Joker (2019 Movie) (1 Viewer)

[bujaki]

Phoenix's Joker is a white man who is a psychopath; who has confrontations, real or perceived, with people of color, authority or one percenters; and who becomes a figurehead for a movement of disaffected white supremacists. The joke of a Joker?
This wasn't funny and left a bitter aftertaste in my mouth. Or perhaps that was the point, as a reflection of the times.

 

[JohnRice]

I’m surprised there are so many comments about the joker needing to be funny. It always seemed like it was supposed to be ironic.

 

[Traveling Matt]

If it's Romero maniacally laughing and pointing at his own hand buzzer, Nicholson telling a corpse "I'm glad you're dead" or Hamill doing his thing as a late night show host... that's the funny. That's being a joker. I don't know if it's ironic too but I suppose it could be. It's funny first though and that's what I expect from someone calling himself The Joker.

 

[Colin Jacobson]

Phoenix's Joker is a white man who is a psychopath; who has confrontations, real or perceived, with people of color, authority or one percenters; and who becomes a figurehead for a movement of disaffected white supremacists. The joke of a Joker?
This wasn't funny and left a bitter aftertaste in my mouth. Or perhaps that was the point, as a reflection of the times.

I don't think Joker's following was all white, much less clearly "white supremacists".

As much as people try to plop "Joker" in the alt-right or incel categories, it doesn't fit.

It's more "downtrodden vs. the 1 percent" - it fits more with the Occupy sentiment of the early 2010s than with the current times...

 

[TravisR]

I don't think Joker's following was all white, much less clearly "white supremacists".

As much as people try to plop "Joker" in the alt-right or incel categories, it doesn't fit.

It's more "downtrodden vs. the 1 percent" - it fits more with the Occupy sentiment of the early 2010s than with the current times...

Yeah, it's an "eat the rich" movie (and forget the beginning of the decade because alot more of them are inevitably coming in the next couple years). I can see how some incel relates to Joker to some degree but the statement being made is about the haves versus the have nots.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Phoenix's Joker is a white man who is a psychopath; who has confrontations, real or perceived, with people of color, authority or one percenters; and who becomes a figurehead for a movement of disaffected white supremacists. The joke of a Joker?
This wasn't funny and left a bitter aftertaste in my mouth. Or perhaps that was the point, as a reflection of the times.

As Travis stated, I think it's more of the "have nots" revolting against the "haves".

 

[JohnRice]

Here's Mark Kermode's review. FWIW, I think Kermode is, hands down, the best movie reviewer (maybe as opposed to "critic") I've ever seen. He is exceptional at unwinding what a movie is, rather than just reacting to it. He also very simply explains why the joker isn't funny. If I believe I simply don't understand a movie, he's the first person I look to.

 

[Colin Jacobson]

As Travis stated, I think it's more of the "have nots" revolting against the "haves".

Huh - coulda sworn I said that first!

 

[Colin Jacobson]

Yeah, it's an "eat the rich" movie (and forget the beginning of the decade because alot more of them are inevitably coming in the next couple years).

"Poor vs. rich" is obviously an ancient theme, so I didn't mean to imply that it was dated and stuck circa 2010 or so.

But that era put it to the fore more than what we see currently. "Dark Knight Rises" operated from some of those themes - though it seemed to side with the 1%!

There's so much other turmoil in the US - and the world - right now that "eat the rich" doesn't feel like as much of a hot button topic as it did when the Occupy deal was in the news...

 

[Detour (1945)]

I'm thinking it'll have a strong opening, then drop sharply next weekend once word of mouth circulates that this is a "gritty character study" rather than a comic book action movie. It's been popular at festivals and among critics, but I'm not sure this is a film for the mass audience used to Marvel and DC action films.

Well, that theory is out the window. JOKER easily won the box office in its second week of release, beating out two new, high profile films, including a Will Smith release.

The $55 million JOKER made this week will cover the production budget, so there's a lot of gravy coming its way.

 

[Colin Jacobson]

Well, that theory is out the window. JOKER easily won the box office in its second week of release, beating out two new, high profile films, including a Will Smith release.

The $55 million JOKER made this week will cover the production budget, so there's a lot of gravy coming its way.

"Joker" has already made more than $550m WW - 10 times its budget!

 

[Malcolm R]

Well, that theory is out the window. JOKER easily won the box office in its second week of release, beating out two new, high profile films, including a Will Smith release.

The $55 million JOKER made this week will cover the production budget, so there's a lot of gravy coming its way.

Yep, I'm rather amazed. I definitely didn't think this looked like the kind of movie that the masses would enjoy, based on the trailers and reviews.

 

[JimmyO]

It's great fun looking back into this thread and seeing what people predicted for the box office take.

 

[Bryan^H]

It's great fun looking back into this thread and seeing what people predicted for the box office take.

Yeah, I've never been more wrong about anything in my life. Hell, I was so sure this was going to flop at first I would have bet money on it.
That being said, No amount of hype, buzz, or critical praise about this could get me to watch it. It still looks terrible to me, and I still think it is a bad concept for a comic book movie. The only movie I want to see with the Joker Is one with Batman swooping in and kicking his ass.

 

[Colin Jacobson]

Yeah, I've never been more wrong about anything in my life. Hell, I was so sure this was going to flop at first I would have bet money on it.
That being said, No amount of hype, buzz, or critical praise about this could get me to watch it. It still looks terrible to me, and I still think it is a bad concept for a comic book movie. The only movie I want to see with the Joker Is one with Batman swooping in and kicking his ass.

Do you refuse to see the movie solely because it's Joker?

If this was exactly the same movie without a Batman connection, would you see it then?

 

[Bryan^H]

Do you refuse to see the movie solely because it's Joker?

If this was exactly the same movie without a Batman connection, would you see it then?

No, I like the Joker as a comic book villain not a character study. Same goes with other Batman Villains-Penguin, Two-Face, Catwoman Poison Ivy etc...
If Batman was tacked on to this movie, I probably would not see it.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

I was never a fan of the one-shot variant Joker stories that this was clearly in the mold of, so I’m not sure why I thought I’d like the movie any better than I did.

I think there are lots of ways to interpret and portray the Joker, but I tend to be drawn to characterizations that go light on explanation and history. I found the film to be reductive in many ways, that it made the character seem so much smaller and so much less frightening than I think he should be. I don’t think the Heath Ledger portrayal has to be the end-all, be-all, but I think Christopher Nolan was onto something with the idea that the character works best as something elemental, something that just exists in the world and can’t be explained away or easily quantified.

 

[Colin Jacobson]

No, I like the Joker as a comic book villain not a character study. Same goes with other Batman Villains-Penguin, Two-Face, Catwoman Poison Ivy etc...
If Batman was tacked on to this movie, I probably would not see it.

Didn't answer the question...

 

[Bryan^H]

Didn't answer the question...

A slow burn movie about a random psycho clown? No, I wouldn't go for that. Sounds like a bad horror movie.

 

[Colin Jacobson]

A slow burn movie about a random psycho clown? No, I wouldn't go for that. Sounds like a bad horror movie.

That's what you've gotten from the discussion?