Joker

I was pleasantly surprised. I was expecting another one of those comic book-inspired films that have become one big boring blur to me, unlike similarly themed series. Instead, I got a decent drama starring the excellent Joaquin Phoenix, and because we cripples have to stand up for each other, I’m adding an extra star. (02.03.2020)

Probably the only movie I had a real problem to finish. Fantastic portrayal of one of the most terrifying villains of all time. All aspects of the story and its execution work perfectly. Joaquin gives a chilling performance. Precision work, but I'll probably never watch the film again. (03.10.2019)

I didn't experience very godly feelings with this film, but Todd Phillips wasn’t going for that in the slightest. In the purest sense of the word, Joker is a dirty, gritty, and very powerful film that doesn't worry too much about promoting violence. *SPOILER ALERT* If I were twenty years old and pissed off at the whole system, I'd probably take to the streets, too. *END SPOILER*. Phillips' Joker is a universal model of the boundless arrogance of the upper classes who regard Arthur Fleck and his ilk as inferior individuals. The demonic Joaquin Phoenix, in the least comic book portrayal of the Joker, then shows that the consequences of such arrogance and reckless superiority on the part of his "betters" can be pretty damn serious. Even if the film completely legitimizes the use of violence when a human being is treated as the ultimate non-entity, it still works very well on the level of a "journey into the depths of the Joker's soul", providing perhaps the deepest insight into the psyche of DC's ultimate bad guy to date. On the other hand, I'm glad the whole project stands apart from the comic book universe as a whole, because I can't imagine any connection or even a sequel, either within the DCEU or some "darker branch" of it. (06.10.2019)