Cinepals - Poor Things Reaction & Review!

Episode Date: April 6, 2024

Jaby and Achara react to Poor Things, a dark comedy film directed by Yorgos Lanthimos (The Lobster, The Favourite, Dogtooth), based on the novel by Alasdair Gray, centering on a brilliant scientist who revives a drowned woman using experimental techniques, leading to unexpected and bizarre consequences. The film stars Emma Stone (La La Land, The Help, Birdman), Willem Dafoe (The Florida Project, Spider-Man, Platoon), Mark Ruffalo (Avengers: Endgame, Spotlight, Zodiac), Ramy Youssef (Ramy, Don't Worry Darling), and Margaret Qualley (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, The Leftovers, Maid). Watch the full length reaction to the movie on our Patreon https://www.Patreon.com/JabyKoay or join us for the cutdown reaction on YouTube https://www.YouTube.com/@CinePals SOCIAL MEDIA ~CinePals~ Tik Tok, Twitter & Instagram: @TheCinePals https://www.YouTube.com/@CinePals ~Jaby Koay~ Twitter & Instagram: @JabyKoay ~Achara Kirk~ Twitter & Instagram: @AcharaKirk

Senna. Pals. Well, hello there. Thanks so much for joining us. While we watch poor things, hopefully we can delight you with our reaction. If you want to watch the full uncut reaction, head over to our Patreon page. All right, let's jump into this. Here we go. Bravo. Well, that was an experience. That was incredible. Yeah, I can see why she won an Oscar for her role in this.

I mean, it's such a... Oh, without a doubt, yeah. Yeah, it's such a huge undertaking to play this character from basically being small toddler into being like a fully formed woman. Yeah, she did a great job. What did you think? I agree, a co-sign. Yeah, she did a really, really good job.

Outside of Mark Ruffalo's accent, kind of throwing me for a moment here and there throughout the movie. Yeah. Because it's just like I couldn't help but notice it. It just kind of stood out to me. It's like, it's a funny accent. Yeah. The acting across the board was quite strong, I would say, from the entire cast. I don't think I fully wrap my head around all of the messaging and commentary that the film wants me to get.

I'm sure that there is so much to unpack. Yeah. This is one of those things kind of like, you know how they've done books in The Matrix. It's like this is one of those things you could unpack for a long time and have conversations about for hours on and around coffee. Right, yeah. So I don't think I've fully wrapped my head around all of it. But it was definitely thought provoking and interesting.

Yeah, I think for me on First Watch, it's like coming into yourself, also the relationship between a parent and a child and how, you know, you might want to protect them and keep them safe by holding them really tight and protecting them from the world, but you have to just let them go and experience things. And I think it's also, you know, a commentary on what it is to be a woman sometimes and how, at least in this story, you know, Bella seemed to always be in a situation where men were trying to trap her and keep her. And she's like, no, I won't do that. And I think also I was incredibly moved just at how free she was, at her sexual liberation.

And it was fun to watch because she's a character that doesn't conform to the rules that society has placed on us, you know, as women and as men, you know. And so she's just kind of like, what? Like, I wanted to try it. So I did. and like, what's the big deal, you know? And life is just this, it's almost like this great big buffet that she's at, and she's just trying all the different things and learning through joy and pleasure and pain and fear

and just the entire experience, which I just thought was beautiful. I liked it better than Barbie, we'll say that much. It was a long movie, though. And while it was full of, like, creative camera angles and like some of which I honestly I'm not sure what informed the decisions that we made I was like why

because I just find myself asking why sometimes and I don't know if that's good or bad it's like you know when you have this like very spherical angle that feels like a hole in the wall with a camera looking through it it's like why though or like sometimes when they

are you talking about when they would just have that circle yeah and and I'm it's like every time it happened I'm like I don't know why you're doing that it's interesting it's definitely like a creative choice. They had a moment where it was still in the black and white phase of the film where the doctor, Willem Defoe was talking to the young doctor, right? When it was switching between camera angles and it went back to the young doctor, it was like very white fish eye. And I'm

like, I have no idea why you're doing this. It's interesting. If you're trying to emphasize that a character has strength in a scene, you have the camera look up at him. That's just like a little psychological thing. All the things they were doing here, I'm not sure what I was supposed to feel along the way. I was just like, okay, it was compelling, but also pulled me out. So I had two minds about it at the same time, just because I'm like, why? But also, that's cool. I think, yeah, I was just really fascinated by the world that was being presented here, because I think, like, we remarked while we were watching it, it feels familiar, but at the same time, it's not. So there's this sort of, like, fantastical element to it. And I think I really enjoyed the costuming. I thought

that the Oscar that they won for a costume was well deserved because it was just delightful like especially Emma Stone's costumes like they were beautiful and like they kind of speak to the period but they're well the period right because it's not real I guess

but like you know it felt kind of period but then there were aspects of her clothes that felt modern you know because she wasn't wearing a lot of very long dresses and a lot of her dresses were shorter, you know, and so I don't feel like if we were going with, say, this was Victorian or even like, say, the early 1900s, like 1910s or 1920s, they would not

have been wearing short skirts and shorts like she was. So I thought that, you know, maybe that was an indication of her liberation as a character as well. I mean, that's entirely possible, the symbolism of that. I'm no tech genius, but I knew if I wanted my business to crush it, I needed a website now. Thankfully, Bluehost made it easy. I customized, optimized, and monetized everything exactly how I wanted with AI. In minutes, my site was up. I couldn't believe it.

