‘BUGONIA’ Is Alienating For All the Right Reasons

October 29, 2025 by Matt Oakes Posted in Most Popular, Out in Theaters Tagged Aiden Delbis, Alicia Silverstone, Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons, Stavros Halkias, Yorgos Lanthimos 6 Comments

A twisted morality play-cum-psychological thriller with a maybe-science-fiction bite – one that only Yorgos Lanthimos could execute at this level – Bugonia may be a remake, but it’s still infused with vivid originality and alive with possibility. The story of a radicalized gig worker and his slow-witted cousin who kidnap a powerful biochem CEO (convinced she’s an alien from the Andromeda galaxy) plays out as a tense, one-location two-hander that crackles with the high-voltage energy of Jesse Plemons and Emma Stone. It’s unnerving, darkly funny, sharply acted, and loaded with just enough satirical commentary on the tragedy of modern life to keep it gripping from its bleak opening moments to its glorious finish. Read More

‘KINDS OF KINDNESS’ A Freaky Foray Into Yorgos’ Hilarious Depravity

June 20, 2024 by Matt Oakes Posted in Most Popular, Out in Theaters Tagged Emma Stone, Hong Chau, Jesse Plemons, Joe Alwyn, Kinds of Kindness, Mamoudou Athie, Margaret Qualley, Reviews, Willem Dafoe, Yorgos Lanthimos 10 Comments

A trio of demented fables make up Yorgos Lanthimos’ most recent film, Kinds of Kindness. An anthological miasma of the bizarre and misanthropic, Yorgos returns to his biting roots as a somewhat impenetrable provocateur, escaping easy explanation at every turn, armed with a razor sharp sense of satirical humor. Featuring an outstanding ensemble cast that cycles through various characters throughout the film’s distinct – and mostly unconnected – three short, Kinds of Kindess filters the filmmaker’s most esoteric curiosities through an almost Black Mirror filter, making for a collection of works that are strong and striking on there own merit but add up to something entirely captivating when taken as a whole. Read More

Fantastical ‘POOR THINGS’ A Madcap Adventure Through Self-Discovery

December 4, 2023 by Matt Oakes Posted in Most Popular, Out in Theaters Tagged Emma Stone, Mark Ruffalo, Poor Things, Yorgos Lanthimos 6 Comments

As if involving the likes of Emma Stone, Willem Dafoe, and Mark Ruffalo in a Yorgos Lanthimos film wasn’t enough of a good thing, the delightfully madcap Poor Things treats viewers to the combined prowess of these actors, harnessing their considerable talents for a wickedly funny and fresh reimagining of Mary Shelley’s ‘Frankenstein’. Stone plays Bella Baxter, the creation of mad scientist Dr. Godwin Baxter (Willem Dafoe), who prefers simply to go by the modest moniker “God”. Lanthimos presents Bella Baxter, a dullard reanimated beauty, as a miniature study in maturation. Viewers are invited to observe her journey, witnessing her rapid learning and growth onscreen. From her awkward first steps through her unhinged sexual awakening and eventually onto self-discovery and actualization, Bella’s odyssey is a delightful mix of hysterical black comedy and a thought-provoking feminist manifesto on personal evolution and revolution. Read More

‘THE FAVOURITE’ is the Cattiest Movie of the Year in the Best Way Humanly Possible

November 21, 2018 by Matt Oakes Posted in Most Popular, Out in Theaters Tagged Best of 2018, Deborah Davis, Emma Stone, Nicholas Hoult, Olivia Colman, Out in Theaters, Rachel Weisz, Reviews, The Favourite, Tony McNamara, Yorgos Lanthimos 4 Comments

Vying for the sole affection of Queen Anne – and all the status that comes with it – two cousins from different stations stoke a bitter rivalry in Yorgos Lanthimos exquisitely-mounted The Favourite. Scrumptiously rancorous, Lanthimos’ foray into costume drama is a series of verbal death matches, its characters clawing at one another’s reputation, the performances from its perfectly-cast stars provide each and every syllable of Deborah Davis and Tony McNamara’s wonderfully cutting script a searing eclipse of clever-wit, cunning undercuts and good-humor that never second-guesses going straight for the jugular. Read More

Out in Theaters: ‘THE KILLING OF A SACRED DEER’

October 24, 2017 by Matt Oakes Posted in Most Popular, Out in Theaters Tagged Barry Keoghan, Collin Farrell, Nicole Kidman, Raffey Cassidy, Reviews, Sunny Suljic, The Killing of a Sacred Deer, Yorgos Lanthimos 1 Comment

No one makes ‘em like Yorgos Lanthimos, the Greek auteur/comedic sadist responsible for such cinephelic gems as Dogtooth and The Lobster. Taking much of the same human-as-reporters-of-fact Wes Anderson forthrightness and filtering it through a lens of awkward depravity, The Killing of a Sacred Deer follows pace with The Lobster, wherein singles mingled forcibly lest they be hunted down by a strictly coupled off society. This is something even more dark, otherworldly and delirious where coupledom proves a debilitating battle of wits and parents have little loyalty. Read More

Out in Theaters: ‘THE LOBSTER’

May 26, 2016 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Angeliki Papoulia, Ben Whishaw, Colin Ferrell, John C. Reilly, Léa Seydoux, Out in Theaters, Rachel Weisz, Reviews, The Lobster, Yorgos Lanthimos 2 Comments

Being single is illegal. Those unfortunate enough to remain unspoken for are forced into unbecoming ponchos to hide out in perpetually drizzly U.K. forests, dodging trigger happy hunters locked, stocked and loaded with tranquiler guns, motivated to track them down and capture them. The remaining option for singletons comes in the form of a one-way ticket to a matchmaker hotel where they’ll endure 45 days of punishing “romance” seminars in hopes of finding a mate. Those who “don’t make it” are turned into an animal of their choosing. David’s (Colin Ferrell) desired animal is a lobster. And such is Yorgos Lanthimos’ demented lifecycle in his fifth feature film The Lobster. Read More