When people insult my reviews I cheer myself up by eating a DELICIOUS sandwich and doughnut. However, I do NOT drink the doodoo water.

Nothing funnier than having a different opinion than someone else

De Niro arguably owes a large part of his career to the fact that Coppola DIDN'T de-age Brando for the flashback sequences in Godfather II. He should have said "nah, hire a young guy" when Scorsese asked him to play the 40-something version of himself.

Dude. I love the framing of this video. Just wonderful. And your insert shots of the environment make me so happy. Thanks for your thoughtful words as always.

But if you de-age Joel, I can watch your awkward 90 year old animated body movements when you inevitably beat up a man outside a grocery store.

Joel’s set here looks like he’s sitting inside of a painting. Really pretty work of art especially considering it was just supposed to be the backdrop to Joel talking about movies. Draws my attention almost as much as 50% of the screen dominated by subway surfers gameplay would.

Whether people agree or disagree with your opinion, everyone should appreciate the amount of nuance and specificity you're bringing to the conversation of filmmaking. Keep it up!

i hate de-aging. Those people had their time. Let new stars raise.

Joel, I found this video insufferably opinionated and I can’t wait to see more. Please do more review content. I love seeing reviews that take the alternative route, using subjectivity to tell how a piece of media impacted the reviewer through the lens of their own life and experiences. Too often we seek objectivity from art, with black and white, 1-10 star transactional viewership. Art is not something that can be boiled down to a number so easily. Sometimes the way a movie affects the watcher is more important than the content of the movie itself.

I can imagine Joel going to a coffee shop not long after filming this, sipping from his beverage and noting the warning on the side of the cup that confirms the little known fact that liquid can indeed be hot.

I still liked The Irishman but I can see the validity of your take. Makes me want to rewatch it under that viewpoint.

"i love your sketches but your philosophy in this review is stupid"... as if the sketches don't exist bc of and represent that exact philosophy

First time seeing this review. As a fan of the Irishman takes like "recognizable faces, recognizable icons, technical polish" initially read as reductive, but you've made a compelling case for why we shouldn't prop legacy directors up as the "future of cinema." I think a lot of what you direct towards the Irishman, I've been feeling a bit towards movies like Oppenheimer - features that suffer from bloated casts and plotlines, which have little to say beyond their subject matter, and which are compositionally inaccessible, pushed as a benchmark cinematic ideal for young filmmakers. At their core they are fun movies, they're not creatively bankrupt, and they do get asses in seats. Nolan, Scorsese, Fisher, etc., now dominate these larger, ambiguous conversations about the importance of pop cinema and imo the self-importance of the spectacle is failing to push the needle in an interesting way. Thanks for the video Joel :)

Side note: are you alive Joel, or are you in Heaven? The lighting and this room look angelic.

Scorsese's issue with Superhero films isn't their budget, it's that, for decades, they've crowded out features with real human stories. As he put it- ". . .they have no stakes.".

I haven't seen the movie... or even heard of it, but I can 100% say you are wrong!

I can agree with the take that this large amount of money is ridiculous, and that de-aging is generally a really lazy workaround for keeping recognisable stars involved in a project instead of hiring new talented actors (which is what they should be doing), but I can't see it as a slight to this movie, I think its strengths in filmmaking go beyond the technology and I think it's a fantastic piece of cinema despite that rather than because of it. Do I think they should've hired younger actors instead of de-aging De Niro? Sure, I think that'd be awesome. Do I think the de-aging ruins the film and the messages it speaks to? No, I still think it's one of Scorsese's finest films. To be perfectly honest I would much rather see $175,000,000 spent on a mature, artful film like The Irishman over most of the CGI clusterfuck nightmares we're seeing over in the superhero blockbuster genre (although I'd rather rather it be split up and spent on multiple smaller movies).

That's one lovely room

Netflix was the only studio that was willing to pay that much money and they have recently come out and said they're gonna slowly move away making big budget movies like Irishman. Martin got extremely lucky to get that kind of budget. Nobody else wanted to pay him the kind of money that he was asking for.

