Joker
Fans of the Batman series will remember this popular character — the one who made Batman’s life miserable. He is a constant presence in almost all the Batman movies that were made throughout the decades. However, Joaquin Phoenix subverted our perception of the most-loved villain from the DC world. The movie sees Joaquin playing an impoverished party clown, Arthur Fleck/Joker, who is living with his mother. He belongs to the marginalised and the forgotten section of people. The disregard and abuse at the hands of the privileged drives Arthur to take the path of crime and chaos. It takes us into Arthur’s past, which is riddled with startling revelations. A must-watch for fab performances of the cast and, of course, the storyline.
V for Vendetta
It's difficult to define V’s (played by Hugo Weaving) character in the movie. He is a vigilante using terrorist tactics to restore order in a corrupt society. Set in a dystopian Britain under the rule of a fascist and authoritarian regime under the Norsefire political party. The leader, High Chancellor Adam Sutler (John Hurt), runs the country through propaganda and is against immigrants, homosexuals and people of certain religions. He either imprisons or executes them. There’s utter chaos and a lack of fairness in the way the country is run. In a bid to stop the country from crumbling further, V decides to take matters into his own hands. But the methods he uses aren’t really praise-worthy.
Maleficent
This is a modern-day take on the classic fairy tale Sleeping Beauty. Maleficent (Angelina Jolie) is a powerful fairy living in a magical forest. It is surrounded by a human kingdom. During her teen years, she falls in love with a human peasant boy. But as they grow older, Stefan's greed to become the king comes in between their love. He betrays her by taking away her wings. Years later, when Stefan’s daughter, Arora, is born, Maleficent puts a curse on her. The king asks three pixies to hide his daughter till her 16th birthday. Maleficent finds Arora and, unknowingly, grows fond of her. Over the years they form a bond. However, when she comes to know about the curse, Arora runs away from Maleficent. But, her welcome into the castle is not what she had thought. And, much to everyone's surprise, Maleficent ends up in the castle to save Arora.
Nightcrawler
Nightcrawler is a neo-noir psychological thriller starring Jake Gyllenhaal as Louis Bloom, a petty thief. One day on his way back home after a robbery, Louis comes across a group of stringers and photojournalists shooting a car accident that happened. He ends up following one of them to the news station where he learns that such footage are bought for news. Thinking that this is an easy way to make money, Louis resorts to extreme illegal ways (even causing incidents) just to get exclusive footage. As the narrative progresses, Louis gets caught in his own web of lies. Louis’ character throws light on the mad race that many media houses are a part of, to get an exclusive to boost ratings.
