What to watch: We’re caught in a bad romance

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Love is in the air – love between psycho soulmates, love that’s not skin deep, and love for stuff that will scare your dang pants off.
Joker and Harley Quinn’s volatile relationship in comic-book lore plays out musically, courtesy of Oscar winners Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga, in the sequel “Joker: Folie à Deux.” They meet in jail but would these two crazy kids find each other through a wall and hanging out in nifty pods? Perhaps not but a bunch of people do spark romance, to mixed results, in another season of the Netflix reality show “Love Is Blind.” And if you don’t love watching people’s relationships turn into an absolute horror show, and dig things that are more conventionally terrifying, there are plenty of cool horror movies to watch this month. All hail spooky season.
Now on to the good stuff:
In 2019, “Joker” caused a kerfuffle but in its case, controversy equaled cash – it became a box office-crushing, Oscar-winning hit. The new “Folie à Deux” sings a different tune – quite literally, it’s a musical with tunes from the Great American Songbook and even a Bee Gees number. Not all of the bigger swings connect but, boy, Phoenix and Gaga are a force on screen together as an iconic power couple. (Peep my ★★½ review.)
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Our man in LA Bryan Alexander chatted up Phoenix and Gaga, and Phoenix talked about veering away from a “traditional” sequel and giving Joker a real relationship: “What happens when somebody falls in love with the image that you project? There was something ripe about that.”
Fun fact: While most reality TV is not for me, my one not-so-guilty pleasure is “Love Is Blind.” I have no patience for cheap roses, tangoing Z-list celebrities or twirling judge chairs, but give me cheesy blind dates, boozy Mexican getaways and awkward family meet-and-greets ALL DAY.
The first six episodes of Season 7 are now streaming, with a new crop of potential couples getting engaged sight unseen and maaaaaybe making it to the altar. I’m rooting for science nerds Garrett and Taylor to go all the way (they seem like good folks!) and my colleague KiMi Robinson interviewed Taylor about how she didn’t want to tell her new beau her mom’s name during their pod dating as to keep her ethnicity a secret. “It was an opportunity to have someone not know how I look at all,” she says.
As you’re weighing giving out fun-size or full-size candy bars this year to trick-or-treaters, also start making some time for horror movies. ‘Tis the season, y’all! I rounded up 15 new flicks to best prep for Halloween, with a bunch on streaming services including Stephen King adaptation “Salem’s Lot,” foodie chiller “House of Spoils” and twisty body-swap jam “It’s What’s Inside.”
“American Horror Story” veteran Sarah Paulson stars in the period thriller “Hold Your Breath,” out now on Hulu, and my pal Ralphie Aversa talked with her about best practices for being a scream queen, including one time during “AHS” where she needed “a steroid shot in the old derrière to get me through the day.”
Got thoughts, questions, ideas, concerns, compliments or maybe even some recs for me? Email [email protected] and follow me on the socials: I’m @briantruitt on Twitter (not calling it X!), Instagram and Threads.