34th Hall of Fame

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Blue (Derek Jarman, 1993)

This being nominated is what swayed me to join this hall. It had been on my watchlist forever and especially so since my wife and I watched (and were absolutely devastated by) The Garden about a year ago and we'd been waiting for the right time to watch Blue because we knew it was going to be even more devastating. Without what I'd call Jarman's trademark bold, shocking visuals this maybe didn't have the same visceral punch of something like The Garden or The Last of England but even without that my wife and I were still weeping in each others arms from probably the halfway point on. The other aforementioned Jarman movies I'd seen had such a bitter anger to them and to see that whither away into resignation here hurt so bad. No call to action, no hope for the future, just the rapidly approaching grave and the friends who got there first. I think this hit so much harder than some exploitative documentary from an outsider perspective ever would. God, when he's hopelessly listing all the horrific side effects of the drugs barely fending off the virus followed by "another kiss, another kiss, my greedy lips", I just couldn't keep it together after that. F*ck.
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slurps up! 🤙🤙



I forgot the opening line.
Is it bad I nominated a film I hadn't watched?
A lot of us do that from time to time - I believe the term used is "blind nom", and it's not frowned on at all.

(Edit - Unless it's a terrible movie, then we get mad at you...)
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I don't actually wear pants.
A lot of us do that from time to time - I believe the term used is "blind nom", and it's not frowned on at all.

(Edit - Unless it's a terrible movie, then we get mad at you...)
Okay cool. I don't know that people will find I Confess to be terrible although I've been surprised other times. Something I got ate up more than I thought it would and then I had to pay off something else so it's going to be a few extra days before I can watch I Confess, which I think is okay because I'm not sure we've gotten to it yet.
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I destroyed the dastardly dairy dame! I made mad milk maid mulch!

I hate insomnia. Oh yeah. Last year I had four cases of it, and each time it lasted three months.



I don't actually wear pants.
That's Goldeneye watched. What a disappointment. I didn't like much. Wade, played by Joe Don Baker, is the only part I really liked. The idea was okay, and typically outlandish for a Bond film. Asking me, of all people, to suspend that much disbelief is asking an awful lot. There were so many eye-rolling heavy-sighing moments I couldn't keep track. It's just... ergh. Not a good film.



Trouble with a capitial 'T'
The Movie for Week 10 is:

The Peoples Joker (2022)
Director Vera Drew

Due date to watch/review: March 18th

@MovieGal @jiraffejustin @John W Constantine @PHOENIX74
@rauldc14 @edarsenal @Torgo @Takoma11 @ueno_station54 @stillmellow @cricket @TheManBehindTheCurtain


*Keep an eye on the 1st post, that's were the review links and info are.




The People's Joker

Its a DC comics parody of Batman's villan The Joker, but this film has many Jokers as well as Harley Quinns. A young boy, who feels female, wants to be a comedian, so they goes to UBCLive to be a comedian. Along the way, he falls in love and meets other villains. In the end, they are a big hit and defeat Batman.

I dont want to give out a lot of the story.

It was a decent watch. I enjoyed some parts. Im a Batman villain fan more than a Batman fan. Somwe parts were funny and made me laugh.

I hope other can enjoy it as well.

I actually had to look up about Jason Todd because i only know him as The Red Hood, not the character he ends up in this film.



Everyone, I'm taking a hiatus for a while. Citizen already gave me the next two films. Im not dropping out. Just wont be posting until he announces the next film.

Enjoy!



2022 Mofo Fantasy Football Champ
Peoples Joker



Honestly if you haven't seen this before just please don't bother. It's one of the biggest pieces of junk I have ever laid my eyes upon. Piss poor acting, an awful screenplay and a lack of any sort of film direction at all. I suppose I can give a half star for some decent animation when it cut to those scenes. And that ending is just pure awfulness. The Hall of Fames at Mofo are done wrong by silly nominations like this.




