November 2023

Poor Things

Phenomenal stuff. This is Yorgos Lanthimos' most dense, complex, maximalist, filthiest and stunningly grandiose work to date, exploring the infantilisation, sexualisation and indulgence of womanhood with an audacious blend of laugh out loud cringe-humour and the uncomfortably bizarre and disturbing - he's refined his hilariously hard- to-watch style to near perfection here. Emma Stone gives the best performance of her career, whilst Mark Ruffalo plays the horniest, most pathetic little incel I've seen in quite some time.

It gets a wide release January 12th. Make sure to see it with a crowd of people. It's a REALLY good audience watch.

Bottoms

Comparing Bottoms to Booksmart is like comparing a fighter jet to an air conditioning unit. This thing has bite: there isn't a hint of obnoxious pandering or desperation to be found. It's confident in its bonkers, genuinely edgy and brutally anarchic self. This is one of the tightest, snappiest and funniest scripts I've seen all year, firing off a constant onslaught of visual, verbal and truly daring gags, much like the full-blooded uppercuts thrown by the heroines themselves. The humour may not be for everyone, but it had me cackling like an idiot for the entire runtime.

Dream Scenario

Dream Scenario is at its best when scary. With Ari Aster producing, the sense of darkness, fear and sorrow is where the film shines, exploring the psychological horror of dreams, nightmares and viral fame to newly creative potentials. However, its high-concept nature only goes so far, disappointingly writing itself into a corner by the climax, not to mention the juggling of heartfelt drama and bawdy comedy which didn't resonate with me quite as well. There are elements of greatness here, but it's not Beau is Afraid.

Hundreds of Beavers

Hundreds of Beavers is one of the most wholly original, inspiring, creative and joyous experiences I've had with a film all year. Combining live action, 2D animation, pixilation, stop motion, puppetry and After Effects compositing, it just feels like a love letter to unbridled passion, creation and limitlessness of cinema. An ingenious formula of Buster Keaton, Looney Tunes, Zelda and SpongeBob couldn't be more...'Luke-Core'! This is the type of thing I would love to make someday.

I have no idea when it gets a wide release, but I implore all of you to check it out when it does.

The Boy and the Heron

Hayao Miyazaki is my favourite filmmaker. He's the guy who literally got me into film and being creative at a young age (yes, all of this is his fault!). And The Boy and the Heron feels like an amalgamation of everything he stands for as an artist, in fact it's borderline autobiographical: an old master, absorbed into his craft, passing it to a younger generation. It's a beautifully tender and warmly soulful rumination on grief, escapism and mortality, whilst introducing an almost Buñuelian sense of the abstract and surreal. This is one of his more interpretable and dream-like works, and I can't wait to experience it again. Gorgeous.