MOVIE REVIEW: JOKER: FOLIE A DEUX

 

Struggling with his dual identity, failed comedian Arthur Fleck meets the love of his life, Harley Quinn, while incarcerated at Arkham State Hospital.

Director: Todd Phillips

Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Zazie Beetz, Brendan Gleeson, Catherine Keener, Steve Coogan, Harry Lawtey

Release Date: October 4, 2024

Genre: Crime, Drama, Musical, Thriller

Rated R for some strong violence, language throughout, some sexuality, and brief full nudity.

Runtime: 2h 19m

Review:

Joker: Folie à Deux is a strange sequel that brings excellent production values and strong performances but its oddly listless and uneven throughout.  Todd Phillips brings back the oppressive sense of depression and desperation albeit in a more claustrophobic setting.  The visuals leave an immediate impression with its stark imaginary of the dank interiors of Arkham that an emaciated Arthur Fleck inhabits.  It connects easily with the first film's sensibilities until the musical numbers slowly start to kick in as delusional disconnects from reality.  They maintain a very 70s aesthetic which fits the film's real world setting but Phillips fails to take advantage of going full bore into fantasy.  As a result some sequences feel far more mundane than they should with a Sonny and Cher inspired sequence working best overall.  Joaquin Phoenix easily slips back into the central role with a physical transformation that echoes Christian Bale's in 2004 The Machinist.  Phoenix brings a tortured authenticity to the character with a measured turn that displays the depth of despair he lives in for large swathes of time.  He's always the most interesting performer onscreen even with the addition of Lady Gaga as Lee.  Gaga is equally impressive but her character is underserved by the script that gives her very little to do.  Its a huge missed opportunity since this iteration of Quinn seems ripe for exploration outside of being a serial killer groupie by way of the Manson Family.  The story overall deals with the dangers of martyrdom and demagoguery and movements that spring out of them but it never engages with the topic in a serious or meaningful manner.  This leaves Joker: Folie à Deux feel like a weird mashup of Natural Born Killers and Chicago with far less sequins.  

C

MOVIE REVIEW: JOKER

Forever alone in a crowd, failed comedian Arthur Fleck seeks connection as he walks the streets of Gotham City. Arthur wears two masks -- the one he paints for his day job as a clown, and the guise he projects in a futile attempt to feel like he's part of the world around him. Isolated, bullied and disregarded by society, Fleck begins a slow descent into madness as he transforms into the criminal mastermind known as the Joker.
Director: Todd Phillips

Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Robert De Niro, Zazie Beetz, Frances Conroy, Brett Cullen, Glenn Fleshler, Bill Camp, Shea Whigham, Marc Maron

Release Date: October 4, 2019

Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller

Rated R for strong bloody violence, disturbing behavior, language and brief sexual images

Runtime: 2 h 2 min

Review:

After watching a bit of Todd Phillip’s Joker you get the strong feeling that Phillip’s really hopes that you’ve never seen Taxi Driver.  To say that he mines that particular film seems like a understatement since there are multiple direct references to it through out.  Needless to say, Phillip’s film isn’t as groundbreaking as it thinks it is.  The story of a disaffected loner pushed to the edge is story that’s been told multiple times particularly in Taxi Driver or the underappreciated Henry Portrait of a Serial Killer.  The film can stand on its own merit with some wonderfully composed shots that really leave you feeling grimy and dirty.  Ultimately though, the gas in this particular vehicle is Joaquin Phoenix who throws himself into the roles with such intensity that it’s hard to look away.  His performance elevates the material and makes the whole thing much more prestigious and watchable than it deserves to be.  As for the story, it’s an interesting take on this character but it’s hard to tell if Phillip’s wants us to root for character or despise him.  Nearing the finale you get a sense that Phillip’s is propping him up as a sort of hero of madness and chaos which is a strange message to send in a film like this even as some of the more ham fisted attempts at modern day relevancy fall flat.  It’s certainly a film that will draw plenty of discussion even though it’s really a shadow of better films.  


B-

MOVIE REVIEW: THE HANGOVER PART 3

The Wolfpack set out in search of Mr. Chow after Doug is kidnapped by a criminal seeking to recover $21 million from the diminutive hustler as the decadent Hangover trilogy winds to an outrageous close. Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis, Ken Jeong, John Goodman, and Melissa McCarthy star in this Warner Bros. release from director Todd Phillips. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Director: Todd Phillips

Cast: Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis, Justin Bartha, Ken Jeong, John Goodman, Melissa McCarthy

Release Date: May 23, 2013

Rated R for Drug Content, Brief Graphic Nudity, Pervasive Language, Sexual References and Some Violence

Runtime: 1 hr. 40 min.

