#at least not in the usual vein - sophia was (and should be credited as!) at the very least his editor and collaborator

[lesbianaglaya]

revoking people’s right to talk about the tolstoy marriage until they write and turn in to me a ten page essay on complex relationships

[weekendwarriorblog]

The Weekend Warrior January 31, 2020 – THE TRAITOR, THE RHYTHM SECTION, GRETEL AND HANSEL, OSCAR-NOMINATED SHORTS

Last week was fairly pitiful, relly, but that doesn’t mean this weekend is gonna be much better. At least Guy Ritchie’s The Gentlemen exceeded my original expectations despite its fairly moderate theater count, and Universal’s The Turning is the studio’s latest horror film to bomb as 1917 continues to do well-deserved big business, crossing the $100 million mark. Actually, most of the movies this past weekend got a nice bump on Saturday, possibly due to the crappy weather across the country. This weekend won’t be so lucky.

Before I get to the wide releases, only one of which I’ll have seen by the time you read this, I want to instead draw attention to one of this week’s limited releases. Marco Bellochio’s THE TRAITOR (Sony Pictures Classics) was Italy’s selection for the Oscars and deservedly so, but it wasn’t even shortlisted in the new “International Film” category, which is a real shame. It stars Pierfrancesco Favino as Tomassso Buscetta, part of the notorious Palermo-based Casa Nostra crime family, responsible for much of the heroin trade in the early ‘80s. After Buscetta flees to Brazil with his wife (Maria Fernanda Candido) and large family in 1981, he’s eventually arrested by the Brazilian authorities and deported back to Palermo where he turns informer and works with Judge Giovanni Falcone (Fausto Alessi) to try to take out the Sicilian mob family.

I can’t even begin to tell you how amazing this film is, even if you go in cynically believing you already know everything about the so-called “MAFIA” from watching Goodfellas or “The Godfather” movies. You can tell that Bellochio really did his research into the life of Buscetta, and then had the wise move of hiring Favino (who I met on the set of Disney’s Prince Caspian, of all things!). Favino embodies Buscetta in a way similar to Edgar Rodriguez in Olivier Assayas’ Carlos, as the film covers almost three decades of his life, much of it in paranoia for turning on his criminal brothers.

The movie has a few lulls, most notably during the lengthy courtroom/trial scenes that are unlike anything you’ll ever have seen before or after – they’re complete madhouses – but the movie also delivers in quieter dialogue scenes, particularly those between Favino and Alesi. It’s amazing to think that someone responsible for so many deaths, both by his own hand and by heroin addiction, could be turned into a bonafide hero, but it’s hard to deny how brave Buscetta must have been for being involved with the takedown of the Casa Nostra for over a decade.

Bellachio has made a film that’s on par and sometimes even better than Scorsese’s The Irishman, and he does that in an hour less, too!  Seriously, if you’re into crime films and want to know more about the reality of how the authorities deal with it, The Traitor is a must-see. It opens at the Film Forum and Lincoln Center in New York on Friday as well as The Landmark in L.A.

Now back to our regularly-scheduled program…

This week’s wide offerings don’t seem particularly strong with Blake Lively starring in the political thriller THE RHYTHM SECTION (Paramount), along with Jude Law. Directed by Reed Morano, I wasn’t able to figure out what the movie was about from the trailer, but apparently, Lively plays a woman trying to get revenge on those who caused the plane crash that killed her family. Really, I don’t know much more about this movie except that it was supposed to come out last year sometime before being moved to this weekend in January, which may end up being a better slot for it, that is, if anyone cares to see Lively in this kind of role. But since I have seen it, here’s my review…

Mini-Review: I’ve never really been a huge Blake Lively fan, but it’s impossible to deny her talents as you watch her playing a glammed-down junkie-hooker who transforms herself into a hired assassin. I’m not sure there are many other actors in Hollywood who could pull off such a role in what’s a pretty decent “Bourne”-inspired revenge thriller. (The irony is that the movie is produced by EON, the producers behind the Bond movies, something that could be credited for achieving ssthe movie’s world-spanning storytelling.)

