Mixed feelings on some points, but overall I liked it. Teared up a few times, and couldn't understand how people in the audience were laughing. I don't care what Arthur says, his story is a tragedy.
you're solid gold // i'll see you in hell
FUCKING SPOILERS:
Joker is a very difficult film to talk about. It's not a fun film. I agree with a lot of what Rjeso said in the Review thread. It's ultimately a very scary and sad film (think Requiem for a Dream). Anyone that finds fun or pleasure in this film ought to be alarmed for themselves, especially if they feel vindication at the last scene with Joker and the mob. Despite the director's problematic recent statements, I appreciated the artistry on display ("enjoy" wouldn't be a proper word to use here). I grew up in New York City and lived in the scummy old apartment buildings that Arthur lives in. I've been on that awful subway car. I felt like I was back there. A lot of the scenes did genuinely scare and shock me and brought me near tears. I did feel sympathy for Arthur to an extent. It's impossible not to. His character, like Rjeso pointed out, is a condemnation of our society's handling of mental illness. It's explicitly stated in the film. You understand why he does what he does. That doesn't mean it explains why people like him in general do these types of things, but in this context it delves into some of these roots and causes.
As far as Batman lore, I'm not even sure Arthur is The Joker. He's billed as "Joker" and as we see for the seventeenth time Bruce's parents gunned down in that alley by a rando, I don't think in this Elseworlds universe that boy grows up to be Batman actually. Or if he does, his Joker is someone else, "inspired" by what happened with Arthur's "movement". I was looking to spot some easter-egg cameos in Arkham but I didn't see any or there were none.
Finally, this is a very good film. Phoenix's performance all but guarantees an Oscar nomination, if not a win. The cinematography was excellent, there were some breathtaking shots. Hildur's score was phenomenal, as usual, she is the queen of dark ambient cellos. Whatever the controversies, it's definitely one of the best films of the year.
Well, that review sure changes things for me as opposed to the review by Rjeso in the last film thread. I don't need to be bummed out or depressed when I go out to the movies. I'll likely wait until I can sit at home and watch it on PPV/HBO for the artsy type films that require deep thought process, introspection or are somewhat dour or depressing. lol Thx for that review, Mae. You've saved me $20-30 bucks!!! lol
“If you don't know what you want," the doorman said, "you end up with a lot you don't.”
― Chuck Palahniuk, Fight Club
Looking for SubPress Lettered::
Angel's Game and Prisoner of Heaven (Zafon)
Ilium (Simmons)
Hunchback Jack: Your sarcasm has been noted and you have been found to not be sufficiently "woke." You shall report to re-education camp immediately.
Official Memo #327412 (subject has failed to castigate himself and society for not condemning all forms of entertainment that do not meet current PC parameters).
Joker for me was pure brilliance. I loved that last scene (seventeenth times or not). Leger May just be better at this than Leger. A sad, gripping and powerful film. I pray he faces the Batman someday, somehow in the DC movie world. It would be a grand thing for sure.
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Insomnia #459
ANY S/L #459
FYI I added a Spoiler tag to the subject title so feel free to use Spoilers without tags.
Just saw The Joker. I liked it. TBH, I don't think it was any more ore less violent then any other film that was said to be violent. I think the issue, at least in the beginning of the film is the kind of violence. I won't give anything thing away though. I think the more important issue is that the Joker character is somewhat sympathetic at one point in the film. And no matter what anybody wants to say, I believe there is a class structure built into this film. Joaquin phoenix was really good in this movie. He is going to get a nomination for sure. The "issue" I saw with the film is that it is overall a depressing film dealing with issues that people don't like to talk about. The fact that the character has "problems" and the fact that what I saw was a breakdown in the system that is supposed to support people like this as portrayed in the film is real. So I think the fact that you had a sympathetic person in the beginning of the film, and through his experiences, realizes that society casts him aside is something that might register with people who really have lived lives like that and feel marginalized. I think that is the issue. Of course, feel free to disagree with some or all of what I said. I tried my best to explain my feelings on it.
