What to Watch this Week (24-31 Oct)
The best things to watch this week on the big screen, the small screen and your laptop screen, including Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange and The Trailer Park Boys' European tour
Doctor Strange
We’ve seen the A-list of Iron-Man, Hulk and Captain America. Now that Marvel have beaten us into submission, they’re bringing on the B-team. First up is Doctor Strange, the trippiest of the Marvel comics. Early reviews have been good for this origins story of how brilliant surgeon Doctor Stephen Strange finds himself entering into a world of mysticism. Our reviewer, Joseph Walsh, called it “a psychedelic extravaganza that's sure to spin the heads of cinema-goers with its trippy effects and tongue-and-cheek wit.” In cinemas now, via Disney
Lo and Behold, Reveries of the Connected World
Legendary German filmmaker Werner Herzog brings his delightfully wonky philosophising to the world of modern communication. You’ve probably seen dozens of documentaries and read even more think pieces about how we live now thanks to the internet, but we can guarantee none have posed the question "Does the Internet dream of itself?", as the Bavarian asks in this new documentary. Essential viewing. Released in cinemas 28 Oct by Dogwoof
The Charlie Kaufman influence
Two head-scratching debut films heavily indebted to Charlie Kaufman come to DVD this week
Remainder
Omer Fast's heady adaptation of Tom McCarthy's cult novel Remainder comes to DVD this week. This mind-bending tale follows an amnesic (Tom Sturridge) who’s obsessing over the few recollections he’s retained since he lost his memory in a freak accident and, Synecdoche, New York-style, started to reenact these memories in slavish detail. This is one of the most original British films of the year and marks Israeli-born, Berlin-based video artist Omer Fast out as a fascinating new voice in cinema. Released on DVD and Blu-ray by Soda Pictures
Aloys
This deadpan comedy from Swiss director Tobias Nölle follows a misanthropic private detective who starts a strange relationship with a woman who’s stolen his precious surveillance tapes. Their courtship doesn’t involve a night at Pizza Express, however, but the Japanese concept of phone walking, which basically means Aloys having the places and situations of their "dates" described to him by the female caller. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind-style, this is a love story that plays out in the psyche of our hero. Released on DVD and Blu-ray by Eureka Entertainment
Trailer Park Boys: Out of the Park: Europe
Sunnydale Trailer Park’s loveable reprobates Ricky, Bubbles and Julian take their distinct brand of outrageous comedy on the road with stand-up show Out of the Park: Europe. Expect plenty of weed smoking, rum and coke consumption and male bonding, and maybe a cameo from everyone’s favourite alcoholic trailer park supervisor, Jim Lahey, in this Netflix stand-up special-cum-European travelogue special. Streaming on Netflix from 28 Oct