Oscar Flix: Bugonia (2025)

 Does this Film have the right amount of buzz to be an Oscar Winner?

Is that the last Bee Pun?

To find out, check out my Review of...

Michele Fuller (Emma Stone) is the CEO of a major Company.

They have a history of experiments with chemicals and bioengineering.

She draws the ire of a crazy man (Jesse Plemmons) and his Cousin.

He's convinced that she's an Alien and kidnaps her.

They take her back to their home- hiding her car and destroying her phone.

They also shave her head, since he explains that she needs it to communicate with her ship.

She is also covered in lotion, because...it made sense in Korean.

The man wants her to send a communication to her Leader and to help him negotiate a deal to save the Earth.

He's clearly motivated by the fact that Stone's CEO is also responsible for his Mom- a random Alicia Silverstone- being in a coma after he drug issues.

He's...not well.

There's a local Cop who has a vague backstory with Plemmons' Character.

It's implied that he did something terrible to him, but there's also no payoff to this, so...

Lots of weird stuff happens.

It gets pretty freaky.
It gets pretty messy.

To find out what, stream it now...

This sure was...something.

Is this Yorgos' most twisted and bleak Movie?
Well, no.

The Killing of a Sacred Deer's 3rd Act is hard to beat and the lady stomping a dog in The Lobster, so...

The Film walks an interesting line as it comes to Plemmons' Character and whether he's right or not.  He's crazy...but wait...maybe not...okay, he is...but now he's right...maybe?

Plemmons is great, by the way.  Where is his nomination?
Stone is, as always, great.  A justified nomination.

I will say that I do like this Remake a bit better than the Original.  That one leaned more into the weird contrast between 'People act weird' and 'Guy tortures Captive' than this one (mercifully) does.

Bugonia is a Remake that does good things with a strange premise.  Just know that the Plot is not all that different, so, if you've seen one, you don't also necessarily need to see this...

A Film that has good ideas, a good Cast and a twisted sense of morality.  Fans of Yorgos' previous works will be pleased, and it sure hooks you.

Oscar Rewind: Poor Things (2023)

 Emma Stone is up for another Oscar this Year.

What was her last Oscar Film?
Well, it was...

A poor young lady named Bella is...not quite right.

Her intelligence and motor skills are far behind what they should be and she's being observed by...

Willem Dafoe.

He's something of a Scientist himself in this one and he managed to bring her back to life after a traumatic brain injury.

There's more to it, but, why SPOIL it here?

Willem Dafoe is Tommy Wiseau.

A young Doctor studying under Dafoe is brought in to help study her progress.

They want to see how fast she recovers and can be reintegrated into society.

Meanwhile, she dreams of the outside world, living all of the life she knows inside his Estate.

In comes Mark Ruffalo to sweep her off of her off-balance feet.

He takes her away to show her the World, woo her and take part in some 'furious jumping.'

If you know, you know.

However, she learns faster than anyone could have predicted.

Eventually, the journey is more about learning who she is and what she wants than his aspirations.

To find out how this goes, stream it now.

A Film that defies explanation and expectations in all of the right ways.

Right off the bat, this Film is just too damn weird for many, many people.
Even by Yorgos Lanthimos standards, mind you!

Emma Stone is amazing in this, so it is easy to see all of the hype and award wins related to this.  She fully commits to this Piano-like character that slowly grows and changes.

At one point, she's breaking dishes for fun.  Later, she's arguing about the futility of life.

She's not the only great part here, from Dafoe's calmly-insane Doctor to Ramy Yousef's understated Doctor.  There's no weak link here.

Just so you know- there's lots of implied sex and actual nudity in this one, so don't watch this in the wrong kind of mixed company.

While I don't pretend to understand every weird choice made by Lanthimos and company here, I applaud it.

It's so weird...and so good.

A Film that is probably too strange for many of you out there.  If not, enjoy this bizarre, fairy-tale like journey that feels like Wes Anderson on acid.

Tubi Thursday: The Killing of a Sacred Deer

 Instead of something nice and fun, I forced myself to watch this.

Now I feel like a Poor Thing...

A Doctor- Colin Farrell- has a curious relationship with a young man (Barry Keoghan- playing 16) who keeps coming around to see him.

Something is off.

The young man gets a bit obsessive, coming off like a stalker or a spurned lover (a la Basic Instinct).

He ingratiates himself with the family as well.

Cue the 'Eerie Music.'

He keeps talking about his dead Father and we keep hearing vague, overlapping statements like 'He hasn't had a drink in 3 years' and 'My Father has been dead for 2 years.'

He finally warns him that his Family will be in trouble.

Bad things happen to his children and nobody can explain it.

Will an offhand reference to a Greek Tragedy hold the answer?

Fun Fact- Farrell's Son is played by the same young person who voices Kratos' son in God of War.

It all comes to a head in a very dark and serious manner.

Who will survive?
Who will be the same after all is said and done?

To find out, stream the Film now.

Yikes.  This one was...something.

It's been a long time since I watched The Lobster.  I recall it getting really dark and intense in the 3rd Act.
This one does the same.

It also does this weird thing where people sound very natural, but also very surreal.  I can't really explain it- you just kind of have to see it.

This Film is a great showcase for the Actors, so I can see why people like Nicole Kidman and Alicia Silverstone really petitioned hard to be in this.
A weird Batman connection, no? 
Especially with Barry (in Deleted Scenes) as a Joker and Farrell as The Penguin in the most recent Batman Film.

This one is dark.  This one is odd.

If you're still interested after reading the summary, give it a look.  Just be prepared to be thinking long and hard about what you just watched...

A good Film, but another one that I'm not sure that I plan on watching ever again.  It's just so...so Yorgos.

Quick Reviews: The Lobster (2015)

Wow, this is weird.  Leave it to my Irish brethren to make a crazy, low-key Sci-Fi Film...

In a bleak future, men like David (Colin Farrell) are forced to be part of a couple or else they are turned into an animal!

He's sent to a Resort where the Loners (Single people) are given a small window of time to find a mate or be punished.

Oh and don't touch yourself or they'll burn your hand.

David reluctantly hooks up with a cruel woman in order to avoid being turned into a Lobster.

Things don't exactly work out, so he flees to the Woods to live a new life.

He finds some people living as Loners there and finds someone he is actually attracted to.  

Can things work out for the best?

Or will this bleak future prove to be too much for true love and all that?  

To find out, watch the Film.

Weird, dry stuff.  

The whole thing works and/or fails based on one thing: it's dry humor.  Even though the premise is absolutely bizarre, they never treat it like that.  

For better or worse, the Film treats everything with a casual, disinterested tone.  Crazy stuff like being turned into a Horse if you don't marry is just, well, something that happens.  They also get very oddly specific about certain details- strange.  If you don't like that kind of thing, it just isn't going to work for you.  

After Absolutely Anything and its wacky tone, this one sure feels strange.  The Irish and the Brits really don't get along!  

Everyone here does a good job, from Farrell's casual tone to Ben Whishaw's angry Loner.  

Again- you won't like them if you don't buy into the Film's humor.  

The Lobster maybe isn't a great Film, but I had a bizarrely good time with it.  

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go to an NRA Picnic...

Curious stuff that won't be for everyone.  The whole thing is drier than white toast, but also crazy.