366 Weird Movies may earn commissions from purchases made through product links.

Quick links/Discussed in this episode:

Ozma (2023): Interview with director Keith John Adams begins. Read our Ozma review. In Ozma, an insomniac widower spends the night toting around an on-the-run telepathic jellyfish creature, while musicians play the score live in the background. Ozma on Facebook.

The Invisible Fight (2024): Discussion begins. After witnessing kung fu fighters massacre a guard post, a Soviet soldier becomes obsessed with learning the martial arts. Rainer Sarnet‘s long-delayed followup to November couldn’t be much different in subject matter, but sounds equally weird. The Invisible Fight U.S. distributor site.

Nostalghia (1983): Discussion begins. Read the Canonically Weird entry! Andrei Tarkovsky‘s gloomy meditation on exile from mother Russia joins the 4K restoration club. The print will tour finer art-houses through the first week in March before the 4K UHD drops in late April.  You can find play dates at the Nostalghia restoration home page at Kino Lorber.

Paprika (2006): Discussion begins. Read the Canonically Weird entry! This Sony steelbook release of Satoshi Kon‘s trippy dream-conspiracy anime includes the film on UHD and Blu-ray, plus a suite of new interviews with some of the surviving animators (Kon, of course, passed away in 2010). Buy Paprika.

Stopmotion (2024): Discussion begins. The debut feature from Robert Morgan (who has been making ultra-creepy stop-motion animation horror for the past decade) is about a stop motion animator making a horror film whose characters take on a life of their own. Early reviews have been good, but not focused on the film’s inherent weirdness. Stopmotion U.S. distributor site.

Yorgos Lanthimos projects: Discussion begins. Lanthimos is hot now, the rare neo-surrealist auteur who’s crossed over to mainstream success. He’s now been linked to the long-gestating remake of Korea’s canonical cult film Save the Green Planet! But before we get to that, the weird Greek has a new film coming out, Kinds of Kindness, a New Orleans-set anthology film starring much of the cast of Poor Things. No plot details or release date on that one, but we can report that it reunites Lanthimos with screenwriter Efthymis Filippou—with whom the director collaborated on the seminal films Dogtooth, The Lobster, and Killing of a Sacred Deer—and that principal photography is complete. Strike while the iron is hot, Yorgy! More details at Variety.

WHAT’S IN THE PIPELINE:

We have no guest scheduled for next week’s Pod 366, but Greg and Giles will be back to discuss the week’s weird movie news and new releases. In other video content, Pete Trbovich will return with another “Weird View Crew” video review, this time of the anime TAMALA2010: A Punk Cat in Space. In written reviews, Shane Wilson keeps at the films that Came from the Reader-Suggested Queue with The Keep (1983); Giles Edwards thinks now is the time to discuss JLo’s musical vanity project,This Is Me… Now: A Love Story; and Gregory J. Smalley stops into the theater to see Stopmotion (above). Onward and weirdward!

366 Weird Movies may earn commissions from purchases made through product links.

Weirdcademy Awards nominations begin at the 23:45 mark.

Quick links/Discussed in this episode:

“Columbia Classics 4K Ultra HD Collection Volume 4” (His Girl Friday/Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner/Kramer vs. Kramer/Starman/Sleepless in Seattle/Punch-Drunk Love). Discussion begins. Read the Reader Recommendation for Punch-Drunk Love. This grab-bag of 4K UHDs (plus Blu-rays) features one restored film from each decades from the 1950s to the 2000s. Paul Thomas Anderson‘s offbeat romantic comedy Punch-Drunk Lunch is the only movie of passing interest to us. Buy “Columbia Classics 4K Ultra HD Collection Volume 4”.

Godard Cinema (2022)/Trailer for a Film That Will Never Exist: Phony Wars (2023): Discussion begins. Godard Cinema is, simply, a made-for-French-TV retrospective of Jean-Luc Godard‘s career. “Trailer of a Film That Will Never Exist: Phony Wars” is the more interesting item here; Godard’s final work, a sketch for a portrait of the surrealist poet Charles Plisnier that he was unable to complete before death. Kino Lorber Buy Godard Cinema/Trailer for a Film That Will Never Exist: Phony Wars.

This Is Me … Now: A Love Story (2024): Discussion begins. Jennifer Lopez spent her own money for this “surrealistic magical odyssey”; a visual album exploring her relationship with hubby Ben Affleck. Debuts on Prime Video on February 16 (today!) Jennifer Lopez interview with Hollywood Reporter.

Repo Man 2: The Wages of Beer (202?): Discussion begins. Alex Cox will make a sequel to Canonically Weird cult classic Repo Man four decades later, with a new actor (Kiowa Gordon) playing Otto traveling through space and time immediately following the events of the first film. Honestly, this sounds like an early April Fools joke. Read more about Repo Man 2 at Variety.

