The March Mad Movie Madness elimination tournament goes into high gear as we enter the round of 64: 32 films will advance towards their goal of being named 366 readers’ favorite weird movie, and 32 will finish as also-rans.

There will be hard choices, but remember: the losers in this round will still easily finish in the top 100 of all the 366 Canonically Weird movies. Not bad.

In terms of drama, this round is highlighted by a Miyazaki v. Miyazaki knockout match (actually, even though Howl’s Moving Castle and Spirited Away were both highly seeded, we’re a little surprised that neither were upset in the two preceding rounds). We predict that the most hotly contested matchups this round will be Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas vs. Suspiria and Brazil vs. Mulholland Drive: will Terry Gilliam be able to get a movie into the round of 32?

You can see the results and progress of the tournament here: https://challonge.com/tsut4018 (note that this link is just for viewing results. You must vote using the forms below.)

You may vote once every 24 hours. This round closes at midnight, EST March 29.

Get to voting below!

Continue reading MARCH MAD MOVIE MADNESS TOURNAMENT, ROUND OF 64 →

Our weekly look at what’s weird in theaters, on hot-off-the-presses DVDs and Blu-rays (and hot off the server VODs), and on more distant horizons…

Trailers of new release movies are generally available at the official site links.

IN THEATERS (LIMITED RELEASE):

Out of Blue (2018): A female cop investigating the death of an astrophysicist gets sucked into a mindbending quantum mystery. Early notices have been mixed, but the L.A. Times‘ Justin Chang praised its “low-key Lynchian weirdness.” Out of Blue official site.

Relaxer (2018): Read Giles Edwards’ List Candidate review. Joel Potrykus‘ minimalist tale of a slacker challenged to set a Pac Man world record without moving from his couch gets the usual limited release from Oscilloscope Labs. Relaxer official site.

CERTIFIED WEIRD (AND OTHER) REPERTORY SCREENINGS:

The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975). We won’t list all the screenings of this audience-participation classic separately. You can use this page to find a screening near you.

• Baltimore, MD, 3/27 – Mandy (2018). At the Senator.
• Kansas City, MO, 3/27 – The Devils (1971). At the Stray Cat Film Center.
• Kansas City, MO, 3/28 – Branded to Kill (1967). At the Stray Cat Film Center.
• Los Angeles, CA, 3/23-24 –Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) with  Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life (1983) (double feature). At the New Beverly Cinema.
• Nashville, TN, 3/23 (midnight) – House [Hausu] (1977). At the Belcourt.
• New York City, NY, 3/22-23 – Trash Humpers (2009). At the Metrograph.
• New York City, NY, 3/22-24 – Pierrot le Fou (1965). At IFC Center.
• New York City, NY, 3/22-3/23 (midnights) – Mulholland Drive (2001). At IFC Center.
• New York City, NY, 3/24-25 – Gummo (1997). At the Metrograph.
• Oakland, CA, 3/22 – Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010). At the New Parkway Theater.
• Toronto, Ont., Canada, 3/24 – Cemetery Man [Dellamorte Dellamore] (1994). At the Royal.

FREE (LEGITIMATE RELEASE) MOVIES ON TUBI.TV:

Donnie Darko (2001): Read the Canonically Weird entry! As we speak, Richard Kelly‘s messed-up, convoluted, 80s-as-hell time-travel cult classic is battling with Pan’s Labyrinth to move on to the round of 64 in our Mad Movie March Madness tournament; maybe this free screening will push Donnie over the edge? Watch Donnie Darko free on Tubi.tv.

WHAT’S IN THE PIPELINE: Next week we’ll enter the round of 64 of our March Mad Movie Madness tournament (as of this writing, there’s still time to vote in part 1 and part 2 of the round of 128).

We will also have two or three reviews, but we’re keeping the titles secret for now (because we’re not quite sure what will be ready).

Onward and weirdward!

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.

The grand March Mad Movie Madness tournament marches on, with another 32 contests starting today. This round will cut the field down from 128 to 64.

There will be hard choices, but remember: the losers in this round will still finish in the top half of all the 366 Canonically Weird movies.

The big news in this round are Charlie Kaufman vs. Charlie Kaufman (as Being John Malkovich faces Synecdoche, New York) and Buñuel vs. Buñuel (for weird nerds, Un Chien Andalou vs. The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie is a Surrealism vs. Neosurrealism grudge match). If you’re looking for even more drama, there’s a classic early vs. Kubrick vs Lynch battle as Eraserhead squares off against A Clockwork Orange (!) WIll Alex du Large be able to muster some of the old ultraviolence against “Heavenly” Henry Spencer?

You can see the results and progress of the tournament here: https://challonge.com/tsut4018 (note that this link is just for viewing results. You must vote using the forms below.)

Vote on part 1 of the round of  128 here. (Closes March 22).

You may vote once every 24 hours. This round closes at midnight, EST March 23.

Get to voting below!