Genres: Comedy

Review:

“The End.” “It All Ends.” “It Ends.” Etc… I really hope those taglines at the top of the posters are a firm promise. Some series really shouldn’t go past its original film. It’s fairly apparent that The Hangover was the kind of movie that never should have been a franchise. It would have been a smart decision to avoid sequels, like Phillips did with Old School. Instead we were dealt one of the laziest sequels ever. This 3rd film is only marginally better. I do give Phillips credit for mixing up the formula this go around even though it creates a weird serious / comedic tone throughout. As a comedy, it’s never consistently funny. At best it, delivers a handful of chuckles here and there along with long stretches of nothing. By nothing, I mean nothing. No fun, no thrills, no suspense. The audience is just left wading through uninteresting exposition until we get to the next set piece. The cast is just as disinterested as most of the audience, Cooper and Helms in particular. They both seem content in delivering lines from the past films and not much else, not that I really blame them. Zach Galifianakis and Ken Jeong both get larger roles here and are given free reign to do whatever they want. Both take their characters to extremes with grating results. John Goodman and Melissa McCarthy are terribly underused in one note characters. The film has a strange feel about it, like it’s disinterested in itself. The few chuckles that come through don’t last long enough to reach a zenith. It only finds a tad breath of energy in a post credit scene which comes after an awkward slow-mo montage. Let’s hope they don’t renege on their promise to let it end.

D+

MOVIE REVIEW: PROJECT X

IN THEATERS
PROJECT X



The Hangover's Todd Phillips produces this outrageous comedy from writers Matt Drake and Michael Bacall (Scott Pilgrim vs. The World), which follows three undistinguished high-school students who attempt to achieve popularity by throwing the ultimate party. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Director: Nima Nourizadeh

Cast: Thomas Mann, Brady Hender, Alexis Knapp, Miles Teller, Peter MacKenzie

Release Date: Mar 02, 2012

Rated R for crude and sexual content throughout, nudity, drugs, drinking, pervasive language, reckless behavior and mayhem - all involving teens

Runtime: 1 hr. 28 min.

Genres: Comedy

Review:

Project X is the kind of film that comes around every few years. It’s a hodgepodge of The Hangover, any 80’s teen flick, and Animal House with a lot more fire. Nima Nourizadez uses the found footage technique which give the film an authentic feel initially but with Todd Phillips, who produces, things get exponentially more absurd and over the top. It borrows heavily from other films and doesn’t really deliver anything new or exciting but it’s still a fun little trip. The characters all feel familiar but each one makes for an interesting cipher even if we only scratch the surface. The film is more concerned with mayhem and there’s an interesting and almost gleeful approval of losing total control, if I listened closely I could almost hear Tyler Durden approving in the background. I have no doubt that this film will become this generation’s party movie, each generation needs one, and there’s an approving nod from the filmmaker throughout. Regardless, it’s disposable entertainment, quickly and easily digested and just as easily forgotten.

C+

Bluray quality; Video quality varies depending on the type of camera, it's spotty but decent; Sound is excellent with thumping beats during the party scenes which stand out.

I was hand-selected to be a member of Blu-ray Elite, a beta program from Warner Home Video which has graciously sent me this free Blu-ray disc.

Movie Reviews: THE HANGOVER

Sunday, June 07, 2009
Movie Reviews: THE HANGOVER
IN THEATERS


THE HANGOVER

Two days before his wedding, Doug and three friends drive to Las Vegas for a wild and memorable stag party. In fact, when the three groomsmen wake up the next morning, they can't remember a thing; nor can they find Doug. With little time to spare, the three hazy pals try to re-trace their steps and find Doug so they can get him back to Los Angeles in time to walk down the aisle.

Cast: Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis, Heather Graham, Justin Bartha, Jeffrey Tambor

Director: Todd Phillips

Opened June 5, 2009

Runtime: 1 hr. 40 min.

Rated R for some drug material, pervasive language, sexual content and nudity
Genres: Farce, Comedy

Review:

Sometimes the best party nights are best left to the forgotten abyss but when you wake up with a trashed suite, missing groom, a baby and a tiger in the bathroom you just have find out what happened. Todd Phillips raucous and strangely inventive what the hell happened last night comedy is varying levels of fun throughout. Phillips’ takes what could be a fairly paint by the numbers scenario and turns it into something enjoyable and thoroughly insane. The cast works well together with Copper, Helms and Galifianakis getting the majority of the screen time. Bradley Copper brings a sort of arrogances and alpha male quality to Phil which fits his characters type similar to Vince Vaughn’s character Old School also directed by Phillips. The Office’s Ed Helms is wonderfully neurotic and he cycles between moments of clarity and paranoid fervor over what he did last night. Zach Galifianakis brings a blind childlike innocence to his “bearded Jesus” who might be an idiot savant. Heather Graham has a small supporting role as the nicest bride/stripper/hooker/mom on the Vegas strip. Ken Jeong has plenty of fun as a gay Asian stereotype mobster whose trash talk is almost as funny as the beatdown he puts on the three dazed and confused hungover trifecta. Mike Tyson has great extended cameo and mostly plays a straight man that’s had something stolen from him. The script is fun and it’ll probably recall a lot of day after where the party does and doesn’t look as fun in the daylight. There are some small miscues mainly the film loses a little steam once they find the groom and the characters are clearly types as opposed to fully realized people. Small complaints and nothing really earth shattering and it definitely doesn’t bring down any of the R rated fun. From Road Trip to Old School and now The Hangover (we’ll ignore Starsky and Hutch) Todd Phillips has shown a great ability to deliver some great comedies.

B+