Studios. Read more at Screen Daily.
NEW ON DVD:
Despite the Gods (2012): Documentary chronicling Jennifer (daughter of David) Lynch’s near-breakdown as she tries to make a movie (entitled Hisss) about a shape-shifting snake goddess within the Bollywood studio system. Doesn’t sound weird per se, but it is a very conventional week for home video releases. Buy Despite The Gods
NEW ON BLU-RAY:
Ninja Scroll (1993): Read our review. The popular, violent, beautifully drawn, but not so weird anime fantasy gets a (reportedly mediocre) Blu-ray transfer. Buy Ninja Scroll [Blu-ray]
FREE (LEGITIMATE RELEASE) MOVIES ON YOUTUBE:
Seance [AKA Killer in the Dark] (2001): A never-released horror flick starring the crap movie dream team of Corey Feldman and Adam West. In one scene, a ghost kills a man with a CD ejected at high speed from a possessed computer. Cinematic masochists will be in Heaven (er, I mean Hell). Watch Seance free on YouTube.
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.