Bugonia 2025
I enjoyed The Favourite and Poor Things, two earlier pairings of Emma Stone acting and Yorgos Lanthimos directing, so I was looking forward to this one. This is a very different movie from those two, taking place in present day without any glamour. An internet conspiricist (Jesse Plemons) and his dimwitted cousin kidnap a CEO (Stone) thinking she is an alien and they can use her to negotiate the aliens into surrendering their control of Earth. That's basically the first two thirds of the movie and I was thinking that this fairly simple concept was being stretched, but about then things started to pick up. We find out more about the family trauma behind Plemmons' character and there is a big finish. I have to say I was a little disappointed by the big finish, though I think it was going to be hard to have a decent payoff in any case. Some people will really love it, including a lot of critics. Plemmons is great as this stressed out lunatic and Stone is good trying to talk her way out of an increasingly dire situation. But it is a little bit thin and I don't think the payoff, while interesting, redeemed the movie.
Written: 04 Nov 2025