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.

DVR ALERT – (Turner Classic Movies, Sat, Jan. 30, 2:00 AM EST):

Some Call It Loving (1973): Read El Rob Hubbard’s review. Sexy fairy tale about a man who buys a sleeping beauty sideshow attraction at a carnival and takes her home to his love nest. Is TCM stalking us for suggestions or what? Some Call It Loving post at Movie Morlocks.

SCREENINGS – (New York City, IFC Center, Fri-Sat. Jan 29-30):

Videodrome (1983): Read the Certified Weird entry! David Cronenberg‘s video nightmare on the big screen at the witching hour. You’ll be hailing the New Flesh… Videodrome at IFC Center.

SCREENINGS – (New York City, Lincoln Center, Tues. Feb 2):

The Science of Sleep (2006): Read the Certified Weird entry! Not sure what this has to do with Groundhog Day, but Lincoln Center’s programmers call it “a surrealist’s delight”. The Science of Sleep at Lincoln Center.

IN DEVELOPMENT:

The Insects (est. 2018): A new project from octogenarian Czech surrealist animator Jan Svankmajer. It will be based on Karel and Josef Čapek’s play “An Insects Life,” combine live action and animation, and be “a very misanthropic film.” It’s been in the works for at least two years. Given that Jan’s last movie, 2010’s Surviving Life (Theory and Practice) still has not earned a U.S. home video release, we despair of ever seeing this one. The Insects Facebook page has a lot of information.

NEW ON DVD:

Chi-Raq (2015): After a child is accidentally gunned down, the woman of Chicago go on a sex-strike to stop gang violence. Spike Lee‘s “Lysistrata”-based hip-hopera isn’t all that weird, by our high standards, but it is crazy and alive; on a slow week you could do a lot worse than a movie that features Samuel L. Jackson as a pimped-out single-man Greek chorus. Buy Chi-Raq.

NEW ON BLU-RAY:

Chi-Raq (2015): See description in DVD above. Buy Chi-Raq [Blu-ray].

Sonny Boy (1989): Two career criminals raise a kidnapped baby to be their murderous accomplice in a fondly-remembered cult movie that’s odder than the synopsis makes it sound. David Carradine plays the entire film in drag. Buy Sonny Boy [Blu-ray].

FREE (LEGITIMATE RELEASE) MOVIES ON YOUTUBE:

Shanks (1974): Read the Certified Weird entry! William Castle directs mime Marcel Marceau in this fairy tale-ish oddity about a mute puppeteer who animates dead bodies and moves them with a remote control. Then the bikers show up. Weirdness results.

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):

Bleak Street (2015): Two aging prostitutes accidentally kill two midget luchadores while trying to steal their earrings in this Mexican oddity based on a true story (!) The New York Times‘ A.O. Scott is both encouraging and discouraging, calling it “willfully weird but, at the same time, not quite weird enough.” Distributor page for La calle de la amargura (Spanish only).

Mojave (2015): A depressed artist wanders into the desert where he meets a strange, violent drifter (Oscar Isaac) who claims to be the Devil. Reviews have been poor, which may explain why it’s being dumped in the January film graveyard. Mojave official site.

Monster Hunt (2015): Chinese import about a cute half-breed bringing peace between the human and monster races. Raman Hui is known as “the Spielberg of Beijing.” No official site; Monster Hunt unofficial (?) Facebook page.

SCREENINGS – (Los Angeles, Cinefamily, Jan 22-28):

Pierrot le Fou (1965) :Pierrot and Marianne flee Paris, pursued by Algerian hit men, in this anarchic early experiment at a road movie from Jean-Luc Godard.  This restored print has been touring select destinations in the U.S. since November (although we just found out about it today). Pierrot le Fou at Cinefamily.

SCREENINGS – (New York City, Videology Bar and Cinema, Saturday, Jan. 23 at Midnight):

Lisztomania (1975): Read the Certified Weird review! With Nazi golems, Richard Wagner as a vampire, a climax aboard a heavenly spaceship, and a giant phallic musical number, this phantasmagorical mock biopic of Franz Liszt is Ken Russell at his ebullient silliest. Lisztomania at Videology Bar and Cinema.

