Movie Review: Joker

"Desperate Times calls for Desperate Measures."

That old expression sums up many things in life, but it also perfectly describes the feeling and atmosphere you'll get from "Joker" - the newest entry by Warner Bros. in their expanding DC Films line-up that, while based on one of their most notorious comic book villains, is not a part of the DC Extended Universe at all. Instead, this is a stand-alone movie meant to launch a new series of "DC Black" films - which will be darker, grittier, and more in line with mature and serious storytelling - which fits quite well with the atmosphere exploring the rise of Gotham City's future Clown Prince of Crime.

As one of the movies I was very much looking forward to before the year ends, "Joker" earned a lot of hype and positive buzz for weeks - premiering in this year's Venice Film Festival and winning the top prize of the show in the coveted "Lion" award.  I finally got my chance to see the film just before October set in, with Warner Bros. Philippines holding a special press screening this past September 30 (and just when I returned from my trip to Europe and the UK to boot!). Suffice to say - it BLEW MY MIND. While this is a film focusing on Batman's eternal nemesis and I'm a big fan of The Dark Knight to boot, he doesn't even exist in this film - and the primary focus is solely on the man that will eventually spiral down to a life of madness.

All it takes is one bad day... And that is explored in this artistic masterpiece of a psychological thriller film.

Movie Review: It: Chapter Two

Sequels have a lot of expectation and hype riding into them that it makes for quite the unpredictable ride. Rarely does it manage to overshadow the experience the viewer has with the first movie, and on the flip side it can also act as an extension of said experience to bring more answers or closure to the journey we take watching a story unfold. Thankfully director Andy Muschietti knew that much and what he was signing up for when he took on the job of helming Stephen King's popular 1986 supernatural horror novel "It", and the 2017 movie adaptation proved to be the proper introduction to the "main course" that would this year's "It: Chapter Two" - which sees "The Losers Club" all grown up and returning back to their childhood hometown 27 years later to put an end to the demonic clown that preyed on their fears once and for all.

Thanks to Warner Bros. Pictures, I was able to catch the much anticipated sequel (along with some nifty new trailer surprises) this past Monday, and I was more than ready to see Pennywise the Dancing Clown come back and deliver some unsuspecting horror induced fun. It took two years for audiences to wait out what would happen when friends return to confront their "Boogeyman" from the past... And what happens when old memories locked away resurface and forces you to literally confront your past? This film answers it all along with scares that are DEFINITELY not for the faint of heart  - so be warned when walking into this along with a solid adult rating!

Movie Review: Once Upon A Time In Hollywood

Love him or not, Quentin Tarantino has made an impact in cinema thanks to his explosive, dynamic, and very sensational style of filmmaking that's gone through decades and generations of praise and controversy. From Pulp Fiction to Kill Bill, and of course Inglorious Basterds and Django Unchained, the man has an eye for whimsical and edgy fun that'll literally blow you off your seats - whether its over-the-top action sequences, no-holds-barred dialogue, or something so unexpected that it will get you talking about the movie even after the credits roll and you've left the cinema.

I'm happy to say that the director's ninth film - "Once Upon A Time In Hollywood" - is a great example of his art form brought to life in an exceptional manner, acting as both a tribute and love letter to 1969 era Hollywood. Set at the backdrop of what would be infamously known as the "Manson Family Murders", this was a period of innocence, transition, and so much developments in Hollywood and cinema that it's only fitting that a man like Quentin Tarantino would make his vision of this bygone era - full of potential yet also riddled with its own troubled history and eccentricities that happen behind the camera.