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Comments 1 - 15 of 42

thecr1mmreaper's avatar

thecr1mmreaper

Don't love this movie. I don't even actually like it all that much. I love Joaquin's performance as Joker and all the things that he does are great and really pull you into his situation, however, it's the overall storyline that loses me. Nothing in the story that happens is all that believable to me, and that makes me not want to get invested in the world, so the events of the movie just end up boring me and makes me not want to continue watching.
2 years 1 month ago
dippygirl78's avatar

dippygirl78

I'm not sure whether I enjoyed it or not...
2 years 3 months ago
Earring72's avatar

Earring72

Grimm 70ies style drama. Well cast and feels like Scorsese/taxi driver kind of a movie. Not sure about the real entertainment value but well made DRAMA. This is not a comic book super hero movie.
2 years 9 months ago
Linkmaster89's avatar

Linkmaster89

A wild immersive and scary dance into the darkness. Great!
2 years 11 months ago
DisneyStitch's avatar

DisneyStitch

Watching this movie was a bit like listening to a joke where you're expecting a satisfying punchline except it never quite shows up. Phoenix does a great job, and like many have said, his performance is downright incredible. Going into it, if I knew nothing of Batman and all of DC comics, I wouldn't know this was based on a comic book movie at all. Todd Phillips sets out to make a realistic movie devoid of anything that makes a superhero movie, and I think he succeeds in that regard.

One thing that really weighs down the film I think is its attempt to be very modern with its whole "take down the rich" narrative. It never fully materializes and so it gets muddled with the sheer amount of other themes presented. It seems almost odd to say but in this alternate universe I guess Bats would essentially be the bad guy. I mean he's rich, and that means he's included in the sweep of charged animosity in the film, and he's also anti-criminal so it's a double whammy. Not sure if that is particularly what the creators had in mind but you certainly can't sweep the implications of the mob's motives and theme of the movie under the rug like that. Can't have the cake and eat it too.

Very interesting that in The Dark Knight, the theme of the movie is the Joker attempting to pull everyone down to his level. Yet in the end his attempts fail because he's wrong about human nature. In this movie it's quite the opposite, the Joker becomes the catalyst that brings out the evil within men's hearts, and they surrender to it.

Overall it's a decent movie, very dark. I think it could have been much better though if it picked a core theme and ran with it rather than being almost a series of vignettes. Curious how this was touted as an "origin story" when it's just a one-off movie in a different DC universe. So... yeah it's an origin story, but has nothing to do with any other Joker or Batman movies we've seen thus far. The reasoning for why the movie exists at all is rather odd.
3 years 6 months ago
Typically Thomas's avatar

Typically Thomas

I was afraid the hype was gonna kill it for me but it was absolutely brilliant. Amazing performance from Phoenix and brilliantly put together. Mixing Chaplin with Noir is no mean feat, but this movie pulls it off
3 years 8 months ago
boulderman's avatar

boulderman

I forgot to check this! I was amazed! 9/10 I have read the script too. Bradley Cooper had a big hand in the pacing, editing and direction of this. It is more than The King of Comedy, Mean Streets et al
3 years 10 months ago
lucafilm's avatar

lucafilm

Feels like after this you need to go and watch your Hitchock and Tati movies.
There are interesting points anyway like Joker character and the thin line between reality, madness and dreams.
It is a good movie allthought it is not a masterpiece
3 years 11 months ago
Greta90's avatar

Greta90

Very strong and touching movie of one man's endless misery.
4 years ago
bklooney's avatar

bklooney

I could have just watched Taxi Driver again. That being said, I think it's interesting how the story manages to recontextualize the Wayne family in the history of Gotham and sets their eventual murder (the catalyst for Batman) as an inevitable outgrowth of their indifference to the people of Gotham.

Following the thread of this movie, Batman becomes the inheritor of not just the Wayne's fortune, but also their position of power in a vastly economically stratified society. A Batman in the world of "Joker" would be a victim of societal violence that spends most of his time meting out punishment toward people who have been broken by a system by which he benefits. He would overtly be an oppressive force where his family had been only using the soft power of capital.
4 years 2 months ago
Camille Deadpan's avatar

Camille Deadpan

I loved all the references of one of my favourite movies - The man who laughs.
4 years 3 months ago
audiopile's avatar

audiopile

Great acting and i really like how the story grew into the climax. I wish they didnt try to put in moral story message crap though. It ruined the film for me.
4 years 3 months ago
DaniloFreiles's avatar

DaniloFreiles

Ottima interpretazione di Joaquin Phoenix di un uomo (sotto la pressione di una società bigotta) che esplodendo diventa il paladino degli emarginati.
4 years 3 months ago
TheOnlyRogueAngel's avatar

TheOnlyRogueAngel

Oh dear.. who went to see this thinking it was a superhero movie.?! smh No DC superheroes were used in the making of this film.