The search engine tools even helped me get more site visitors. Whatever your passion project is, you can set it up with Bluehost. With their 30-day money-back guarantee, what do you got to lose? Head to bluehost.com. That's B-L-U-E-H-O-S-T dot com to start now. While I might have had two minds about some of the choices with the camera angles, I still enjoyed that aspect of it. It just felt like the film dwelled on things longer than I needed it to. And that's the director's choice.

You know, it's like he set out to make this story. I feel like he told it as close to what he wanted to do as possible. You know, it felt like there was no restraint. You know what I mean? It just like he just did exactly what he wanted to do. Well, yeah. And I feel like that is very in line with the story. and with the character, she has no restraint.

Sure. I think what's so fascinating to me about her and what makes her so compelling to watch is because she's so childlike, she just does whatever she wants, you know, like how you would. If you had your three-year-old mind inside your adult body, you would just go out there and be like,

I'm just having fun with reckless abandon. And so I think it's quite delightful and also just so interesting to watch her development as she kind of goes through life and especially, you know, she's seeing the unfairness and then she's also like building a life for herself and taking control of her life at the end. The music was interesting as well as a character unto itself.

It was very unusual and I think that was very much by design to just make it weird and eerie but like still fun. I don't remember it was, but there was like a ball or something like that and they were dancing. and the music that they were dancing to with Mark Ruffalo and her was like, oh, it's cool, it's different, you know? It's unusual. The film is just highly unusual.

Yeah, it's like, it's, and I think that's the stuff, you know, like when they did the title cards for each section, like the one that really stood out to us, I think, was when she went back to London and she was walking on the bridge of eyeballs. It was at that moment that I was like, oh, this is what it is. Like, that felt kind of surrealist to me. And I feel like there is a lot of inspiration taken from art from that period

and also I think art from other periods as well. Maybe the surrealism kind of speaks into like the odd camera angle choices. Sure. It's like to make you feel like, oh, it's artistic. It's surreal, it's absurd, you know? Yeah, at the risk of sounding

archaic and sexist, I haven't wrapped my head around the idea of first let me say, I'm not opposed to people pursuing sex work. Like that's fine. But I haven't wrapped my head around that being. a liberating activity, a liberating thing for a person, man or woman. Like, I haven't wrapped my head around that, but, like, the movie is echoing a sentiment

I've heard before, which is like, that is a liberating thing. And I'm like, I guess. I don't really get it. I think it's not for me to get, perhaps, as a dude. Because like, you don't hear guys talking about that. You hear women talking about their experiences with that. And I'm like, okay, cool, good for you. I don't get it.

I think it's because, like, traditionally there's been a lot of, I guess, policing around a woman's body. But you were sitting during the experience of the film, that's the oldest profession. It is the oldest profession because it's the one thing that, you know, for a lot of time, women weren't allowed to own certain things, property and whatnot. And so it's like, well, what do you own? What do you have agency of? Your own body. It's liberating to, I guess, to be able to make a living doing that. I don't know. But I think for her, it was liberating to be in control of her body and to have all those. experiences that she wasn't having before.

I've only talked to porn stars. I haven't talked to like sex workers. Right. And so I have no idea if they're happy. Well, I mean, of course there's so many different layers to it, right? Because, you know, sometimes people can fall into doing that because they're desperate. Kind of like what Bella was like in this situation where she didn't really have a choice. And the easiest thing to do was to sell her body.

And then she gets herself in a predicament where, you know, she's being manipulated by her madam, her pimp basically. You know, so yeah, there's many different layers. That also shows you that it's not just the men manipulating her. She's being manipulated at all things. Yeah. Yeah, for sure. I think I would have enjoyed it more if it was a shorter movie. Because, like, there was a lot of cool stuff

in here that I thought was thought provoking and interesting. It was just like, but why is it still going? Like, at around probably hour and 40 minutes, hour and 50 minutes, I'm like, I could do with wrapping this up right about now. And I'm like, I know it's not over yet. I know there's a ways to go. I was glad that they didn't leave it open ended, what her history was.

Because I'm like, it very well could have done that where it just concluded at the wedding. And that's that, right? Yeah, I would have been okay with that, actually. That would have been a sufficient ending. But, like, they answered my question, which is, how did she get there? Like, what circumstances drove her to that point? And who was that, like, who was she with? Who, how did she get pregnant, et cetera?

