Poor choices doom confused Joker

Joaquin Phoenix in Joker. Image courtesy Warner Bros.

Little about Joker is truly remarkable besides Joaquin Phoenix's grueling performance in the eponymous role. Otherwise, the film is too wrapped up in social commentary to understand the topic of conversation. This film is lost in itself, selling itself to a disaffected group with a message as clear as mud. Joker is a mess, a tone-deaf, piece of work from a filmmaker trying to punch far above his weight class.

Joker stars Phoenix as Arthur Fleck, a lonely clown who lives with his delusional mother (Frances Conroy) and dreams of standing onstage with talk show host Murray Franklin (Robert De Niro). Stuck in a rut, Arthur is given a new look at life following an incident on a train, leading him down a path of self-discovery and into the atmosphere of single mother Sophie (Zazie Beetz) and wealthy Gotham magnate Thomas Wayne (Brett Cullen). As Arthur spirals into insanity and into his role as the Batman's greatest foe, he becomes an accidental symbol for a movement that will have immeasurable consequences on Gotham's future.

And it's all kind of dull. Phoenix is great in his role, but the character is not designed to be particularly engaging or interesting. Joker needs its star to be charismatic, to provide a reason why so many people devote their lives and livelihoods to a maniac. How the film explains it is a little too easy and a little too convenient, dashing the mystery from the character and scrubbing Joker's intelligence and dangerous spontaneity. Joker is a monster, yet the film's attempt to humanize him makes him predictable and simple, with nary a surprise to be seen. Instead, Arthur Fleck is a victim of an uncaring system, the kind of person who falls through every imaginable loophole until he finally snaps. Despite acts of cruelty and several moments of self-inflicted stupidity, Fleck is among the forgotten, a man abandoned by a system quickly tearing itself asunder. Even his first murder begins as an act of self defense that includes haphazard symbolic lighting effects because it seemed like something Scorsese would do. The sympathy belongs to a white man burdened by loneliness and the absence of a strong father figure. He is a victim because director Todd Phillips and co-writer Scott Silver view such a person deserving of sympathy while denying similar views for the women and people of color who populate this film. The biggest tragedy Joker depicts is society failing the poor white men, and the film never bothers to wonder why that is a problem.

Joker really wants to be one of those movies that has something important to say, but it's terrible at conveying anything with a modicum of clarity. This stems from Phillips and Silver lacking a clear perspective of what they want to convey with their film. This film wants to be taken so, so, so, seriously, screaming for somebody to hear the big important thing it has to say about how bad society is. Many movies like Falling Down, Taxi Driver, Fight Club, and a whole slew of others have done such messages before. Yet those films had clarity in their points and an understanding their protagonists are not decent human beings pushed too far, but delusional beings whose violent tendencies and bad choices make them more relatable than likable. Joker focuses so much on the societal failures it never engages with the faults of Arthur Fleck, painting his violent streaks with a sense of unearned catharsis.

The overarching issue is how far Phillips wanders out of his comfort area. He's a competent director within a certain genre, but is otherwise incapable of putting together a piece as complicated as Joker should be. It's clear he's seen the movies he's copying – tossing De Niro in as a talk show host is a clear nod to The King of Comedy – without understanding the message or the themes, let alone how to adequately light someone to reflect a destructive mental state. The films he wants to copy are subtle and pointed, never blaring out the message louder than it needs to be. Phillips doesn't do subtle, which infects the film score to a rather nasty degree. Joker is all over the place because its director cannot settle on what he wants his film to be. A good Joker film could happen, but it requires someone with greater talent than Phillips to do it.

Review: One and a half out of Five Stars

Click here to see the trailer.

Rating: R

Run time: 121 minutes

Genre: Drama

tl;dr

What Worked: Joaquin Phoenix

What Fell Short: Writing, directing, soundtrack, tone

What To Watch As Well: Taxi Driver, Fight Club

Waiting for Superman

Ezra Miller, Ben Affleck, and Gal Gadot in Justice League. Image courtesy Warner Bros.

