Pobres Criaturas

"Poor Things" directed by Yorgos Lanthimos is definitely a bold and interesting original film. Probably the most unique film to be released this year and provided a surprising watch, I often found myself laughing out loud more than I had thought I would've. The film showcases personal transformation and finding one's self through rapid growth and character development with Bella (Emma Stone). As we see her transition from being told where to go and what to do, to ultimately deciding her own path. Emma Stone displayed one of her greatest performances to date and heavily carried this film on her shoulders. The supporting ensemble was outstanding as well with Mark Ruffalo, Willem Dafoe, and Christopher Abbott all giving exceptional performances. Beautiful cinematography, set design, costume design and makeup were very unique and help elevate this bizarre and over the top piece of cinema to be one of the best films of the year.

Poor Thins was the last Best Picture nominee on my list.

As someone who likes the work of Lanthimos but does not *love it* I didn't know what to expect all I can say is I love it!

For me, this film represents female liberation like no other. Bella represents the new beginning and self-discovery. Emma should win an Oscar for this is not even questionable.

The scenes are magnificent and the whole world Lanthimos created is stunning to look at.

The cast (for the most part) delivers outstanding performances even though their accents sometimes miss the mark.

The only cast member that I found lacking was Margaret Qualley.

It's an outstanding film that deserves the recognition it got and it's the perfect feminist text. I loved it.

Clearly a lot of people enjoyed this grotesque movie, but it wasn't for me. Some of the scenes in it made me feel sick, and maybe they were supposed to, but it seemed unnecessary. Don't even get me started on how pretentious the movie was.

I also found this movie very frustrating because the acting was good, the sets and costuming were good, and some scenes used striking cinematography. These things all made me feel like I should've liked the movie, but I don't. It could have been put to much better use.

The sex and nudity is beyond gratuitous. I'm usually not bothered by sex scenes in movies, but for this particular film it felt perverted. Maybe the director has a weird fetish.

Ultimately, this film made me want to crack my own head open and pour bleach over my brain. It's one of those movies I'd like to block out. I don't think I'll ever watch anything else by Lanthimos.

Well it was just weird. But I really loved Mark Ruffalo in the movie. He was so funny. And he really made the role very believable. The other actors and actresses were great but their roles didn't have the same kind of acting needed. Ruffalo was able to put more emotion into his role. Emma Stone did her role very well as the lovely Bella. Who was learning more and becoming a more rounded role for her. So her "frankinsteinish" role was well played. Dafoe as the mad scientist who let his creation loose into the world was well played as well! Personally I would have just watched it for Mark Ruffalo though.

This is a very unusual movie. I enjoyed watching it, even though it felt awkward at times (as promised by the creators and many reviewers). In my opinion, many users who gave it a 1/10, missed the point. For sure, it is a movie for very mature and sophisticated audiences. It contains a lot of ugly truths about the world, so don't watch it if those bother you. (Don't watch it with teenagers, either, wait until they are 20 or 21.) I appreciated the creative direction, cinematography, and Emma Stone's acting talent. The plot covers multiple aspects of privilege and abuse in thought-provoking ways. On a very high level, you could say that it has some similarities to Barbie, but a very different approach. It is almost the anti-Barbie. The contrast between these two 2023 movies is definitely worth a class discussion in some graduate course of film criticism.