Lively plays Stephanie Patrick, a woman whose parents and siblings died in a plane explosion. There years later, she still feels responsible since she didn’t get on the plane with them, and she’s hit rock bottom until a journalist (Raza Jeffrey) finds her to tell her that the crash wasn’t an accident, instead a target of a terrorist bomber. Stephanie believes him enough to go with him but when he ends up dead, she goes looking for his mysterious source in Scotland, who turns out to be Jude Law, an ex-MI6 who trains her to kill, giving her information about the responsible terrorist ring, “U-17.”

It’s a fairly simple story, adapted by Mark Burnell from his own novel, but it’s also the type of story that could go horribly wrong – see Jennifer Garner’s Peppermint for proof. A lot of credit has to be given to filmmaker Reed Morano, who gives The Rhythm Section such a distinctive look and tone without ever losing sight of the tension needed for a movie like this to work.

The movie does start out a bit slow, so it requires a bit of patience until Law shows up, and there’s some fun interaction there, but it’s definitely more of a drama than it is an action movie, so you should go in with that in mind. After being trained, the film starts following Stephanie, as she takes the guise of a dead assassin and dons different looks to go on her deadly missions. Sterling K. Brown also brings a lot to the film as another one of Stephanie’s contacts.

Ultimately, The Rhythm Section is a better movie than many will be expecting, a solid political thriller that isn’t the thing we normally get from a wide studio release in January. The pacing and some of the artier choices by Morano might not make it the most accessible film to everyone, but there’s no denying how it effectively pulls you in with the story and Lively’s performance.

Rating: 7/10

If that isn’t your cup of tea, there’s also the horror-fantasy GRETEL AND HANSEL (U.A. Releasing), directed by Oz Perkins (The Blackcoat’s Daughter) and starring It’s Sophia Lillis in a decidedly different horror role, but obviously, she gets the top billing in this take on the Hans Christian Anderson fairy tale, which I’m not 100% sure will be screened for critics. (At least I wasn’t invited to see it, so what else is new?) I can see how this might interest people more than last week’s The Turning, but it just doesn’t feel like that many people will feel the need to go to the movies.

Oh, it’s also Super Bowl weekend. I literally have no idea who is playing and I’ve made other plans Sunday night, but it always tends to affect box office business on Sunday due to the Super Bowl parties and the fact that people might want to sit at home and watch TV commercials and movie trailers rather than go to the actual movies. (Shrug emoji.) Either way, Sony lucks out with a third weekend at #1 for Bad Boys for Life, something that certainly wouldn’t happen in any other time of the year.

This week’s Top 10 should look something like this…

1. Bad Boys for Life (Sony) - $17 million -50%

2. 1917 (Universal) - $9.5 million -40% (up .2 million and one place)*

3. The Rhythm Section  (Paramount) - $9.3 million N/A (down .7 million and one place)*

4. Gretel and Hansel  (U.A. Releasing) - $7.6 million N/A (up .4 million)*

5. Dolittle  (Universal) - $6.7 million -45% (down .3 million)*

6. The Gentlemen (STXfilms) - $5.9 million -45% (up .3 million)*

7. Jumanji: The Next Level  (Sony) - $4.6 million -37% (down .2 million)*

8. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (Lucasfilm/Disney) - $3 million -48%

9. The Turning  (Universal) - $2.8 million -60%

10. Little Women (Sony) - $2.5 million -45%

* UPDATE:  A few updated prediction based on actual theater counts including 1917 getting more theater this weekend that should help it retain second place over Black Lively’s The Rhythm Section. Also, Orion Pictures is pushing Gretel and Hansel into almost 3,000 theaters, so it should be good for fourth place unless Rhythm Section doesn’t click or connect with Lively’s fans.

LIMITED RELEASES

It’s always exciting (at least to me) when the annual OSCAR NOMINATED SHORT FILMS (ShortsTV) are released theatrically, since it gives everyone (at least in select cities) a chance to see all the shorts that were nominated,  and it gives you a little more chance to do well at your office Oscar poll.  This year’s selection has a much shorter run than usual, since the Oscars will be held on February 9, about ten days after the short films are made available, so don’t drag your feet on these. I rarely get to watch many shorts over the course of the year, unless I’ve been called to be a juror at a film festival, so it’s nice to at least get to see 15 shorts every year that are considered the best of the best.

