joshcaladia

[joshcaladia]

Mickey 17 — A Modern Masterpiece

I just watched Mickey 17 in the most run-down theatre that I think I've ever seen. There must've been 50 or so dead pixels in the bottom left corner. One of the front-left speakers was consistently fuzzy. It was also packed in the theatre, so we didn't get very good seats. Despite this, it was one of the most enjoyable theatre experiences I've had in years, maybe ever. The incredible score, VFX, acting, story, editing, cinematography, and anything else I've forgotten to mention, just blew me out of the water.

Some may be surprised that this was my first time seeing a Bong Joon-ho film, and after seeing Mickey 17, I'm surprised too. Every part of this movie spoke to me in a way I almost never experience in movies and TV. I'll be avoiding spoilers in this review, but a few major plot points will be mentioned.

The Score

The score was instantly immersing, with a seemingly impossible mix of hard and soft, modern and classical, always playing at just the right volume, at just the right time.

The Effects

The visual effects were consistently flawless, with only a few mere moments of CGI-floaties, and my girlfriend noticed one (1) actual error in a distant shot of a crowd simulation. I never felt a separation from the physical and digital world.

The Cast

Then there's the acting. Robert Pattinson once again shows off his brilliant range, with a meek voice for the titular Mickey 17, and a harsher, drier voice for his less-titular counterpart. His presence shrinks as 17, showing his timid nature, and his emotions always feel extremely real. Steven Yuen's understated presence as Timo is similarly perfect. His mannerisms and the way he delivers his lines is as realistic as it gets, without getting banal. Naomi Ackie as Nasha was just about perfect casting. Her diction and physicality perfectly mirrored that of Pattinson's rather non-physical performance (as well as playing up his other, much more physical performance).

The science team always felt exactly like the stereotype of a science team, in only the best ways. Awkwardness, undying loyalty to scientific progress, and of course only the whitest of lab coats.

Mark Ruffalo is in his prime in this film, as is Toni Collette, as they play the most deranged power couple put to screen, with all the subtlety and nuance of the people they're a parody of (ha ha). Ruffalo takes every moment on screen and makes it instantly memorable. Collette speaks and moves in such a way it enhances her character's already uncertain motives.

The Story

To recap: the story of Mickey 17 follows Mickey Barnes in his escape from Earth through a space ship colony on a mission to an ice planet, along with his long-time friend Timo, after they take a loan from the creepiest mob boss alive to start a poorly-thought-out macaron store, and can't pay it back. While Timo can talk his way into a pilot position on the space team, Mickey takes the first job he sees, which is the controversial 'expendable' position. Expendables are scanned, killed, regenerated, killed, and regenerated again, ideally forever. They're banned on Earth due to the ethical and moral concerns, but in space, anything goes (on the drive home, I listened to Anything Goes by Tee Lopes, and it resonated as poignant to the movie). Mickey goes through many regenerations, through a few incidental deaths and a dozen or so deaths related to the science team testing on him. I won't go over the particular tests, but they mostly involve being injected with a formula, directly followed by throwing up blood. It's not until Mickey survives an assumed death, aided by an alien species (known as 'creepers'), and returns to the colony to find he's been cloned again, that things start to go off the rails.

Mickey 17 doesn't waste time telling you who Mickey is and what his job is, but doesn't rush at all to give any other details. It's paced slowly, but not monotonously. This is also one of the only movies I've ever seen with sex scenes that are not only short, but also directly serve the plot, which is how I like my sex scenes.

There are several flashbacks, some nested, and a lot of the context of earlier scenes are given prudence from later scenes. Near the very end of the film, there's a moment, a fairly long scene considering what it is, as a flashback respective to the scene surrounding it, which you might assume would completely fuck the pacing up, but it actually serves to give the surrounding scene a lot more weight. The timeline of the edit is so unique, and I love it.

The Editing

My oh my, the editing. The sound, the music, the timing, the effects, all of it is incredible, but none more so than the fact that Pattinson's dual performance is completely seamless. Not just in visual effects, but in the reactions from other actors. It's perfect. 'Nuff said.

Conclusion

I don't feel like I talked enough about Mark Ruffalo's role in this review, but it's hard to talk about without spoiling too much. I loved every second of this movie, and proudly give it a 10/10. I do feel pretentious saying this, but I wholeheartedly believe it to be a modern masterpiece.

[joshcaladia]

absolutely hilarious to me that the bat signal relies entirely on the fact that it is consistently overcast in gotham

[joshcaladia]

musk is going to die in a Tesla explosion in 6 months after sticking his nose where it doesn't belong and we will never get a conclusive answer on whether it was a CIA car bomb or just a normal Tesla malfunction

[joshcaladia]

losing my shit at "post crisis, post zero hour post crisis, post crisis, post flashpoint, post crisis multiverse"

[joshcaladia]

french guy getting punched: egg!

[joshcaladia]

URGENT HELP SAVE THE LIFE OF MY CHILD

Dear humanity,

Please Help Me – My Son May Die at Any Moment.

I'm Amal, a mother of three children, living under the weight of the genocide taking place in Gaza. 🍉

My son is suffering from a severe and life-threatening injury after being shot by Israeli drones. He urgently needs medical treatment outside Gaza.

