I've always loved films that don't follow a linear path. I love strange and eccentric films, honestly, I think that I like 'strange and eccentric' anything really but movies, music and literature that pushes the boundaries has always had a special place in my heart.
Who doesn't like a bit of bizarre and surreal speckled into their everyday lives? Well, I'm sure there are actually quite a lot people who don't like material that challenges, confuses or disturbs them, but boy, they are really missing out on all of the fun, aren't they? Some of my favourite films of all time are weird as hell!
Some film makers and directors have practically specialised in producing absurd, unusual and inexplicable films, they've made a household name for themselves out of it. Take David Lynch, Harmony Korine, David Cronenberg or Yorgos Lanthimos to name but a few. If people weren't into weird, then these guys would never had made it big in Hollywood. And I for one, love to ask myself 'what the fuck did I just see?' after viewing a movie because then I know that what I have seen will leave me thinking. It will leave me pondering for days, going back to it in my mind and turning it over like an unsolvable puzzle box.
And isn't that what we want from artistic and creative film making? Something that makes us think, something that will stretch our boundaries and push our limits. Well, maybe you don't, perhaps I am part of a small group of weirdos that does enjoy this type of cinema, but over the years I have reviewed an array of edgy, unusual, confronting and just plain weird films. Films that weren't just odd, but were, in my opinion also very, very good. And today I am sharing the pick of the litter here for you.
If you are looking for something quite left of centre but also deeply engaging, then I suggest that you take a look at these beauties.
Full reviews can be found in the appropriate genre list tab.
ART HOUSE/ MUSICAL/ INTERNATIONAL
Who doesn't like a bit of bizarre and surreal speckled into their everyday lives? Well, I'm sure there are actually quite a lot people who don't like material that challenges, confuses or disturbs them, but boy, they are really missing out on all of the fun, aren't they? Some of my favourite films of all time are weird as hell!
Some film makers and directors have practically specialised in producing absurd, unusual and inexplicable films, they've made a household name for themselves out of it. Take David Lynch, Harmony Korine, David Cronenberg or Yorgos Lanthimos to name but a few. If people weren't into weird, then these guys would never had made it big in Hollywood. And I for one, love to ask myself 'what the fuck did I just see?' after viewing a movie because then I know that what I have seen will leave me thinking. It will leave me pondering for days, going back to it in my mind and turning it over like an unsolvable puzzle box.
And isn't that what we want from artistic and creative film making? Something that makes us think, something that will stretch our boundaries and push our limits. Well, maybe you don't, perhaps I am part of a small group of weirdos that does enjoy this type of cinema, but over the years I have reviewed an array of edgy, unusual, confronting and just plain weird films. Films that weren't just odd, but were, in my opinion also very, very good. And today I am sharing the pick of the litter here for you.
If you are looking for something quite left of centre but also deeply engaging, then I suggest that you take a look at these beauties.
Full reviews can be found in the appropriate genre list tab.
ART HOUSE/ MUSICAL/ INTERNATIONAL
- The Lighthouse
- Sorry to Bother You
- The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
- The Killing of a Sacred Deer
- Dave Made a Maze
- Swiss Army Man
- The Lobster
- The Mermaid
- The Brand New Testament
- The Skin I Live In
- Kung Fu Hustle
- I Heart Huckabees
- Dogville
- Mulholland Drive
- Hedwig and the Angry Inch
- Being John Malkovich
- Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
- Pi
- Delicatessen
- Wild at Heart
- Blue Velvet
- Titane
- Swallow
- Mother!
- Enter the Void
- Dogtooth
- Requiem for a Dream
- Irreversible
- Dancer in the Dark
- Gummo
- Saint Maud
- Possessor
- Midsommar
- Mandy
- Hereditary
- Susperia
- A Dark Song
- The Neon Demon
- Kill List
- Martyrs
- Jacob's Ladder
- Color Out of Space
- Vivarium
- Annihilation
- The Cell
- The Endless
- Predestination
- Under the Skin
- Melancholia
- The Fall
- The Fountain
- Mirrormask
- Donnie Darko
- eXistenZ
- 2001: A Space Odyssey
TITANE
Release Date: 2021
Rating: R 18+
Running Time: 108 mins
A French language film written and directed by Julia Ducournau that got tongues wagging, not just because it won the 2021 Palme d'Or award at the Cannes Film Festival, but also for its intense, jaw dropping concepts and striking imagery.
Alexia, a dancer with a metal plate in her head due to a childhood accident, has an unusual affinity with cars. She also has an affinity to killing and does so ruthlessly. However, after a sexual encounter with a vehicle (yep, you read that right, a car) she finds herself pregnant and on the run from the law. Alexia decides to take on the persona of a child that went missing a decade ago in an attempt to go into hiding. The lost boy's father Vincent, a lonely fire captain, is also desperate for a new beginning and he takes Alexia in and allows her to charade as his son.
This is a seriously provocative and original film. However, it is also not an easy watch by any stretch. There is a lot of graphic body horror and some deeply disturbing depictions that some people may find too much. However, for all of its ugliness, Titane is really about desperate, lost people that genuinely crave love and meaningful relationships, which makes it equal parts distressing and emotional.
Agathe Rousselle is giving everything here as Alexia and spends much of the movie involved in awkward, weird and revolting interludes. Vincent Lindon brings the term 'damaged' to new light with his misogynistic firefighter crew antics and desperate need to hold back the ravages of time on his body.
There's a lot to like and also a lot not to like in Titane. I suggest that you see it for yourself and be the judge.
FINAL SAY: It's very solid. It's titanium.
3.5 Chilli Peppers
Release Date: 2021
Rating: R 18+
Running Time: 108 mins
A French language film written and directed by Julia Ducournau that got tongues wagging, not just because it won the 2021 Palme d'Or award at the Cannes Film Festival, but also for its intense, jaw dropping concepts and striking imagery.
Alexia, a dancer with a metal plate in her head due to a childhood accident, has an unusual affinity with cars. She also has an affinity to killing and does so ruthlessly. However, after a sexual encounter with a vehicle (yep, you read that right, a car) she finds herself pregnant and on the run from the law. Alexia decides to take on the persona of a child that went missing a decade ago in an attempt to go into hiding. The lost boy's father Vincent, a lonely fire captain, is also desperate for a new beginning and he takes Alexia in and allows her to charade as his son.
This is a seriously provocative and original film. However, it is also not an easy watch by any stretch. There is a lot of graphic body horror and some deeply disturbing depictions that some people may find too much. However, for all of its ugliness, Titane is really about desperate, lost people that genuinely crave love and meaningful relationships, which makes it equal parts distressing and emotional.
Agathe Rousselle is giving everything here as Alexia and spends much of the movie involved in awkward, weird and revolting interludes. Vincent Lindon brings the term 'damaged' to new light with his misogynistic firefighter crew antics and desperate need to hold back the ravages of time on his body.
There's a lot to like and also a lot not to like in Titane. I suggest that you see it for yourself and be the judge.
FINAL SAY: It's very solid. It's titanium.
3.5 Chilli Peppers
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