Friday, March 22, 2019

[SHORTS REVIEW] The Snails (Les Escargots) (1966)








OR













Title: The Snails

Original Title: Les Escargots

Country: France

Genre: Horror / Surrealism / Fantasy

Company: Sofac

Directed by: Rene Laloux

Year: 1966

MPAA Rating / TV Rating: N/A

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Best Buy 




The short starts off with an old farmer who is trying to make his vegetables grow, but they will not grow.  Finally, the old farmer got so distressed about the whole thing that he started crying and it was then that the vegetables started to grow due to his tears.  The old farmer then continued growing his vegetables by using his tears to water the vegetables and the vegetables eventually grew to massive sizes.  Unfortunately, the next morning, the old farmer wakes up to find a bunch of giant snails, that were the size of houses, crawling around in his garden.  It turns out that the snails ended up eating the farmer's vegetables during the night and the vegetables caused the snails to grow to an enormous size.
It was then that the giant snails ended up going to the city, causing destruction and mayhem in their wake!

Wow!  I was quite amazed and a bit creeped out by this strange little short!  After watching "Fantastic Planet," which was by the same creator and actually came out several years after this short, I was thinking to myself about whether or not I would actually see another animated film that was just as weird as "Fantastic Planet."  Well, "The Snails" was definitely just as weird as "Fantastic Planet," although in a different way. "Fantastic Planet" took place on another planet, while "The Snails" takes place on Earth and yet, things get weird midway through the short once the snails appear.  I loved the way that the short went in a completely different direction midway through as the short started off lighthearted with the farmer trying to grow his garden, to a bit odd as he used his own tears to make the garden grow and then to pure terror when the snails started growing in size and started terrorizing the people in the city.  The animation was quite unique as the characters move in a very jerky way and always have exaggerated expressions on their faces that just adds on to the weirdness of this short.  The animation also reminded me a bit of Terry Gilliam's animations in the animated segments of the "Monty Python's Flying Circus" TV series.



The only problem that I had with this short is that there were times where the short sort of dragged on and the pacing was a bit slow at some places that I was hoping that we actually got to the main point of the story much faster.  Also, for anyone who does not like nudity, there is one brief scene of a topless woman that might be a bit problematic for some people.  Also, I was a bit confused by some of the scenes, although the whole point of this short is to be as weird as possible.


Overall, "The Snails" is truly a treat to watch if you are a huge fan of "Fantastic Planet" and if you wanted to watch an animated short that is similar in tone and style to "Fantastic Planet!"







Tuesday, March 19, 2019

Weirdness Approved List Update - 3/17/2019




Hey fans!  I have decided to start making updates on what movies and TV shows have made my "Weirdness Approved" list, meaning that I will be listing some of the weirdest movies and TV shows I have ever seen!  I have also decided to change up this list by making it a goal to reach up to 400 movies and TV shows that will make this list!  I was inspired by 366 Weird Movies to make it a goal to reach up to 400 movies and TV shows for this list and if you want to see why I chose these films, then check out the list HERE. 

Also, if there are any movies, TV shows or shorts that you think should make this list, then please feel free to suggest some movies, TV shows or shorts that you think are weird and we'll see if any of your suggestions will make the list!


In no particular order:


1.  Beetlejuice (1988)
2.  The Fool and the Flying Ship (1991)
3.  James and the Giant Peach (1996)
4.  Crashbox (1999)
5.  Mirrormask (2005)
6.  Monkeybone (2001)
7.  The Thief and the Cobbler (Miramax Version) (1993)
8.  Quasi at the Quackadero (1976)




Monday, March 18, 2019

Surreal Movies and TV Shows Down the Pipeline - 3/17/2019





Hey fellow weird film and TV fans!  This is a new feature on this blog where I keep everyone updated on what movies and TV shows I will review down the line!  If there are any other weird movies and TV shows that you think that I should review, then please feel free to suggest more films and TV shows and I'll add them to the list!