What makes the generally dire Justice League somewhat worth watching is Wonder Woman. Gal Gadot's fiery, intense warrior remains a delight to watch as she charges headfirst into a fight, sword and shield in hand ready to strike down the foes who oppose her. Aside from the satisfaction wrought from having Wonder Woman serve as the toughest character among a collection of super powered folks – a trait shared with the great Justice League animated show from the 2000s – Gadot gives the character a little charm to add a touch of humanity to her character. Some adaptations, for example recent video game entries, have centered her character on the character's warrior spirit they lose touch of the humanity that allows a god to embrace life among humans. DC has a good thing going with Wonder Woman, so it totally makes sense for the company to add a male version of her in the form of Jason Momoa's Aquaman. They’re effectively mirrors of each other, one serving to make the other moderately redundant. Because having a unique, distinguished female character is a step too far for DC, and Aquaman needs to do something besides speak to fish.

One way or another, DC can't get out of its own way when adapting its comic properties to film, which is the driving force of Justice League's failures. The decisions made in the filmmaking process by director Zack Snyder and writers Chris Terrio and Joss Whedon are more often than not wrong, resulting in a disjointed, slight movie instead of the powerful blockbuster the company needs. This was DC's shot at a franchise centerpiece, and it fell remarkably short of achieving that goal.

The most fundamental flaw with Justice League is a story that feels incomplete, as if key components were removed to keep the run time at around two hours. The movie brings back Wonder Woman and Ben Affleck's Batman (who spends the movie being fairly useless among his powerful friends) from, but takes time out for the origins of new heroes Aquaman, Cyborg (Ray Fisher), and Flash (Ezra Miller). All three will get their own movies in the next few years, but they are new to this DC Cinematic Universe, and Justice League has to take time to introduce all three from scratch. The process is clunky, stealing time away from the save the world narrative while missing opportunities to understand the team dynamic. DC would have been better served properly introducing Aquaman, Cyborg, and Flash in separate movies ahead of this one, as almost a third of this movie is devoted to introducing those three.

Cutting down on the new character introduction would then provide more time to focus on the aforementioned save the world story audiences came out to see. Justice League would benefit from additional time to flesh out an uninspiring, rote plot. Part of the issue is from the choice of villains – the alien Steppenwolf (voiced by Ciarán Hinds) is not a major DC villain, certainly not as intimidating as Darkseid or even a deranged Lex Luthor. Once the team of beings with godlike powers (and Batman) assembles, Steppenwolf's inevitable defeat becomes clear and anticlimactic. The build up of a grand battle to save the earth ends in an blasé fashion, concluded with neither of the movie’s two proud warriors, Wonder Woman and Aquaman, ending the battle with the killing blow.

If the plot feels a little familiar, that’s because Marvel already did it in The Avengers, although Marvel did a much more competent job. And it doesn’t take too close of a look to see where Snyder and crew lifted from other sources with small to no traces of shame. A flashback to a previous battle with Steppenwolf is formatted like a Lord of the Rings rip off. The bits about Lois Lane (Amy Adams) and the world losing hope after Superman's death (Henry Cavill) has elements of Ghostbusters II to it, and there’s a rather blatant rip off of Frankenstein. Throwing these elements together just makes the story feel weak, as if the writers weren’t confident in the path they chose for their superhero team.

The overarching vibe for Justice League is disappoint. Is this all DC has to offer for the most memorable superhero team of all time? A recycled plot with poor characterization is the best this company has to offer fans who've already been stuck with Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad and murderous interpretations of otherwise pacifistic heroes? None of this bodes well for the impending Justice League sequel and the rest of the onslaught of DC movies, so strap in for a bumpy ride.

Review: Two out of Five Stars

Click here to see the trailer.

Rating: PG-13

Run time: 120 minutes

Genre: Action

Ask Away

Target audience: People who love DC Comics.

Take the whole family?: There's a lot of violence with minimal amounts of human blood, so for parents who are good with that this won't be too much for kiddos.

Theater or Netflix?: Really, really don't pay the extra money to see it.