A lot of what you said in the first half really helped me put a point on why i didn't like Barbie, despite it ostensibly being a movie made for me. i did the barbenheimer meme and the first thing i saw sitting in the Oppenheimer theatre right after seeing Barbie was a truly atrocious Barbie tie-in ad for Google shopping. It really blows a huge hole in your film's supposed anti-consumerism, pro-feminist themes when there are ads playing in the same building where an air-headed barbie talks about how much she loves shopping and pink stuff and has a crush on her hot neighbour or whatever. It was a real crystallization of how (imo) that movie really fails in its goals in part* because of its context and baggage. No film can be removed from the context it was made. You can love a movie despite or because of that context. I enjoyed the Irishman, I didn't enjoy Barbie. Now I have to try to reckon with myself about why that's the case! Thanks for giving me food for thought as always Joel

can i just say how genuinely pretty and well composed this shot is??how does he do it!!

Love the framing of this shot and the colors and setup of this room. The shirt goes great with the poster in the back. Nice work. Also, you let em have it, Joel.

While I really enjoyed The Irishman, I absolutely understand your opinion and how the cost is unnecessary in making quality cinema. Your film Pretend That You Love Me is one of my rare 5-star films in letterboxd and I love all your low-budget features. Your opinion is completely fair and justified and I hope you feel the support more than the hate because you deserve support not only for the content you make but the people you inspire.

The thing that gets me in those comments, and maybe this isn't the point of this video, but it's how many of them open with "I love your videos, but" like they want you to know that you should "know your place." It's so toxic.

Finally, someone who doesn't treat Scorsese as a religious savior who'll die if his (extremely flawed) filmography receives literally any criticism.

I love what you do Joel. I think this is a great topic of discussion for filmmakers like yourself and I appreciate you sharing your thoughts.

Love hearing you talk about movies.

I love your framing. Even just just for a short video about a movie review it is such a nice shot

Oh my lord, that apartment is adorable!

Love the framing! Beautifully shot :)

I appreciate contrarian perspectives, so I fully respect your viewpoint. Personally, I found "The Irishman" to be quite impactful; it lingered in my thoughts and left a haunting impression. How a chain of ill-fated choices and steadfast loyalties can culminate in a lifetime marked by solitude, remorse, and anguish. The theme of the relentless passage of time and the prominence of aging and dating was disturbing and way more pronounced in The Irishman rather than Goodfellas or Wolf of Wall Street. You really feel the profound impact that the passage of time has on their lives way more than Scorcesse's previous films. It's undeniably a somber film. Your critiques regarding the budget and the de-aging process are valid points. Your review delves more into the technical details or production nuances that aspiring filmmakers like yourself, that have an eye for the craft, would naturally gravitate towards. But the average viewer tends to experience a film on a more visceral level, focusing on the storyline, characters, and emotional resonance; so the issues you mentioned didn't really bother me. I think that's why it really effected me and others too.

Seeing this and Joel’s newest video on his main channel, I’d love to hear him talk about Starfield! His positivity and the wonder he tries to inspire in filmmaking is right up that game’s alley

So the guy who wrote "Tromeo and Juliet" gets a $300,000,000 budget, no issue, but one of our country's most storied filmmakers has to produce his final picture on a shoestring?

"Your opinion is insufferably opinionated" ... like what LMFAO

Shortly after that guy defended ‘the Irishman’ in the comment section of a letterboxd review, Scorsese bought them a yacht

Joel: Isn’t afraid of praising Adam Sandler movies; isn’t afraid of criticizing Martin Scorsese movies. My hero. Joel agrees with my favorite critic Armond White far more often than you might think lolol

