Went to the cinema to see it again, and a funny thought came to my mind:
What if we cast Joaquin Phoenix THE NEXT BATMAN?
Are the perplexes HIS Joker going through really so much different from Batman's? And now that joker actually has a well defined background, why can't there be a DC universe with Arthur Fleck as Batman and Bruce Wayne as Joker?
Anyways it's just a fantasy i couldn't get out of my head so I just wanted to share it with you.
Now back to the movie.
Yes I did compare Pheonix with Leto for the "joker experience" they gave me. I must admit it's dumb of me to have done so cause they are quite different in terms of character. But is Phoenix as good as Ledger? Now i definitely won't compare them, not for the same reason, but because i have the impression that they are portraying different "Phases" of the same character: Pheonix as the joker who's wondering, searching for his place in the maddening Gotham City; and Ledger, the joker who's found and determined, ready to give the world his final masterpiece. Note that none of joker's crimes in this movie were actually planned, they were more like subsequences of Arthur's fail attempts to kill himself. If we get to see Pheonix as joker again, that will be a better time to compare him with ledger.
I love the movie so much i watched it twice in a week. I feel satisfied watching it even the first time actually. But despite the lack of support from other characters (the movie is about joker so I'ma let it pass here), is there something more to add here? What's missing in this great Joker we saw?
I think i know the answer:
A philosophy.
Joker it's so scary and attractive at the same time we call him the best comic villain. Thats mostly because he is not just crazy, the man's got a philosophy. He's got purpose. The one thing i sadly hate in this movie is perhaps how much joker here's just a lunatic, that enjoys the spotlight and dance a lot. He surely didn't show much philosophy when he has those chance. Why did Philips made it that way? was it for cinematic? I don't know, was it just to set him apart from other jokers? I don't know either. But one thing is for certain, if thats all the depth this Joker has to offer, it's safe to say the hype for this movie is exaggerated.
Maybe I have to see it again for the third time to find out more, or Pheonix have do better and wow us again more next time. the viewers have seen joker many times now and the past jokers did set the bar high.
P.S. Winning a lion is a huge praise. I'm excited to see how well Joker will do with the Oscar. I'm guessing a best movie and best actor nomination and a best production design win.
For DC fans, it's a new movie featuring the 5th Joker on silver screen, for cinephiles it's 《Taxi Driver 2019》. They even have Robert deNiro to make it obvious for those who don't know for sure. Either way it's a way better Joker experience than Suicide Squad, a more creative, more lunny Joker back story that goes along with the now-standard, masterful Dark Knight trilogy. Who would have guessed an in-depth exploring to our favorite DC villain would be so rewarding? Oh wait, we all did. And we left the house with exactly what we hoped for, un-disappointed. I want to see this again and write a proper review, so much it makes me antsy.
This time around I pretty much scanned the movie. Found a handful of plot holes, mostly related to how subconsciousness works (i try not to watch those "Inception Explained" youtube vids). BUT, that being said, they are super well concealed within the plot, it gives you the feeling that "hey i will believe just that to let this amazing story flow".
look for me if you need someone to debate with about this movie. always welcome.
It's not perfect but the vibe is right - this is exactly how road movie should feel like. i might even give it an 8, but i don't want your expectations too high to screw your experience.
I'm not a professional film critic or anything, and I'm not trying to comment like one, but I've got something I'm pretty sure on why some movies are so great: They simply never stop on get better as the runtime go.
I saw the movie because of its reputation. I knew its something good and i wanted to find out why everyone can't stop praising it. So when Henry Fonda pulled out that switch blade and stuck it on the table, i thought "oh thats it, that's why they say this movie is great, a huge twist". And then came the old guy with great insights about the old man downstairs and the woman across the street, they were on 2 to 10; And then there was the man who shouts his hate for people from the slumps, everyone in the room showed him how ignorant he was, they were tied on 6/6; And finally, the last man teared up his photo with his son he haven't seen in 2 years, sobbingly say "not guilty" ... Everything built up like a pile of random acts at first, but as the movie progresses everything fell into place like a luxury box of Belgium chocolates. I'm not saying you need to be keep on getting better to be a great movie, a lot of classics don't work the same way (or even the opposite), but if a movie can build up like 12 Angry Men, you just can't be bad.
