Category Archives: Miscellanea

YOUR VOTE DETERMINES THE WINNERS OF THE 5TH ANNUAL WEIRDCADEMY AWARDS

As usual, the announcement of the 2015 Academy Awards nominations elicited rounds of finger-pointing over the surprise snubs. Here at the Weirdcademy, we’re no stranger to controversy, either. In the past we have received complaints over us using the “w-word” to characterize Quvenzhané Wallis, leading us to stress that the “Weirdest Actress” award is really just shorthand for “Best Actress in a Weird Movie.” More to the point, just like the Academy Awards, this year we nominated mostly movies made by white males. Only 1/2  of our contending films were directed by women, and we nominated no movies made by African-Americans (though one was directed by an African-Brit). While we are actually quite a bit more diverse than the Academy, we’re still not where we would like to be. Our message to women and minorities: Hollywood doesn’t have your back, direct more weird films!

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 the artistic merit 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 22 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 2013 Weirdcademy awards:

(Weirdest Actor, Actress and Scene ballots after the jump) Continue reading YOUR VOTE DETERMINES THE WINNERS OF THE 5TH ANNUAL WEIRDCADEMY AWARDS →

WEIRDEST SHORT FILM OF 2014

We’ve collected all five nominees for 2014′s Weirdest Short of the Year together in one place, for ease of voting.  Just click “continued” for a mini film-festival of weirdness. Be sure to vote for your favorite! (You can cast a vote once every 24 hours). Polls close February 22  at 1:00 PM EST.  A special thanks goes out to Cameron Jorgensen, 366 Weird Movies under-appreciated shorts Czar, who discovered most of these films through his own research. This year’s lineup includes cigar-smoking angels, killer worms, Sammy Davis Jr. impersonators, philosophical lessons, and a viral sensation. Click below to view all the nominees and vote.

Continue reading WEIRDEST SHORT FILM OF 2014 →

WEIRD HORIZON FOR THE WEEK OF 1/16/2015

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:

Routines (est. 2015): A stand-up comic goes off the rails when he witnesses his lover’s murder. We mention it because the director describes it as “David Lynch meets early Lindsay Anderson and has a baby named Celebrity von Trier.” To be crowdfunded it needs to raise $4730 in 49 days on Kickstarter. Routines Kickstarter page.

NEW ON DVD:

Bird People (2014): Two-parter set at a hotel by the De Gaulle airport: in the first segment, and American businessman abandons his career, and in the second something magically real happens to a hotel maid (no one wants to spoil the surprise). Reviews of this French drama have been love-it-or-hate-it, and it comes with a “slow” warning. Buy Bird People.

Memphis (2013): Impressionistic portrait of a near-homeless, eccentric-genius blues singer (played by musician Willis Earl Beal) wandering the streets of Memphis. Distributor Kino says it’s “steeped in folklore, music, surrealism, and the abstract search for glory.” Buy Memphis.

Wetlands (2013): Read our review. Be sure to order a pizza to eat while watching this one! (P.S. don’t order a pizza to eat while watching this one, and don’t blame us if you do). Buy Wetlands.

Young Ones (2014): Family melodrama set on a parched post-apocalyptic ranch. Critics seem unable to figure out exactly what to make of this strange melange of genres from Jake (brother of Gwyneth) Paltrow, but they acknowledge it’s unique. Buy Young Ones.

NEW ON BLU-RAY:

Memphis (2013): See description in DVD above. Buy Memphis [Blu-ray].

Wetlands (2013): See description in DVD above. Buy Wetlands [Blu-ray].

Young Ones (2014): See description in DVD above. Buy Young Ones [Blu-ray].

TELEVISION:

“Danger 5″ (2012, 2015): We rarely mention TV shows in this space, but this bizarre alternate-history Australian comedy series about five spies trying to take down Hitler demands an exception. Series 2 just started Down Under and features Mr. H hiding out in a 1980’s-inspired high school. Season 1 (which ran in 2012) had a 1960s James Bond/”Get Smart” (on acid) feel to it. The first season is available in the U.S. to Hulu Plus subscribers. We sure would like to see this on DVD. Danger 5 official page at SBS 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.

WEIRD HORIZON FOR THE WEEK OF 1/9/2015

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 (WIDE RELEASE):

Inherent Vice (2014): A pot-smoking detective investigates a labyrinthine plot that eventually leads him to a mysterious organization of dentists known as the “Golden Fang” (among a labyrinth of other subplots). This adaptation of a novel finally goes into wide release after a limited run that earned it such promising notices as Bill Goodykoontz’s “aggressively weird…” Inherent Vice official site.

IN THEATERS (LIMITED RELEASE):

La última película (2013): A sort-of remake of/tribute to Dennis Hopper’s drugged-out disaster The Last Movie, which was about a filmmaker trying to make a psychedelic Western in Mexico. Sure to be weird, though whether it will work for anyone but the handful of people who have seen The Last Movie remains to be seen.  Playing exclusively at Lincoln Center in NYC. La última película at Lincoln Center.

When Evening Falls on Bucharest or Metabolism (2013): A director and his lead actress (who is also his lover) discuss the film they are making (which we never see). A long shot for weird, but it is frequently cited as “absurdist.” When Evening Falls on Bucharest or Metabolism official U.S. site.

NEW ON DVD:

88 (2015): A sexy female killer in a fugue state sees the number “88” everywhere. This Canadian indie is loaded with flashbacks and said to be very confusing, and debuts on home video. Buy 88.

Horns (2013): Read our review. Danielle Radcliffe is accused of murder and grows horns; weird premise, uneven execution. Buy Horns.

NEW ON BLU-RAY:

88 (2015): See description in DVD above. Buy 88 [Blu-ray].

Horns (2013): See description in DVD above. Buy Horns [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.

WEIRD HORIZON FOR THE WEEK OF 1/2/2015

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):

Li’l Quinquin (2013): A bumbling inspector investigates a bizarre murder—body parts found stuffed into a cow—in a small French town. This four-part French miniseries from Bruno Dumont is being released as a 200-minute (!) theatrical feature; it’s been compared to Twin Peaks, and Variety called it “wonderfully weird.” Playing at Lincoln Center in Manhattan and probably nowhere else. Lil’ Quinquin at Lincoln Center.

SCREENINGS – (Television, Turner Classic Movies, Sat. Jan 3, 2:00 AM EST):

Nothing Lasts Forever (1984): Set your DVRs for this ultra-rare screening of this long-buried absurd comedy about a concert pianist who decides to become an artist and eventually lands on the moon. Written and directed by “Saturday Night Live” writer Tom Schiller, it includes cameos by Dan Akroyd and (as a lunar bus conductor). TCM Underground does a great job of obtaining rights to these presumed-lost movies; very soon after they screened Skidoo for the first time in over forty years, a DVD turned up. Fingers crossed for this one. Thanks to L. Rob Hubbard for the heads up. Nothing Lasts Forever article at Turner Classic Movies.

NEW ON DVD:

Tusk (2014): Read our review. We thought ‘s attempt to remake The Human Centipede as a Kevin Smith movie produced very mixed results—now you can judge for yourself. Buy Tusk.

NEW ON BLU-RAY:

Tusk (2014): See description in DVD above. Buy Tusk [Blu-ray].

What are you looking forward to? If you have any weird movie leads that we have overlooked, feel free to leave them in the COMMENTS section.