So welcome to a new feature in my blog, where I will be sharing the best books/comics/films/series that I’ve watched during the past month. For now I will try to just aim to the things I loved and not hate, because there is already enough hate in the internet 🙂 (And because we all know I will end up ranting about these in Instagram/ Facebook anyways!)
- Comic: Paper Girls 2
So there was a significant gap between me reading Paper Girls 1 and 2, and do not ask me why as I truly enjoyed the first volume but I really do think it was because I simply forgot. The second volume still had the great 80s style that is trending at the moment, whilst bringing the story forward and building up on already some very solid characters. I do still think the pace is a bit slow but a lot of what I am reading at the moment has a slow tempo and I for once do not mind at all.
2. Movies: Brawl in Cell 99 and The Villainess
Two movies really impacted me in the month of January, and both happened to be very action-packed.
Brawl in Cell 99 brings us Vince Vaunghn in a way we haven’t seen for quite some while. He plays an ex-boxer who loses his mechanic job, while almost losing his marriage simultaneously – to make things better he decides to work for a drug dealer and let’s just say that things do not end up going according to plan and ends up in jail, where things just go from bad to worse.
The best thing about this movie by far is the violence, which I know sounds a bit morbid but very few Western movies can do violence in the same breath as south Koreans films. There is a raw element to the violence which gets under your skin and leaves you thinking about it for days after. Vince is superb in this film, and does make me wonder why he has been stuck doing comedies for so long. You truly feel his moral conflicts and end up rooting for the guy when things go wrong. He is the perfect anti-hero.
The second movie, The Villainess, is a South Korean action film, so we all know the violence is going to be amazing. The opening scene is one of the best ones I have seen in a very long time and it sets the mood of the story instantly. It is fast paced, and leaves you no time to catch your breath. Kim Ok-bin has become my new girl crush and with good reason – she is able to be kick-ass whilst still remaining this delicate and fragile person. You can understand her struggles but you also have respect for her ability to get the job done.
Actually in retrospect both movies are about people who may be doing the wrong things in life, but that is just them turning lemons into lemonade.
What about you? Let me know what your top January picks were!
A Sense of Clarity 