Tag Archives: Yorgos Lanthimos

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Poor Things (2023) Movie Review

December 28, 2023 Alex Brannan Leave a comment

I’ve enjoyed pretty much all of Yorgos Lanthimos’ films (Kinetta is a bit of black sheep for me, but it has its interesting moments). Dogtooth, The Lobster, and The Favourite are all in my personal top 10 from their respective years. Alps and Killing of a Sacred Deer intrigue me enough that rewatches could easily lift them into top 10 lists of their own. Lanthimos makes exciting and unique films. He has a fantastic grasp of tone and morbid humor. And he pulls great performances out of his casts. Although Poor Things is imperfect, it checks all of these boxes, as well.

Poor Things is something of a libertine Frankenstein story. In Victorian England, a surgeon called God (short for Godwin Baxter) tasks a young medical student Max McCandles (Ramy Youssef) with Continue reading Poor Things (2023) Movie Review →

2019 Academy Awards, Award Ceremonies

2019 Oscar Predictions – Best Director

January 22, 2019 Alex Brannan Leave a comment

The nominees in the Best Director category are all very good. After not getting Best Director nods for Do the Right Thing and Malcolm X, Spike Lee finally gets his due. Pawel Pawlikowski returns to the Oscar sphere with his follow up to the Best Foreign Language winner Ida. Adam McKay returns, as well, with his follow-up to The Big Short. Yorgos Lanthimos makes his debut in the Best Director category after receiving nominations in other categories for The Lobster and Dogtooth.

And then there is two-time Oscar winner Alfonso Cuaron.

The Nominees:

Continue reading 2019 Oscar Predictions – Best Director →

2019 Academy Awards, Award Ceremonies

2019 Oscar Nominations Predictions – Best Director

December 29, 2018 Alex Brannan Leave a comment

There were so many well-directed films in 2018. That the Academy only picks five requires the snubbing of plenty of quality films. While the Best Director category logically follows from the Best Picture race, the expansion of Best Picture to a possible 10 films makes it harder to narrow down the Best Director race.

Any director whose film nabs a Best Picture nomination is in the hunt for a Best Director nod. Beyond those nominees, there is not much else in contention. And the Directors Guild Award nominations will clear up any confusion over the frontrunners. Aside from the weird year of 2012, the 2010s DGA and Academy Award nominations were almost the same. Each year, just one slot was different.

The Nominees:

Continue reading 2019 Oscar Nominations Predictions – Best Director →

All Movie Reviews, Comedy, Drama, Long Reviews (>400 Words), Love It

The Favourite (2018) Movie Review

December 20, 2018 Alex Brannan Leave a comment

Lady Sarah: Love has limits

Queen Anne: It should not

Those unfamiliar with the work of Yorgos Lanthimos may be surprised to hear that The Favourite is the man’s most accessible film to date. A court drama about the shifting power dynamics between three women—Queen Anne (Olivia Colman), her long-time confidant Lady Sarah (Rachel Weisz), and new arrival Abigail (Emma Stone)—this feverish portrayal of high society at its lowest states of depravity is Continue reading The Favourite (2018) Movie Review →

All Movie Reviews, Drama, Horror, Long Reviews (>400 Words), Love It

The Killing of a Sacred Deer (2017) Movie Review

November 4, 2017 Alex Brannan 3 Comments

Rare are the films in which the atmosphere is disquieting from beginning to end. People will tell you that The Killing of a Sacred Deer isn’t a horror film. But there is no closer word to describe it. It is a film that is horrifying without an abundance of horror tropes. It is unsettling to a fault. It is the most unsettling film of 2017, perhaps.

Having known nothing about The Killing of the Sacred Deer before entering the theater, I will suggest others do the same. What I will tell you is that Continue reading The Killing of a Sacred Deer (2017) Movie Review →

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The Lobster (2016) Movie Review

June 4, 2016 Alex Brannan Leave a comment

In The Lobster, David (Colin Farrell), upon being abandoned by his wife for another man, attends a hotel in which he must fall in love in 45 days or else be turned into an animal of his choosing. The movie is as surreal as the premise sounds, but it is also something beyond the mere surreal, which is an alleyway that can quickly lead to becoming a gimmick.

Director Yorgos Lanthimos’ usual brand of awkward yet matter-of-fact line readings dominate The Lobster. Characters present so much on their face while still concealing Continue reading The Lobster (2016) Movie Review →