Joker: Folie à Deux

My View:  Joker: Folie à Deux   (2024)  R  In Joker: Folie à Deux, Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix), the failed comedian, has caused a lot of trouble and has been put away in the Arkham State Hospital. There, he meets the love of his life, Harley Quinn (Lady Gaga), and they soon embark on a journey of mayhem and romance. Joker: Folie à Deux is a musical by a director, Todd Phillips, who doesn’t like musicals. I say this because all the musical numbers are shot so flatly and without flash that it feels as if there wasn’t a lot of thought put into them. Joaquin (who we know can sing from his Oscar-nominated performance as Johnny Cash in Walk the Line) sings like a man who, even in fantasy sequences, hasn’t found his voice yet. Even the fantastic Lady Gaga sings some of her songs like an amateur at a high school talent show. The tone of the film is set with an opening animation cartoon where The Joker is about to go on stage and is beaten up and thrown in a closet by his shadow, who then assaults a bunch of people and then goes away when Joker is arrested and beat up by police for the crime. Phillips has created a sequel that is almost a hate letter to the fans of his first Joker film, as for most of the film, the Joker part of Arthur is held in check, only coming a few times, mostly during the trial portion of the film. The first film centered around madness and its ability to take over a person and feed on the chaos they create. This film is about trying to control that madness while letting someone else take control. We first see this with how he is subversive with both the guards, especially the main one (played by Brendan Gleeson) and his lawyer (played by Catherine Keener). Then Arthur meets Harley, who wants to be the girlfriend of the Joker, and tries everything she can to bring him to the forefront. This is a frustrating film to watch because there is a good story in there somewhere; maybe if the musical numbers had been more over the top, more fantasy-looking and sounding than they were on screen. Joker: Folie à Deux is a film that feels like the filmmaker is thumbing his nose at all the fans of the first film. One of the hallmark scenes of the first Joker is the incredible shot of Joker dancing down the vast amount of stairs while a Gary Glitter song is blasting. Take a look at the movie poster for this film. It’s a scene on those same steps with Harley and Joker dancing together. That scene never makes it into the movie. See what I mean, thumbing his nose at us.  My Rating: Cable  Joker: Folie a Deux Website   Now playing in theaters, including IMAX.

My View:  Hold Your Breath  (2024)  R  Hold Your Breath takes place in 1930s Oklahoma amid the region’s horrific dust storms. An evil presence named The Grey Man is killing people, and one mother (Sarah Paulson) is determined to stop him from killing her two daughters. This is another of a long line of films recently that have wasted the talents of their leads, this time Sarah Paulson. The film fails to elicit the necessary chills, as it takes an incredibly long time to establish the final third of the movie when things finally come to a head. The film tells too many stories instead of focusing on the feeling of helplessness and fright that is a combination of isolation, loss of loved ones, and the constant threat of blinding dust storms. I think this film would have worked better if it had been a more conventional horror film, then a film where a troubled mother falls into a hole of madness that she has trouble climbing out of. The bogeyman that is promised is never delivered, and instead, we get a tale that provides few chills and even less suspense than it should have.  My Rating: Cable  Hold Your Breath Website  Now playing on the Hulu platform.

Indiefest:  The Outrun  (2024)  R  In The Outrun, Rona (Saoirse Ronan) is a troubled young woman whose life in London was filled with alcohol and mayhem. To get sober, she travels back home to Scotland’s Orkney Islands, hoping that she can find something to bring her peace in its wild beauty and isolation. Once again, Saoirse Ronan proves she is one of the finest young actors in film today. She puts the film on her back and leads us down a very bumpy road to sobriety and appreciation for finding joy in small things you can anchor to. The film gives us flashbacks to how, because of her drinking, she pushed away everyone who loved her and how Rona figures out that she needs isolation to come to terms with her addiction. The film brilliantly lets us see the island’s beauty; even when the weather is brutal, there is still something to admire and find joy in, like recording the howling wind on a bitterly cold night. Even in the flashbacks, we have hope for Rona, and Ronan lets us see glimpses of hope, something that she can build on when she is on the island. The Outrun is a powerful film about learning to love the small things in life and finding hope in the beauty of the world around us.   My Rating: Full Price  The Outrun Website  Now playing in theaters.

