Saw it 5 hours ago...JOKER is a perfect movie, not for everyone's eyes though..
70% of the audience applaused in the end ! Haven't seen this happen in years.
Lot's of TAXI DRIVER stuff along it.
One scene is hilarious IMO too...( the "door" scene )
J.Phoenix has to be an Oscar winner by far ( Like if he doesn't get it it's a real JOKE )
I would never have thought H.Letger could be challenged as The Joker but this is really something happening here.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/toronto-van-attack-latest-suspect-incel-4chan-radicalised-mission-accomplished-terrorism-a9124291.html

Here is some "real news"

To be clear, I am not saying the movie shouldn't be shown.

I am saying if you blame "journalism" instead of realizing that toxic masculinity is a serious problem in today's society and not just a "buzzword" then you have your head in the sand.

Going to see this weekend.

Is this a Batman spin off with that villain Joker?

Or is this something completely different?

It is a completely original take on the Joker origin story. It is a stand alone film. It is not part of the DC Universe of previous films. It does not draw from any specific comic book story or standard joker cannon. It is unique.

I'm going to see it again tonight.

My brother called me up after seeing it and told me its really dark and pissed off the lefties, so Im going to see it tomorrow

Exxxxceelllllennnttt!!

You might be disappointed when you find out that it is, in fact, dark, but not, in fact, pissing off "the lefties."

I concur, I know a lot of lefties, not one of them even slightly pissed, most of them saw it and enjoyed it.

Audience likes it much more than the critics making it a must see!

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No I won’t I don’t care one way or another I just hope it’s good.

An odd thing to mention then. So be it.
It is a good movie.

Just saw it and it was just OK. Nothing special. It’s an origin story so I expected it to start slow. The writing was horrible. JP’s take on the Joker was good but TDK was just a much better movie overall. HL version of Joker is still the best IMO. Won’t say anymore as I don’t want to give any spoilers.

That’s one thing I keep trying to mentally get ready for is to not compare this to Ledger’s performance but how do you not?

Exactly...it’s hard not to compare....you have to think of it as a completely different story/character. JP was great in this version but it’s a dark drama rather than a action packed superhero movie.

Worth seeing if you can’t wait to rent/buy it.

You left out chemtrails.

This guy's take on the movie is spot on. This movie is a so-so re-hash of many Robert Dinero films at best:

Really? Joker acts like a transgendered hero? Did ANYONE else get that from the movie? This was the first time I heard anyone have this impression (having not seen the film myself).

There’s no sexual or gender agenda in the movie. I didn’t catch any undertones of SJW crap at all. It was pretty good as a stand alone movie. I’m still trying to process how it fits in “moviewise” if anything I’d say this joker could be closer to the Michael Keaton series as timeline. But not so much as the personality of Jack Nicholson’s joker.

Having not seen it, this seemed to be a very surprising direction if it was true and not that guy's projection onto the movie.

Saw it last night. Thought it was excellent. Phoenix does an amazing job in that role.

I don’t understand why ppl say they need to see it multiple times to understand it. I thought it was pretty straight forward.

I'm left handed. Should I not watch it?

Great movie.....love the build up. Thought it captured the essence of the Joker amazingly well.

DC will manage to still fak up follow up movies. The new Harley Quinn movie looks terrible.

i don;t know...could be as good as "SuckerPunch!"

Zach Snyder's taint is all over DC.

That might have not come out right

So that's why Deadpool said the DC universe was so dark. Suckerpunch was a decent film but yes, very dark

Bold statement.

And I dare say better than Joker

I thought it was very good and different then your typical comic book movie. Only thing I didn't like was not knowing if it really happened. Same thing pissed me off with Inception.

You would hate French cinema, then. It's a very classic French thing to leave interpretation up to the viewer.

Not knowing that what happened? The whole thing?

At some point this thread should turn into a spoiler-included discussion of the movie. If you think themovie was straight forward, then you're not thinking hard enough about it, but again there are no wrong answers here. I'd say nothing about the movie was straight forward, but I can't get into that without discussing scenes from the movie.

I don't want to ruin it for anyone that hasn't seen it yet.

anybody else laughed really good when " the door scene" happened?

Oh yeah. Really funny.

I thought the movie was straight forward. Maybe I’m just an idiot. Haha.

Some pm me with something that wasn’t straight forward.

Did you get that he’s called the “Joker” but he’s really a sad, homicidal maniac? Most people miss that.

Really!? Remaking Dreamscape? Why? It is one of those movies that got it right the first time like: The Mummy (Brendan Fraiser), Stargate, Vanishing Point, Auntie Mame (Rosalind Russel) and Robocop, just to name a few.

Well yeah that’s kinda obvious.

The entire thing.

***spoiler alert for those who haven't seen it yet***

It all could have been made up in his head like his interactions with his neighbor Sophie. Did he kill her? They just showed him waking out of her apartment. What about his mothers accusations about Mr. Wayne being his father in the letter and on her medical records. They also showed his initials on the one picture.

They don't show how he ended up in Arkham. Maybe that was a flash back of him at Arkham before it all started. I don't believe his hair was green in that scene.

Plenty of other things too and a quick Google search shows I'm clearly not the only one who questioned the ending.