Continue reading MARCH MAD MOVIE MADNESS TOURNAMENT, ROUND OF 128 (PART 2) →

And we’re back! The grand March Mad Movie Madness tournament marches on, with another 32 contests starting today. This round will cut the field down from 128 to 64.

There will be hard choices, but remember: the losers in this round will still finish in the top half of all the 366 Canonically Weird movies.

Spotlighted matches in this round: Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life (1983) vs. Spirited Away (2001) (two very well-known movies that are not “traditionally” weird; could set up a Hayao Miyazaki with Howl’s Moving Castle grudge match in the next round); Repulsion vs. Last Year at Marienbad (this could be a 1960s black and white art movie championship game); It’s Such a Beautiful Day vs. The Hourglass Sanatorium (two very different, but equally obscure, movies; we have no idea whether stick-figure animation will beat Polish Surrealism).

You can see the results and progress of the tournament here: https://challonge.com/tsut4018 (note that this link is just for viewing results. You must vote using the forms below.)

You may vote once every 24 hours. This round closes at midnight, EST March 22.

We’ll start the second part of the round of 128 tomorrow. March 19, and close voting on the 23rd.

Get to voting below!

Continue reading MARCH MAD MOVIE MADNESS TOURNAMENT, ROUND OF 128 (PART 1) →

Our weekly look at what’s weird in theaters, on hot-off-the-presses DVDs and Blu-rays (and hot off the server VODs), and on more distant horizons…

Trailers of new release movies are generally available at the official site links.

IN THEATERS (LIMITED RELEASE):

Knife + Heart (2018): A producer of gay porn films becomes obsessed with recreating a series of murders in hopes of winning back her lesbian lover. From Yann Gonzalez, this queer slasher/giallo pic sounds fairly unclassifiable, with strong hints of weirdness. Knife + Heart U.S. distributor site.

Starfish (2019): Read our review! A slow rollout for this metaphorical psychological horror about a woman facing the apocalypse alone begins this week with a couple of dates in NYC, with scattered screenings across the country. Starfish official site.

NEW ON HOME VIDEO:

Piercing (2018): A man plots to thrill-kill an escort, but she turns the tables as things turn surreal. Starring Christopher Abbot and Mia Wasikowska and directed by Nicolas “Eyes of My Mother” Pesce, (adapting a Ryû “Audition” Murakami novel), this one almost escaped our notice, but we’re planning on nabbing a review. On DVD, Blu-ray and VOD. Buy Piercing

..

CERTIFIED WEIRD (AND OTHER) REPERTORY SCREENINGS:

The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975). We won’t list all the screenings of this audience-participation classic separately. You can use this page to find a screening near you.

• Chicago, IL, 3/15 (midnight) & 3/19 – Trash Humpers (2009). At the Music Box Theatre.
• Dallas, TX, 3/19 – Enter the Void (2009). At the Texas Theatre.
• Denver, CO, 3/19 – Audition [Ôdishon] (1999). At the Alamo Drafthouse.
• Los Angeles, CA, 3/15 (midnight) – Evil Dead II (1987). At the Nuart Theatre.
• Los Angeles, CA, 3/16 – Repo Man (1984) with Tombstone Rashomon (2017) (double feature), with director Alex Cox in attendance. At the Egyptian Theatre.
• Los Angeles, CA, 3/19 – Gummo (1997) with Julien Donkey-Boy (1999) (double feature), with Harmony Korine in attendance. At the Egyptian Theatre.
• Los Angeles, CA, 3/20 – Trash Humpers (2009) with Spring Breakers (2012), with Harmony Korine in attendance. At the Egyptian Theatre.
• Minneapolis, MN, 3/15-3/16 (midnights) – Vertigo (1958). At the Uptown Theatre.
• New York City, NY, 3/16-3/16 (midnights) – Eraserhead (1977). At IFC Center.
• Portland, OR, 3/16 – Fantastic Planet [La Planète Sauvage] (1973). At the Hollywood Theatre.
• San Francisco, CA, 3/20 – Altered States (1980). At the Alamo Drafthouse.
• Tuscon, AZ, 3/20 – Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004), introduced by Stuart Hameroff, MD, Director of the University of Arizona’s Center for Consciousness Studies. At the Loft.

FREE MOVIES ON TUBI.TV:

Beyond the Black Rainbow (2010): Read the Canonically Weird entry! Explore the mysteries of the sinister, New Age-y Arboria Institute in Panos Cosmatos‘ psychedelic debut film. Watch Beyond the Black Rainbow free on Tubi.tv.

WHAT’S IN THE PIPELINE: The March Mad Movie Madness tournament will kick into another round next week as we will winnow the field from 128 weird movies all the way down to a manageable 64 contestants, and even start to take it down to 32. In the midst of all that voting and tallying, we’ll continue bringing you reviews: Pete Trbovich goes giallo for All the Colors of the Dark (1972), Shane Wilson raids the old reader-suggested review queue for the 80s campfest The Perils of Gwendoline in the Land of the Yik-Yak, and Giles Edwards looks at the “other” weird Nicolas Cage movie of 2018, the overlooked Between Worlds. Onward and weirdward!

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.