My View:  Monster Summer  (2024)  PG-13  Monster Summer is about Noah (Mason Thames) and his friends, who are ready for a big summer of fun on Martha’s Vineyard, but their plans are disrupted when some kids they know are suddenly turned into almost lifeless zombies. Noah seeks the assistance of a retired police detective (Mel Gibson) to embark on a harrowing journey to save their beloved vacation spot. Monster Summer is a fun adventure film for both kids and adults, with a nostalgic feel for the 70s and 80s films that featured ordinary kids taking on supernatural beings. Monster Summer might be the only recent movie with Mel Gibson that is a kid’s film, so at least we have that. The scares aren’t too bad (except near the end) for young kids and adults will enjoy a plot that moves along. It’s a pretty simple film that gives us a little mystery for Noah and his friends to solve, with help from a police detective with his own scary reputation.  My Rating: Bargain Matinee  Monster Summer Website  Now playing in theaters.

Indiefest:  ¡Casa Bonita Mi Amor!  (2024)  Casa Bonita is a Mexican restaurant in Denver that was started in the late 70s as a place where families could come for a meal and get lost in all that there was to do, including puppet shows, live performances, Mariachi bands, caves, and cliff divers. It was even featured in an episode of South Park. It turns out the co-creator of South Park, Trey Parker spent many a birthday inside this magical restaurant described as Colorado’s own little bit of Disneyland. Trey and his South Park partner, Matt Stone, discover that the restaurant has fallen on hard times and is being auctioned off. Stone and Parker successfully bid on getting the restaurant and that’s when the story becomes interesting because the two had no idea how much money and time they would have to put into this Denver cultural icon to bring it back to its glory days. I am reminded of a line from the 1986 film The Money Pit, where the Hanks character says: 'Here lies Walter Fielding. He bought a house, and it killed him.' Like that movie, the restaurant the two South Park guys want to save becomes a massive money pit, where every crook and corner of the massive place has hidden problems, like right out of a South Park episode, where things seem to blow up in their faces. I had a great time watching this film, as the two go from being heroes in Denver for saving the restaurant to thinking about giving up on the dream and letting the place die. As you would expect, there are plenty of laughs as the guys tend to deal with problems using their sense of humor when things look bleak. How could you not like a documentary that weaves in South Park flashbacks and scenes from the obscure Elvis Presley film Fun in Acapulco while Trey Parker goes on an extended riff on how the puppet show should be R-rated? Even if you aren’t a South Park fan, you will fall in love with this quirky Mexican restaurant and the people who love it.  My Rating: Full Price Casa Bonita Info   Now playing on the Paramount+ platform.

My View:  Apartment 7A  (2024) R  Terry (Julia Garner) is a young dancer living her dream of being in a musical on the stage when during a performance, she shatters her ankle and is now suffering in pain every time she tries to dance. Terry loses her apartment, is hooked on painkillers, and after a grueling audition that she once again fails, she passes outside an apartment complex. A middle-aged couple (Dianne Wiest and Kevin McNally) rescues her, who not only nurse her back to health but give her an apartment just down from theirs to live in while she tries to get back into the game. Soon, she discovers that this nice couple have connections that keep giving Terry hope until she discovers dark forces are making those good things happen for Terry. Apartment 7A is a prequel to the 1968 horror classic Rosemary’s Baby, giving us a look into what happened before Rosemary and Guy moved into this same apartment building. That film was shocking for its time with some terrifying scenes, written and directed by Roman Polanski, and was bolstered by outstanding performances by Mia Farrow and Ruth Gordon (who won an Oscar for the role of the next-door busybody neighbor Minnie). It’s a film that is still scaring people to this day. Unfortunately, this film doesn’t. Even with three-time Emmy-winning (Ozark) actress Julia Garner and Dianne Wiest in the Ruth Gorden part, the film fails to have any of the suspense and horror that the original film did so well. The pace of the film is incredibly slow, and unlike Mia Farrow’s character in the 68 film, Terry seems to accept just about everything that she is given, even when things seem way out of the ordinary. What little bits of horror that do show up are poorly done with little effect and create very little foreboding that should be ever present in this tale. The ending is predictable (how could it not be), making this film seem like a poor attempt to jump on the coattails of a classic, and like Terry’s accident in the first part of the film, it suffers from a lame (pun intended) plot. My Rating: Cable  Apartment 7A Info  Now playing on the Paramount+ platform.