Don't read if you haven't seen....

***MAJOR SPOILERS***

I don't think there much in the film that can be taken at face value, because the Joker is the narrator here, and he has a long history in the comics/films for being unreliable in that regard. Heath Ledger also played on this fact in the last movie with "You wanna know how I got these scars?". The Joker cannot be trusted. Period. The genius of the film is that it is setup to be ambiguous & multiple interpretations that are all plausible, depending on the viewer.

The key part of the movie is when we realize the relationship with his girlfriend was all in his mind. That's a huge moment when he crosses the line & spirals downward into becoming full-on Joker. So what else did we see that was a figment of his imagination? The first time he met Murray Franklin & was called down from the audience? Having a successful stand-up performance after an incredibly bad start? What about being praised like a God in the streets by his worshipers after the car crash? It's debatable if any of those things happened at all.

The main question revolves around his relationship with Thomas Wayne. Was his mom really telling the truth? Did his mother really have an affair with Thomas, which resulted in Arthur's birth? Or did his mother's mental illness cause her to make it all up in her mind? Or did Thomas Wayne use his power to falsify Arthur's adoption records to bury the truth? So are the Joker & the Batman really step-brothers? No matter how many repeat viewings, we'll never know the truth. That's what makes this film so interesting & unique.

And what about the ending in the mental hospital? What was the joke that Arthur was laughing at when he told the therapist "You wouldn't get it"? I think he was thinking of the irony that Thomas Wayne rejected his mother, buried the truth about Arthur, which drove his mother crazy, which led to Arthur's bad upbringing/problems, which led to him becoming the Joker, inspiring a clown movement, which inadvertently caused Thomas Wayne's death. Yeah I think the Joker would find that pretty funny & satisfying to say the least. But at this point of time, it's only the audience that knows these events also lead to the creation of The Batman. That's pretty messed up, and it's the only Joker story I've seen or read that makes this ironic step-brother connection. That also helps to rationalize why after so many years of battling each other, the Joker & Batman are never willing to kill each other. It's a thread that can really be explored in future films if Phoenix comes back to the role.

What about the final final scene with the Joker running down the hall leaving bloody footprints & comically escaping the orderlies? Did you think he just murdered this therapist, running with nowhere to escape? Or was this perhaps another one of Joker's delusional thoughts, representing the fact that his mental illness & all the violent acts that he's committed will always follow him & he can never escape them?

Or perhaps the entire movie is one big joke. We saw him bashing his head against the door of his cell in the beginning of the film. Perhaps Arthur was never released from the mental hospital in the first place, and the whole entire film is his delusional fantasy? Perhaps he's not the real Joker at all, because his face paint doesn't look like the version we know. Perhaps Arthur just inspired the real Joker to rise up?

Again great great great fricking movie where nothing is what it seems IMO. I read an interview where Phoenix said he never thought of Joker as being his dream role, but now he can't stop thinking about it, and how there are endless possibilities to go with the character. IMO this is my favorite Joker performance of all time. Ledger was realy great with his "psychopathic chaos creator" version, but I prefer this version where the mental illness & a real-world take is front & center. Best version of his laugh as well. I hope Phoenix gets to play him again.

There's a lot of connection to all the Sinatra music in the film as well, especially at the end in the hospital room. Arthur starts quoting "That's Life"....

That's life, funny as it may seem
Some people get their kicks
Stompin' on a dream
But I don't let it, let it get me down
'Cause this fine old world it keeps spinnin' around

So who does Arthur think is getting their kicks from stomping on a dream? Is it the rich like Thomas Wayne, who stomp & take advantage of the downtrodden & poor people like Arthur? Or is it the Joker taking enjoyment from all the violence, stomping & killing he's inflicted on his victims? Or is it we the movie audience who are stomping & condemning Arthur's dreams & delusional thoughts for our own entertainment?

Lot's to think about. Anyone who says the writing for this movie was poor is out of their minds. I think the movie & Phoenix deserves an Oscar.

Great write up. All things I was thinking about leaving the theatre.

I know someone with a mental disease that has that laughing issue. I hear him outside my office a lot. Just laughing at nothing.

But really great movie.

Yea, Zach train wrecked DC.

Really enjoyed Joker. I'm tired of the standard Marvel and DC super hero magic crap, that formula is beyond played out at this point.

Love the movie, but the original Dreamscape has pacing issues and the effects are laughable now. It also takes too long to get to the good stuff (dream invading). It was only about an hour and a half and a remake would benefit from another half hour and a couple more set pieces.

Yeah it’s straightforward. I agree.

Not my type. Slow and didn’t like it at all. And not how I’d like to think of the Joker

True.

I saw it, I liked it. It wasnt what I was expecting. Semi spoiler, I think the real ending of the movie took place in his kitchen.

Now THAT's interesting..

However, then there'd be no more Joker..

I thought it was a great movie. It's certainly a slow build up..and if you are expecting a normal comic book movie, don't go. I thought it was a great take on the Joker origin story, and I think people who like dark movies will like it. Like if you cant stand super hero movies, are ok with violence in movies then you will probably like this movie. If you only like action flicks, don't go you will just be disappointed.