The Lighthouse
Starring: Willem Dafoe and Robert
Pattinson
Rated R
Two lighthouse
keepers try to maintain their sanity while living on a remote island
off the coast of New England in the 1890's.
Although both
Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson give terrific performances, “The
Lighthouse” ends up being a predictable and confusing mess. The
film dabbles in the supernatural, but not enough to make this a true
horror film.
What the audience is left with is a nearly 2 hour actor's scene study shot in black and white.
In the end “The Lighthouse” is only a misfire masquerading as a thriller.
It gets a D and is rated R.
What the audience is left with is a nearly 2 hour actor's scene study shot in black and white.
In the end “The Lighthouse” is only a misfire masquerading as a thriller.
It gets a D and is rated R.
Joker
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix and Robert
De Niro
Rated R
In the film a man slowly and
methodically descends into psychopathic and sociopathic madness as he
is discarded and displaced by society.
Joaquin Phoenix is phenomenal in the
role of Arthur Fleck, who is unwinding before our eyes. Phoenix
delivers a complicated character who painfully submits to his brutal
surroundings and the treatment he receives at the hands of his
tormentors, all the while building up to a crescendo of violence.
But “Joker” is also problematic in its pacing and developing the universe in which this villain is forged. And its an uncomfortable problem because it desperately tries to mirror our reality and point fingers at modern society's flaws.
Yes, the film is violent. But we have had many violent films in the past. “Joker” is not any more or less violent than John Wick, Inglorious Bastards, Rambo, Natural Born Killers and Kill Bill to name a few. What “Joker” does offer... is along with the violence, there is a serving of fear that it could happen and is happening here.
“Joker,” is a just a character study. It is not a superhero film. It is an intense cautionary tale which grabs on and doesn't loosen its grip.
But “Joker” is also problematic in its pacing and developing the universe in which this villain is forged. And its an uncomfortable problem because it desperately tries to mirror our reality and point fingers at modern society's flaws.
Yes, the film is violent. But we have had many violent films in the past. “Joker” is not any more or less violent than John Wick, Inglorious Bastards, Rambo, Natural Born Killers and Kill Bill to name a few. What “Joker” does offer... is along with the violence, there is a serving of fear that it could happen and is happening here.
“Joker,” is a just a character study. It is not a superhero film. It is an intense cautionary tale which grabs on and doesn't loosen its grip.
Because of Joaquin Phoenix's brilliant
performance, Phoenix received the Golden Globe for best actor and
will certainly get an Oscar nod.
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