In just a few hours, the telecast of the Oscars (or, as we refer to them, the “Weirdcademy Awards for squares”) will begin. We are happy to steal the Academy’s Thunder by announcing cinema’s weirdest winners of 2015.
In the category of “Weirdest Short Film,” the winner by the narrowest of margins (2 votes) was Zachary Heinzerling‘s portrait of painter Hugh Hayden, “Hugh the Hunter.”
(Please note: Don Hertzfeldt‘s excellent “World of Tomorrow” was not available to us when our 2015 shortlist was composed, and therefore was not eligible for the preceding award).
In the category of “Weirdest Scene,” the Weirdcademy Award goes to The Forbidden Room for the number where a digitally scrambled lounge singer croons about “The Final Derriere.”
In the category of “Weirdest Actress,” the Award goes to Chiara D’Anna as a lesbian submissive, seen here engulfed in a blizzard of moths in The Duke of Burgundy.
In the category of “Weirdest Actor,” the Award goes to Pit Bukowski, in the title role in Der Samurai, for putting on a dress and acting like Klaus Kinski‘s grandson.
And with a commanding 40% of the overall vote in a ten movie field, the award for Weirdest Movie of 2015 goes to The Forbidden Room, Guy Maddin‘s telescoping narrative experiment centered around imaginary lost films.
Thanks to all members of the Weirdcademy, and see you again next year!
Our weekly look at what’s weird in theaters, on hot-off-the-presses DVDs, and on more distant horizons…
IN DEVELOPMENT:
Alice Through the Looking Glass (May 2016): Disney’s first Alice reboot movie was absolutely tasteless and horrifying, but made it rain for the Mouse. This sequel, which involves Alice trying to rescue a kidnapped Mad Hatter (groan), again looks to have little to do with the source material. That would not be a problem if they replaced it with an interesting story, but this looks to be another un-magical, dull-witted action/fantasy aimed at kids who don’t know any better. At least Tim Burton is spared the embarrassment of working on this one, as Muppets director James Bobin helms. Mia Wasikowska, Johnny Depp, and the head of Helena Bonham Carter all return, and Linda Woolverton, who gave the corpse of Lewis Carrol many restless nights with her blasphemous reimagining of Wonderland, again handles the hack screenwriting duties. This is going to blow monumentally, though of course we’re keeping an open mind. Alice Through the Looking Glass official site.
Kingdom of Shadows (Autumn 2016): We’ve mentioned the new project from Daniel Fawcett and Clara Pais—a a retelling of the Book of Genesis “[i]nspired by dreams and early silent cinema”—before, but we wanted to point you to the first images from the film, incorporated as classic-looking posters. Kingdom of Shadows first images.
Mindörökké [For Ever] (2016?): Taxidermia‘s György Pálfi is back with an adaptation of a post-apocalyptic novel. Little else is known about the project. Palfi is also working on an English-language thriller called The Voice, about a Hungarian journalist searching for his lost father (who may have been abducted by U.S. intelligence). This latter work sounds like it may be more conventional, but Palfi has yet to make a movie aimed at mainstream audiences. Mindörökké article at Ioncinema.
Children Shouldn’t Play with Dead Things (1972): Six friends raise the dead in this horror/comedy with one of the all-time great titles. From Bob Clark, the single most uneven director in cinema history (with everything from Porky‘s to A Christmas Story to Baby Geniuses on his resumé). It’s in our reader-suggested review queue. Buy Children Shouldn’t Play with Dead Things [Blu-ray].
Medea (1969): Scorned by Jason after she helps him steal the Golden Fleece, the sorceress Medea exacts a terrible revenge. Pier Paolo Pasolini retells the Greek legend in his typically outrageous-yet-quiet style. Watch Medea free on SnagFilm.
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.
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 at the official site links.
