The King of Comedy

It's Martin Scorsese's second least popular movie, after The Last Temptation of Christ. Which is a shame, because it's Scorsese's second greatest film, after Taxi Driver.

It's very funny, and it ends on a high note that was, for me, both a total surprise and completely satisfying. Yet it's also bristly, sometimes manic to the edge of lunacy and, along the way, terrifying.

Creepiest movie of the year in every sense, and one of the best.

To be sure, Robert De Niro turns in another virtuoso performance for Martin Scorsese, just as in their four previous efforts. But once again -- and even more so -- they come up with a character that it's hard to spend time with.

De Niro gleefully rubs our nose in the excruciating experience of watching someone who thinks they're funny flail helplessly, but the movie's one undisputed triumph is Jerry Lewis' performance as chat show king Jerry Langford.

It is frustrating to watch, unpleasant to remember, and, in its own way, quite effective.

A disturbing picture of a world in which television is taken for a "reality" higher than everyday life, it's also darkly funny.

Brilliantly keeps viewers unmoored, the result of its consistently off-kilter tone.