Film 2409 - Unknown Number: The High School Catfish

Intro: After the time jump to go through movie that are more relevant to this year's awards race, it's time to go back to where I left off. This is the second movie Niamh and I watched in Corfu, Greece.

Film 2409: "Unknown Number: The High School Catfish" (2025), Skye Borgman
Watched: From my laptop
Language: English
Watched with: Niamh
Thoughts: Like most reality TV shows and documentaries produced by streaming platforms nowadays, "Unknown Number: The High School Catfish" is a documentary that feels more like fiction because of how it’s edited and how the story is told. There’s a plot twist after another, in a crescendo of tension and chaos that culminates in the reveal of what’s actually happening behind the scenes. In this case, who was behind the horrifying text messages that the teenage girl Lauryn Licari was receiving.
I almost struggle to consider this a documentary, considering how overly produced it seems: when you watch it, it almost feels like you’re watching a mockumentary (like the previous Netflix hit "American Vandal"). It almost feels fictional for how absurd the story is and how glossy and visually clean it looks. It’s so strange.
Overall, though, I found it very compelling. The story is insane, and it’s even more unsettling to think that this happened for real, and that the person who stalked and harassed a teenager, along with her boyfriend and friends, actually decided to take part in this film. I understand that this person was trying to give her version of the facts, but considering who they are in relation to Lauryn, it’s almost absurd to me that the production gave them a platform. Far from me to censor anybody, but what this person did is disgusting and horrifying, and part of me doesn’t think they deserved the screen time they got thanks to this production.
"Unknown Number: The High School Catfish" is definitely an entertaining piece of media, but there’s a voyeuristic component and exploitation that don’t sit well with me. The story is as shocking as it is sad, and seeing a young girl having to go through all of this and, in the end, still being able to feel compassion for the person who put her through hell… As a viewer, it’s quite hard to watch.
Cast: Lauryn Licari, Owen McKenny, Shawn Licari, Kendra Licari.
Box Office: /
Worth a watch?: Definitely a crazy ride; it all boils down to who the stalker and abuser is. If you’re up for real stories like this one, then go for it. Otherwise, it’s better to find something else to watch.
Awards: /
Key word: Messages.
Trailer
#HollywoodCiak
Bengi

Film 2418 - Bugonia

Intro: A new Yorgos Lanthimos' movie is always an event, so I had to go and see it.

Film 2418: "Bugonia" (2025), Yorgos Lanthimos
Watched: At the movies
Language: English
Watched with: Yegor
Thoughts: It was nice to go and see this movie at a different venue than my usual one, the Lighthouse. Unlike Cineworld, it meant sharing the experience with a different crowd: no one left the screening mid-show to go to the toilet and the room was quiet the whole time, everybody focused on the story, in silence. As an avid cinemagoer that values these things, it honestly made a difference. (There's nothing I hate more than people talking or laughing or coming and going to the bathroom during a movie.)
"Bugonia" is not my favourite film by Yorgos Lanthimos — I think that is still "The Lobster", yet I appreciated this new story. It's extremely well executed and tells an interesting story that conveys a green message, together with the satire of current corporate values. On top of that, it features the performances of two great actors at the top of their game: Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons are fantastic here — I imagine an Oscar nomination for both of them is definitely in the cards. Particularly, Emma Stone proves once again why she is one of the best actresses working in films today. She's brilliant in almost every role she plays (better forget about that "Aloha" movie) and here she once again delivers a career best. And it's not just because she went all in by shaving her head for real (which Natalie Portman did as well in another great movie that was a bit too overlooked in my opinion, "V for Vendetta").
I know "Bugonia" has already been called a masterpiece by critics, I'm not sure I'm there yet. I liked it, I particularly enjoyed the plot twist at the end — I mean, I'm not sure how surprising it was considering the story was pointing in the opposite way the whole time — but it isn't necessarily the kind of movie I would rewatch multiple times. It's interesting, well-written and acted, and tells a story that feels different from most things that came out this year. It reminded me a lot of Darren Aronofsky's "Mother!", for example. But, as I said, it's not my favourite (to stay close to the Lanthimos lore).
Cast: Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons, Aidan Delbis, Stavros Halkias, Alicia Silverstone.
Box Office: $2 million (currently)
Worth a watch?: One of the most talked-about movies of the year, one has to see it. I'm sure it's going to play a big role in the upcoming awards season, so better be ahead of the curve and watch it. It's a very peculiar film, like Lanthimos' usually are. "Bugonia" is definitely not for everybody, some may consider it too artsy or brainy, but to those who appreciate this kind of stories, it's worth watching.
Awards: In copmpetition at Cannes 2025, it won the Green Drop Award. Nominated for Best Feature at the 2025 Gotham Independent Film Award.
Key word: Bees.
Trailer
#HollywoodCiak
Bengi