Melissa_Antoinette_Garza

I've waited so long for this movie. I actually bought tickets on 7/18 to make sure I could see it on 8/4 in IMAX.

I have adored The Joker, in all of his incarnations since I can remember. He's probably my favorite character of all time. I fully admit that I went to see this for The Joker and Harley Quinn's romance. For that alone, it was well worth it. Still, it had a lot more going for it.

The film begins when Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) assembles the worst psychotics to take on any non-human threat.One villain, The Enchantress (Cara Delevingne) is a witch unleashed by archaeologist, June Moone. Amanda keeps The Enchantress's heart, which gives her control, until The Enchantress brings her brother back and they begin to take over by turning people into creatures who work for them.

We're introduced to most members via backstories. Deadshot (Will Smith) isn't really too bad of a guy. He's a hit-man, who loves his daughter and is captured by Batman because of that love.

I adore Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie).I would have watched her backstory with The Joker (Jared Leto) for hours. She, of course,starts as Dr. Harleen Quinzel and The Joker is her patient. She falls for him and even brings him a stuffed animal kitty. He asks her for a small favor. All he wants in the whole world is a machine gun. How could anyone deny him that? So, she like anybody with a heart would,gets him one. He breaks out and gives Quinzel a bit of shock. Later above a vat of chemicals that turned him into the sexy beast he is. She willingly jumps into the vat wanting to be his. The Joker starts to walk away. He's angry at himself for caring about her, but jumps nonetheless. I love them together.

As the King of Gotham, if an idiot disrespects his Queen, The Joker obviously has no choice but to kill. He, after all, is still The Joker.He's a sexy, David Bowie/Alice Cooper gorgeous killer who needs his own film with Harley.

You can keep THE NOTEBOOK and TITANIC. The Joker and Harley ALWAYS does it for me and the casting here was topnotch.

Due to Batman's reckless behavior of jumping on his car, The Joker drives into water and narrowly escapes with his life. Harley is then put in jail.

Of course, The Joker isn't going to leave his lady love in prison. He gets a guard to sneak her a phone and texts that he's coming for her.

Some are upset that the movie didn't make a love triangle between Deadshot, Harley and The Joker. I'm SO glad they didn't. It isn't only Harley's strength that The Joker likes. It's Harley's complete infatuation and loyalty to him. He created her. They're meant for each other as if her were Adam and she Eve. It's her willingness to throw away her career,jump into a vat and be reborn into Harley that makes him take her.

It's her complete and sworn devotion to him that not only he enjoys, but the audience enjoys too. The Joker and Harley are perfect together as is. They should be a duo that rules Gotham together. I'd love them to kill Batman and take over. It's like NATURAL BORN KILLERS and BONNIE & CLYDE, but sexy.

By the way, how is there not a Harley & Joker comic? Why isn't there one? MAD LOVE is my favorite. I love the backstory between them. Why aren't they ever allowed a universe where they can create mayhem,screw over Batman and get away with it.

I would love to see Harley in a position to continuously save The Joker and vice versa.

Now, there were other characters too. Killer Croc (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje) is a bad-ass. He lives in water and has the exterior of a Croc. He's strong and doesn't mess around. He was pretty funny and also an intimidating dude.

Diablo (Jay Hernandez) is a guy who when pushed to the edge can start fires with his hands. He doesn't like doing it because years ago, he got angry and set a fire that killed everyone in his house.

Boomerang (Jai Courtney) is a huge tough guy who loves fighting and throwing his boomerang. He's witty and funny. He definitely has a few shining moments. I wouldn't mind seeing a movie about his character.

Amanda puts Rick Flagg (Joel Kinnaman) in charge. He's a soldier who has fallen in love with June Moone and wants to save her from The Enchantress. On his side is Katana (Karen Fukuhara) a woman who traps the souls of her victims in the same sword her husband's soul is trapped in.

This was definitely non-stop action. The film was smart enough to divide the time that the Joker was on screen so you never went longer than about 10-15 minutes without seeing him. Jared Leto shines. I knew he would. Ever since I saw the first picture released where everyone was upset about the tattoos, I was like, "Yep, there's the Joker."

Leto is different than any Joker we have seen in the past. I thought I'd be the only one rooting for him, but I wasn't. Most of the crowd, at the theater, loved him. He's maniacal, crazy and so much cooler than Batman.

