Ensemble Astounds in Lanthimos’ Grim Doomscroll ‘Bugonia’

Ensemble Astounds in Lanthimos’ Grim Doomscroll ‘Bugonia’

By Alex McPherson

A nail-biting exploration of the selfishness and deep-seated class enmity afflicting our doomed species, director Yorgos Lanthimos’ “Bugonia” grips from its opening frames and never lets go, even as it grows increasingly, thoroughly unhinged.

Based on the 2003 South Korean film “Save the Green Planet!,” “Bugonia” follows Teddy (Jesse Plemons), a disheveled and emotionally scarred beekeeper working a low-level warehouse job for the pharmaceutical company Auxolith.

The company is managed by the performative, media savvy CEO Michelle Fuller (Emma Stone), whose face appears on magazine covers and who claims to support her employees while stripping them of work-life balance. 

Teddy, who has done his own research, believes that wealthy elites are destroying humanity and the planet. Reasonable, right? Well, not so much. He asserts that they are “Andromedan” aliens, and that he must stop them from wiping us out. Michelle might provide an opportunity to enact his master plan.

With help from his neurodivergent cousin Don (Aidan Delbis), Teddy hatches a plan to kidnap Michelle. If Michelle is an alien, they will force her to beam them into her mothership before the next lunar eclipse so that Teddy can negotiate with her leaders to let humanity be. 

Donning cheap Jennifer Aniston masks and syringes, the pair nab Michelle and lug her to their dingy basement for interrogation, shaving her head and slathering her with anti-itch cream for good measure.

Michelle is, understandably, quite shaken, and confused about what exactly Teddy and Don are ranting about. The clock is ticking for both her and her paranoid kidnappers as the eclipse draws near.

It’s not a particularly rosy view of humanity, and one that Lanthimos — ever the provocateur — packs full of his signature twisted sensibilities that dare viewers to follow along or get the hell out.

Lanthimos and screenwriter Will Tracy present a disquieting allegory for the ways our (very American) communication has broken down amongst each other.

Indeed, “Bugonia” is a relentless but, ultimately, cathartic experience as proceedings swiftly descend into all-out madness, with lead performances that stagger in their intensity and commitment to the plot’s every twist and turn. 

Plemons is startlingly compelling as Teddy, who has gone so far down the rabbit hole of conspiracies and personal vendettas that he’s a ticking time bomb, driven by rage, fear, and a search for purpose.

He believes he’s the savior of Earth while he succumbs to his neuroses, every hitch in his plan emboldening him to act more violently and rashly.

Plemons is frightening and unpredictably cruel in his portrayal, yet Teddy never becomes an outright monster. 

Lanthimos and Tracy paint Teddy as someone wronged by corporations and the lies they spew. He is consumed with grief, self-loathing, and hatred of the “elites” he feels have set the planet on a spiral towards doom.

He acts out on beliefs that are both absurdist and based in emotional truth, rendering his decisions darkly funny and deadly serious, even tragic. 

Stone, too, brings layers to Michelle that complicate our feelings towards her scene to scene. She’s an almost comically condescending character thrust into a situation seemingly beyond her control–that is, until she learns how to manipulate her captors.

She plays into their frayed headspaces in an attempt to regain agency, save herself, and deliver her own cutthroat retribution for the wrongs they committed against her and her “kind” at large. It’s a performance on par with her Oscar-winning turn in “Poor Things”: she maintains a calculated, sometimes vicious edge even in Michelle’s most powerless moments.

Equally strong is Delbis in his feature film debut. Don is trapped within Teddy’s conspiracy-driven world and sees Teddy as his only support and someone who can potentially free him from the hardships of his reality. Don feels that he has no choice but to follow along, although Teddy’s reckless and cruel treatment of Michelle makes him increasingly guilty and frightened.

Shreds of compassion break through, along with a gradual realization of the monstrous actions that he and Teddy have taken. Through Delbis’ superb performance, that bubbling inner turmoil is palpable.

“Bugonia” presents little hope for these characters. Nearly every bizarre conversation (including with a creepy, bumbling cop played by Stavros Halkias) is based in manipulation and misdirection over understanding, the constant sense of ulterior motives and trying to gain the upper hand without meeting the other party on their level.