I tend to be most interested in the animated shorts, and besides the five nominees, this section will include a few “highly commended” films.  I’m pretty sure everyone who sees Matthew A. Cherry and Karen Rupert Toliver’s Hair Love is gonna love it, as it follows a young African-American girl’s attempts to tame her unruly afro with the help of her father. It’s such a wonderful short with a beautiful ending, and in my opinion, it’s also the best-looking of the nominees, maybe since it uses a more traditional animation style than the other films. I would be shocked if this doesn’t win the Oscar.

Kitbull, one of Disney’s Sparks Shorts involves the relationship between a cute black kitten and a pitbull, a nice wordless film in the Pixar vein. It’s too adorable not to be considered as a possible spoiler in this category. sThe French animated short Memorable from Bruno Collet deals with a painter suffering from dementia, and it uses a fairly unique stop-motion look and style.  On the other hand, I found the style used in the Czech film Daughter from Daria Kashcheeva to be rather jarring as it deals with the relationship between a father and daughter trying to heal, while the Chinese animated short Sister by Siqi Song actually deals with a similar topic as the fantastic short-listed docOne Child Nation, although it also uses a somewhat strange style. (Actually, I didn’t realize that Sister was stop motion, but I went to a dinner where I got to meet Ms. Song’s “actors.”)

The doc shorts tend to be the longest of the three groups with shorts ranging from 20 to 40 minutes, so these will often be broken up into two programs for viewing.

Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If you’re a Girl) clearly has the most self-explanatory title of the doc shorts, and it’s also the most likely to win, not only due to its memorable title but also the adorable little girls in bright-colored dresses who attend “Skateistan,” a school for girls who aren’t allowed to be outside due to Afghanistasn’s strict Muslim rules. (This is shown as part of Program A along with Life Overtakes Me.)

MTV’s St. Louis Superman, directed by Smriti Mundra and Sami Khan, is probably the most likely as a spoiler in this category, as it follows Ferguson activist and state rep Bruce Franks Jr. as he tries to fight back against gun violence both on the political floor and as a battle rapper.

The Korean doc In the Absence documents a horrifying ferry accident that kills hundreds while the proper authorities drag their heels in saving people, while the Swedish doc Life Overtakes Me, directed by John Haptas and Kristein Samuelsons, deals with refugee children in Sweden who, in the grips of trauma, get an illness called Resignation Syndrome, so it’s also quite timely.

Lastly and definitely not least is Walk, Run, Cha-Cha, the New York Times doc short directed by Laura Nix (Inventing Tomorrow), that’s a beautiful story of a couple who were separated by the Vietnam War but reunited years later and are now dancing together in California. It’s a beautiful film and story that might not be as groundbreaking as some of the others but is still quite wonderful and romantic.

At least the live actions shorts are more consistent in their timing with movies between 15 and 25 minutes, but they also offer equally international offerings.

The Neighbor’s Window is three-time Oscar-nominated documentarian Marshall Curry’s first narrative effort, and it deals with a Brooklyn couple with two kids who get neighbors across the street who seem to enjoy a bit of exhibitionist sex, making them feel older. It’s a nice dramatic short that allows Curry to use The National’s music once again. (As I learned when I interviewed himin 2010, he’s friends with singer Matt Beringer.) The film takes a sad turn towards the end, but it’s a fine foray into narrative filmmaking and also, a strong PSA about buying drapes.

Bryan Buckley’s Saria takes place at a Guatemalan orphanage for girls where the title character wants to escape with her older sister to America. It’s actually based on the true story of a fire at the Virgen de La Asuncion Safe Home in Guatemala that took 41 lives in 2017 but from the viewpoint of these young teenagers. The movie is not necessarily about the fire as that happens at its very end, though this is definitely my favorite short of this group, dealing with a lot of tough (but extremely timely) issues, so I honestly think it might win the Oscar in this category.

Oddly, there are two shorts that take place in Tunisia and involve shepherds (sort of) with Meryam Joobeur’s Brotherhood involving a father whose son Malik returns home from Syria with a new wife. I found this one to be pretty dull and not particularly worthwhile. Slightly better is Yves Piat’s Nefta Football Club, whichfollows two boys who find a mule carrying drugs. (That is, an actual mule, not a person acting as a mule.) It’s a decent short with a fairly comedic ending, but I don’t think it has much of a chance of winning either.

