A 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):

The Oregonian (2011): Read our capsule review.  Calvin Reeder’s surreal horror debut finally sees a very limited release: although it will be seen in about ten cities across the country, most of those are one night only screenings.  The show begins Sept. 23 at Cinefamily in Los Angeles.  Not a great movie, in our judgement, but it’s weirdness is undeniable.  The Oregonian page at Cinemad.

Shit Year (2010):  An aging, retiring actress relives her past in an impressionistic melange.  We’re not fans of the calling-attention-to-itself title, but the trailer looks very good, and it’s nice to see Ellen Barkin again.  Opening at IFC Center in New York with a playdate in Dallas to follow, and then presumably off to DVD.  Shit Year official site.

NEW ON DVD:

Blue Sunshine (1978): A bad batch of LSD turns Stanford grads into bald killer zombies in this off-the-wall horror/thriller.  The product description says it’s “packed with bonus material for fans,” but doesn’t say what that material is (though one feature reportedly is an interview with director Jeff Lieberman). Buy Blue Sunshine.

Dead End Drive-In (1986): Australian kids go to the drive-in where the authorities steal their tires while the teens are making out and imprison them behind barbed wire—but at least they leave the concession stand open.  It’s a bizarre premise for a B-movie version of “Lord of the Flies” that drive-in critic Joe Bob Briggs described as “Mildly Perturbed Max Beyond Thunderdome.” This release is part of Image Entertainment’s “Midnight Madness” series. Buy Dead End Drive-In.

Nightbreed (1990): Strange Clive Barker scenario about a possible serial killer who flees to a land of monsters underneath a graveyard, featuring David Cronenberg in a rare acting role. The bad news about this release is that it’s being relegated to Warner Archive’s burn-on-demand graveyard; the death knell for any future serious release. You might consider the video-on-demand download for half the price of the DVD-R, if you can stand watching movies on your computer/I-whatever.  Buy Nightbreed.

The Strange Case of Angelica [O Estranho Caso de Angélica] (2010):  A romantic ghost story about a photographer who sees the dead when he looks through his camera, from 101-year old (!) director Manoel de Oliveira.  The disc contains a goodly number of bonus features, including de Oliveira’s first movie—a 1931 silent.  Buy The Strange Case of Angelica.

The Stuff (1985):  Read our capsule review.  This “Midnight Madness” release is a downgrade from Anchor Bay’s out-ot-print-but-widely-available version, which featured a Larry Cohen commentary track, but it’s also much cheaper (under $10 at this writing). Buy The Stuff.

NEW ON BLU-RAY:

Casino Royale (1967):  Not the “serious” 2006 Bond adaptation, this is an “only-in-the-1960s” experimental spy spoof made by six different directors with a once-in-a-generation cast including David Niven, Peter Sellers, Ursula Andress, Orson Welles, Woody Allen, William Holden, etc.  The plot does not make any sense. Buy Casino Royale (1967) [Blu-ray].

“Sophia Loren: Award Collection” [Boccaccio ’70 (1962)/Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow (1963)/ Marriage Italian Style (1964)/ Sunflower (1970)/ Vittorio D  (2009)]:  A strange collection, understandably aimed at fans of Ms. Loren (yowza!).  Boccaccio ’70 is the only one of even mild interest to weirdophiles (it’s the anthology film with one by Fellini featuring a 50-foot tall Anita Eckberg, and it is available spearately).  The fifth disc in the set isn’t a Blu-ray, but a DVD, and it doesn’t even feature Loren—it’s a recent documentary on director Vittorio De Sica! Buy “Sophia Loren: Award Collection” [Blu-ray].

The Strange Case of Angelica [O Estranho Caso de Angélica] (2010): See description in DVD above. Buy The Strange Case of Angelica [Blu-ray].

FREE (LEGITIMATE RELEASE) MOVIES ON YOUTUBE:

Sukiyaki Western Django (2007):  Reviews were mixed—although Andrew O’Hehir of Salon did praise it as “hilarious and uniquely weird“—but who can resist the idea of a samurai Spaghetti Western spoof directed by cult provocateur Takashi Miike?  Watch Sukiyaki Western Django free on YouTube.

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.

Next week, we’ll feature reviews of the wordless, mystical experiment Le Quattro Volte (2010), Ingmar Bergman’s medieval death poem The Seventh Seal (1957), and Alfred will cover a couple more avant-garde Mozart stagings with The Dream of Scipione and Ascanio in Alba.  To fill things out, we’ll also post an essay in praise of  the pretentious movie (the publication date is purely coincidental and has nothing to do with the movies chosen for review this week).

