Tag: Batman

Monday Morning Movie Review: Joker: Folie à Deux (2024)

The Portly Politico2 Comments

This blog is not one to shy from controversy, so yours portly is going to come out and say it:  2024’s Joker: Folie à Deux is an excellent film.

Yes, yes—critics and audiences have panned it.  That is an indication that it’s not just the smarmy critics panning a flick that audiences love, but that it’s actually an unenjoyable slog.  Indeed, much of the criticism I’ve read or watched of the film describes it as bleak and hopeless.

Having seen Joker 2 (as I will call it for the rest of the review so I don’t have to type out that ridiculous title), I can say it’s good because it’s bleak and hopeless.  Indeed, that is the entire point.

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Monday Morning Movie Review: Ponty’s Top Ten Worst Films: #1: Batman & Robin (1997)

The Portly Politico21 Comments

After many grueling months, Ponty and I are nearly done with our Top Ten Worst Films lists.  Today marks the end of Ponty’s inglorious run.

I have to applaud Ponty for both conceiving of this “worst of” idea and for his execution.  The man has a talent for unbridled hatred, at least when it comes to bad movies (otherwise, he seems like a lovely, gentle spirit).  The Bible does teach us to hate that which is evil (it’s in one of the Psalms, I promise), and what could be more evil than big budget flicks that waste money producing tripe?  I mean, I guess some gaffers got some work, so that’s good, but, dang!

That said, Ponty’s pick here will be a controversial one for some.  I remember 1997’s “Batman & Robin” somewhat fondly… but I was twelve when it hit theaters.  I remember watching it at home and, in my pubescent boyhood, thinking Poison Ivy was hot (never mind that Uma Thurman looks like an alien).  I also liked Mr. Freeze’s ridiculous ice puns, which I still enjoy saying (“Ice to see you”).

Ah, such innocence.  After reading Ponty’s review, I may have to rewatch the flick after twenty-five years to see if my opinion has matured more than I have myself (I’ve heard that director Joel Schumacher is kind of a freak, which might explain all the nipples on the Bat Suit).  Of course, the point of this list, in part, is to help readers avoid watching bad movies, so would I be violating the implicit spirit of the worst films lists?

Such heady, philosophical conundrums.  Nothing quite like that in Batman & Robin, as I recall.

With that, here is Ponty’s pick, 1997’s Batman & Robin:

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