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.
FILM FESTIVALS – Venice International Film Festival (Venice, IT, 8/30-9/9):
The world’s oldest film festival, Venice is still one of the most prestigious movie events of the year, although it has been losing ground in late years as many producers who miss the chance to debut at Cannes choose to premiere at the better-attended Toronto Film Festival instead. Like Cannes, its tastes tend towards the vino e formaggio crowd, but there’s always some adventurous and/or interesting stuff to be found in the catalog, and some high-profile debuts, as seen in our list below:
- Controfigura – French film about a small crew trying to remake The Swimmer in Marrakesh. Screening Sep. 8 &9.
- Dangerous but Necessary – Documentary about two-time Certified Weird director Marco Ferreri (Dillinger is Dead, La Grande Bouffe). Screens Sep. 3 & 4.
- Il Signor Rotpeter – Italian Kafka adaptation about a monkey who becomes a man. Screening Sep. 8.
- Mother – Darren Aronofsky‘s psychothriller starring Jennifer Lawrence is one of the most hotly anticipated movies of the year. First peek comes on Sep. 5.
- The Shape of Water – Guillermo del Toro‘s adult fairy tale about a cleaning woman who falls in love with a merman; some critics are calling it the equal of Pan’s Labyrinth. The opening night screening has already passed but you can catch it in wide release in December.
- Woodshock – Looks like a grieving woman (Kirsten Dunst) smokes synthetic cannabinoids in the woods and hallucinates a lot. Debuts Sep. 4, also playing Sep. 5.
Venice International Film Festival official site.
NEW ON BLU-RAY:
The Manster (1959): Read our review. Not sure this campy low-budget B&W creature feature merits a hi-def release, but B-Blu collectors may be interested. Buy The Manster [Blu-ray].
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.
- Los Angeles, CA, 9/1 – 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968). At the Aero Theater.
- Los Angeles, CA, 9/1 (midnight) – Spirited Away (2001). At the Nuart Theater.
- New York City, NY, 9/1-9/2 – Eraserhead (1977). At the Metrograph.
- New York City, 9/1-9/2 – Stalker (1979). At the Metrograph.
- New York City, NY, 9/1-9/2 (midnights) – Black Devil Doll from Hell (1984). At Nitehawk Cinema.
- New York City, NY, 9/1-9/3 – Stalker (1979). At IFC Center.
- New York City, NY, 9/1 & 9/3 – 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968). At the Metrograph.
- New York City, 9/3-9/4 – Belle de Jour (1967). At the Metrograph.
- Pittsburgh, PA, 9/1 – 9/7- The Triplets of Belleville (2003). At Row House Cinema.
- Silver Spring, MD, 9/1, 2, 5 & 7 – Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010). AT AFI Silver Theater.
- Tuscon, AZ, 9/6 – El Topo (1970). At the Loft Cinema.
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.