This is a terrible Batman film. No action, no gadgets and no funny one liners. 0/10.

27:00 its obvious Andy has never ridden a bus or any public system. The amount of times I've seen people doing weird shit like singing or acting unbelievably goofy towards a stranger is staggering.

When it comes to cinematography, I'm always amazed no one has discussed the visual significance of stairs and elevators in this movie. Every time Arthur tries to do 'the right thing', expresses regret or desires normalcy he goes up stairs or goes up the elevator. When he walks up the stairs (tiredly) to his mother, when he meets Zazie Beets and her kid in the elevator, when he is scared and flees the subway after killing the three guys (regret signifies guilt and a still working moral compass) and lastly the panic he feels when he runs up the stairs to evade the cops (or a guilty conscious?). Every time Arthur's psyche descends into madness, there's also a literal visual descend. The imagined crowd scene with Murray, him going down the few flights of stairs when confronting Thomas Wayne, running down the stairway after stealing the files, him leaving work for the last time, when he goes down the elevator after completing his transformation into the Joker, when he dances down the stairs during, visually revelling in his own madness.

Just wanted to say Nick was fantastic in this episode. He really spoke to my perspective on the movie.

Part of what's interesting about these in reviews is that you get to see how different biases affect perspectives on films

I think Nick has the idea behind the movie 100%, and the other guys are way too caught up on the negative repertoire this movie faced, and not the focus Phillips was going for; how capitalism will always lead to classism, and how classism will always lead to those who are less fortunate to resort to rioting and revolution because of these tensions. It’s also a chilling tale of how mental illness gone untreated and surrounded by a society who has no empathy or sympathy for such individuals leads these individuals to commit atrocities. Nick nails it explaining how Phillips needed to disguise this story in a comic book movie wrapper to get it out to a wider audience w a bigger budget since people love comic book movies, and they are extremely familiar w the joker .

KFIR in Review for this week: 1) Nick - hands down the most adequate take on the film; 2) Greg - for being the most open minded of the group; 3) Kevin - for having a nuanced view of the film, even if I disagree with him; 4) Andy - has revealed that he doesn't ride the bus; not convinced he was paying attention; and 5) with a bullet, Tim - "needs more Transformers/Vin Diesel/get hype" And the great thing is that on the next film, the scores could flip completely. The wheel of taste keeps turning. Loved the show!

I can't believe no one said "Tim, can you introduce me as Joker?" Excellent film!

How on earth can Kevin put this all the way down at 11? The acting, cinematography and score in the film were fantastic. There were some minor problems (Arthur imagining his gf was telegraphed and seeing the Wayne parents murdered was unnecessary) but overall this was a great win for DC.

Its crazy to see this movie ranked so low. The reasoning for it is baffling too. If it wasn't a "batman" movie then it shouldn't have been included in "BATMAN in review" and if we're not going by how good a batman movie it was then it should have been ranked much higher. If anyone ever wants to absolutely discredit their opinion on movies just lead by saying "I think Lego Batman is a better movie than Joker".

I remember seeing this in theaters opening night and was blown away. Such a great movie

I thought the Impractical Jokers movie would be a bit more lighthearted.

Man this movie when i saw it i theatre shook me to my core, that scene where he kills his coworker is one of the greatest scenes ive ever seen.

A whole lot of "not wanting to open eyes to truth", with this review.

This film was great. Such a different take on a comic book film. Can't comprehend how you'd pick Lego Batman above this -- do Tim and Kevin just not like anything that isn't "Get hyped" MCU stuff

Martin's main producer Emma Tillinger produced Joker and The Irishman in the same year. She has produced most of Scorsese's films. That is the remaining Scorsese connection to the film. I was trepidatious of this film and I think it is close to a masterpiece. Such an incredible mark of cinema. The score is haunting. The acting is astounding. The cinematography is gorgeous.

When Greg does these plot recaps is he doing them all from memory !

