Movie Review Joker Folie a Deux

Joker Folie a Deux 

Directed by Todd Phillips

Written by Todd Phillips 

Starring Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Catherine Keener 

Release Date October 4th, 1980

Published October 4th, 1980 

I was not a fan of 2019’s Joker. I felt the film was nihilistic and wallowed in the misery of the main character while trying to provoke audiences in the same way edgy teens provoke their elders on social media. The film proceeds with a presumed cool that never emerges in the actual film, as if Todd Phillips were assuming we were all in agreement with his vision of this D.C Comics super-villain as an aggrieved incel out for revenge against a world that rejected him: i.e Elliott Rogers mythologized as a legendary troll. The film was like a bad subreddit come to life. 

Now, however, after getting a look at Todd Phillips complete vision of the character of Arthur Fleck in Joker Folie a Deux, I have to admit, I was wrong about Joker. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think Joker is good on its own, it’s plagued by Phillips' desperate desire for us to feel as disillusioned and disconnected from reality as Arthur is. Phillips’ mix of Arthur’s reality and his fantasy is muddled in a fashion that is more confounding than it is revealing of Arthur’s character. But, now, with Joker Folie a Deux, I’m convinced that Todd Phillips has pulled off an elaborate prank that I find genuinely funny, even as I am very much among those who fell for it.

Find my full length review at Geeks.Media, linked here. 

Movie Review Saturday Night

Saturday Night 

Directed by Jason Reitman

Written by Gil Kenan and Jason Reitman

Starring Gabriel LaBelle, Rachel Sennott, Cory Michael Smith, and Lamorne Morris

Release Date October 11th, 1980

Published October 11th, 2024

Do not approach Jason Reitman’s new movie Saturday Night as if it is a documentary style recreation of the actual events in the final 90 minutes before the first episode of Saturday Night Live, then known as NBC’s Saturday Night, went on the air. The film likely will not withstand the scrutiny of historians or those who demand complete verisimilitude. Rather, the correct approach to Saturday Night is as a collective pop culture memory of what that night was like at 30 Rockefeller Center. 

Saturday Night Live, especially the first through fifth season, have been rhapsodized and mythologized for 5 decades and those myths have coalesced into that classic movie born aphorism from The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, “When the Legend becomes fact, print the legend.” Indeed, the first night of Saturday Night Live is legendary and the memories of that night have become myths that have been filtered through hazy memories into what is now Jason Reitman’s Saturday Night, a flawed but completely fun and watchable take on how we like to think that first episode came to be.

Find my full length review at Geeks.Media, linked here. 

Movie Review Terrifier 3

Terrifier 3 

Directed by Damien Leone 

Written by Damien Leone 

Starring Lauren Lavera, David Howard Thornton, Samantha Scaffidi 

Release Date October 11th, 2024 

Published October 15th, 2024 

The tricky balancing act between cult phenomenon and mainstream, money-making, success has caught up with the Terrifier franchise in Terrifier 3. Not that Terrifier 3 has gone mainstream, per se, but rather that the culture has caught up to Terrifier and creator Damien Leone is apparently eager to get some of that mainstream money by finding ways to extend the Art the Clown I.P. In the case of Terrifier 3 this means creating a lore that can sustain the franchise beyond the appeal of the extreme, graphic, and gory violence that made the budding franchise a cult favorite. This introduction of lore may be appealing for some but I found it tedious and not particularly compelling compared to the dark humor and over the top viscera that made Terrifier 2 a decent surprise. 

Terrifier 3 picks up the story of Art the Clown (the wildly expressive face of David Howard Thornton) and his partner in crime, Valerie (Samantha Scaffidi), hooking back up and heading home for a bit of rest, but not before they murder members of a hospital staff, including beloved professional wrestling star, Chris Jericho, reprising his cameo from Terrifier 2. Why Art and Valerie decide to sleep for five years is never explained but it doesn’t really matter either, the lengthy slumber is, perhaps, intended to give Sienna (Lauren Lavera), and her brother, Jonathan (Elliott Fulham), the chance to recover and cover for them having aged up a little from Terrifier 2.

Find my full length review at Horror.Media, linked here. 

Movie Review Smile 2

Smile 2 

Directed by Parker Finn

Written by Parker Finn 

Starring Naomi Scott, Rosemarie Dewitt, Kyle Gallner, Lukas Gage

Release Date October 18th, 2024

Published October 18th, 2024 

Smile 2 stars Naomie Scott as troubled pop star Skye Riley. Fresh out of rehab, and one year removed from a car accident that killed her movie star boyfriend, Paul (Ray Nicholson), Skye is re-entering public life and launching a new tour and record. It’s not an easy time, Skye is still struggling with back pain from the accident while also undergoing grueling hours of choreography for the tour. With that in mind, she’s secretly been visiting a former High School friend turned high end drug dealer, Lewis (Lukas Gage). Lewis is hooking her up with Vicodin to help her work through her pain. 

