Friday Watch Stuff
A couple movie recs a little left of center.
Well, if you needed proof that January was a bad time for new movies, all you have to do is head over to Box Office Mojo and take a look at your cineplex options. I guess we can suggest the “major” releases are a movie about a pet chimp turned killer;1 a Gerard Butler sequel to a movie that feels kinda un Gerard Butlerish; I’m kicking myself for not having seen it but also let’s be honest, it’s not gonna match the kinetic awesomeness of Geostorm so why bother really; and a movie about a sexy android that goes haywire that feels like every other movie about sexy androids going haywire.
Let’s disregard these; you pretty much know exactly what you’re gonna get out of them which will either lead you to them or far far away from them and there’s really no in between. Let’s turn our attention to another, smaller release that, while it will never garner much attention outside of weird cult movie lists, is at least something that is different, interesting and therefore should be championed. In fact, let’s dive a little deeper and get into some surreal movie choices you can fire up this weekend
The movie that digs this rabbit hole is Albert Birney’s Obex. And to attempt to describe it would be a fool’s errand, so just watch the trailer:
Alex Birney seems to be a filmmaker with a refreshing vision, one of analog and surrealism. While not particularly unique in the history of film, he at least provides an alternative to the big budget brain dumps of the Russo Brothers (I will NEVER forgive them for The Electric State) and plays in some of the same sandboxes as Lynch, Kaufman and Gilliam. This is his third film, and appears to be, having not seen all of them, the most “traditional,” of the lot, though that’s not saying much at all, as his first movie, Sylvio, is about a gorilla dealing with the price of fame…
… and his follow up to that, Strawberry Mansion is, well again, none of these movies are easy to describe in a sentence or two:
As mentioned, while watching these trailers you will immediately know whether you’re into the vibe they’re creating or not. I’m not even sure I want to watch them, but I am glad they exist and appreciate that there are still people out there pushing hard to get their art out there. You can watch both Sylvio and Strawberry Mansion on Tubi, and while Obex is having some sort of release this weekend, I can’t really figure out what that means, other than perhaps it’s playing on a screen or two in New York and LA. But I will be keeping an eye out for it coming to maybe Amazon. The concept of movie releases is such a tangled web of confusion that isn’t made any easier with the internet.
Anyway…
This movie reminded me of two other movies that I suggest you put on your watch list, as, aside from the same black and white aesthetic, they dabble in similar tones, surrealism and vibes. More of less. I will leave you simply with the trailers and nothing more since sometimes that’s the fun of discovering something…
The first of these movies is Pi, the debut from Darren Aronofsky:
You can watch Pi on Amazon and the Roku channel.
The second movie is called Computer Chess and, uh… well here you go:
You can watch Computer Chess on Tubi too.
Honestly, if you decide to watch both of these, I couldn’t tell you which one will break your brain. It’s weird to say that but trust me, it’s a toss up.
Look, I know you’re gonna watch The Pitt this weekend, and hey, so am I, but that’s only an hour. So when you’re bored maybe take a look at some of these movies. I’m willing to bet they’re going to be unlike anything you’ve seen recently. Or, listen you’re not gonna go too wrong with Geostorm.
FRIDAY FUNK
Is there an interest for this type of twisted dichotomy of beloved pet gone evil? I of course realize Cujo exists, but also, I’ refuse to engage with that too. And, spoiler alert: Cujo is fucking twisted. I’m gonna assume much more twisted than the assume gore fest Ben is.