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We won’t kid you, we want to collect your (non-identifiable, non-personal) data for purposes of deciding what ads to feature on the site. We figure you’re smart enough not to begrudge us the chance to optimize our meager revenue (we try to keep advertizing minimal, unobtrusive, and relevant to weird movie fans’ needs and interests).
But this survey can also serve as an excellent opportunity to discuss the current state of movie delivery technology. For example, some of us in our 40s will only begrudgingly watch a movie on our computer screens if there is no other possible way to see it, and would never consider watching a film on a cell phone. Younger folk may not see that as a problem. There is also the issue of the morality of torrenting. At 366 we do not condone any form of copyright violation, but we recognize that there are different levels of ethics at play here. Downloading a movie that’s playing in theaters now is much different than downloading a movie that is not available in any form otherwise. We hope that, after you’ve finished the survey, we can discuss these sorts of issues in the comments—politely, of course.
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):
Alleluia (2014): A serial murderer meets a lonely woman through a personal ad, and she immediately falls in love and becomes his devoted accomplice. This is at least the fourth retelling of the story of real-life “Lonely Hearts Killers” Martha Beck and Raymond Fernandez, but this one is from New French Extremist Fabrice du Welz and is shot by Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani‘s cameraman, so hopefully this will be the weirdest version of all. Alleluia official site.
SCREENINGS – (Cinfeamily, Los Angeles, CA, Jul 17 & 18):
Alleluia (2014): Speaking of Alleluia (see above), director du Welz will be on hand for screenings at Cinefamily’s Silent Movie Theater on Friday night at 10:30 and Saturday at 9:30 PM. After Saturday’s screening stick around for the midnight showing of…
The Reflecting Skin (1990): Read the Certified Weird entry! Exploding frogs, petrified babies, gasoline drinking and could-be vampires highlight Philip Ridley‘s magnificently surreal first feature film. Shown in a crisp 35mm print.
FILM FESTIVALS – Fantasia (Montreal, CAN., July 14 – Aug 4):
As its name implies, Montreal’s Fantasia Festival originally began as a showcase for fantastic films from Asia; it has since morphed into a major event on the genre cinema calendar, a venue so big that geek event movies like Marvel’s Ant-Man hold special pre-release screenings there. Not that they’ve let mainstream success get to their heads; there’s still more rare weirdness to be found at Fantasia than at just about any film festival on the globe. We make watchlists from Fantasia’s programming, and we’re always saddened when less than half of the most daring films find meaningful distribution in the U.S. Because of the large number of entries, we’re highlighting only films here that are debuting or are totally new to us: we’re not writing up older festival circuit features like The Editor, Full Strike, H., or Kahlil Gibran’s the Prophet again.
Anima State – A killer with a bandaged face goes on a spree in a Pakistani city, and no one seems to notice. Screening Aug. 2.
Assassination Classroom – High school students train to kill a smiley-faced octopus alien. July 17 (tonight, and it’s sold out).
Buddha’s Palm (1982) – A crazy mix of kung fu with a huge dose of Star Wars (including light sabers) from late in the Shaw Brothers cycle; the killer harpists would later show up in Kung Fu Hustle. July 28 & 21.
Cosmodrama – French existential farce about seven scientists who wake up on a spaceship out of a 70s TV show bound for who knows where. Aug 3 & 4.
Crumbs – Ethiopian (yes, Ethiopian) post-apocalyptic black comedy about a deformed man who must defeat Santa Claus (yes, Santa Claus) to find a UFO…. Catch it July 31 or Aug 3.
Deadman Inferno – Aging yakuza seek revenge for generational wrongs on an island that is struck by a zombie plague; just everyday Japanese weirdness. July 25.
Director’s Commentary: Terror of Frankenstein – A movie that supplies fake director’s commentary—that hints at a murder—for the forgotten 1977 horror flick Terror of Frankenstein. July 19.
German Angst – A trio of surreal and transgressive stories about death from Jorg Buttgereit, Andreas Marschall, and Michal Kosakowski. Screens July 18 (that’s tomorrow!) only.
Haruko’s Paranormal Laboratory – Haruoku’s TV comes to life—well, a man with a TV for a head, at least—and she, and the rest of Japan, fall in love with him. July 21 and 25.
Love & Peace – Shion Sono‘s latest (OK, one of the prolific auteur’s three latest), about a giant talking turtle, plays July 26 only.
“Manos”: The Hands of Fate (1966) – The debut of the restored version of the bizarre low-budget anti-classic; we suspect that this plays better with a dirty, scratchy print with missing frames, however. You can judge for yourself tomorrow (July 18).
Meathead Goes Hog Wild – A recently sacked butcher steals meat and tries to hand it out to random people in Chicago. July 20.
Nina Forever – The bloody corpse of his deceased girlfriend appears in his bed whenever Rob tries to have sex with his new gal. August 1.