The People's Joker(Drew, 2022)

Some part of me feels like this was the movie Joe Schumacher wanted to make. To say I don't venture into these types of films despite having an open curiosity to off beat Irreverent b movies. In the end, through all the theatrics I came away with sympathy (empathy) for a kid that had a rough childhood and grew into an adult. Eat your heart out Schumacher.



Trouble with a capitial 'T'
Peoples Joker
Honestly if you haven't seen this before just please don't bother.
Wait a minute...Please do bother to watch it, because of the rules and all *We have to watch all the noms of course*

The Hall of Fames at Mofo are done wrong by silly nominations like this.
I haven't seen The People's Jokers yet, so I don't know if I'll like it or not...BUT I can say it's a legit nom even if it's not to everyone's taste. The only requirement is that the movie noms be under 4 hours, haven't won a previous HoF and the person nominating it believes it's worthy of an HoF. I'm sure Ueno believes the movie has merit, I'm sure we all believe in our noms, I know I do even though a number of my noms have come in last, but I still say Valley of the Dolls is the GOAT!




The People's Joker (Vera Drew, 2022)

2024 has come to be known as "The Year of Trans Cinema" and while this technically came out in 2022 (it has one screening at TIFF before WB stepped in with the cease and desist) it wasn't released proper until 2024 along side, most notably, I Saw the TV Glow and I don't think I can properly articulate how important these two movies were to my community from the second they dropped. Films by trans people were rare enough but having a number of films come out that were not only made by us but felt like they were specifically for us is unprecedented. Like, until recently the movie we all regarded as the trans movie was The Matrix and you really have to frame that in a specific way for it to kind of be a trans allegory. Hell even I Saw the TV Glow only addresses transness via metaphor, which is where The People's Joker really breaks the mold. There's simply never been a film like this that's so bold, direct, authentic, heartfelt and passionate about the topic that it feels like it was birthed directly from the trans collective unconsciousness, like there's a piece of all of us up on that screen, our fears, our joy, our love, our trauma, all of it and I can't express how special that is to witness and its not even just what its saying but everything, how it looks, how it sounds, the world building, the characters its all just oozes f*ggotry. Outside of the cultural significance I also just think its a cute, fun and sincere work. I love the bit where she gets her one happy memory, it makes me cry every time. I love that a movie where a naked 3D Lorne Michaels slips on a banana peel, falls down the stairs and gets eaten by a plant can make me cry. I love this movie enough to have gotten a Joker the Harlequin tattoo. I love the DIY spirit of it, I love the gumption it took to make this whole ass movie knowing there was a good chance WB would shut the whole thing down and the possible legal ramifications that might follow. I love that she won the Gotham award for best new director because that just feels like providence. Its the little movie that could for so many reasons and its hard not to love that.



Women will be your undoing, Pépé


Baradaran-e Leila aka Leila's Brothers (2022)

It was a truly remarkable film experience. I read a comment that it was a “hard” watch, so I was tense, waiting for the harshness to hit until the very end. I became engaged and wrapped up in this family. The hook was Saeed Poursamimi’s opening. I loved his character, hated his character, pitied him, and disdained him. It was quite the sojourn. He set the standard for each character and respective actor/actress to follow.

Also, I had a significant turnaround regarding theft from parents. I'm not a fan, but I was cheering Leila and groaning at the brothers’ collective loss of backbone. The ebb and flow of the storyline of desperation, failure, selfishness, and family commitment that bows to “saving face " with such an elegant ending is impressive. Intriguing use of Life Continuation with the children celebrating. On that poetic finish, I unclenched with a sigh of adoration for this cinematic sojourn. I imagined a second viewing sans self-induced tenseness where I would delve right on in with abandon. Shit, yes.