(L to R) Emma Stone as Michelle, Aidan Delbis as Don and Jesse Plemons as Teddy in director Yorgos Lanthimos’ BUGONIA, a Focus Features release. Credit: Atsushi Nishijima/Focus Features

There’s little common ground, and what common ground exists is paved over with different terrain, which reflects America’s condition in 2025. Through this, Lanthimos shrewdly, and effectively, observes the end of “truth” as we know it. 

The film is stylistically crisp yet abrasive, with Robbie Ryan’s wide-lensed cinematography opting for extreme close-ups and angling to reflect ever-shifting power dynamics. A memorably jarring score by Jerskin Fendrix, plus creative use of Chappell Roan and Marlene Dietrich, enhances the film’s gonzo atmosphere

Add to this an ending that ranks among the most twisted (and horrifically beautiful) in recent memory, and “Bugonia” is a wild viewing experience — making up for broad-strokes commentary with exceptionally tense filmmaking, gasp-worthy set-pieces, and outstanding performances.

It’s an understatement to say that the film is not for everyone, but, in its pessimistic glory, it stands among Lanthimos’ most engagingly disturbed efforts yet.

“Bugonia’ is a 2025 dark comedy-sci-fi film directed by Yorgos Lanthimos and starring Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons, Aidan Delbis and Brad Carvalho. It’s run time is 2 hours, 15 min., and it is rated R for bloody violent content including a suicide, grisly images and language. It opened Oct. 31 in theatres. Alex’s Grade: A-

‘La La Land’ in Concert Coming to The Fox Nov. 1

‘La La Land’ in Concert Coming to The Fox Nov. 1

 After two sold-out shows at New York’s Carnegie Hall in February 2025, LA LA LAND in Concert is coming to The Fabulous Fox in St. Louis on Saturday, November 1 at 8:00 p.m.  Audiences revisit the multiple Academy Award®-winning 2016 Lionsgate film LA LA LAND, written and directed by Damien Chazelle, with this swoon-worthy live-to-film concert experience.  The show features a full orchestra and jazz band performing the famous soundtrack live in synchronization while the film is being shown on a big screen.  

LA LA LAND showcases the captivating story of a promising pianist and aspiring actress who cross paths and fall in love, while attempting to harmonize their career journeys in the city of stars.  Tickets are $59, $69, $79, $89, $99, $109, $129 (plus applicable fees) and available at www.fabulousfox.com starting on Friday, August 22 at 10:00 a.m.

LA LA LAND was composed by Justin Hurwitz who graduated from Harvard University where he studied music composition and orchestration.  He has composed the music for all of Damien Chazelle’s films including WHIPLASH, LA LA LAND, FIRST MAN, and BABYLON, earning two Academy Awards®, four Golden Globes®, three Critics’ Choice Awards®, two GRAMMY Awards®, and a BAFTA®.

Oscar winner Emma Stone and Oscar nominee Ryan Gosling in “La La Land.”

About Metropolitan Entertainment:

Metropolitan Entertainment is a preeminent producer of world class live entertainment.  One of the most respected independent concert promoters in the U.S., Metropolitan Entertainment has been presenting a wide range of concerts and events across New York, New Jersey and beyond since 1971.  For more information, please visit metropolitanpresents.com or follow Metropolitan Entertainment on Instagram @metropolitanentertainment.

About Hurwitz Concerts:

Hurwitz Concerts was founded in 2022 to produce live concerts of Justin Hurwitz’s film scores, including worldwide performances of LA LA LAND IN CONCERT, WHIPLASH IN CONCERT, and other festival appearances.

For more information, please visit www.hurwitzconcerts.com or follow Hurwitz Concerts on Instagram @lalalandinconcert and @hurwitzconcerts.

About Lionsgate Studios:

Lionsgate Studios (Nasdaq: LION) is one of the world’s leading standalone, pure play, publicly traded content companies. It brings together diversified motion picture and television production and distribution businesses, a world-class portfolio of valuable brands and franchises, a talent management and production powerhouse and a more than 20,000-title film and television library, all driven by Lionsgate Studios’ bold and entrepreneurial culture. For more information, please visit https://www.lionsgate.com/ or follow on Instagram @lionsgate.

