All posts by Gregory J. Smalley (366weirdmovies)

Gregory J. Smalley founded 366 Weird Movies in 2008 and has served as editor-in-chief since that time. He is a member of the Online Film Critics Society, and his film writing has appeared online in Pop Matters and The Spool.
Miscellanea

ONLINE FILM CRITICS SOCIETY 29TH ANNUAL AWARDS (2025) (WITH OUR VOTES)

3 Comments

The Online Film Critics Society awards for 2025 are in the books. It was a 2-movie race between One Battle After Another and Sinners, with One Battle snapping up the most prestigious categories and Sinners wiping up nearly everything else. It was a terrible season for movies from within our weird movie coverage universe. Universal Language was snubbed completely, and Bugonia was only nominated for Best Actress and Adapted Screenplay, losing both times. Better luck next year, I guess.

As always, despite the occasional levity in my tone, I take my voting responsibility seriously. I do not put forward weird films at the expense of worthier mainstream candidates just because it’s “my thing.” Here is the list of this year’s winners, along with my choices and a touch of personal commentary. I did a decent job of catching movies this year, screening all of the Best Picture and Best Foreign Language candidates, and only skimping on Animation and Documentary categories.

BEST PICTURE

Winner: One Battle After Another

Poster for one battle after another Also nominated (listed ranked in final order of votes): Sinners, Sentimental Value, It Was Just an Accident, The Secret Agent, Marty Supreme, Weapons, No Other Choice, Hamnet, Train Dreams

My vote: Bugonia (not nominated), One Battle After Another (of the nominees)

Comments: I was surprised and disappointed that Bugonia did not finish in the top 10 in the first round of voting (it did make the Academy Awards list). On the other hand, at least we didn’t embarrass ourselves by nominating F1! While not perfect, One Battle After Another was the best option of the slate that was nominated.

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

Still from little amelie of the character of rainWinner: KPop Demon Hunters

Also nominated (in alphabetical order): Arco, Elio, Little Amélie or the Character of Rain, Zootopia 2

My vote: Little Amélie or the Character of Rain

Comments: This is one of the two sections I typically skimp on (the other being documentaries). Of the five nominees, I only saw Arco and the lightly surreal childhood bildungsroman Little Amélie. Amélie got a nomination from me for Best Picture, though, so I have trouble Continue reading ONLINE FILM CRITICS SOCIETY 29TH ANNUAL AWARDS (2025) (WITH OUR VOTES) →

Apocryphally Weird

66*. I’M THINKING OF ENDING THINGS (2020)

1 Comment

366 Weird Movies may earn commissions from purchases made through product links.

“And the sun flicks my eyes—
It was all a pack o’ lies!
I’m awake in a lonely room.

I ain’t gonna dream ’bout her arms no more!
I ain’t gonna leave her alone!
Goin’ outside,
Git myself a bride,
Git me a woman to call my own.”

–“Lonely Room,” Oklahoma!

DIRECTED BY:

FEATURING: , , , , Guy Boyd

PLOT: As a snowstorm approaches, a young woman travels for the first time with her boyfriend Jake to meet his parents, but inwardly she is struggling to work up the courage to end things between them. Strange things happen at Jake’s house: not only is his parent’s behavior awkward, but their ages change before her eyes. Meanwhile, the action frequently cuts to an elderly high school janitor as he makes his rounds; the third act will bring the couple into contact with him.

Still from i'm thinnking of ending things (2020)

BACKGROUND:

  • Based on Ian Reid’s 2016 psychological novel of the same name.
  • An early prestige property for Netflix, who gave it a limited theatrical release in 2020 to qualify for awards season, then kept it locked into their exclusive streaming service.
  • Several of the film’s monologues—including Buckley’s poem, her opinions on John Cassavetes’ A Woman Under the Influence, and Plemmons’ “acceptance” speech— are lifted wholesale from other people’s writings (“Bonedog” by Eva HD, Pauline Kael’s review, and A Beautiful Mind‘s Nobel speech, respectively).
  • The film-within-the-film, a romantic comedy credited to , is fictional. (Zemeckis is thanked in the credits for allowing his name to be attached.)
  • The end credits include a list of the various books, artworks, etc. referenced throughout the film.

INDELIBLE IMAGE: A cartoon pig leads a naked elderly man through the sterile hallways of a high school in the middle of the night. Bloody droplets drop from the animal’s underbelly, staining the newly-shined floor, as he plods along—maggots, he explains, as he is a maggot-infested pig.

TWO WEIRD THINGS: Ice cream in a blizzard; animated maggot-ridden pig leads naked man to awards ceremony

WHAT MAKES IT WEIRD: This labyrinth of awkward interactions, faulty memories, and uncertain identities may just be Charlie Kaufman’s most surreal film.

Original trailer for I’m Thinking of Ending Things

COMMENTS: Someone should take a pencil and catalog how many Continue reading 66*. I’M THINKING OF ENDING THINGS (2020) →