The Monthly Roundup -- July 2024

Movies/TV

• Legally Blonde 2 (2003) -- Would you believe me if I said that Jack and I watched this on July 4th, totally unassuming of the fact that the "You look like the 4th of July" line was in this movie? That didn't really make the experience of watching it much better, though. The first film was very much about an internal struggle and journey towards self-discovery, and this one is considerably more external. There's a tangible problem that Elle must fix because that's the plot of this movie. It's interesting reading up on how much of a box office success this was, considering the film itself doesn't feel like much more than a direct-to-DVD sequal, not unlike Disney's offerings from the same point in time. That being said, it's not too bad if you have a drink on standby.

• Spider-Man 2 (2004) -- I watched this my first (and as of now, only) Spider-Man walk-around character day this year. This movie continues to hit harder and harder as the years go on. While it's not my favorite Spidey movie (Across the Spider-verse is unquestionably my favorite, and it's not even close), I could put this movie on just about any day. I vividly remember seeing promotions for this movie in Toys 'R' Us as a kid, and back then, I didn't really care about very much besides seeing Spider-Man fighting Doc Ock around New York. So, the fact that Sam Raimi went out of his way to make one of the most emotionally-investing superhero movies of all time when the bar for expectations was "have cool fight scenes," is pretty remarkable.

• Ultraman: Rising (2024) -- Pretty much the only reason why I watched this movie was because I heard good things about it, and it was one of the bigger direct-to-streaming animated movies coming out this year. I didn't know anything about Ultraman, besides that he's really big and super popular in Japan. While I don't think I'm going to be swayed into watching any of the films that inspired this one, I can definitely say that I enjoyed this one a lot! This movie rivals Nimona in its expertly-realized character designs and voice acting. Its animated action is really snappy and stylized, and the dynamic between the main character and the kaiju he's watching is very sweet at times. This movie is by no means fantastic, but it's worth the watch if you're interested.

• Deadpool (2016) -- This is technically an August watch, but I saw this on the 2nd and I'm only just publishing this now, so let's talk about it here. I wasn't really onboard the hype train for Deadpool and Wolverine until it came out. I was reminiscing about seeing the last two and knew that I had to give them another watch. This first film is just as fun and exciting as when I first saw it as a nervous 15-year-old alone in my aunt's living room. It was an odd sleepover. That said, it also felt a lot smaller than I remember it being. I had forgotten how personal Deadpool's journey was, which some may actually see as refereshing compared to the constant threat of world conquest in many other mainstream superhero movies. There are a lot of things that they set up which aren't explained quite so well, and I wasn't very cool with how often I had to look at TJ Miller's face, but I certainly had my fun with this movie after nearly eight years away from it.

Books

• Level Up by Gene Luen Yang & Thien Pahm -- I'd never read anything from Gene Yang besides American Born Chinese, which I love so much that I bought, before this book, and it was a really pleasant read. Despite the somewhat crude drawings and me learning a little more than gastroenterology than I bargained for, this book offers a lot of insight on familial expectations, defining your own destiny, and the effect it can have on your interpersonal relationships along the way. I definitely related to this book in some capacity. It's a very quick read, one that I would recommend!

• In Real Life by Corey Doctorow & Jen Wang -- This is the third book that I've read where Jen Wang handled the visuals (the others being Stargazing and The Prince and the Dressmaker), and I simply cannot get over how perfectly she handles expression and character design in general. I'm so enveloped into the world of this book through her illustrations, in addition to the quality of the material itself. I don't know quite how much of the rules of this in-universe game I understand, which left me on the fence about one or two particular plotpoints, but I still had a lot of fun with this book. Not sure when I'll get my hands on it, but I'm excited to read Jen Wang's new book coming out later this month.

• Roaming by Mariko & Jillian Tamaki -- Of all the graphic novelists that I've read from over the years, the Tamakis have consistently blown me away the most. Supermutant Magic Academy (written/illustrated by Jillian) is one of my favorite books that I own, and Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me (written by Mariko) was one of my most suprising reads from last year. I wasn't aware of Roaming until I saw it on the shelf at one of my local libraries, and I knew it would not disappoint. I wish I hadn't returned the book as early as I did, because I would love to read it again. It's about two lifelong friends who are finally going on the NYC trip they've always dreamed about, featuring one of the friends' roommate who starts to stir some trouble. This book really shines when they're depicting the scope of New York and the nuanced tensions between friends. Despite this book being so grounded and personal, I feel like there are a ton of things I didn't pick up on right away. When I get around to the end of my reading list, I'm definitely going to seek this one out again.

• This One Summer by Mariko & Jillian Tamaki -- I read this one a couple years ago, and I'll just say now that pretty much all of my accolades for Roaming can also be applied to this book. It's the same duo, and this is probably some of their best work. It touches on the conflict of interests between troubles in adolecense, teenage years, and parenthood, all with some stunning artwork. Seriously, the fact that these environments are all drawings is mind-boggling for some of these pages. Both of these books by the Tamakis are 10/10 reads and I can't recommend them enough.

• IDW's Sonic the Hedgehog Volume 1 -- I'd heard lots of great things about the IDW series for a long time, but never got into it until this last month. After finishing the first volume of the full series, I'm hooked. I grew up on the Archie comics, and this series pays homage to the things that worked about that series without being entirely derivitave of it (i.e. the metal virus storyline is very indicative of being robotisized). I'm already knee-deep into the second volume, and I can't wait to see what else I've been missing all these years.

Games

• Bayonetta 2 (Switch) -- No, I never played the first one, and no, I'm generally not a huge action/fighting game guy, but this game was alway critically hailed as one of the best in the genre, so I felt like it only made sense for me to try it out at some point. I haven't completed it yet, but so far, it's soooooo much fun. It's equal parts serious and campy, really funny in terms of characterization and writing, and wickedly violent in all of the right ways. I had work obligations that got in the way of me playing for the last week, but I can't wait to jump back into this adventure.

• Samba De Amigo? (Wii) -- I bought this on ebay as a collectible, and, hm. It's a fun concept for a game that's barred by the Wii's motion control's limitations. Everything feels far too sensitive. I know there's a new Samba game on the Switch, which I'll probably end up playing at some point. I couldn't really muster to play this one much longer than 20 minutes.