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Movie review: Poor Things

Yorgos Lanthimos

I was wary of seeing the film Poor Things. A knowledgeable friend of mine wrote that the film was not on his list to be seen “due to my dislike for Emma Stone’s acting and my doubts about having the stomach for another Yorgos Lanthimos grossout.” I was unfamiliar with the director.

The good news is that this movie of Frankenstein’s monster’s monster, of a sort, was not particularly gross. It was weird and funny, and weirdly funny. But though I saw it a couple of weeks ago at the Spectrum 8 in Albany, I’ve been bereft of useful descriptions.

Weird: it had impossible combinations of animals walking about the laboratory of Dr. Godwin Baxter (Willem Dafoe) as he, er, “re-animated” Bella (Stone). Early on, Bella acts like a very large infant but matures relatively quickly. While Dr. Baxter’s assistant Max (Ramy Youssef) is assiduously recording Bella’s development, she is fascinated by the flashy Duncan Wedderburn (Mark Ruffalo), who wants to liberate her from the cloister Dr. Baxter has created.

I agree with the general assessment that the movie is “wildly imaginative and exhilaratingly over the top… bizarre, brilliant…” Reviewers used terms such as fascinating, disturbing, beautifully odd duckling, darkly comedic, and cerebral.

Know thyself

One critic notes, correctly, “Bella comes to identify herself and her possibilities … in accordance with Goethe’s notion that ‘Man knows himself only in as much as he knows the world … Each new object truly recognized, opens up a new organ within ourselves.'”

Another one notes that it’s a surreal/acid movie… “It wonderfully combines fantasy, sex, and a tiny bit of Sic-Fi to shape a fable about chauvinism, toxic masculinity, and female sexuality, using Emma Stone’s performance as the perfect vessel.”

Oh, yeah, sex. There’s a fair amount of that in the middle third of the film as part of Bella’s self-discovery. It’s not particularly sexy.

The critics who hated this film REALLY hated it as “dull, arthouse trash… Hollywood elites are fawning over this reprehensible film, claiming it’s about female empowerment, but that supposed empowerment actually disguises the worst sort of exploitation.” So either it’s the proto-Barbie or the anti-Barbie, I guess.

I am not sure what the title means, although I surmise that those who don’t embrace life are the poor things, I guess, maybe. Ultimately, I did like the film, though it’s not for everyone.

WTIT: Sunday Stealing

Sabor a Campo

Sunday Stealing is per WTIT again.

1. What is a big dream you have for the future?

To go to several Major League Baseball stadiums in the same season. I know some people have gone to ALL the stadiums in one season, but I’ve given up on that. Maybe one year, I will do the Northeast (Toronto, Boston, New York (2), Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington. Then, another year, tackle the Midwest et al, preferably by train.

2. What are your favorite hobbies?

Genealogy. Do I HAVE other hobbies?

3. If you could change the world, what would you do?

Have news, especially quasi-news, Twitteresque “information” poured through a truth filter.

4. What places have you traveled to? What was your favorite?

Thirty-two states in the US, Mexico, Canada, France and Barbados. The latter was my favorite, partly because I didn’t have to pay for it; I won it on JEOPARDY!

5. What is the weirdest thing you’ve ever eaten?

I don’t eat weird things. Well, not by my definition. My daughter thinks eating cottage cheese and maple syrup together is weird. Nah.

6. What are your favorite places to eat?

The truth is that several eateries have come and gone. It’s challenging to narrow down places. The last place my wife and I ate was Sabor a Campo, 485 Delaware Avenue, Albany, NY, in a half-filled strip mall at Whitehall Road. The name, “which translates to ‘Taste of Country,’ is an eat-in buffet, carry-out style restaurant, specializing in value-driven multicultural foods, and set in a relaxed, homey, and familial environment.” A couple at church recommended it, and the food was excellent.

A friend calls me “Mister Music” – seriously.

