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What do you mean by given more, though? Like, more backstory, or something else?

I felt like if the plot was better his joker could have been deeper, acting was good though.



I felt like if the plot was better his joker could have been deeper, acting was good though.
Well, while I did have some issues with the plot of The Dark Knight, none of them really had anything to do with The Joker specifically; they're more to do with the overall structure and pacing (or lack of it), since the film sometimes rushes through certain moments by cutting away too quickly, and doesn't always give events room to properly breathe, along with having an overly compressed overall timeline, with too many events happening one on top of the other at times. Plus, the inclusion of a legally-dubious surveillance system felt like an unnecessary nod to the post-9/11 surveillance state (as if the movie needed any more echoes of that event), which mostly skirted the issue of the spotty "righteousness" of Batman's particular vigilantism, and continued the habit of the TDK trilogy for including poorly-integrated technological McGuffins into their storylines.


...but of course, none of that has anything to do with the film's portrayal of The Joker.





Well, while I did have some issues with the plot of The Dark Knight, none of them really had anything to do with The Joker specifically; they're more to do with the overall structure and pacing (or lack of it), since the film sometimes rushes through certain moments by cutting away too quickly, and doesn't always give events room to properly breathe, along with having an overly compressed overall timeline, with too many events happening one on top of the other at times. Plus, the inclusion of a legally-dubious surveillance system felt like an unnecessary nod to the post-9/11 surveillance state (as if the movie needed any more echoes of that event), which mostly skirted the issue of the spotty "righteousness" of Batman's particular vigilantism, and continued the habit of the TDK trilogy for including poorly-integrated technological McGuffins into their storylines.


...but of course, none of that has anything to do with the film's portrayal of The Joker.


I didnt pay much attention to the surveillance state nod i just thought it was ridiculous to use. I thought most of it was ridiculous.


Joker seems way to rag tag for me.. the technology batman had compared to what the joker was doing just seemed so unbalanced.



I forgot the opening line.

By Saul Bass - http://www.cinemasterpieces.com/92010/mcl51.jpg, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/inde...curid=25518696

The Man With the Golden Arm - (1955)

Frank Sinatra's Frankie Machine is called "the man with the golden arm" because of his poker dealing exploits, not because he shoots so much heroin into his arm people figure it's worth a fortune. That's one thing I learned from finally watching this. Cool music (daddy-o) and a pretty brave early effort about drug addiction. It's Frankie's friends and acquaintance's who continually drag him down into the dirt - no matter how hard he tries to get clean. Fine noirish drama - in the public domain, so you see it everywhere nowadays. Good performance from Sinatra. Opening credits tune was used for the end credits of Lipstick on Your Collar.

6.5/10


By The poster art can or could be obtained from Warner Bros.., Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4968431

The Color Purple - (1985)

This was kind of moving, and often brutal. These sagas that span many decades aren't usually my thing - but Whoopi Goldberg, who I haven't really liked in anything (okay - maybe Ghost), is incomparably brilliant getting to play the wonderful character of Celie Johnson. This was nominated for 11 Oscars but won none (that must be some kind of record) - and that says as more about this film than I can. Good enough to nominate - no doubt - and good enough to watch - for sure - but just short of brilliance. Should have won the Oscar for make-up though - this is the best ageing of actors I've ever seen. It really looks like they go from teens/20s to 60s and 70s. I enjoyed it heaps, but I can't see myself going back to it again, despite it moving me. It didn't have any 'magic' in it except for Goldberg's performance. The way she's treated by her father and husband Albert (Danny Glover) is so cruel and sickening it defies comprehension.

7.5/10


By POV - Impawards, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=18685756

The Secret of My Success - (1987)

It doesn't get more 80's than this - a middling vehicle for Michael J. Fox where he does a 'Kramer' and just adopts a job, so to speak. He also adopts his bosses wife into bed, and adopts his bosses mistress in the same manner. The sort of comedy where there's a mistaken identity and plenty of hijinks involving people jumping into bed with the wrong person, liberal use of the saxophone in the score and Michael's squeaky-voiced comic pratfalls. If not for his charisma, this would be a '2'.

5/10


By 20th Century Fox - Movieposter, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7630142

Young Guns - (1988)

The Western wasn't quite back in vogue yet when this was made, but it's cast made it a success. I find the plot just jumps around a bit too much as this ensemble cast is involved in gun battle after gun battle. Not up to the standard of Westerns that came in the era before it, and not up to that of the era of Westerns that came after and including Unforgiven. A lot of the time the characters seem just as confused as I was in what was going on and why - other than the fact that the reckless Billy the Kid keeps making matter worse for everyone by shooting first and never minding the complications. A lot of sly winks when he repeatedly crosses paths with Pat Garratt, who is played by John Wayne's son Patrick. A lot of quality in the form of Terence Stamp and Jack Palance is included to back up a bit of a swirling mess. Action-packed, but missing style and substance.