Jazz musician and aspiring actress -,gone is the romance that was so divine. “La La Land.”

Cover Photo: “Another Day in the Sun.” Photo by Dale Robinette.

Ari Aster’s Latest ‘Eddington’ Is a Frenzied, Absorbing Nightmare

Ari Aster’s Latest ‘Eddington’ Is a Frenzied, Absorbing Nightmare

By Alex McPherson

Supremely uncomfortable yet ever-watchable, director Ari Aster’s “Eddington” looks back at the chaos of 2020 with a savagely enjoyable microscope.

Our story unfolds within the fictional, sleepy town of Eddington, New Mexico, during May 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic is in full swing, and Eddington residents struggle to navigate this new reality. Some succumb to conspiracy theories, others give into coronavirus paranoia, and everyone is glued to their smartphones.

The sickly allure of echo chambers is impossible to resist amid the cultural and social rifts exposed by an invisible enemy that’s infecting the world. There’s talk of a resource-hogging data center being constructed on the edge of town, the building of which Eddington’s incumbent, left-leaning mayor Ted Garcia (Pedro Pascal) makes a core (positive!) feature of his campaign. 

Ted has also instituted a mask mandate for the area. This greatly frustrates the insecure, right-leaning, and asthmatic police chief Joe Cross (Joaquin Phoenix). Joe struggles at his job and endures a home life where a sense of “control” has all but slipped away.

His wife, Louise (a haunted Emma Stone), refuses intimacy because of past trauma and has been drawn into the world of influencers, specifically a cultish, self-help guru named Vernon Jefferson Peak (Austin Butler). 

Joe and Louise share their house with Louise’s mother, Dawn (Deirdre O’Connell), who has fully given into “Plandemic” lunacy and is encouraging Louise to go further down the rabbit hole of online BS. Joe is nearing the end of his rope — he believes that something needs to be done to “save the soul” of Eddington or, more importantly, give his unstable self a feeling of power and so-called masculine purpose. 

After Joe has a tense debate with Ted over mask-wearing at a grocery store — an elderly man was just kicked out for not wearing a mask — he’s inspired to run for mayor himself, on a platform that demonizes Ted in darkly humorous fashion.

It’s all about “restoring the kindness of Eddington” after all, no matter the exaggerated political signage (complete with misspellings) and inflamed rhetoric. Joe’s anger at Ted extends beyond his politics, though: Ted once dated Louise, and rumors say their relationship did not end well.

Then George Floyd is killed, and everything is thrown further off its axis. Small protests grip Eddington, and Joe can barely keep things under control. Well-meaning but half-informed youths stand up for racial justice, and their eyes are on Michael (Micheal Ward), Eddington’s only Black police officer and perhaps one of the only Black people in Eddington, period. 

The pandemic, Black Lives Matter, fear-mongering media, anarchists, predators, and the warring campaigns of two egotistical men are all a lot for the town to handle. It’s only a matter of time before things go wildly off the rails.

This is an Aster joint after all, the mad lad who concocted such trippily unsettling works as “Midsommar” and the stylistically envelope-pushing “Beau is Afraid.” 

“Eddington” aims closer to home than those films — dramatizing a time whose trauma we’re still grappling with today in heightened, sometimes inflammatory (and polarizing) fashion.

But despite structural and pacing issues resulting from Aster tackling so many hot-button topics, the film, on the whole, accurately reflects our ostensibly doomed present. 

Aster captures a society overflowing with misinformation, emphasizing the pursuit of power, direction, and attention (under the guise of being noble) at the expense of self. Extremes on all sides will collide in train-wreck-catastrophe if, Aster warns, we continue down the same connected-but-isolated path as these characters.

A jolly view of humanity, to be sure, but one that’s rooted in truth despite Aster’s absurdist proclivities and resolute lack of subtlety.

Aster might not be the most psychologically incisive filmmaker out there to tackle the horrors of 2020, retaining a preference for madness over deeper reflection. “Eddington” can be uneven in its shock-value humor and sometimes broad characterization, with Aster throwing everything at the wall to see what sticks.

The film eschews emotional attachment for blunt-force social commentary that condemns our terminally online existence and our propensity for hate — ramming home the ways in which malleable minds can become warped; personal drama rendered violently political. 