What about the little things?: What irked me the most was how the little things kept getting messed up. Most notably is how every superhero calls each other by their real first names, no matter how close they are to, say, a group of cops or Bruce Wayne's employees. These heroes hide their identities for many, many reasons, and there's no way Batman would allow anyone to call him Bruce in open quarters.

Watch this instead?: Wonder Woman is the best of the recent DC Comics movie adaptation, although it still isn't that great. The Justice League cartoon from the 2000s is excellent, and the ongoing Justice League Action is pretty fun. If you do want to go out, just hit up Thor: Ragnarok and enjoy the madness that ensues.

LEGO Batman a fun takedown of the Dark Knight

Batman and Robin in The LEGO Batman Movie. Image courtesy Warner Bros.

The LEGO Batman Movie is worthy of appreciation solely for offering a humorous look at the eponymous vigilante, serving as a contrast to the űber-dour caricature inflicted upon cinemas for nearly three decades. The concept of Batman is silly, so having a resource that deflates the character's overwhelming seriousness – and far, far away from the Zack Snyder interpretation – is sort of a blessing in and of itself. That Will Arnett's vocal work adds an additional layer of sarcastic self-importance to Batman only adds to the fun the film offers for much of its run time. Arnett's take worked great in The Lego Movie, his Batman serving as one of the highlights of an overall terrific film. But as the lead of his own film things get a little squiffy. The joke about the super self-important Caped Crusader runs dry by the midway point and the lesson the character is meant to learn less interesting than the one offered by this film's predecessor. So while LEGO Batman Movie is one of the best films about Batman in years, it a less than stellar movie about toys that induce sharp pains in one's foot when stepped upon.

Admittedly, the main issue comes from the films’ senses of humor. The comedic brilliance from Lego Movie doesn't shift over to Batman's feature film due to the absence of writing/directing duo Chris Miller and Phil Lord. They are replaced by director Chris McKay – whose work includes Cartoon Network staples Robot Chicken and Moral Orel – and a bevy of writers who can't replicate the mashing of plot and jokes accomplished by Miller and Lord. LEGO Batman Movie is a little looser with its plot, the jokes more often coming as asides than feeding from the flow of the film. (the comedic vibe is quite similar to the aforementioned Robot Chicken.) Not to say the film isn’t funny – the talents of Arnett, Zach Galifianakis, Jenny Slate, Doug Benson, Ellie Kemper and the rest of the cast keep things afloat – but the jokes are forced and come in a less organic fashion than its predecessor.

Fortunately LEGO Batman Movie retains the underlying inventiveness of Lego Movie that makes the latter so memorable. The master builder concept from the first film carries over, reinforcing the creative aspect of the product this film is trying to sell. The filmmakers also take advantage of the access to characters outside the DC universe, giving the filmmakers access to Batman's rogues gallery (Riddler, Two-Face, Joker, Harley Quinn and many others) along with random villains Voldemort, Godzilla, King Kong and the gremlins from Gremlins. It adds to the playfulness of the endeavor, along with contributing to the weird vibe the film taps into on a regular basis. Weird is good for a film about toy blocks, so the frequent non-sequiturs back to previous Batman iterations (including the shark repellent) add to the meta humor the film succeeds at hitting.

The filmmakers were smart enough to avoid retelling Batman's origin story and focus instead on his connections with new ward Dick Grayson (Michael Cera), new police commissioner Barbara Gordon (Rosario Dawson) and faithful butler Alfred (the wonderful Ralph Fiennes). Batman's tragic beginnings are well-trod at this point, so skipping them offers more time to analyze who Batman is now . LEGO Batman Movie has one of the better explorations of what drives Bruce Wayne to be Batman, even if it is done in a somewhat blunt and very child-friendly way. It explores how Batman would respond without villains to fight (Batman ennui is the best ennui), how far over the line Batman goes to capture criminals (along with the consequences of doing so), and the co-dependent nature between the character and his enemies. One of the main subplots, Galifianakis' Joker feeling spurned by Batman's blasé attitude toward him, is the most interesting interpretation of their duality depicted in a major motion picture. Viewers learn more about the Batman character in this film than they do after more than two hours of him acting like an idiot and waiting to fight Superman. That is one of the benefits of parody, as removing any sense of verisimilitude takes the audience a step away from the cinematic universe; the only way to fill the gap is to explore the character to the very bottom of his soul.