The Nutcracker 3D – The 1979 Japanese version of “the Nutcraker,” animated by Rankin/Bass, is revamped into 3D to celebrate the 40th anniversary of “Hello Kitty” (??) August 2.
Observance – Australian horror about a grieving man who goes insane when he is hired to stake out a beautiful blonde’s apartment. Observe the world premiere July 19 or catch the encore July 22.
On the White Planet – A boy born with pigmentation is treated as an outcast on his black-and-white planet in this animation from Korea. July 24.
The Reflecting Skin (1990) – Also playing in Los Angeles (see “screenings” above). July 21 in Montreal.
Remake, Remix, Rip-Off: About Copy Culture & Turkish Pop Cinema – Documentary describing the Turkish film industry’s habit of creating goofy knockoffs of Western hits like Star Wars, “Star Trek,” and even a Captain America-Santo crossover. Screens Aug. 4.
Roar (1981) – A gang of lions, leopards and tigers attack African homesteaders in a nonstop barrage of fangs and claws (the danger is very real; over 70 members of the cast and crew were injured making this insane feature). July 17 (that’s today!)
Tag – An unseen force is killing schoolgirls in another Shion Sono provocation. Aug 3.
Teana: 10000 Years Later – Cultural differences may add to the appeal of this Chinese all-CGI 3D action/fantasy spectacle set more than 10,000 years from now. July 18.
Hiroshima Mon Amour (1959): A French woman and a Japanese architect part, sharing what may be unreliable memories in this flashback-riddled nonlinear narrative. Alain Resnais’ debut is considered a monumental classic of world cinema by most, but we consider it a warm-up for Last Year in Marienbad. Buy Hiroshima Mon Amour (Criterion Collection).
“Your Pretty Face Is Going to Hell: Season 1” (2013): Gary, a low-level devil, tries to corrupt enough human souls to earn a diabolical promotion, while being undermined by his intern Claude. We thought this mini-sitcom (15-minute episodes) from the Cartoon Networ’s “Adult Swim” was worth a mention; comes with 2 hours of “uncensored” extras. Buy “Your Pretty Face is Going to Hell: Season 1”.
NEW ON BLU-RAY:
Giuseppe Makes a Movie (2014): Documentary about Giuseppe Andrews’ vulgar, boozy, super-low budget movies, cast with trailer-park residents and the homeless.The Blu-ray (there’s no DVD?) contains the complete Andrews feature film Garbanzo Gas on the second disc. Buy Giuseppe Makes A Movie [Blu-ray].
Some Call It Loving [AKA Sleeping Beauty] (1973): A jazz musician/prince purchases a sleeping beauty from a carnival sideshow. This is the first release from the new Etiquette label, which promises to unearth forgotten gems of the underground. Buy Some Call It Loving [Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack].
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.
High-Rise (post-production, expected 2015): Ben Wheatley adapts the J.G. (“Crash,” “The Atrocity Exhibition”) Ballard allegorical novel about the class struggle in a high rise apartment building. The scenario has echoes of Snowpiercer and Metropolis (the lead character is even named “Laing”). Starring Tom Hiddleston. You can read a preview at Indiewire.
Waif (expected Nov. 2015): Microbudget Memphis-based moviemaker John Michael McCarthy was making grindhouse throwback movies like Teenage Tupelo and Superstarlet A.D. before Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez made it fashionable, and making them much weirder. His latest (which is broken into four episodes of unknown length) is inspired by cosplay, and follows the adventures of a schoolgirl who stows away on a spaceship and ends up fighting robots at an abondoned drive-in theater. Two out of four episodes were shot, and a second Kickstarter campaign may be required to finish it. This project may never be screened outside of Memphis’ last functioning drive-in (where it is intended to debut), but we can always hope. Waif official project site.
NEW ON DVD:
Spasmo (1974): A giallo full of disappearing corpses, weird characters and incoherent dialogue, that eventually makes some sense after the twist ending arrives. From cannibal movie maestro Umberto Lenzi, with music by Ennio Morricone. Buy Spasmo.
NEW ON BLU-RAY:
The Cell (2000): A child psychiatrist (Jennifer Lopez!) goes into the mind of a serial killer looking for the solution to a mystery. This film (which is in our reader-suggested review queue) was on Blu-ray already, but this release restores some of the DVDs special features (director’s commentary and featurette) that were not on the original bare-bones Blu. Buy The Cell [Blu-ray].
My Best Fiend (1999): Werner Herzog‘s documentary about his love/hate relationship with his most famous leading man, the mercurial Klaus Kinski. Watching footage of Kinski’s insane rants, both on and off set, it’s amazing that he was ever able to complete any movie. Herzog didn’t actually force Kinski to finish Aguirre, the Wrath of God at gunpoint, but watching this, you can see why people believed the story to be true. Watch My Best Fiend on Shout TV.
