Throwing in my two cents *spoilers*
I think it goes without saying, "Joker" has taken the world by storm, and after watching the movie, it's not hard to see why. Todd Phillips has expertly crafted a beautiful movie. Let me go over what I liked about the movie.
Pro:
Joaquin Phoenix as Joker- Phoenix was the major selling point of this movie, and it comes as no surprise how brilliant he is. Even without going into his preparation for the role, he still nails it on the head. He makes you feel sympathy for The Joker like sympathy for a rabid dog; I feel bad for it and i'm sad for how it got there, but that doesn't mean I don't think it shouldn't be put down, it absolutely needs too. I could go on about how good the performance is, but everyone already has.
Cinematography- Lawrence Sher really captures that other worldly vibe that while the visual style is similar to our world, enough is off to know we're not in our world. Another visual style I caught and enjoyed was how Arthur Fleck for most of the movie was never in the center of the frame, since he's just a little bit off. Little visual moments like that really bring the movie to life in such subtle ways.
Editing- Jeff Groth, and Todd Phillips crafted a really well edited movie. None of the editing feels out of place, and only cuts when it absolutely needs to. Everything flows nicely throughout, and keeps the visuals running at a strong pace.
Score- Hildur Guonadottir's score is brilliant. The score does an excellent job keeping the audience in the head of Arthur's psyche. Also, a lot of the joker themes sound similar to 'The Dark Knight' joker theme from Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard. Little touches like that get me.
Cons/iffy:
If there's one thing I would change about the movie, I wouldn't kill the Wayne's at the end. It's been done so many times, and I feel it wasn't needed in the movie. It does feel like sequel baiting to me personally, but it's a minor thing I can live with.
This movie is great. It doesn't get a full five stars from me though. The reason being is I feel that better films might come out later this year, and I feel that while this movie is great, the hype for this movie has taken me out of it slightly. Don't get me wrong, I loved it, but I don't know when I'll return to it.