Looking for our weekly catalog of weird search terms for the week?  Look no further.  A couple of old friends came back this week: somebody out there is still looking for something “like necrophilia but weirder,” and of course, we still have the lonely searcher seeking that “wierd lumpy movie short.”   We’ll focus on a trio of newcomers to select our Weirdest Search Term of the Week, however.  Second runner up goes to the philosophical question “is it okay to love an object?”  (We think if its strictly Platonic, then yes; if you’re talking carnally, it depends on how hot the object is).  We were impressed enough by the simple search for “absurdism in perfume” to make it our first runner up.  But the Weirdest Search term of the Week, by a unanimous vote, was “hapy valentine guillotine sex,” which took last week’s honorable mention search for “guillotine women art” and upped the weirdness ante to championship levels. Congratulations to all who competed, and for the losers, weirder luck next week!

NEPOTISM CORNER:  Yes, there are people out there making YouTube videos with the stated aim of being featured on 366 Weird Movies.  Unfortunately, they are related by blood to the owners and operators of this website, and therefore it would be unfair to spotlight them without full disclosure.  Still, how can you look at the following footage and not be thrilled at the prospect of the upcoming generation of burgeoning absurdists?

Remember, with proper guidance you too can twist and pervert inspire your sons and daughters, nieces and nephews to make their own short films about egg-laying beatniks!

Here’s the massive reader suggested review queue, for those of you who follow such things: The Seventh Seal (next week!); Kairo [AKA Pulse]; Primer; 200 Motels; Private Parts (1972); Saddest Music in the World; Mulholland  Drive; The American Astronaut; Blood Tea Continue reading WHAT’S IN THE PIPELINE →

A 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):

The Mill and The Cross:  Artist/director Lech Majewski brings Pieter Brueghel’s sprawling canvas “The Way to Calvary”—which set the Crucifixion in the painter’s own 16th century Flanders—to life, using CGI to overlap real actors with the artwork.  Maybe it’s not all that weird, but it’s certainly not normal.  Rutger Hauer stars as Brueghel and becomes the first actor ever to portray a Flemish painter and a hobo with a shotgun in the same year.  Opening this week at the Film Forum in NYC with scattered screenings  through the fall.  The Mill and the Cross official site.

The Weird World of Blowfly:  Documentary focusing on Clarence Reid, better known as his alter-ego Blowfly, the proto-rapper and x-rated auteur of 1970s party albums packed with brilliantly brain-dead song parodies like “Spermy Night In Georgia” and “My Baby Keeps Farting In My Face.”  Hey, it’s got “weird” right there in the title!  Opening this week in New York, with L.A. and other major cities to follow.  The Weird World of Blowfly official site.

IN DEVELOPMENT:

Gallino:  We mentioned this upcoming project last week (you can see the teaser trailer in this post), but we were unaware at the time that the project is still seeking funding.   Like many independent features, Gallino is reaching out to fans for fundraising via indiegogo.  Listen to their plea here.  If you have deep pockets, you can even be an extra and a guest producer!

NEW ON DVD:

Hesher (2010): A sociopathic arsonist and anarchist takes up residence in a family’s garage after the mother dies in a car accident; is he real, or just a symbol of discord?  Starring Joseph Gordon Levitt, Devin Brcohu, Rainn Wilson, Piper Laurie and Natalie Portman (who also produced). Buy Hesher.

Mystery Science Theater 3000: “Manos” The Hands of Fate:  Read our review of “Manos”.  We love MST3K, and we “love” (well, “admire”… well, “are fascinated by”?)  Manos, and they turn out to be two great tastes that go great together: episode 424 consistently ranks among the top 3 episodes in fan polls, and has now been released on DVD three different times (as a single disc, packaged with Santa Claus Conquers the Martians as half of Rhino’s “Essentials” set, and this 2 disc extravaganza).  This set includes the uncut version of the film together with the riffed version, the mini-documentary “Hotel Torgo,” bonus shorts (including both parts of “Hired!” and an original comedy short by Larry “Lost Skeleton of Cadavra” Blamire), and cast reflections on the episode, making it an essential disc for “Manos” and MST3K fans alike. Buy Mystery Science Theater 3000: “Manos” the Hands of Fate.

