Again, didn't feel like a Black Mirror episode at all. Could be "American Horror Stories" but not BM. What a letdown
The plot is what you would expect from such a movie. And, as usual in American productions, it is imbued of annoying and childish American moralism, that makes the viewing bothersome. Children deserve really deeper plots and topics, something Japanese (who are probably not that satisfied of how one of their flagship characters have been used) are perfectly aware of but Americans are not.
I can say straight up this will not be a movie for everyone, but it really clicked for me. I would also say a blind watch is preferable in movies like this, I went in knowing almost nothing and if possible I think that's the way to watch the movie if possible.
For me it was incredibly immersive once established, with incredible sound design and score. The slow build of tension, unease and dread as things unfold. I'll admit, I've always been a fan of mediums that give the viewer the same amount of knowledge of whats going on as the characters have, and this nails that.
The premise has a whole has been done many times before, including this years Knock at the Cabin, but I've not seen that or read the book it was based on. But in relation to the other similar films, this takes the top spot for me.
While the ending itself is probably the weakest part of the movie for me personally because it answers just slightly too many questions a little bit too easily, the journey to get there was still worth the time and I think the ending might still work for others.
“I must go punch that baby.”
The first film of the Leeds International Film Festival 2023 (LIFF), and what a strong start!
Poor Things is a humorous, sexy, and Gothic tale that can be philosophically but in the most bizarre ways. There is something so wonderful about the weird, especially in art.
Emma Stone's performance as Bella Baxter was just glorious. It’s also a very “risky” performance because when we first meet her, she is a child in an adult body after being reanimated, with her vocabulary being on the same level as a three-year-old, and her uneven body posture/moments, as if she’s still learning how to move. There is A famous movie saying, “Never go full stupid”, but Stone finds the right balance that prevents it from being embarrassing to watch, which other actors failed at. However, that section is only at the beginning, and as the film progresses through her journey of becoming herself, we see her understanding of language and walking improve significantly.
Bella is a fantastic main character, and she’s easy to care about. We want to see her succeed, and Emma Stone was terrific.
This is the best performance I have seen from Mark Ruffalo, as every time he was on screen, the audience and I were laughing. His character is a loudmouth parody of the ladykiller, who takes Bella under his wing and has her for himself. He chewed up the scenery, and it was astounding. There is a scene in this movie where both Bella and he have a chaotic dance, but the little dance he does on his way to the dance floor, I can't stop thinking about it. It was so funny.
William Dafoe, which should come as no surprise, delivers a superb performance as the monster-looking scientist Godwin Baxter. He is often referred to as 'God' at times, with his patchwork flesh of a face having a distant cross on the right side of his face. He very much plays the role of God, as he does the impossible and gives new life to unfortunate lost souls.
I’m just saying this right now, but the Best Supporting Actor race next year might be the best if nothing ruins it. I hope not. Imagine this: Robert Downey Jr. for Oppenheimer, Ryan Gosling for Barbie, Robert De Niro for Killers of the Flower Moon, and Ruffalo & Dafoe for Poor Things.
Everything on a technical level, such as cinematography, the score, costumes, and the production design - all extraordinary and benefited in bringing this world alive. The whole movie feels otherworldly and timeless.
What I find compelling about director Yorgos Lanthimos is that if you examine his movies, the stories in his movies are simple. The Lobster is about fulfilling societal norms we feel we need to follow, such as getting a job, applying to a college and university, being with a romantic partner, having kids, having interests, and eventually dying. The Killing of a Sacred Deer is a horror revenge tale where a family gets cursed after the fathers' wrongdoings. The Favourite is a period piece drama/comedy about two reveals who try to win the love of a bipolar queen.
Poor Things is a fresh re-imaging of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (also based on a novel by Scottish author Alasdair Gray), remodeled as a coming-of-age story told through a female perspective. The needs, the wants, the issues, and losing our inner child in this demanding world. Unique and isn't afraid to approach sexuality so openly.
At the start, the character of Bella has the mind of a child while having an adult body but is not restricted and not insecure about things. She can be loud, messy, playful, and expressive in emotions. Especially when it comes to sexuality, hence the openness to it. Like, there's nothing wrong with something that everyone does, but we don't talk about it. As we get older and more exposed to the world, we get quieter, speak less, get insecure about things, care too much about what others may say/think, and become closeted. That is one angle of the film that I found incredibly compelling.
But the execution is wild. I do not buy for one second that it’s strange for the sake of it. It leans more into steampunk absurdism. Yorgos Lanthimos presents the events as they are without questioning them, as the surface level normality peeled back, and focuses on the strange happenings in life and people. He's one of the most unique voices in cinema, not only for what he has to say but what he must show and how to show it.
The only issue I had with the film was towards the end when it started to get a bit preachy, going as far as hitting you on the head with it, and I was thinking, "Alright, I get it."
Other than that, the film was excellent and one of the most unique and memorable experiences I had this year. Even if this is Yorgos Lanthimos's most accessible film so far, it may still be too much for some, but even with its peculiar nature, you will find it impossible to take your eyes off the screen.