When I saw this, I had watched the first three films of the Hall, in order, on an extended weekend. I was intrigued by the placement of nominations and tickled by their continuation since. So, yeah, YAY!!!
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~Mr Minio



The People's Joker -


This is a delightfully strange and funny piece of outsider art I'm simply glad I was able to watch due to the obvious copyright issues. Is Vera Drew a die-hard DC fan, did she make the association with Joker's smile and masking and go from there, or both? Whatever the case may be, it's an inspired way to inform that sadly, the trans experience, like the autistic one, means having to do a whole lot of pretending you are fine. On top of that, she manages to extend this metaphor to the rest of us. I'll admit with a smile on my face - a genuine one, mind you - that I still hold a candle for Saturday Night Live, but I love a good joke at its expense as much as its haters do. I had to watch Tim and Eric's hilarious parody of the SNL opening credits to confirm that this may be the best jab at the show since that one. Having gone into this unprepared, I have more questions: is Drew a fan of collage or did budgetary restrictions explain the mishmash of various animation styles, puppetry, etc.? While the answers may be "yes and yes," I'm likely just as much of a collage lover, and I also like how each character's style simply fits. I especially approve of Lorne Michaels resembling a crude AI being and that it resembles Bob Odenkirk, with whom he had a contentious relationship, no less. There's also the amusing survey of the minefield that is trying to find love as a trans person, which is just as frustrating as I had assumed - especially for the use of a literal gaslight - and I cannot think of a better throughput than the Joker and her relationship with her mother to provide the movie with a beating heart.

This is an insightful, personal and again, funny means of walking in a trans person's shoes. I wish I could rate it higher, but I have two major issues with it, the first being that it's not the easiest movie to watch. While I would rather see a movie that is rough around the edges than one that is overly refined, this one could stand to be more refined. It comes across like an unfocused, "drinking from the firehouse" barrage sometimes, which exhausted me even though I was not particularly tired at the time. Speaking of exhaustion, my other issue is a matter of preference, which I know seems unfair, but it's impossible for me to not let it affect my judgement: a low tolerance for comedy rooted in breaking the fourth wall and self-awareness. While I found a lot to laugh at, the moments relying heavily on these tropes added to my exhaustion. I still enjoyed the entire product, not to mention much more than anything I've seen in the DCEU so far.



Trouble with a capitial 'T'

The Peoples Joker (2022)
Director Vera Drew

I have to hand it to director, writer & star, Vera Drew for creating a bankable movie from what would seem to be copyright infringement, hence my usage of that screenshot. Now when the movie started and I seen that screenshot I thought of course shows like SNL have been doing satire of popular movies and movie characters for along time, and so of course this movie is also satire and the initial angry letter that the director received from an undisclosed source causing the director to pull the movie from the Toronto International Film Festival after one screening due to rights issues...would seem to be an overreaction by the unnamed 'media conglomerate' who sent the infamous letter. I mean after all satire of movies are allowed as stated in that disclaimer....But after watching The People's Joker I'd say it is effectively an alternative universe take on the popular Batman movies, especially the Schumacher directed Batman Forever as the entire movie is set in an alternative universe of the DC comic character Batman. Had I not just seen Batman Forever only a few nights ago I wouldn't have gotten how strong of a connection there is between the two movies. I think it's interesting that some sort of an arrangement or deal was struck between the film maker and the so called media conglomerate who sent the initial angry letter. At any rate we don't know what was said but apparently an OK was given for The People's Joker to have an official theatrical release which is quite a coup for Vera Drew. As far as the film goes it's more like what I would expect to see as a YouTube indie movie. I did laugh at a few things though and the scenes at the anti-comedy club were probably done the best.



