Joker

The next evolution in the comic book movie. From Burton to Nolan to, now, Todd Phillips, there is a direct line of development in these Gotham-based stories, from pure fantasy to realistically plausible to all too possible--very little in this origin story seems out of the question or impossible or, really, in any way not reflective of the reality that exists right around us now. Truth be told, I've always been drawn more to the DC outings than the Marvel universe, largely because the former have seemed--certainly since Batman Begins--a little more grown up and serious. Marvel is fun, but a little childish; its impact lasts not much further than the time you spend watching its films. Here, the viewer is invited to think much more about Joaquin Phoenix's Joker--how he comes to be the psychopath everyone has come to know and love (?), and the world in which he commits his crimes (or is it, exacts his revenge?), and maybe, just maybe, what it means for you and me. After all, monsters don't fall out of a clear blue sky; they're made. And it might be a good idea for us to remember, when we choose to make monsters, that it's possible that all their fury and resentment can not be held back forever, that it will not just dissipate outside the walls we build around us--it might just breach that wall, and then it's duck and cover for any in its way.