It's the first Thursday in December. That means the countdown clock at the top of this page seems to be moving faster than it was just a few days ago even though it's not. I wish it were. 2020 just cannot end fast enough.
Enough about that, let's get on with the reason we're here - Thursday Movie Picks. The topic picked by our host, Wanderer at Wandering Through Shelves, is adaptations. When we hear that word, most of us think of renowned books that became movies. If you're on the younger side, you might think of comic book characters that made it to the big screen. There's a step between those two. Well, truthfully, they're just slightly more ambitious, longer comic books. Of course, I'm talking about graphic novels. I'm going even a little bit further. I'm going to talk about movies adapted from graphic novels that have nothing to do with superheroes. Hmm...
American Splendor
(2003)
After you see it, you might get an inkling this has something to do with comics, but that's only because our protagonist becomes the author of an influential comic book series. Though the comics play a major part, it's more or less the love story of real life comic book author Harvey Pekar (Paul Giamatti) and Joyce Brabner (Hope Davis) This is a film as quirky as its main character. It's live-action, but with many animated sequences. The real Harvey and Joyce show up alongside the actors playing them and talk about the comics they made together. Giamatti and Davis are absolutely great. And so is the whole movie. (Full review)
Persepolis
(2007)
After you see it, you might get an inkling this has something to do with comics, but that's only because our protagonist grows up to be a graphic novelist. Why does that sound familiar? Though it makes lots of social commentary, it's more or less a coming of age story of real-life graphic novelist Marjane Most of the movie is spent with our main character Marji as she grows up in Iran during political and civil unrest in the 70s and 80s. Don't mistake this for a kiddie-flick just because it's animated. It's anything but. However, it is a movie that kids should see during their teen years.
The Diary of a Teenage Girl
(2015)
After you see it, you might get an inkling this has something to do with comics, but that's only because our protagonist is an aspiring cartoonist. Hmm, deja vu. She's also a troubled 15 year old, named Minnie, growing up in the 70s with a mom who parties more than she parents. Understandably, but regrettably, we watch Minnie fall into the same hard partying lifestyle. And this movie pulls no punches, earning every bit of its R-rating as it travels a rather unsettling road. Bel Powley is amazing in the lead and, for my money, Kristen Wiig's work as her mom is career-best. (Quick and Dirty review)
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