In just a few hours, the telecast of the Oscars (or, as we refer to them, the “Weirdcademy Awards for squares”) will begin. We’re happy to steal the Academy’s Thunder by announcing the winners of 2012 weirdest movies.
In the category of “Weirdest Short Film,” the Weirdcademy Award goes to Andrew Huang for “Solipsist.”
In the category of “Weirdest Scene,” the Weirdcademy Award goes to Holy Motors for the intermission where Denis Lavant strides through a church playing R.L. Burnside’s “Let My Baby Ride” with a full accordion band.
In the category of “Weirdest Actress,” the award goes to Quvenzhané Wallis in Beasts of the Southern Wild for her role as Hushpuppy, the 6-year old pre-orphan who sees prehistoric monsters on the bayou.
In the category of “Weirdest Actor,” the Award goes to Denis Lavant for playing Merde, the fashion model-abducting leprechaun, and ten more roles in Holy Motors.
And in the category of “Weirdest Feature Film,” the award goes to Leos Carax‘ Holy Motors, the movie where Mr. Oscar tools around Paris taking on the role of a leprechaun, accordionist, a chimp’s hubby, and more.
The full voting results can be viewed here (here for short film nominees).
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…
Trailers of new release movies are generally available on the official site links.
IN DEVELOPMENT:
Les Sources Occultes (2013?): This French trailer was dropped off on our Facebook doorstep; it’s from the director of Vampyres (2007) and looks pro. Our French is rusty, but as we read their Facebook page they are seeking inverted transvestites and teenagers inside flowers to serve as extras. Les Sources Occultes Facebook page.
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NEW ON DVD:
Highlander 2: Renegade Version (1991): The first Highlander movie about battling Immortals was a cult hit because of its originality; the sequel is a notoriously confusing and illogical mess that’s a cult movie for the wrong reasons. Roger Ebert called the original cut “hilariously incomprehensible,” but this “Renegade edition” (which has been previously released) purports to make more sense. Buy Highlander 2: Renegade Version.
Repligator (1996): A military experiment turns male soldiers into female nymphomaniacs who turn into alligators when they reach orgasm (!) We don’t know if it’s a “cult classic ripe for rediscovery” as the ad copy claims, but the plot synopsis and the box cover featuring a bikini babe with a gator head makes it worth a mention. With scream queen Brinke Stevens. Buy Repligator.
Small Apartments (2012): A lunatic surrounded by eccentric neighbors (a wannabe stripper, a curmudgeonly artist, a stoner) tries to hide the fact that he’s killed his landlord, while dreaming of escaping to Switzerland. The curious cast is headlined by Matt Lukas (who plays most of the movie in his underwear) and also features Billy Crystal, James Caan, Juno Temple, Johnny Knoxville and Dolph Lundgren. Buy Small Apartments.
Shutterbug (2009): A photographer begins to see spots before his eyes after staring into the sun, then realizes he’s seen into another dimension and takes a Dante-esque trip through New York City looking for an explanation of his vision. This little-seen independent feature makes a surprise appearance on Blu-ray. Buy Shutterbug [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.
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.
SCREENINGS – (Lawrence, KS, Saturday, Feb. 16):
Destination: Planet Negro! (2013): Set in the 1930s, this strange alternate history satire describes what happens when George Washington Carver (!) builds a rocket ship and a robot who speaks like a character from “Amos and Andy,” and Negroes set out to colonize Mars. This is the film’s debut screening. If you scan the credits carefully you will discover the name of 366 Weird Movies contributor Robert Hubbard (L. Rob) as script supervisor, so if there are any continuity errors, you’ll know they’re intentional. Destination: Planet Negro at Liberty Hall.
IN DEVELOPMENT:
The Last Days of Coney Island (in development): Underground cult animator Ralph Bakshi (Fritz the Cat, Coonskin) hasn’t made a feature film in twenty years, but he has released some shorts in that time span. He’s now working on a short set in Coney Island in the tumultuous 1960s, featuring an alcoholic cop and the lover he sent up the river, mixing Bashki’s grotesque animation in his 70s style with psychedelic live action footage. It’s subtitled “Part I,” so presumably it’s part of an intended series. Fans have already pledged $68,000 and he’s trying to raise about $100K more (!) for the seven minute short, with two weeks to go. The Last Days of Coney Island at Kickstarter.
