Three sweet picks to get you through the week.

by Leo Charney

Eagle vs. Shark

DVD
What: Quirky New Zealand romance.
Why: If you like HBO’s Flight of the Conchords, here’s another aggressively oddball comedy with that show’s star Jemaine Clement. He plays an introverted, nerdy guy beaten down by his critical dad, obsessed with a Samoan who used to bully him and nervously edging into romance with an equally eccentric young woman. Its unique tone, aided by exotic accents, blends the neurotic with the offbeat as it morphs into a surprisingly pensive, melancholy meditation on trauma, tragedy and the possibility—but limitations—of love.

BigThink

Online: bigthink.com
What: The YouTube of ideas.
Why: What is human nature? Is it good to be fat? What is the American identity? If these kinds of big questions turn you on, there’s a new website just for you. It features short clips of big thinkers from a wide range of fields, weighing in on ideas from politics to media to spirituality. The shorts are drawn from longer, Errol Morris-style interviews, held against a white background, which make the subjects look like brainy hostages. You can also comment, interact and apply to be an expert yourself.

Syndromes and a Century

DVD
What: Enigmatic Thai art movie.
Why: If classical art cinema is dead, no one told 37-year-old Thai filmmaker Apichatpong Weerasethakul. This recent puzzler, following a love story across two time periods, combines the dreamy stillness of ’50s Ozu with the enigmas of a ’60s Resnais classic like Last Year at Marienbad. It starts twice, revises itself, lingers on the wind in the trees, holds the camera contemplatively and leaves you unsure of what you’ve seen once it’s over. It’s not for everyone, but it’s cutting-edge art cinema if it’s in your cerebral comfort zone.