7. What kind of music do you like? Talk about a favorite artist or songs.

I can’t do that. Too many choices. Pop music from the mid-1950s to the mid-1990s. A bunch of classical music. Jazz. Search the blog; I write about music almost weekly.

Meanwhile, listen to the William Tell Overture by Rossini. Here are people who have birthdays in February, so I’ve listened to them all recently: Funkier Than A Mosquito’s Tweeter – Nina Simone. I Don’t Remember – Peter Gabriel. Shut Up and Kiss Me – Mary Chapin Carpenter. The Mercy Seat – Johnny Cash. Lay Down (Candles In the Rain) – Melanie (with the Edwin Hawkins Singers).

8. What was the last book you read?

Prequel by Rachel Maddow

9. If you could meet a character from a book, who would it be?

Bartholomew Cubbins, who spoke truth to power in Bartholemew and the Oobleck

10. Do you prefer books or movies? Why?

Movies because I can commit to them more easily. I started reading many books, both paper and audiobooks, but I didn’t finish them. I also like to GO to the movies because watching at home tends to be too hard to focus on.

Fear, and lack of the same

11. What is something you used to be scared of but aren’t anymore?

Embarrassing myself publicly. I may still do it, but it doesn’t fuel anxiety as it used to.

12. What is something you were never afraid of but are now?

The end of democracy is not just in the United States but in several other countries. Global warming.

13. What item is your most cherished possession? Why?

I have a metal box with all my important papers, including genealogy notes. If there were a fire, it’d be the single thing I would grab.

14. What awards or contests have you won?

I won a racquetball tournament in 1989, I think.

15. Do you like working jigsaw puzzles?

Not really. I have no patience for them. And I don’t “see” the connecting parts well.

Recently deceased rodent

mighty hunters?

I got up Monday morning. There was a small, recently deceased rodent at the top of the stairs, it seemed; the lighting was terrible there. The two cats were both hovering about a foot away from the creature. It was slim, no longer than my cellphone.

First, what was it? It wasn’t a mouse because the tail was way too short. My wife said it was a mole. Or a vole. What is the difference anyway? It was definitely a mole.

The rest of the narrative is less clear. Which, if either of the cats found the animal? Was it alive when they found it? How did it get into the house? It was mighty cold outside, and it’s a century-old building. Our felines are indoor cats. The cats are 10 and 11 years old. This behavior has never occurred before.

Occasionally, one acts as though something behind our kitchen stove fascinates them, but I’ve never seen anything. I assumed it was an insect or arachnid of some sort.

The Instinct to Hunt

From here: “Cats are born to hunt. Even if domesticated cats know they don’t need to catch their own food to survive, they cannot resist the urge and often enjoy the hunt and chase. Some cats that catch prey will bring their owners the dead animals—or, perhaps even more unpleasantly, sometimes ones that are still alive—to show off their prized catch for later consumption, as a teaching aid, or as a gift.”

I’ve read about cats and dogs bringing their owners animals, some of them alive. Google “dog brings owner live rat,” or better yet, don’t.

This is a new side of our furry friends’ personalities. I’m hoping we don’t don’t see any more presents.

The faux hunters

They are are also hostile to the neighborhood cats. In fact, when I was taking the dead rodent to the trash, there was a cat on our front porch who I had to block from coming into our house. THAT would not have been pretty, based on the hostility that Midnight still shows Stormy occasionally after a decade together.

The Beatles in ’64

4 Apr was record-breaking

In honor of their first appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show 60 years ago, here are some links to The Beatles in ’64. Particularly in the first half of the year, they dominated the charts like no artist had before. The dates below reflect the top ten of the Billboard charts. All of the songs were on Capitol Records unless otherwise indicated.