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):
A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III (2013): In a casting stretch, Charlie Sheen plays an obnoxious, hedonistic lout who has misogynistic Walter Mitty-like fantasies that have him fleeing a tribe of busty Native Americans in buckskin bikinis and female assassins from the “Secret Society of Ball Busters.” Directed by Roman Coppola, who co-wrote The Darjeeling Limited and Moonrise Kingdom, this is almost certain to be an embarrassing flop, but what caught our eye was Andrew O’Hehir’s claim that Swan is “one of the strangest and most painful films in recent memory.” A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III‘s Facebook page.
Night Across the Street (2012): An old man remembers incidents from his life—including such suspect reminiscences as his boyhood trip to the movies with Beethoven—and stories are interwoven inside stories. This is the final film of Raoul Ruiz, who died of a lung infection in August 2011 soon after completing the movie. Playing in NYC, and probably not anywhere else. Night Across the Street at Cinema Guild.
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IN DEVELOPMENT:
The Designer (est. 2013): A journalist searches for the missing designer of an addictive new video game in this science fiction movie composed of interlocking short stories. From Graham Reznick (I Can See You), it sounds like a mixture of Short Cuts and Citizen Kane set in the conceptual universe of eXistenZ. The Designer official site.
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NEW ON DVD:
“Bela Lugosi: Scared to Death Collection”: 20 of Lugosi‘s lesser movies, mostly the forgettable ones, with only the public domain White Zombie standing out as a great flick. Still, if you’ve always wanted a copy of Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla, you could buy it in this set and get 19 bonus movies! Buy “Bela Lugosi: Scared to Death Collection”.
Toys in the Attic [Na Pude] (2009): Good toys battle evil toys in this Czech stop-motion animation dubbed for American audiences. This looks like what might result if Pixar hired Jan Svankmajer to remake Toy Story; one reviewer says it “easily earns a capital-W for weird” (he was trying to warn audiences away, but it’s what made us add the flick to our “must see” list)! Ridiculous bit of trivia: the English dubbing was directed by Vivian Schilling, the screenwriter/actress who wrote herself starring roles in the b-movies Soultaker (1990) and Future Shock (1994) and whose only other directorial credit is the instructional video “Teen Yoga.” Buy Toys in the Attic.
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.
WEIRD MOVIE GOSSIP:
Escape from Tomorrow (2013): The synopsis of this debut film—a middle-aged man chasing jailbait chicks through a dystopian Disneyland—put this movie on our Sundance watch list. It’s raising eyebrows with critics for its surrealist originality, and possibly with lawyers as well due to the fact that it was shot guerrilla-style in the Sappiest Place on Earth without permission or permits. Unfounded rumors suggest Disney may seek to suppress the film, although the bad press they’d get from persecuting this little indie effort would far outweigh any damage they’d suffer from its portrayal of the theme park as the Great American Nightmare. We at 366 will certainly mock the Mouse mercilessly should the corporate suits choose to be so petty—that should be enough to deter them. CNN Entertainment has an account of the brewing controversy.
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NEW ON DVD:
“Best of Warner Bros. 100 Film Collection”: Considering the hefty price tag and random selection of titles (not all of which are even from Warner Brothers), this compendium of movies from 1927-2005 seems like a hard-sell for a marketing department, but would make for an instant classic film library for the buyer. Certified Weird movies Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and A Clockwork Orange headline alongside 22 Best Picture winners and some interesting titles like 2001: A Space Odyssey and Natural Born Killers (!). Buy “Best of Warner Bros. 100 Film Collection”.
White Zombie: Read our capsule review. Kino’s remastered edition of the Bela Lugosi horror classic includes two versions of the film–a “raw” version and a “digitally enhanced” version—plus commentary by film historian Frank Thompson and a Lugosi interview. Buy White Zombie.
NEW ON BLU-RAY:
“Best of Warner Bros. 50 Film Collection”: For whatever reason, only half the titles from the DVD collection made it onto the Blu-ray version. Wonka, Clockwork Orange and 2001 all made the cut. Buy “Best of Warner Bros. 50 Film Collection” [Blu-ray].
The Late Mathias Pascal [Feu Mathias Pascal, AKA The Living Dead Man] (1926): A man forges a new life for himself after he is accidentally declared dead; this seldom-seen silent French film reportedly full of dream sequences, camera tricks and expressionist angles. From vintage restorationists Flicker Alley. Buy The Late Mathias Pascal [Blu-ray].
That Obscure Object of Desire: Luis Buñuel‘s final film concerns a man’s obsession for a woman (portrayed by two different actresses); the film’s two Academy Award nominations deeply shamed the Surrealist provocateur and possibly caused him to lose the will to go on working. The Criterion Collection DVD is now out of print but Lions Gate brings a good number of extras to this Blu-ray version. Buy That Obscure Object of Desire [Blu-ray].
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