Significantly worse than the first film. The effects look exceptionally bad. The side stories are pointless and the scenes have no cohesion. It felt like several unrelated stories smashed together to make a movie. The memes are also crap and not funny. Plus key character outcomes (Stone!) are suddenly dropped and not picked up again. Left the cinema because of the crowds and missed the mid credit scene.
Like gravedigging, you have to dig deep if you want to get the payoff.
Alex Garland's film about the abuse of women succeeds thanks to its rich tapestry of jarring images. While fans of traditional horror may feel disappointed by its lack of jump scares, those who appreciate the more cerebral psychology of neo-horror (à la Hereditary) will find what they are looking for here.
The film is largely a success thanks to its strong cast and rampant symbolism, though Garland's choice to focus more on the women as victims rather than the titular men as aggressors means the movie misses its mark when it comes to demanding receipts.
My interpretation of the symbolism:
:rotating_light::construction::octagonal_sign::warning:MAJOR SPOILERS FROM HERE ON OUT:warning::octagonal_sign::construction::rotating_light:
The film, obviously, is on a mission to portray women (or at least one woman) as a victim to the male gender. That the director wants to paint all men with this broad stroke is evident in the choice to have the same actor (Rory Kinnear) play all of the aggressors, saying, in essence, that deep down all men are the same man: a being that's driven to hurt women.
Of course, her abusive husband, James, isn’t played by Rory Kinnear. Does this mean he’s somehow different than the other men who appear later in the film? Absolutely not, and proof of that is Jame’s injuries. After he falls / jumps from the building, we see that a gate post splits his right arm from his elbow to his hand, and that his left ankle is broken. Later on in the film, all of the men in the town who besiege Harper are shown to share these exact same injuries, illustrating that they are the same man as the abusive estranged husband.
This point is also reinforced by the presence of 'the naked man'. 'The naked man' is the personification of "The Green Man" (who is also symbolized in the stone carving on the church altar). According to Wikipedia, “The Green Man is a legendary being primarily interpreted as a symbol of rebirth, representing the cycle of new growth that occurs every spring,” which indicates that, as violence breeds violence, the cycle of violent men will continue with no end in sight. This is also what’s meant by the endless cycle of men birthing men that we witness in the film’s climax.
A quick glance at the film’s characters shows us several types of abusers that exist in society.
First, her husband, who starts off emotionally abusing his wife -- “If you leave me, I’ll kill myself” -- before graduating to physical abuse.
Then there’s Geoffrey, the man who rents her the mansion. He represents the “nice guy” who imposes his generosity on women and, when he’s later rebuffed, hurls insults at the women who aren’t interested in him.
The priest represents the patriarchy of religion and the structure put in place to perpetuate male domination and abuse.
Samuel is the young man 'frat bro' who feels he’s entitled to his ‘bit of fun’ and rebukes women who dare refuse him what he considers to be his due.
The police officer represents authority because, when he arrives at Harper’s rental property the night of the home invasion, he stands in her front yard yet neither says nor does anything. He’s as useless and impotent as the police and other authorities women might turn to when they seek assistance.
All of this is not to say that Jessie doesn’t have her allies. There is her best friend Riley (Gayle Rankin) who provides moral support throughout the film, and the kind policewoman who speaks with Harper when the police initially arrest the naked man. Garland’s point here is that the best place for a woman to get the support and assistance she needs is with other women.
This concept is driven home by the second figure etched into the altar (on the opposite face of The Green Man), that of the sheela na gig. The sheela na gig is a carving of a woman with an exaggerated vulva and is used to symbolize fertility and protection against evil.
That’s a brief rundown of the symbolism in Men, and also serves to illustrate what I appreciate about the film: it’s not because it’s horror that I have to turn off my brain. [/spoiler]
If I ever traveled to Avatar world, I would invent arrow proof cockpit glass for the helicopters and become rich.
8.5
what the actual fuck, gosh I loved it. a perfectly weird mix and Sebastian Stan is MADE for unhinged characters
To the person who said this was Past Lives with robots, that's the most accurate review for this movie. The world had it out for these two.
Americans saying that "original" was better than this one. Little do they know that "Alive" wasn't the first film about this accident. Actually, a mexican movie released in 1976 was the first one ever made and it wasn't bad at all.
Yes, this version is slow paced and with less action than previous movies, specially the american one, but technically and emotionally is way above the first two movies. J. A. Bayona goes deeper in the emotional part of each character, this time, using the real names of the survivors, besides, it was filmed in part in the same spot where the accident took place. Hey, we even have cameos of some of the survivors.
Sorry, but people saying this "remake" is bad, is just lazy people that don't like to read subtitles. This movie will be nominated for an Oscar, I can tell you that.
If I wanted to watch a puke and shit fest, I'd watch YouTube videos made for tweens. I can't believe that that this won the Palme d'Or at Cannes or that it received an eight-minute standing ovation. This was the story of a collection of piss-stains on the sidewalk of humanity. Why, of why, would anyone give a damn about any of them?
