Ty Watches "Is God Is"

Back when RD and I did our summer movie wager I went hard for the movie "Is God Is". I had seen a trailer by the time of recording and was all in on this movie. RD hadn't heard of it at that time. He told me on mic that he thought it was a christian movie. It most certainly did not look that way. Now it is streaming on Prime, which we subscribe to, so I watched it.

This movie was great. And it is not religious in the least. Sure there are mentions of god. The twins call their mom god. There is a great scene that takes place in a church. But this is a revenge movie. This is a gory movie. This is a funny movie at times. This is a story of family and the lengths some will go to to get their own revenge. Mallori Johnson and Kara Young play the main characters in this movie. They're twin sisters. Johnson plays Anaia and Young plays Racine. These two are so awesome in this movie. They crush their roles. I do not want to spoil the movie, but I will give minor details about what happens. I'll tell you a little about the story.

Vivica A Fox plays the twins' mom. The twins have some very visible scars on their bodies. It appears that they have been violently burned by someone in the past. When the movie starts we see the twins as young kids. Someone on the playground calls them ugly, so Racine goes and beats that person up. We then flash to them as adults, and we see the burns and everything. We also see a person in a working space that gives Anaia a look of disgust. Racine comes to her aid. We then get a little look into their lives. They have this ability to talk without saying words. They're so close that they don't need words, just looks, to have a conversation. One night at dinner they get a letter from their mom who they haven't seen since they were young. After a debate they decide to go see her to find out what she would like them to do. This is when the movie really kicks into gear.

As mentioned before, Vivica A Fox plays their mom. She is on her deathbed. She has been very clearly burned very badly. She tells her girls that her dying wish is for them to get revenge on their father. This is where we learn how they all got these bad burns. This is pretty much all in the trailer by the way. But after the story is told, after their mom gives them the mission, the movie breezes by, and it is a whole hell of a lot of fun. Fox is dynamic. She has one scene, but she crushes it. She is really good here. Johnson and Young are remarkable. They play two totally separate roles, but you know they're twins. They have this closeness that is easily identifiable as family. I had seen Young before on "I'm A Virgo", where she's great as well. I have never heard of Johnson before, and she is wonderful in this movie. Her quietness and shyness masks her true feelings. She is phenomenal. And in a wild twist, Sterling K Brown plays the villainous dad in this movie. I like Sterling K Brown a lot, but this is a role I never would have expected him to play, and he is awesome. He's sinister and wicked. He holds no prisoners. He is ruthless. I was fascinated with his performance in this movie.

I think the best way to go into this is knowing only the little bit I just wrote about. I didn't know much else and I was excited by what I saw. I also didn't expect this movie to make me laugh like I did. There are legit jokes in this movie. Some of the stuff is played for comedy. But in the end this movie is a revenge thriller and they nailed it. I couldn't take my eyes off screen while watching. I was enamored with what was going to happen next. Some stuff really took me by surprise and that is the sign of a good movie in my eyes.

I definitely recommend checking out "Is God Is". It is a cool and new and interesting way to tell this type of story. 

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.

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

Better Late Than Never on "I'm a Virgo"

After seeing "I Love Boosters", I decided I was going to watch the seven episode series "I'm A Virgo". You all know I'm a Boots Riley fan, and this is the show he did in between his two excellent movies. I remember when the show was announced, but why I never got to it then, I don't remember. But I'm glad that I remedied that over the past couple of weeks.

"I'm Virgo" is a coming of age tale about a giant that lives with his aunt and uncle in San Francisco. I know, it sounds weird. But I am pretty much on board with whatever Boots Riley is doing creatively at this point, and this show was a blind spot that I wanted to correct. The start of the first episode is great too. It really hooks you and makes you want to watch more. We see this mom holding this gigantic baby. I mean this baby is a newborn, but it is bigger than anyone else. And then we see the newborn grow into a 19 year old in this small home where he lives with his aunt and uncle. Cootie, played by Jharrel Jerome, is the giant. He is naive to the world, but he wants to know more. He wants to explore. He wants to make friends and see what is outside his own little world, His aunt and uncle, played by Mike Epps and Carmen Ejogo, are doing their best to raise him and shelter him. He is so big though, they have to build him a separate area in their yard that is more suitable for his size. He breaks everything around him in his original home, so they all feel this is best for him. While living back in his own place, he sees things through a pipe that they installed for him. He sees kids hanging out. A local person comes by to chat with him. He reads comic books all the time and wants to see this world that "The Hero" has talked about in the books. One day he travels outside of his domicile disguised as a tree. One kid at a keg party goes to use the restroom in the woods and stumbles upon this moving tree. He tells everyone it's called the Thwamp Monster. This is how Cootie is introduced to the world. But he gains friends and fame and a girlfriend out of it. Flora, played by Olivia Washington, is his girlfriend. She works at Bing Bang Burgers. She is instantly into him and he likes her too. They do a solo episode explaining her past and it is heartbreaking and one of the best of the whole season. Flora rules. Cootie's main group of friends, Felix, Jones and Scat, played by Brett Gray, Kara Young and Allius Barnes, take to Cootie really quickly and they show him how to navigate the real world. They talk about making money, hooking up and fighting for a bigger cause. Jones was my favorite of the friends. She has a plan, she takes action, she basically saves the day and her "power" in the show is pretty neat. Scat plays a massive role as the season wears on. It's unfortunate why his role gets bigger, but I really enjoyed Barnes portrayal of this character, especially when he's denied entrance into a hospital. Felix is the coolest of the crew and he just wants to have a good time. But he is also willing to fight the fight and bang the drum for the cause. Walton Goggins plays The Hero, and he is a massive asshole, on purpose. The penultimate episode showing his story is important and Goggins brings it like he always does. The show starts off funny and like your basic coming of age story. But it morphs into so much more. We have capitalism, racism, brutality, standing up for what is right, getting people to help fight the powers that be, all of this is rolled up nicely into seven 30 minute episodes. I found myself very interested in what was going to happen next. It had that nice, odd Boots Riley feel to it. It was cool to see what he did with more time than he has on a movie set. I thought the actors and writers brought it as well.

"I'm A Virgo" is a cool, off the beaten path show. I feel it may be underrated at this point, but maybe more people will check it out now with the success that "I Love Boosters" is having. I'm glad I watched it and I think you should check it out too. I believe many people will find this to be a good time. 

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.

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