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johanlefourbe added 1 item to A Complete Review of Todd Phillips's work list
Cast : Joaquin Phoenix, Brendan Gleeson, Catherine Keener, Steve Coogan, Zazie Beetz
What was it about?
Struggling with his dual identity, failed comedian Arthur Fleck meets the love of his life, Harley Quinn, while incarcerated at Arkham State Hospital.
My two cents:
Maybe due to the fact that I seriously lowered down my expectations but I don't think it was so bad after all. The fact that 'Joker' didn't really blow me away in the first place also probably helped. Anyway, it turned out to be a sweet love story involving two really messed-up up individuals and I really enjoyed that Arthur Fleck finally managed to connect with someone which was actually really sweet. Furthermore, Joaquin Phoenix was again really good, I wouldn't expect less from him, Lady Gaga also delivered a solid performance and they had a nice chemistry together. However, I have to admit that the damned thing still had some issues though. First of all, the musical angle was just a rather useless gimmick to add some buzz and, this way, since they hired Lady Gaga, they had seemingly a good excuse to have her delivering some songs. Furthermore, it was fine to have Joaquin Phoenix destroying a song but to have him doing it again and again was more cringe-inducing than actually entertaining. However, what really derailed the whole thing was the approach they took for the 3rd act though. Indeed, sure, Arthur Fleck had pushed back his Joker personality and you had to wait for a while to see him again but it was fair game. However, when this demented personality was finally back, they should have gone all the way. Indeed, when he escaped, the city should have gone in flame and total mayhem and they should have given us the Joker and Harley Quinn holding hands and riding into the sunset, that would have been a nice ending. However, instead, they completely backtracked, Arthur somehow cancelled and even repudiated the Joker which was weird but, above all, seriously anticlimactic and, quite frankly, rather frustrating. Anyway, the enormous bashing against this movie turned out to be seriously exaggerated, in spite of its flaws, it was actually a decent watch.
My rating: 06/10
Check the full review5 months, 3 weeks ago
johanlefourbe posted a review of Joker: Folie à Deux
“Even though this movie turned out to be a huge critical and commercial misfire, since I'm a huge fan of Joaquin Phoenix, I thought I might as well check it out anyway. Well, maybe due to the fact that I seriously lowered down my expectations but I don't think it was so bad after all. The fact that '” read more
5 months, 3 weeks ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies Chosen By Johanlefourbe list
Notes: It was apparently a big success when it was released and it’s because it was so successful that Dreyer would manage to make later on ‘La passion de Jeanne d'Arc’, obviously his magnum opus. Unfortunately, to be honest, I actually had a hard time to really care about the damned thing though. The fact that it took me 3 attempts to watch it until the end maybe didn’t help but, with each session, it never really interested me. Sure, it was technically well made, especially for a movie made 100 years ago, and it was a nice time-capsule showing how people lived back then in Denmark. However, I never really cared for any of the characters involved and what they were going through. I mean, the way Viktor treated his wife but also the rest of his family was of course rather deplorable but you might wonder if it was really uncommon back then (even nowadays some guys are pretty nasty with their partners). As a result, you might wonder how the audience back then thought about a movie about a man showing typical dominant, or even tyrannical, being actually corrected by the women around him. Still, this setup never really intrigued me though and, to make things worse, the way they completely infantilized Viktor to make him change his ways was, in my opinion, rather pathetic. Seriously, they even brought his childhood’s nanny who treated him again as if he was 12 years old.5 months, 3 weeks ago
johanlefourbe posted a review of Master of the House
“I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but, since it was directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer and since it was available on YouTube, I thought I might as well check it out. It was apparently a big success when it was released and it’s because it was so successful that Dreyer would manage” read more
5 months, 3 weeks ago
johanlefourbe posted a review of Flatliners
“To be honest, I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but, since there was a decent cast involved and since it was available on Netflix, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, the most annoying thing about this movie is the way it displayed how the film industry (at least, in th” read more
5 months, 3 weeks ago
johanlefourbe posted a review of Dying
“As usual with my film club, I went to see this movie with basically no knowledge about the damned thing at all. Since my uncle chose this movie, I should have known though… I mean, he is a really sweet guy and I love him but he very often picks up some seriously heavy features and this movie was n” read more