Yes, all of Kinda Funny should watch Atlanta. It's great and now is a perfect time to catch up on the first two seasons released.

I was very wary when they announced this stand alone "origin" film, especially after Catwoman, but the King of Comedy/Taxi Driver style take really worked, and made it stand out from the Batman films :D

Now that this is all said and done, my list would be: 1. The Dark Knight 2. Batman Begins 3. Mask of the Phantasm 4. Joker 5. The LEGO Batman Movie 6. The Dark Knight Rises 7. Batman (1989) 8. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice 9. Batman Returns 10. Batman Forever 11. Batman (1966) 12. Batman and Robin 13. Catwoman

Catwoman and Joker are the Frances Conroy Batman villain-centered duology.

This film is nowhere near as controversial as people said it was.

As someone who has multiple family members depends on state/county service i can assure you there are more social workers like the woman Arthur was seeing than you might think. Broken promises and hearts are something you get used to when dealing the system.

To make sure more people see this: Pathological Laughter II (Pseudobulbar Affect) Please look up the KZfaq videos of the people who actually suffer from this uncontrollable laughing. They are meant to create awareness of this illness as these people actually get beaten up a lot due to their laugh. Joaquin really nailed that laugh in this movie, made me look it up and learn about this illness as well. Thus I would say the movie did create an impact of mental illness awareness. I am little upset that Tim did not cover so topics in facts, he could have done a real good and provided more awareness to himself and Kinda Funny audience, instead just focused on the surface level topics as usual.

I legit thought that Greg talking about walking into the wrong apartment was a bit

Around 40 minutes in and Nick is absolutely killing it this episode! I'm gonna have to use his talking points when next discussing this film

Joker is one of my favourite films of all time, glad to see yall talking about it!

Nick you killed it in this episode !

Love all you guys! You have helped keep 2020 somewhat “normal” for a lot of my commute. Thanks guys!

A very different In Review episode - love the in-depth discussions you guys had. I personally don't agree with Andy and Tim's takes on the film but I can see where they are coming from.

Fantastic Video, as always. Can't wait for 15 December and NolanLand😁❤️✌️👍

"There's a bunch of people and I don't know who they are so I didn't go" Yeah, Andy that's kind of what parties are

I've always liked Nick and I do appreciate the other guys input but man I feel like Nick just speaks so much facts and truths whether it's in their "In Review" series or KF podcast. #DaddyNickyDaBest

I think this is the best comic book movie of all time. I still love the Dark Knight, Mask of the Phantasm, and Watchmen, but this is just a hair ahead of those.

Nick was on fire in the episode!! He open my eyes about so much I missed in the movie.

All protests are a moment away from rioting that storyline makes sense

That ending shot is pure madness unhinged. What a foreshadowing .

I mean this movie is basically a reboot of The King of Comedy set in the DC universe. And of course instead of using a "no name" character like Scorsese's Rupert Pupkin, they easily applied it to Joker to reach a wider audience. Not to take away from the score, cinematography, or performances. I'd just like to compare the two to see if this was adapted to spread more awareness or send a different message about mental illness.

It'd be cool if you guys include some of Batfleck's stuff for the in review episode!

Love Nick’s take on this.

It’s so hard watching you guys rip apart a movie I love. But I’m trying to sit through this to not be in a echo chamber. Thanx nic for sticking up for it. As far as some of your concerns of “joker is supposed to be a genius”, read up on people who are bipolar and schizophrenic to see how their medications flatten their creativity and personality, and what would happen if you took those meds away. That will address your concerns.

Nick was the only one with good takes on this movie, sorry to hear it didn't land the same way for everyone else. Comics, DC, and previous interpretations of the Joker completely aside, I would consider this one of the top 20 movies of the last decade, period.

This movie is awesome. It deserved both oscars it won.

