Poor Things: Must See

I had no idea this was Oscar® bait. I chose to watch it because the same guy who directed The Favourite is behind the movie plus I have to admit I like the primary cast. I think the trailer gave me a more accurate hint on Poor being a new take on Frankenstein or more likely, The Bride of Frankenstein. Fear not, no spoilers yet we need a beginning.

In an alternate Victorian London, surgeon Dr. Godwin Baxter reanimates a dead woman and renames her Bella. She is an experiment on the progression of human development. Things such as motor skills, language, self-awareness, etc. It’s nothing terribly new for that period. Numerous scientists and philosophers constantly pondered how much was nurture versus Nature. Being R-rated, Bella definitely discovers the joys of sex which was a super taboo topic in proper society. The trailer made this clear when she asks her boyfriend why people don’t engage in it more often if it’s such fun, aka “furious jumping” as she calls it.

I highly recommend Poor. Emma Stone and Willem Dafoe are fantastic as they always are, the latter certainly didn’t phone it in with the boring Aquaman. Mark Russo was funny as a bohemian cad which was a big shift for me. I’m accustomed to him being a nice person in 13 Going on 30 and his Dr. Banner is more likable than the previous two actors. I loved the special effects used for the scenery of famous cities. To me, it reflects Bella’s view of the world we take for granted.

Alamo Extras:

• Trailers for The Bride of Frankenstein, Frankenstein Created Woman and Island of Lost Souls.
• Juliette Prowse dancing in Paris.
• Scene from Invention of Destruction, a French movie from the Fifties. It could’ve been from a Jules Verne novel.
• Colorized silent movie footage of models.
• Commercial for the joys of apples from a Scandinavian country.
• Emma Stone tutorial: scenes from Easy A and La La Land, being in a video with Haim, wasting her time on SNL and a demo on how to use a pogo stick.
• Reasons on why the world loves Willem Dafoe:
  1. He can play anyone/beats typecasting.
  2. Scenestealer but restrained.
  3. Unlimited charisma.
  4. Has worked with many great filmmakers.
  5. Sweet at bedtime (reading a story to a child).
  6. He survived getting his start in Heaven’s Gate.