I agree with your mentality in regards to what society considers to be a "film", and love that you're a big advocate for defending the art form in its purest form, without relying on the pretense of self importance our culture feeds us, but I have to agree with the haters somewhat in this case. Imagine The Irishman was made for 5 dollars as everyone was really generous and wanted to make it, and the film was released for free on UKposts by some unknown old director, but it was exactly the same as it is now, would you still give it 1/5 stars? If so, I don't actually have an issue with that, as we just have very different opinions. But if your rating and opinion of the film is being influenced by what the film represents to you rather than the film itself, I don't agree that that's the way we should engage with art. Similarly to how it would not make sense for me to say Chinatown is a horrible film because Polanski is a pedophile. Or that I don't like The Shining because Kubrick was an awful person to Shelley Duvall. I think we should ignore context to some extent when it comes to art, and not let outside elements influence our opinions to such an extent, that way we are neglecting the art in favour of an agenda. I can be completely wrong about this, but I feel like your hostility towards films like The Irishman is a product of an ideological disagreement regarding Hollywood, and the result of your insecurities of not being taken seriously because you don't fit into the established system. If this is the case, I want you to know you don't have to take down other films that were made according to the system, those can be great too in their own right, and you are no less of a filmmaker just because you work outside of said system either. These things are not mutually exclusive and you stand for something really special, I believe with time, newer forms of film production and distribution (like indie UKposts films) will be more widely accepted as real films, and you were one of the main faces of that change! But other films don't have to be invalidated for that to happen. I happened to find The Irishman and incredibly touching and effective portrayal of how we deal with our mortality, the fact it took millions of dollars to make doesn't, and shouldn't, get in the way of how I perceive the content of the film itself. I also think the parallel you're seeing between the "fading icons" subject matter in the film and the real life people making the film is a bit misguided, as the fact that these people are all famous or the film was expensive doesn't negate the truth about how they too will end up being forgotten by newer generations as time goes on. Beyond that it also seems a lot more likely to me that the thread connecting Scorcese's real life to the tale in the film is not his professional tragectory but his personal family life, as he has said that he thinks he made a mistake in not finding the right balance between filmmaking and raising his kids, and some of his older children grew up without much connection to him because he spent so much time working on films instead. He said he learned to find a better balance later but he still regrets the way he lived decades ago. Similarly, the character in The Irishman also neglects his family throughout his entire life, knowing one day he will be left with the regret of mistakes that can't be undone and knowing he didn't spend his time in the things that really mattered. Anyway, I love your content, despite disagreeing with you this time, it's still interesting to find opposing views

Are the cuts to the plants to poke fun at the Irishman? Because it definitely feels that way and gave me a chuckle each time. Also I really appreciate these thoughts, you make it clear that you’re talking about it as art and it’s meaning and how it made you feel, which I think is more valuable and interesting than just talking purely about the plot of a story

The Irishman pains me to no end. As a VFX artist, my personal goal has been to show people that CGI can be pushed further, and used for more things than simply underpaid patchwork. When you have a medium that can do as many things as CGI, it hurts to see it used in such a creatively bankrupt way. I can't imagine the gruelling effort it took these artists to simply "make an old man look less old". I get that CGI is still in its infancy as a medium, but I really hope we start seeing people using this tool in the way it deserves to be used. Not as a fill-in for more expensive practical FX, but as the form of expression it deserves to be.

Love you Joel ♥️ as a film lover, I appreciate your reviews. Keep doin what you're doing. Don't listen to the haters. 😊

Randy Quaid would have been a better lead. Deniro is like a coffee pot you find in a hunting cabin-sure it will work, but it's toasted!

Cactus on the left lookin like a plant gundam

I love your open space very comforting

I just like how the Irishman ends better than any other scorsese biopic, cause that old crook really had nothing at the end. No witness protection, no cookbook, no nightclub, no casino, no motivational speaking career, no book deals. Just some piece of shit who lost it all and then some journalist published his story after he died. SO much disrespect that he SO deserved Your perspective is totally cool, my tolerance for bad CGI is all over the place, Irishman snuck under it, and I never really consider the context of a movie when watching a movie. Maybe you could argue that's a good thing or a bad thing but I am happy

Honestly I don't think we are critical enough of movies these days. Too many 7.5/10 imdb movies that are really sub 5. Pacino salvages whatever this movie was supposed to be, but if it were not for him I don't think there was much to write home about.

Joel they’re not gonna comment about this but I think the way you framed this review of a review goes crazy. Love the background

The idea that no one should say anything that isn’t widely agreed is pretty absurd when you consider it. How dare someone think differently than everyone else about a thing

I have been following Joel from the beginning, because he is transparent about his passion in a world where many are just fading into the background with their options.

You know, I have a particularly hot movie take that has to do with The Goonies, but I won't mention it here for the reason you made this video. I loved The Irishman, but getting upset over an opinion is just insane to me. Keep being you, Joel. Love ya. :D

I admire your courage Joel. Also your home is beautiful.

I really like you and this review. I like how earnest you are. Thank you :3

It insists upon itself

I have never heard you say “um” once. Goes to show you think before you speak. Love your work Joel xx

the people responding to you for that comment are off the walls. hope they chill 1 day

Yesterday night I was procrastinating and read through all 64 pages worth of Joel's letterboxd reviews. I even went into the comments of the Irishman to see what people said in response. Weird coincidence that the day after, Joel does a video on it.