5/10
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I didnt pay much attention to the surveillance state nod i just thought it was ridiculous to use. I thought most of it was ridiculous.

Joker seems way to rag tag for me.. the technology batman had compared to what the joker was doing just seemed so unbalanced.
That's actually why I feel that they compliment each other so well as hero/villain foils in the movie; Batman (mostly) fights alone, but is more organized and has a significant advantage in technology (without which, it'd be impossible for him to win), while The Joker is much lower-tech (the shoe-knife is about as fancy as he gets), but he has the numbers behind him, and also has the advantage of being far more anarchic and unpredictable, which balances them out. They're like the yin to the others' yang, you know?



That's actually why I feel that they compliment each other so well as hero/villain foils in the movie; Batman (mostly) fights alone, but is more organized and has a significant advantage in technology (without which, it'd be impossible for him to win), while The Joker is much lower-tech (the shoe-knife is about as fancy as he gets), but he has the numbers behind him, and also has the advantage of being far more anarchic and unpredictable, which balances them out. They're like the yin to the others' yang, you know?

Gotcha i do agree, but i thought it didnt jive in this film.

Hows #1&3? I saw 1 in theaters but that was soooo long ago.



Gotcha i do agree, but i thought it didnt jive in this film.

Hows #1&3? I saw 1 in theaters but that was soooo long ago.
Well, I agree with you that the surveillance device wasn't well-used in the movie, but not because it was too high-tech, either for Batman on his own or in comparison to what The Joker had, but because it felt like it was put there to shoehorn in another post-9/11 reference, plus the fact that the film took a "the ends justifies the means, especially if you just step over the line once" viewpoint. Anyway, what do you mean by #'s 1 & 3? You mean Batman Begins & Dark Knight Rises?




The Tenant (1976, Roman Polanski)


All the ingredients of a psychological thriller are here - loss of identity, hallucinations, guilt, paranoia among others - and Polanski does a fine job tying them together into a gripping, atmospheric whole. I didn't like the second half quite as much as the first one (unlike Rosemary's Baby, for example, which blew me away with its final act) - I thought the shift from normality to utter madness was a bit too abrupt and what unfolded afterward too predictable - but that's a minor gripe. It's still a great film with excellent camerawork (Sven Nykvist, enough said), a young (and beautiful) Isabelle Adjani, and an incredibly fascinating plot that has a lot more going on than meets the eye at first glance.



Die Hard: With a Vengeance



Something about this one seems off, it's probably more entertaining than a chunk of 90's action movies but I can't help feel it should have been better especially with the two leads who are in top form. It feels like the plot is recycled from the first movie with a tiny few ripples added.



Yeah, but don't you think you could make that same basic point about L.A. Confidential as well? I mean, the
WARNING: spoilers below
"Nite Owl murders" were being pinned on a group of Black men who were innocent of that particular crime, only for it to be revealed that they were still guilty of a number of serious crimes otherwise, with their kidnapping/torture/sexual assault of the girl.


I mean, it's a great movie on the whole, but that plot point still kind of undermines the commentary on institutional racism in the LAPD it was trying to make by playing into stereotypes, if you ask me.
Maybe? But I think there are still differences in terms of goals, approach, and execution.

WARNING: spoilers below

After all, in L.A. Confidential, we know from the get-go that the black men are indeed criminals, which is precisely why they pinned the Nite Owl murders on them. The big "a-ha!" moment for Exley/White AND the audience comes when we all realize that despite being guilty of kidnap/rape, they are indeed innocent of the murders. So in this case, I think the commentary of institutional racism is not weakened. They were framed because of it.

However, in Touch of Evil, we're led to believe in Sanchez' innocence from the get-go. After all, he's apparently not a criminal, he's claiming innocence, and the evidence we discover along with Vargas (the empty dynamite box) leads us to believe him, and that Quinlan's motivations are corrupt and, like with the Black men in L.A. Confidential, probably racist (pinning a crime on a minority, which will probably make it more believable).

So when Quinlan's right-hand man brings back the dynamite, we're as surprised and suspicious as Vargas cause we all know that wasn't in the box. But the line in the end revealing that Sanchez had confessed feels more like a validation of Quinlan's racist instincts and even methods than anything else. Add to that, the fact that it's a throwaway line in the very ending of the film. It wasn't necessary cause at this point, the car bombing is more or less a Macguffin.


So, again, I think there's a considerable difference in terms of how both examples are played out.
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No, I've always been a bit put off by the fantasy looking element of it, though I should probably watch it. Good?
I think that the book is excellent and that the film is a really solid adaptation. It is intended for a YA audience, but I really loved it. It has things to say about the grieving process that are much deeper and more honest than what you usually get in media made for kids/teens. The book was actually written by a woman who was dying. She passed before finishing and the book was completed by Patrick Ness.






