Aug @ 366 Weird Movies: Harry Dean Stanton. Garbo, JOURNEY TO THE WEST, more!

[Rev. Powell]

THE SWIMMER (1968): Certified weird! "Upon its release, The Swimmer took many critics by surprise. Its unorthodox, episodic texture and surreal humanism challenged preconceived critical notions. If critics were at loss to assess it, mainstream audiences were not. By and large they reacted with outright hostility."-AE

LUCY (2014): "...even the sight of Scarlett Johansson morphing into a black tentacle biocomputer can’t compensate for the feeling that you’re using less and less of your cerebral capacity the longer you watch this movie."

POINT BLANK (1967): "...packed with classic style and star power, and has the perfect ratio of arthouse cool to gritty action."

CHARMS (1973): "...shows signs of too many cooks in the kitchen... but ultimately, its largest flaw (and also its charm, get it?) is that it's a product of its time, when artistic amalgamations were encouraged to bring in the Youth Audience... while Charms is not a great film, it can certainly be argued that it is a weird one."-LRH

[Rev. Powell]

JOURNEY TO THE WEST (2013): "...constantly surprises with its twists and turns, highlighted by a battle with a fish demon in the harbor of a ramshackle riverside village, a deserted inn that’s been turned into a ghostly pork palace, and a comic sketch involving an 'obedience charm' that turns hilariously homophobic."

HARRY DEAN STANTON: PARTLY FICTION (2013): "...the ratio of insight to folk singing here is unfavorable."

VISITORS (2013): "...the human face is fascinating in its infinite variety and its singular expressiveness, but I confess that, like a normal person, I found this exploration boring."

GARBO: CINEMA’S COOL AND IMMORTAL SPHINX: "Garbo remains pure cinema, an idea created through light, mirrors, and form for the celluloid dreams of her audience, who waxed ecstatic over her face alone."-AE

[Andrew]

Another version of Journey to the West!  I have been keeping my eye out for the other 2 or 3 films from the same story that Shaw Brothers made many years ago when they filmed Cave of the Silken Web. 

I am going to hunt this new version down.  Thank you!

[Rev. Powell]

Another version of Journey to the West!  I have been keeping my eye out for the other 2 or 3 films from the same story that Shaw Brothers made many years ago when they filmed Cave of the Silken Web. 

I am going to hunt this new version down.  Thank you!

It's currently streaming on Netflix.

[Andrew]

Picked up "Journey to the West" (2013) on DVD.  It has some surprising parts to it, compared to other movies and books about the same story.  Upon seeing a little girl's father attacked by something in the water, in a scene reminiscent of "Jaws", I guess there is ample warning that it's not going to be a lighthearted romp.  There's also a quite dark part that would fit right into the cannibal scenes from "Legend" or "Conan the Barbarian." 

And when the Monkey King arrives on the scene, it's time to look out.  A whole lot of terminal butt-whooping is coming.

Rev, thanks again for pointing this one out.