Flash Frames

Vera Drew in The People’s Joker Boy, did this have a rocky road. I remember reading articles about The People’s Joker , actress/director/co-writer/editor Vera Drew’s low-budget, punk rock, mixed media comic book parody of various DC properties, and how it was hit with a cease-and-desist at the Toronto Film Festival back in 2022 by Warner Bros. itself. It wasn’t until April of this year when it finally received a small theatrical release, and I’m kicking myself for not making the time to see it in a theater. At first, I thought I hadn’t seen anything that Drew has worked on, but after looking over her credits, I saw that she edited An Evening with Tim Heidecker , an hour of comfortably unfunny stand-up that’s practically anti-comedy. The People’s Joker lays claim to the term “anti-comedy,” and this Joker runs wild with it. For its characters alone, it’s a surreal remix of what Batman fans and DC fans in general know that feel almost nonsensical. Ra's al Ghul isn’t the head of the L...

I’m going to be honest, this is one of my most anticipated movies of the year. AGGRO DR1FT has fascinated me since it was announced last summer. Its director, Harmony Korine, who’s made movies like Gummo and Spring Breakers , has also actively shown his distaste for movies right now. He’s even dubbed AGGRO DR1FT as “gamecore,” being much more inspired by Call of Duty and Grand Theft Auto cutscenes than other movies. After premiering at the Venice Film Festival last September, it’s mainly gone on to be screened in strip clubs and be the background for Boiler Room sets by Yung Lean. So, whether or not I’d think it’s good or bad, AGGRO DR1FT was basically being set up as something new for the film industry, even if it’s a deep dive into experimental film and, at certain points, video art. Against all odds, though, AGGRO DR1FT does end up occupying a very strange space in my head. It’s worth mentioning what the plot is, even if it isn’t the focal point of the movie. Jordi Mollà play...