Livv Mills

Spoiler Alert and in Defense of Bella Hands down, one of the best movies I’ve seen in my life. Of course the cinematography, visuals, set and costume design was impeccable. The performances were top notch. Emma Stone and Mark Ruffalo were a joy to see on screen. This film most accurately and absurdly depicts what it means to discover yourself. We begin Bella’s story as we begin our own; as a child. We know nothing about the world until it is time to experience those things. We go through an array of emotions that we have no idea how to handle and all the while, there are persons in your life, “guarding” you from the dangers and of the world, attempting to mold you into who they see fit. Some want you to explore life on your own terms and others want you to play by their rules. Over time, you take in all this information; you decide what info to use and what to throw away. Once you gain some wisdom of your own, you can now start actually living life authentically…this is the story of Poor Things. The story of self discovery in this film is told in such a unique way because Bella begins life as child in a woman’s body. She’s experiencing all the nuances of life in such a short period of time…but the world (especially men) see her as an adult. And notice that for most of her life she only had male figures to “guide” her and often times that guidance came from the very men who claim to love her yet they want to trap her in “their” world. Once she started to display some individuality, they became enraged and resorted to violent tactics to tame her. Also take notice of the fact that many men either knew that she was a child in a woman’s body or they simply thought she was mentally challenged to some degree. Yet, they still made robust sexual advances towards her (with success), even proposals for marriage. Although sexual imagery/performances are a largely noticeable element of this film, sex is not Bella’s main driving force as some reviews have expressed. Sex is a part of our everyday life and, truth be told, it’s how many of us discover more about the world and human behavior (as does Bella). Many times she’s expressed her need to experiment and pursue her curiosity for life; and she does just that. She does it through exploring her surroundings, reading, making new friends and social faux pas, and most effectively through sex.

Finally, Marvel is back on track! I loved this movie from start to finish. Everyone had a strong character/redemption arc. The music was on point per usual. The feels were all there. I'm definitely gonna see this again!!

I have a lot to say about this movie. Let's start with the plot. Plot 3/5: fairly unique storyline. It kind of reminds me of John Carpenter's Vampires and Demon Knight, however those films did campy-gore pretty well. This film does a really bad job at vampire lore. They tell us that there are 5 species of vampires but then they just kind of leave it at that. I hated the way they choose to input exposition. It was so predictable in a very CW way. (If you know, you know). Script 2.8/5: Very cringey writing. Lots of plot holes and underdeveloped storylines. Acting 2/5: I am so disappointed in Jaime Foxx's performance. I mean, he played Ray for goodness sakes. Did you leave all your acting chops at home Jaime? So cringey, so amateur. Dave Franco was Dave Franco.... Megan Good looked good, but we've seen much better acting from her. It felt like I was watching the kind of acting performances that you see in kid-action films.... like Spy Kids for instance. Stunts/Action Scenes 3.8/5: My only gripe with these scenes were that everyone knew martial arts... That was kind of off base for me. Even Dave Franco's character, after being turned into a vampire, knew martial arts.... Also, the vampires were weak AF! You're telling me that you're a strong a** vampire yet Snoop Dogg can kick you too the ground, hold his foot on top of you while he's slowly shooting another vampire, and you're still laying there??? Just waiting for him to kill you? That was so weak!! This would never fly in True Blood... Hell, even vampire diaries... EVEN TWILIGHT.... like come on director/writer.... Have you never seen a vampire film or show in your life.... Vampires are supposed to be better than this. I have so many questions!!! Why can some vampires run at the speed of light but others can't? Why was Dave Franco, a newly turned vampire, and a familiar able to take down that seemingly old vampire dude at the end?!? Also, what are their ages? That’s one of the most important parts telling a story about vampires! Maybe I’m too nerdy and pay wayyy to close attention to the details of a movie but aren’t you supposed to? Was I entertained? At first. That contortionist vampire was the coolest part of the movie. Would I recommend this…not even to fall asleep to.