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Joker ReviewS: Masterpiece Level

black_13

Banned
Went in with minimal expectations and ended up really enjoying it. Sets the tone and sadness of the Joker perfectly and Joaquin is so good that makes any flaws seem like nothing.

Didn't see much controversy. Actually found the portrayal of mental illness to be much more layered and realistic.
 
I just got back from the movie. Didn't leave in a violent rage.

I didn't hate the film, I thought it was an interesting character study. But at the same time, I am really not a big fan of seeing the Joker with an origin. I always thought the character works better when you know less about him.

I thought
Thomas Wayne and Bruce Wayne being in the movie was a bit forced
. Joaquin Phoenix's performance was really good, I liked the casting. But I never really felt like Joaquin Phoenix ever really became the Joker in this movie. If he was playing a completely unrelated character in a similar situation, he would have still done a great job. But Joaquin didn't quite click with me in the same way some of the previous Joker performances did. But this is also a weird and interesting take on the character in general. It is like some sort of multiverse version.

I like the locations of Gotham, and the gritty early 1980's look. The production and direction all look good.

Actually found the portrayal of mental illness to be much more layered and realistic.

I agree with this. I did like the layering of delusion with The Joker and his Mother.
 
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just got back from seeing this

at the end of the movie i thought to myself "THAT.. is the clown prince of crime"

i don't think in any media ever has the joker been portrayed as a worshiped figure

i was thinking "this is going to birth the rest of them"

in my opinion, the movie starts out grounded in reality and ends up on verrrrrry borderline comic book fiction territory

my mind wants more of the mythos of gotham brought to life but at the same time it doesn't

brilliant movie and i can't wait to watch it again
 
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DKehoe

Gold Member
Saw it last night and was pretty disappointed. I think if the bar hadn't been set so high I'd have enjoyed it more.
 

Teslerum

Member
just got back from seeing this

at the end of the movie i thought to myself "THAT.. is the clown prince of crime"

i don't think in any media ever has the joker been portrayed as a worshiped figure

i was thinking "this is going to birth the rest of them"

in my opinion, the movie starts out grounded in reality and ends up on verrrrrry borderline comic book fiction territory

my mind wants more of the mythos brought out of this todd phillips' gotham but at the same time it doesn't

brilliant movie and i can't wait to watch it again

Batman Beyond
 
The great thing about this movie, is that it's able to stand on it's on feet. Doesn't requiring the DC universe, absolutely could work without the well known characters, as fundamentaly in it's core it has a great premise which is portrayed and executed almost perfectly. Reminded to me to a handful of different other art movies with very similar tone of gloom and doom where self reflection is insanely lifelike and hopelessness is driving you crazy. Scary how close this is to real life - even this should be a fictional story.
 

Gavin Stevens

Formerly 'o'dium'
I loved it, it’s DCs Logan. The whole movie was nothing like a comic book film, there were no DC titles, nothing flashy, it was just a film about a clown.

Though I have to say as good as the film was, the first half of the film was a boring slog. Yeah it all paid off the in end, but man, that first hour was just dull.
 

Gavin Stevens

Formerly 'o'dium'
Also can somebody answer the following as it wasn’t clear to me:

Was the guy who protected Bruce supposed to be Alfred, or just a random bodyguard/butler?

I have to say, the one thing that took my out of the movie was see a Disney TsumTsum in the hospital scene. This was set in the past, they shouldn’t have been there. I nearly got up and walked out in disgust. Terrible, buhh.
 

thequestion

Member
Might go see it tonight or Monday, but I’m curious - does this movie open with a birthing scene? *Spoiler* “yes”or “no”, please. Thanks.
 

Mohonky

Member
Saw an article today that made me laugh; author recommended seeing 'Cuck' as a better look at the insight to an individual who was spiralling wayward from the rest of society.

There seems to be some genuine hatred for this film, its amazing watching everyone bend over backward to hate it.
 

withincells

Member
Also can somebody answer the following as it wasn’t clear to me:

Was the guy who protected Bruce supposed to be Alfred, or just a random bodyguard/butler?

I have to say, the one thing that took my out of the movie was see a Disney TsumTsum in the hospital scene. This was set in the past, they shouldn’t have been there. I nearly got up and walked out in disgust. Terrible, buhh.

Yes, he is credited as that.
 
I think this movie is important.