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Saw it last night and enjoyed it. I probably didn't love it like I was hoping/thinking I would, though. I was prepared for it to be more slower paced character drama, but it was a little slower than I thought it was going to be (but never boring). I was missing more "plot stuff." Great acting, character work, score (which I really loved), and commentary on society's treatment of the mentally ill and marginalized (that line mixed with JP's delivery--"What do you get when you cross a mentally ill loner with a society that abandons him and treats him like trash?"--gave me chills. It sums up the whole movie perfectly, plus it rings so true for our society). And those last fifteen minutes were bananas in the best way possible. I'd love a sequel where the whole movie is that kind of "full-Joker" chaos.
If I were to rate it, I'd probably give it a 7.5/10 (or 8/10, depending on how I'm feeling).
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Arthur Fleck or A. Fleck or Affleck? Possible bad joke about Ben Affleck as Batman? Probably not but was funny to me at least.
I've been on antibiotics for a while now and I think they are driving me a little mad. Damned ear infection!!
I saw the film today and it's the feel-bad movie of the year! A movie that both literally and figuratively the sun does not shine upon. A dark thing made of the painful, raging and sad parts of the human experience. It is a nightmare. Something this audaciously bleak and nihilistic deserves a place in cinema history.
But what exactly are we supposed to take away from this? The answer to that scares me a bit. There is a truth in there somewhere but one I am not sure I am grateful for knowing.
"Hurt" is the first word that comes to me when I think about this movie and "masterpiece" is the second. It is brilliant but I do not think I ever want to see it again.
I quite enjoyed it. I'm probably going to write something on it later.
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https://www.cbr.com/joker-gary-glitt...ive-royalties/
The anthem for the Joker film's iconic dancing scene has struck up some controversy over concerns about who will receive the money for the song's usage.
As the Joker confidently dances, the film plays a song to match Joker's mood: "Rock n’ Roll Part 2" by Gary Glitter. This realization has sparked some controversy, considering the former British rock star was convicted for pedophilia. Many were concerned he would receive royalties for the song's inclusion in Joker, despite the fact he is currently serving a 16-year sentence for his crimes.
However, the L.A. Times reports that fans can pay for their ticket to Joker guilt-free. According to a spokesperson for the U.K. company Snapper Music, Glitter will not receive the royalties for the song's use in the film, since they hold the legal rights to Glitter's recordings. Snapper released a statement, clarifying, "Gary Glitter does not get paid. We’ve had no contact with him.”
The U.S. rights holder Universal Media Publishing Group also released a statement: "Gary Glitter’s publishing interest in the copyright of his songs is owned by UMPG and other parties, therefore UMPG does not pay him any royalties or other considerations."
As such, one thing is clear about Joker's inclusion of "Rock n’ Roll Part 2": Glitter will not be paid for it. The song is also notorious in American sports stadiums, as well as in films and television series such as Meet the Fockers and South Park.
Despite the controversies, Joker continues to be a success at the box office, earning $500 million worldwide in its second week.
Directed by Todd Phillips, Joker stars Joaquin Phoenix, Robert De Niro, Zazie Beetz, Bill Camp, Frances Conroy, Brett Cullen, Glenn Fleshler, Douglas Hodge, Marc Maron, Josh Pais and Shea Whigham. The film is in theaters now.
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I haven't read too many reviews but I am sure this has been brought up somewhere by now. I watched a show or a documentary about John Wayne Gacy earlier this year. In it, they discussed the way he drew his clown make-up on. When he was Pogo (the name of the comedy club in Joker is pogo's) the Clown, he used very sharp edges. They talked to some real clowns that said they never use sharp lines in their make-up because it denotes evil. It was the first thing that came to my attention when seeing the previews for Joker.
