May @ 366 Weird Movies: INFERNO, HEARTLESS, DEAD AWAKE, more Tod Browning...

[Rev. Powell]

May we begin...

KEANE (2004): "Filmed from Keane's vantage point, the viewer is made to feel like he is that shell of the once sane anti-hero, trapped inside Keane himself, but unable to intervene as a more powerful, perverse alter-ego takes control and carries him along for the ride."-PD

THE DARK CRYSTAL (1982): "Jen the reluctant Hobbit (I mean, Gelfling) must return a Ring (I mean, a broken shard of the crystal) to the heart of Mordor (I mean, the castle of the Skeksis), while being stalked on his journey by a skulking Gollum (I mean, the banished Skeksis Chancellor).  This basic story structure is enough to enthrall kids, but the best we adults can say about it is that it's comfortably familiar, and that the plot never distracts us from looking at the pretty pictures."

CODEX ATANICUS: "Surrealist cinema was conceived in Spain, the love-child of Luis Buñuel and Salvador Dalí.  If either patriarch had lived to see the mirror succubi, the crab-armed women and the staircase orgies of Codex Atanicus, they'd be proud to claim Carlos Atanes as their offspring."

TOD BROWNING'S THE DEVIL DOLL (1936): "As Lavond, Barrymore delivers a subdued, controlled performance.  In drag, Barrymore raises the ham meter considerably."

[Rev. Powell]

May we continue...

THE ATTIC EXPEDITIONS (2001): "...falls just short of a general recommendation, but it is recommended to anyone interested in psychological, mindbending horror seasoned with heaping doses of confusion and who isn't a stickler for great acting."

THE CATECHISM CATACLYSM (2011): "...a mish-mash of high school reunion-esque reflection, Catholic introspection, fascinating urban legend storytelling, and off-the-walls absurdity that winds its way into an enjoyable, funny, decidedly memorable experience."--AK

MAELSTROM (2000): Certified Weird! "'You'll get nightmares from eating stale octopus,' Bibi's friend warns her over lunch, and viewers may wonder if this line of dialogue comes from experience: did Denis Villeneuve dream up this script after a bout with bad seafood?"

TOD BROWNING'S WHITE TIGER (1923): "The Oedipal killing of a (surrogate) father, mistrust among a trio of criminals, theft of jewels, false identities, the double cross, staged gimmickry, deception (which the spectator audience is privy to), latent incest, followed by jealousy for a righteous rival, a claustrophobic getaway retreat, and a finale in which one of the criminals deeds goes unpunished are familiar Browning themes."--AE

[Rev. Powell]

May we give you even more reviews...

VANISHING ON 7TH STREET (2010): "One day I would like to see brighter, more pragmatic people being challenged in a horror movie.  On the other hand, if something really happened such as what we see depicted in Vanishing On 7th Street, the film's participants would probably be typical, given the cross section of the population I observe daily who cannot complete a simple ATM transaction in under 15 minutes."-PD

RUBBER (2010): "Of course, not much actually happens in Rubber.  There's only so far one can go with a silent killer tire in an isolated desert... The concept and script begin to lose steam towards the end, but Dupieux smartly keeps his film to a trim 82 minutes, and the innovative meta-film approach, alarmingly high body count, and general irreverence ensure a fun (and weird) time is had by all."-AK

THE NINES (2007): "The continued appearance of the number 9 everywhere marks the ascendency of the odd, and things get into a high weird gear when a character decides to suddenly expresses her inner feelings through a musical number."

CURRENTLY UNTITLED: "...if I had to slap a label on it I suppose it would be 'adolescent avant-garde.'"--AE

[Rev. Powell]

May we start to wind the month up?

DEAD AWAKE (2010): "I paid money for this???  I swear, no more poppy juice and Colt .45 before I read DVD jackets at the video store."-PD

INFERNO (1980): "Any lover of weird cinema or stylish horror owes it to themselves to see the glorious flooded ballroom and the inventive apartment murder; they almost earn the film a place on the List on their strength alone."-KD

HEARTLESS (2009): "...winds up as a familiar Faustian fable with a trio of extraordinary diabolical characters (Papa B, Belle and the Weapons Man) and some wonderful sets (the mad tenement apartment, the streets of London glowing sickly yellow as midnight approaches).  The results are worthwhile, and individual scenes are knockouts, but it feels like there's a classic weird horror tale lurking inside this movie that just can't quite burst out if its shell."

TOD BROWNING'S THE SHOW (1927): "It may be high cholesterol sentiment but it's served up in the director's unique, devious style, with the principals finding nirvana in the only place they could in a Tod Browning melodrama: on the carnival stage."-AE