I'm absolutely obsessed with the idea of this woman's life rival being a chicken who ruined her life.
"You make my world so much bigger and I'm wondering if I do the same for you?"
Equally heartwarming and heartbreaking. Simple, but elegant. Romance is usually a flop with me, not my favorite genre but this one managed to make me emotional especially in the last few minutes. The characters and the two relationships we get here are so real and relatable. Supported by three amazing performances, beautiful imagery and a calm and soothing score. Some thought-provoking themes on fate, reincarnation, soulmates and immigration. The In-Yun stuff is a concept I probably won't ever forget. Really makes you question your life. Perfect emotional ending. Kinda scary that this is coming from a first time director, better watch out for Celine Song!
Donald in his supporting role did not disappoint. ps. But these high society stories always overshadow dozens of ordinary people working for them, creating this unrealistic idyll of historical times.
Very intense Chef!! But enjoyed it a lot, very bingeable and some really fantastic scenes. Hope they make more.
Benoit Blanc's second outing is an enjoyable film, but still felt like a step down when compared to the original. It tries to do all of the same things, but none of them are quite as successful. The ensemble isn't as compelling, the humor doesn't land quite as often, and, most critically, the central mystery isn't nearly as clever and satisfying. All of that said, I consider the original film to be an instant classic, so the bar was quite high, and even falling short of that bar, this film has plenty of worthwhile elements. The set-up is fantastic, and I was totally on board with everything up through the hilarious scene where Benoit instantly solves Miles' murder mystery game and wins an iPad. Additionally, even though the humor wasn't quite as consistent, there were still some inspired moments, one of the standouts being when Benoit dabs his eyes with Jeremy Renner's hot sauce. The film also got plenty of mileage out of extravagant billionaire related humor (e.g. the live stream of Serena Williams in the personal gym). There were also plenty of cameos, some of which were used to solid effect, while others felt strangely superfluous (what was the point of Hugh Grant? Was he playing himself, like the various celebrities Benoit was facetiming with in his tub, or was he a character?).
As for my critiques of the central mystery, the plotting just felt a little forced. For example, Benoit's final monologue in which he identifies the culprit hinges on the idea that Miles had been completely ruled out as a suspect on account of his reputation as a genius. However, the decision to rule him out was force fed to the audience and glossed over so quickly that it never really felt right to begin with. As such, this monologue that is positioned as a big reveal, doesn't feel like much of a reveal at all. Also, the bombastic finale dragged on too long and lead to an overly predictable payoff (the glass breaking into fire starting into Mona Lisa burning took forever, and with how often the Mona Lisa security was mentioned/shown, it was obvious what was going to happen). I couldn't help but feel like the movie was missing one extra twist or turn that could have kept things a bit more fresh. In fact, the writing had a set up for one that would have worked with very minimal changes: Whiskey should have been the one to shoot Andi. She thought that Andi killed Duke and had an extended moment near Duke's body where she could have grabbed his gun. This would have made the final cat and mouse more interesting, as Miles would have been able to honestly deny one of the crimes, thus casting doubt on his overall guilt. That's just me spitballing, but I think it would have made for a more interesting third act.
Featuring perhaps the weirdest sex scene in recent memory and a fairy tale plot that is immersed in reality, this is a real one-off, and that is a good thing.
I'll i have to say is to pay attention when Em calculates the probability...the calculator said 5.000.000+, when she saw those digits she understood everyone around her except the ones that gave the exact same the dice said, were from other houses... probably from a billion others and somehow connected the group of 8. that's why she left, cause she understood also that every house represented a different reality, that's why she skipped some of them and stopped at the one that with the group socializing and not being aware of the reality split, replacing herself.
Lets say there's 3 of you... One that is gentle, one that is smart, one that is a bad person, Each one in a different house not being aware that is all of them 3 go outside they will see themselves and probably freak out, you have timer (The comet) that lets the original you stay where you are or go to other house and replace yourself. Em "The protagonist" understood while she skipped houses seeing herself in them, but she understood that is impossible for her to go back to her original house since she left the house she was originally in because there were 5.B+ the same and she had to quickly look for another reality for her to be into, she went after a reality where the 8 of them were happy.
So, the reality thing got fucked when hugh and amir went out... it was impossible for the original themselves to go back. There is a scene were a hugh and amir go back with a red glowstick and a blue one and hugh starts fighting because mike hooked up with hes wife, but that mike was from another house (Apparently from another reality were he never did such thing).
When i say original i refer to the ones at the first scenes, but there is no such things as originals... they are themselves but in different type of ways (Personality,llifestyle,etc...)
Sorry for grammar. My main language is Spanish.
big balloon blood monkey just want fist bump :pensive:
Slow start to this season but ended up satisfying. Glad I stuck with it.
Since the beginning os this season, every scene that the stairs appears I fell that someone will fall down.
But in each scene, there was a sofa in the first floor, now it disappears.