In need of a new supply, Skye arranges to go to Lewis’ apartment but what she finds there is a completely unhinged Lewis who is seeing something that only he can see. Sweating, screaming, and panicking, Lewis goes on to kill himself right in front of Skye by smashing his own face in with a barbell weight. It’s shocking and graphic, and worse yet for Skye, it’s the result of a curse that was passed to Lewis and is now passed to Skye. This curse causes the subject to slowly unravel mentally until they too end up killing themselves and passing the curse to someone who witnesses their death.

Find my full length review at Horror.Media, linked here. 

Movie Review Venom The Last Dance

Venom The Last Dance 

Directed by Kelly Marcel 

Written by Kelly Marcel 

Starring Tom Hardy, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Juno Temple, Rhys Ifans, Stephen Graham

Release Date October 25th, 1980

Published October 25th, 1980 

Venom The Last Dance stars Tom Hardy as Eddie Brock and Venom, the symbiote alien living inside Eddie’s human form. In their third, and supposedly final adventure, Eddie and Venom are hiding out in Mexico but are eager to return to America. They make a plan to head for New York City, Venom wants to see the Statue of Liberty, but, when a monster from Venom’s home planet attacks them while riding on the outside of a plane, they find themselves dropped in the desert and on the run, not just from this new alien threat but also from the U.S government in the form of General Strickland, played by Chiwetel Ejiofor. 

The plot concerns a villain named Knull (Andy Serkis) who was captured by Venom and his fellow symbiotes and trapped in a void somewhere in space. Knull has found a way to escape that involves a thing called a Codex which was created when Eddie Brock died and Venom bonded fully with Eddie’s body to save him. The Codex somehow will allow Knull to escape from the prison created by the symbiotes and since Knull has used his time in this void to create these new alien monsters, he now has the means to get his hands on the Codex.

Find my full length review at Geeks.Media, linked here. 

Movie Review Conclave

Conclave 

Directed by Edward Berger 

Written by Peter Straughan 

Starring Ralph Fiennes, John Lithgow, Stanley Tucci 

Release Date October 25th, 2024

Published October 28th, 2024

I am divided over the new movie Conclave. On one hand, I admire the boldness of its drama and the exceptional acting. On the other hand, the ending feels forced. The ending of Conclave feels like it came out of left field. As much as there are some seeds planted here and there, and while I can see the real life parallels the director Edward Berger and writer Peter Straughan are striving for, I can’t escape the feeling that the ending is so shocking and such an outlandish twist that it undermines the recognizable drama of the rest of the movie. 

Conclave begins with the death of a Pope. We never meet this Pope, he’s dead just as the story begins. Our gateway to the story is The Dean of the College of Cardinals, Cardinal Lawrence, played by Ralph Fiennes. The Dean of the College of Cardinals is the man tasked with overseeing the choice of the next Pope. It’s a job that Cardinal Lawrence does not want and tried to relinquish only for the Pope to refuse his resignation. For whatever reason, the late Pope wanted Lawrence in this position.

Find my full length review at Geeks.Media, linked here. 

Movie Review Here

Here

Directed by Robert Zemeckis

Written by Eric Roth

Starring Tom Hanks, Robin Wright, Paul Bettany, Kelly Reilly

Release Date November 1st, 2024 

Published November 2nd, 2024 

This stinks. There’s just no other way to say it. Here stinks. This bizarre failed experiment from bored director Robert Zemeckis is downright embarrassing in execution. The concept is that the whole movie unfolds in a single, stationary shot set in the corner of an all American baby boomer living room. Well, it’s also the corner of a forest, the driveway of Ben Franklin’s son’s home, and the place where the Lazy Boy was invented… for some reason. Randomness is one of a myriad of problems with Here. 

Here stars Tom Hanks as Richard, leading an ensemble as the son of Paul Bettany's Al, a World War 2 vet who returns home and, with his wife, Rose, played by Kelly Reilly, buys a suburban tract home with his G.I Bill and settles in to raise a family. While Dad grows miserable and drunk, working as a salesman of unknown products, Mom raises their three kids, two sons and a daughter. The youngest son and daughter are not part of the story and get little to no characterization. Why are they here? Who knows.

Find my full length review at Geeks.Media, linked here. 

Movie Review The Outrun

The Outrun 

Director Nora Fingscheidt 

Written by Nora Fingscheidt, Amy Liptrot 

Starring Saorise Ronan 

Release Date October 24th, 2024 

Published November 7th, 1980 

The Outrun stars Saorise Ronan as Rona, an alcoholic who has returned home to a small Scottish island following a stint in an intensive rehab facility. Back home for the first time in years she’s confronted with her past, specifically her father, Andrew, played by Stephen Dillane, who’s Bi-Polar Disorder was a huge part of Rona’s childhood. And then there is Rona’s mother, Annie (Saskia Reeves), who turned to religion after leaving Rona’s father. Rona appears to place as much blame on Annie for her difficult childhood as she does her father and his illness. 

