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Jokes On You: A Review into DC’s The Joker

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By Calgary Maez

Since the summer blockbuster movies have now come to a close, films during the fall and winter months start to spread thin, leaving room for some Oscar-worthy films. Joker, directed by Todd Philips and starring Joaquin Phoenix as the clown-prince-of-crime, has entered the atmosphere as one of the most uncomfortable, well-shot masterpieces to hit the silver screen.

The film centers around Arthur Fleck; a starting up comedian that tries to find some sort of happiness in the dark, crime-ridden, decaying city that is Gotham. Even though it is a comic book origin film of one of the most popular DC villains, the film absolutely does not feel like one. 

Joaquin Phoenix has put his own unique twist on the famed villain and gives one of the best performances of his entire career. Todd Philips decided to go in a direction that is more of a case study of the character and shows his slow decent into madness. 

The film is definitely a slow burn. It’s not your typical action-packed, fast-paced action flick. The film wants you to take a journey through Arthur Fleck’s deranged mind and the pay-off towards the end is worth the journey. 

The cinematography of the film stands out spectacularly and is great with visual storytelling. It is also part of the reason why the film can also make you feel uncomfortable because it’s not afraid to shy away from those graphic images. 

Even though the film may be uncomfortable to watch, it leaves you with more burning questions after you walk out of the theater. You become engrossed with the realities that Arthur faces and are left questioning certain scenarios of the film. The incredible writing of the film keeps you on your toes and always guessing Arthur’s next move. 

Joker is a tremendous masterpiece in the art of filmmaking. Joaquin Phoenix delivers an outstanding performance and is one of the best Jokers to ever hit the big screen. The overall writing, directing, cinematography, and score leaves you feeling uncomfortable, yet hungry for more as you take a deep, psychological dive into the mind of Arthur Fleck who is born into Joker. 

Photo Courtesy of Indiewire.com

It Chapter Two Terrifies Audiences A Second Time

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By Calgary Maez

As if it wasn’t terrifying enough to watch a killer clown terrorize a group of kids in a small town, you can now watch them be terrorized as adults and deal with that trauma all over again. “IT Chapter Two” is the climactic film to Stephen King’s novel “IT” and pits the Loser’s club against Pennywise. 

The one challenge that presented itself was to find actors that could successfully portray the kids as adults. This is the films strongest piece because not only do the adults act exactly like their younger counterparts, but some even look like them! It’s impressive how well the actors perform in their roles, especially Bill Hader. The only one that felt slightly off was Jessica Chastain as Beverly Marsh. It’s not that she does a bad job — she is a phenomenal actress — but refer back to the first installment, Bev was a carefree, rebellious girl, which wasn’t translated to her adult character. This is especially true when you see the kids in certain flashback scenes. 

If you loved the first film, you’ll likely leave the theater satisfied once again. 

What makes “IT Chapter Two” unique as a horror film is the comedic relief that is sprinkled among the horror and scares. There are several hilarious moments throughout the film that were done very well. Even though it’s meant to be a horror film, the comedy lets you connect with the characters more and makes you root for them. 

It’s a breath of fresh air for the horror genre because the film doesn’t rely on the cliché horror tropes that are present in most blockbuster films. But when those horrific scenes play, they leave you on the edge of your seat. The film does a better job with its horror elements than the first film and makes you fear Pennywise even more. 

Without getting too much into spoiler territory, there are some decisions made by the filmmakers that didn’t work in the film. There were a couple of twists that didn’t pay off well, and even some that probably would have been best left out. While there are some minor gripes about the film, it makes you scratch your head a bit when really thinking about it and trying to make sense of it. Not only that, but the film feels too long with the run time coming in at 2 hours and 50 minutes. The first installment is one of those films where you can just pop it in and enjoy, but this one feels like you have to set some time aside and really be in the mood to watch. 

Overall, “It Chapter Two” is a solid sequel and good conclusion to the franchise. The film has amazing acting performances, hilarious comedic and horrific scenes, good visual effects and an overall decent conclusion. Some of the lackluster twists and the long run time holds the film back a bit, but if you were to watch both the first film and this one back to back, it would be a solid story to experience. 

Poster Courtesy of @ItChapterT_wo

Toy Story 4 a New Beginning for a New Generation

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By Calgary Maez

One of the most beloved Pixar franchises has returned this summer to bring a new adventure for the beloved band of toys. However, the ending of Toy Story 3 raises the question: Was a sequel really necessary?

In many ways, Toy Story 4 feels like a new beginning in the franchise. In the newest installment, Bonnie, the child from the third movie, has the toys she received from Andy, but ultimately she cares the most for the toy she made in school, named Forky. Woody sets out to protect the plastic cutlery so that he can continue to serve his purpose to make Bonnie happy. And that’s really what Toy Story 4 focuses: What is one’s purpose throughout life?

Characters, new and old, come together with empowering, positive messages for children, resonating with parents who grew up watching the original Toy Story.

Pixar is one of the best innovators when it comes to animation. The fabric on the toys have immaculate attention to detail, and there are scenes that look as if they were shot with real cameras and animation added in later. We’ve come a long way with technology and Toy Story 4 is a great achievement in the animated film genre.

However, the film doesn’t really stand out much as a Toy Story film. Yes, the original characters are there and Woody is the obvious star of the film, but they ultimately get left on the back burner with their screen time extremely limited. It was disappointing to see Buzz Lightyear getting that same treatment when him and Woody were such an iconic duo. In previous films, the original toys had a larger role to play by adding more to the story. 
The messages and overall plot of Toy Story 4 is great for all families to enjoy. The incredible animation is stunning to look at and the voice acting is spectacular. It would have been nice to see the original toys get more screen time, or even a scene like the first three films where they were getting played with like an over-the-top action movie. While it is a good Toy Story movie, it’s not particularly the most stand out film in the franchise as it feels a little more separated from the rest.

Poster Courtesy of movieweb.com


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