I too doubted that this movie was going to be any good, I was excited at first but when I realized that it was an origin story and not tied to the DCEU, I was so confused on why and how will this even work. But man this movie blew me away, it wasn’t like any comic book or superhero movie I have ever seen, mainly because it wasn’t. Unlike Catwoman, Joker respected the source material, but added a more dark themed and realistic take on the Batman mythos. It proves that you don’t always need a cinematic universe or a blockbuster action movie to tell a unique story within the comic book genre.

For me personally Nick nailed this review & spoke 1000% to what I felt overall. Great great movie imo! Really hit me in many ways especially with the mental illness aspects.

Don't forget that refrigerators were the topic on a very special episode of Punky Brewster.

Scorsese was originally going to executive produce but after he met Todd Phillips he realized Todd was an industry veteran and that he didn't necessarily need Scorsese's help. They were in a Hollywood Reporter roundtable discussion where Scorsese talked about this.

i think at bruces age, stranger danger wasnt taught to him with his level of previlage

I think Arthur put his fingers in Bruce's mouth and he allowed it because in a movie about mental health, Bruce seemed to me to have all the tell tale signs of a kid with autism. Which, would make sense for someone who becomes the Lazer focused genius with no desire to have any type of social life. Bruce doesn't react AT ALL to anything. Even his parents murders he just blank faced takes in the information without speaking, the way that a child with autism interacts with the world.

Nick is on point! Loved this movie.

That Charlie Chaplin movie was Modern Times and it’s Fk’N hilarious 😂☝️🤓

Song is written by Gary glitter and was the opening song for the bulls during introductions for years until it came out in the late 90s early 2000s what Gary glitter did .

I thought my mom was the only one who was crazy about fridges. Obviously this was a big fear in the eighties, maybe even bigger than lasers

It’s clear that unless a comic book movie is The Dark Knight level, then certainly members of KF just don’t like it or give it a chance. Yes this movie has flaws, but the way certain guys talk about it is just ignorant and they’re finding reasons to hate on it for no reason

You're reviewing Joker and Cat Women in this Batman in Review series, but leaving out the Jackie Chan Karate Kid movie in your Karate kid in Review?

This is definitely not always the case but I’m like fully with Nick on this one.

Heath Ledger looked really different in this movie

Fantastic Four in review should be the next thing whenever you guys get to it

Inspiration for Jokers story is Bernie Goetz. Man who was mugged on subway in 80s NY that shot and killed three muggers. Netflix has a great episode on the case in Trial By Media. The media and public's image of a vigilante folk hero was def the story Phillips used for inspiration. Surprised me watching the doc how dead on the same real life story is. I can't remember how the case ended, whether he was found guilty or not guilty , if his retelling of what happened was true.

I can not get over how much Greg is looking like Gordon from the animated Harley Quinn show.

The Bulls’ introduction music is by The Alan Parsons Project?

I think this movie is very much a 'different strokes' scenario where it's pretty polarizing for people, love it or hate it, etc -- one thing in particular though, from this Review that really isolated that for me, is when Tim talks about the psychiatrist saying 'nobody cares about you' to Arthur after the funding dries up and Tim saying that's unrealistic... as someone who has been on both sides of that kind of stark honesty, that read pretty authentic to me. Sometimes you run up against people who just will not empathize whatsoever with your particular plight, and through a different perspective, sometimes falling on your own hard times gives you the 'fuck it' energy to say things you wouldn't otherwise say. I feel as though I might envy people who think those interactions never occur in our world. I very much took that scene as her losing her own hope in the system, in society, in people... and then finally coming over to Arthur's side, so to speak, and say "Yeah you know what, you were right, everything is bullshit, everything sucks, nobody cares about you, nobody is going to help you, and even if I personally wanted to, I no longer have the capacity or resources to do so." Some people, like the way I think Tim interpreted this scene, will regard that as so wildly lacking in empathy that it comes off ingenuine. Others might see it as so fully empathetic that the thin veneer of social mores dissipates and she is just giving him the 'hard truths' about the world. To me, it felt as though she's believes she is helping in some way by letting the facade fully fall away, without realizing it's actually doing more harm than good. That scene very much felt like the latter, at least for me personally. But again, different strokes.

