One of the most enticing elements of Joker: Folie à Deux in the lead-up to its release was the promise of another version of Harley Quinn making the leap to live-action. This time, she would be embodied by singer Lady Gaga, which seemed to fit because the film would include several musical scenes....
Read MoreJoker: Folie à Deux has only been out one weekend, but it’s effectively come and gone. Well, at the box office, anyway; with a disappointing opening, a huge $200 million budget (which I can only assume mostly went to the inflated paychecks Todd Phillips and Joaquin Phoenix likely demanded after�...
Read MoreJoker: Folie à Deux is a lot of things – a psychological drama, a legal thriller, a musical, a love story, an extension of its predecessor’s indictment of society, a comic book movie – but above all, it’s endlessly fascinating, and like Joker, it keeps you wondering what will happen next....
Read MoreWith its second episode, “Inside Man,” The Penguin hits its stride, mounting the tension as the subterfuge within the Falcone family begins. Mercifully, Colin Farrell tones down his caricaturish performance, mostly playing Oz straight, and the result is a much more immersive crime story. That b...
Read MoreThe Penguin, the HBO miniseries extension of Matt Reeves’ The Batman, is garnering a similar reaction to the film that spawned it. It’s getting near-universal acclaim, as “grounded” superhero fare always does, but is it really that good? Based on the premiere episode, “After Hours,” I do...
Read MoreLike most people, I find M. Night Shyamalan to be hit or miss. But honestly, that’s most directors, and I think he’s only singled out because his first big movie was so popular. Anyway, I wanted to see Trap because I’m interested in themes Shyamalan tends to revisit – psychology, mysticism, ...
Read More