Millennium Actress

Something different but 120% worth your time.

My third film from director Satoshi Kon and there's only one more to review after this, but I will go on the record and say this nearly toppled Tokyo Godfathers as my favorite of his. You know how much I love that movie. But Millennium Actress very much like Perfect Blue is such a different and unique beast in the spectrum of anime and movies period, centering around an interview of an acclaimed actress named Chiyoko from a now bygone studio as we see her career and thusly her life while she tries to find the one who got away and took her heart with them. It sounds like a movie that could be made just as easily in live action but there is no way in hell that it could have an ounce of the character, style, and visuals potrayed here. Sweet beautiful gods, directors wish they could have transitions as good as this movie! I mean, wow. And really that's the biggest reason to watch this movie though the story is engaging and the characters work incredibly well, this movie has such a visual flare and zest. The interview crew consisting of just two people are interwoven in her story, you see this JVC tape camera in the 1940s, you see the interviewer interact with Chiyoko and influence the flow of the story. But it's not all literal, you see that they just go off on tangents and make believe like kids would do as she tells chapters of her life. I can't name another movie that has ever done that before or since and this movie came out in 2001 so it's nearly 20 years old and it could have been released last year, it looks that good. The animation style is grounded but still has those dashes of color and movement that warrant it to be animated, which lends more personality to the film. The score is sublime, very rarely used but when a big moment happens and something important occurs it is excellent, like buy that on a CD right damn now! The voice cast is on point, with 3 different actresses playing Chiyoko and all bring a new edge to the character as it should be since we see her from a very young girl to a silver haired woman. The film even ended perfectly just like I wanted it to, that never happens very often. I may give this a 10/10. Yes, Tokyo Godfathers is my favorite but the quality and storytelling has to really be given gold stars across the board. I can't think of even a single thing that seemed off to me let alone a bad element of the production. Screw it, 10/10! 4 stars, check it out! I have such an appreciation and love for this movie, and I genuinely hope others do too. Sometimes a walk down memory lane is a journey of a lifetime.

Perfect Blue

What?? What??! Are you friggin' kidding me? Why can't I stop laughing??

I can't even with this movie guys. Okay so Perfect Blue is worthy of the genre psychological horror, it is horrific and yes I would dare say it's psychotic. Centering around a singer turned actress, Mima who I....guess is losing her mind after several incidents have occured though honestly she seemed a little out there from the get-go, leading to one jumbled, unnerving, disorientating and yet great movie. I'm at a loss for words. There is no doubt this movie needs to be seen multiple times to figure it out, cause it's like a murder mystery mixed with about 80 grams of cracked out delusions. It's very well done, and can easily leave anyone uncomfortable and even questioning their own sanity. I'm quite honestly unsure if I'm even writing this review, but let's just say I am for now. I could be in my bathtub now mumbling nursery rhymes and tapping my feet against the walls for all I know. That's the power this movie has, it's kinda hard not to get into it. You want to play detective, you want to unravel this mystery, you want to discern fiction from reality and yet you yourself get lost in the labyrinth of these events and characters. This is how you do it Killing Of A Sacred Deer!! Like sweet Jesus what is it like in your head Satoshi Kon? Now I know people have said Black Swan is the live action remake of Perfect Blue, but seeing as I have not seen Black Swan I cannot say for certain, but if you did and you enjoyed it I do recommend Perfect Blue. It does incredibly well in engaging and unsettling you, with really good animation, a cerebral plot, plenty of twists and shock, and I dare you to watch this and go "Bah, that anime stuff is just for kids!". I need to get my hands on this movie and watch it. It has quite an amazing message too, don't get too involved in a certain aspect of your life and obsess over it, you be you and you won't have anything to worry about. Which I think is what the ending was trying to convey.....but I'm not too sure, and I lost my train of thought. I'm gonna sleep on this, and hopefully still be me in the morning.

Tokyo Godfathers

Yes the one Christmas movie almost everyone has never heard or seen but certainly should check out.

Tokyo Godfathers is an amazing movie centered around three homeless people who find a baby and take it upon themselves to find the little girl's rightful parents. What follows is a series of coincidences, near misses, comedy, emotion, and all centered around the most wonderful time of the year. I love this movie, the characters feel just as real as you and me, they all have emotional baggage and their own personalities, which bounce off each other so well. The animation is outstanding, some of it looking like real life Tokyo. I swear it seems like they took photos of Tokyo and then just painted over them, the whole look and feel of the movie is a surreal experience walking a thin line between animation and human reality. This is the sheer epitome of a character story, every action these people take is what moves the story along at a well adjusted pace going from quiet, somber slow moments to fast paced, energy fueled scenes with visual comedy that if you even blinked you would miss it. The events take place from Christmas Day all the way to New Years, so some people ask well why is it a Christmas movie? Although Christmas only takes place on a single day, the feel of Christmas is still there with showings of compassion and charity, kindness, nuturing, and all around sense of family and good will. Our main characters fight and bicker but in the end you know they still care about one another, and really isn't that what families are like around this time of the year? There's not a doubt in my mind that this is a Christmas movie, and an amazing one at that. I originally saw it on Netflix a few years ago, after hearing about it from one of my reviewers, Suede who lives in New Zealand and I knew after hearing his opinion on it I wanted to see it. Sadly it's not on Netflix now but you can buy the DVD for a reasonable price on Amazon, the film is only in Japanese with subtitles, no English dub has been made yet but many voice actors are keen on doing it here in the States. If you don't have a problem with foreign films that you need to read subtitles throughout, I really really recommend you pick up this movie. The funny thing is that Christmas is different in Japan than in the States. Obviously, every place is different in how they celebrate things. But from a western point of view Christmas in Japan is more like Valentine's Day, and Valentine's Day is more like Easter, while the more traditional western way of celebrating Christmas is set on New Year's. Man, that's bizzare but I really dig that. I know if I ever wanted to visit somewhere during winter it would be Japan hands down, it looks gorgeous in the snow! But anyway sorry to get off track, hunt this movie down, watch it, enjoy it, have a splendid Christmas or Chanukah or whatever you celebrate, just make sure to enjoy yourself and have tons of fun together. Happy Christmas from The Dude, see you in 2017!