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):
Alyce Kills (2011): A young woman goes insane from guilt after accidentally killing her best friend. From the director of Zombie Strippers, it’s debuting in 5 American cities and simultaneously on video-on-demand
NEW ON DVD:
The ABCs of Death (2012): 26 directors each tell a short story about death based on an assigned letter of the alphabet. Some of the auteurs whose work is featured: Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani (Amer), Jason Eisener (Hobo With a Shotgun), Noboru Iguchi (RoboGeisha—he does the tasteful “F is for Fart”), Yoshihiro Nishimura (Vampire Girl vs. Frankenstein Girl), Marcel Sarmiento (Deadgirl), Srdjan Spasojevic (A Serbian Film), and Yûdai Yamaguchi (Yakuza Weapon). The letter “T” was reserved for a contest winner. Buy The ABC’s of Death
Medium Cool (1969): A TV reporter investigating unrest in the Chicago ghettos uncovers a conspiracy. The odd thing about this very-1960s movie is that the fictional story is mixed with real life footage of the riots surrounding the 1968 Democratic Convention—director Haskell Wexler expected civil unrest to erupt, and had his actors in character and ready to film when the violence started. Buy Medium Cool (Criterion Collection)
“Spaghetti Westerns Unchained”: We mention this 4-disc set of B-Spaghetti Westerns because Giulio Questi‘s acid western Django Kill! is among the offerings. The original Django (1966), Texas Adios (1966) the mystical Keoma (1976) (all starring Franco Nero) are the other movies in this worthwhile compilation from Blue Underground. Buy “Spaghetti Westerns Unchained”
NEW ON BLU-RAY:
The ABCs of Death (2012): See description in DVD above. This is a DVD/Blu-ray combo pack. Buy The ABC’s of Death [Blu-ray/DVD Combo]
Howl’s Moving Castle (2004): An 18-year old girl is cursed to inhabit the body of an old hag; a demon may help her break the curse. Another Hayao Miyazaki classic animated fantasy finally makes it to Blu-ray; Disney sure takes its time releasing these. Buy Howl’s Moving Castle [Blu-ray/DVD Combo]
Medium Cool (1969): See description in DVD above. Buy Medium Cool [Criterion Collection Blu-ray]
My Neighbor Totoro (1988): Speaking of Miyazaki… this early effort is about two young girls who can see forest spirits. Buy My Neighbor Totoro [Blu-ray/DVD Combo]
NEPOTISM CORNER!:
“366 Weird Movies 2012 Yearbook” (Kindle Edition): Less than six months after the end of 2012, we’re finally releasing our annual “366 Weird Movies Yearbook.” While the print edition is undergoing a second round of proofing (we’re hoping it will be ready next week), a Kindle version is already available for purchase. From the product description: “Covering everything weird, from art house surrealism to next-generation cult movies to so-bad-they’re-weird b-movie atrocities, 366 Weird Movies has been meeting all of your weird movie needs since 2009 with a combination of sly humor and serious insight. This is our annual Yearbook covering all the weird movies released and re-released in 2012, from @ Suicide Room to Yellow Submarine, with over 75 full-length reviews and extensive supplemental listings. If it’s weird, and it’s a movie, and it’s from 2012, and 366 Weird Movies covered it, you’ll find it here.” It’s like a website, only in handy e-book form! All proceeds will be donated to 366 Weird Movies, Inc., to help provide beer to sober film critics. Priced to move at only $2.99, you’d have to be a fool (or someone who doesn’t own a Kindle) not to buy this. You’re not a fool, are you? We thought not. We’ll have the 2013 out before May 2014, we promise. Buy “366 Weird Movies 2012 Yearbook” (Kindle Edition).
FREE (LEGITIMATE RELEASE) MOVIES ON YOUTUBE:
Dead Leaves (2004): Read our capsule review! We’re still up in the air about this crazy hyperkinetic anime about two sociopathic cartoon assassins who embark on a killing spree in a jail on the moon… there’s also a psychedelic caterpillar… or something… just watch it and tell us what you think. Watch Dead Leaves 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.