I'm a super movie nerd and usually when im watching a horror movie im sizing up the lighting, thinking about where this shot is taking me and when is the next jump scare gonna happen etc.
but i was so hooked on this story i actually kinda forgot all that and let the movie do what it was supposed to do: scare the crap outta me!
and theres something i gotta mention, although the trick kind of got old by the end of the movie (and the audience had lots of fun doing it themselves), the tongue clicking thing? thats real smart. when it first happened it played so well, im sure if it was followed by a spook i might actually jump from my seat.
cant believe this is the director's first full length movie. well done!
Like it or not, these are the movies we should support. There haven't been much breakthrough in cinema for years, and believe me, Mother! is one of the forguard of movie storytelling.
No one would say it's not fun (double negative as intended), cause hell yea it was a freakin good time! Great editing with CGI perfection to say the least, some of the jokes were kinda awkward but most of them were mighty good laughs. Now the unfortunate thing is this: it's still just a teeny movie. this movie sure as hell have the potential to bring so much depth and so much more, and also promote this culture to different generations of people as well. As a gamer / geeky person, and not a very long time ago a gamer / geeky teen, it's just sad to say I'm pretty sure WE are the only people to be able to get hype with this movie.
Good movie scores have the ability to make a bad movie feel ok, and an ok movie feel pretty good. After revisiting the movie after over 10 years, I can tell you Babel is one of those ok-turned-good movie, thanks to the wonderful scoring by Gustavo Santaolalla. The Oscar was very well deserved.
The acting frankly was pretty standard, not only I felt that the superstars in the film didn't get their chance to shine, i was more surprised by the Moroccan casts (the shepherd family) than the oscar nominated performance of Rinko Kikuchi. The cause maybe is that now she's a well established actress and a familiar face, and the "wow factor" back in 2006 is just no longer there for me.
And honestly the Japan storyline barely had any relationship with the rest of the story, and felt more like a side story than a chapter. That was quite disappointing.
As gloomy as it was, on the plus side the movie was very sincere and provided a good opportunity for viewers to review themselves on their ethics. The distance between each and everyone of us, what's separating us? When life's on the line, how are we to coop with our indifference and survive? These ethical questions are boring for most people but they are not useless, because when the time actually comes for you to make those choices, you will thank Iñárritu for giving you Babel.
It's eerie, but strangely powerful. With this almost tailor-made script Maggie Gyllenhaal put good use with her skills, her character is so complex and daring and fragile, smart and naïve, and most of all referable, it's like she came straight out of a Christopher Nolan movie. It maybe far from mainstream but this movie certainly excelled from other Netflix titles, and for those who is willing to try, it's a good watch. And it's worth mentioning that the poems in the movie came by the hand of Vietnamese writer Vuong, went to see his works after the movie and some are literally breath taking.
watched this in the morning, kept me warm for the rest of the day.
was worried about the 8 i gave so i watched it again. the 8s still solid.
Another japanese John Wick/ Gun-Fu attempt, and actually, pretty good! For a revival of an iconic 90s comic, which was once fittingly played by Jackie Chan, City Hunter 2024 brings all the elements to make the series something to look forward to again. Unlike John Wick, Ryo in City Hunter is a total show off which puts him in a perfect spot for lots and lots of flashy Gun-Fu mixed with, you guessed it- Jackie Chan-esque action humor, which is still the No.1 popular kind of action movie in Japan even now. This IP has the potential to be big and I look forward to a bigger budget sequel soon.
Had I seen this as a teen, maybe i would have learnt about passion and being in love very differently. Still, I love it in my 20s. I look forward to coming back again in my 30s and reflect.
when I finally see the jump, I can't help but think: what other value does this add to the movie, other than to have something to do marketing on? i still don't have an answer for that.
IT'S. SO. DARK. Literally! cause the zombie chase scenes are completely CG this movie is so under-lit dark (they had to match the other scenes with similar brightness) it hurts my eyes to see it for 2 hours. As for the movie itself, i would say it's so mediocre it didn't struck me enough to label it light or dark, it's just one of those grabs movies. Lnow what to expect and you might actually enjoy it a little more.
In one word : Gem-like.
