I turned 30. I don’t like celebrating my birthday, so I tell myself. But I’ve felt regret over the past few years for not making a bigger deal of it. So I pointedly went out for drinks with a couple friends on the day and organized a larger gathering on a later weekend. And I think that was enough. Day appropriately recognized.

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This month’s playlist:

PERFECT BLUE & MILLENNIUM ACTRESS & PAPRIKA

I nearly watched these three Satoshi Kon films back to back. I’ve known of them by reputation for years. It is well earned.

They all deal with significantly different subject matter and exhibit drastically different tones. But Satoshi Kon’s fingerprints on each are obvious. While the animation is stunning, I was struck by Kon’s editing style. It’s exceptionally fluid. Once scene seamlessly bleeding into the next only interrupted by juxtaposed match cuts that effectively transport us into another place, or time. Dreamlike. It serves the theme that seems to permeate all three films: the intermingling of imagination and reality, memories and the present.

THE BIG O

What if Bruce Wayne piloted a giant robot? One of the most unique visual styles I’ve seen in an anime series because it borrows so heavily from western animation (I wasn’t surprised to discover Sunrise assisted in the production of Batman: The Animated Series). But that shallow comparison does a disservice to this fascinating show.

The Big O is set 40 years after a metropolis named Paradigm City experienced mass amnesia. No one knows who they were, what they did, or who their family was. So they live in this city they don’t know littered with advanced technology they don’t understand wondering what future they can have without their past. It’s moody and mysterious, broken up with excellent building-toppling robot fights.

PSYCHONAUTS

I believe Psychonauts was the last 3D platforming adventure game I played on the PS2. It had atrocious load times, but the world, art style, and writing oozed originality and had me glued to the CRT. This may have been my first introduction to Double Fine’s work. Glorious.

With Psychonauts 2 finally out, I thought it was time to revisit the original. Just as fantastic as the first time I played. Mercifully, the load times are brief on my PS4.

THE OBELISK GATE

I already have the third installment of this trilogy borrowed. Some answers, but still questions linger. I look forward to the conclusion.

THE CARD COUNTER

Been listening to the soundtrack of Paul Schrader’s latest. Left the theater with mixed feelings. Yet, I’m still thinking about it weeks later. That’s the mark of something special whether I like it or not. Worth a watch and a listen.

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This month I didn’t do anything else. It’s my birthday month. Shut da f*ck up.