25 Jan: I Want To Hold Your Hand, #3, up from #45 the previous week

1 Feb: I Want To Hold Your Hand, #1: it would top the Billboard (BB) charts for 7 weeks, Cash Box (CB: 1950-1996) for 8 weeks, and Music Vendor (MV: 1954-1964) for 9 weeks. The book The Billboard Book of Number One Hits by Fred Bronson reads: “It is the most significant single in the rock era.” The group wouldn’t perform in America until they appeared at the top of the US charts.

8 Feb: I Want To Hold Your Hand, #1. She Loves You, on the Swan label, #7, up from #21.

15 Feb: I Want To Hold Your Hand, #1. She Loves You, #3.

22 Feb: I Want To Hold Your Hand, #1. She Loves You, #2.

29 Feb: I Want To Hold Your Hand, #1. She Loves You, #2. Please Please Me, #6, up from #29, on the Vee-Jay label.

The week I turned 11

7 Mar: I Want To Hold Your Hand, #1. She Loves You, #2. Please Please Me #4.

14 Mar: I Want To Hold Your Hand, #1. She Loves You #2. Please Please Me #3, where it peaked on the CB and MV charts as well.

21 Mar: She Loves You, #1. I Want To Hold Your Hand, #2. Please Please Me #3. Twist And Shout, #7, up from #55, on the Tollie label affiliated with Vee-Jay. This week was the first time an artist had consective chart toppers since Elvis in 1956. The song was #1 on CB for two weeks and MV for 1.

28 Mar: She Loves You, #1. I Want To Hold Your Hand, #2. Twist and Shout, #3. Please Please Me, #4.

The top five

4 Apr: Can’t Buy Me Love, #1, from #27, at the time, the biggest leap to the top of the charts in Billboard history. Besides being #1 for five weeks on BB, it was #1 on CB for five weeks and #1 on MV for four weeks. Twist and Shout, #2, where it peaked on BB, but it got to #1 on both CB and MV. She Loves You, #3. I Want To Hold Your Hand, #4. Please Please Me #5.

11 Apr: Can’t Buy Me Love, #1. Twist and Shout, #2. She Loves You, #4. I Want To Hold Your Hand, #7. Please Please Me #9. The Beatles had 14 songs on the BB Top 100. Do You Want To Know A Secret, #14. I Saw Her Standing There, #38. You Can’t Do That, #48. All My Loving, #50. From Me To You, #52. Thank You Girl, #61. There’s A Place, #74. Roll Over Beethoven, #78. Love Me Do, #81.

18 Apr: Can’t Buy Me Love, #1. Twist and Shout, #2, Do You Want To Know A Secret, #5 on Vee-Jay. She Loves You, #8.

25 Apr: Can’t Buy Me Love, #1. Twist and Shout, #2. Do You Want To Know A Secret, #3.

2 May: Can’t Buy Me Love, #1, Do You Want To Know A Secret, #3, Twist and Shout, #7

9 May: Do You Want To Know A Secret, #2, also went #3 on BB and MV for three and two weeks, respectively. Can’t Buy Me Love, #5. The Beatles were finally supplanted from the #1 slot by Hello, Dolly by Louis Armstrong.

16 May: Love Me Do, #3 from #12 on Tollie. Do You Want To Know A Secret, #5

Jane Asher’s brother

23 May: Love Me Do, #2. Also, A World Without Love by Peter and Gordon, #10, up from #30, a song attributed to Lennon/McCartney.

30 May: Love Me Do, #1, also #1 on CB and MW, A World Without Love, #7.

6 June: Love Me Do, #2, A World Without Love, #6.

13 June: A World Without Love, #2 Love Me Do, #4.

20 June: A World Without Love, #2 Love Me Do, #7.

27 June: A World Without Love, #1, also #1 on CB, and #2 for two weeks on RW. Bad To Me by Billy J. Kramer with the Dakotas, #9 from #16, also #10 on CB. Brian Epstein managed Kramer, and the song was attributed to Lennon/McCartney.