The Belgian short Une souer (translated as “A Sister,” not to be confused with the animated short Sister) by Delphine Girard involves a kidnapped who makes a phone call to an emergency service and tries to make her whereabouts known without giving it away to her assailant. It’s a pretty decent thriller that does a lot in a short amount of time (about 16 minutes), but I don’t see this as something that might win the Oscar.

You can catch the Oscar-Nominated Shorts in select cities starting today and then slightly wider starting Friday, and then they’ll be available via streaming next week on Tuesday, Feb. 4

Julia Garner from “Ozark” stars in Kitty Green’s THE ASSISTANT (Bleecker Street), a movie about a young woman named Jane, who is working as an assistant at a busy New York distributor/production house based in the Tribeca area that couldn’t possibly be referring to the Weinstein Company, could it? I had pretty high expectations for this film, having heard about it as far back as last year’s Sundance where it premiered, and yes, while it is extremely timely, the cinema verité method that Green uses to tell the story of Garner’s character doesn’t make for a particularly interesting movie other than a few interactions, like one with Matthew Macfadyen as the company’s HR person when Jane reports her worries about the boss’ actions (nothing done to her, mind you). I do like Garner as an actor though, and I can’t wait to see what else she does post-“Ozark.”

At least the next film put up by its country for the Oscars’ “International Film” category was shortlisted, but it’s nowhere near as good as The Traitor (in my opinion). The Russian Oscar selection, Kantemir Balagov’s BEANPOLE (Kino Lorber), starring Viktoria Miroshnichenko and Vasilisa Perelygina as nurses Iya and Masha, working at a veteran’s hospital in Leningrad shortly after World War II. Iya is an extremely tall, lanky blonde woman referred to as “Beanpole” (hence the title) who also has a condition where she’ll freeze up at the most ill-opportune times. She’s taking care of a young child, who most presume to be her son but is actually Masha’s illegitimate son.  The problem with this movie is that 20 minutes into it, something absolutely horrifying happens, and it just goes downhill from there. It’s not a bad movie but it’s one that’s really hard to watch, especially as Iya decides to do something to help her friend Masha, for reasons I don’t really want to spoil. Anyway, if you thought the sex scenes in the Brazilian offering Invisible Life were awkward and uncomfortable to watch, you haven’t seen a thing!

Hitting the Quad Cinema on Friday, the Laemle in L.A. on Feb 7 and other cities to follow is the Guatemalan film José (Outsider Pictures), directed by Li Cheng, and starring newcomer Enrique Salanic as the title character, a closeted gay man who lives with his mother in Guatemala City, surviving on selling sandwiches at bus stops. Unfortunately, Salanic was denied an entry visa, so he won’t be able to attend the film’s New York premiere, but Li Cheng will be doing QnAs at the Quad all weekend.

Also, Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite is getting a “black and white” release this weekend, because… well, who knows why anyone does anything anymore?

STREAMING AND CABLE

If you weren’t at Sundance, you can sit back, chillax and watch the Taylor Swift doc Miss Americana on Netflix (as well as in select theaters but who would want people to know that they’re a Taylor Swift fan? So just stay at home and watch it since Netflix won’t report its box office either way.) There’s also the new Norwegian superhero series Ragnarok, which launches its first season this Friday and that might be more my speed.

Hitting Disney+ this week is Jon Favreau’s The Lion King, which I still haven’t seen, as well as a few other movies. Also, Robert Rodriguez’s Alita: Battle Angel will debut on HBO this Saturday night, and “Veep” creator Armando Iannucci’s new series “Avenue 5” will premiere its pilot on HBO’s streaming platforms starting Friday.

REPERTORY

Before we get to the usual theaters, I’m thinking of adding a few new ones (well, not that new as they’ve been around for ages), for instance, the Anthology Film Archives, which is pretty much in my neck of the woods are having a series called “The Devil Probably: A Century of Satanic Panic” starting on Friday night, complete with an appearance by Lucien Greaves, spokesperson and co-founder of the Satanic Temple, who will hold a black mass ritual and give a lecture before showings of Benjamin Christensen’s Häxan and Penny Lane’s 2018 doc, Hail Satan? (which is about Greaves.)  Other movies in the series include The Black Cat (1934), The Seventh Victim (1943) and classic thrillers Rosemary’s Baby (1968) and Race with the Devil (1975), as well as Terrence Fisher’s The Devil Rides Out (1968). (This week, the AFA is also showing late founder Jonas Mekas’ 1962 film Guns of the Trees with other Mekas works at least through Thursday!)

