July’s Netflix Watch Party— Jiu Jitsu (2020)—starts in fifteen minutes.
Please install the Netflix Party extension (now officially called “teleparty”) if you haven’t already. You must have a U.S. Nextflix account and a Chrome-based browser to participate.
Here is the link to join: https://www.tele.pe/join/e4c0f3043d6d44a8
Be sure to click on the red Teleparty icon to sync up and join the chat room.
366 Weird Movies may earn commissions from purchases made through product links.
Our weekly look at what’s weird in theaters, on hot-off-the-presses DVDs and Blu-rays (and hot off the server VODs), and on more distant horizons…
Trailers of new release movies are generally available at the official site links.
NEW ON HOME VIDEO:
Howard the Duck (1986): Read Scott Sentinella’s review. The masses were clamoring for a 4K Ultra restoration of this bestiality-themed flop about a cigar-smoking duck… not really, but while Universal was upgrading the hits in their catalog, they knocked out this curiosity, too. Buy Howard the Duck.
Mirror [Zerkalo] (1975): A dying Russian poet remembers his past in a stream-of-consciousness flow of memories. Possibly Andrei Tarkovsky‘s most elusive and difficult film (and that’s saying something!), now in the Criterion Collection (DVD or Blu-ray). Buy Mirror.
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010): Read the Canonically Weird entry! Following the successful re-release of the restored version of the millennial cult comedy comes an affordable 4K Ultra disc (and supplemental Blu-ray). Extra features appear to be the same as in previous releases. Buy Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.
Space Jam (1996): Michael Jordan and Bugs Bunny team up to defeat a bunch of basketball-playing aliens. For some reason, a reader suggested we review this, and we did. Another 4K upscale, this time from Warner Brothers. Buy Space Jam.
Ten Minutes to Midnight (2020): Read Giles Edwards’ review. An aging punk DJ is bitten by a bat on her way to what turns out to be her last night working at the station. Already available on VOD, now on DVD or Blu-ray. Buy Ten Minutes to Midnight.
CANONICALLY WEIRD (AND OTHER) REPERTORY SCREENINGS:
This section will no longer be updated regularly. Instead, we direct you to our new “Repertory Cinemas Near You” page. We will continue to mention exceptional events in this space from time to time, however.
FREE WEIRD MOVIES ON TUBI.TV:
3-Iron (2004): Read the canonically weird entry! Ki-duk Kim‘s oddball romance about a man who learns to become invisible so he can continue romancing a married woman is listed as “leaving soon.” Watch 3-Iron free on Tubi.tv.
WHAT’S IN THE PIPELINE: Please join us tomorrow night at 10:15 PM ET for July’s weird Netflix party, Jiu Jitsu (2020). As always, the link to join will appear here, on Facebook, or on Twitter around 10 PM ET.
And we’ll have a busy week next week, as and Giles Edwards check out the offerings from the North Bend Film Festival (that’s ten features and countless shorts) to let you know what to look out for in the future (Cryptozoo comes to mind). If that’s not enough, El Rob Hubbard also covers Satoshi Kon‘s anime miniseries Paranoia Agent (2004), which we assure you is every bit as weird as his feature films. Onward and weirdward!
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.
366 Weird Movies may earn commissions from purchases made through product links.
Our weekly look at what’s weird in theaters, on hot-off-the-presses DVDs and Blu-rays (and hot off the server VODs), and on more distant horizons…
Trailers of new release movies are generally available at the official site links.
FILM FESTIVALS – (Cannes Film Festival, Cannes, France, July 6-17):
Cannes is an odd duck. Not known as a “weird-friendly” festival—movies like David Cronenberg‘s Crash and Antichrist have been famously hooted at by Cannes crowds who were having none of that—it aims to flatter the mainstream arthouse crowd with middle-of-the-road dramas. Cannes programmers typically revel in the dry, the conventional, and the pompous; Cannes’ juries’ tastes resemble those of Academy Awards voters, but with an even higher premium placed on boringness. Still, many years, an unusual film will sneak it’s way onto the card and Cannes debut may even end up Certified Weird: most recently, 2012’s Holy Motors.
This year looks like stranger cinema is well-represented, however, with three movies from established weird directors appearing on the card, and a number of possible outsiders waiting in the wings. Movies at Cannes may either be screened “in competition” for the big prize, the Palm D’or; screen out-of-competition; or be entered in the “Un Certain Regard” section (a sort of also-ran competition for films that are either from first time directors, or are considered too daring or different to have a shot at the Palme d’Or).