I remember when I was locked up for 8 days in a psych ward for my anxiety/panic issues (no threat of harm to myself or others, just considered “failure to thrive” as I hadn’t left my apartment in almost 3 months) I was asked the same questions every day. Same fucking questions to the point where I was reciting the same answer before she (it was always a female) had finished reading the next question off the script. When I tried to speak freely, tried to open up about what I was really thinking and feeling, I was always redirected to the scripted questions. I somewhat relate to that early scene with Arthur and the psychologist.

This movie is so relevant in regards to shining a light on mental health and civility. Even though it takes place in the 80s, I felt a strong parallel to social media vitriol and whatnot.

Pheonix will get nominated and IMO deserve to win based on movies I’ve seen this year.
 

Eiknarf

Member
I’m trying to catch up and read all your posts, but has anyone mentioned this quote from the director:

Phillips said in 2019 that he had stopped doing comedy because of the backlash of "Woke culture." [19] Phillips said "Go try to be funny nowadays with this woke culture....There were articles written about why comedies don’t work anymore - I’ll tell you why, because all the fucking funny guys are like, 'Fuck this shit, because I don’t want to offend you.'"
 

Silent Duck

Member
I do hope he gets some award for his performance, it's easily one of the best performances of forever.

X6w1daB.jpg
 
I went into this movie with the lowest of expectations and I left amazed. What a fantastic movie.very thought provoking.
i loved how it began

i knew right away when it began how great of a slow burner it would be

he's just routinely putting on his clown make-up because it's just his occupation

we didn't need to wonder "oh when's he gonna put on the make-up, when's the transformation gonna happen"

nope, this is a real world and he's a clown and we just see his life


awesome
 
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nordique

Member
Incredible film

I really enjoyed it. Haven’t walked out of a theatre blown away like this, probably since the Dark Knight in 2008

Joaquin deserves an Oscar for this and the movie itself probably deserves a few more nominations
 
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nordique

Member
I read that article and it’s based on it having 69% on RT which is still a passing score. So...

Yeah it’s really seemed to divide a lot of movie critics. I was reading some of the “rotten” reviews on RT. The juxtaposition with the critical reviews and the audience reviews are astonishing

This movie has opened up many significant dialogues which is something I don’t recall a movie in recent memory doing, certainly not to this level.
 
Actually found the portrayal of mental illness to be much more layered and realistic.
I read that article and it’s based on it having 69% on RT which is still a passing score. So...

My biggest gripes with this movie, mostly come from the way they presented the Joker. I also thought some of the Batman related stuff
like Bruce Wayne, was a bit forced, though it is an off cannon Joker
But looking at this movie as a character study of a man who becomes a sociopath, it is an interesting character study. There are things I really do like about this movie. I don't think it is perfect, but it has been one of the better movies I have seen this year... which is not saying much. In a way it reminds me of Burton's Batman movie. Both were set in the 1980's, and
The Joker was responsible for killing Bruce's parents... though indirectly in this movie.
 
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Cato

Banned
Just watched it.
Jesus fucking christ, did he nail his journey to become the joker or what?

The acting is spectacular. Heath Ledger, memory of you, sorry but you are second tier now.
The acting was spectacular. I have not seen anything like this in along time. Since Jack N in One Flew Over the Cookoos nest?

This is even better, it is oscar best actor quality. Amazing.



Now, the movie is very dark and an origin story, while not canon, of a mind destructing into nothingness.
As a batman-fanboy (I have entire bookshelves of 300+ batman comics ALBUMS in a dedicated room for comics and videogames)
this is the best batman universe story I have ever seen.

It is chaotic, it is madness, it is a mirage of a broken mind decaying into becomming the joker.
I LOVE IT.

This is by far the best and truest origin story in either MArvel or DC universes I have ever seen.
It is DARK, very DARK, but a decaying mind always is.

I will see again on saturday.
There is one tiny tiny nit I have with one scene towards the end and one huge twist, to me, at the very very end, where they got me
I would like to discuss but I am a boomer and I don't know how spoiler tags works, :-(


Jeez. This was amazing. 10/10. Movie of the decade.
 

Cato

Banned
YES

and then he does that little dance with the grin before running off

amazing


Is it ok to do spoilers in this thread? and talk about actual scenes?
If so, there is one scene, at the very end, where there are two people in a room I would really want to comment on, but ot would be a spoiler. Can I?
 

Cato

Banned
Let me just put it as spoilerless I can. This threw me.