NITEHAWK CINEMA  (NYC):

Okay, we might as well initiate another new addition, the Brooklyn theater with two locations, one in Williamsburg and the other in Prospect Park. The Williamsburg will be showing David Slade’s excellent 2005 film Hard Candy, starring Patrick Wilson and Ellen Page on Friday night as well as L.A. Story, starring Steve Martin and Daryl Hannah on Saturday and Sunday. On Thursday night, Prospect Park will screen Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining(1980) but mostly will be focused on new films.

Now back to our regularly-scheduled rep theaters, including my personal fave…

METROGRAPH (NYC):

The Metrograph is beginning a theatrical run of a 35mm print of Martin Scorsese’s 1977 film New York, New York, starring Bobby De Niro and Liza Minelli, and while it’s the closest thing to a musical Scorsese has directed, it acts more as a biopic for the writing of the classic song, “New York, New York”… kinda. This was not my favorite movie when I first saw it in theaters as a kid, and it hasn’t improved that much with age although this is a great era for Minelli, just a few short years after she won the Oscar for Cabaret. (That was one of the main reasons I saw it when it first hit theaters.) It also should be of interest to those who want to see De Niro when he was young enough to look like his de-aged self in his latest collaboration with Scorsese in The Irishman. But if you thought that movie was long then this movie’s 2 ½ hour run-time is also a killer.

I was pretty thrilled this last weekend to see so many young people enjoying the movies of Hal Hartleyat the Metrograph’s retrospective, and this weekend, it will continue with Hartley’s best-known trilogy starting in 1997 with Henry Fool, which was followed up with Fay Grim (2006)(which I wasn’t a big fan of) and 2014’s Ned Rifle(which I never saw). This weekend will also see Hartley’s The Girl from Monday (2005) and a number of shorter films.

Another series starting Friday is To Hong Kong with Love, for the theater’s continued Lunar New Year, celebration, which runs through the month of February. This weekend we get Peter Chan’s Comrades: Almost a Love Story from 1996 and Christopher Doyle’s Hong Kong Trilogy from 2015.Welcome To Metrograph: Reduxcontinues on Thursday with another screening of Edward Yang’s 1991 film A Brighter Summer Day.  On Saturday night, the Safdies are presenting a screening of Adam Sandler’s The Wedding Singer from 1998.

This week’s Late Nites at Metrographis Brian de Palma’s Scarface (1983), starring the one and only Al Pacino! Also, THIS WEEKEND, Playtime: Family Matinees  is showing Taika Waititi’s excellent 2016 film Hunt for the Wilderpeople on Saturday and Sunday morning, so I expect to see you all there, at least on Saturday, which is when I’m attendings.

ALAMO DRAFTHOUSE BROOKLYN (NYC)

As mentioned last week, tonight’s “Weird Wednesday” is something called Killer Nun, and there’s also a sold-out Big Lebowski Movie Party. Next Tuesday, the Alamo is showing Michael Haneke’s 2002 film The Piano Teacher, starring Isabelle Huppert, and then “Terror Tuesday” is the 1977 horror film, The Sentinel. (Apparently, the Anthology isn’t the only New York theater on a satanic kick.) Next week’s “Weird Wednesday” is the “Lone Wolf and Cub” classic Shogun Assassin from 1980. (There will be two showings… one at 7pm and another at 9:30!) Also, on Monday, you’ll have another chance to see Takashi Miike’s Audition (1999), although that’s also almost sold out.

THE NEW BEVERLY (L.A.):

Weds’ afternoon classic is Sidney Lumet’s 1976 classic Network, and then Weds and Thurs. nights, you can see a triple feature of Orca (1977), Nightwing (1979) and the horror film Prophecy (1979),which is a pretty amazing trilogy. Friday’s “Afternoon Classics” is Friday the 13thPart V: A New Beginningfrom 1985. Friday night’s Midnight offering is Tarantino’s Django Unchainedwhile the weekend Kiddee Matinee is Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone from 2001. Wes Anderson’s Moonrise Kingdomwill screen as a matinee on Monday.