We get connections to Gacy, who abused young men and boys (the first sign of trouble from Gacy was when he molested a boy that was the son of one of his father's friend, short prison sentence and then the monster was really let loose), Arthur, who was abused as a child (possibly sexually but that isn't made explicit), the Gary Glitter song, which, we know that story and the fact that Phoenix started off life in a cult that approved of the sexual abuse of children that's since been run out of America but still exists in other parts of the world. Phoenix was three when his parents got some sense into their brains and left the cult. This is hellish layering.
The devil is in the details.
King also took his novel, Rage, out of circulation because it was linked to several incidents of school shootings and hostage situations.
This Stephen King Novel Will Never Be Printed Again After It Was Tied To School Shootings
"Although King doesn’t believe his novel alone caused those four violent school shooting incidents, he regards "Rage" as a “possible accelerant” affecting people whose troubled backgrounds and psychological problems have already driven them to the brink.
“I pulled it because in my judgment it might be hurting people, and that made it the responsible thing to do,” King wrote. "
I agree with what Mae and Tommy both said above. This movie was definitely not a feel good movie. It was very dark from beginning to end. And by very dark, I mean extremely dark and depressing. Joaquin Phoenix was absolutely amazing in it. He was terrifying. I'm not sure if I should feel sympathy for him, but I did. It was such a sad, tragic story. I'm also not sure if I would ever care to watch it again, but that said I do think it was a very powerful film.
Only the gentle are ever really strong.
My favourite part of Joker was the unreliable narrator aspect of the film. Normally it could be a lame Shyamalanian twist, but it's established fairly early on in the film in various ways. First we see Arthur imagining himself on Murray's talk show, which is less about fame and recognition than it is about Arthur's lack of a father figure in life and since Murray is something he shares with his mother, he fantasizes about a family unit. We also see that the scenes with his neighbour were entirely delusional too, a fantasy borne out of his loneliness and need for love in his life; there's also the aspect of her being a single mother, something else that is shown on the seen on the bus where he's trying to entertain the kid, which I think helped draw Arthur to to the idea of her and establishing a family unit. We also learn that his mother was delusional as well and dreamed up an affair with Thomas Wayne so there is a real element of mental illness being passed down much like Hereditary. We also learn that his mother's mother's abusive ways early in Arthur's life resulted in Arthur having a brain injury that resulted in his laughing disorder.
Since we're seeing the entire film from the POV of Arthur and he's delusional and story we've been given from his perspective is show to be fantasy, a case could be made for the entirety of the film to be a delusion while Arthur is in Arkham...though I think it's more a case of figuring out which elements are more likely to be authentic. I would need to watch it again to have a better grasp on what those things could be. Did the lower class of Gotham really see Joker as a hero or was that his way of glorifying his own crime in his mind? Were the Wayne's actually murdered or did he want to wish he could be powerful enough to bring about the deaths of the Gotham power couple? Did he actually appear on Murray and did he actually kill him? The lack of showing him be arrested once he's broken out by his followers begs to question how he got into Arkham...was it for all the murders? Was it just for the subway murders? Did those murders even happen? It's possible he merely got picked up for murdering his mother after learning the truth. Maybe it all really happened and the only delusions were said to be delusions and how he got into Arkham for the end isn't necessary...but the lack of that story tie really made me question everything that came before.
Normally I'd be against such a gimmick, but this is meant to be an origin story, and it's quite possible the maniacal Joker who causes chaos in Gotham was created in Arkham Asylum. Having Joker become the Joker in a literal sense isn't nearly as important as him becoming Joker in a psychological sense.
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The Batman casts Paul Dano as The Riddler
AWESOME CHOICE.
Filmmaker Matt Reeves has found his Riddler for The Batman. Paul Dano has joined the film as the classic villain, Warner Bros. announced Thursday.
Dano's version of the character will be named Edward Nashton, a departure from the comic books in which he goes by the name Edward Nygma. Frank Gorshin and John Astin played the villain in the 1960s TV series, while Jim Carrey played him in 1995’s Batman Forever, directed by Joel Schumacher.
Interesting. He's pretty versatile. Intrigued to see what he does with it.
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