Here’s what we would be keeping tabs on if we were in Cannes next week:
In longer-shot territory, there’s Bendetta, a Paul Voorhoven joint about lesbian nuns; a Bruno Dumont entry titled France with no plot synopsis; Titane, Julia Ducournau‘s horrific followup to Raw; a new one from Wes Anderson; Tralala, a French musical comedy playing in the “midnight” section about a homeless musician who sees a vision of the Virgin Mary; and a slew of “Un Certain Regard” offerings from directors whose names we do not (yet) recognize. There’s also restorations of Mulholland Drive and the rarely-seen Czech New Wave movie The Cassandra Cat (1963). All-in-all, it’s a promising bounce-back for the most prestigious film festival of all.
Cannes Film Festival home page (English)
IN THEATERS (LIMITED RELEASE):
A Dim Valley (2020): A threesome of university biologists on a field survey in the Appalachians encounter three mysterious female backpackers. Described as “quirky,” but a character in the trailer does say “this is weird… I’m very confused.” Looks like it may only play theatrically in NYC and LA, at least initially, so a VOD release later this year seems like your best bet. A Dim Valley official Facebook page.
STREAMING:
The Criterion Channel July Animation: First, they put up a Doris Wishman movie. Now, the Criterion Channel is again upping its game with a slate of July features celebrating animation—with a focus on weird animation. This month they will be adding the following Canonically Weird movies to their service: Belladonna of Sadness (1973), Fantastic Planet [La Planète Sauvage] (1973), Alice [Neco Z Alenky] (1988), Mind Game (2004), Paprika (2006), Waltz with Bashir (2008), and It’s Such a Beautiful Day (2011). They’re also adding the Apocryphally Weird films The Fabulous Baron Munchausen [Baron Prásil] (1962) and The Wolf House (2018). If that’s not enough, there’s a number of other movies we’ve featured on these pages, including Karel Zeman‘s Journey to the Beginning of Time (1955) and Invention for Destruction (1958), Martin Rosen‘s Watership Down (1978) and The Plague Dogs (1982), Jan Svankmajer‘s Faust (1994), A Town Called Panic (2009), Mary and Max (2009), The Rabbi’s Cat (2011), and even Son of the White Mare (1981)? Of their 31 selections, we previously reviewed more than half of them—it’s like they’re using 366 Weird Movies as a crib sheet for new acquisitions!
NEW ON HOME VIDEO:
George Washington (2000): A group of small town children have a secret to cover up. Previously on DVD (and in our reader-suggested queue), the Criterion Collection upgrades this to Blu-ray this week. Buy George Washington.
Memories (1995): An anthology of three short science fiction anime films, all adaptations of Katsuhiro Ohtomo stories (Ohtomo directs the last, most experimental, one). Now on Blu-ray. Buy Memories.
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971): Read the Canonically Weird entry! A 50th anniversary release with a 4K disc, Blu-ray, and digital copy, and extra features that have been seen in previous editions. Buy Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.
CANONICALLY WEIRD (AND OTHER) REPERTORY SCREENINGS:
This section will no longer be updated regularly. Instead, we direct you to our new “Repertory Cinemas Near You” page. This week we expanded that list to include The Loft in Tuscon (screening Akira this Saturday), The Nuart in L.A. (screening Mulholland Drive on Sunday), The Roxie in San Francisco (screening Donnie Darko Friday and Saturday), the Plaza in Atlanta (screening The Rocky Horror Picture Show this Friday and Tokyo Drifter throughout the week), the Brattle in Boston (screening Beauty and the Beast [La Belle et la Bete] Sunday and Wednesday), and the AFI Silver Theater in Silver Springs, MD (screening 8 1/2 all week). We will continue to mention exceptional events from time to time in this space, however, like the one below:
Ferrara’s latest, Siberia, will also be playing all week.
FREE WEIRD MOVIES ON TUBI.TV:
Brazil (1985): Read the Canonically Weird entry! Terry Gilliam‘s dystopian satire of the 20th century and its preoccupations—bureaucracy, terrorism, plastic surgery, and tubing—is now listed as “leaving soon” on Tubi. Watch Brazil free on Tubi.tv.
WHAT’S IN THE PIPELINE: We’re going to go ahead and officially announce our next weird Netflix Party: Jiu Jitsu, starring (sort of) Nicolas Cage, to play on our personal virtual screens July 10 at 10:15 PM ET. Save the date.
In reviews, next week Giles Edwards takes another look at the recently Blu-rayed (and, see above, Criterion Channeled) psychedelic fable Son of the White Mare. Then, we’ll chip away at the ridiculously long reader-suggested queue as digs up the absurd Killdozer (1974), and tries on 1961’s 3-D Canadian semi-surrealist horror, The Mask. Onward and weirdward!
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.