FILM FORUM (NYC):

The Forum’s “Black Women” series continues this week with a number of movies including Dorothy Dandridge in Island in the Sun  (1957) on Friday, Tarantino’s Jackie Brown on Saturday, along with Pam Grier’s classic Foxy Brown, which inspired it. Sunday is The Color Purple and more through the weekend, including Hal Ashby’s 1970 film The Landlord screening on Sunday and Monday night. This weekend’s Film Forum Jr is The Incredible Shrinking Man from 1957 in a 4k restoration.

EGYPTIAN THEATRE (LA):

The Egyptian has been busy screening Oscar movies, trying to get some Academy members in to see them before voting next week. Cinematic Void 2020 continues this weekend with the Giallo film Strange Shadows in an Empty Room (1977) on Friday, then Joe Dante’s 16mm spotlight screens This Is Not a Test (1962) on Saturday, and then the Marx Brothers comedy Horse Feathers shows on Sunday in 35mm, and then that afternoon, they’ll screen Putney Swope, the 1969 film directed by Robert Downey Sr. and My Dinner with André (1981).

AERO  (LA):

Thursdays “Films of Marty and Bob” matinee is Mean Streets (free to Cinematique members), and then on Friday, it’s “Ford vs. Capra” as Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and Young Mr. Lincoln (both from 1939) screen as a double feature. Saturday is a “Ford vs. Spielberg Double Feature” of The Searchers (1956) and Saving Private Ryan (1998). Sunday is a suitably-timed “Super Dust Bowl Double Feature” of Ford’s The Grapes of Wrath (1940) with 1942’s The Ox-Bow Incident.

MOMA  (NYC):

This week’s Modern Matinees: Jack Lemmonare Glengarry Glenn Ross (1992) on Weds, Costa-Gravas’ Missing (1982) on Thursday and the 1995 film The Grass Harp. MOMA is also doing an “American Indies, 1980 – 1989” series  that will screen Charles Burnett’s My Brother’s Wedding (1983) and Steven Soderbergh’s sex, lies and videotape (1989) on Weds, John Waters’ Polyester (1981) and Bette Gordon’s Variety (1983) on Thursday, Jarmusch’s Stranger than Paradise (1984) and Wes Craven’s A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) on Friday, as well as the Coens’ Blood Simple, Wayne Wang’s Chan is Missing and Lizzie Borden’s Born in Flames over the weekend.

FILM AT LINCOLN CENTER (NYC):

Milos Foreman’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975) will screen on Thursday as part of FilmLinc’s New Wave event for new members in their 20s and 30s. Oh, you young people get all the good stuff and yet, you still complain about everything. What’s up with that?

IFC CENTER (NYC)

Waverly Midnights: Hindsight is 2020s is James Cameron’s Terminator 2: Judgment Day yet oddly, the other two ongoing series are taking off this weekend. I wonder why. Or maybe they’re just showing some of the same-old-same-old like The Shining, Suspiriaand  reshow of Cuaron’s Children of Men. (Plus they’re showing the Oscar-nominated shorts and other Oscar nominees in many theaters.)

MUSEUM OF THE MOVING IMAGE (NYC):

In conjunction with its 2001: A Space Odysseyexhibition, MOMI has a series called “Influencing the Odyssey: Films that Inspired Stanley Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke,” this weekend showing Metropolis (1927), Forbidden Planet (1956), The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) and Ikarie XB1 (1963). 2001: A Space Odyssey will also screen again on Saturday.

ROXY CINEMA (NYC)

This week’s Nicolas Cage offering on Weds is 2002’s Windtalkers, which I remember liking even though it’s probably not good. They’re also showing Cage’s Gone in 50 Seconds remake (co-starring Angelina Jolie) on Thursday.

LANDMARK THEATRES NUART  (LA):

Ooo… this Friday night’s midnight screening is a good one, one of my favorite movies of the last decade,Edgar Wright’s Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010), starring Michael Cera and Mary Elizabeth Winstead (who is also in next week’s wide release)!

Next week, Margot Robbie stars in Birds of Prey: And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn, and honestly, that might be one of only two or maybe three times I type out that annoyingly-long impossible-to-remember title!