We Live In A Society And Joker Lives In An Only Occasionally Successful Movie

So many people come and go in our lives every day, it's easy to forget that other human beings have had entire lives up to the point we meet them (maybe that's just the Walgreen's cashier in me talking).  Everybody's got a story for how they got to their current point in their lives, even wanna be stand-up comics like Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix). Residing in Gotham City with his mother and working as a clown-for-hire, Arthur struggles through life due to his mental illness that includes a handicap that sends him into sudden fits of uncontrollable laughter. Bad luck follows Fleck wherever he goes as he searches for purpose in his life and a reliable father-figure to serve as a substitute for the dad he never knew.

He Ain't Heavy, He's My Sisters Brothers!

The rootin'-tootin' titular siblings of The Sisters Brothers are two men who have developed a reputation for being handy with a gun and getting whatever assignment you give them finished, albeit finished in an unconventional manner. These two men are Eli Sisters (John C. Reilly) and Charlie Sisters (Joaquin Phoenix), with the former member of the duo looking to find a way out of this life of being a gun-for-hire for bloodthirsty rich folks while Charlie Sisters see's no other life for himself and his brother than the one they're engaging in right now. Meanwhile, a pivotal subplot involves another duo, this time consisting of Southern dandy John Morris (Jake Gyllenhaal) and chemist Kermit Warm (Riz Ahmed), with Morris teaming up with Warm for a potentially lucrative prospecting gig after he was initially hired to hold Warm hostage for the Sisters Brothers.

Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far On Foot Is Erratic And Messy But Also Frequently Affecting

Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far On Foot, the newest motion picture from director Gus Van Sant, looks to separate itself from conventional biopic dramas in a number of ways, most notably in its adoption of a non-linear form of storytelling to tell the tale of John Callahan (Joaquin Phoenix), a man dealing with alcoholism who loses the ability to walk after a horrific car accident. We flash forward and backward throughout Callahan's adult life as the feature covers numerous events in the man's adult life, most notably him adapting to the process of regularly attending an AA group led by Donnie Green (Jonah Hill) as well as Callahan discovering his talent for drawing humorous though frequently controversial cartoons.

You Were Never Really Here Will Haunt You With Its Incredible Filmmaking (SPOILERS)

MASSIVE SPOILERS WITHIN

Gladiator Is Straightforward To A Fault

Aside from them both being Best Picture winners, it's doubtful anyone would ever think to compare Gladiator and Driving Miss Daisy, but that's just what I'm going to be doing today. Obviously, both films differ greatly in terms of story, tone and types of characters they explore, but both are feature films that I've watched for the first time recently that are amiable endeavors that also can't help but feel like they're a little basic, they stick to tried-and-true storytelling & characters too heavily and in the process feel like they're eschewing the chance to carve out their own identity, though at least Gladiator does have the distinction of reviving the swords-and-sandals genre in a big way at the dawn of the 21st century.

The Village Review (Classic Write-Up)

SPOILERS FOR THE VILLAGE AHEAD

If the life of filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan were ever adapted into a cheesy documentary, the point in his career when The Village was released would be when the music would get tense and the narrator would intone "And that's when things (dramatic pause) went wrong.". Prior to the release of this movie, Shyamalan had three back-to-back-to-back critical hits and two of those films became box office phenomenon's. It seemed as if the guy could no wrong...until this 2004 feature came along and tossed the director into a decade-long artistic downturn that finally got reversed with last fall's sleeper hit The Visit.

The Trailer For Irrational Man Brings Woody Allen And Joaquin Phoenix Together

Seeing Midnight In Paris back in 2011 is easily one of my favorite theatrical experiences ever. I had never seen a Woody Allen movie before, so witnessing the writer/directors work in the context of that endlessly charming 2011 movie was quite an adventure. That sort of memory isn't the only reason I'm excited for Allens next movie, Irrational Man; this new feature also pairs up two of my favorite actors, Joaquin Phoenix and Emma Stone! A trailer for this film has been unveiled, and you can watch it below!

Her Review

What? Is She Funny Or Something?

Some people spent last night going to parties, or going on dates, but me? I was the coolest dude on the planet, because I spent the evening alone watching the best movie of 2013: Her. Rewatching the film for the first time since it's theatrical release only reaffirmed my praise for this modern masterpiece, which is one of the best artistic depictions of the deeper intricacies of love and human connection ever brought to life.

Inherent Vice Review

Of Vice And Men

I had heard a lot of things about Inherent Vice prior to finally seeing it yesterday afternoon, namely about how, depending on who you talked about, the film was incoherent, too long or it was a masterpiece unlike anything else you'd ever seen. I love movies that create this kind of wide range of conversation, so I eagerly anticipated the newest feature from Paul Thomas Anderson, as if I wasn't already after seeing that impeccable trailer.

Some Thoughts On Benedict Cumberbatch As Doctor Strange

Doctor Strange, as depicted in the comics

Speculation over who would be playing Marvels Supreme Sorcerer has been running rampant for years. For a two month period starting around this years Comic-Con, Joaquin Phoenix was in heavy discussions for the role that went nowhere. Tons of actors were rumored for the role during the month, including Tom Hardy, Adrien Brody and Collin Farrell. One name that had come up numerous times, even during a Q&A session at Comic-Con with the actor, was Benedict Cumberbatch, who seems to the be the one who Marvel will get to play Doctor Strange.

Editorial: Can We Start Giving Superhero Movies Some Respect?

The writer with the largest presence on Rope of Silicon, Brad Brevet, used to be one of my favorite writers when it came to the world of cinema, but sometime last summer, a shift happened in his writing. It was like a switch flipped in his brain or something, every single thing he wrote was dripping in gratuitous cynicism. Now, a cynical approach is not only a perfectly fine way to write pieces on movies, it can be a great angle if one does it in a successful fashion. Unfortunately, Brevet has made it tiring to read his endless mean-spirited attitudes towards blockbuster filmmaking.

The Crazy, Crazy, Crazy Trailer For Inherent Vice Is Here

I've only seen two films of Paul Thomas Anderson (I know, I know, I'm simply awful), The Master and Punch-Drunk Love. The Master I found to be a film I admired very much, especially the outstanding performances in it, but it kind of just left me cold overall. Punch-Drunk Love was actually pretty great, though I did feel it occasionally lacked focus. But man have I been anticipating his next movie, Inherent Vice, which just unleashed it's first trailer, which you can watch below.

The Immigrant Review

I knew nothing going about The Immigrant going into it. Oh sure, I'd heard rave reviews (and interestingly, some vehemently negative ones) and knew the three of the characters in it were being portrayed by three of my favorite actors. But I hadn't watched so much as a trailer for the project before I sat down at the Angelika Plano to view it. In retrospect, that was for the best. Like the protagonist of this picture, Ewa (played magnificently by Marion Cotillard), I'm completely unprepared for what is about to occur, and man, is that the best mindset to have when witnessing this films tragic events.