Movies:

1. The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988)
2. Akira (1988)
3. Fantastic Planet (1973)
4. Brothers Grimm
5. We Are the Strange
6. Eraserhead
7. Alice (1988)
8. Allegro non Troppo (1976)
9. Yellow Submarine (1968)
10. Sadko (The Magic Voyage of Sinbad) (1953)
11. Any film by Alexander Row (Aleksandr Rou) and Alexander Ptushko (Aleksandr Ptushko)
12. Spirited Away
13. The Cat in the Hat
14. The Shining
15. Black Swan
16. Mulholand Drive
17. 2001: A Space Odyssey
18. Dead Leaves
19. Forbidden Zone
20. Howl's Moving Castle
21. My Neighbor Totoro
22. Little Otik
23. Twice Upon a Time



TV Shows:


1. Rocko's Modern Life (1993)
2. Adventure Time (2010)
3. The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack (2008)
4. Pee Wee's Playhouse
5. The Angry Beavers
6. FLCL
7. Regular Show
8. Twin Peaks
9. Monty Python's Flying Circus

Sunday, March 17, 2019

The Sunday Post Meme (9)


Hey everybody! I am participating in a book meme called the Sunday Post which is being hosted by Kimba theCaffeinated Book Reviewer! The goal of this meme is to share news you have on various books and things you've read or received and also talk about what is coming up for your blog!  Movie hauls can include LIBRARY BOOKS, yard sale finds, arcs and bought movies and you can share these finds with other movie bloggers!

Hey everyone!  This week has been pretty slow, so I just sat at home, rewatching episodes of "Lego: Ninjago." I really enjoy that series and I can't believe that I'm at the sixth season of the show now!  It's fine whenever I have a slow week because it allows me to relax more!  I also watched the new "Avengers Endgame" trailer and now, I'm more excited than ever to check that movie out! I would love to see how the Avengers defeat Thanos!  I'm also hosting a special offer for viewers to receive a special custom made sticker I made for you to post on your website if you become a patron on my Patreon account. More details HERE.




Movie / TV Show Reviews:



4.5 out of 5 stars




Miscellaneous:




























(NETFLIX)

* I'm still watching this show and now I'm in the sixth season and it's as good as ever, although I thought that the 3rd and 4th seasons were kind of weak due to them forcing in a love triangle between Nya, Cole and Jay.




(TRAILER)

* Well, this is like the first time I actually featured a movie trailer here.  But I just had to gush over how awesome this trailer was!  Avengers: Infinity War has left me all shaken, so I can't wait to see the Avengers beat Thanos at his own game!





Well, that's the Sunday News for today and I will have more news for the various movies and TV shows I've seen in the near future!


Posted on Sunday, March 17, 2019.


Thursday, March 14, 2019

Thursday Movie Picks #1: Movies you Thought You'd Hate, But Ended Up Enjoying


Hey! Welcome to Thursday Movie Picks where you get to share your movie picks for each topic presented every Thursday!  Based on the theme presented each week, you can pick up to 3 to 5 movies and explain why you picked those movies! This meme is being hosted by Wandering through the Shelves!





This week's theme is: Movies you Thought You'd Hate, But Ended up Enjoying (Suggested by Brittani)





Most of the movies listed here were directed or produced by Tim Burton and I was often afraid of Tim Burton's movies when I was little.  So, I never bothered to watch any of these movies until much later and man, has my opinions changed about these movies ever since!




I was absolutely terrified of this movie when it first came out and I had refused to watch it at the time.  It wasn't until I was in high school that I actually sat down and watched this movie and I realized that it wasn't as scary as I thought that it would be and I ended up loving it!  This movie eventually ended up becoming one of my all-time favorite animated films!




"Corpse Bride" was a much later film that Tim Burton directed that I wasn't interested in at the time.  I was still in that phase where I was scared of Tim Burton's movies and I didn't watch Corpse Bride until much later.  But, now that I re-watched this film, it has become an enjoyable film for me that I like to watch every October!




"Beetlejuice" was an earlier example of a movie that I was terrified of when I was little.  I never bothered watching this movie when it first came out and even when I started watching this movie when I got a bit older, I still wasn't sold on this movie.  It wasn't until I watched this movie a second time that I started growing fond of it and now I continue to watch this film to this very day!


Tuesday, March 12, 2019

[SHORTS REVIEW] Quasi at the Quackadero (1976)






OR













Title: Quasi at the Quackadero

Starring:  Sally Cruikshank and Kim Deitch

Genre: Fantasy / Science Fiction / Comedy 

Company: N/A

Directed by: Sally Cruikshank

Year: 1976

MPAA Rating / TV Rating: N/A

Buy on:  N/A




The short is about how two "ducks" named Quasi and Anita, along with their robot friend Rollo decided to go to a strange amusement park called the Quackadero.  It was there that the three "supposed" friends saw all kinds of surreal activities going on, such as having their thoughts painted on pictures and going through several time traveling dimensions.  Also, Anita and Rollo are plotting against Quasi and want to get rid of him.


