teenage mutant ninja turtles megareview, part 1 (1984-1998)

teenage mutant ninja turtles, book i (comic 1984-85)

written & illustrated by kevin eastman & peter laird

well, here it is. the comic that started it all. this graphic novel collects colorized versions of the first three issues of kevin eastman and peter laird’s original comics that conquered the world with a merchandising empire that no one saw coming, least of all them.

these comics did include some of the differences i’d always been told to expect from the turtles i’ve known and loved since the cartoons, movies, and video games of my early childhood, but not as many as i expected! true, it is a bit more violent, with the turtles being willing to kill some of their adversaries, but by the second issue leonardo is already telling his more hotheaded brother raphael that the turtles kill only as a last resort.

oh, that’s the other thing. i was primed to expect the turtles themselves to be nearly interchangeable, but they actually have much more fully-formed personalities than that even in these earliest days of the comics! leo was always the honorable leader and raph was always the hotheaded angy boy, all the way back in issue 1! and donnie has been the tech guy since at least issue 2, when he tries to hack baxter stockman’s computers to solve the mouser problem.

kiki’s delivery service is a perfect movie

okay well, the first movie i watched this year just set an impossibly high standard for the rest of the year.

the only thing i could think of to say about it in the immediate aftermath of watching kiki’s delivery service is that it’s a perfect movie. and that still feels somehow insufficient? like i was describing something more mundane or commonplace than this? like i just didn’t have the words to convey how this movie moved me?

this is definitely my favorite ghibli movie, and i think i can say with some degree of confidence that nothing is going to top it. i’ve seen 13 of their 23 films, so i do have a ways to go, but it’s just impossible to imagine me liking anything more. this is such a perfect storm of what i look for in a movie and just… an amazingly good movie on top of that.

this is maybe the best and most accurate depiction of magic i’ve ever seen in a movie, and i’m struggling to think of one that’s even particularly close? kiki’s practice isn’t as visually flashy as you often get in fictional depictions of magic. you get the impression that she’s able to tap into something that’s present in everything, which is exactly how these things actually work. magic itself is much bigger than anything an individual witch might do with it. it’s present in the everyday rhythms of life. it is harmony and balance, yet it is wild and untamable.

this entire movie feels like it’s bathed in magic. characters who aren’t doing anything to intentionally practice magic seem to gather it around themselves instinctively. you see it in their kindness towards each other. you see it retreat when they’re nasty or violent.

this is an incredibly empathetic movie. everyone is so godsdamned wholesome to each other. kiki’s biggest problem is what looks an awful lot like a bout of depression. this leads to her temporarily losing her connection with magic. and that makes sense, too. it’s hard to be in harmony with the world when we are not in harmony with ourselves. and she restores her connection when a friend drags her out to her cabin in the middle of woods, which, yeah! connecting with nature is incredibly grounding, both for mood stabilization and connecting with magic.

also, her friend relating kiki’s experiences with magic to her own experiences with artistic inspiration are very yes! magic is bigger than us, but our relationship with magic is intensely personal. it’s not something that can be forced. when it’s working it’s incredible and when it’s not you have to be patient! seriously, this movie really gets it.

this is also a beautiful movie. i know that’s not exactly a rarity for ghibli movies, but it really is worth mentioning that the art really is noticeably gorgeous. and the scenery is so vibrant. the sky, the oceans, the town, the forest. it contributes to how magical everything feels, but it also just makes it damn pleasant to watch.

so, yeah, my two most recent first watches (this and the matrix resurrections) are both in the running for my favorite movie of all time? i’m gonna force myself to have a cooling off period on both of them before putting them any higher than the last two spots in my top 5, but seriously, wow.

this is everything i look for in a movie, and then some.

this is a perfect movie. s-rank

spooky movie season mini-reviews

little witch academia (2013) &
little witch academia: the enchanted parade

i kinda loved both of these but what finally clicked for me with the second one is that i hate akko as a protagonist. i love literally everyone else, including diana who i’m not supposed to like because she’s bullying the protagonist but like... she is better than her!! she’s brave, she’s constantly saving people from their own fuckups... yeah her elitism sucks, but with some guidance she can grow out of that! and she’s also the only character in this who points out what i immediately thought of the parade, which is that it’s just weird and degrading to throw a parade celebrating the organized mass torture and murder of witches???

akko, on the other hand, is completely selfish and just bulldozes over her friends’ feelings and then does literally nothing to fix it and just waits for them to come back to her which they do???? and i just want to know what i’m supposed to think about any of this.

but like... these still own!!! all the magic action sequences, especially at the parade in the second one, rule. and again i love literally all the other characters i didn’t even get around to gushing about amanda or any of her crew!! i just... hate the protagonist, and she gets rewarded for awful behavior and just... oh gosh oh no she’s just literally harry potter isn’t she.

please tell me she gets better in the series please i’m begging you. b-rank

🌑🌒🌓🌔🌕🌖🌗🌘🌑

halloweentown

this has been on my “i absolutely need to watch this” list for basically ever, but i kept putting it off. largely because i was terrified that i missed the boat by not seeing it as a kid, and it would be one of those nostalgic faves where you watch it too late and you’re like “yeah sorry i don’t get it.”

which would be depressing as heck because the movie is about a town where it’s HECKING ALWAYS HALLOWEEN, ARE YOU KIDDING? THAT IS THE RADDEST THING EVER!!! but of course i ended up liking it, because it’s about a town where IT’S HECKING ALWAYS HALLOWEEN, ARE YOU KIDDING? THAT IS THE RADDEST THING EVER!!!