Review: Four out of Five Stars

Click here to see the trailer.

Rating: PG

Run time: 104 minutes

Genre: Animated
 

Ask Away

Target audience: Families, Batman fans and people who enjoyed The Lego Movie.

Take the whole family?: This film is generally tame and the humor is appropriate so even the younger kids won't have an issue with it.

Theater or Netflix?: A matinee screening would work just fine if you go see it.

What else is missing from this movie?: Mark Hamill. Zach Galifianakis does solid work as the Joker here, but it still pales in comparison to what Hamill did on Batman: The Animated Series and several other formats. Hamill could hit the light notes the film requires of its joker, but the moments of menace that Galifianakis can't quite hit would be filled perfectly by Hamill.

Watch this as well?: The Lego Movie is a helpful complement to this. This film also references a lot of the older stuff Batman has starred in, so including a few episodes from the Adam West era, the brilliant Batman: The Animated Series, and a couple of the Tim Burton/Chris Nolan reboots is handy as well.

Little on the line for this Suicide Squad

Will Smith and Margot Robbie star in Suicide Squad. Image courtesy Warner Bros.

With a better script, better fight sequences, more thoughtful approach to its premise, and a deeper understanding of several of its characters, Suicide Squad could have served as the antidote to the DC dourness that has weighed down the studio's other efforts, the spunky, rebellious younger sibling of the Superman-driven franchise. The name itself hints at a series with a little more bite to it than the average superhero fare, something a little more dangerous than a sullen god from Kansas. Then again, if wishes were fishes, David Fincher would be in charge of this project, and Suicide Squad wouldn't suffer from the rather notable problems that opened this paragraph. For a movie whose sole purpose for being is to appeal to ravenous comic book fans, Suicide Squad does a piss poor job of fulfilling that reason to be.

Suicide Squad is a difficult movie to mesh with due to its haphazard assemblage and a plot that is hideously stupid even for a comic book adaptation. The story segmentation is weighted so poorly character arcs are either blunted or pushed through without any time to develop organically. Viewers learn little about Jai Courtney’s Captain Boomerang or Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje's Killer Croc (Adam Beach’s Slipknot exists to be killed off early), and they get force fed the backstories for Will Smith's Deadshot, Jay Hernandez's Diablo, Cara Delevingne's Enchantress, Joel Kinnaman's Rick Flagg and Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn. That the movie spends so much time focusing on Deadshot and Quinn, and the audience comes away with little real insight to their characters aside from within the two-hour window is disappointing and worrisome for the impending solo film for Robbie's Harley Quinn.

It is a reflection though of the underlying issue inherent within the concept of Suicide Squad that would stump even the best of filmmakers, let alone one as inconsistent as writer/director David Ayer. The very nature of the film is to have villains serve as the heroes (in this case to replace Superman after his demise in the last DC film), which raises the question of whether or not a person can be a proverbial bad guy when he or she does something heroic. In other words, if someone commits a heroic act, must it be somehow within their very nature to do so in the first place? Suicide Squad offers lots of forgiveness for its characters, showing them to be devoted fathers, misunderstood beasts, self-loathing arsonists, love-struck fools, and Australian to provide some grounding for their heroism. Therein lies the fundamental problem with Suicide Squad: humanizing the villains too much removes the aura of malevolent ambiguity from those characters, thus making them far less interesting to watch. Suicide Squad is a film large on bravado yet without the means or willingness to fulfill the promises it keeps, like the short kid in elementary school who taunted the bigger kids then ran away when any threat of repercussion emerged. It claims to be a legitimate anti-hero movie, yet it lacks the willingness to make any of its characters unlikable. Deadshot is considered the world's greatest assassin yet is provided moral codes, scumbag assassination targets, and a precocious 11-year-old daughter to call upon to strengthen his verve ( although Smith probably wouldn't have taken the role had he been a remorseless killer).