Phoenix, yet again, gives a compelling performance that’s equal parts darkly amusing and disturbing. “Eddington” centers its focus on Joe and his de-evolution to baser, reactionary instincts.

Aster takes pains to illustrate how each facet of Joe’s life is breaking down, emphasizing his pitiful attempts at reconciling with Louise and carrying out his job as sheriff and would-be mayor, each slight building upon the other as Joe takes all the wrong lessons.

He makes his personal vengeance against society become larger than himself. As he becomes increasingly monstrous, though, Joe also becomes more recognizable on an instinctive level. Aster just takes his actions, and the actions of those around him, to extremes within this doomed microcosm.

Almost everyone is put in the crosshairs of Aster’s satire. Teens loudly but in a half-assed way deal with their White guilt (some virtue signaling for the sake of getting laid). Ted’s performative politicking masks a certain darkness, and people like Louise, become swept up into the world of cults masked as self-improvement.

That “Eddington” puts these characters next to antivaxxers and other right-wing conspiracy theorists might imply conflation, but the film primarily spotlights the technologies that drive them.

Indeed, social media infects these characters’ daily lives to an extent that they’re not aware of, taking control of their impulses while innocent parties are frequently caught in the middle.

Darius Khondji’s crisp cinematography finds moments of stark beauty amid the arid surroundings, positioning smartphones as a blunt, unnatural intrusion into the frame. Bobby Krlic and Daniel Pemberton’s score furthers a sense of dread punctuated by atonal jolts, reflecting the volatile nature of the story itself.

“Eddington” is most effective in the big picture, sacrificing digging deeper into any one topic for building a swirling, chaotic mélange of everything happening at once, eventually reaching a near-fever-dream pitch of violence and cinder-black comedy.

The film’s free-flow structure can drag in places as it assembles the pieces. This is largely due to the inherent unlikability of most of the characters and a screenplay that, for all its shrewd effectiveness, is hit-or-miss with its “provocative” humor. 

Flaws aside, “Eddington is still a valiantly unhinged effort from Aster that’s willing to take real risks. Some will hate it, some will love it, and while its more haphazard elements are distracting, the experience is never less than interesting — a modern western with no savior, just a steady march towards Armageddon.

“Eddington” is a 2025 dark comedy – contemporary western directed by Ari Aster and starring Joaquin Phoenix, Pedro Pascal, Emma Stone, Austin Butler, Deirdre O’Connell, Luke Grimes, Micheal Ward, Cameron Mann and Matt Gomez Hidaka. It is rated R for strong violence, some grisly images, language, and graphic nudity. Its run time is 2 hours, 28 minutes. It opened in theatres July 18. Alex‘s Grade: Rating: B+

‘Eddington’ Confuses in Look Back at Pandemic Boiling Points in 2020

‘Eddington’ Confuses in Look Back at Pandemic Boiling Points in 2020

By Lynn Venhaus

Self-indulgent claptrap, “Eddington” is an interminable contemporary western-dark comedy that writer-director Ari Aster can’t figure out how to end, nor has he given us any reason to care about what happens, presenting an overstuffed, confusing narrative involving a laundry list of anxiety-inducing crackpot-isms.

Pick a lane, dude. Aster, not a director whose work I have ever admired – or understood, has attempted to give us a snapshot of a small town dealing with the uneasiness of the coronavirus shut-down.

The tagline is “Hindsight is 2020.” Clever and worthy of looking back five years later. But he’d rather muddy up a narrative with stray targets, weak plot threads and aim for grievances that may or not be effective.

So, instead of an incisive account, we try to figure out the purpose of various peculiar characters who are in a disconcerting series of opaque situations.

At times, it captures that paranoid feeling of those uncertain early days of the pandemic, and the unnerving isolation and fear, but Aster mostly fritters away any clarity by tossing too many things together, mostly lightning rods that can stir things up.  

Namely, the unhoused, anti-maskers, conspiracy theorists, racists, privileged white kids grappling with societal issues, Black Lives Matter supporters, national outrage over George Flood’s inexcusable death, fear-mongering media, social media feeding frenzies, vapid influencers, anarchists, ‘Antifa’ supporters, white supremists, red state hysteria, QAnon believers, pedophiles, predators, bureaucratic small-town officials, small business owners, indigenous people’s lands, law enforcement, guns, state mandates, corporate greed, and those profiting off human misery.

