I have been growing more impressed with Director Joon-ho Bong’s films and I am the most impressed with his newest release, Parasite. This movie is a comedy, drama and thriller that tests many limits as well as offering some expected and unexpected outcomes. Bong’s trademark of making films that are socially and politically conscious remain a big factor with Parasite. The film is filled with people taking advantage of one another, telling lies to get positive results, and thinking of strategies to impact an individual but also benefit the other. The film gets chilling as those elements go on throughout the movie.

The film centers on Kim Ki-taek (played by Kang-ho Song) who is unemployed and trying to maintain a better livelihood for his family since they have little income and can barely afford the necessities that are needed to get by in the world. With this inconvenience in his life, he starts to express an interest in working for wealthy families to gain access to more elegant factors. He has his son Kim Ki-Woo (played by Woo-sik Choi) act like a top-notch tutor for the daughter of a wealthy family, and then after that he has his daughter Kim Ki-jung (played by So-dam Park) be another form of support for the youngest son of that wealthy family. Finally, Ki-taek has his wife Kim Chung-Sook (played by Hye-jin Jang) play a part in being the new housekeeper for this family. The funny part is that the wealthy family has no idea that they are all related.

The Kim family takes advantage of the fancy household because the wealthy family is rarely ever around. They eat the fancy food, use the fancy technology, and even get other workers fired to have even more space for themselves. Parasite makes it seem that the Kim’s are being cheapskates, however, they are just finding resources to have things they cannot afford in life. They normally live in a basement home that is claustrophobic and can flood easily. Also, they have a spotty internet connection where they often need to roam other corners of their home just to get WiFi on their phones. Bong incorporates the family’s level of poverty descriptively where audiences start to understand why they are trying to become part of this wealthy family’s life.

During the movie, there are some scenes where the film may seem like a funny comedy but then it transitions into a dark comedy.  That is an element that viewers need to see for themselves by watching Parasite. The title alone is something viewers will understand when certain conflicts come around. However, the title is just one small part of the film’s central conflict. The main conflict is where things becoming haunting. The house may seem nice and cozy, but it has some dark secrets which relate to the wealthy family’s past.  Later, the Kim family falls into this realization when they are confronted with these various dark alleys.

Parasite is one I label as a top film 2019 on my list and that is because of its unexpected surprises. I went in with excitement, but my enthusiasm grew as I was watching the movie   and the crazy surprises started to occur. Bong tests his viewers by offering shock value with Parasite. The film will have viewers laughing and wondering as new clues to weird scenarios arise. I am giving Parasite four stars.

Now this is the role that Joaquin Phoenix was born to play. Joker is beyond one of the most thrilling, catastrophic, menacing, and haunting thrill-ride of October. Phoenix has all the perfect characteristics and attitude for this role. He has the suspicious facial expressions, the bizarre laughs, and has the momentum to build to the craziness as his villain character starts to evolve. For director Todd Phillips, he has stepped up his game with directing. I am used to seeing him direct comedies, or films that are dark comedies. Joker is a dark comedy. The film gets even darker as the film progresses.

The film starts out with gearing on the back story of Joker. The man’s name (before Joker is a name for him) is Arthur Fleck (Phoenix). He is a depressed, crazy, and mentally ill man that has a life he resents. He is on many medications and has lots of people that refuse to hire him or work with him. He also has many financial problems which start to impact his life. Also, his disorders that happen suddenly (most of the time) start to make him grow to be an even more dangerous person. He develops odd creative ideas, fantasizes about violence, and he views his negative actions to be a positive for himself because in his mindset he defines his judgment as funny (even though they are irreparable consequences). Phoenix delivers the role to the top of his game and it is just inviting but also disturbing.

I always thought Heath Ledger’s role of the Joker in The Dark Knight (2008) was one of the best jokers, but now I believe there are two of the best. Phoenix is the second. Only difference though, Ledger’s role geared on the mayhem and destruction without much of his back story (besides some childhood moments in certain conversations). Phoenix’s role gears entirely on his back story but leads up to mayhem. However, this one is much disturbing, and it is hard to define Joker as the protagonist or the antagonist. That is what makes Joker so enticing because viewers wonder if they should root for him or for the people he is impacting, but they also wonder if the prior abuse by other characters make them the antagonists. Joker is a film that leaves viewers to wonder who is to blame for the mental problems that have been built up in this Joker’s mind.