FILM FESTIVALS – Sundance (Park City, UT, Jan 21-31):

The 2016 movie season officially kicks off with Sundance, where a hundred hopeful independent movies, including a few off-the-wall ones, come to vie for a handful of distribution contracts. Recently Sundance added the “Midnight” screening section to add some weirdness to the otherwise lame, tame lineup of dramas about privileged white people and their problems (alternating with imported dramas about underprivileged brown people and their problems). Some of their big name weird movies are far from premieres: Giorgos Lanthimos‘ fest-circuit fave The Lobster and  Apichatpong Weerasethakul‘s sleepy Cemetery of Splendor have been making the rounds for a year now. There’s also a special screening of the soon-in-theaters Anomalisa with a Q&A with co-directors Duke Johnson and Charlie Kaufman. Among the new stuff, here is some of the more adventurous offerings we’ll be tracking:

• 31 – We’re highlighting Rob Zombie’s killer clown horror solely on the basis of the character names: “Father Murder,” “Sex-Head,” “Venus Virgo,” and so on. In the “Midnight” category, screening Jan 23, 24, 27, 30.
• Antibirth – Danny “Oddsac” Perez’s paranoid stoner horror stars Chloë Sevigny and Natasha Lyonne. Plays Jan 25, 26, 28 & 30.
  
• The Greasy Strangler -Director Jim Hosking financed this debut feature about the title character and a disco walking tour after his “G is for Grandad” segment from The ABCs of Death 2 wowed the guys with the purse strings. Jan 22, 23, 26 & 29.
• The Lure – Mermaid sisters join a band and a love triangle in this horror/drama/musical from Poland. Jan. 22, 24, 26, 28, 30.

Sundance Film Festival home page.

FILM FESTIVALS – Slamdance (Park City, UT, Jan 21-28):

Slamdance is Sundance’s punkier, sometimes weirder little brother, a low-budget alternative to the mid-budget institution.

• Director’s Cut – This crowdfunded comedy bills itself as “the ultimate ‘meta movie'”; written by and starring magician Penn Gillette, directed by Adam Rifkin.

Slamdance official site.

NEW ON DVD:

Luther the Geek (1990): Cult slasher movie about a killer geek with razor-sharp dentures who spends the entire movie clucking like a chicken. Sick and different, at least. Buy Luther the Geek [DVD/Blu-ray combo].

Nightmare Weekend (1986): A scientist turns co-ed nymphomaniacs into mutant killers; there’s also a telepathic hand puppet. Vinegar Syndrome proudly describes it as “among the weirdest and most jaw droppingly absurd horror films of the 1980s.” Buy Nightmare Weekend [DVD/Blu-ray combo].

NEW ON BLU-RAY:

Luther the Geek (1990): See description in DVD above. Combo pack only, neither the DVD nor Blu-ray is being offered by itself. Buy Luther the Geek [DVD/Blu-ray combo].

Nightmare Weekend (1986): See description in DVD above. Like Luther the Geek, this one comes in a combo pack only. Buy Nightmare Weekend [DVD/Blu-ray combo].

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.

First, a little bad news: citing a scheduling conflict, Chris Rock has decided not to host the 6th annual Academy Awards. (Spike Lee says he is free that night, but we felt awkward about him hosting since we didn’t nominate Chi-Raq). For this reason, and many others, we will not be having a telecast this year. Instead, results of the race will be announced the way they always are: right here on 366 Weird Movies, a few hours before the Academy Awards ceremony begins in Los Angeles (or wherever they host that thing).

Although the editors of 366 Weird Movies select the nominees from the pool of available movies, the Awards themselves are a naked popularity contest and do not necessarily reflect either the artistic merit or intrinsic weirdness of the films involved. The Weirdcademy Awards are tongue in cheek and for fun only. Ballot-stuffing is a frequent occurrence. Please, no wagering.

The Weirdcademy Awards are given to the Weirdest Movie, Actor, Actress and Scene of the previous year, as voted by the members of the Weirdcademy of Motion Picture Arts and Weirdness.