Joaquin Phoenix is outstanding as the mentally ill Arthur Fleck, whose descent into madness is both depressing and hauntingly beautiful. A stunning film, one to be seen again.
4 years 4 months ago
ikkegoemikke's avatar

ikkegoemikke

I just hope my death makes
more cents than my life.


image

Weltschmerz. Despair. Grief. Desperation. Those are the keywords that came to mind after watching this movie. If you are a superhero film fan and you expect heroic confrontations between this crazy clown and our bats-related superhero in a tight latex suit, you can safely turn around and skip this film. The interpretation of “The Joker” by Jack Nicholson was masterful. He played a mean Joker who was obsessed with money and power. But without a doubt, Heath Ledger’s interpretation is the most legendary. He played Joker’s insanity and psychopathic behavior in an unparalleled way. An outstanding acting performance. What Joaquin Phoenix does in this film, however, is breathtaking and brilliant at the same time. After “You were never really here” I thought Phoenix belonged to the leading group of excellent actors. After “Joker“, for me anyway, he’s already the front-runner in that group.

I am not easily impressed by a movie. But “Joker” made an immense impression on me. And not because of the violence. By the way, I found the reports of people leaving the cinema prematurely, because it became too intense, grossly exaggerated. Every average action movie today is filled with aggressive scenes full of senseless violence. I was more overwhelmed by a constant uncomfortable feeling while watching this film. A feeling of pity and vicarious shame. For Arthur Fleck, as well as for the fellow citizens he meets in his daily life. For me, the saddest scene was the stand-up comedy moment. You know Arthur’s performance will be completely ridiculous and that his would-be funny performance will backfire in his face. The most significant scene was the one with the over-concerned mother in the subway who shouts at Arthur and tells him to stop intimidating her child. After his hysterical laughing, she turns her back on him anxiously. Pitiful. Confronting. Enough incentive to derail the psyché of this disturbed soul.

Joaquin Phoenix is phenomenal. Not only is he extremely psychologically vulnerable. Also physically he looks emaciated and fragile. Little more than skin and bone. It looked as if his rib cage would burst out of his body. And his shoulder blades could be ripping through his skin at any time. Skin like yellow parchment full of cracks. Just like his by antidepressants ravaged morbid mind. Antidepressants that are needed to control his uncontrollable laughter and help him through his measly existence. A hopeless life without understanding and loving feelings. Except toward his mother (Frances Conroy). An old woman who sits all day in her seat. Demented. Fading away. With a daily routine of writing letters to Thomas Wayne (Brett Cullen), father of Bruce Wayne and future mayor of Gotham, asking if he could help them.

“Joker” is not a relaxing film. It’s depressing to see how such an individual is harassed and spit out by society. Not a day goes by without being scorned, physically abused or treated as a leprosy patient. This downward spiral he’s getting into creates an explosive moment in which he takes matters into his own hands, resulting in a disastrous outcome. The discharge that follows afterward, has been portrayed both frighteningly and magically. That unreal and silly dance in the public toilet is probably a moment of realization that his life is at a tipping point. And without realizing it, he becomes the symbolic force behind a movement against injustices in society. A sort of evil, insane Katniss Everdeen for the outcasts. And although many don’t like to hear this, the number of similarities with our current society is alarmingly high.

Yes, “Joker” is a sort of origin story of Batman’s most infamous archenemy. On the other hand, this could be the portrait of so many others as well. Everyday people who struggle with their personality and fall through the cracks and out of the system at all levels. Individuals who are often driven into a corner and cultivate a destructive hatred toward everything and everyone. And then there’s a day their fuse blows and they resort to actions that aren’t tolerated by modern society. Not that I approve of these actions but I think it’s kind of logical consequence. “Joker” is not part of a superhero universe. This film is more realistic than any psycho-dramatic film. A film that shows how an underdog grows into a monstrous tormentor who preaches chaos and destruction. A numb, sick mind that doesn’t care. The harder you pound him, the louder his laugh. The movie “Joker” helped me understand who that figure is and where he comes from. For me the most impressive film out of the superheroes potpourri that we’ve seen these few last years. And for my part, a well-deserved Oscar statuette for Joaquin Phoenix. He’ll certainly be laughing about it uncontrollably the evening of the award ceremony.

More reviews here
4 years 4 months ago

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