if the service is an hour i’m an hour late!

toonamisquad:

Toonami’s Jason DeMarco to lead Warner Bros. and Cartoon Network’s ventures into Anime and Action Cartoon Productions

Toonami’s Jason DeMarco to lead Warner Bros. and Cartoon Network’s ventures into Anime and Action Cartoon Productions.

Jason DeMarco was just named as the Senior Vice President, Anime and Action Series/Longform for Warner Bros. Animation and Cartoon Network Studios.
Warner Bros. announced today that Jason DeMarco, the co-creator of Toonami, will take on a new role and become the senior vice president in the anime and action series/longform department at Warner Bros. Animation and Cartoon Network…

View On WordPress

Let’s get this out of the way right now.

“Joker” is a revelation.

It’s artful, gut-wrenching, thought-provoking, darkly funny, and utterly compelling. It’s everything the Marvel Cinematic Universe is not. No action-figures will be sold. No Disney rides will be planned. There won’t even be any crossovers or teases to a sequel. I felt downright bad for the 8-year old boy in my audience (whose father clearly had made a horrible mistake in bringing him). And yet this movie is not only the best comic adaptation ever, it might be the first truly important film based on a comic, period. (Black Panther and Wonder Woman are also high on that list for the ceilings they helped shatter)

You can tell from the very first shot, which lingers on the titular character’s face for an uncomfortably long time, that this movie is going to be something new. In nearly every frame it defies your expectations, and in every plot beat flirts with controversy and political commentary, unabashedly making a myriad of powerful statements, most of which center around America’s treatment of the mentally troubled.

And it is in that vein that the movie has its greatest power, including a scene that I think should be studied in every film class (except I’m not being sarcastic). I understand if you leave now. If you haven’t seen the movie, you think I’m being pretentious. But those who have will likely understand my awe and glee. And it all starts with this moment.

It’s early in the film, but I’ll hide it behind a spoiler tag since I am really glad I wasn’t ruined on this INSANE twist.

SPOILERS AHEAD.

Over and over, Arthur Fleck (aka Joker) has increasingly tense encounters with the unfeeling masses of Gotham. Things escalate beyond your wildest expectations, but it all starts with an overly-protective mom perceiving Fleck’s incessant laughter as some type of threat or insult to her and her child. The audience is on edge, waiting for the “Joker” to emerge and become some sort of monster to these helpless civilians.

And then he hands her a card, “laminated” with clear packing tape, clearly wrinkled from years of use.

It says: Pardon my laughter. I have a condition.

It was all I could do to keep from crying on the spot.

Director Todd Phillips figuratively (and almost literally) shows you his hand in this scene, and from then on you realize everything you thought you knew about Joker was wrong. He is a victim. He is wounded. He is incredibly scared. But most importantly, he is a human being. And his downfall is not here to entertain you. His insanity is not “fun,” but it will captivate you, consume you, and resonate with you in ways no family-friendly film ever could.

People praised Heath Ledger’s performance for being such a convincing “Agent of Chaos,” whose backstory could never be pinned down by character or writer alike. We thought that’s what we wanted. We thought that’s who the Joker was at his best. That’s why we bought t-shirts and bobbleheads and quoted him incessantly in Facebook posts.

But Joaquin Phoenix’s Oscar-destined performance shows us that he can be so much more, in a film that’s not only worthy of your time and money, but also deeply culturally important.

And pay no heed to the haters. To paraphrase a powerful line towards the end of the film, “They just don’t get it.” But I think you will.

Rob and Zoë, the Bat and the Cat