At the end. Two people talking.
I think, ok, well fair enough, it is not the traditional look of HQ, but ok, this is not canon.
Then some singing.
Then, footprints and I realize I was wrong big time. This was not HQ. Guess we will see her in the sequel.
 
F

Foamy

Unconfirmed Member
Just saw Joker tonight with the wife and we both thought it was fantastic.

I liked the part of the story that his mental health problems were.....

caused largely by brain injuries as a result of the physical abuse from his mothers boyfriend. Abuse which she ignored.
 
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Though I have to say as good as the film was, the first half of the film was a boring slog. Yeah it all paid off the in end, but man, that first hour was just dull.
People are so easily bored these days. The first act was a great setup for the second. Seeing him break down at the hands of his abusers, knowing sooner or later he would snap was terrifying.
 
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Gavin Stevens

Formerly 'o'dium'
It’s not that I’m easily bored, it’s just it was uneventful for the first half. Don’t get me wrong, I loved the film, but nothing very satisfying happened for me in the first half. The second half was far better in contrast, which is good because usually I find films have it the other way around, blowing their load too quickly.
 
Though I have to say as good as the film was, the first half of the film was a boring slog. Yeah it all paid off the in end, but man, that first hour was just dull.
bitch you crazy as hell

spectating the man who becomes the joker as he's living such an ordinary existence was super comfy

it made me feel a whole lot of things and all of it was delightful

when he's at the hospital and accidently drops his pistol and freaks out with that damn Homer Simpson scream Jesus Christ that was great

all the ordinary "boring" things are what make the shocking things work

holy God I can't wait for this movie to come to streaming services
 
I have an idea for how to fit Batman into this world

it'll just all be in Arthur's imagination

Note how wacky the very end of the movie is

he's in Arkham in a white wall colorless ass existence

A nurse is asking him the same annoying procedural things

Then he's walking with bloody footprints then he's being chased by guards like it's a cartoon

That motherfuckers imagining all that

He's coping with the isolation through the use of his imagination and somehow or another little bruce will grow up and become Batman in Arthur's imagination

And they'll battle each other forever because Arthur doesn't ever want it to end

Other mental patients will have names like Harvey and Edward and Oswald which Arthur will turn them into characters in his imagination too, and they'll all be friends

Sophie will become Harley Quinn, a name Arthur would come up with himself because he'd think its a cute match for his Joker

I'm a fucken genius holy shit
 
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JimiNutz

Banned
Thinking back on this I'd say my only big 'criticism' was that I wish the movie ran longer, simply so that I could see more of Joker.

For the majority of the movie we see Fleck and while this is still incredibly entertaining (but also disturbing) viewing, I would have liked to have seen a second half of the movie where he was actually the Joker that we know from the comics. The little flashes that we got of Joker were brilliant but not enough to satisfy my appetite for destruction.

If there is a sequel then I'll obviously be there day one again but my worry is that this was a one and done deal for Phoenix and we won't ever see anymore of his take on Joker.
 

farmerboy

Member
bitch you crazy as hell

spectating the man who becomes the joker as he's living such an ordinary existence was super comfy

it made me feel a whole lot of things and all of it was delightful

when he's at the hospital and accidently drops his pistol and freaks out with that damn Homer Simpson scream Jesus Christ that was great

all the ordinary "boring" things are what make the shocking things work

holy God I can't wait for this movie to come to streaming services

Emptying out the fridge and sitting in it. I've still no idea how they took such a random scene and made it work. Like, he even made the act of emptying the fridge look difficult. Everything he did, even the "boring" bits, all spoke volumes and added to his character.
 

McCheese

Member
Great film, asks some pretty tough questions around responsibility, parental, societal, etc. Violence was far tamer than I was expecting from some of those reviews, but man does it make the audience feel uneasy, both with his unreliable narration and unpredictable behavior.

Before the movie I was very much "I want to see him go full joker and fuck shit up", but it's hard to watch it and not want a happy ending for the guy, I knew what was going to happen eventually, but you feel so much for his character that in each scene you're actually holding your breath and hoping he keeps it together and doesn't snap.

My only complaint would be the soundtrack. The cast put on this great, nuanced, performance, but the soundtrack could only go between Radiohead's first violin lesson and happy by Pharrell Williams, zero subtlety.
 
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Dunki

Member


The way "critics" trashed and fear mongering the game was disgusting. It is like they want something to happen so they can tell you "We told you so" and so they can write even more disgusting articles.
 
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