As with “Hustlers,” New York City provides the backdrop of affluence and competitive instincts that drive wayward characters to set themselves up to fail. It’s only a matter of time before the entire ludicrous plan comes crashing down. That’s where Howard (Adam Sandler at his agitated best) runs a perilous operation at the center of the Safdie brothers’ riveting thriller “ Uncut Gems.” Howard’s pileup of schemes finds him attempting to sell a rare jewel to Celtics player Kevin Garnett while pawning off items to bet on an upcoming game. On the other hand, maybe it’s a jewelry store. Asked to explain herself when a probing journalist (Julia Stiles) confronts her, Ramona puts the entire narrative in the broader context it deserves: “This whole country is a strip club.” By the time that blunt assessment has arrived, “Hustlers” has earned it. The true story of New York strippers who drugged and robbed the men they drew into their web, the movie offers a precise look at how an eager young woman like Dawn (Constance Wu) can become sufficiently despondent to join forces with someone like Ramona (a fierce Jennifer Lopez) in a dangerous scheme that inevitably catches the attention of the law. Lorene Scafaria’s explosive “ Hustlers” encapsulates the financial desperation that fuels reckless schemes. It’s the anti-“Joker,” though both movies provide a window into the challenges of confronting fanatical views while staying sane.Īmerica’s not just arguing itself into a hole it’s grasping to survive economic uncertainty, as it reels from the recession a decade ago and braces for the prospect of another around the corner. By relegating a sinister ideology to silly punchlines, it falls short of interrogating the disturbing manner in which real people come to harbor dangerous thoughts. However, the movie inadvertently illustrates the vanity of that mission. Waititi made a well-intentioned attempt to answer the resurgence of bigotry and hate groups around the world with a charming look at what it takes to break free of those views. That debate has no clean solution, but it’s a more sophisticated provocation than “Jojo Rabbit,” Taika Waititi’s so-called “anti-hate satire” about a confused Nazi child in WWII-era Germany who dreams up Hitler as his imaginary friend. “Joker” will elicit many compelling arguments about the morality of hovering inside its lead character’s perspective, even pitying his maniacal state. “It’s enough to make you go crazy.” The very existence of a stern, urgent comic-book movie generating attention this season around the plight of a bad guy speaks volumes about these upside-down times, when real-life villains and crude instigators seem more emboldened than ever to step into the spotlight. “Everybody’s awful these days,” Phoenix’s Arthur Fleck tells his shrink. Despite the ‘70s backdrop, it’s no stretch to argue that “Joker” extrapolates the genesis of internet trolls from the inside out. Being the butt of jokes on local television turns him into a seething, anarchic maniac who delights at causing chaos. Yet rather than becoming the dapper comedian of his fantasies, the depressed clown becomes an accidental viral celebrity after his standup routine goes awry. With a spindly Joaquin Phoenix at its center, Phillips crafts a vivid exploration of the way one man goes mad through his relationship to television and desire for fame. Chris Rock Calls Oscars ‘F*cking A**holes’ for Snubbing Adam Sandler
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