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.

FILM FESTIVALS – South by Southwest (Austin, TX, Mar. 7-16):

Following hot on the heels of Sundance, South by Southwest is more than just a place for leftovers to screen. Since expanding from a musical festival to an all-media extravaganza, its star has continued to ascend. Although it doesn’t host as many premiers as its Utah cousin, it gets its fair share of prestige pictures (by indie standards, that is). Among the movies we’ve seen pop up at other fests that are also playing here, the ones of particular interest to weirdophiles are Alejandro Jodorowsky‘s semi-autobiography The Dance of Reality; Frank (also seen at Sundance), which stars Michael Fassbender in an oversized head as the title character; and Jim Jarmusch‘s long-simmering vampire film, Only Lovers Left Alive. Two debuting movies caught our eye as having some potential bizarre appeal:

• The Desert – A post-apocalyptic love triangle from Argentina, featuring a zombie and a guy who tattoos his face with flies. Debuting Mar. 7 with additional screenings on the 8th, 10th and 14th.
  
• Starry Eyes – Horror about Hollywood; a young actress lands a big part, and finds her body and mind transformed. A Satanic cult plays a role in casting. Mar. 8, 10, 12 and 14.

South by Southwest home page.

NEW ON DVD:

Oldboy (2013): A man is imprisoned in a hotel room for twenty years without explanation, then just as inexplicably set free to seek revenge on his captor. We assumed this Spike Lee remake of the shocking Korean original was doomed to be a disappointment and decided to skip it, but you may be curious (or masochistic). Buy Oldboy.

The Visitor (1979): Read our capsule review. Drafthouse Films’ new release of the nearly forgotten Italian Exorcist ripoff our own Ben Sunde called “utterly unique in its weirdness” contains all new interviews, including one with Lance Henriksen. Buy The Visitor.

NEW ON BLU-RAY:

Garden State (2004): Read our review. This quirky romantic comedy about an over-medicated actor arrives on Blu-ray for the first time, with the same suite of extras (including two commentary tracks) as the original DVD. Buy Garden State [Blu-ray].

Hairspray (1988): John Waters goes PG for this campy but nostalgic look at 1960s integration from a teen perspective. One of Divine‘s final movies before passing away from sleep apnea. Buy Hairspray [Blu-ray].

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

The Visitor (1979): See description in DVD above. Buy The Visitor [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.

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 cinema’s weirdest winners of 2013.

In the category of “Weirdest Short Film,” the Weirdcademy Award goes to Greg Barth for “Fortunes.”

(This short contains profanity)

In the category of “Weirdest Scene,” the Weirdcademy Award goes to Spring Breakers for the scene where Alien and his female henchmen sing Britney Spears’ “Everytime” on a grand piano on the beach at dawn.

(This clip contains profanity and violence)

In the category of “Weirdest Actress,” the award goes to Claudia Black for her voiceover performance as saxophonist Parker, searching for her lost love among the moons of Jupiter, in Strange Frame: Love & Sax.

In the category of “Weirdest Actor,” the Award goes to James Franco for his performance as Alien, the white rapper who runs a crime empire on the side and hires college girls on spring break as his muscle.

And the award for Weirdest Movie of 2013 goes to Strange Frame: Love & Sax, the world’s first animated lesbian science fiction musical.

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.

SCREENINGS – (Cinefamily, Los Angeles, CA, Friday 2/28 to Thursday 3/6):

Je T’aime, Je T’aime (1968): A suicidal man volunteers for a time-traveling experiment and finds himself trapped when the machine malfunctions, re-experiencing moments from his life in random order. This Alain (Last Year at Marienbad) Resnais science fiction exploration of the nature of memory has never appeared on home video in any form in the US; some proclaim it a lost classic. Je T’aime, Je T’aime at Cinefamily.

FILM FESTIVALS – Fantasporto (Porto, Portugal, Feb. 28 – Mar. 9):

Fantasporto is the premier European film festival explicitly devoted to horror, science fiction and fantasy films. We love the taste of the programmers there, as testified to by the fact that three of the festival’s “Grande Prémio” winners—Toto the Hero, Pan’s Labyrinth and Idiots and Angels—have made it onto our List of the 366 Weirdest Movies of all time, with more to come. What Fantasporto has not done well of late, however, is to secure debuts of new movies. Many of the movies that interest us that are showing there have already appeared at other festivals, and some are even already out on DVD. A few films we’d check out if we were there include Bill Plympton‘s Cheatin’; The Human Race, about contestants forced to compete in a deadly marathon; the Alex de la Iglesia horror/comedy Witching & Bitching; Shion Sono’s long-awaited Why Don’t You Play in Hell?; and the teen hit-girl satire Violet & Daisy. We’ve highlighted the one new-to-us discovery below:

• The Strange Color of Your Body’s Tears – Catett and Forzani (the team behind Amer) follow up that cult hit with another formalist experiment about a woman’s disappearance. Screening Mar 5.
  