Honestly this is a really well made movie and aside from the weird culture that cultivated around it I think this is a really special movie that really does something different for the genre and not every movie should be like this but it's really cool to see that a movie in the comic genre can go for something so different from the norm and succeed at what it was trying to do.

Nick got this movie so spot on I'm always surprised when people have opinions like the rest of the guys do just cause I see the movie like Nick. But Nick you're departed opinion is still horribly wrong.

Personally I still enjoy the killing jokes origin take. I like that Joker was a normal guy with a wife struggling to make ends meet. A guy trying to just do something he loves but is shit on by the world constantly day in and day out. An just like that “one bad day” makes him snap.

Hey Nick, you using that PS5 in the corner? I can look after it for you if you want... ;)

Gold star to Nick this episode

I saw The Killing Joke in theatres. You guys should consider that one.

Ignacio Rojas' haiku is the same as for New Mutants lol

I liked his dancing especially when you watch the video that inspired him

I don’t love the film but nick was on point in this episode

The funny part about that song (Rock and Roll Part 2) is that it fits with what we just learned about his childhood. Gary Glitter abusing kids goes along with Arthur being abused as a kid by the mom's boyfriend.

Tim is insane

Nick is spot on in this video.

Can we get a Rorschach movie now please

There should have been a separate joker ranking

There's something I really don't like about this film that I can't quite put my finger on. Has a great performance, amazing music, good direction. But something about it feels...hollow? Like there's nothing much going on behind all that great stuff...

Why was Greg so weird about saying zazie beets name? Lol

Tim should apologize just like nick did for dark knight

The joker reminds me of uncut gems as it’s a film you don’t enjoy

You guys look at it the wrong way. It's not that this is an elevated "Superhero Film" it's that these types of stories can only be told within a franchise now and be successful. Yeah it's a retelling of taxi driver and the king of comedy but why did this make a billion and those didn't. THE TITLE AND THE MAKEUP

This is like when nick went off about the dark knight but instead it’s Tim’s turn to apologize in the next Kinda Funny Podcast.

52:32 I just love the idea of De Niro watching this review. Lost my shit with that one.

Its really nice to know Tim and Andy don't believe the Mental Illness is serious. And that its "Unrealistic" and "Would Never Happen". It just makes me, a diagnosed schizophrenic lose respect for them as they are part of the reason why Mental Health has a Stigma. Big respect to Nick for his understanding and Insight.

Forgive my running commentary as I watch. How can anyone say the film loses it when the down and out people of Gotham idolize him? look at our current day events. Desperate people don't always make good choices in who to believe in. Many times they lets it exacerbate their worst instincts and behaviors. Look at who people are idolizing and following, saying they would die for in our world, right now. We may not want that to be the way things work, we may hope or expect better but sometimes they do. Arthur doesn't have Agency. Joker does. Thats kind of the point. also, one of the biggest mistakes we make with mental illness is expecting the agency we ourselves are capable of from people who aren't in a place to have that capability. "Oh, you're sad? Think happy thoughts!" As someone who struggles with mental illness, Nick is on point. Don't dismiss the light movies like this can shine on a subject that people are dismissive, ignorant, unaware or uncomfortable with. This film evokes the feeling we can all have at times, when we are not used to dealing directly with people who are suffering mentally. Some people want to help and don't know how, the behaviors of people struggling can be hard to watch or experience in proximity so we walk away or pretend it's not happening... escape the situation as fast as possible. It tests the current state of our humanity.