Not to mention public health attempts to stop the spread of a rampant virus that wants to destroy us, and those whose lack of disregard for fellow humans under the guise of individual rights is reckless. 

But consequences matter little in Aster’s lawless world where good people are trying to maintain an order and are met with lack-of-information resistance.

Aster’s plots tend to meander but usually have a common denominator – things that can spin quickly out of control. Like he did in the idiosyncratic nearly unwatchable “Beau Is Afraid,” he ratchets up absurdities as people go through personal crises and makes a mockery of real issues.

His horror dramas “Midsommar” and “Hereditary” were designed to shock, and I can’t figure out his intentions here. He likes to be weird just because in his world, rules of form, function and ordinary behavior don’t apply, so he throws things on screen to see what sticks.

Oscar-winning Joaquin Phoenix delivers his customary commitment to character in an excellent performance as Sheriff Joe Cross, whose life is about to unravel in predictable and unexpected ways.

Most frustrating of all is that Aster wastes a strong collection of talent – including Austin Butler, barely making a blip as Vernon Jefferson Peak, a charismatic evangelical zealot type preaching about evil authoritarians and what he perceives to be injustices to the common man. He has amassed many followers through viral videos and in-person rallies.

One of his fans is Cross’s wife, Louise (an underused Emma Stone), who has had some sort of mental health trauma that makes assimilation into society difficult.

 She has a controlling mother who lives with them during the shutdown, interfering with their marriage and their beliefs, and spreads wack-a-doodle theories suspicious about the government. Deidre O’Connell is the meddling mom Dawn. An opportunist, her character does a 180 when it’s beneficial to her.

Pedro Pascal is measured as the popular and successful mayor, Ted Garcia, who is raising his teenage son Eric (Matt Gomez Hidaka) on his own. 

His son and his friends, eager to hang out, disobey social distancing rules and get involved in the Black Lives Matter protests. His friend Brian (Cameron Mann) is always filming on his phone for Instagram, trying to get ‘gotcha’ videos.

Garcia runs a bar, and is open to a tech company coming to his fictional tiny town of about 2500 people for future jobs.

He now must deal with a challenger, Joe, whose mayoral run is often viewed as comical and a nuisance. His two deputies, Michael (Micheal Ward) and Guy (Luke Grimes, who played the beloved Kayce Dutton on “Yellowstone”) are loyal and steadfast, and try to maintain peace. But are also directed by a boss with ulterior motives.

Then, there is this shady group of unnamed operatives that come to town with wreaking havoc on their minds. No explanation here as to who they are.

The town becomes a battleground for free speech and heightens racial tensions.

And the list of plot threads goes on, and on and on. The movie should have culminated in a never-ending shootout where the asthmatic, illness-impaired sheriff survives many automatic bullets and mayhem for a later end result that is hard to believe, but not in Aster’s world view.

Outside of a few skilled performers making good impressions in these daffy offbeat roles, this movie has little to offer if you seek a satisfying story. 

Why I maintained hope that this movie would not be a senseless bloodbath with little effect is beyond me. Enter at your own risk.

“Eddington” is a 2025 dark comedy – contemporary western directed by Ari Aster and starring Joaquin Phoenix, Pedro Pascal, Emma Stone, Austin Butler, Deirdre O’Connell, Luke Grimes, Micheal Ward, Cameron Mann and Matt Gomez Hidaka. It is rated R for strong violence, some grisly images, language, and graphic nudity. Its run time is 2 hours, 28 minutes. It opened in theatres July 18. Lynn’s Grade: D

‘Cruella’ A Bold Re-Imagining of Iconic Disney Villain Pops With Color

‘Cruella’ A Bold Re-Imagining of Iconic Disney Villain Pops With Color

By Lynn Venhaus
A cheeky live-action prequel that delves into the down-and-out origins of one of Disney’s iconic villains, “Cruella” is a dark tale of dueling divas hell-bent on revenge.

