The Joker broke real reality

[Makeshift Python]

He was a producer for it at one point probably because it lifted so much of his work, but his name is no longer credited, so I dunno what happened there.

I think it's cool that WB made a movie like this at all, but I wish it wasn't as dumb as rocks. Word I got at the advanced screening is that WB hopes to position the Robert Pattinson Batman film as a sequel to Joker by setting it in the 90s, as Joker took place in 1981.

In fact, the movie ends with yet ANOTHER scene with Bruce watching his parents get killed, which I've gotten so tired of seeing now because it's been done to death.

[BridgeConsoleMasher]

In fact, the movie ends with yet ANOTHER scene with Bruce watching his parents get killed, which I've gotten so tired of seeing now because it's been done to death.

Aw hell yeah.

[Jonathan101]

My parents saw it and my mother pointed out something I hadn't noticed- one of the songs they play (when he's dancing on the stairs in full Joker regalia) was a Gary Glitter song, and Gary Glitter is serving 75 years in a Vietnamese prison for sex offences against children (and he'll get royalties from this movie as a result); seems like someone really dropped the ball on that one.

As to the film itself...yeah, pretty lame and even sort of tame. The guy who made it set out to make a homage to Scorsese-Type films from the 70s but he also said he hated how popular modern comic book movies are because he thinks they are stupid, and this film exists to exploit the name recognition rather than any serious attempt to deconstruct the character. In fact he even expected that comic book fans are going to hate this movie (which doesn't seem to be happening; ironically the people it p*sses off the most are the more left-leaning critics who don't like the Joker character period).

Which is good, because it doesn't. Arthur Fleck is an interesting character study I guess, but he's definitely not the Joker by any stretch, much more of a follower swept up in events he just accidentally set off at best. He's got a totally different set of mental health issues than the Clown Prince of Crime does, although admittedly he's reasonably close to the Alan Moore version in some respects, and he doesn't seem like the sort of person who is going to graduate to "criminal mastermind" anytime soon.

I do kind of want Phoenix to get the Academy Award, but more for the novelty of the Joker being only the second character in history to win two Oscars (the other being Vito Corleone) and perhaps because his competition doesn't seem to be especially great so far, than because it was all that enthralling. He was good, but I've seen better, and the fact that he wasn't really The Joker but a random dude who is called The Joker so that the creator can sell tickets just rubs me the wrong way.

[ProfessorDetective]

In fact, the movie ends with yet ANOTHER scene with Bruce watching his parents get killed, which I've gotten so tired of seeing now because it's been done to death.

That was one thing I like about 'Beware the Batman' (alongside their spotlighting of some less-known Rouges) was how they did Crime Alley. Bruce ends up in a psychiatrist's office and she's got Rorschach tests framed on the wall. He stares at one and the classic overhead shot of him and his bleeding parent's flashes up, you hear them call out, then gunshots and then... the psychiatrist asks Bruce if he's okay, he comes back to reality, and the scene moves on. Fifteen-ish seconds then DONE.

That show deserved a fairer shake then it got.

[clearspira]

My parents saw it and my mother pointed out something I hadn't noticed- one of the songs they play (when he's dancing on the stairs in full Joker regalia) was a Gary Glitter song, and Gary Glitter is serving 75 years in a Vietnamese prison for sex offences against children (and he'll get royalties from this movie as a result); seems like someone really dropped the ball on that one.

It has taken Americans a long ass time to care about the fact that he liked to watch child porn and rape children and many still don't. ''How dare you say that!'' then why did it take so long for American sporting events to stop using Rock and Roll Part 2? And for all I know they still do. And oh, what a surprise, its the exact same song that they used in this film.

That's the interesting thing about murderers, rapists and paedophiles. Everyone hates them... until someone famous is convicted of being one. Then out come the excuses.
Apologist - ''But, but, but - it's not the song's fault guys. You've got to separate the man from the work.''
Someone else - ''You are directly giving him millions of dollars in revenue. Why are you happy with that?''
Apologist - ''But, but, but - I love this song...''

[AuRon]

There's not necessarily anything wrong with liking something made by an evil person. I've listened to Charles Manson songs before, despite the things he did. There are some people who read Mein Kampf simply out of curiosity, or to get a better understanding of Hitler. Of course, different people will draw the line in different places. Some people might be fine with hating someone and still enjoying their work, others aren't.

I for one would never watch the Cosby Show again. Not because it would give him money (not like he could do much with it in prison anyway) but because this is one case where I can't separate it. Maybe because Bill Cosby presented himself as being something very different from what he actually was, and that was supposed to be a wholesome family show. On the other hand, I could still listen to heavy metal made by extreme Norwegian bands, despite some of the things they've done.

[Yukaphile]

That's the scary part with most sex abusers. They seem fine on the outside. But you never know what dark secrets that somebody is hiding in their personal life. What our relatives are like, which is where this stuff comes from. And sociopaths can be quite charming...

[BridgeConsoleMasher]

Most people in America aren't really aware of who sings that song lol.

[Jonathan101]

The issue isn't simply enjoying it, it's that he's actually making money from it right now because the song was put in the film.

That and the fact that he's not played in the UK anymore and he's presumably obscure in the US, so it's pretty likely that whoever put that song in the film went out of their way to do so despite or even because of what he did.

[BridgeConsoleMasher]

Well when I pass I will go comfortably knowing that for at least a few moments, I did enjoy a well made scene with a nostalgic old song before I learned of all this stuff I'm supposed to consider for proper credit.