IN THEATERS (LIMITED RELEASE):
Embrace of the Serpent (2015): The story follows two European explorers, separated by decades but united by a common guide, who travel to the Amazon in search of a hallucinogenic healing plant. Colombia’s official entry in the Academy Awards is a Best Foreign Language Film finalist; the BBC implies that it’s too weird to win. Embrace of the Serpent official site.
FILM FESTIVALS – Film Comment Selects (New York City, Lincoln Center, Feb. 17-24):
Each year, the venerable journal Film Comment curates an international selection of overlooked films, both new releases and revivals. This year there is an accidental poignancy in their selections, as they chose to honor Andrzej Zulawski with a four film series (including the American debut of Cosmos, his latest). The Polish cinema outlaw, known on these shores mostly for the overheated psychosexual monstrosity Possession, died of cancer at age 75 on the very day the festival began. The organizers posted a complimentary tribute to the man’s work before he passed, but this mini-retrospective of some of his most insane and confrontational works is an even more appropriate way to pay respects.
Cosmos (2015) – Andrzej Zulawski‘s first film in 15 years is a metaphysical farce about a law school flunkout vacationing in a strange house. Tonight, Fri. Feb 29 (standby only).
The Devil [Diabel] (1972) – An 18th century Polish nobleman is groomed as a killer by a mysterious diabolic man. Saturday, Feb. 20.
Film (1965)/Notfilm (2015) – Film is playwright Samuel Beckett‘s lone attempt to make a work of experimental cinema (starring Buster Keaton); Notfilm is a documentary about the making of Film (which, at 130 minutes, is almost six times the length of its subject). Screens Tuesday, Feb. 23 and includes a Q&A session with doc director Ross Lipman.
On the Silver Globe (1988) – Zulawski’s strange and cursed visionary science fiction epic, about Earth refugees who set up a new society on a distant planet and quickly ruin things, was filmed in the late 70s and partially destroyed by a suspicious Polish government before being restored in the 80s. Saturday, Feb. 20.
The Third Part of Night (1971) – Read El Rob Hubbard’s review of Zulawski’s weird WWII debut. Screening tonight after Cosmos (seats available at the time of this writing).
Death by Hanging (1968): A Korean prisoner in Japan is sentenced to die by hanging, but when he survives it throws the bureaucrats charged with overseeing his execution into disarray. The Criterion Collection held this, Nagisa Ôshima‘s immediate followup to the Certified Weird Japanese Summer: Double Suicide, back from it’s “Ôshima‘s Outlaw Sixties” box set so it could give this celebrated Kafkaesque indictment of Japanese racism its own special release (five years later!). Buy Death by Hanging.
A popular Neoconservative blog, Neo-Neocon, linked to our Satyricon review to illustrate a lighthearted, non-partisan entry about fashion at the Grammys. Who says you can’t be a conservative and still appreciate weirdness?
FREE (LEGITIMATE RELEASE) MOVIES ON YOUTUBE:
Masters of the Universe (1987): This fantasy adaptation of a toy franchise is a cult item, but not because its an overlooked classic. Starring a hammy Frank Langella as “Skeletor” and Dolph Lundgren as “He-Man” (Lundgren turned in an authentic performance—he truly makes you believe he’s an expressionless piece of molded plastic). This embed courtesy of Paramount Vault.
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.
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 at the official site links.
IN THEATERS (LIMITED RELEASE):
Nina Forever (2015): The bloody corpse of his deceased girlfriend appears in his bed whenever Rob tries to have sex with his new gal. Reviews for this British sleeper have been 100% positive thus far, which means it gets an ultra-limited release in major U.S. cities only. Nina Forever official site.
SCREENINGS – (Los Angeles, Cinefamily, Feb. 14):
Love Exposure (2008): Read the Certified Weird entry! What better way to spend Valentine’s Day with a weirdly loved one than by watching a four-hour epic black comedy about the romantic obsession of an upskirt photographer? Love Exposure at Cinefamily.
