The time has come for me to once again figure out what the heck to get my brother for Christmas. He’s not your average 22 year old male, and it has to be something I can give him in a family environment (porn is out). He likes strange movies (City of Lost Children, 12 Monkeys) and the Titanic. Any hints are appreciated–I’m looking for something in the under $100 range, and something “real” as opposed to a gift certificate.
Get him a few Cyclona mini-remote control cars… They are about $30 CDN.
Um… not sure if that link will work or not. Anyways, it’s a wee little remote control car with rechargable batteries and a charging cradle… You can do about 10 minutes of racing (I think) before you need to recharge it, which takes 45 seconds. Perfect for racing with a cubical buddy, and these little suckers move! Make sure you get two different frequencies or they will interfere with each other.
Now I need to let me wife know about these for a stocking stuffer 
Hmm…he does have a REAL car, which I suspect would somewhat diminish the appeal of a remote-control car. Maybe I don’t know enough about guys, though.
Does he have a DVD player? You can get one for under $100 now.
And if he already has one you can probably pick him up at least 5 strange movies for $100. Or if he has a DVD player you could get him a five month subscription to netflix for just under $100.
Not yet, but keep trying. Maybe a homebrewing kit? For movies, how about Band of Brothers DVD set, it’s on my wish list.
5 strange movies
Films of the Brother’s Quay This is a very bizarre set of foreign surrealistic animation set to various classical music pieces. It is gorgeous and slightly disturbing.
Hedwig and the Angry Inch A zany story about a boy from Communist East Berlin having a sex change and coming to America and eventually becomes a music star. The music is great and the story is very funny.
Alice Turned on to Jan Svankmajer’s work from the Brother’s Quay shorts listed above, I picked this up. It is very bizarre and an interesting watch. I just wish there was more music throughout as it gets to a plodding point eventually.
Pom Poko I think this is the right movie. If it is the one I am thinking of it has a goofy family of racoons who fight bad guys with their testicles.
Hawk the Slayer This movie is totally bizarre in an unintentional way which makes it hilarious. I like the floating green hula hoops that do magical things and the bad editing of the elf when he shoots his arrows quickly. If you two are catty and watch it with him it will be like watching MST3K. However, even without the extraneous commentary this movie still rocks. Unintentional campiness is the best kind.
Honorable mention to Mommy Dearest. Let’s see two sets of friends have seen the movie. Half of them saw it in a largely hetero theater and saw it as incredibly tragic and sad. The other half saw it in various gay theaters and were screaming and howling with laughter the whole time. If you have any beef with your parents, having them see it given as a gift is like a slap in their face though.
Wow, those are some interesting DVD suggestions! He does indeed have a DVD player (last year’s Mom-to-brother gift), so dmm’s suggestions are veering in the right direction there. Some of those titles seem pretty strange, but who knows?
If he’s into the Titanic, there’s a whole bunch of movies about it, fictional and documentary. Also, if he’s into the Titanic, he might be interested in other shipwreck stuff. I seem to remember a National Geographic DVD collection of hunts one man did for famous shipwrecks. The only one I can remember is the Search for the Bismarck. But there were four different stories.
How about one of those watches that taps into the atomic clock radio signal?
A cheap digital camera? If he has a CD burner, you can get an MP3/CD player at a totally reasonable price…
Maybe you want to be a little more sentimental. If he is a reader, a book with a good note from you written on the inside cover is always nice. Or try something really offbeat. My favorite Christmas gift last year was an Appollo spaceship christmas tree ornement (which my cat, named Sputnik, promptly broke). Or maybe go to an Asian grocery store and buy all the unusual candy that you can find.
Good luck!
Booklover, the National Geographic museum/store near Dupont has the Titanic DVD collection that Hugh Jass mentioned. I think you are in the DC area, right?
I would second the Asian candy. Some of it is wonderful and others are completley foul. It is best if you can watch him taste test each one. Have a camera ready since the results can be pretty funny. I guess that would be more of a present for you though.
It is tough, isn’t it? One year I got my brother a beverage-of-the-month deal that I thought was lots of fun, and either he liked it, too, or he lied.
If you share a sense of humor, lots of goodies can be found at Archie McPhee. I tend to go for the weird stuff, or else a gift certificate. But maybe that’s just me.
Porn.
Oooh, didn’t realize there was a Titanic DVD set. I do work near the National Geographic building, so I’ll have to stop in and see if they have it. Archie McPhee is also a good idea, especially since I just got a new catalog in the mail the other day. I normally get him a funny thing and a nice thing, so that sounds like I have it wrapped up.
Woo hoo! I helped someone!
Just a side note though: It’s a collection about shipwrecks, including the Titanic, not just the Titanic.
I got one of those little racing cars. 
Mines a Subaru Impreza.
booklover: I’m in the same position as you are. My brother is 22, lives with his girlfriend, so I was gonna mesh both of their presents together. But what the hell to get them is another story.
I would totally get my brother one of these little racing cars though.
They are so awesome.
I got the perfect movie for your brother. Get him Muhulland Drive by David Lynch. Not only is it extremely weird, but its got some pretty hot softcore stuff in it that is virtually undetectable from just looking at the dvd cover. Believe me, he’ll call you after he watches it and will thank you with all his might.