Thematically, Rona’s strained relationship with her mother, and the loving relationship she has with her father, plays as an almost one to one comparison to Rona’s own issues in her relationship with Daynin (Paapa Essiedu), the boyfriend she had while living in London and relying on alcohol to keep her insecurities at bay. The way Rona’s alcoholism mirrors her father’s behavior due to his mental illness and how these behaviors affected their respective partners is an effective piece of dramatic mirroring.

Find my full length review at Geeks.Media, linked here. 

Movie Review Anora

Anora 

Directed by Sean Baker

Written by Sean Baker

Starring Mikey Madison

Release Date October 8th, 2024 

Published October 8th, 2024 

Watching Mikey Madison embody the character, Ani, a.k.a, Anora, is an electrifying experience. From the first moment you see Ani, you’re captivated by her. That’s easy for a straight white guy to say about a woman who is playing a stripper and is nude as the opening credits are still rolling, but I assure you, dear reader, this is more than mere prurient interest. Mikey Madison’s magnetism and vibrant life emanates from her entire presence and that becomes clear as this strange story unfolds. 

Ani is a stripper and sex worker who meets a young, naive Russian nepo-baby named Vanya (Mark Eydelshteyn) when he comes into the club where she dances seeking a woman who can speak Russian. Ani has a vague handle on the language and is given the task of showing Vanya a good time. It goes really well, Vanya has a lot of money and isn’t afraid to splash it around. Eventually, he starts asking about seeing her outside the club, coded language telling us he’s talking about paying for sex. She gives him her phone number and the hook up is planned.

Find my full length review at Geeks.Media, linked here. 

Movie Review Heretic

Heretic 

Directed by Beck and Woods

Written by Beck and Woods 

Starring Hugh Grant, Sophie Thatcher, Chloe East 

Release Date November 8th, 2024 

Published November 11th, 2024 

If Hugh Grant wants to become the modern age Vincent Price, Heretic is his pitch perfect audition. Heretic, written and directed by the A Quiet Place team of Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, is a showcase for Hugh Grant’s talent for holding an audience in thrall with his charisma, that malevolent twinkle in his eye, and his endlessly charming speech. Grant dominates the screen in Heretic and his performance is stunning. 

Heretic centers its story on two young women, Sister Barnes (Sophie Thatcher) and Sister Paxton (Chloe East). The pair are Mormon missionaries who go door to door delivering literature about the church and helping people convert to their religion. At the end of a long day of canvassing an Utah neighborhood, their final visit is with a man who requested to have someone come to his home to help him with his conversion. That man is Mr. Reed (Hugh Grant) who welcomes the young women with the promise that his wife is in the next room.

Find my full length review at Horror.Media, linked here. 

Movie Review A Real Pain

Real Pain 

Directed by Jesse Eisenberg

Written by Jesse Eisenberg

Starring Jesse Eisenberg, Kieran Culkin, Jennifer Grey 

Release Date November 15th, 2024

Published November 14th, 2024 

A Real Pain stars Jesse Eisenberg as Dave and Kieran Culkin as Dave’s troubled cousin, Benji. The duo are taking a trip to Poland to visit the childhood home of their late, beloved grandmother who recently passed away. Both have taken the loss hard but Benji in particular has been reeling from the loss as he and grandma were exceptionally close. According to Benji, granny was the only one who could withstand his relentless onslaught of telling it like it is. The rest of the family kept Benji at arms length. 

In recent years, that also included Dave who has started a successful career in online sales and has a wife and a child. He and Benji used to be as close as brothers but as Benji became more and more outspoken about family issues, even Dave was forced to pull away. There was also the typical life stuff of just being busy. Now, the two are going to be alone together for a week in a foreign country and it will be a test of their relationship unlike any other. Naturally, Benji kicks off the trip by telling Dave he’s sneaking weed into Poland, stoking Dave’s already inflamed anxiety over the trip.

Find my full length review at Geeks.Media, linked here. 

Movie Review Red One

Red One 

Directed by Jake Kasdan 

Written by Chris Morgan 

Starring Dwayne The Rock Johnson, Chris Evans, J.K Simmons, Lucy Liu, and Kiernan Shipka

Release Date November 15th, 2024 

Published November 15th, 2024 

Red One exists in the space between an eye roll and a groan. It’s an elderly screenplay that creaks with the tropes of a late 90s to early 2000s buddy comedy/action movies. It’s also a family Christmas movie so it’s forcefully benign, as such movies are when they are intended to live forever in the background of family gatherings playing on a loop on the Superstation or the USA Network. I understand if you assume that I hate Red One but I don’t. I can barely remember having experienced Red One. It’s a dim and dying memory mere hours after seeing it. 

Red One stars Dwayne The Rock Johnson as Callum Drift, head of security for E.L.F, Santa Claus’ personal security team. They’re like the secret service but for Santa. Santa is played by J.K Simmons as a mischievous sort who likes to go to a mall in the days before Christmas to speak to kids as if he weren’t the real Santa Claus. It’s on these trips to the mall where Callum has begun to lose the magic of Christmas. Watching adults argue and bicker and steal and fight over gift items has taken a toll on Callum who has decided to resign as Santa’s top guy.

Find my full length review at Geeks.Media, linked here.