Many fans of The Joker have stated on message boards that he needed to be in the film more. I can't deny that, but then again it could have been a 12 hour long one-man-show of The Joker and I'd say, "we need a bit more Joker."

Overall, see this in IMAX. I know I'll see it a few more times before it comes to Blu-ray and then I'll buy the Blu-ray.

Kudos all around. Everyone did a really great job.

Admittedly, I didn't know who Abbie Hoffman was or what the Youth International Party was until I was in my very late teens – early 20s.

I saw him in different programs I watched but I never truly knew his impact. I was a bit worried about watching anyone portray him in a film. Vincent D'Onofrio is a fantastic actor but I stayed away from this movie for a long time because I'm always weary about reenactments for dramatic effect. I never want to confuse fiction for reality. So many do that on both sides of the political spectrum that I like to know the facts. It is for that reason, biopics always make me a bit uneasy.

It was the cast that influenced my decision to watch it. The film includes Janeane Garofalo, Kevin Corrigan, Donal Logue, Kevin Pollack,and Jeanne Tripplehorn. It doesn't get better than that.

The film opens as Hoffman (D'Onofrio) while in hiding is talking to a reporter recounting his involvement with the movement. It starts when he's helping African Americans register to vote and is beaten by a cop.

Fast forward to him meeting his wife Anita (Garofalo) on a bus where he and his friend Stew Albert (Donal Logue) hold the passengers up with water pistols.

Anita is also interviewed by the reporter who believes that the government has better things to do than track down Hoffman. She then recounts their run-ins with the law, COINTELPRO and how deep the resentment of Hoffman is.

The entire movie was done in a realistic and careful manner that I appreciated. I loved the real footage that was shown while Hoffman states "Do you remember 1968? They killed the good guys as they were about to elect the bad guys…." It's such a powerful and honest statement.

This is nearly 50 years later and I can taste how close the revolution actually felt for the protesters.

I hate when people look at the counterculture movement as some drug-induced idiocy to disregard. It was well thought out, the risks were very real and when the Vietnam Conflict ended and the mindset of people didn't change is it any wonder why revolutionaries like Phil Ochs and Hoffman are no longer with us? Call it bi-polar or any other mental illness you want to, at the end of the day – I believe they died of rightful disappointment. What they gave their life for was dead. How do you live after that? Why would you want to?

Kevin Corrigan portrays Jerry Rubin, founding member of YIP and good friend of Hoffman. Though the two disagree on methods at times, the love and shared beliefs the two have is always apparent. In one scene,Rubin is being carried by protesters as he speaks against the war and starvation with such emotion and genuine heart. The next scene is a short black-and-white scene of military tanks and a "welcome to Chicago" sign on fire. In that quick transition the momentum and feeling of the film changes. That happens throughout.

It's a roller-coaster ride of wanting the change, believing in the change,feeling the beauty and connection between all of those in agreement, but on the flip – still seeing people die, the war going on,sabotage by government officials, denial of permits to protest without reason –the list goes on and on.

This movie does everything right and I'm glad that I watched it. It's the kind of film that people who have a conscience need to watch.

People are still being prosecuted for protesting. People are still being listened in on by the government, framed and detained without reason and when you bring it up there are still people saying "You're paranoid."

Where is the outrage that was so prevalent in the 60s? My guess is silenced by big pharmacy and brainwashing. When people care more about who wins a show like The Voice than who is elected in office, the disillusionment of the government is so high that we are basically admitting to being helpless and not wanting to fight to change it. Where is the fight?

Where are the Abbie Hoffmans and the Jerry Rubins? Where did they go? And why am I a hypocrite who sits watching this movie rather than risking any personal harm to fight? If I protest I could get arrested, if I get arrested I'll lose my insurance license, if I lose my license I can't afford the house I'm buying. It's the game and I lost, for now.

That said, movies like this need to be made. We need to remember the 60s and we need to learn from it. This film brought me to that place.

The acting as can be expected is great all around. There are moments that are absolutely hilarious like when Hoffman and Rubin are in court wearing judicial robes and are ordered to take them off only to reveal police uniforms. Then there are moments that anger and frustrate. There are gut-wrenching scenes of real violence and re- enacted violence that at 5 AM are making me scream at my TV.

It's pretty easy to get angry when you see rights being trampled on.

Just watch this movie.