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Showbiz Cheat Sheet

Da Couch Tomato podcast, Episode 13, discussing Jumanji: The Next Level, Kevin Hart's underrated performance, and the almost certain third installment.

Background music used is the Jumanji: The Next Level score by Henry Jackman.

Hosts: Sting Lacson and Rachel

Rating: 7.5/10
12:57 PM
Somebody please give this guy an ashtray.

Much has been said about Joker, even before it was released in the cinemas. Mostly, they've been negative.

Most of the negative reviews for Joker are predicated on the same thing: That Joaquin Phoenix can never surpass Heath Ledger's Joker, and any actor who tries will surely fall flat on his face, as shown by Jared Leto's performance as Suicide Squad's Joker. First, that is a pathetic premise; second, that would be underestimating Joaquin Phoenix's acting prowess.

In order to understand superhero franchises and their penchant for casting new actors, we must go back to Elizabethan times, particularly the plays of William Shakespeare. More specifically, Hamlet. The very first actor to play Hamlet was Richard Burbage, yet there have been countless actors after him who have played the part, both on stage and on film, including Mel Gibson, Keanu Reeves, Jude Law, Christopher Walken... the list goes on. But do we cling to Daniel Day-Lewis's 1989 performance in London's National Theatre as the best Hamlet performance ever, the way we cling to Heath Ledger's performance in The Dark Knight as the best Joker performance ever? Of course we don't. And that's why it's useless to rank Joker performances, because there really is no one true Joker. Even the comic books had different Joker iterations.

"I'm a clown in a clown mask. LOL"

What makes Joker great is that it doesn't feel like a superhero movie. It has the grounding of the Christopher Nolan Batman films, and it also has the character instrospection that brings this film out of the realm of superhero fantasy and into serious human drama. It tackles the issue of mental illness like no other superhero film before it, and it does so in a dark, sombre tone, without any explosive action sequences and high-speed chases. It's just pure, gritty human drama.

Director Todd Phillips, known for directing comedies such as Old School and The Hangover franchise, brings his comedy chops to work hand-in-hand with the drama. The result is masterful storytelling, striking just the right balance of drama and comedy that would probably not work were this film handled by another director. After all, the Joker has always had that element of absurdity to him, which is part of what makes him a lovable character.

To answer the question "Will this film have a sequel?", well, that's kind of a grey area. I hope they don't make one, to preserve the artistic integrity of this film. Joker is perfect as it is, a stand-alone film that doesn't quite fit well with the other movies in the DC cinematic canon, and I think that's a good thing.

"Already got the Globe. I'm waiting for that Oscar now."



Joker. USA/Canada. 2019.



Original rating: 8/10
Joaquin Phoenix's fingernails: -0.1
Robert De Niro: +0.1
Zazie Beetz: +0.1
Visual homages to the comic books: +0.1
Final rating: 8.2/10
5:42 PM
Highsnobiety

Da Couch Tomato Podcast, Episode 12, discussing The Irishman, the powerhouse cast, and how long running times and de-aging might be the next trends.

Background music used is "Theme for The Irishman" from The Irishman musical score by Robbie Robertson.

Hosts: Sting Lacson and Rachel
3:32 PM
The Economic Times

Da Couch Tomato Podcast, Episode 11, discussing Ford v Ferrari, the awesome sound design, and the importance of great story.

Background music used is the Ford v Ferrari musical score by Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders.

Hosts: Sting Lacson and Rachel
2:29 PM
Walt Disney Animation Studios on YouTube

Da Couch Tomato Podcast, Episode 10, discussing Frozen II, the importance of short films, and having black people in Arendelle.

Background music used is the Frozen II musical score by Christophe Beck.

Hosts: Sting Lacson and Rachel
4:31 PM
Inverse

Da Couch Tomato Podcast, Episode 9, discussing Charlie's Angels (2019), Elizabeth Banks's manly directing, and the girl power movement in Hollywood.

Background music used is the Charlie's Angels musical score by Brian Tyler.

Hosts: Sting Lacson and Rachel
12:15 PM
YouTube

Da Couch Tomato Podcast, Episode 8, discussing Netflix's Dolemite Is My Name, Eddie Murphy's stellar career, and Ruth E. Carter's costume design.

Background music used is Dolemite Is My Name's musical score by Scott Bomar.

Hosts: Sting Lacson and Rachel
6:25 PM
Now imagine this mug on an IMAX screen. 

Although not shot in IMAX, the trailers and previews kept promising how this movie should be seen in IMAX. Which I did. It actually made a difference, sure, because space movies are always more breathtaking in the IMAX format.

Okay, before anything else, let me just say this: I don't remember the film that much, because I may have slept through some parts of it. Well, I'd say my sleep lasted maybe five seconds tops, but there was a lot of it, so add that up and you get one hazy memory. Sorry, James Gray. It's not that your film was boring. I was just tired from work, maybe? I caught the last full show that day.

Anyway, let me try and give as objective a review as I can, discounting the fact that I slept through some parts of it.

Brad Pitt was good, as always. The thing with Pitt is that he always was a great actor, notwithstanding the fact that he was a Hollywood pretty boy. Since this film plays more on drama than science fiction, Pitt has had plenty of screen time to showcase his acting chops, and he did not disappoint. I think there's a subtlety required when acting in front of an IMAX camera, because even the littlest micro expressions will register on film, and overacting will be something very evident on the big screen. Brad Pitt, however, was superb.

I can hardly remember the other cast, though. I guess that's an effect of having Brad Pitt as the lead actor; he eclipses everybody else. I know Tommy Lee Jones was his dad, and that Donald Sutherland was a colonel or something. And also Ruth Negga was an astronaut on Mars or something. I don't know. I don't really remember, because like I said, I was really sleepy. Everything was like a haze.

Now let's just go to the cinematic depiction of space. Did it succeed in giving us the "most realistic depiction of space travel that's been put in a movie"? That would be debatable. In my opinion, Alfonso Cuarón's Gravity bags that title. Even Christopher Nolan's Interstellar and Ridley Scott's The Martian were better than Ad Astra. But this film does have something going for it, which is the excellent lunar chase sequence. That's something new I haven't seen before onscreen, so good job.

Anyway, I've run out of things to say. I'm just waiting for this film's video release, so I can rewatch it again. Who knows, it might actually be better the second time around.

This looks very Lego.



Ad Astra. USA/China. 2019.



Rating: 6.5/10
Lunar chase sequence: +0.1
Final rating: 6.6/10
4:25 PM
YouTube

Da Couch Tomato Podcast, Episode 7, discussing Netflix's The King, the importance of historical films, and how good special effects are those that go unnoticed.

Background music used is The King's musical score by Nicholas Brittel.

Hosts: Sting Lacson and Rachel
6:11 PM
YouTube

Da Couch Tomato Podcast, Episode 6, discussing Netflix's The Laundromat, underutilising the stellar cast, and the unusual approach used by director Steven Soderbergh.

Background music used is "Rodney Yates" by David Holmes, who also composed The Laundromat's musical score.

Hosts: Sting Lacson and Rachel
3:02 PM
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