Wow! I can't believe that I've never seen this animated short before until just recently!  I bet that if I had watched this animated short when I was little, I would have loved it! "Quasi at the Quackadero" is certainly one of the WEIRDEST animated shorts I have ever seen!  Sally Cruikshank (who had also done animation work for "Sesame Street" during the 1980s) had done an awesome job at animating this short as the characters and the wacky world that they live in come to life and I have to say that this animation was very well done for the 1970s!  I also loved the fact that there are so many details going on in the animation like there was one scene where a circus master of sorts was yelling at his crew and you can see a strange creature pop out of his pants for no reason at all.  I was also entertained by the bantering between Quasi and Anita, as I found it interesting that while they went out to the Quackadero together, it seems like they can't stand each other and I was interested in seeing how Anita and Rollo will get rid of Quasi towards the end of the short.







The only problem with this short is that it can be rather confusing at times, especially during the scenes where Quasi, Anita and Rollo go to the Quackadero.  Also, if you are not a huge fan of bizarre imagery, this short has plenty of bizarre imagery that might creep out some viewers.  And another thing, even though this aspect is probably not that important to the story, I would have loved to see more from Anita, Quasi and Rollo's relationship with each other since I wanted to know why they treat each other so terribly.

Overall, "Quasi at the Quackadero" is one of the most bizarre yet creative animated shorts I have ever seen and I can't wait to check out the sequel "Make Me Psychic" someday!




Monday, March 11, 2019

Surreal Image of the Week: 3/10/2019



This week's surreal image is:






From Henrik Drescher's children's book "Look-Alikes"

Surreal Movies and TV Shows Down the Pipeline - 3/10/2019





Hey fellow weird film and TV fans!  This is a new feature on this blog where I keep everyone updated on what movies and TV shows I will review down the line!  If there are any other weird movies and TV shows that you think that I should review, then please feel free to suggest more films and TV shows and I'll add them to the list!


Movies:

1. The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988)
2. Akira (1988)
3. Fantastic Planet (1973)
4. Brothers Grimm
5. We Are the Strange
6. Eraserhead
7. Alice (1988)
8. Allegro non Troppo (1976)
9. Yellow Submarine (1968)
10. Sadko (The Magic Voyage of Sinbad) (1953)
11. Any film by Alexander Row (Aleksandr Rou) and Alexander Ptushko (Aleksandr Ptushko)
12. Spirited Away
13. The Cat in the Hat
14. The Shining
15. Black Swan
16. Mulholand Drive



TV Shows:

1. Rocko's Modern Life (1993)
2. Adventure Time (2010)
3. The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack (2008)
4. Pee Wee's Playhouse
5. The Angry Beavers
6. FLCL

Sunday, March 10, 2019

The Sunday Post Meme (8)


Hey everybody! I am participating in a book meme called the Sunday Post which is being hosted by Kimba theCaffeinated Book Reviewer! The goal of this meme is to share news you have on various books and things you've read or received and also talk about what is coming up for your blog!  Movie hauls can include LIBRARY BOOKS, yard sale finds, arcs and bought movies and you can share these finds with other movie bloggers!

Hey everyone!  Wow, it's been awhile since I last did a Sunday Post for this blog.  I have been so busy watching a lot of movies for the last few years that I just didn't have the time to do regular posts for this blog.  But now, I'm finally back, reviewing movies again and I got a lot more surreal movies to review in the near future now that I'm caught up with my TV and movie viewing!  This past week, I had finished watching both "Avengers: Infinity War" and "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2" and I loved both movies!  I was planning on watching "Captain Marvel" this weekend, but I didn't get the chance to. So, maybe I'll watch "Shazam!" instead!




Movie / TV Show Reviews:



4 out of 5 stars




Miscellaneous:
































(NETFLIX)

* Oh my god! I can't believe that I waited this long to finally watch this movie!  When they said that this movie was going to be WAY darker than the previous films in the MCU... THEY WEREN'T KIDDING!!  I was so shocked at how everything turned out in this movie and the ending was definitely pure torture for me because now I have to wait until "Avengers: Endgame" comes out to find out what happens to the characters next! AAARRRGGGHHH!!!





(NETFLIX)

* Yay!!! I finally got the chance to watch this sequel! I loved the first "Guardians of the Galaxy" movie and I've been dying to watch the sequel for some time now.  And the sequel is as hilarious and lots of fun as the first movie!  I just loved Baby Groot in this movie (he's so adorable) and yet, this movie had a lot of great dramatic moments that really balanced out the humor in this movie.




Well, that's the Sunday News for today and I will have more news for the various movies and TV shows I've seen in the near future!


Posted on Sunday, March 10, 2019.