Le Quattro Volte (2010):  The four stage journey of a shepherd’s soul through the afterlife, told according to one of geeky Greek cult leader Pythagoras’ lesser-known theorems.  It’s interesting that Lorber is releasing this under its Italian title and not as The Four Times; they must realize they’re not going to trick Redbox renters into picking up a movie about a dying Italian shepherd who slowly turns into a rock.  Buy Le Quattro Volte.

Trainspotting (1996):  Danny Boyle’s cult hit about terminally bored Scottish heroin addicts isn’t defiantly weird, but contains some unforgettable hallucination sequences (feel like trip into the toilet, anyone?)  This re-issue adds a wealth of supplementary material unavailable on the previous bare-bones release. Buy Trainspotting.

NEW ON BLU-RAY:

3 Women (1977):  Robert Altman‘s dreamlike, surreal vision of three women—Shelley Duvall, Sissy Spacek, and Janice Rule—in an identity crisis gets an upgrade to Blu-ray.  From the Criterion Collection, and including a commentary track by the director. Buy 3 Women (Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray].

The 10th Victim (1965): Celebrity assassin Ursula Andress tries to notch her tenth kill for a future televised version of A Most Dangerous Game; her assignment is to ice suave killer Marcello Mastrioanni.  This campy Italian satire anticipated reality TV, beating movies like The Running Man and Deathrow Gameshow to the punch by two decades; you may notice a scene later parodied in Austin Powers.  Buy The 10th Victim [Blu-ray].

The Frighteners (1996):  Peter Jackson released this horror-comedy about ghosthunter Michael J. Fox inducing a near-death experience so that he could battle spirits in their own realm after his critically successful fantasy-drama Heavenly Creatures.  This one was a flop at the time, but it has drawn a small cult following over the years, though its membership is nowhere near the level of that for Jackson’s transgressive underground hits Bad Taste, Meet the Feebles and Dead-Alive.  Buy The Frighteners [Blu-ray].

Hesher (2010): See description in DVD above. Buy Hesher [Blu-ray].

Le Quattro Volte (2010): See description in DVD above. Buy Le Quattro Volte [Blu-ray].

Trainspotting (1996): See description in DVD above. Buy Trainspotting [Blu-ray].

FREE (LEGITIMATE RELEASE) MOVIES ON YOUTUBE:

The Sky Crawlers [Sukai kurora] (2008):  Latest visually impressive sci-fi anime from Mamoru Oshii, director of Ghost in the Shell, about children who are trained from birth as pilots to fight in an endless dogfight.  Watch The Sky Crawlers free on YouTube.

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.

Hello fellow weirdos!  Next week we’re going to focus on recent releases here at 366 Weird Movies.  We’ll take a mega-look at Mega Python vs. Gatoroid, starring Debbie Gibson’s rear end and Tiffany’s cleavage; we’ll snore our way through the experimental 2010 German sex film Bedways; and we’ll run down a pair of recent movie documentaries—Nightmares in Red, White and Blue and American Grindhouse—-as part of Pussy Goes Grr’s juxtaposition blogathon.  Of course, Alfred will be bring you another avant-garde staging of a Mozart opera from the “M22” series: Claus Guth’s reconstruction of the maestro’s unfinished Zaide.

If you’re reading this post, chances are you’re anxious to discover what our Weirdest Search Term of the Week was.  First off, once again, the recurring term “wierd lumpy movie short” rates nothing more an honorable mention—but keep trying, searcher.  Moving on, while we’ve been expecting the “366” concept to take off with lots of imitators (“366 Bad Movies,” “366 Scary Movies,” etc.), we were not expecting this to be the first copycat site: “366 angels sex.”  We’re constantly seeing searches involving movies we don’t recognize, but would love to see; this week’s winner in that strange subcategory is “short film surreal cannibal perfume karen kills shoots trash.”  The other search subtype that shows up every week, without fail, is the lonely guy who has invented a bizarre personal fetish and assumes the Web is packed with like minded deviants.  This week’s weirdo is looking for “sexy japanese get colonosopy videos.”  And we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention this pair of bizarro searches: “hitler in a pickle” and “guillotine women art.” But our top Weird Search Term of the Week, without a doubt, describes a technique that we’d love to learn, if only it existed: the “frankenstein hypno-handshake.”

Here’s how the reader-suggested review queue stands (many, many more titles after the break, as always): Kairo [AKA Pulse]; The Seventh Seal; Primer; 200 Motels; Private Parts (1972); Saddest Music in the World; Mulholland  Drive; The American Astronaut; Blood Tea Continue reading WHAT’S IN THE PIPELINE →