Women will be your undoing, Pépé



Inside Moves (1980)

I was in tenth grade when this came out, and for whatever reason, though curious to see it, I never did. Quite often, there is that regret of, "Why did I never?" Pleasantly, it was a far more fortuteous first-watch as an old dodger of 60.
It touched deeper and made me enjoy it more profoundly than my youth, who would have been more interested in Blue, Stinky, and Wings while all puppy-dog-faced at seeing Diana Scarwid, which I still did.
A pretty damn cool Bro-Mance with, what I would consider an ensemble cast due to the intricate signifigance of everyone to the story and not merely background and filler. Carrying the story forward on their merit, valuing their lives equally with the main characters, Jerry and Roary.
Like so many of John Savage's performances, I am in awe of his commitment to his character and his presence. I don't believe I've seen any of David Morse's (Jerry) work prior to the mid-nineties, and being a big fan of his, seeing him very early in his career was gratifying, to say the least.

A great film at a great time to view it. VERY cool.



Trouble with a capitial 'T'

The People's Joker (Vera Drew, 2022)

2024 has come to be known as "The Year of Trans Cinema" and while this technically came out in 2022 (it has one screening at TIFF before WB stepped in with the cease and desist) it wasn't released proper until 2024 along side, most notably, I Saw the TV Glow and I don't think I can properly articulate how important these two movies were to my community from the second they dropped. Films by trans people were rare enough but having a number of films come out that were not only made by us but felt like they were specifically for us is unprecedented. Like, until recently the movie we all regarded as the trans movie was The Matrix and you really have to frame that in a specific way for it to kind of be a trans allegory. Hell even I Saw the TV Glow only addresses transness via metaphor, which is where The People's Joker really breaks the mold. There's simply never been a film like this that's so bold, direct, authentic, heartfelt and passionate about the topic that it feels like it was birthed directly from the trans collective unconsciousness, like there's a piece of all of us up on that screen, our fears, our joy, our love, our trauma, all of it and I can't express how special that is to witness and its not even just what its saying but everything, how it looks, how it sounds, the world building, the characters its all just oozes f*ggotry. Outside of the cultural significance I also just think its a cute, fun and sincere work. I love the bit where she gets her one happy memory, it makes me cry every time. I love that a movie where a naked 3D Lorne Michaels slips on a banana peel, falls down the stairs and gets eaten by a plant can make me cry. I love this movie enough to have gotten a Joker the Harlequin tattoo. I love the DIY spirit of it, I love the gumption it took to make this whole ass movie knowing there was a good chance WB would shut the whole thing down and the possible legal ramifications that might follow. I love that she won the Gotham award for best new director because that just feels like providence. Its the little movie that could for so many reasons and its hard not to love that.
That was one heart felt, well written review. Reading your review I can tell just how much The People's Joker meant to you. Nicely done.



Trouble with a capitial 'T'

Baradaran-e Leila aka Leila's Brothers (2022)

...When I saw this, I had watched the first three films of the Hall, in order, on an extended weekend. I was intrigued by the placement of nominations and tickled by their continuation since. So, yeah, YAY!!!
Why thank you I tried my best.



I forgot the opening line.


The People's Joker - 2022

Directed by Vera Drew

Written Bri LeRose & Vera Drew

Starring Vera Drew, Lynn Downey, Kane Distler, Nathan Faustyn, David Liebe Hart & Christian Calloway

However Vera Drew's autobiographical story morphed into a cinematic venture, it's refreshing that her transgender journey can both evoke empathy but also be so much fun - it's enough to make me wish everyone could translate their life story into a Batman/DC Universe parody. The end result is me feeling like I know everything about her, and at the same time absolutely nothing about her - or at least, I know her emotional journey without being able to summon up the most basic biographical details about her. Or, perhaps closer to what Vera Drew was intending here, I can appreciate the emotional journey trans people on the whole go through. What better way to tackle issues of identity than to base our central story in Gotham City, where heroes and villains project who they are with dazzling imagination and have often made some kind of transformation that forms an important part of their backstory. I might venture to mention that all of this lands a long way from personal experience for me - but all the more reason to be interested and have a desire to learn.

