'Joker' Review

Nominated For: Best Picture, Best Director; Todd Phillips, Best Actor; Joaquin Phoenix, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Film Editing, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, Best Makeup and Hairstyling, Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, and Best Original Score.

Won: Best Actor; Joaquin Phoenix and Best Original Score.

Synopsis: Arthur Fleck struggles to find his way in Gotham's fractured society. A clown-for-hire by day, he aspires to be a stand-up comic.. but finds the joke always seems to be on him. Caught in a cyclical existence between apathy and cruelty, Fleck begins a slow descent into madness as he transforms into the criminal mastermind known as the Joker.

Runtime: 121 minutes

MPAA Rating: R (for strong bloody violence, disturbing behavior, language and brief sexual images)

Who should see it? Adult fans of DC Comics and the Joker.

Directed by Todd Phillips with a screenplay from Phillips and Scott Silver, Joker is a standalone film removed from the baggage of a shared cinematic universe. Audiences should prepare themselves for an unsettling, artistic character piece about DC Comics' preeminent villain. While not necessarily a faithful iteration, the representation of Joker put forth by Phillips and Phoenix encapsulates the character's essence to a tee. Arthur lashes out with no particular ideology in mind, choosing to instead relish in the ensuing chaos he's caused. There's no rhyme or reason to his actions. He's crazy. Drawing inspiration from the work of Martin Scorsese (notably Taxi Driver & The King of Comedy), Joker depicts a troubled individual surrendering to his darkest impulses and retaliating against society.

For the past few months, Joker has been a hot topic of conversation as many speculated whether the film might incite real-world violence or not. Frankly, I find this controversy to be absurd and grossly overblown. If anything, the media coverage over the controversy is more likely to inspire acts of violence than the movie itself. Phillips doesn't glorify Arthur's disturbing behavior in the slightest and makes it very clear that he is unhinged. Not to mention, onscreen violence and mentally ill protagonists are nothing new for Hollywood. With that said, I understand this isn't a film for everyone. The violence and subject matter will undoubtedly add to its polarizing reception among other things. 

However, I was riveted and spellbound by an increasingly twisted turn of events. Evocative imagery from cinematographer Lawrence Sher coupled with Hildur Guðnadóttir's nerve-wracking musical score and Mark Friedberg's grungy production design forms an enticing and dread-inducing atmosphere. That maddening sensation festers in a slow-burn leading towards the film's inevitable chaotic conclusion, ideally embodying the Clown Prince of Crime's manic mental state. All the while, Arthur's status as an unreliable narrator further contributed to the insanity.

The Joker is a notoriously challenging role which has enabled all-time great performances and a few not so memorable ones, but Joaquin Phoenix proved to be well up to the task as he commands the screen for the film's entire two-hour duration. His portrayal's not only mentally and psychologically taxing, but physically transformative as well. An emaciated and unhinged Phoenix skillfully contrasts Arthur's sinister nature and naivety to match the profile of a potential serial killer. Phoenix's intensity lends a layer of realism to the role that makes his incarnation all the more frightening when all is said and done. Scattered amongst the supporting cast, Robert De Niro, Zazie Beetz, Frances Conroy, Brett Cullen, and Brian Tyree Henry are noteworthy, but this is Phoenix's showcase through and through. 

In a year filled with lighthearted comic-book adaptations, Joker is a refreshing change of pace. It dances to the beat of its own rhythm. Uninterested in appeasing the masses, it offers an uncompromising glimpse into the origins of an iconic antagonist. For better or worse, it's what Joker would have wanted. So stop clowning around and go see Joker!

Film Assessment: A+ A-

'Deadpool 2' Review

Deadpool 2 follows a disfigured cafeteria chef who struggles to fulfill his dream of becoming Mayberry’s hottest bartender while also learning to cope with his lost sense of taste after surviving a near fatal bovine attack. Searching to regain his spice for life, as well as a flux capacitor, Wade must battle ninjas, the yakuza, and a pack of sexually aggressive canines as he journeys around the world to discover the importance of family, friendship, and flavor - finding a new taste for adventure and earning the coveted coffee mug title of World’s Best Lover.

You may now be thinking to yourself "What in the world did I just read?" Well, you've now had the genuine pleasure of reading the first official synopsis released for Deadpool 2. Since this is a spoiler-free review and Deadpool is such an unconventional character, I figured it would be best to include an interesting synopsis instead of describing the actual plot because there are a surprising amount of spoilers I'm going to have to tip-toe around for the duration of this review.

I've been fairly excited for Deadpool 2 for quite some time since I enjoyed the first film so much, but my anticipation erred on the side of caution and waned as time went on for a few reasons. First of all, the marketing behind the first film felt very unique and inventive which is something I think Deadpool 2's marketing lacked till about two weeks ago. There were occasionally some creative teasers, but none of it was quite on the level of what 20th Century Fox's marketing department cooked up for the first Deadpool. I began to grow worried that Deadpool 2 might also lack the creative spark that made the first film such an unexpected and unprecedented success. Adding to this concern was the fact that Tim Miller cited creative differences and left the project, resulting in David Leitch taking the franchise's reigns.