Can you give any breakdown of your edit/crop/colour correction choices for this shot? I find it such a calm and composed way of creating an authentic discussion visually, I’d love to try and replicate that feeling.

I needed to be de-aged after watching The Irishman

I think for Joel, the people and story *behind* the creation of a film informs his viewing of it more than it does for most people. For as polished or pro a movie is, the bloated nature of its budget sours the entire experience for him, just as a rough and poorly-acted film could be seen as endearing for it’s ambitions and intentions. I can agree with most of what he said, I think I just personally see films for what they literally are more than I am empathetic to what it took to make them. Idk.

Joel just needs to go back to reviewing Apple Jacks commercials

I Love the room You sit In ❤️ 😄 Cheers!

movie would’ve been better if they just kept getting more and more de-aged until they’re like mobster babies at the end

So many people base their opinion on their own snap-judgement of the first paragraph, first scene, first note of an expression of art. Even if I don't agree with each and every opinion you or someone else may have, Joel, I still greatly enjoy hearing your side of it. Love you and your work, man. Thanks for being around and being you.

I don't think it is about fading icons. But getting old, pretty much that. However, I do see your point.

Damn, that last shot is so good i had a Mandela effect moment and thought it actually stayed there and that close up didn't exist.

I really hate how social media seemingly encourages contrarianism, like the old adage of “if you have nothing nice to say, don’t say anything” got completely reversed and it’s just the norm now.

Coming from a small country (Austria) my perspective is that low/mid budget movies are the norm. Most of my favourite Austrian movies are super indie and experimental. Of course there are some bigger production, but those usually just try to mirror what Hollywood does best anyways. I can really recommend getting into Austrian cinema though! Small country but lots of interesting stuff

That dining area makes me go uwooooguh! I can't help it I just do that when I see something real nice I love this channel and I like listening to your unedited (?) Thoughts

I really like the colors in this one! Did you get a new camera?

A movie isn't bad _because_ of its budget. But if a movie doesn't _justify_ its budget, then it's adding insult to injury.

I enjoyed the Irishman. I don't have much of an eye for cinema so I wasn't thinking about the cinematography and didn't notice the CGI. I wasn't around during the whole Jimmy Hoffa thing so it was a new story to me, and an interesting one. That being said, I appreciate your perspective, and I see where you're coming from. It's in-line with the philosophy you've already demonstrated in your own work. In that light, I can see how the movie wouldn't hit the same at all. It's a shame so many people just went straight to lashing out instead of actually engaging with the ideas you put forward. Although I'm not surprised to see it, pretty par for the course for reddit (and social media in general lol).

When I made ‘reviews’ as AHAB on Letterboxd, I delighted in the absurd responses to my absurdities. Your work is marvellous, Mr Haver. Taking nothing but a good hearty chuckle from the salty comments is an excellent way to go about your business.

In my ignorance and with my lack of access I never saw this movie, but I love to hear your thoughts about the industry. To me they ring very true, and even if they didn't, it's agree to disagree! Good stuff Joel, loved the plant shots

Funniest thing about that movie is that the supposed 40 year olds move like 70 year olds

Nice plants. I see a bunnytail cactus, jade, that tall thing is an "african milk tree" i think. Also a mother of thousands! You should do a plant review

I feel like you didn’t hear the part about how it took nearly a decade to bankroll this movie and Hollywood despised it, even with DeNiro and Scorsese attached to it. I’m all for the importance of independent cinema and new ideas in the medium, but to call Scorsese a hypocritical money grubber because he made a relatively basic movie that cost a lot of money is more vindictive than constructive.

This is a fair point about the medium, one can argue about what society supports the best art (and how our society does not) but given that we have this particular society and we have the hurdles one most overcome to make high profile art in this society, it must be said that Scorsese is one of the few that can push through big name films with _some_ artistic integrity (and he's been doing it for awhile) Silence and Wolf of Wallstreet are two greats of the past decade it's sort of insincere to compare this to this 70s and 80s when the restrictions on what type of movies could be made (in the mainstream) were much more lenient and artist friendly

The ultimate irony I suppose is that the returns from its theater run seemingly capped off around 8 mil and most watched it at home on streaming services for 10 bucks a pop. I 'liked' the film but you're right it really is nothing new Scorsese-wise. Thinking about it in this context does sour the whole conversation about Martin's posturing with what's "cinema". Also shout out to letterboxd It's a beautiful thing. I find myself irrationally enraged by some reviews but when I can check out other reviews from that same person in question it's not long before I am lead to reconsider their words after seeing their appreciation for so many films that I also like. (That or it's confirmation they just hate films and aren't worth the headspace haha) Love what you've done with the place by the way

"The deaging special effects artists who put years into this movie." I think you'll find they took years *out* of it.