Phoenix is one of those actors that I find that has never done a bad role. He always has done something brilliant and this is another brilliant work of art by him. He is always good at playing someone ill-fated, depressed, or angry but expresses it quietly. I find that for this role, he will be praised for it and he already is. Also, I find that when I saw this movie, that Phoenix always can have either a memorable line or habit in his movies. He has that in The Master (2012), Her (2013), Inherent Vice (2014) and many other films. Phoenix always displays something memorable, yet disturbing, and that is why he is right for The Joker.

Overall, this movie needs to be experienced. May have some disturbing moments, but if you’re a fan of superhero movies, then this needs to be experienced. It needs though, to be experienced in a premium format. One that is like IMAX or 70 MM projection. I saw this in IMAX because I wanted to fee like I was watching The Dark Knight again in IMAX like I did back in 2008, and I remember people applauded right when Ledger came into the movie, because the IMAX experience made them feel he is right there. It did that for me with Joker in IMAX as soon as Phoenix came out as that character. I am giving this movie four stars!

In the category of movies that gear on secrets and political corruption which are based on actual events, Official Secrets is a thriller that is faithful to sticking to its facts and evidence regarding Katharine Gun. Official Secrets is one of those movies that leaves viewers thinking about the consequences of actions involving the government and foreign countries. It is a thought-provoking, daring, psychological rollercoaster ride of deceit, dishonesty, and legal factors that causes viewers to wonder what will have the most consequences for Katharine Gun. Keira Knightley, Matthew Goode, Ralph Fiennes, Rhys Ifans, and Matt Smith are all the right cast members for this movie, and it is directed by Gavin Hood. He directed Eye in the Sky (2015) which was quite good, but this is better.

The plot of Official Secrets is the true story of Katharine Gun (played by Keira Knightley). Katharine is a British whistleblower and spy who finds information that she believes the world needs to be aware of. She comes across a confidential NSA memo that contains information linked to both the US and UK regarding illegal spying involving members of the UN Security Council. The goal of the memo is to blackmail small, undecided member states into voting for war. Katharine leaks that information out to the public and it falls in the hands of the journalist Martin Bright (played by Matt Smith). Martin comes together with his journalism colleagues to write an article and uncover more confidential information about the leaked memo.

Tension starts to rise as the film uncovers more important secrets. Martin’s colleague, Ed Vuliamy (played by Rhys Ifans), is serious about the story and wants the world to know. The problem is that Katharine is initially anonymous that she leaked the information.  However, she does admit she is at fault once Martin’s article is written about what she leaked. With the new article and Katharine admitting she is the one who leaked the information regarding the political corruption, Official Secrets opens many doors to frustration, revenge, and trust. And, once Katharine admits what she has done she becomes the target instead of the information she has leaked.

During Official Secrets, there are moments where I thought there was going to be safety and progress for Katharine Gun, but my expectations were often wrong. That is because her government job working for a spy department allowed confidentiality to be waved in many circumstances.  She seeks legal advice from a lawyer, but then other members of the government inform her that she is only digging herself in a deeper hole because the legal advice creates a more negative image. Her lawyer, Ben Emmerson (played by Ralph Fiennes), is up for the challenge it takes to help Katharine get out of the issue she has created for herself. That is because in his mind he knows that she meant no harm, she simply wanted the world to be a safe place which is why she leaked the information.

What makes this film the most intriguing is the dialogue which is in-depth centering on the central conflict.  Viewers are curious about who is being more serious with Katharine regarding her legal troubles. As Katharine is frustrated with the media, viewers witness her yelling at her TV, “Just because you’re the Prime Minister, it doesn’t mean you get to make up your own facts.”  Clearly, Katharine knows much more about how politics work in the world and the reasons behind the corruption during this time period. Katharine is the fighter in this movie.

The film’s main character is not the only one who is dealing with issues regarding corruption. The people who work for the newspaper do as well. Martin and Ed start to feel that their sources may not be accurate regarding the leaked information.  Ed has the most negative feelings towards the media which make him argumentative and confrontational in most every conversation. Martin, on the other hand, shows he is stressed and serious, but he is quite mellow. Official Secrets characterization also adds intensity to various scenes throughout the film.

I find Official Secrets to be one of the best films of the year so far. I walked in thinking this movie looked but good had the feelings that it would be predictable. But it is not predictable, it keeps viewers thinking about which conversation is most important for the film’s main conflict and if that conversation is ever going to be revisited. The film has lots of irony and personification where it feels like viewers are reading a book and putting the pieces together. I loved this movie and I hope it is one that people see, especially because it is based on actual events. Three and a half stars.