Brazil

I watched the 1985 Terry Gilliam film Brazil this weekend for another Kickstarter backer -- my fantastic publisher Oni Press!! :D Editor Charlie Chu has given me many movie recommendations over the years, and he hasn't steered me wrong yet.  This movie was great!!  If you haven't seen it yet, do yourself a favor and go watch it before I spoil it for you here.

Read on for some spoiler-filled reaction comics!

Uuuuuuugh....some of the satire was too close for comfort.  The cosmetic surgery stuff was....unsettling.  Same goes for the ugly highway lined with ads depicting gorgeous landscapes, and the "Consumers for Christ" group in the shopping mall scene.  It was all in that suuuuper uncomfortable space of funny and dark/disturbing at the same time.  Well done, movie.

Easy joke, sorry.

 I loved the bureaucratic satire, especially uniforms like this character's!  All of the official pins and patches and badges and pads and caps.

 WHEN HE'S LEANING IN AND OUT AND UGHHHHH COME ON SAM

 Nooooooo....!

 Lot of WHAT in my first viewing of this film.

The sets and the framing of the shots in Brazil were SO uncomfortable and cramped!  It was really effective but it made me squirm in my seat.  I was dying for a shot of the sky or any open space or green.

UGH.  That was a great ending but UGHHHHHHH.  I wanted Sam to be happy with magically-alive badass Jill in a pretty country home. :( Humph.

I love the song Brazil, and it was a treat hearing so many variations on it throughout the film.  My favorite version will always be Pink Martini's cover, though!  ;)

The Thing (1982)

I watched The Thing (the 1982 version) yesterday for another Kickstarter backer -- the lovely David Harper of Multiversity Comics! :D I've wanted to watch this movie for a long time.  I remember once being on vacation in a cabin with my family and friends of the family.  Our dads and teenage brothers watched The Thing together, but advised me not to since it was pretty scary (good call, honestly).  I missed my chance and didn't get around to seeing the film until now.

Read on for some spoiler-filled reaction comics!

Aaaaand I would be the first one to die. xD

I felt so bad for Dog Guy!  I was totally sympathizing...poor puppies. :(

*His name is "Childs", not "Giles" xD

This movie was great but it was SO SCARY to me.  Something about the suspense coupled with the gruesome, CGI-free special effects just struck a chord with me.  And that simple soundtrack with the "bump bump...bump bump"--so effective!

At the same time, it was funny how I knew what was coming, because so many subsequent works have borrowed from The Thing.  I was flashing back in particular to episodes of South Park and The X-Files.

The tropes of a quarantine situation / witch hunt work so well for developing dread...and then you've got the added time limit with the storm moving in, the communications going out, and the much larger picture of springtime taking the infection global if they don't kill the thing before it kills all of them or freezes itself...so tense!
It was dreadful watching characters turn on one another and give into their worst and most basic instincts...even our hero commits murder out of fear and self-preservation blown out of perspective.  I loved how the movie made you doubt EVERYONE--the dog sneaking up on Nauls in the kitchen fades to black rather than showing what happened, the temporary loss of lights puts everyone in the gray, Windows cuts his finger just out of view, Dr. Blair is alone in his hut unsupervised, Childs goes missing from his post and runs into the storm for some reason...we have to take people at their word, and end up trusting no one.  It's terrifying!

I'm reading the Wikipedia entry for the film, and laughing in horror at the "Annual viewings" section, which claims that The Thing and The Shining are regularly viewed by the winter crew at the Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station.

The Abyss (1989)

I just watched The Abyss for the first time.  Thanks to Benjamin R. for requesting this film! (You can choose a movie for me to watch and make reaction comics for, too!  Just click the link on the right.)  Read on for some spoiler-filled reaction comics!

Sorry, it's already taken.

And she did! Yay! :D

 

I really like how this guy never got around to putting his pants back on.  Respect.