![The Gnome-Mobile (1967)](/uploads/profile_image/d6c/e018468e-94cc-42a4-99df-85f7b15eed6c.jpg?m=1522336819)
The Gnome-Mobile (1967)
Movie
While driving through the forest with his grandchildren, Elizabeth (Karen Dotrice) and Rodney...
![El Dorado (1967)](/uploads/profile_image/919/87b2199c-ed22-4cfb-9ec3-9de95f832919.jpg?m=1557174249)
El Dorado (1967)
Movie Watch
Heartless tycoon Bart Jason (Edward Asner) hires a group of thugs to force the MacDonald family out...
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Sister Carrie
Theodore Dreiser and Donald Pizer
Book
The novel is followed by "A Note on the Text," which discusses the relationship between this...
![Levels of the Game](/uploads/profile_image/26e/89ca1d3e-09e2-49fd-95c3-1f143ea3726e.jpg?m=1522353566)
Levels of the Game
John McPhee and William Fiennes
Book
Described by Robert Lipsyte as 'the high point of American sports journalism', John McPhee's Levels...
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Barry Newman (204 KP) rated Joker (2019) in Movies
Jan 31, 2020
![The Moons at Your Door](/uploads/profile_image/e23/c8d67f88-29a4-4622-bcf6-dec636e82e23.jpg?m=1522362333)
The Moons at Your Door
David Tibet and Mark Pilkington
Book
An anthology of strange fiction and hallucinatory tales, The Moons At Your Door collects chilling...
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JT (287 KP) rated Joker (2019) in Movies
Mar 10, 2020
Arthur Fleck is a clown for hire. Scraping to make ends meet while looking after his ailing mother (Frances Conroy) he has ambitions of making it as a stand-up comedian. Sadly his narcissistic personality and uncontrollable fits of laughter (through no fault of his own) make him a target for society. Gotham City is an unforgiving place and for Arthur, it is a constant struggle of acceptance. He’s belittled and beaten down at every turn and he’s not strong enough to fight back. The bruises on his skeletal frame are a testament to this. He’s an awkward character not least because his quiet personality simmers beneath someone ready to explode – and explode he does.
A comic book adaptation like no other it’s thought-provoking and difficult to watch
But Arthur is sick. That much is clear. Society no longer wants to help. As a result, his social worker explains that the city has cut all funding and the facility and access to his medication he relies on will stop – “All I have are negative thoughts,” he says. When the brutality takes a serious turn he unwittingly becomes a figurehead for Gotham’s society. The clown is a symbol of defiance. Fighting against the rich, of all people Thomas Wayne, who is running for Mayor. Wayne becomes wrapped up in a storyline that brings Arthur together with a familiar young face.
The strong comparisons to Taxi Driver are unavoidable, but there is a definite Scorsese feel to the film. The casting of Robert De Niro as talk show host Murray Franklin is almost a direct nod to King of Comedy in which De Niro stalks and kidnaps his idol to take the spotlight for himself. Here it’s Arthur who lovingly worships Murray. The build up to the clown prince of crime is worth the wait as the transformation builds up to a frenetic and gruesome final act.
One of the biggest takeaways from Joker is its focus on mental illness. Arthur’s battered notebook is not only a journal for his jokes but for his dark thoughts. This is a topic that will hit close to home for many people who might experience similar, with an outward animosity to society.
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Stone Mattress: Nine Tales
Book
A recently widowed fantasy writer is guided through a stormy winter evening by the voice of her late...
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James Franco recommended Gimme Shelter (1970) in Movies (curated)
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David McK (3245 KP) rated Sherlock Holmes (2009) in Movies
Nov 1, 2020 (Updated Jan 13, 2024)
Unlike the more-contemporary set TV 'Sherlock', this is still set in Victorian times although, I have to say, that I never really took to the portrayal of Holmes in this film at all. It's also a completely-new (to the best of my knowledge) mystery for him to solve; not based on any of the Conan Doyle stories. That's both a good thing and a bad thing: it does mean that it's 'fresh' (unlike, say, another retelling of 'The Hounds of the Baskervilles'), but - I have to say - it also lacks the fun, the sense of mystery, the sheer enthrallment of the Conan Doyle stories.