Bizarrely, Joker: Folie à Deux seems embarrassed to be a movie about the Joker. Every time it gets close to letting the Joker (Joaquin Phoenix) and Harley Quinn (Lady Gaga) drift into twisted, dream-like musical sequences, the movie does it in a halting, tuneless way, exacerbated by Phoenix’s ear-stabbing vocal performance.
Read MoreAs a Canadian, I live close enough to the United States that I feel somewhat invested in what happens there, given how similar our cultures are. But I also don’t feel the sort of dread that would come with something like this happening in my backyard. I’m able to dissociate and view a theoretical conflict from a remove. Maybe that’s why American reactions to Civil War are as polarized as the events in the movie itself.
Read MoreVilleneuve’s script makes it obvious that no matter how much free will Paul attempts to display, his fate is preordained. He will rise up to lead the Fremen, even if that means setting off a chain reaction of events that begets ever more bloodshed. It’s proof of Villeneuve’s skill and the abilities of the cast that we’re hardly ever in the dark about the characters’ feelings – they don’t get lost amid the larger, bombastic action setpieces happening around them.
Read MoreBeing a Marvel effort, the closing scenes take pains to establish that no ending is permanent. The characters will still be available for future filmmakers to take off the shelf and drop into a story every so often. But I can’t get over the feeling that even if the Guardians reappear later on, I’m not inclined to rush out to see them. Vol. 3 feels like as good a time as any to bid the Marvel Cinematic Universe adieu for a while.
Read MoreWithout a consistent writer or director with a tangible style (a James Gunn or a Taika Waititi, perhaps), watching the movie is an exercise in identifying all the familiar screenwriting parts as they’re pulled from the shelf. Meanwhile, we wait patiently (or not) for Holland’s character to acquire the lived-in quality that propelled the games’ strong reputation.
Read MoreThe movie obviously revels in depicting the mayhem of a GTA-style game, and constructs elaborate set pieces around game physics, ridiculous weapons and items, and the grinding that some players undertake to level up. But there’s roughly a 80/20 accuracy split; the bulk of the observations line up, but every so often there’s a painfully awkward trope.
Read MoreTo be fair, Luca isn’t up there with Pixar’s recent list-topping achievements like Up, Inside Out or Coco. It takes some of the premise of The Little Mermaid, pairs it with a mid-20th century Italian setting, and renders it with their characteristic industry-leading visuals. It may not leave you sobbing, but it’s still an easy recommendation.
Read MoreHe’s a world-class solder, a quick thinker with a quicker trigger and the ability to process minutiae really fast and spit it out as exposition to the audience. He’s fun to watch but difficult to relate to, and at the end gets lost in a massive library of action heroes who we remember by the name of the actor who portrayed them and not the character themselves.
Read MoreIt’s meant as a bitter commentary about the nexus between capitalism, ambition, and the way we treat our elders. But the bitterness is so intense that it lingers after the credits roll, causing you to wonder if the movie accomplished much at all, besides its stylish presentation and strong performances.
Read MoreWhat Ruben desperately wants is a fix to his hearing loss - not unlike the other kind of fix he used to depend on. The grief he feels for the life he’s lost comes in waves. But in an echo of his past efforts to get clean, Ruben gradually adjusts to the strictures of the program and makes new friends. Unfortunately, he also offsets his progress…
Read MoreAs good as the cast and the script are - setting aside how you feel about Oldman, 62, playing a 43-year-old - the setting and Fincher’s self-indulgent flourishes still make me hesitate before recommending it to everyone. If you’re a ride-or-die Fincher fan, or a committed listener of a film history podcast like You Must Remember This, climb aboard.
Read MoreThankfully, there’s no hammer-over-the-head moment that blasts what the four buddies have done, but their overindulgence does extract a fairly heavy cost. Credit goes to Vinterberg, who finds the right balance in showing how drinking can reduce barriers and bring people together, but also how much destruction it can cause.
Read MoreEven though John and Willis have a big cathartic fight that leads to an emotional embrace, it doesn’t feel like there’s a higher level of understanding between the two characters to be attained. Mortensen the director is reaching for this one moment where a strained father-son relationship could be understood, but that moment never quite comes.
Read MoreThere are various moments throughout the film where I was left scratching my head, to the point where I wasn’t quite sure how to tie everything together for this review. But I kept coming back to these five main points where the film either missed the mark or left me absolutely bewildered.
Read MoreSome credit has to be given to the filmmakers for the constraints they worked under: tight spaces, entry-level equipment, stringent health and safety protocols. But most of the stories still feel overly rushed, with unconvincing characters and scenarios that don’t rise beyond what’s been posted on platforms like TikTok or Twitter during this time.
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