Our weekly look at what’s weird in theaters, on hot-off-the-presses DVDs, and on more distant horizons…
Trailers of new release movies are generally available on the official site links.
IN THEATERS (LIMITED RELEASE):
John Dies at the End (2012): Two college dropouts must save the world from an alien invasion brought on by a hallucinogenic drug in Don Coscarelli‘s trippy adaptation of the cult graphic novel of the same name. One of our most anticipated titles of the new year, it’s getting a limited release through major US cities and college towns through early spring, but you can also catch it on demand
Resolution (2012): A buddy ties his meth addict pal up in a cabin in the woods for an involuntary detox, and things get weird in this low-budget meta-horror that’s earned some comparisons to The Cabin in the Woods. Screening in Los Angeles only, although it’s also available on demand on some US cable systems. Resolution official site.
IN DEVELOPMENT:
Spring Breakers (2012): Harmony Korine‘s new movie—which looks like a return to the exploitation roots of his first screenplay, the juvenile delinquency shocker Kids—has released its first official trailer. This project, which features ex-Disney starlets Selena Gomez and Vanessa Hudgens and is being pumped by MTV, looks like it could be Korine’s first ever non-weird directorial effort, but we’re sure he’ll slip something strange in there. It’s hitting theaters this spring, naturally. Spring Breakers official site.
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NEW ON DVD:
Dead Sushi (2012): Noboru Iguchi (The Machine Girl, RoboGeisha) makes 3-4 absurd, gory horror comedies per year. This one involves killer sushi (not “really good” sushi, but sushi that must be kickboxed into submission before it can be sampled). Buy Dead Sushi
The Paperboy (2012): A reporter investigates a death row case; somehow, this causes Nicole Kidman and John Cusack to have psychic sex (?) We’re cautiously adding this one to our watchlist after Stephen Garrett of the New York Observer called it an “off the rails… nut-bar melodrama” in an article encouragingly titled Cannes Gets Weird. Buy The Paperboy 
Pina (2011): Read our capsule review. Criterion picks up Wim Wenders‘ documentary tribute to avant-garde choreographer Pina Bausch, which has lots of weird arty dancing. Buy Pina (Criterion Collection)
NEW ON BLU-RAY:
Ivan’s Childhood (1962): Three Soviet officers care for a young boy who is used as a spy during WWII. Andrei Tarkovsky‘s first movie is not as weird as his later science fiction work, but it does have famous dream sequences. Criterion upgrades their DVD edition to Blu-ray. Buy Ivan’s Childhood (Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray]
The Paperboy (2012): See description in DVD above. This package includes a DVD as well, along with the now-ubiquitous “digital copy.” Buy The Paperboy [Blu-ray]
Pina (2011): See description in DVD above. Includes a Blu-ray 3D alongside the normal disc for those few who can play such discs. Buy Pina (3D Blu-ray + Blu-ray Combo Pack) (Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray]
FREE (LEGITIMATE RELEASE) MOVIES ON YOUTUBE:
#Whoreship Movie (2012): You may have seen a bizarre viral music video called “TH3R3S R3ALLY NO 1 LYKE ME,” featuring a girl in pasties writhing, eating pizza and sitting in a bloody bathtub while performing an arrhythmic, amelodic sex rap. This is sort of an improvised, feature-length expansion of that concept, featuring half-nude “star” Labana Babylon explaining her free love philosophy accompanied by a host of el-cheapo psychedelic effects. It’s worth seeing just for the opening “LYKE ME” video, although the whole thing gets tiresome at almost an hour long. This is what happens when you give a neohippie stripper with a goddess complex access to an editing suite and all the Moroccan hashish she can inhale; it’s really weird (and NSFW). Watch #Whoreship Movie free on YouTube.
What are you looking forward to? If you have any weird movie leads that I have overlooked, feel free to leave them in the COMMENTS section.