Recently watched Bugonia and really hated it, so but it’s time to do a ranking of a supremely marmite director. Marmite closer to the bad side in that I hate more of the director’s films than love them, but yeah, there’s levels of hate and love to everything. Nice. (˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶)
6 Kinds of Kindness (≖_≖ )
Why Yorgos, why? ᕙ( ᗒᗣᗕ )ᕗ You’d released the genius Poor Things at the start of the year (I’m talkin’ UK, I know other territories got to have this film earlier), and then you go and release this putrid shite near the end of the year. A nice little soggy brown pre-Christmas present, perhaps? Whatever you were thinking, this shiz honked. Majorly honked. (¬_¬”) It’s told in a kind of triptych, three stories centred around control, but nothing landed for me. I like Emma Stone (see: Poor Things), I like Jesse Plemons (see: Breaking Bad, Black Mirror), I like Willem Defoe (see: lots of stuff). But a solid cast does not a great film make. The level of weirdness didn’t work, Yorgos seems to have something against dogens and I can’t get on board with his depictions of violence. And this is coming from someoneone who’s watched a fair amount of violent joints. KoK just comes as across as hollow, meandering and entirely soulless. It’s a no from me. Here’s an angry meme cat I found on the website emojicombos. It doesn’t look so good because WordPress has double spaced the lines and won’t let me change them, but hey, you can still see it if you look closely.
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5 Bugonia ( ,,⩌’︿’⩌,,)
With this joint, similar problems to the above (Kinds of Kindness, not the angry cat meme. Got no problems with that dude, he’s just letting off some steam). Emma Stone and Yorgos Lanthimos seem like a firm pairing at this point, but I’m just not digging it. Jesse Plemons is definitely channelling some peak energy with his conspiracy theory dude, but it’s not enough, dude. I know Yorgos is getting a kind of auteur reputation with all his weird and ‘kooky’ filmography, but this kind of weird just doesn’t gel. For me, anyway. The splashes of violence are often OTT in a Tarantino gross-out comedy kind of way, and…that ain’t my style, man. Here’s disappointed face from that same website. Again, kind of ruined by WordPress, but hey…look closely.
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4 The Killing of a Sacred Deer (¬`‸´¬)
Weird, man. And again, not in a compelling way. Barry Keoghan is definitely talented when it comes to channelling those weird vibes, but the plot just feels flat to me. Admittedly, I don’t do much research into video essays or similar things when it comes to Yorgos joints, so maybe I’m missing something. Colin Farrell isn’t bad either, I just can’t get too far with the thin, fable-like narrative. (¬`‸´¬)
3 The Lobster ( •̀⤙•́ )
The concept is intriguing with this one, don’t get me wrong. It’s got a soft dystopian sci-fi vibe going on, and I appreciate that. It’s just the execution which I’m not particularly fond of. Also, Yorgos, what’s your beef with dogs? Come on, man. Farrell also puts in another intriguing performance here, but it’s still not enough to elevate this joint to ‘wow’ level. More of a ‘meh’, I’m afraid. (¬_¬”)
2 The Favourite ദ്ദി(˵ •̀ ᴗ – ˵ ) ✧
Now, onto the good shiz. The very good shiz. Olivia Coleman knocks it out of the park with this one as per usual, injecting pathos and sympathy into a troubled and traumatised monarch. Oh, and that long focus shot on her face as she watches Sarah dancing with another partner. Absolute gold, and perhaps the bit that secured the Oscar. This is probably Yorgos’ most ‘normal’ joint, but it’s still full of fabulous character and pomp. Everyone shines here, and this one’s very much deserving of all its awards attention. (づ｡◕‿‿◕｡)づ
1 Poor Things ◝(ᵔᗜᵔ)◜
And now for the big one. Yorgos’ magnum opus. So far, anyway. Bizarre and very, very odd, but in a great way. Possibly the top level of odd I can go to and appreciate without disengaging. Emma Stone’s on fine form in the main role, and the steampunk aesthetic was well deserving of awards attention. Willem Defoe’s also awesome as always. Add to that one of the happiest/oddest final scenes I’ve seen in cinema for a long while, and you’ve got yourself an absolute cracker. Bravo. (▰˘◡˘▰)