I thought I was doing something wrong when it took me two sittings to finish The Irishman while my film peers unanimously lauded it. I vividly remember Taxi Driver but can't even name a line from Irishman, yet I first saw them both in the same month in 2019. Now I know why--thank you for the validation

I love that this is basically Joe dissecting movies on a professional level as somebody in the profession that has experience versus just an outsider that maybe only reviews videos but doesn't make any. it's so naturally conversational because it's like you're talking to a colleague.

You can be a celebrity and feel alone or forgotten. Alone in a crowd etc. Not that those who cared about them could ever actually forget them

I really liked the Irishman, I didn't agree with your review, but I also respect it. You bring up good points on how a real rebel would just do something outside the studio system, and yea the cgi, is not that great lol. Even when I disagree with you Joel, you still challenge my views and make me think about these contradictions

Couldn't agree with you more, well maybe I could but I can't think of anything right now.

I love the plants. Great vibe

I felt very similarly about the 1990 film: A Gnome Name Gnorm. It was well-loved by critics and audiences alike, but I considered the overinflated budget to bring in Gnorm was absolutely a detractor. The director, Steven Winson, just saw dollar signs and followed the money while making the film. It had such great potential and while most people loved I think it fell short. I would love a Joel review on this piece of cinematography.

I think you make a strong argument here. It's also a good rebuttal to Scorsese's complaint about superhero movies, which always rubbed me the wrong way. There are too many superhero movies, but a great Marvel movie is also a great movie.

My issue with marvel movies is not that they can't be well made or interesting, it's just so obvious that no one is in any real danger because on the real world end is an overpaid actor that they aren't going to kill off. As you pointed out, the de-aging and cgi bringing these overpaid actors makes the film feel more like an "avengers" film, where all of the mafia actors from people's childhoods are back, being in a mafia movie together, like some big crossover, where the most interesting thing about them is that they are in the same room together, acting. I didn't hate watching it, and a few moments were amusing, but it by no means was memorable beyond like 1-2 little scenes. Regardless, I hope to see many more of your films Joel.

Totally agree on the movie, it always bothers me when they do the "we de-age this guy" or "this hansome guy is wearing makeup and is now fat and ugly, what a good actor" why not hire a person that fits the role, guys?

Joel wondered out loud and everyone yelled "why wasn't I consulted?" lol

That cactus is edging towards the door mate, ya better catch it!

I remember seeing this review on letterboxd and while I didn't really fully agree with it, I didn't get why people got so upset over it.

Totally off topic but Joel have you seen Lake Mungo? It's a found footage style improvised Australian horror film (the structure was planned but the acting was improv, similar to what you do). I would be curious to hear what you thought about it!

I’ve never seen a movie over explain to and underestimate its audience so much. To say nothing of just failing to edit junk out.

“You have to stomach the annoying comments” - Martin Scorsese

I totally get your point and agree. I think people are mad because they're expecting a thing or two about the plot and the writing rather than this ethical/ philosophical aspect when they see 1/5. Its not clear what the weights are for the total score. But i cant make any excuses for the insults or threats (if any).

Thanks for going over that! I've not seen the film, but your reasoning is sound. Reviews will reflect the thoughts of the reviewer, and that is right and proper. I know if I were to review a police drama my review would be vastly different than my spouses' review. Both would be valid, though, and that sort of diversity of thought is something beautiful about our uniqueness. Keep being awesome.

Please do these in 4:3 aspect ratio so its the only video that fully fits my screen .

I loved how a man that's clearly in his 70's is running around with a 6 year old daughter, and people were pretending like he was in his 20s.

I also did not enjoy the Irishman. Felt like I was being gaslight by how much everyone loved it, like they were all just trying to convince themselves they loved it when I really can’t see how that’s possible. Just so long, and so boring.

so... did you move to Europe or what? man that room has amazing aesthetics! gorgeous! I thought you were talking about Bansees of Inisherin haha!! (175 mil!? lol) No, but I really do love your take on The Irishman, I totally agree!