4 July 4: A World Without Love, #6. Bad To Me, #9.

11 July: A World Without Love, #8.

18 July: nothing in the Top 10

25 July: A Hard Day’s Night, #2, up from #21

1 Aug: A Hard Day’s Night, #1. It was also #1 for three weeks on both CB and RW.

8, 15, 22, 29 of Aug; 5, 12 of Sept, A Hard Day’s Night, #1, #3, #3, #4, #8, #8.

Inside the violent threat against the Beatles’ only Colorado concert: Beatlemania took over Red Rocks on Aug. 26, 1964, during the band’s first North American tour

12 Dec: I Feel Fine, #5, up from #22.

19 Dec: I Feel Fine, #2

26 Dec: I Feel Fine #1; also #1 for four weeks CB, #1 for three weeks RW. In Jan 1965 (2, 9, 16, 23), it went #1, #1, #2. #4 before it fell out of the Top Ten.

Rooting interest for Super Bowl LVIII

At Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas

I’m gauging my rooting interest for Super Bowl LVIII. Now that the Buffalo Bills and Detroit Lions are not in contention, I have to recalibrate.

For the NFC, there’s the San Francisco 49ers. The team has won five Super Bowls. But they’ve won none since the end of the 1994 season, losing after 2012 and 2019, the latter to the Kansas City Chiefs, 31-20. If the 49ers win, they’ll tie the Pittsburgh Steelers and the New England Patriots with six. I liked the team in the Joe Montana and Steve Young years.

My parents visited San Francisco in the late 1960s for my father’s business trip, which they enjoyed, in no small part because of this incident. My sister Leslie and I went there in the late 1980s and enjoyed the place. And my favorite baseball player was stationed in centerfield there for several years.

For the AFC, the Kansas City Chiefs have been in the Super Bowl for four of the last five years, winning two after 2019 and 2022, so they are the reigning champions after beating the Philadelphia Eagles, 38-35.

TS & TC

My singular pull toward the Chiefs involves the guano-crazy theories about a billionaire singer dating a Chiefs player.

“Theories about Ms. Swift are prevalent online, but suggestions about what her political motivations are, in terms of her relationship with the N.F.L., were promoted last month by the Fox News political commentator Jesse Watters.

“‘Have you ever wondered why or how she blew up like this?’ Mr. Watters said during a broadcast. ‘Well, around four years ago, the Pentagon psychological operations unit floated turning Taylor Swift into an asset during a NATO meeting.'”

From Newsnation: “On Newsmax, a conservative news network, one host took the Taylor Swift chatter to the level of obsession, decrying what he termed the ‘idolatry’ surrounding her and claiming it is sinful. Meanwhile, on One America News Network, host Alison Steinberg labeled Swift’s relationship with [Travis] Kelce a psychological operation (psyop), characterizing the entire spectacle as ‘bread and circuses on steroids.'”

The Hill notes: “Vivek Ramaswamy, a former presidential candidate who has thrown his support behind Trump, is perhaps the most high-profile Republican to go after the singer so far, stoking theories that the NFL is rigging football games for Swift’s Kansas City beau as Democrats look for her endorsement.” Former Republican National Committee Chair Reince Priebus called such talk “a powder keg of stupidity.”

Yes, there are TS experts.

On Politico, Swift expert Brian Donovan explains in detail why the political right is targeting a rich, heteronormative pop star. “I think there is a cyclical reaction happening where we saw with the Barbie movie and with the Eras Tour, a kind of woman-centered cultural aesthetic take hold of the American imagination. And I think there’s a ton of backlash to that driven by real basic sexism and misogyny…

“I think what irritates conservatives the most is that this attractive, talented, wholesome, white, successful, Christian, self-made billionaire woman is somehow not on their side. I guess that’s because she is also intelligent.”

Oh, and she just made Grammy history with her fourth Album of the Year win. Maybe George Soros arranged that.

So my loyalties are split. Root for the team that hasn’t won the Super Bowl in three decades, or hope the other team wins and watch a certain segment of the population go insane.