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 – (Spectacle, Brooklyn, NY, July 6):
The Day of the Beast (1995): Alex de la Iglesia‘s over-the-top, gory black comedy about a Basque priest, a heavy metal fan and an occult TV host who team up on Christmas Eve to try to find the location where the Antichrist will soon be born. This film is highly regarded but is little known on these shores because there is no English-subtitled version in circulation on home video. More de la Iglesia is on tap at Spectacle throughout July, including Accion Mutante, about a terrorist organization of the handicapped waging war on beautiful people, and Perdita Durango, with Rosie Perez and Javier Bardem. Hatchet to the Head: an Unholy Trinity by Alex de la Iglesia at Spectacle.
FILM FESTIVALS –New York Asian Film Festival 2015, New York City, June 26-July 8):
We’re a little late in noticing this Lincoln Center-sponsored festival featuring movies from China, Hong Kong, Japan, and Korea, which actually began a week ago. The fest’s weirder offerings are still upcoming, however, so we don’t feel too bad.
Full Strike – An absurd comedy that aims to do for badminton what Shaolin Soccer did for its sport, from Stephen Chow protégé Derek Kwok. The U.S. premiere is tomorrow, July 4.
Tokyo Tribe – Shion Sono‘s latest is described as a “yakuza-street gang-hip hop-musical epic” (!) Also playing July 4.
Evolution: As Innocence was about young girls in a world without men, Lucile Hadzihalilovic‘s long-delayed second film is about young boys—in a world without men. All we know is that the setting is an isolated island where boys are raised by the mothers and subjected to scientific experiments. Evolution announcement at distributor Wild Bunch.
NEW ON DVD:
Hard to Be a God (2013): Future Earth scientists land on a planet stuck in its own version of the Middle Ages, and are treated like gods. Director Aleksei German, who died in 2013, worked on this adaptation of a novel by the Strugatsky brothers (who also wrote the source material for Stalker) for the last 13 years of his life. Buy Hard to Be a God.
UHF (1989): Read our review. The 25th Anniversary Blu-ray of Weird Al Yankovic’s cult comedy came out last November, and for some reason Shout! Factory releases the DVD seven months later. Buy UHF.
Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter (2014): Character study about a backwards Japanese woman who mistakenly concludes that the movie Fargo is a documentary, and sets out for Minnesota to discover the lost ransom money Steve Buscemi‘s character buried. No DVD yet, but presumably one will follow in about seven months? Buy Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter [Blu-ray].
Vanilla Sky (2001): A remake of the Spanish mindbender Open Your Eyes with Tom Cruise (Penelope Cruz plays the same role in both films). A publishing magnate’s life is turned upside down after an accident which kills the other driver and leaves his face scarred. This Blu was supposed to come out last year, but the release date kept being pushed back over and over by months at a time; they must have had trouble syncing Cruise and director Cameron Crowe’s schedules to record the commentary track, or something. Buy Vanilla Sky [Blu-ray].
FREE MOVIES ON YOUTUBE:
Fata Morgana (1971): Eccentric early Werner Herzog “documentary” composed of footage he shot in the Sahara desert, set to Leonard Cohen music and Lotte Eisner reciting an ancient creation myth. Watch Fata Morgana free at Shout TV.
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.
In 2014, we later debuting the print version of our Yearbook later than ever before… a shameful record we’re hoping to reverse in 2015.
Here’s a glimpse at what you’ll be getting, and why it was worth the wait:
Thanks to Todd M. Coe, whose work has been featured on this site before, for the extraordinary cover!
We think the ad copy speaks for itself:
Covering everything bizarre in cinema, from art house surrealism to next-generation cult movies to so-bad-they’re-weird B-movie atrocities, 366 Weird Movies has been meeting all of your weird movie needs since 2009 with a combination of sly humor and serious insight. This is our annual Yearbook covering all the weird movies released and re-released in 2014, from “Bad Milo” to “The Zero Theorem”, with over 50 full-length reviews and extensive supplemental listings. If it’s weird, and it’s a movie, and it’s from 2014, and 366 Weird Movies covered it, you’ll find it here.
You can buy the 366 Weird Movies 2014 Yearbook from Createspace (our preference, due to higher royalties) or from 366 Weird Movies 2014 Yearbook. Don’t forget that it’s also available (for a mere $3.49!) in a Kindle version (you’ll miss that sweet, sweet cover, though).
All profits derived from your kind purchase will go towards paying our (increased) hosting costs. Any leftover monies will be used to fly the 366 Weird Movies staff out to Cannes (but not for the film festival; we just want to hit the beach).
Celebrating the cinematically surreal, bizarre, cult, oddball, fantastique, strange, psychedelic, and the just plain WEIRD!
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. Don’t forget that it’s also available (for a mere $3.49!) in a