Time is running out, and we are facing a critical situation. I am asking for your generosity to help us save him either through a donation or by sharing this urgent plea with others

I beg you, i kiss your feet, to help my son. My son may die at any moment

I lost most of my family. I'm afraid to lose my son too 🥺

Mohammed deserves to live a happy and healthy life, just like every other child on this earth.

So I humbly ask you to donate even a little or at least reblog this appeal.

Please Donate now:👇

https://gofund.me/d272a0d1

Ddonate Via Paypal 👇

https://www.paypal.com/donate

tumblr wouldn't let me answer this one for a bit

[joshcaladia]

[joshcaladia]

“tik tok is brainrot I’m glad it’s getting deleted” YOU are ignoring an early warning sign of fascism bc silly dances and asmr annoys u. tik tok ban is a part of a MUCH bigger bill that indicates any foreign app, if deemed a threat, can be banned if the owner does not sell it. aka the government is mad bc they cannot censor & their capitalist puppet masters are mad they aren’t making money from it. and if ur ok w that……hm

[joshcaladia]

[joshcaladia]

Hello 👋,

I hope this message finds you well. My name is Aziz, and I’m reaching out with a heartfelt plea to help my family find safety and reunite with our mother. 😞

The ongoing war in Gaza has torn my family apart. My mother and newborn sister are stranded in Egypt, while I, along with the rest of my sex family members, am trapped in the midst of the genocide in Gaza. We have not only been separated but have also lost our home and are enduring unimaginable hardships. 💔

Your support can make a difference. Whether by reading our story, donating, or sharing our campaign with others, you can help us reunite, find safety, and start anew. 🙏🕊

Thank you, from the depths of my heart, for your kindness, compassion, and solidarity during this difficult time. ❤🍉

https://gofund.me/58268669 🔗

gofundme post

[joshcaladia]

Don’t worry; it seems no one cares either. Why does no one respond to my messages?

I’m not asking for a financial donation; all I want is for you to ask about me, my family, and our situation. It’s been a long time since you left us without a voice or news, as if we no longer exist. Have you assumed that we are dead? Every time I look around, I feel the loneliness, as if we’ve vanished from this world.

All I hope for is a word from you, a sign that someone cares. Even if it’s just a question, it would be the hope I need to keep going. I wish you would think of us and remember that we are still here, struggling to survive. I need you in this moment; please don’t ignore my plea.

yeah sure here you go. i see you and i care

[joshcaladia]

Hi 👋, My name is Mohammad, and I’m reaching out in a moment of desperate need. I’m a father of three young children living in Gaza, and we are caught in the midst of a catastrophic war. Our home is no longer a safe haven, and the future here seems increasingly uncertain. 💔

I’ve launched a fundraising campaign with the goal of raising $40,000 to relocate my family to a safer place where my children can grow up in peace and have a chance at a brighter future.

Unfortunately, my previous fundraising efforts were abruptly halted when my account was terminated without explanation. However, I remain determined to keep fighting for my family’s safety and well-being. 🫶

If you could take a moment to read our story, consider donating, or simply share our campaign with others, it would make an incredible difference. Every act of kindness, no matter how small, brings us one step closer to safety and a new beginning. 🙏

Thank you for your time, compassion, and support. ❤️‍🩹

https://gofund.me/fd1faea2 🔗

i am broke but i'll answer this if anyone else wants to donate

on the off chance that this is a scam, shame on you, otherwise i feel for you

[joshcaladia]

CHROMAKOPIA review

i made a review of tyler, the creator's new album because someone on twitter called me dumb for forming an opinion on it before i heard all of it so here it is:

st. chroma: 9 rah tah tah: 8 noid: 7 darling, i: 9 hey jane: 6 i killed you: 4 judge judy: 2 sticky: 1 take your mask off: 7 tomorrow: 8 thought i was dead: 2 like him: 5 balloon: 1 ihyfywh: 5

i really like the instrumentation for the most part but i've never been a fan of tyler's vocals. they're not bad, just not my style. i also think the transitions between tracks usually sucks balls and brings it down as an album, even when the tracks on their own are good

i found the features didn't get in the way of tyler's presence which is cool. i liked Darling, I quite a lot. that said, it's one of many on this album that go on too long for my liking

i often found myself relating to/resonating with the themes of the songs but not loving the way the themes are presented, which happened when i tried listening to DAMN. as well. Hey Jane had really intense stuff but i couldn't really get into the sound of it unfortunately

i can't say i resonated with I Killed You at all, musically or lyrically (though given i'm white there's definitely some disconnect with the discussion of heritage and oppression). it also transitions into Judge Judy SO badly oh my god

Judge Judy was another one where i was intrigued by the premise but did not enjoy the execution. the instrumentation was very, uh, light, and the tone of the rhymes were basic at best. also the kick drum has WAY too much compressor influence. i also hate when songs have moaning

Sticky opened bad despite transitioning well from Judge Judy. it also suffers from anaconda syndrome (stupid hard-ass drums that deafen me with some fuck-ass triangle shit going on)

Tomorrow opened really strong goddamn. Thought I Was Dead's opening horns sound like farts haha. and it ends with literally no transition?? lmao. Like Him was all over the place but based Lola Young feature.

overall: 7/10 adjusted for typical human understanding of out-of-ten scale: 5/10

i liked it enough. if this were a rating of songs only, and not as an album, the overall score might be a little higher

[joshcaladia]

Do you think they knew what they would become

[joshcaladia]

oh.

[joshcaladia]