Fantasporto 2014 official site (English)

NEW ON DVD:

Memory of the Dead (2011): Characters gathered to hear the reading of a will are harassed by spirits in this Argentinian homage to Evil Dead. Dread Central’s negative review called it “downright weird and disjointed,” while FearNet’s positive notice hailed it as a “bizarre mixture of dark gristle and weird humor.” Buy Memory of the Dead.

Mr. Nobody (2009): In 2092, an 118-year old man recounts his life story to a reporter, but the details of the various alternate personal histories he recounts are contradictory. This four-year old speculative feature from eccentric Jaco Van Dormael (Toto the Hero) is finally seeing a U.S. release, thanks to renewed interest in Jared Leto’s career. Buy Mr. Nobody.

The Wait (2013): Two sisters keep their recently deceased mother’s corpse around, hoping that a phone call from a psychic means that she will soon be resurrected. Starring indie darlings Jena Malone and Chloë Sevigny. Buy The Wait.

NEW ON BLU-RAY:

Hugo (2011)/Willy Wonka & Chocolate Factory (1971): Warner Brothers pairs the Certified Weird Wonka with Hugo, Martin Scorsese‘s 3-D tribute to Georges Melies. No extra features are listed. Buy Hugo/Willy Wonka & Chocolate Factory [Blu-ray].

Mr. Nobody (2009): See description in DVD above. Buy Mr. Nobody [Blu-ray].

Where the Wild Things Are (2009)/The Neverending Story (1984): Spike Jonze‘s meditation on childhood (read out review) matched with 80’s fantasy fave The Neverending Story. The idea to pair a newer kids’ movie with one that stirs their parents’ nostalgic impulses is a stroke of marketing genius on Warner Brothers’ part. Buy Where the Wild Things Are/Neverending Story [Blu-ray].

What are you looking forward to? If you have any weird movie leads that we have overlooked, please 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.

IN DEVELOPMENT:

Lazy Susan (est. late 2014): There’s no real specific info on the plot of this Seattle-shot low-budget flick other then that it will be in the “supernatural terror” genre. However, when asked if the film will be weird, director Kelly Hughes (of La Cage Aux Zombies and the public access soap opera “Heart Attack Theater”) responded “oui”… and he’s not even French! Starring punk rock frontgrrl Taylor Kimbrough (DEEP Throat) in her acting debut. Lazy Susan info at KellyWayneHughes.com.

NEW ON DVD:

The Ganzfeld Haunting (2014): Some teenage college students engage in ESP experiments and things get weird… and sexy! The Amazon comments are littered with descriptions like “[b]asically young adults doing drugs and licking each other and then once in a while a ghost had a monologue” and “[n]ot so much a movie as a series of edits randomly strung together, periodically interrupted by people snorting cocaine” that appeal to the masochist in us. Buy The Ganzfeld Haunting.

Hanging Shadows: Perspectives On Italian Horror Cinema (2007): Documentary on Italian horror cinema with emphasis on the giallo. Subjects and interviewees include Dario (Suspiria) Argento and Michele (Cemetery Man) Soavi. Buy Hanging Shadows: Perspectives on Italian Horror Cinema.

Hellbenders (2012): The “Augustine Interfaith Order of Hellbound Saints” are a team of exorcists who remain in a constant state of sin so that demons will possess them and they can then commit suicide and take the critters back to Hell with them. We have some minor doubts about the theological foundation of this plot. Buy Hellbenders.

Sick Birds Die Easy (2013): Documentary (mockumentary?) about a crew of hippies, junkies and burnouts who go to Gabon in search of iboga, the hallucinogenic plant rumored to cure addiction. The cover proudly quotes a blogger who calls it a “feverish acid trip through the lunatic fringe.” Buy Sick Birds Die Easy.

NEW ON BLU-RAY:

Hellbenders (2012): See description in DVD above. Buy Hellbenders [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.