SCREENINGS – (New York City, Spectacle Theater, Feb. 14):
The Red Squirrel (1993): Read the Certified Weird entry! If you’re on the right coast and looking for a movie to take your strange sweetie to, what about this romantic tale of a suicidal Spanish musician who finds a reason to live when he pretends to be the boyfriend of an amnesiac motorcycle crash victim? What could be more romantic, or dangerously stupid? The Red Squirrel at Spectacle Theater.
Seder-masochism (2018?): Nina Paley (Sita Sings the Blues) returns to feature-length films, this time with an irreverent (and, as the title indicates, violent) take on Exodus scored to classic rock tunes, She’ll have a work-in-progress screening on March 1 for anyone who happens to be in Champaign, IL at 7:30 PM on a Tuesday. About 40 minutes of animation should be complete by that time. Seder-masochism updates at ninapaley.com.
NEW ON BLU-RAY:
Lizard in a Woman’s Skin [AKA Schizoid] (1971): A psychedelic giallo about a woman who dreams about killing her downstairs neighbor in a drug-fueled orgy, then wakes to find herself accused of murder. There are many interviews and featurette on this Blu-ray from Mondo Macabro (the film does not appear to be available on DVD at the present time). Buy A Lizard In A Woman’s Skin [Blu-ray].
FREE MOVIES ON SNAGFILM:
Alice in Wonderland (1949): This French/British Alice is a bit creaky in its production values, but that only adds to the charm of its bright Expressionist sets and the uncanny stop-motion White Rabbit. It’s no Neco Z Alenky, but every Alice is weird in her own way. Watch Alice in Wonderland (1949) on SnagFilms.
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.
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 at the official site links.
IN THEATERS (LIMITED RELEASE):
Eisenstein in Guanajuato (2015): The imaginary story of Soviet director Sergei Eisenstein’s ten day trip to Mexico, where he gives in to his homosexual yearnings while gathering material for a movie which is ultimately never made. This fantastic homoerotic biopic sounds like Peter Greenaway‘s attempt to make a Ken Russell movie. Eisenstein in Guanajuato official site.
Stereotypically You (2015): The tagline describes it as a “comedy that follows one man’s hallucination-fueled, post-breakup quest to find new love” and the Rotten Tomatoes summary mentions “surreal hallucinations,” but absolutely no one has reviewed it yet and the trailer looks like it belongs to an original Netflix series. Our expectations are low, but who knows—maybe they’re hiding the weird stuff as a marketing ploy? Stereotypically You official site.
SCREENINGS – (Nitehawk Theater, Friday & Saturday, Feb 5 & 6 [just after midnight]):
Evangelion 3.33 (2012): Read Alex Kittle’s review. For some reason, it took four years to release the third part of this planned quadrilogy about giant post-apocalyptic battlebots on home video, and no word yet on when the finale (which should be completely off-the-rails, if it follows the pattern set by the original anime) is supposed to arrive. Buy Evangelion 3.33: You Can (Not) Redo.
Highway to Hell (1991): A bride-to-be is snatched by a minion of Satan and taken to Hell to be Lucifer’s moll; her lover follows. This oddball comedy (with jokes reminiscent of the Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker movies) contain many budget cameos (including Gilbert Gottfried as Hitler) and is a minor cult favorite. Buy Highway to Hell (1991).
Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet (2014): his anthology of animations inspired by the popular works of the Lebanese poet is noteworthy because of the talents involved: Tomm Moore, Joann Sfar, Nina Paley, and Bill Plympton are among the animators each handling a segment. The framing device involves a political prisoner who dispenses wisdom in the form of poems. Buy Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet.
Night on the Galactic Railroad (1985): Two kittens take a ride on a railroad through the stars in this dreamlike children’s film. We thought this sounded familiar; it’s in our reader-suggested review queue (under the title Night on the Galactic Express). Buy Night on the Galactic Railroad [Blu-ray].
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.