Kafka (1991)

Kafka (1991):

"Kafka is a 1991 French-American mystery thriller film directed by Steven Soderbergh. Ostensibly a biopic, based on the life of Franz Kafka, the film blurs the lines between fact and Kafka's fiction (most notably The Castle and The Trial), creating a Kafkaesque atmosphere."

Here is a strange film. It's about Franz Kafka working as an insurance salesman and trying to write his uncanny stories. While it presents itself as a biography, he soon finds himself pursued by anarchists, a zombie, devious cops, and even a mad scientist.

Kafka finds that his regular office life is now subject to the uncanny horror he writes about, including being summoned to The Castle. While it does take some liberties with Kafka himself, what this film does is essentially put Kafka himself, in the role of his stories' main characters and mixes them with a monster movie. Jeremy Irons plays a good Franz Kafka. Definitely a weird film. Check it out.

Arena (1989)

Arena (1989):

"A human becomes an unlikely rising star in the biggest fighting tournament in the galaxy that's dominated by alien species."

This movie has it all. Rocky in Space! The best cheeseball 80s puppet technology! A boxing blob! A four-armed hobbit guy! It's free on Tubi! Check it out.

Clash of the Titans (1981):

Clash of the Titans (1981):

"Perseus must battle Medusa and the Kraken to save the Princess Andromeda."

My favorite film, and first exposure to Greek myths. Lovely claymation monster work by Ray Harryhausen, including the evil Kalibos, Kraken, Medusa, and others. Excellent scenes in Mount Olympus help give the film a sincere sense of epic scale, without being bloated. Highly recommended. For me, the monsters and gods are what make it strange and mesmerizing to watch.
Check it out!

The Prestige (2006)

The Prestige (2006):

"After a tragic accident, two stage magicians engage in a battle to create the ultimate illusion while sacrificing everything they have to outwit each other."

Recommended, but you definitely understand more with a second watch. Good performances by Bale and Jackman as rival 1800s magicians. Plus, Nikola Tesla is played by David Bowie. Twist ending too! Watch it any way you can.

Dollman (1991)

Dollman (1991):

"A hard-boiled, intergalactic policeman lands on Earth where he is only 12 inches tall."

Tim Thomerson plays a Clint Eastwood-esque cop with a tiny but powerful gun out to stop a criminal who's just a head who has an interdimensional bomb. Also, he has to stop a Bronx gang. And he's helped by a kid and his mom, who think he's a toy. It's great schlocky fun! This and it's sequel, Dollman vs. The Demonic Toys (1993) you can watch on Tubi for free! Check it out.

Trancers (1984 -)

Trancers (1984):

"A trooper (Tim Thomerson) leaves 2247 Angel City for 1985 Los Angeles to stop a zombie mystic (Michael Stefani) out to change history."

A good cheesy sci-fi series that's something like Blade Runner meets Quantum Leap. Pure B-Movie fun as Jack Deth tries to adapt to the 80s, and solve his case. Won't stop using weird slang. Part of the comedy is the modern people being oblivious to zombies a.k.a. "squids". Each movie has diminishing returns however.

Trancers 1-3 are good. The rest just feel like standard sword-and-shield fantasy, like someone mixed up two scripts. Pretty weird sci-fi concepts executed as action-comedy. These are all available on Tubi. Take a look!

The Book of Eli (2010) Review:

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSMHmtaoXtI The Book of Eli (2010): "A post-apocalyptic tale, in which a lone man fights his way across America in order to protect a sacred book that holds the secrets to saving humankind." I always love a good post-apocalyptic story. This one is certainly strange, with a couple twists. Good humor and action too.