WHAT’S IN THE PIPELINE:

Keith John Adams (Ozma) will be next week’s guest on Pod 366. And in more YouTube-based content, Pete Trbovich brings you another “Weird View Crew” video review, this time of the goofy 1975 occult horror The Devil’s Rain.

In written reviews, Shane Wilson recommends one that Came from the Reader-Suggested Queue with Peter Weir‘s attempt to out-mysterious Picnic at Hanging Rock, The Last Wave (1977); while Giles Edwards also dips into the reader suggestions for a look at Exte: Hair Extensions, an early absurdist horror from noted weirdo Sion Sono.

And of course, stay tuned for your 2023 Weirdcademy Awards ballot, appearing in these pages on Sunday.

Onward and weirdward!

366 Weird Movies may earn commissions from purchases made through product links.

The audio only version of Pod 366 is now on Spotify.

Quick links/Discussed in this episode:

Bad Biology (2008): Discussion begins. Read Pamela de Graff’s review.  Frank Henenlotter‘s final narrative feature film, about deadly mutant genitalia, gets a special edition release from Severin (your choice of Blu-ray only or UHD + Blu-ray). Buy Bad Biology.

“Danza Macabra, Volume Two: The Italian Gothic Collection”: Discussion begins. The Italian rarities on tap here: Castle of Blood [AKA Danza Macabra] (1964), They Have Changed Their Face (1971), The Devil’s Lover (1972), and the one of most interest to us, Jekyll, a 1969 TV adaptation Jeffrey Kauffman describes as “gonzo” and, yes, “weird.” On a mix of UHD and Blu-ray. Buy “Danza Macabra, Volume Two: The Italian Gothic Collection”.

Dario Argento Panico (2023): Discussion begins. Directors Guillermo del Toro, Gaspar Noé, Michele Soavi, and Nicolas Winding Refn—all of whom placed an entry on our Canonically Weird list— chip in to talk about the career of fellow Canonized director Dario Argento (Suspiria). Screens twice this weekend at IFC Center in Manhattan as part of an Argento retrospective, then moves to Shudder for streaming on Feb. 2 (today!). No official site, but here’s Shudder’s Facebook page, where you can scroll down for the trailer and other information.

eXistenZ (1999): Discussion begins. Read Ryan Aarset’s review. David Cronenberg‘s video game twist on Videodrome arrives in a lavish Vinegar Syndrome edition, on UHD and Blu-ray with a new commentary track from Jennifer Moorman and dozens of special features ported over from previous editions. Buy eXistenZ.

Ladyworld (2018): Discussion begins. Amanda Kramer‘s sophomore film is about teenage girls trapped in an endless birthday party when an unspecified disaster forces them to shelter in place indefinitely. A dissatisfied Amazon reviewer called it “not believable.” On Blu-ray previously, but Yellow Veil’s new edition adds lots of extras including the director’s debut feature, the little-seen Paris Window (2018). Buy Ladyworld.

The Mysterious Castle in the Carpathians (1981): Discussion begins. Oldrich Lipský‘s Gothic fantasy about a 19th century mad scientist and his spooky steampunk castle. This has been in our reader-suggested queue but unavailable in North America for the longest time; Deaf Crocodile to the rescue! Buy The Mysterious Castle in the Carpathians.

Ozma (2023): Discussion begins. An insomniac who talks to his dead wife teams up with a telepathic jellyfish alien. Currently available on VOD on Vudu (and a few other outlets), DVD coming next week.

She is Conann (2023): Discussion begins. It’s Conann the Barbarian as you’ve never seen her before: in a time-tripping lesbian epic! Advance screenings of Bertrand Mandico‘s latest “incoherent” feature playing at select Alamo Drafthouses this week, followed by a wider (though still limited) release in weeks following. She Is Conann official site.

“Surf Reality Movie of the Month Club”: Discussion begins. A collection of 8 or so underground comedies, each made for pennies and sometimes in 24 hours, that screened monthly at the “Surf Reality” series in Manhattan in the early 90s. The most “famous” titles are Thrill Kill Video Club and Dick and Jane Drop Acid and Die; there’s also a version of Shakespeare set among Boy Scouts called Macbeth, King of Scoutland. Buy “Surf Reality Movie of the Month Club.”

Trainspotting (1996): Discussion begins. Follows the aimless exploits of a group of Scottish heroin addicts. Aside from the toilet scene, it’s not really a weird movie, but definitely a cult item; the Criterion collection upgrades it to 4K UHD, with supplemental Blu-ray and a cool glow-in-the-dark cover. Buy Trainspotting.

WHAT’S IN THE PIPELINE:

Live from Italy, director Fabio D’Orta and composer Riccardo Amorese (The Complex Forms) will guest on next week’s Pod 366. In written reviews, Shane Wilson covers the Tilda Swinton comedy Teknolust (2002), yet another one that Came from the Reader-Suggested Queue. And Gregory J. Smalley also dips into the reader-suggested queue for a review of the dreamlike Czech medieval epic Marketa Lazarova (1967). Onward and weirdward!