Who makes up the Weirdcademy, you ask? Membership is open to all readers of 366 Weird Movies. The rules for joining the Weirdcademy of Motion Picture Arts and Weirdness are as follows. To officially join the Weirdcademy, locate an official online ballot (such as the one below) and hover your mouse pointer over the radial button representing the choice of movie you would like to see win any award in any category. Then, simply depress the left button of your mouse to make your selection. Selections made using the right mouse button will be disregarded, and you will be forced to reapply. If your application for membership is approved, a dot will appear next to your choice. You are not done with the application procedure yet, so continue reading. To be certified as a voting member of the Weirdcademy, at some point subsequent to making your selection, you must navigate your mouse button to the box marked “vote.” Now, again depress your left mouse button to confirm your membership as a voting member of the Weirdcademy.

(Vote as many times as you like, but only once per day, please. We’ll keep voting open until February 28 at 1:00 PM EST, so we can announce our results before the Academy Awards and steal their thunder).

There is no requirement that you’ve have to actually see all the movies in any category before voting.

Be sure to also vote for Weirdest Short Film of the Year. To watch all five nominees and to cast your vote, please click here.

Without further delay, here are the nominees for the 2015 Weirdcademy awards:

Continue reading YOUR VOTE DETERMINES THE WINNERS OF THE 6TH ANNUAL WEIRDCADEMY AWARDS →

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.

SCREENINGS – (New York City, Lincoln Center,  Friday, 1/15 at 9:00 PM):

The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976): Read Andreas Stoehr’s review! Lincoln Center’s Walter Reade theater hosts this last-minute free (!) screening of Nicolas Roeg‘s science fiction fantasia to celebrate the legacy of the late, great David Bowie. NYC weirdos with no weekend plans may want to try to make it. The Man Who Fell to Earth at Lincoln Center.

SCREENINGS – (New York City, Videology Bar and Cinema, Saturday, 1/16 at Midnight):

Trash Humpers (2009): Read the Certified Weird review! Clearly, the best way to watch Harmony Korine‘s aggressively transgressive low-budget lark about viscous old people humping trash is at a bar. Trash Humpers at Videology Bar and Cinema.

NEW ON DVD:

Flutter (2011): A dog track gambler is suckered into increasingly surreal bets with a mysterious new female bookie. Never heard of this one before, but two out of three Amazon reviewers currently refer to it as “weird” (while the third simply calls it “creepy”). Buy Flutter.

“Out 1” (1971/1974): Jacques (Celine and Julie Go Boating) Rivette’s rarely seen opus: a byzantine, confusing twelve-hour film (divided into 8 episodes) about rival experimental theater groups and an overarching conspiracy. This box set also includes Out 1: Spectre, the four-hour theatrical edit of the film and a feature length documentary, spread across six Blu-rays and seven DVDs, along with a thick booklet of essays and criticism. Buy “Out 1 (Limited Edition Box Set)”.

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead (1990): Tom Stoppard directs the film adaptation of his own play focusing on two minor characters from “Hamlet,” depicted as bumbling rakes wandering through a artificial world that resembles Samuel Beckett more than Shakespeare. This Image Entertainment “25th Anniversary” release is not remastered but has an extended interview with Stoppard as a bonus. Buy Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead.

NEW ON BLU-RAY:

The Bed Sitting Room (1969): Read our review! Richard Lester‘s vision of an absurd apocalypse makes it to Blu-ray for the first time (in the U.S.A.), but unfortunately without much in the way of extra features. Buy The Bed Sitting Room (1969) [Blu-ray].

Bolero (1984)/Ghosts Can’t Do It (1989): In the 1980s, director John Derek took his “10” wife Bo and slapped her into a couple of absurdly bad softcore “erotic” features. Bolero featured Bo as a virgin (!) who has to travel the world to find someone to sleep with her (!!), while the even dumber (!!!) Ghosts found Bo street-testing male bodies for her dear departed husband (Anthony Quinn!!!!) to possess. Buy Bolero/Ghosts Can’t Do It [Blu-ray].

How I Won the War (1967): An incompetent British officer gets most of his squad killed while trying to set up a cricket pitch behind enemy lines in this anti-war satire co-starring John Lennon. Part of a Kino Lorber Richard Lester dump that also includes The Bed Sitting Room (above) and the more conventional sex comedy The Knack (and How to Get It). Buy How I Won the War (1967) [Blu-ray].

“Out 1” (1971/1974): See description in DVD above. Buy “Out 1 (Limited Edition Box Set)”.

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead (1990): See description in DVD above. Buy Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead [Blu-ray].

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.