366 Weird Movies may earn commissions from purchases made through product links.
Our weekly look at what’s weird in theaters, on hot-off-the-presses DVDs and Blu-rays (and hot off the server VODs), and on more distant horizons…
Trailers of new release movies are generally available at the official site links.
IN DEVELOPMENT (crowdfunding):
The Wheel of Heaven (202?): Joe Badon describes his latest project as “Rocky Horror meets Hour of the Wolf” (or more generically as a “psychedelic science fiction, arthouse mystery”). It’s short (20-30 minutes), but if you contribute to the Kickstarter you also get a download of the completed but unreleased “The Blood of the Dinosaurs” (which is described as a prologue to The Wheel of Heaven). As we write this, they’re looking for a little over $18,000, with 28 days left to go. The Wheel of Heaven on Kickstarter.
http://kck.st/3gSCvq4
IN DEVELOPMENT (pre-production):
Infinity Pool (202?): Brandon Cronenberg‘s next project is underway (glad to see he’s working on closing the eight-year gap between features). We know little about it except that Neon will again distribute, Alexander Skarsgård will star, and it’s being pitched as a “sci-fi thriller.” Oh, and this not too revealing synopsis: “James and Em are young, rich, in love, and on vacation. Their all-inclusive resort boasts island tours and gleaming beaches. But outside of the hotel gates waits something much more dangerous and seductive, beyond the edge of paradise.” Both of the younger Cronenberg’s previous movies were worth seeing, so we’ll keep an eye out for this one. More industry-type info at Deadline.
IN DEVELOPMENT ( in production):
Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman (2022?): A French director adapts short stories from jazzy, surreal Japanese writer Haruki Murakami into an animated feature. The synopsis? “A lost cat, a giant talkative frog and a tsunami help a bank employee without ambition, his frustrated wife and a schizophrenic accountant to save Tokyo from an earthquake and find a meaning to their lives.” It has a sales agent already, although it will soon be crowdfunding to pay for the orchestral score. Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman official Facebook page.
NEW ON HOME VIDEO:
“The Eurocrypt Of Christopher Lee Collection”: Blu-ray box of five European horror movies starring Christopher Lee: Sherlock Holmes and the Deadly Necklace (1962), Challenge the Devil (1963), Crypt of the Vampire (1964), Castle of the Living Dead (1964), and The Torture Chamber of Dr. Sadism (1967). The set also includes 24 episodes of the Lee-hosted Polish TV show “Theatre Macabre” and a Castle of the Living Dead soundtrack CD. Buy “The Eurocrypt Of Christopher Lee Collection”.
Hanger (2009): A survivor of a botched back-alley abortion seeks revenge on a pimp. Bad taste gore comedy that made it into our reader-suggestion queue years ago. This ad copy for this “special edition” Blu-ray implies that there are 16 hours of outtakes spread across its two discs, which seems doubtful (and would be unwelcome if true). Buy Hanger.
Human Nature (2001): A love triangle, where one participant is a feral ape-man. The feature debut of Michel Gondry, working from Charlie Kaufman‘s second produced script; this one is also in our reader-suggested queue, and now on Blu-ray. Buy Human Nature.
Siberia: Abel Ferrara (and faithful collaborator Willem Dafoe) continues his late-period navel-gazing with this tale of a man traveling through “dreams, memory and imagination” by dogsled. On DVD, Blu-ray and VOD after spending one week exclusively in theaters (such is the theatrical window for independent films now). Buy Siberia.
CANONICALLY WEIRD (AND OTHER) REPERTORY SCREENINGS:
This section will no longer be updated regularly. Instead, we direct you to our new “Repertory Cinemas Near You” page. We will continue to mention exceptional events from time to time in this space, however.
FREE WEIRD MOVIES ON TUBI.TV:
Casino Royale (1967): Read Pete Trbovich’s Apocrypha entry! The strangest Bond spoof of all time is a mess—it ends with the script throwing up its hands and bringing in Frankenstein’s monster, a chimp, and cowboys and Indians for a nonsensical brawl—and it’s either delightful or tedious, depending on your mood and attitude. Watch Casino Royale free on Tubi.tv.
WHAT’S IN THE PIPELINE:
It looks like our next Netflix weird watch party will be scheduled for July 10. You can still RSVP and make your voice heard in this thread.
In next week’s review slate, Shane Wilson checks out the mysterious queer drama The One You Feed (2020), while Gregory J. Smalley directs his male gaze to Doris Wishman‘s Twilight Zone-y sexploitationer, Bad Girls Go to Hell (1965). Onward and weirdward!
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.
This month’s Amazon Prime Watch Party—Midsommar (2019)— starts in fifteen minutes.
You’ll need to be an Amazon Prime member in the US to participate.
Here is the link to join: https://amz.onl/5E4D2ks
See you soon!