The Cruelest Joke (Joker, 2019)

This review is going to focus on the movie itself…the final product. I will be including a post soon that gets into the controversies. But most of my issues with the Joker are, in fact, not with the film itself. They are with the director and how he has reacted to the controversies with the movie.

The Joker is a character with a long history, both in print and film. He is, really, nearly as popular as his great nemesis Batman. Of all of the comic book villains, it was always likely that he would get the movie treatment as “the star”.

Enter Todd Phillips, of Old School and the Hangover fame and Joaquin Phoenix with a decidedly retro take. Set in a pre-Batman Gotham City, Arthur Fleck is a man who is struggling with his own darkness and delusions. He wants to believe he is here to bring joy and happiness, but every day pushes him further into believing this world is too far gone. It has lost its way and people treat each other terribly, society favors the rich and the rich don’t care about the rest of us. And yet, at times, this just seems like a cover that Fleck uses to fool himself.

It is after committing an act of self defense that sets off the city pitting the citizens against each other that he starts to just give up and tumble towards the darkness. And it is indeed a dark tale. The Joker becomes a cult hero to the oppressed citizens of Gotham, used to fight back against economic injustice. Citizens wear clown masks and paint their faces in solidarity with the mysterious “vigilante” who stood up to the 1%.

The cinematography of the film is amazing. There are so many beautifully dark and unnerving shots framed in this film. It all feels very late 70’s Scorcese grit. It is hard to turn away. And yet, at times, you really want to. Phoenix gives an impressive performance as Fleck. He is constantly unnerving (much like the best moments of Ledger’s Joker in the Dark Knight). There are scene that are shocking and scenes that are genuinely scary.

While Phoenix carries the film, The Joker has an excellent supporting cast as well. While largely a stand alone, a few of the moments that kind of bring the film down a little are connections to Batman. It is not the mere presence of the Wayne family, but rather certain ways they are used.

The film is also struggling at times with how it wants us to perceive the Joker. He is clearly dangerous, and flat out commits murder, but he also is treated as an anti-hero.

Overall, however, this is a very good movie. It is not as groundbreaking as some want to make it out to be (It is literally “what if Scorcese made Taxi Driver, but with the Joker, instead of Travis Bickle). But the cinematography and the performances definitely make for a challenging but engaging watch.

October 5, 2019 0

My Joker Movie Elevator Pitch

There should not be an official origin to the Joker…but if you gotta make the movie…

May 21, 2018 0

Bob vs Bill (Batman and Bill, 2017)

Everybody knows Batman. And most people know who Bob Kane is. He is the creator of Batman. Every Batman comic book tells you this. Right there in print. “Batman Created by Bob Kane”. Bob vehemently defended this idea that Batman was his creation and only his. But why? Why would he need to defend this notion?

The documentary Batman and Bill tells you exactly why. In the comic book world, it was long known that Kane had the name “Bat-Man”, but his original design was a guy with a red suit. He consulted friend and writer Bill Finger who contributed pretty everything we know to be Batman. Kane then took the idea to the publishers and presented it as solely his idea. He got a contract that established this. He promised he would share success with Finger in spite of this.

Bob Kane never did. In fact, it was long after Finger had died, and shortly before his own death that Kane changed his story and admitted Finger deserved a lot of the credit. But that is not the whole story, as author Marc Tyler Nobleman took it upon himself to try and find any heirs of Bill Finger. The path is full of surprises and heartbreak.

This is a tragic story of a creator who was not given the respect that should have been due to him. Through archival footage, we hear from both Finger and Kane. The story is expanded on through interviews with comic book pros familiar with the history behind it all. Directors Don Argott and Sheena M. Joyce present everything as an unfolding mystery, befitting the famous cowled detective himself. You are drawn into it by what starts as a frustrating professional injustice that evolves into a heartbreaking story of familial loss.

The first time anyone has credited Finger for Batman was 2015’s Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice. 21 years after he died alone in his apartment.

June 15, 2017 1

The Problem of Harley Quinn

Warner Brothers is pinning a lot of hopes on Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn. They have already started talk of her next film. If it happens, they better bring along Poison Ivy.

Harley Quinn was created by Paul Dini for Batman the Animated Series. She was a part of Jokers gang and soon filled the role of “Joker’s Girlfriend”. Her history was that she was a psychologist who fell in love with her patient…the Joker. She walked away from her career to a life of crime with her Puddin’. In the cartoons? This worked. The Batman Rogues Gallery were not running around murdering people. So, even the Joker was a bit lighter. People loved Harley Quinn (Kevin Smith named his Daughter Harley Quinn Smith) and she grew in popularity. Harley Quinn looked like this:

Harley_Quinn_Character_Sheet — Art by Paul Dini

Initially, her introduction to comics was through Paul Dini created Batman the Animated Series comics. But eventually she was brought into the DC Universe proper. With art by Terry and Rachel Dodson, Harley still captured a lot of what people loved. She was kind of adorably sweet, though dangerous. And she kept her costume.

Harley_Quinn_Dodson — Art by Terry and Rachel Dodson

They also started moving her away from her close ties to the Joker. In the comics? Joker has pretty always been a maniacal murderer. He is a pretty horrifying character. This led to an attempt to make her into an anti-hero…one who succeeds-while trying to commit crimes. But it makes the character more of a trauma survivor-who survived by becoming more fractured emotionally…but whether this was handled well is up for debate.

DC reinvented their Universe in a line wide reboot dubbed the New 52. This brought about some changes to Harley and the most noticeable was this:

Harley-Quinn-Suicide-Squad-Cover — Art by Ryan Benjamin

Her costume was now highly sexualized, which seemed counter intuitive to the character. All too often, comic books use “sexy” as code for “bad”. Characters who have upped the anti a bit. The sexier they dress, the more deviant they must be. In the New 52 Harley killed children, along with dressing a bit kinkier. In fairness, Amanda Conner has adjusted her Costume a bit:

Harley-Quinn-Power-Girl — Art by Amanda Conner

Conner is part of a select group of artists who create “Good Girl Art” and receives more praise than criticism for their cheesecake. But I digress…The New 52 Joker was even creepier and homicidal in some ways…which forced an updating to Harley being more vicious. Any innocence to her character was removed.

Suicide Squad hits theaters with Margot Robbie in the role of Harley Quinn.

She clearly has a lot in common with the newer incarnations and the film made sure to heavily tie her to the Joker (even if he is not a prominent presence in the film). And the previews made appear that her personality was a bit more like a teenager lashing out at strict parent. I will say, Robbie does a solid job with the character in the film. She has expressed discomfort with the clothes in the movie. The iconography of her costume is not the corset and short shorts, and the fact that the filmmakers don’t get that…well…

The film struggles with her in the same way the comics often have. How to make her sympathetic when she is in love with a homicidal criminal? The film gives us a Harley who is a victim, yet can be unsympathetic in a way that is frustrating. It makes Quinn seem weak and trapped, in spite of the film’s portraying her as stronger without the Joker. It may have been better to leave the Joker out of it outside of a flashback or two.

Harley will always be a somewhat divisive character, but it really depends on if they cut her loose from the shadow of the Joker or not.

(Featured Image is by Alex Ross)

August 6, 2016 0