Simple plot, with an excellent performance from McAvoy.
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Simple plot, with an excellent performance from McAvoy.

I like McAvoy, but he can get carried away sometimes.



I forgot the opening line.

By The poster art can or could be obtained from Universal Pictures., Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3765839

Out of Africa - (1985)

Watching The Color Purple the other night got me going on Academy Award-nominated/winning films of the 1980s that I didn't see because I was a kid and more into Indiana Jones and stuff like that. This one has many great aspects to it, but some troublesome ones as well. The score from John Barry is terrific, and cinematographer David Watkin must have felt like a kid in a candy score with all the African views and splendour, not to mention animals and rides in biplanes. Robert Redford is great, as is Meryl Streep. It's a little slow though - it's near three-hour runtime a tough prospect. And then there's that thing. The "White savior" trope. Also, if you don't like lions and elephants being hunted you might want to skip it. I really don't understand the way a lot of the upper classes of the early 20th Century behave. Love or not - you have to get married. Urgently. And keep to your place. Even if that means you're miserable - though Redford's character is a good counterpoint to all of that.

7/10



Bright light. Bright light. Uh oh.

Your Day Is My Night (Lynne Sachs, 2013)
6/10
Bingo Hell (Gigi Saul Guerrero, 2021)
5/10
Blood Conscious (Timothy Covell, 2021)
5.5/10
This Is the Year (David Henrie, 2020)
+ 6/10

Vanessa Marano helps her high school best friend Gregg Sulkin win the girl of his dreams.
Malabimba (Andrea Bianchi, 1979)
5/10
Inside the Circle (Javier Colón Ríos, 2021)
- 5.5/10
Time Is Up (Elisa Amoruso, 2021)
5/10
Queenpins (Aron Gaudet & Gita Pullapilly, 2021)
+ 6/10

Kristen Bell and Kirby Howell-Baptiste are involved in a worldwide coupon scam, and cagey postal inspector Vince Vaughn and out-of-his-depth store employee Paul Walter Hauser track them down.
Hey, You! AKA Hé, te! (Péter Szoboszlay, 1976)
6.5/10
Catch the Bullet (Michael Feifer, 2021)
4+/10
The One You're With (C. Bailey Werner, 2021)
+ 6/10
The Auschwitz Report (Peter Bebjak, 2021)
6.5/10

In 1944, Noel Czuczor and Peter Ondrejicka escape from Auschwitz with a report about what's going on there which the world hasn't yet been told about.
Change of Life (Paulo Rocha, 1966)
5.5/10
Spoken (Tenill Ransom, 2021)
4/10
There's Someone Inside Your House (Patrick Brice, 2021)
5.5/10
The Night House (David Bruckner, 2020)
- 6.5/10

After her husband commits suicide, Rebecca Hall learns some strange things about him and feels a strong supernatural presence.
The Manor (Axelle Carolyn, 2021)
6/10
Haunted Honeymoon (Arthur B. Woods, 1940)
6/10
Madres (Ryan Zaragoza, 2021)
6/10
In a Lonely Place (Nicholas Ray, 1950)
7+/10

Psychotic, violent screenwriter Humphrey Bogart has a tempestuous relationship with actress Gloria Grahame surrounding a murder.
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'Blue Bayou' (2021)


I'm a huge fan of Justin Chon's previous work, especially Ms Purple which is highly underrated. Blue Bayou starts off well and again focuses on the issues of minority figures in the USA. Chon plays Antonio, an about to be father married to a US woman (brilliantly played by Alicia Vikkander who is as good as she has ever been). Chon himself is fine and the scenes he has with his family are very moving and well performed.

Struggles occur when Antonio has a brush with the law. It's an emotional ride that ebbs and flows and takes us on a journey with Antonio and his family. The trouble is, it's a bit too emotional. There are segments that are just too forced and seem to be placed in the film to try and ramp up the emotions too readily. The two cop characters are like caricatures from other more off the wall films. The ending is way too melodramatic and overwrought. It could have helped with a little more subtlety in the script. There is also a heist / chase / action type sequence that just felt completely out of place in what is at it's core a family drama.

There is however a great subplot involving another Asian family that delicately assesses the experience of being a minority family (even though it has a little too close to the DNA of 'Minari' at times).

Chon's talent does shine through and he is a tiny rung on the ladder below great independent filmmakers like Sean Baker and Eliza Hittman (this film also has one of the most stunningly gorgeous opening shots I've seen in a long time). But this one just fell short of being a really great film because of the excessive and unwarranted melodrama.