“Joker” (** out of four) was an oppressively weird and pretentious origin story of Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix), a mentally troubled man in Gotham City whose life goes on a downward spiral into depression and psychosis and violence and soon turns into his alter-ego of The Joker. Director Todd Phillips initially holds you with a mood and style that is a throwback to Martin Scorcese’s “Taxi Driver” but you begin to realize that’s all that the movie is, as it never shifts into high-gear and wallows in unpleasantness for nearly two hours. Phoenix is outstanding in the lead role but his character becomes monotonous after a while, much like the movie itself.