And they answered all of that. I was like, wow. And they did it as efficiently as I could have hoped. The way that they did that entire scene, I'm like, I wish more of the movie was done with that level of efficiency. Right. Because it felt like it was just like overstaying its welcome in other areas. But it's like, like I said, like I respect the craft.

Like he did a fantastic job of telling this. What's this guy's name? Yorgos. Yorgos, Yorgos, Lathamos, like Lantemos. He did a fantastic job of telling the story he sought out to tell. And I respect that. It's not for everybody. It's like, this is definitely not a film for everybody.

No. But I definitely respect it. And I enjoyed certain aspects of it quite a bit. And I liked that it made me think, you know, because the worst thing, we just talked about this the other day with Salt Burn, it's like, the worst thing that could happen is a movie's over and you forget about it. I'm not going to forget about this. No.

I don't think I liked it anywhere near as much as you did, but I definitely won't forget about the experience and it definitely will, you know, something's percolating and it'll be there for a while, you know? Yeah, I think this movie is like incredibly inspiring and it's like just like, just. in terms of how well it's made and how well all of the different faculties of filmmaking came together to make this piece of art because it really does feel like art. Yeah, yeah. And so I...

In the truest sense of the word. Yeah, in the truest sense of the word, like maybe there is a sense of it being a little bit like... Pretentious? I was going to... The only word I could think of was like masturbatory. That's a great word. That's the word I usually use.

stole it from me. You're such a word, Thiefa Char. No, no, no, because I couldn't think of the other word. Self-indulgent is the word, is what I was thinking of. I mean, maybe there is a certain... And you know how I feel about that? Yes, I do.

I mean, perhaps there might be a kind of sense of that, but I think I don't feel that too much about this. I think it's really beautiful, and I would want to watch it again just to kind of appreciate all of the visual spectacle that I got here. I agree with you on all of that, except for the watching it again part. No, I want to watch it. No, I agree with you.

Like, it definitely does give that sense of self-indulgent, but it... No, but I don't think it's too self-indulgent. I don't think it's very self-indulgent. Can I speak, please? Okay. God damn. Well, I said I agree with you. It's like, I do get that vibe of self-indulgent, but not to the extent that I'm, like, completely put off by it.

Yeah. You know, it's just like, it's definitely present. It's like an aspect of it. But that's, that goes to me saying, like, I just felt like it overstayed it's welcome in certain areas. Well, it's almost like art for art's sake. Yeah. Like, it's just beautiful to look at.

But the film does a great job of is putting you in the driver's seat, right? And it's like, whatever she's learning, you're sort of learning with her and experiencing with her, whether it's her sexuality or pain or pleasure or like enlightenment and education. Like you're sort of feeling all of those things with her. And I think the film did a great job of taking you on that roller coaster. But I think also on some level, it's relatable as well, because I feel like at many points, I was like, oh, yeah, I understand that, I've felt that. I've witnessed that, I've seen that, you know. That's not for me to understand.

It made me laugh a lot because I was like, yep, mm-hmm, yep, that. Like what? Well, it's just, you know, sometimes the way Mark Ruffalo was acting towards her and whatnot. I was like, yep, I've seen that, you know. or I can't think of anything like in particular right now apart from maybe that but there were definitely moments throughout which felt very just like familiar.

I will say maybe it's just because I'm a dude like because later on I find out you know the JGL is the bad guy in 500 days of summer when watching it I'm like I felt bad for him and then years removed I'm finding out that the actual narrative is he's the villain in his

in that story. I'm like, oh, okay. Okay, I think it's like both ways. Okay, so what I'm trying to get at is Mark Ruffalo's character, I did not like when he showed up. I found him despicable and gross. Yes, yes.

But I also felt a lot of, I felt bad for him by the end of the story. I'm like, he was damaged. He was damaged. I also felt bad for the scientist guy who was engaged to her. I was like, dang, like, well, I think maybe we just kind of relate

to the things that feel relatable to us. No, just as a person. Like, he's just at the, he's just in love and waiting for her to come back while she's off, like, I don't know, like, I felt bad for her. I felt bad for everybody, you know, except for, except for the guy who caused her to jump off the, you know. Oh, yeah.

Yeah. He's the only one I didn't feel bad for him. Yeah, he got his come up and's in a real good way. I mean, him having to live a life as a goat, you know, or whatever, good. Yes. Fuck that guy. He was awful. But a lot of other people in the story, except for, I don't know, this we can keep going and going,

but like the characters that were you know characters that you're supposed to like care about in the film or get to know I felt bad for a number of them is what I'm trying to say yeah I mean we don't come out of this life unscathed right you know so there's always something yeah I quite enjoyed the scene with the joke I thought that was some interesting oh the one with the story in the joke yeah that was really sweet anyways we got to wrap this up so did you have any final thoughts you wanted to convey that's all okay you guys thanks so much for hanging out I'm Jabby Kui this is Achara Peace out.