My View:  White Bird  (2023)  PG-13  After being kicked out of one school for being a bully, Julian (Bryce Gheisar) is having trouble fitting in at his new school. His grandmother, Grand-mere Sara (Helen Mirren), tells Julian how she, a young Jewish girl, was hidden by a family in a French village during World War II. She tells Julian how a boy she made fun of and bullied became her savior and best friend. White Bird is a sequel to the 2017 film Wonder. We find out what happened to Julian, the bully of that story. It turns out that Julian didn’t learn much from his interactions with Auggie and his Grand-mere decides he is in need of a story. The story is a pretty conventional one, with the Nazis taking over the town and Sara (Ariella Glaser) is saved by the heroics of a young man named Julian (Orlando Schwerdt). Julian was always being picked on at school because of a severe limp caused by polio, and even Sara looked down on him. Through Julian, Sara learns about kindness and how to be more concerned about her fellow man. Glaser and Schwerdt work well together on screen, and they make the simple plot more impactful. The film is also helped by Helen Mirren’s narration and by a subdued Gillian Anderson playing Julian’s mother. The film doesn't go too much into the horrors of the Nazis or the Holocaust, making it suitable for young adults to watch. It's a tale that tries a little too hard to hit the heart strings, but is propelled along by strong performances by the two leads. If you haven't already figured it out, present-day Julian was named after Julian from WWII. My Rating: Bargain Matinee   White Bird Website   Now playing in theaters. 

Indiefest:  A Different Man  (2024)  R  In A Different Man, Edward (Sebastian Stan) is a man with neurofibromatosis, a condition that causes facial tumors that make his face almost unrecognizable. Edward is barely making a living as an actor in corporate videos and dreams of someday impressing his neighbor (Renate Reinsve). Edward’s life is about to change when he is given the opportunity to undergo facial reconstructive surgery that will transform his face. Be careful of what you dream of! This black comedy is about getting what you wished for and then realizing that maybe you were the problem and that nothing has really changed. Edward is a miserable man who hides from others on the subway and doesn't even complain about the leak coming from his ceiling that is growing day by day. Edward gets a miracle treatment and almost overnight, becomes a good-looking guy with a well paying job and even gets the girl of his dreams. That is until Oswald (Adam Pearson) shows up in Edward’s life, and though Oswald also has the neurofibromatosis condition, he is everything that Edward, even the new Edward, isn’t. Oswald is sophisticated in manner and dress, comfortable in any situation, the life of the party, and everyone loves him. Slowly, Edward sees the life he wanted, and it’s Oswald’s. Adam Pearson, an actor who has neurofibromatosis, is brilliant as the cock-sure Oswald, who takes over every room he is in and is the man that Edward always dreamed of being. Pearson is magical on screen who brings depth and meaning to the storyline, with a flair that makes you see why everyone in the movie thinks he is someone they want to be around. Things go from bad to worse for Edward, and we know it wasn’t a bad hand that life had dealt Edward; it’s just that he didn’t know what to do with the cards.  My Rating: Full Price  A Different Man Website  Now playing in theaters.

Forgotten Film:  Martha Marcy May Marlene  (2011)  R Elizabeth Olsen (yes, she is the sister of Mary-Kate and Ashley) stars in the title role, as a woman who suddenly shows up on her sister’s doorstep after she was missing for two years.  The reunion, though, is difficult and forced as Martha is hiding secrets, and her deception starts tearing apart the sisters. We discover, in flashbacks, that Martha lived in a cult led by a charismatic man (played by the very creepy John Hawkes). This is a dark film, and you won’t always be able to decipher reality and what is just happening in Martha’s mind. Olsen is amazing. Her appearance changes when she exhibits a remarkable range of emotions as the film progresses, and she gets pulled deeper and deeper into the cult. Hawkes is perfect as the cult leader who never uses physical violence to meld his members. His control is all accomplished with a calm, quiet demeanor that is far scarier. Olsen is almost certain to get an Oscar nomination in this interesting study of a cult mind. When I wrote this review in 2011, I predicted Olsen would get an Oscar nomination. Unfortunately, she didn’t get that nomination, but she received a bunch of critic awards. I am still astounded that she is the sister of Mary-Kate and Ashley.  My Rating:  I Would Pay to See it Again  Martha Marcy May Marlene Info  The film is available to rent/buy on Amazon. 

Weird Credits:  From the credits of Joker: Folie à Deux:  Vintage Camera Operators

Coming Soon to a Screen Near You: Red One  (2024)  PG-13 After Santa Claus (J. K. Simmons), aka Red One, is kidnapped, the North Pole’s Head of Security (Dwayne Johnson) teams up with the world’s greatest bounty hunter (Chris Evans) to find Saint Nick and save Christmas. This looks like a lot of fun with a very in-shape Santa, a talking polar bear, Bonnie Hunt as Mrs. Claus, Lucy Lui, giant warrior snowmen, and a Krampus who loves to fight. The film opens in theatres on November 15th.  Red One Website

 

                                                                        Until Next Time!