Poor Things

BAFTAs: Oppenheimer Takes Center Stage, Sweeping Through the 2024 Award Season

David Tennant Shines as Host This year’s BAFTA Awards were hosted by the charismatic David Tennant last night. Dressed in a kilt, his charm and wit provided for an entertaining night, making him a delightful host for the event, something that felt very refreshing after Jo Key rightfully received backlash for his misogynistic jokes at the Golden Globes. Thankfully there were no mishaps and only beaming praise for David Tennant’s hosting skills. Worth noting: Tennant and his wife are also strong advocates for trans rights. The Big Winner: Oppenheimer The night belonged to Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer.” It swept the BAFTA stage, claiming seven awards. The film, depicting the life of Robert Oppenheimer, secured the Best Film award, with Nolan himself honored as Best Director. Cillian Murphy, who portrayed Oppenheimer, received the Best Actor award, his third BAFTA nomination and first win. Robert Downey Jr. also earned recognition, winning Best Supporting Actor. “Oppenheimer,” with its massive box office success and numerous awards this season, solidified its status as an Oscars favorite. The film previously won big at the Golden Globes and Critics Choice Awards, indicating a potential sweep at the upcoming Academy Awards. Voting for those begins this Thursday. Yorgos Lanthimos‘ “Poor Things” emerged as the second big winner of the night, securing five awards, including Costume Design, Makeup & Hair, Production Design and Special Effects. Actress Emma Stone, recognized for her role as Bella Baxter, took home the Leading Actress award. Da’Vine Joy Randolph secured the award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in “The Holdovers.” The BAFTA for Best Original Screenplay went to the widely acclaimed film “Anatomy of a Fall,” starring German actress Sandra Hüller. Her second film “The Zone of Interest” also received multiple awards, including Outstanding British Film, Best Non-English Language Film, and Best Sound. Highlights The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) is an organization that praises itself to be a force that champions talent, storytelling, and strives to make the creative industries more accessible and sustainable. With a global membership of 11,500 creative minds across film, games, and TV, BAFTA plays a pivotal role in shaping the landscape of the screen arts. – Mel

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BAFTAs: Oppenheimer Takes Center Stage, Sweeping Through the 2024 Award Season

David Tennant Shines as Host This year’s BAFTA Awards were hosted by the charismatic David Tennant last night. Dressed in a kilt, his charm and wit provided for an entertaining night, making him a delightful host for the event, something that felt very refreshing after Jo Key rightfully received backlash for his misogynistic jokes at the Golden Globes. Thankfully there were no mishaps and only beaming praise for David Tennant’s hosting skills. Worth noting: Tennant and his wife are also strong advocates for trans rights. The Big Winner: Oppenheimer The night belonged to Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer.” It swept the BAFTA stage, claiming seven awards. The film, depicting the life of Robert Oppenheimer, secured the Best Film award, with Nolan himself honored as Best Director. Cillian Murphy, who portrayed Oppenheimer, received the Best Actor award, his third BAFTA nomination and first win. Robert Downey Jr. also earned recognition, winning Best Supporting Actor. “Oppenheimer,” with its massive box office success and numerous awards this season, solidified its status as an Oscars favorite. The film previously won big at the Golden Globes and Critics Choice Awards, indicating a potential sweep at the upcoming Academy Awards. Voting for those begins this Thursday. Yorgos Lanthimos‘ “Poor Things” emerged as the second big winner of the night, securing five awards, including Costume Design, Makeup & Hair, Production Design and Special Effects. Actress Emma Stone, recognized for her role as Bella Baxter, took home the Leading Actress award. Da’Vine Joy Randolph secured the award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in “The Holdovers.” The BAFTA for Best Original Screenplay went to the widely acclaimed film “Anatomy of a Fall,” starring German actress Sandra Hüller. Her second film “The Zone of Interest” also received multiple awards, including Outstanding British Film, Best Non-English Language Film, and Best Sound. Highlights The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) is an organization that praises itself to be a force that champions talent, storytelling, and strives to make the creative industries more accessible and sustainable. With a global membership of 11,500 creative minds across film, games, and TV, BAFTA plays a pivotal role in shaping the landscape of the screen arts. – Mel

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Review: Yorgos Lanthimos’ ‘Poor Things’ Showcases Emma Stone’s Tour de Force Performance

“Cheese to meet you” Yorgos Lanthimos’ newest film, ‘Poor Things’ had its premiere in Venice last night, and it truly turned out to be one of the festival’s highlights so far. The Film revolves around the curious Bella Baxter (Emma Stone) who was brought to life by London’s brilliant scientist Godwin ‘God’ Baxter (Willem Dafoe). He took her in and offered her a home. Explained the world to her and became a parental figure. At the same time, he is keeping her past and her origin a secret. When his student Max McCandless (Ramy Youssef) develops feelings for Bella and agrees to marry her, her adventurous and curious mind takes her to discover parts of the world with Lawyer Duncan Wedderburn (Mark Ruffalo) instead.  The screenplay was written by Tony McNamara, who already worked alongside Lanthimos for ‘The Favourite’. ‘Poor Things’ is funny, intelligent and offers a truly empowering female character who challenges the patriarchic structures of our world.  Everything down to the Production is a masterclass in filmmaking. ‘Poor Things’ offers gorgeous visuals, making this feel like a novel you just cannot put down. The runtime of over 2 hours is barely noticeable.  The film can be utterly eerie and, in many ways, – without saying too much – also very disturbing (which shouldn’t be a surprise for those of you who are familiar with Lanthimos filmography). Nonetheless, it manages to discover emotions, thoughts and processes that make us all human and thematizes growing up and reflecting our world in a very fascinating and original way.  The cast is astounding. Emma Stones is already a talented actress, but this is truly one of the best performances she has given so far. Bella Baxter is adorable and her character development is fascinating to experience. Noticeable is that through the naïve eyes of Bella, we experience an almost Barbie-esque feeling. In many ways it reminded me of Gerwig’s film. Stones’ character asks the right questions, no one else would dare to ask and never accepts things that do not feel right to her. While power-driven men are brought to the edge of sanity, Bella outgrows naivety and becomes a remarkable and self-confident person. Perhaps one of my favorite Female Characters in a long time.  “Poor Things” is a film that should be seen on a big screen. Although it sadly may take some more time until its release due to the current SAG and WGA-strike.

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