If there is any one character who does fit that description, its Viola Davis’ Amanda Waller, the woman who formed the Suicide Squad in the first place. Waller is a ruthless, stone cold bureaucrat, a woman who knows the right buttons to push behind the scenes to get things done but is willing and able to get grab an assault rifle and fire off a few rounds when the time calls for it. Surrounded by figures who want her dead and more, Waller stands her ground and then some, turning some of the scariest figure in DC’s catalog into withering husks. Davis fills out all of those requirements perfectly, exuding authority and just the right amount of menace in her delivery.

Suicide Squad would be a pretty interesting film if it mirrored Waller’s personality, yet the film is much more akin to the characterization of the Joker as portrayed by Jordan Catalano (or, rather, Jared Leto). Leto does not offer an optimal or particularly interesting interpretation of the most intense villain in the DC universe; his portrayal is more of a poseur, a guy whose tough act is never menacing or particularly dangerous. Like the film he’s in, Leto’s Joker is gaudy, feckless and otherwise mostly harmless.

Review: Two and a half out of Five Stars

Click here to see the trailer.

Rating: PG-13

Run time: 123 minutes

Genre: Action

Ask Away

Target audience: DC Comics fanatics.

Take the whole family?: Stick with the PG-13 rating. The film is tame for what it should be, but it still contains oodles of graphic violence.

Theater or Netflix?: Netflix is acceptable, although matinee it if you do have a burning desire to see it.

Any sympathies for Harley Quinn?: Loads of it for both actress Margot Robbie and for the character. Aside from an inconsistent accent, Robbie does the best she can for a character built to be eye candy for the male members of the audience. It's a terrible reduction for a female character made interesting for her tragic backstory (which the film botches because of course it does) and for her ingenuity and feisty nature. Contrary to the film's assertions, Joker isn't what makes Harley Quinn interesting.

Watch this instead: DC has had its best luck adapting its material in the animated realm, in particular TV series like Batman: The Animated Series (Harley Quinn originated from that show), Justice League, Justice League Unlimited and Teen Titans.

'Batman v Superman' gets almost everything wrong

Ben Affleck and Henry Cavill in "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice." Image courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures.

To lift a line from Commissioner Gordon, “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” is not the Batman and Superman film we need, nor is it really the one we deserve either. It represents what happens when a studio takes the Marvel formula (and this film is a vital cog in a Marvel rip off) and doesn’t understand how those pieces fit together to form a cohesive movie. “Dawn of Justice” strips away the qualities that have made the eponymous heroes so memorable, instead opting to turn these characters into hyper violent caricatures of themselves. “Dawn of Justice” fails its audience on almost every level, delivering a soulless flick directed by a man with nary a clue as to what to do with the characters he’s created.

That man is Zack Snyder, who has somehow found himself in charge of DC Comics’ three pivotal characters despite a legacy of mediocrity and hypocrisy as a director. “Dawn of Justice” is not his finest hour, a film with no rhythm and far too many little subplots chucked in despite a central plot that nowhere near justifies two and a half hours in theater. It’s clear Snyder and film writers David S. Goyer and Chris Terrio are setting up the impending “Justice League” franchise throughout “Dawn of Justice,” which is strange considering having Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman in the same movie already accomplishes that feat.

The failures of “Dawn of Justice” as a film begin with those three, from the aforementioned pacing problems to some wonky dialogue to unimpressive special effects to burdensome dream sequences thrown in to make the film feel deep. The fact these dream sequences add little to the film besides precious minutes of our lives is not a factor Snyder, Goyer and Terrio appeared to consider. “Dawn of Justice” is also littered with plot holes and silly contrivances obvious enough to notice and mock while watching the film. Admittedly, those holes did offer the highest level of entertainment this film has to offer.

