Joker Movie Review

Is it Controversial or Fake News? A review of Joker

Never believe the critics or the news when it comes to movies.

Joker tells the story of Arthur Fleck, a man struggling to provide for himself and his mother. He has a few different psychological issues that force him to see a social worker, but the funding for the program was cut during the time where he most needed the help. Arthur is given a gun from his coworker after Fleck was beaten up by bullies. He works as a clown and advertises when a store is going out of business. When he is bullied once again for his problems, he uses the gun. Arthur is fired after he was found to have the gun while visiting a children’s hospital. His mother suffers a stroke soon after, which is when he finds out the truth about his life. I will not tell spoilers, but it is pretty messed up.

Throughout the first half of the film, one feels sorry for him and may think that his actions are justified. However, the second half is when Arthur turns into the villain we all know and love. While we still feel sorry for him, we know that his actions are no longer justified. Many people have complained about the length of the film as well as the story. While I understand that some people cannot sit still for two hours during a movie that juggles serious issues, they knew what they were going into. The trailer did not make one think that the film was going to be an action-packed superhero movie, nor did the trailer make it seem lighthearted. As for those complaining about the decision to include mental issues and illnesses, everyone was complaining that they do not see many films tackling the subject without glorifying murder or suicide. Now that we finally have one, people still are not happy. Joaquin Phoenix’s portrayal of the character was stunning and very believable. If it was anyone else, I think that the film would not be as emotionally driving. It was refreshing to see an entire movie dedicated to revealing what went wrong in a villain’s life that influenced their future behavior.

Joker did not make me want to become a mass murderer; if anything, it made me want the world to treat those with mental problems as people and get them help. Though the movie is incredibly difficult to watch with its portrayal of violent bullying and people unable to get the help they need, I would definitely recommend giving this film a try. I would give it a solid 10/10.

The Most Anticipated Sequel of the Year: IT Chapter Two Review

Sequels always get a bad reputation, whether the story wasn’t good enough or the characters weren’t developed enough. There is even more scrutiny when the movie is an adaptation of a novel, especially critiqued by the author. IT: Chapter Two, the sequel to the IT (2017) is the adaptation of the second half of the novel of the same name by Stephen King. The film takes place twenty-seven years after the initial defeat of Pennywise, the shape-shifting eater of worlds that feeds on children. The only member of the Losers Club left living in Darry, Mike, calls up the rest of his old friends once the killings start happening again. Most of them end up going, not realizing what they were going into, but Stanley has had enough of the trauma from Pennywise and the call from Mike drove him to suicide. When the remaining members arrive, they go out to eat, but at the end of the meal, the fortune cookies spell out an eerie message, and that’s it all goes down from there. Realizing what Mike called them there for, they attempt to leave before changing their minds once an old bully shows up and attacks them. Mike tells them that there’s a ritual for getting rid of Pennywise for good, and they set out to find different memories from their childhoods to use before finally confronting Pennywise and ultimately defeating him. This is a horror movie, so there are quite a few jump scares and CGI interpretations of the different forms IT takes. I’ve seen many complaints on the length of the film (almost three hours) and the ending, however I would consider this movie better than the previous one. There are a lot of f-bombs and jump scares, so don’t watch it if you are squeamish around that. The character development is strong; the adult actors did a great job of making the audience think that they were actually the older counterparts of the younger characters. Some of the best parts of the movie (in my humble opinion) were when they visited their childhood homes and favorite places. There are quite a few flashbacks that neatly fix anything confusing. While I certainly enjoyed the movie, it kept me wondering if in the future, people will be confused as to why we had an obsession with scary clown movies. Or will they too understand the almost universal fear of clowns? All in all, I would give this film a solid 8/10. IT: Chapter Two is an entertaining, funny, and troubling follow-up to the successful 2017 IT.

UPDATES

Sorry I haven't really posted much on this blog recently. I'm hoping I will be able to post more during the summer!
SHOWS:
-I have watched almost the entire first season of Dark Matter, but I kind of forgot about it. I have so far liked what they have done with it. (but can they stop having all the problems be caused by electrocuting the android??? please????)
-I am currently trying to catch up on Supernatural. I am currently on the fifth season
COSPLAY:
-I went to Genericon last month as Mafia Miss Fortune and Claudia on Saturday, and the Undertaker on Sunday
-I plan on (hopefully) doing cosplays for the Doll (Bloodbourne) and Star Guardian Miss Fortune
MUSIC:
-I've gotten into a lot of bands this year: MCR, FoB, P!ATD, BVB, SWS, BMTH, FIR, and PTV
-I think that's it???

IF YOU HAVE ANY SUGGESTIONS ON WHAT TO POST ON THIS BLOG, LET ME KNOW IN THE COMMENTS!

xxxHOLiC--Manga Review

Series Title: xxxHOLiC


Author: CLAMP


Number of Volumes: 19


My Thoughts:

I first tried reading this a couple years ago, then gave up on it. But earlier this year, I decided to give it another chance.
Watanuki can see spirits and demons; they are very attracted to him and he very much wishes this wasn't true. Because of this wish, he suddenly finds himself in Yuko's shop: a shop that grants wishes. Yuko says she'll grant his wish--but first he'll have to pay for it by working as her assistant in the shop.
[spoilers ahead]

I think the story in this is very interestingly written. It starts out kinda boring but then starts getting more and more interesting. I really wish we got a little more insight into Maru and Moro's purpose. We know they are there to protect the shop--but why, from whom, and where did they come from?
While Watanuki is usually very annoying, it is pretty relate able for someone to be like that when you're in his shoes. It also turns out that he is a part of Syaoran (from Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle), which was interesting but not explained well so it was very confusing. Also, Yuko's disappearance and Domeki's egg were not explained at all??? And on top of that, the ending made no sense.

My Rating (overall): 4 stars

Vampire Knight--Manga Review

Series Title: Vampire Knight

Author: Matsuri Hino

Number of Volumes: 19

MyThoughts:

I started this series not knowing if I would like it, since shojo isn't really my thing. But I ended up really enjoying it.

Yuki Cross going to a school where there is the day class (humans) and the night class (secretly vampires). She does have a close friendship with one of the vampires: Kaname Kuran, who saved her from being attacked by a vampire who was out of control. Her life totally changes when she finds out that her classmate, Zero, is a vampire but also a hunter. She willingly gives him her blood so he can keep his sanity (he used to be human but was turned into a vampire). Then she finds out that she in fact used to be a pure-blooded vampire, and her real parents turned her into a human to save her from hunters. However, Kaname turns her back into a vampire so that they can have the relationship they would have had before she was human. Then Kaname starts "killing" vampires (pretending to). He turns himself into a weapon to save Yuki, but she eventually dies to turn him into a human.

Honestly, this series got super confusing about halfway through. However, I did really like it, and I'll probably end up watching the anime.

My Rating: 3.5 stars (overall)