"A is for Anarchy" ("Snowpiercer")
Thomas the Tank Engine (c) Reverend W. Awdry
Here are some facts about "Snowpiercer": It originally debuted at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival with a limited showing in four cities. The budget never went over their initial $500,000 and although it was seen in a select number of theaters during the summer of 2014, the film never earned enough to be ranked in the top five on any weekend box office earning lists during its run.
What I'm trying to say is "Snowpiercer" is not officially a 'summer' movie, and it certainly cannot be labeled as a 'blockbuster'. So why am I including it? Because it damn well should have been.
When Tony and I first conceived the gallery, its main purpose was to try different things out. We wanted to homage the films we went to see opening day, but we also wanted to experiment with the media. Paint instead of draw. Do a comic page instead of a panel. Feature a violent blood-spurting slasher flick one weekend and follow it up with an endearing romantic comedy the next. And in the fifteen years we did this gallery, we never once turned our attention to something you could only see in small art house cinemas. So, I felt it was time we did. That reason aside, I also wanted to do it because it was one of the best films I saw in 2014.
I admit I went in with my geek pants on. I was still blown away with Chris Evan's performance in "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" a few months back and John Hurt's last role was playing the War Doctor in the Doctor Who 50th Anniversary special. My mind figured if Evans and Hurt was in it, the movie was going to be great! And it was great... but for entirely different reasons.
I won't lie. The movie isn't for everyone. The pacing is slow, most of the characters are not very fleshed out, and the soundtrack is so relaxed at times you might have trouble staying awake. But I would recommend sticking with it because it's one of the most original films I've seen in years. The acting is incredible across the board (especially Tilda Swinton who I feel is the greatest chameleon actor of our generation), the scenery is mesmerizing, and just when I thought I had the story all figured out, it twisted itself on its head near the climax. So yeah... I wanted to homage it. That's all.
Interesting post-note: Nearly a year after I debuted this illustration, Marvel Studios released the movie "Ant-Man" in theaters. In a humorous case of coincidence, the climax featured Ant-Man facing off against his arch-nemesis Yellowjacket, both miniaturized, fighting aboard a Thomas the Tank Engine train set. I guess great minds think alike. - Jake