CinePhillyist

What's new and/or interesting in local theaters this weekend.

Brand Upon the Brain! - Odd Canadian (is that redundant?) indie filmmaker Guy Maddin puts out another puzzler. We don't feel capable of paraphrasing the plot summary; we recommend you click here and read it for yourself. The film appears to be black and white, silent, and very, very strange. But it's also sitting at 93% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, and it sounds incredibly creative and intriguing.
Trailer
Showing at: Ritz at the Bourse

Golden Door - A Sicilian widower and a beautiful, mysterious Englishwoman meet and fall in love during a dangerous steamship passage to America. Once they reach Ellis Island, they try to make their way, together, through the "Golden Door" to the land of promise. The film apparently also involves elements of magical realism, and stars Charlotte Gainsbourg (from Science of Sleep), Vincenzo Amato, and Vincent Schiavelli. It could be good!
Trailer
Showing at: Ritz at the Bourse

Most Likely to Rule: Paprika - A beautiful anime by a master director of anime about dreamwalking and other cool stuff. A number of Phillyist staff members saw this at the Philadelphia Film Festival this year; you can read our reviews here, here, and here. The short version: we liked it!
Trailer
Showing at: Ritz East

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer - The much-hyped sequel to the terrible original Fantastic Four film. We know we shouldn't be, but we're actually kind of attracted to this movie. It's covering one of the big FF stories - that being the introduction of the Silver Surfer and the world-devouring villain, Galactus - and it looks like it includes some impressive action and special effects. So, it could be good for some stupid summer fun.
Trailer
Showing at: UA Riverview

Most Likely to Suck: Nancy Drew - The famous teen detective from the beloved mystery novels gets a modern film makeover. She finds herself playing the role of a fish out of water when she follows her father to LA on a business trip. But she soon also finds a mystery to exercise her talents on - the long-unsolved murder of a beautiful movie star.
Trailer
Showing at: UA Riverview

The Valerie Project - A very strange, very sexual, avant garde vampire movie from Czechoslovakia called Valerie and Her Week of Wonders, which, in this special screening, will be accompanied by a live soundtrack provided by members of various contemporary indie rock bands. We've seen the film before, and we can't say we enjoyed it very much; it's basically just odd, over-long, disturbing, and pointless. But perhaps with a new live soundtrack, it will be more exciting.
Showing at: International House

Image via Internet Movie Poster Awards Gallery