Folie a Deux. French for madness of two. From the moment that title was an announced, it was presumed that Harley Quinn would be making an appearance, and I applaud the selection of Lady Gaga as Joaquin Phoenix's counterpart. However, I suspect that the reasons for her selection were twofold given the decision to make the film a musical. Perhaps not an official musical, but in my humble opinion, I don’t think it could have been any more official. Unfortunately, this was among my issues with the film. It was too long, and there were too many songs. The film felt like it was movie promoting the soundtrack rather than vice versa. I’ve never been one for musicals, and this sequel did not move me off that mark, as the film essentially fell apart towards the end with a bittersweet ending. I think I preferred the ending to the first film. Picking up two years after the events film, Arthur Fleck (Phoenix) is brought to trial for the five murders he committed, including the one he did on live television. With little to work with, his lawyer hopes to mount an insanity defense, which when you consider the fact that he imagined an entire relationship with a neighbor in the first film, you wouldn’t think would be hard. However, ambitious assistant district attorney Harvey Dent wants to send a message with Arthur’s trial and plans to seek the death penalty. Despite the dismal circumstance, Arthur remains a popular figure and has amassed a devoted fan following, having become the face for challenging the established order.

But none more devoted than Lee Quinzel. The attraction is instant owing to the chemistry between Phoenix and Gaga. The pair are good match-up, though if I had to choose who gave the stronger performance, I’d have to give the edge to Gaga, as she had a bit more to work with. Given her character’s backstory, we know that she is well versed in psychology, and this plays a factor in the pair’s dynamic. Phoenix gives a very nuanced performance, embodying both the character’s charisma and vulnerability. However, I resonated more with Gaga’s character. I enjoyed the shift in the dynamic. Normally, Joker is the more dominant role, but that circumstance is flipped, which makes sense, as he is on trial for murder and more reliant on her than she is on him.

“Although this feels less like a reunion and more like a reboot.”

I can echo that sentiment, as this continuation movie for the popular SyFy series, which concluded in 2021, has the distinct feeling of a long episode. I’m not complaining, because it means that all the elements that made it work as a television series are now still on display in a longer format. Besides, there was a need for this movie, as the series finale really left things up in the air as to where the characters would go from here. Last we saw the gang, after saving Waverly (Dominique Provost-Chalkey) from reentering the garden and leading a rebellion against the Black Badge Division, Waverly and Nicole (Katherine Barrell) tied the knot while Wynonna (Melanie Scrofano) had to make a decision about her future vis-a-vis whether to remain in Purgatory or leave town with Doc Holliday (Tim Rozon), ultimately choosing the latter. While this provided are our foul-mouthed yet endearing heroine with the prospect of a bright future, it left things rather ambiguous as to what that future ultimately looked like.

"When does an empire die? Does it collapse in one terrible moment? No, no ... But there comes a time when its people no longer believe in it."

We all have dreams. There are achievements that some people spend a lifetime to attain. Sometimes we realize our dreams, and it can make for one of the happiest moments in our lives. Other times we find our dreams weren't all we thought they would be. Often there are dreams we simply never attain. I know what it's like to spend the better part of your life chasing something. it's often magical, and the journey is the greatest reward of all. But sometimes our dreams turn into nightmares. For Francis Ford Coppola, he has apparently been obsessed with the dream that is Megalopolis for over 40 years. That dream is about to become a nightmare. What is perhaps worse is that he was compelled to share his dream with the world. Now we all can have the same nightmare. I lucid dream, so I am literally incapable of having a nightmare. But the nearly three hours I spent watching Megalopolis must come about as close as I'm going to get. I guess in a way I should thank the man. Maybe it's not too late to change the film's title to Welcome To My Nightmare ... oh, wait. Alice Cooper already did that. Too bad.

“There are two kinds of people in this world, Jack. Runners or gunners, which one are you?”

I have to be honest; when I first saw the preview for this movie and saw Stephen Amell in that crazy wig, I expected this movie to be a car wreck. However, like all car wrecks, you can’t look away, so I accepted the fact that I would have to watch Calamity Jane, just to see how much of a car wreck it would be. Funny enough, it was not one at all. I mean, I’m still not over that crazy wig, and there were a few periods of inactivity that could have been skipped, but despite that, Calamity Jane actually turned to be an enjoyable movie experience. As expected, the major thing that it has going for it is the main reason that drew me to it: the opportunity for an Arrow reunion courtesy of Emily Bett Rickards and Stephen Amell. Throwing Wynonna Earp’s Tim Rozon into the mix was just a bonus (speaking of Wynonna Earp, be sure to also check out our review for the continuation movie).

This movie has been the talk of Prime Video, and I just had to see what the fuss was about. I’m no stranger to a Tyler Perry movie, but I can safely say that this movie has moved to the front as one of my favorites. Starring Meagan Good and Cory Hardrict, Tyler Perry’s Divorce in the Black does not shy away from the ugliness of toxic love. Good plays Ava, a good-natured and faithful woman, while Hardrict plays Dallas, her egotistical and entitled husband. Ava has dedicated her life to trying to be a good wife and please her husband, going so far as to diminish herself. Meanwhile, Dallas does everything in his power to keep Ava down and unaware of her worth. Things come to a head when Dallas leaves Ava heartbroken as he abandons their marriage. I wasn’t expecting to get sucked into the movie the way I did, but it definitely had me leaning in as Good’s character works to rebuild and take back her life in the face of a husband who only seeks to keep her under his thumb.

As I said, I’m no stranger to a Tyler Perry film, so I am very familiar with the formula for his films: a wronged lead character usually with low esteem plus an egotistical and entitled antagonist usually of the husband variety equals a betrayal of some kind, whether it be infidelity or in this case divorce. That is usually the formula, or some variation of that. However, I wouldn’t go as far as to suggest that the formula has become stagnant or outdated. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that everyone either knows someone experiencing this exact circumstance or has experienced it themselves. So, bearing that in mind, I’d say that this film is very much life imitating art, and given what I know of Mr. Perry’s background, he is merely holding up the mirror to the dangers of toxic love and the risks of not knowing your worth.

“You’re taking notes on a criminal conspiracy?”

I think a better name for this movie would have been The Amateurs, because it is very much amateur hour in this heist comedy, but in a good way. Well, it would seem that AppleTV is treating us to two Oceans’ movie reunions this year. Later this year, George Clooney and Brad Pitt will reunite for action comedy about professional fixers forced to work together on a job despite their preference to operate as lone wolves, hence the film’s name Wolves. And now Matt Damon and Casey Affleck reunite in The Instigators, a heist comedy about two robbers who must go on the run with the help of one of their therapists after a theft doesn't go as planned. Interestingly, this film also marks the tenth collaboration between Affleck and Damon, as well as Damon reuniting with director Doug Liman after 22 years (since The Bourne Identity) and Damon reunion with Hong Chau, who he worked with in Downsizing. Lots of reunions are going on in this film.