It's a kid movie, that even your kids will find a waste of their time. For adults like me, I found it to be unexpectedly terrible, even when I hardly expect anything but a little joy ride after dinner.
Despite all the headaches the animal gibberish gave me, What I absolutely cannot stand, is the poor and poor editing, and Robert Downey Jr's Ridiculous accent. I recommend Golden Compass back from 2008 if you think your kids likes this kind of movies. They also have talking polar bears. Better ones.
I'm sure the plot was fine. At points clever, And it was fun.....ny. Whenever movies are involved with hardcore patriotism it gets kinda hilarious. no offense, it's just how it is.
"It's really flat", thats what i thought when the credits started rolling. but then i thought, "hey you just watched a 90 year old cowboy, singing folks songs and driving cross states for 2 hours, didn't even yawn." Fair point inner voice!
Fun fact: for a 2018 crime movie, only one ACTUAL gun shot was fired, and only 2 gangsters was seen killed on screen the whole damn movie. Thats some achievement too. good job Tata.
You can always count on a Gyllenhaal for great acting, whatever the character.
Masterpiece. Or maybe i should say, Chef-d'oeuvre. It's so beautifully made, i wonder if what I'm seeing is actually real; everything is romance I feel like I have just started to learn the meaning of love. Yes its an homage to Hollywood musicals, but this marvelous work from Demy can't be fully explained by such a shallow term.
Is it really just me or is it that you guys would praise any Marvel/DC movie? Aquaman was a huge disappointment for me.
please hear me out (before you Jason Momoa in my face):
1. this movie is cliché as hell, it's Superman at one point and at another its suddenly Indiana Jones, and at some point, antman? Is it so hard to just be Aquaman?
2. Not every little thing should be thrown back and mentioned! Throwbacks are for important moments that affected the character the most, serious there were so many childhood throwbacks (and absolutely forgettable), "The amazing life of Aquaman" might be the better title;
3. none of the fighting actually Meant anything... Not saying they aren't beautifully choreographed, but they really just lack an importance to them, like, some issues didn't really required the fist and they could have just talked through it? Can't really feel any of his struggles when all he does is punching, just punch em and its done, happy ending.
Of course It's not easy to stand out in this crowd of superhero movies, but trying to copy everyone is definitely not the better strategies.
Oh, and in the next one please don't have Atlatian Stormtroopers blow something up whenever someones talking (/kissing /hugging etc)...it happened like 5 times this ONE movie...jeez....
It's supposed to be about Del's struggles with humans and what happened to him after they were all gone. and the plot just drove way off and didn't even scratch the surface of that matter. what a disappointment when they have so much potential in this setting and cast.
and them playing emotional music when absolutely nothing happens is just annoying... wait, come to think of it nothing important actually happened anywhere in the movie.... wow...
The movie provide tons of new and interesting ideas, but sadly you are not going to see them resolve into anything at all, as they all just kind of fade through the story.
The movie was fine actually, if it wasn't trying SO hard on hiding its weakness in those boring Inception "BOOM!" sound, CGI recolored forest, slow and hollow girls talking, and most of all, the so very pretentious ending.
When you say you love Hunger Games, you don't actually mean it..... do you?
For those who frowned watching this, you are not alone. It is overrated to a point I've kind of lost faith in moviegoers today. This movie's got it's charms, some laughs, but the story just very basic, find that part get that suit, space travel and a magical old lady just comes out of another dimension and solves all the problems? you can get 30 storylines just like that using the online movie plot generator.
non of the quantum things make any sense, and they weren't even trying to have them make least any sense, as if moviemakers have this idea in mind that moviegoers nowadays will chow down whatever marvel movie thrown at them gladly, good cleaver story is nothing more than icing on their CGI cake. In short this movie is corny and unremarkable, but let's face it, you will go see it anyways.
someone down there commented: "if you are a sci-fi fan youve got to see it!" ya. go see this flick and get how bad it is. I thought Event horizon from 15 years back was bad. i was too naïve.
This movie will always have a place in my heart.
This was really going somewhere, until it doesn't. the acting was spot on for the horrifying existential crisis that carried through the silver screen, but just as you thought you were going to get some resolution for going through all the suffering with Cage's character for 2 hours, you were left hanging when the lights came on.