In My Opinion, This Is The Very BEST Alan Moore Ending In His Entire Body Of Work. 100%

Tokyo Godfathers (東京ゴッドファーザーズ) by Satoshi Kon.

A masterwork by the late storytelling master, Satoshi Kon.

For those who don't know, Satoshi Kon is the same director who worked on films like Paprika, Perfect Blue, and the mystery/psychological thriller/supernatural anime masterpiece Paranoia Agent. Unfortunately, on August 24, 2010, we lost this creative mind to terminal pancreatic cancer. If you ask me, we're probably never gonna get anything close to the creepy works this guy managed to craft ever again.

Tokyo Godfathers is a really good example of a tragicomedy, and it is one of the most disturbing Christmas films you'll ever encounter (without relying on pure shock value) solely because of the subject matter. While animated, it really focuses on making the setting as realistic and as gritty as a wacky story like this can be, leading to this unsettling, off tone in a familiar, yet urban setting that really made me feel uncomfortable. What makes this movie disturbing is how realistically the developed characters and setting are. These are just average, everyday people - the kind you may have encountered or known in real life - dealing with a stressful/unfortunate situation, while also dealing with the preconceived notions about who they are from the people around them and each other. There are fantastical elements to this movie, to be sure. But I'd say that the grounded nature and focus on mental health and identity are just downright heartbreaking and genuinely hard for me to watch.

Ultimately, it doesn't matter what background you come from, what horrible thing has happened in the past or what society says about who you are. The things that make us truly human is the empathy we can have for one another. This isn't your traditional Christmas film, but it's most certainly one of the best I've ever seen. It's not only disturbing, heartwarming and more than earned the right to be labelled as a modern classic, I think it's one of Satoshi Kon's greatest projects that he's ever worked on. To me, this film exemplifies his filmography the best and shows how an artist really can create something that is stunning, beautiful and eerie all at the same time. He has a perfect filmography. Let us never forget.

The biggest mistake is that anime, in general, is often misunderstood. It has created timeless adult masterpieces.

Brazil by Terry Gilliam.

A good film, one that I felt was made exclusively for me. I was transformed upon first watching this. Brazil is an amazing masterpiece of a movie. Is it better than Blade Runner? ...Close.

Uncanny vibes, everything about it is freaky, every character in the film feels like they have this sinister agenda underneath this goofy facade, and it has an ending that's horrifyingly hopeless and really upset me upon first viewing. I was like, "Please, that is not the way it ended. Please no..." But I'm SO glad it ended like that, because apparently there was an alternate version where it ended happily. Forget that. It would not be as nearly as impactful if it didn't have that.

I should note that Terry Gilliam does this thing with fisheye lenses where he makes certain things in frame feel all the more close and intrusive to your personal space. The way he distorts the screen...say someone has a screwdriver or a syringe in their hand. It can really just bend around to really feel like it's about to get you. There's just something really intrusive about some of the visuals in this film.

Fun Fact:

The Cheshire Cat was first introduced in Lewis Carroll's novel "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland". The character was inspired by an old phrase "Smiling like a Cheshire cat". The origins of that phrase are still debated to this day, but the most widely accepted theory is that it refers to a cat living in the English county of Cheshire, which is known for producing a lot of milk and dairy, which cats love, hence the smiling. Carroll decided to personify the cat from that phrase, he gave it a physical form, a personality and magic powers. In the book, the cat doesn't play quite as large a role as he does in the Disney movie, but the two have very similar characteristics. They talk in really confusing ways that are sometimes funny but also kind of annoying, they raise philosophical questions to Alice even though she clearly doesn't understand them and while they sometimes appear to be making a situation worse for her, they're actually rooting for Alice to succeed and even are helping her indirectly.

The Werewolf of Paris by Guy Endore.

A vicious and abnormal horror novel.

Adapted very loosely into Hammer Horror Productions' The Curse of the Werewolf by Terence Fisher.

Fun fact: 

There is a good reason why TMNT is one of the most successful franchises of all time, because it got off to a really good start. It was produced independently by Eastman and Laird using money from a tax refund and a loan from Eastman's uncle. The original Ninja Turtles comic remains one of the grittiest, striking, and memorable comics I have ever read. Before the turtles became pop culture reference spewing goofballs, they were badass, red bandana wearing, merciless ninjas who eliminated their enemies often swiftly and quietly. In the original run, the turtles killed Shredder at least three times. 

The comic was a huge eye opener for me. It was the first time I ever realized how different adaptations can be from their source material. That comic encouraged me to go back and read all the books and comics that all of my favorite movies and tv shows were based on (a pursuit I have continued to this very day).

Some hard questions (and my opinion on them)…

1) Pineapple on pizza is good? 😒 No, who in the right mind would put pineapple on their pizza? 2) Peanut M&M's are the superior M&M's? I haven't partaken in the M&M's recently. 3) Is Metal Gear Solid 2 the best game of all time? One of them, for sure! 4) Is Death Stranding the greatest game of all time? One of them! Absolutely! Great designs and great actors in it! 5) Could a hot dog count as a sandwich? I don't think so, because it's like a vertical sandwich. 6) Is cereal a soup? The way some people make it? Yes! Me, I don't use milk in my cereal. 7) Smoking is never cool? It only LOOKS cool, but it's not cool for the biology.

Frans Francken the Younger’s "Chamber of Art and Antiquities" (1636). 

A painting depicting a 17th century cabinet of curiosities made up of art, collectibles, and oddities from the natural world.

Anyone who hasn’t seen Scott Pilgrim is missing out.

What are my favorite Miyazaki/Ghibli films?

My Neighbor Totoro (となりのトトロ) and Spirited Away ( 千と千尋の神隠し).

Pyewacket by Adam MacDonald.

A really interesting indie horror film.