Ty Watches "Mickey 17"

Last Friday my dad and I went to see "Mickey 17". I was going to write about it right after seeing it, a quick reaction, but I decided I wanted to sit on it and give the movie more thought. I wanted the weekend to sit with it. I'm glad I did.

Right off the bat, I really liked the movie. I'm a Bong Joon Ho fan. I love "Snowpiercer" and "Parasite". The love for those movies put me in a pretty good head space heading into "Mickey 17". What I enjoyed the most about "Mickey 17" was the humor. This is a funny movie. There's jokes and some of the things Robert Pattinson does as his version of each Mickey made me laugh out loud. Speaking of Pattinson, he is truly wonderful in the movie. He gets to do a ton and he nails it. With each new Mickey there are subtle changes and Pattinson brings all of them to life. The two main Mickey's, 17 and 18, are who we spend most of the time with and Pattinson plays both. Each Mickey is totally different and that is fully due to his performance. I thought he was amazing and he has become a better actor with each movie. He has upped his game, picks cool projects and I want to see what he is going to do next.

The other cast members are solid too. Naomi Ackie plays Nasha, Mickey's partner. She is badass and super cool. She knows this whole society they live in is nuts and she lets everyone know. She gives a great performance. Steven Yeun is Mickey's buddy, and he is an asshole. He is only out for himself. He will do anything to get ahead no matter who he has to screw over. Yeun is so reliable and so good as an actor and I am a fan. Mark Ruffalo is over the top in the best possible way. He is putting on a show as the villain and I grew to despise his character pretty quickly. I have to believe that was the point. He was so annoying and so stupid and Nasha lets him know it. Toni Collete plays his wife and she is equally despicable. She makes "sauces" and is always in her husband's ear. She is always telling him what to do in a way that will only benefit the two of them. And then we have the "creepers". These are the alien creatures that live on the planet they are travelling to in the movie, Nilfheim. They have a pretty great turn in the movie and it makes it all come together in the end.

Along with the acting, the story is great. This is clearly an allegory for how messed up the US is under this current "administration". Ho made his own version of it and set it in the near future. He kind of nailed it when it comes to what a trip on a spaceship away from a rotting Earth would feel like. It looked truly miserable. But Ho made it funny, made it work and made it a blast to watch. And I love the stuff he did with the "creepers".

This is a very good movie that I want more and more people to see. It is a fast two hour and seventeen minutes. And Pattinson is so good in his role. I highly recommend it. And go to a theater if you have the chance. The movie deserves to be seen on a big screen. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Better Late than Never on "Knives Out"

This past weekend was another quarantine date night for my wife and I, and while we very much enjoyed our local Greek takeout food we had, the movie was the highlight of the evening for me.

We chose to watch "Knives Out" after being told by pretty much everyone we knew to watch it. They were not wrong. This movie was great. It was nearly perfect on every single level. And even when I thought I had everything figured out, the movie would throw in a new twist that made it that much more fun. And my goodness was this cast stacked, and everyone involved did a tremendous job. The list of actors, Jamie Lee Curtis, Don Johnson, Chris Evans, Michael Shannon, Riki Lindholme, Toni Collette, Ana de Armas, Christopher Plummer, Lakeith Stanfield and Daniel Craig. That is a murderers row of actors, and they all played their parts great.

For those that may not know, "Knives Out" is a murder mystery. My wife and I likened it to a less goofy, more updated version of "Clue", another movie I adore. And while it isn't nearly as goofy, and cheesy in a good way, that "Clue" is, it still gave us those vibes. And while "Clue" is great, this movie was better. It was more fun, better acted, better directed and deserves all the accolades it got, of which I found out after watching the movie and reading trivia on IMDB.

In “Knives Out“, Christopher Plummer is the patriarch, and national best selling author of the family. He is the one that is "murdered", and we are taken on a great ride to find out what really happened. At the forefront of the investigation were Stanfield, his partner and Daniel Craig, who plays a PI. Stanfield was awesome, as he always is. He is one of the most reliable actors right now. His partner was also very goofy and funny. He was the comic relief. But it was Craig who stood head and shoulders above all the great names I listed before. He was a southern PI, and when he spoke with his accent I was taken aback at how spot on it was. He legit sounded like Foghorn Leghorn. It was that good. But the way he goes about finding out all the little details in the movie was spot on. He was just absolutely dynamite. I could not take my eyes off the screen when he was doing his thing. And that monologue at the end, where he breaks everything down, that was some the purest, and most exquisite acting I have seen in some time. It was phenomenal. Not to be outdone, Ana de Armas was almost as good as Craig. She plays the nurse, and she is heavily involved in all the beats of the movie. I am trying my best not to spoil anything people. That may be why this seems so blunt. But de Armas really put her stamp on this movie with her role. All those other names, they all gave spectacular performances. Collette, as a failed business lady mooching off her dad was out of her normal realm, but she nailed it. Don Johnson was scummy and sleazy, and by the end, I loathed his character, as I am sure they intended. Riki Lindholme was a stepford wife in the worst possible way, yet she nailed it. Michael Shannon wasn't as creepy as he is in most roles, but that dude can flat out perform. Chris Evans was swarmy and douchey and just when you think you can root for him, he does something that makes him the least likable person in a cast full of not so great people. And Jamie Lee Curtis was simply fantastic as the hard ass eldest daughter of Plummer. This is one of my favorite things that she has ever done. She was so good. As was Plummer. His little scenes int he movie were great, he is great and we should all know that because he is one of the greatest living actors.

I cannot recommend this movie enough. This ranks right up there with "Jo Jo Rabbit" as one of the best movies I have watched on quarantine. And it proves how awesome Rian Johnson is. Not only did he direct this, but he wrote it as well. This, for me, was on the same level as "Brick". I love "Knives Out", and I highly recommend that everyone check it out. It truly is a movie for anyone. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.