And then there’s the casting of the charmless Henry Cavill and the Ben Affleckian Ben Affleck as Superman and Batman, respectively. Cavill, who first donned the blue suit for “Dawn of Justice’s” precursor “Man of Steel,” lacks the inherent decency brought to the role by Christopher Reeve that provides some humility to what is otherwise a god. Without humility, you’re left with a cipher, a bland being whose most noteworthy features are a garish costume, laser beams, and the glasses he wears as a disguise. Affleck doesn’t offer much in the way of a performance as either Bruce Wayne or Batman, which is to be expected for the Affleck sibling better served behind the camera than in front.

Cavill and Affleck are so solemn in their performances it makes Jesse Eisenberg’s Lex Luthor even more flamboyant than expected. The Facebook founder appears to belong in a very different movie, taking Gene Hackman’s performance from the first two “Superman” flicks and adding even more scenery chewing to go along with very obvious hints at some level of autism. Everyone else is OK, with Holly Hunter underused as Senator Finch; Amy Adams stuck playing damsel in distress as Lois Lane; Jeremy Irons butles as Bruce Wayne’s loyal butler Alfred; Diane Lane worries as Martha Kent; and Gal Gadot doesn’t do a lot as Diana Prince/Wonder Woman, but just having Wonder Woman around is the best part of “Dawn of Justice.”

The cinematic issues for “Dawn of Justice” though are trumped by the decisions Snyder and his wrecking crew make to the characters themselves. It starts with the opening sequence that shows robber Joe Chill holding up Bruce, Thomas and Martha Wayne. Most versions have Thomas Wayne attempting to shield his family and negotiate with Chill, who shoots him in cold blood before murdering Martha as she screams. Snyder has Thomas Wayne attempt to attack Chill, who shoots Bruce's father out of self defense, then shoots Martha Wayne somewhat accidentally after she attacks him. The difference is minor on the surface, but it effectively inspires the more grotesque acts Affleck's Batman commits in this version and diminishes The Dark Knight's skills as a negotiator, as a hero who tries to avoid a violent confrontation when he can.

This version spreads throughout “Dawn of Justice,” with Batman wantonly murdering, shooting and even branding people out of cruelty. Batman as a character has very clear guiding principles developed not just through the death of his parents, but the strong influence of Alfred as a father figure and a nuanced understanding of justice rooted in his intellectualism. Snyder's version is a dolt who leaves the non-punching work to Alfred and gets duped into taking on a god. Then again, Superman isn't exactly all that brilliant either, and it's implied heavily that he is willing to murder if he deems it necessary. Like Batman, that contrasts greatly from a character who avoids acts of gratuitous violence when he can because he can at least empathize with humanity at some level and understands the horror he's capable of inflicting.

The psychopathic versions of the eponymous heroes comes to a head in an anticlimactic final act highlighted solely by the presence of Gadot's Wonder Woman. The big twist in the film is based on a very famous comic from the 90s featuring an iconic moment that Snyder, of course, fails to grasp. He misses the point of the exercise, the true danger of the villain the heroes battle against and the exhaustion the combatants face at that final draw. It's the biggest misstep in a film that spends 151 minutes going in the wrong direction.

Review: One and a half out of Five Stars

Click here to see the trailer.

Rating: PG-13

Run time: 151 minutes

Genre: Action

Ask Away

Target audience: All of those people who've flocked to see “Avengers” movies in recent years, as well as Batman and Superman fans. In other words, everyone.

Take the whole family?: A lot of people die in this film, so I really wouldn't recommend this thing for kids. You'll take them anyway though, because this is a film with Batman and Superman.

Theater or Netflix?: Matinee if you really, really must.

Where does Ben Affleck rank as a Batman?: It really depends on how forgiving you are about George Clooney – he's tolerable given the circumstances in my view – but I would put Affleck at the bottom of the Batman hierarchy. My list goes Kevin Conroy (he voiced Batman in multiple TV series and video games), Christian Bale, Michael Keaton, Adam West, Val Kilmer, Clooney, Affleck.

Watch this instead?: The first two “Superman” films are still quite good, as are “Batman Begins,” “The Dark Knight,” and Tim Burton's first “Batman” flick. For anyone who wants to dive a little deeper, find episodes of “Batman: The Animated Series” from the 1990s and the “Justice League” franchise that ran on Cartoon Network last decade.