Joker (2019)

Big 2019 Movies Part 11.

Previously-

IT: Chapter Two (2019)

Yep, I'm tinkering with the format of the titles.
The "read more", to be surprised wore out its welcome, and wasn't worth the extra work.
Done with that.
Anyhoo...

Best movie I've seen all fucking year!!!
Bam!
There it is!

Best DC since the DCEU era?
Fuck yes.

Best DC ever?
Hmm....man, it's arm wrestling with "Dark Knight".

Among the best comic book movies ever?
The only ones that compete are "Dark Knight", and "Logan".
I like it better than "Logan", and again, it's arm wrestling with "Dark Knight".
So, I guess the answer is a big fat "YES!!!".

Best Joker story ever?
I'll put it this way.
It dethrones "The Killing Joke".
This is Joker's origin for me now.

Phoenix's performance is Oscar worthy.
Hands down, no waffling.
If Heath Ledger can get it posthumously, and Anthony Hopkins can get one for Hannibal, this has to be in the discussion.

Phoenix vs Ledger?
I can't answer that for you.
That's going be a discussion for years if not decades to come.

There's a "Dark Knight Returns", callback moment when Joker goes on Robert Deniro's talk show.
If you're a hardcore geek, you can't miss it.
Had to throw that in there, couldn't find the perfect spot, so there it is.

The worries over this causing violence?
Media hype bullshit.
If anything happens, it's their fault, not the movie's.

Joker was in "Suicide Squad", no one got scared then.
The last shooting was during "Dark Knight Rises", that didn't even have Joker.
Since then, Batman's been in "Batman v Superman", "Suicide Squad", and "Justice League".
Not a murmor about violence then.
Batman's not even in this one.

So, what's the beef?
I'll tell you what.

But, you might want to stop the review here, because while I won't spoil plot, you might want to make up your own mind about the film's message.

........
...........still here?
All right then....

They're scared for rich people, because the rich are all our system cares about.
Which, the movie kind of comes out and says.

Why? Well, this is set in the 80's, when Reagan was gutting mental healthcare in this country.
They don't come out and say Reagan, they take great pains to whitewash him out of the whole thing, but Arthur's counseling, and meds are ripped away, and that's what was going on in that time period, and that's why.

That's the food chain of the story.
Reagan creates Joker, Joker creates Batman.
Reaganism sets it all off.

They go out of their way to avoid Reagan, but Thomas Wayne is his stand-in.
Totally.

"Eeeew, I don't like political content in my movies!".
Tough.
That's the objective reality of history.
It's not subject to opinion.
Reagan did that.
Crazy people running around is the result.
End of.

Does the movie intend to say that?
I dunno, it could just be my reading on it, even if they don't intend it, you have to outright lie about history for the puzzle pieces to not be there.

If it helps, the Arthur/Joker character is anti-political, he doesn't give a shit.

And I don't think the movie is pro Joker's actions, it's pro Joker as much as "Dark Knight Rises", was pro Bane.

And they were nervous about the anti-rich message of that one.
Cuz, again, our system/media only gives a shit about the rich.

You can make a movie with Rambo turning gang members into hamburger, and no one gives a shit.

Go after yuppie assholes "Oh no!! This'll cause riots!!".
Fuck off.

Nah, that side of it's all bullshit.
Don't buy in.


Okay, soapbox stuff ends, spoiler-dodgers come back now.

It's a brilliant Oscar-worthy movie, it's among the best comic book movies ever, if not THE best, it's your national duty to go see it.

All right, I guess that's it.


Next time, Zombieland: Double Tap.