Our protagonist as a boy (played by Griffin Kramer) at the start of this story has a name that is bleeped out - it's a "deadname", and as such kept private. He starts to realise he has a different gender identity when he's taken to see Batman Forever (or at least, this universe's version of that movie) by his mother (played by Lynn Downey). They live in Smallville, Kansas, and when the boy's mother hears him say he think's he's a girl in a boy's body she immediately drags him off to Arkham Asylum, where Dr. Crane (Christian Calloway) prescribes Smylex - a drug that gives it's users the appearance of being happy even if they're suffering from anxiety, depression or gender dysphoria. The underlying cause goes unappreciated and is dismissed. After coming of age, our protagonist moves to Gotham City and, after being rebuffed by a corrupt and tightly controlled UCB Live television programme decides to start a new "anti-comedy" club (comedy being outlawed in Gotham), becoming Joker the Harlequin, whereupon he falls in love with fellow member Mr. J (Kane Distler), someone who has his own history with Batman (Phil Braun) - a caped law enforcer, with whom he had an abusive relationship. Eventually, under the tutelage of Ra's al Ghul (David Liebe Hart) our protagonist, now The People's Joker, takes on the system.

It's not easy describing how this movie works. There's a melding of the real world and a bizarre fascist version of the Gotham city we know from DC's Batman and it's various incarnations. It's presented with a mix of live action, animation and CGI computer graphics - which further disorients those of us who are still trying to grapple with the strange world this takes place in. Vera Drew takes full advantage of the freedom this allows her to tell her own personal stories while at the same time making full use of the various interpretations we've seen of Batman and Gotham in popular culture, from it's comic book inception to Suicide Squad and Todd Phillip's Joker. In fact, it was an attempted re-edit of Joker undertaken by Vera Drew which led to this project. She started to visualize how the characters in the film reflected her own life - and I think that's something that can come from the deconstruction and reinterpretation of many films once we get down to the bare essentials. What came of it was a virtually unfilmable screenplay - one that really required the imagination with which this has been put together.

I have to say I really enjoyed the inverse relationship we have with what are usually the villains of Gotham City - here they're not "heroes" per say, but instead just prospective comedians who mostly retain the origin stories we're familiar with. Nathan Faustyn, as The Penguin, is a particular delight and surprise - probably because the performance, costume, make-up and general presentation is just a little low-rent and relaxed. It felt like the kind of Penguin impression you'd get from a funny friend, but in the end that was endearing enough for me. The Penguin turns out to be Joker the Harlequin's friend and confidante when he first moves to Gotham, and he fills out the role well. In the meantime Mr. J is embodied by the version of Joker we got from the first Suicide Squad film, played by Jared Leto. It's fine to have various different Jokers in this movie - and in fact it's fine to have whatever else it wants to have - there are few rules, and anything goes. The controlling producer of UCB is Lorne Michaels (Maria Bamford) - Michaels is actually the producer of Saturday Night Live in real life, and in the film he's a computer-generated character. It's dizzying.

I must admit that I rarely venture into territory this low-budgeted and strange, and that as a result the movie was a little daunting for me at first. At times I did find myself thinking, "This looks terrible," - there's a lot that looks aesthetically unpleasing, for whatever reason. The thing is, I can't be sure how much of that is on purpose - or even if all of that is on purpose, because it seems like it might be. There's a lot of brashness here. It takes me back to my peek at the animation of Jack Wedge, and the fact that I have to allow for artistic expression no matter how it conflicts with my particular palate. There's a narrative form that's a little different and that I had to familiarize myself with in order to get used to it, and that flows on into the visual form the film takes as well. But it's far from unintelligible, and it's far from being unpleasing on the whole. Joker the Harlequin's personal story is an essentially earthbound one, and only uses DC Universe characters and places to obfuscate and illustrate. It's intensely personal, full of humour, self-reflective and just a little sad and bittersweet at times. I want different experiences when I watch new movies, and if I learn something I'm pretty happy to have been nudged in The People's Joker's direction.