I actually really like this movie. It's got its issues, but the visuals are A+ and there are some rad "Joker" moments. Nick's right. Arthur talking to the cops at the hospital is great cuz he has that cool line like fuck off n flicks the cigarette super smooth and the just faceplants is totally a Joker thing. And the whole scene where he kills the bald dude is like quintessential Joker. It's got murder, it's got laughter, it's got J man being unpredictable with the uncertainty of whether he's gonna kill them both, followed by the its-so-horrible-why-am-I-laughing thing of the little dude not being able to reach the chain. Getting super longwinded here, but i just really vibed with this version and how joaquin just melts into it once he puts on the full suit. The whole time I'm kinda Eh, I don't see Joker, but I'm still enjoying myself, but with the suit and green hair it just works. The train car scene with all the clown masks is another great one where he's doing the Joker thing, being clever on the fly to some degree, but also fumbling it a little. Seeing him behind the mask, seeing no expression, but he's kinda peeking around people like antsy for the subway doors to open felt a lot like the opening of Dark Knight. Also seeing the difference between him practicing his entrance in the living room, copying what he saw vs his actual one just feelin himself and crushing it, I thought was a cool little thing tl;dr i like. it good.

i think kevin only likes marvel films at this point your over 30 i think my dude cmon

It seems like Nick is the only one here who actually understands what this movie is.

Not gonna lie... Kinda feels like they could have just done The Dark Knight trilogy during Nolan in Review and left it at that. Every other Batman episode has felt pretty negative, which is fine when you're having fun (DCEU, Transformers, Star Wars prequels), but it doesn't feel like they enjoyed reviewing this run, which is a bit disappointing. Looking forward to Karate Kid though! ($8 on Vudu btw)

Just a new yorker who loves hippity hop did greg finally find mac dres gem... can i get a yeeee

12. Catwoman 11. Batman Returns 10. Batman & Robin 9. Batman (1966) 8. Batman (1989) 7. Batman Forever 6. The Dark Knight Rises 5. Batman: Mask of the Phantasm 4. Batman Begins 3. The LEGO Batman Movie 2. Joker 1. The Dark Knight

I'm glad we are so far out from the release that people can now call this a "good movie". It was so annoying people trying to tiptoe around saying this is a good movie because they were scared what this may do to people. Even for a bunch of people who say video games don't cause violence. But this movie would?

20:06

What Tim thinks in terms of therapist needing to better is a very American point of view. Mental health is not nearly taken as seriously around the world. Noone believes in it where I'm from. I have had mental issues all my life and noone has ever cared about it.

Andy has a lot to say for someone who watched 30 mins of a movie

Last time we're hearing that intro? What a Joke (r)!

just a couple thoughts. I think when you're ranking "villains" what you're really ranking is "antagonists" and Joker is definitely the protagonist in this movie. I think the "villain" would be a combination of Thomas Wayne, Murray and Gotham/society itself. the other thing I would say is Tim brought up a baffling point to me about not believing a mental health professional would say the sort of things she did to Joker or basically take her hand off the wheel with regards to him and we see this happening now. not as an individual but we have societal problem, which this film tackles, where we expect mentally unstable people to just deal with it, it is their responsibility to seek help when a lot of the time they arent even capable of realizing that they have a problem to begin with. it is up to society as a whole to take a step back and deal with this, get people the help they need not expecting them to take care of it themselves because they literally cant. that woman is clearly exhausted by the bureaucracy around mental health issues as well as the patients that she is incapable of actually helping that keep coming back to her. its not hard to imagine someone finally throwing their hands up in the air and saying "you know what? theres nothing i can do theres nothing society can do for you because they just dont care" we see this not only with mental health but with everything. people are selfish, society is selfish and we're not willing to go out of our way to help people, usually, without expecting something in return. and that, to me, is a lot of what the movie successfully portrays. its not a perfect movie but I really do think its better than people give it credit for especially for going where it went

Can someone explain to me why The Joker is ESSENTIALLY King of Comedy and Taxi Driver? I see how both films are inspirations for this one.

This is wallmart Taxi Driver. The most pretentious shit I've seen in a very long time 🤣🤣

You all should watch The King of Comedy