6 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies ... my own version (2020's) list
Notes: Since my uncle chose this movie, I should have known … I mean, my uncle is a really sweet guy and I love him but he very often picks up some seriously heavy features and this movie was not an exception, I’m afraid. Sure, it was a black comedy but it’s not really my kind of humor and most of it was not funny at all. The first part focusing on the parents displayed, in my opinion, how painful, ugly and lonesome getting old and dying is for actually most people. The second part focusing on the son was even worse as it was basically a reminder of my own relationship with my parents. But, at least, Tom’s life seemed to be more complex, more diverse and, in his super chaotic messed up life, there was still some good stuff. He was definitely the most developed character here. However, for some reason, the 3rd part focusing on the daughter was even harder to handle though. I don’t know, maybe it was because I had already spent 2 hrs dealing with this massively dysfunctional family at that point but, to see this lost woman indulging in such destructive alcoholic behavior, something I took so much distance from myself, was for some reason almost unbearable to watch for me. And, yet, I have to admit it, the damned thing was sometimes actually really funny though. I also enjoyed the raw and sober approach without much music underlining the various emotions. Basically, it was all up to the cast and they all delivered some really solid performances. To be honest, this movie crushed me so much, I can’t say I really enjoyed it but it was definitely an emotional experience to see it.6 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies Chosen By Johanlefourbe list
Notes: Since my uncle chose this movie, I should have known … I mean, my uncle is a really sweet guy and I love him but he very often picks up some seriously heavy features and this movie was not an exception, I’m afraid. Sure, it was a black comedy but it’s not really my kind of humor and most of it was not funny at all. The first part focusing on the parents displayed, in my opinion, how painful, ugly and lonesome getting old and dying is for actually most people. The second part focusing on the son was even worse as it was basically a reminder of my own relationship with my parents. But, at least, Tom’s life seemed to be more complex, more diverse and, in his super chaotic messed up life, there was still some good stuff. He was definitely the most developed character here. However, for some reason, the 3rd part focusing on the daughter was even harder to handle though. I don’t know, maybe it was because I had already spent 2 hrs dealing with this massively dysfunctional family at that point but, to see this lost woman indulging in such destructive alcoholic behavior, something I took so much distance from myself, was for some reason almost unbearable to watch for me. And, yet, I have to admit it, the damned thing was sometimes actually really funny though. I also enjoyed the raw and sober approach without much music underlining the various emotions. Basically, it was all up to the cast and they all delivered some really solid performances. To be honest, this movie crushed me so much, I can’t say I really enjoyed it but it was definitely an emotional experience to see it.6 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to Top 10 best movies 2024 list
Notes: Since my uncle chose this movie, I should have known … I mean, my uncle is a really sweet guy and I love him but he very often picks up some seriously heavy features and this movie was not an exception, I’m afraid. Sure, it was a black comedy but it’s not really my kind of humor and most of it was not funny at all. The first part focusing on the parents displayed, in my opinion, how painful, ugly and lonesome getting old and dying is for actually most people. The second part focusing on the son was even worse as it was basically a reminder of my own relationship with my parents. But, at least, Tom’s life seemed to be more complex, more diverse and, in his super chaotic messed up life, there was still some good stuff. He was definitely the most developed character here. However, for some reason, the 3rd part focusing on the daughter was even harder to handle though. I don’t know, maybe it was because I had already spent 2 hrs dealing with this massively dysfunctional family at that point but, to see this lost woman indulging in such destructive alcoholic behavior, something I took so much distance from myself, was for some reason almost unbearable to watch for me. And, yet, I have to admit it, the damned thing was sometimes actually really funny though. I also enjoyed the raw and sober approach without much music underlining the various emotions. Basically, it was all up to the cast and they all delivered some really solid performances. To be honest, this movie crushed me so much, I can’t say I really enjoyed it but it was definitely an emotional experience to see it.6 months ago
johanlefourbe posted a review of Let Them All Talk
“I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but, since it was directed by Steven Soderbergh and since it was available on HBO Max, I was quite eager to check it out. Well, unfortunately, as usual with this director, sure, there were a couple of decent ideas but, to be honest, the end-res” read more
6 months ago