Poor Things (2023)

I hadn't seen a Yorgos Lanthimos film until just a few days ago when I saw 'The Favourite' and having liked that film I thought I would give this film a go and I am glad that I did. The film is very strange but I suppose that was the point but I think that the strangeness was pitched just right as it didn't seem to strange for the sake it of but because it was part of the world that Lanthimos was creating. Just the idea of taking the brain of a baby and planting it in a grown woman is something that comes from a creative (if slightly weird) mind.

There was a sense of Wes Anderson throughout this film from the way the camera pans from side to side to how the places that Bella and Duncan visit. I would have been perfectly happy to spend the entire film on the cruise ship because outside looked beautiful and there was something lovely about the interior. Emma Stone is really good as Bella. When she is trying to learn things as she goes along she manages to make Bella comes across as a robot but also a child that gets smarter everyday. Mark Ruffalo gives probably one of his best performances since 'Dark Waters' and cones dangerously close to stealing the film as Duncan. Willem Dafoe is very likeable as God and even when he has clearly crossed the ethical line, he is still a likeable character and that is down to how Dafoe plays him. Despite getting a raw deal character wise, Ramy Youssef is very good as Max. Although after a while I did find myself questioning his intelligence when he still waits for Bella even though he knows what she has been up to.

Despite this being a very strange film and probably one of the strangest I have seen for sometime, it a superb movie. Emma Stone carries the whole thing and is supporting by some strong performances but make no mistake, this is an Emma Stone film and an early contender for film of the year for me.

One Life (2023)

I kind of knew the story of Nicholas Winton but only what was shown on 'That's Life'. The remarkable story was a mystery to me and over the course of the nearly 2 hours was something that I found totally mesmerising. Telling the story of how over 600 children were sent to the UK fleeing the Nazi's is something that could easily have become shmaltzy and sentimental but credit to the writing which was unfussy and just let the story move along at the pace that was right for this type of story.

Anthony Hopkins is amazing in this as the elder Nicholas Winton and the scene towards the end where he meets the adult version of the children he helped saved did get me teary eye. Johnny Flynn is also very good as the younger Nicholas Winton but has to do most of the heavy lifting plot wise. Helena Bonham Carter brings the sort of warmth to her performance that I remember in 'The King's Speech' and like that film this is a more stand there and be supportive which might be a bit unfair but it doesn't change the fact that she gives a stunning performance.

I really enjoyed this film and as the first cinema experience of 2024, I am glad to say that this the year has started off in great fashion. Not sure it will be everyones cup of tea but I enjoyed it from start to finish.