Leitch's previous directorial efforts have been hit-or-miss for me as I found Atomic Blonde to simply be an okay espionage flick with a few great action sequences while John Wick (which Leitch co-directed) is one of my favorite action films to be released in recent years. Considering Leitch's extensive background as a stunt coordinator, I figured Deadpool 2 might at least be able to up the ante in regards to action sequences, but I wasn't sure if Leitch would have a good reign on the humor, tone, and story since he hasn't quite dealt with a film of this nature previously. 

Fortunately, Leitch delivered as I found Deadpool 2 to be even more enjoyable than the first film thanks to entertaining, well-choreographed action set-pieces, a surprisingly heartfelt story, and a huge dosage of meta-humor poking fun at the current state of comic-book movies and a great deal of other things. For all intensive purposes, Deadpool 2 is a fitting example of the conventional sequel which aims to be bigger and better than its predecessor. 

Just how Deadpool informed audiences right away that it would also be a touching love story, the titular Merc with a Mouth lets you know right out of the gate that Deadpool 2 is an endearing family film (although not in the traditional sense). While I certainly don't think the film is suitable for families because of the hard-R rating, it's undeniably about family. Now with those semantics out of the way, it's worth noting that star Ryan Reynolds received a writing credit alongside the Deadpool screenwriting duo of Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick. If I were to guess, I'd say Reynolds had a huge contribution to not only the humor, but the story as well because he's also credited as a producer. Reynolds has really taken ownership of this character recently and seems to be very passionate about the direction of this franchise so I can only imagine he wanted a larger role in shaping the character's future wherever possible.

Anyways, as I alluded to earlier, fans of the first film will walk away with a lot to love, as Deadpool 2 doubles down on everything which worked previously while adding new characters and story elements to keep things fresh. Unfortunately, issues occasionally arise as the film's story can feel a bit scatterbrained at times. While this is certainly true to the character, it would have been nice if these particular story-beats had been polished a bit more. I also could have used a little more development to flesh out a few members of the supporting cast (namely Domino and Cable). 

Another thing that was very bothersome was that there really wasn't any excuse for the production to not have replaced T.J. Miller in the film as he's had some very negative publicity lately involving sexual assault and a fake bomb threat. He has a relatively minor role in the grand scheme of things and could have been easily swapped out ala Kevin Spacey in All the Money in the World. They could have cast Christopher Plummer and had Deadpool reference it in a quick fourth wall break to top it all off, but alas, that's not what happened. It's at least reassuring to hear Reynolds say Miller won't be involved in the franchise's future so hopefully his character will be left out or recast for X-Force or Deadpool 3.

On a much more positive note, Ryan Reynolds is once again exceptional in the role of Wade Wilson. Reynolds brings the character to life in such a unique way that I'm not sure I can envision anyone else  playing Deadpool for the time being. Reynolds' brand of humor and line delivery is simply well-suited to the Merc's exploits and I can't wait to see future onscreen adventures involving this current incarnation. Following his lead, returning characters from the first film include Colossus, Negasonic Teenage Warhead, Vanessa, and Dopinder who each are proficiently-portrayed by Stefan Kapicic, Brianna Hildebrand, Morena Baccarin, and Karan Soni respectively. In the realm of franchise newcomers, there are lots of additions to the cast, but three stand-outs in particular who I believe to be well-deserving of a mention. 

Of all the X-Force members introduced in Deadpool 2, Zazie Beetz's Domino is easily the most memorable for an abundance of reasons I can't quite get into right now. When all is said-and-done though, Beetz makes for a cool supporting presence and the I found the cinematic depiction of her mutant ability to be quite interesting. 

Josh Brolin killed it as Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War, so naturally I had high hopes he'd have the same luck as Cable. While Cable's character wasn't fleshed out as much as I'd have liked to see, Brolin really leans into the rough and gruff nature of the character to stand out as a formidable foe for Deadpool to face. 

Last, but certainly not least, I must commend Julian Dennison on another job well-done. Between this and Hunt for the Wilderpeople, I've gotta say that this kid has a bright comedic career in Hollywood ahead of him. Dennison displays some interesting range as Russell, putting his comedic chops and more dramatic acting abilities to great use. 

On the whole, Deadpool 2 is one of the few comic-book movie sequels that sticks the superhero landing as a second entry that's irrefutably bigger and better than the first in just about every regard. If you can stomach the raunchiness, Deadpool 2 is a solid sequel which is well-worth watching and surprising in all the right ways. Also, keep your eyes and ears peeled for plenty of cameos and references if you're a big fan of any ongoing or extinct comic-book film franchises. Oh, and be sure to stay in your seat afterwards for what may just be the greatest mid-credit sequence I've ever seen (split into two scenes). I can guarantee that you'll regret missing it if you run to the restroom instead. 

Film Assessment: A-