‘Poor Things’, Lanthimos’ most ambitious creation, bursts with bizarre opulence

Jeff Mitchell

“Poor Things” (2023) – “Who are you?  Who, who, who, who?” – “Who Are You” (1978) by “The Who” “What’s going on?  What’s going on?  What’s going on?  What’s going on?” – “What’s Going On” (1971) by Marvin Gaye Meet Bella Baxter (Emma Stone), an attractive 30-something.  She lives in a posh abode, about the size of a city block – in 19th-century London.  Bella is unmarried but lives with Dr. Godwin Baxter (Willem Dafoe), presumably her father, but our heroine refers to him as “God,” an ironic moniker because…

Pledging to watch ‘The Oath’ may cause severe regrets

Jeff Mitchell

“The Oath” (2023) – “You are so boring, all your thinking.” – Bathsheba (Nora Dale) After a brief opening chase scene through a crowded forest in director/co-writer Darin Scott’s “The Oath”, the camera focuses on the lead, Moroni (also played by Scott), a muscular 40-something donning a warrior’s garb, complete with, perhaps, a cowhide vest.   He’s thinking. Moroni stands, sits, and lies down in a vast patch of lush emerald pasture near an ocean coast, and the thoughts in his head – for some reason – are spoken aloud…

‘Dream Scenario’: Cage is a dreamy choice for Borgli’s exceptional and eccentric dark comedy

Jeff Mitchell

“Dream Scenario” (2023) – “The Dream Police.  They live inside my head.” – “Dream Police” (1979) by Cheap Trick Paul Matthews (Nicolas Cage) isn’t a cop, but – for reasons that cannot (easily) be explained – he’s living inside people’s heads.  This college professor and family man spends his days giving lectures about evolutionary biology and supporting his wife, Janet (Julianne Nicholson), and their two daughters.  However, nights suddenly become problematic because friends, students, colleagues, and strangers inexplicably begin dreaming about him.  What?  This mild-mannered, nondescript educator becomes an overnight…