Comics Are Hard
So I took a movie break
In between comic work last week, I made the time to watch some movies. Here are my thoughts…
Mickey 17
Mickey 17 was a fun, sci-fi comedy that reminded me how much I enjoy a Bong Joon Ho flick. He takes an interesting concept about 3-d printing humans in the future and turns up the satirical wackiness. At times, the movie feels like a cartoon, which I embraced, although, I can see how this didn’t work for some viewers. Robert Pattinson as Mickey Barnes was a great casting. His quirky accent mixed with his slacker demeanor made him feel like a down and out Mickey Mouse destined for sex and death. If I had one complaint, I wish that the film would have leaned even more into the wackiness. The film was definitely trying to make a few points, but I think that this got in the way of what I really enjoyed about the experience. It was sort of 60-40 on the “goofy character story vs. meaningful statement” ratio, whereas I wish that it was more like 80-20. When it hit that sweet spot, Mickey 17 soared.
Strange Darling
Holy stranger danger, Batman, this film was fantastic. Strange Darling has been on my radar for a while now, and I finally had the chance to watch it on Showtime over the weekend. I don’t want to give away too much. The set-up is presented in the opening scroll – there’s a serial killer on the loose, and the movie is a dramatization of this real-world killer. Strange Darling goes places. It subverts well-known tropes. The film is structured in a non-linear way. It ducks and dives just when you think your face is about to receive a dead-on punch. I loved the originality of this movie. It was completely engrossing and inspiring. Ok, I will stop here to avoid spoilers. Go watch Strange Darling asap. Report back when you do!
Grave of the Fireflies
Grave of the Fireflies is a beautiful and solemn movie. During WWII, two siblings survive a war-torn Japan after their mother passes away. The premise is already primed for sadness. The movie’s heartbeat resides in following the struggle of Tatsumi, the older brother who tries his best to be a guardian, and his younger sister, Setsuko. We join them on their journey and reflect on what wartime does to the children of war. If you haven’t seen Grave of the Fireflies, you’ll be a mess by the end. Artistically speaking, the movie is gorgeous. Seriously, does Studio Ghibli ever miss?
As a side note, I was really happy with how this sketch turned out. It’s a shot of Setsuko hanging out by the water. I feel like I unlocked something new and interesting while making this piece. Love when that happens. A new tool in my sandbox.
Honorable Mention:
Even though it’s not a movie, my honorable mention this week is Episode 16 of Star Trek: The Original Series. I have lived too many years of my life without taking a deep dive into Star Trek, so I have made the decision to finally jump in. I want to make it through all the generations. It’s going to be a long journey. I’m pretty terrible at binging shows that already have a ton of seasons out, but I’m trying to stay at least somewhat consistent with Trek.
I have really enjoyed my time with the show so far. The episode “Shore Leave” has been my favorite. It’s sort of ironic that I watched this episode the day before seeing Mickey 17. “Shore Leave” was the wackiest experience in my mere 16 episodes. There’s an Alice in Wonderland rabbit, a Samurai, and a no-faced monster that just keeps throwing sticks. It’s hilariously wonderful.
The crew lands on a planet for a little R & R but quickly finds out that there’s something weird going on. Later, they find out that an advanced civilization reconstructed the core of this planet in such a way that an inhabitant can visualize anything and everything in their head, and said vision will be produced in real life. So, what does that mean for Kirk and the gang? A trippy survival adventure with a bunch of personality. It also means that one of the crew members is going home with not one but two cabaret dancers that he met back on Earth (well, visions of them). It’s so damn fun. I hope to see a good mix of the goofy-toned episodes with the more serious ones. Onwards, Captain!
Not much else to update on the comic making side this week. I’m trying to stick to a regular schedule with inking one page per night. It’s going well. I want to share more on these new pages, but man, they are littered with spoilers, so I need to hold back for now.
Also, I know that I have been saying this for MONTHS, but my webstore is launching very soon. I thank you all for being patient with me. Most of the time it feels like I have two full-time jobs and balancing becomes an issue. I’ll figure it out one day.
Reminder that I’ll be doing STAPLE! in Austin, TX next month. I’ll also be hopping on the Latinidad! panel on the Saturday at 4:30 PM. Snag your tickets here:
Alright, my movie-watching break is over. Back to the drawing table!
Thanks for your time,
Nico
Well now I want to watch strange darling
When I watched Grave of the Fireflies, it definitely gave a different perspective of war that isn’t often illustrated or spoken about.