That’s an unexpected underdog twist – and this glossy reimagining bursts with a bold, brassy attitude.

Estella de Vil (Emma Stone) wasn’t born to be bad, but she was a nonconformist at an early age.

Born with the unmistakable two-tone hair, Estella’s a creative but mischievous child (a spunky Tipper Seifert-Cleveland) who is a handful for her mother (Emily Beecham).

When she strikes out on her own on the streets, that begins her relationship with Jasper and Horace, who are rakishly played by character actors Joel Fry of “Yesterday” and Paul Walter Hauser of “Richard Jewell” as adults — good-hearted blokes. They survive as grifters.

But the future fashionista has a dream and is singled out by superstar designer The Baroness (Emma Thompson), who likes her style – and appropriates it for her collections. Haughty and vain, the Baroness has destroyed everyone in her way – but has she met her match in Cruella? The rebellious alter ego of Estella, Cruella’s punk rock outfits are redefining fashion in 1970s London, and it is game on!

The story, long in the works, was first drafted by screenwriters Aline Brosh McKenna, Kelly Marcel and Steve Zissis. McKenna wrote “The Devil Wears Prada” and you see those fingerprints all over this latest chapter in the “101 Dalmatians” oeuvre by co-screenwriters Dana Fox and Tony McNamara.

This is where Emma Thompson takes over, commanding every frame she is in, with personality and pizzazz, as she forges Estella/Cruella’s identity.

A chance encounter with The Baroness von Hellman, the prima donna of haute couture, puts Estella on the path to realize a career as a designer. As played by Thompson, the wickedly evil Baroness is a despicable human and corrupt fashionista. As Cruella learns more, she stakes her claim as  “The Future” of fashion. She takes swinging London by storm.

This is when the movie explodes with fresh and fun outfits in a swirl of black, white and red — the notorious colors associated with all things Cruella. Jenny Beavan’s costume designs are marvelous, a big loud rebel yell of punk-inspired outfits and gorgeous evening garments perfect for dramatic entrances. Beavan’s won Oscars for “Mad Max: Fury Road” and “A Room with a View,” and her use of different fabrics and textures is stunning.

These costumes are worn with flair by two of our best actresses, Oscar winners Stone and Thompson, who have a ball with the campier aspects of their roles — but also vividly create their characters’ dead-serious nature.

As for the Dalmatians that first created the Disney franchise all the way back to 1961, three mean ones appear as the pets of the Baroness. Hence, Cruella’s aversion to the spotted creatures. Estella’s own pet dog is a beloved mutt named Buddy.

Stay past the credits to find more on Anita and Roger, a nod to Pongo and Perdita’s future family.

The source material for all of the successive movies, including the live-action “101 Dalmatians” in 1996 and the 2000 “102 Dalmatians” starring Glenn Close as the imperious villain, has been Dodie Smith’s 1956 novel.

She turned a character’s last name from Bram Stoker’s “Dracula,” Count de Ville, into this greedy villainess, driving a Rolls Royce and barking orders to her henchman, to fill her insatiable need for animal fur.

Where the franchise is headed after “Cruella” is anyone’s guess – because how would Stone’s character turn into the menacing de Vil that steals the dogs for their fur?

Well, that discussion is for another day, but it’s a logical question – where does it go from here after Cruella takes over Hell(man) Hall?

As for a stand-alone movie, “Cruella” is a vibrant creation with a banging period soundtrack and a game cast.

Just as he did with “I, Tonya,” director Craig Gillespie zigs when you expect him to zag.

The Baroness’ actions are too frightening for young children, so parents be aware. There is nothing remotely cute about this movie.

But as it is Disney, expect lots of merchandise, tie-ins and another one in the works. That’s about the only predictable element to this film.

“Cruella” is a 2020 comedy-drama directed by Craig Gillespie. Starring Emma Stone, Emma Thompson, Joel Fry, Paul Walter Hauser, Emily Beecham, Kirby Howell-Baptiste and Mark Strong. Rated PG-13 for some violence and thematic elements and the run time is 2 hours, 14 minutes. It is available in theaters and on Disney Plus for a one-time premium access fee on May 28. Lynn’s Grade: B+

In theaters and on Disney Plus with Premier Access one-time additional fee May 28