Princess Mononoke Review & Revision to Top 5 Animated Movie's

While protecting his village from rampaging boar-god/demon, a confident young warrior, Ashitaka, is stricken by a deadly curse. To save his life, he must journey to the forests of the west. Once there, he's embroiled in a fierce campaign that humans were waging on the forest. The ambitious Lady Eboshi and her loyal clan use their guns against the gods of the forest and a brave young woman, Princess Mononoke, who was raised by a wolf-god. Ashitaka sees the good in both sides and tries to stem the flood of blood. This is met be animosity by both sides as they each see him as supporting the enemy.

Hayao Miyazaki's Princess Mononoke, quite possibly the best movie I've ever seen.

Book Review: Watership Down

Watership Down
Richard Adams, 1972

This book was a really lucky find. I had no knowledge of Watership Down at all, until I found out about the movie. I watched the movie and I loved it. I loved the story, I loved the characters, and it was so much different from the movies I grew up on (Disney movies for example). I thought it was a miracle that I came across a movie like it. And the fact it had rabbits, an animal that's usually portrayed as cute, fighting and tearing each other apart made me love it even more. But, there were some things in the movie that weren't really explained all too well. When I found out there was a book it was based on, I went off to get a copy. Watership Down is the first book I've ever read that right after finishing it the first time, I went right back to the beginning to read it again.

The story follows a rabbit named Fiver and his brother Hazel. Fiver has visions of Man coming to destroy their home warren. Hazel and Fiver lead a band of 11 rabbits away from the warren, after failing to convince the Chief Rabbit to leave, to find a new home. They trek across unfamiliar territory, have a run-in with deceptive rabbits,  and find a new home on the slopes of Watership Down. All seems well and good, except for one very big problem: They have no females. If they want to start a new warren, they'll need females. And a very friendly Fascist, Barbaric, Totalitarian warren run by a rather nice fellow named General Woundwort seems to have plenty. You could probably imagine how that turns out.

I already loved this story when I watched the movie. But man, the book goes into so much more detail. And it just builds, and builds up to a variety of satisfying climaxes. Richard Adams really takes his time when it comes to developing his characters, and building up the suspense necessary to have you on edge during moments of intensity. All the characters are so likable as well. Hazel is a natural born leader, he may not have the muscle to be a chief, but he has the wit and charisma of one. He sees the strength in everybody and fits everyone in somewhere. Bigwig is the impatient and impulsive muscle of the group. Or at least he starts out that way, but over the course of the book he becomes wise and a firm supporter of Hazel. Fiver is the voice of reason in the group and of course their guide as he has some kind of weird physic abilities. General Woundwort is the villain, and what a great villain he is. He shows himself to be no pushover being a savage and quite intelligent brute, so much so that many times it seems our main characters actually might not succeed.

The suspense in this book is killer. The way Richard Adams explains the history of Efrafa (Woundwort's warren) or the prosperous Cowslip's warren (the warren full of deceptive rabbits) you really believe that our characters may not win. Cowslip's Warren is described as totally prosperous, the food is good, no disease, no predator's, and Hazel and the gang love it. But Fiver knows something's wrong with it, however none of the others will listen to him because all they see is a paradise. You really feel for Fiver because no one will listen to him. But this leads to the most epic "I told you so" speech I've ever had the pleasure of reading when the others find out something is wrong with the place. And as for the Efrafans, they're accomplishments are explained in such great detail, and their prowess in tracking and just about everything, really makes you think that Bigwig's mission in there is hopeless. Adams makes it a point to show that the characters are in over their heads, and it's just dumb luck that they succeed at all. But the main characters are actually very smart, which adds so much to their likability. Yeah they're in over their heads, and there's huge chances of failure or death, but they make plans and put them into effect with efficiency. They might not be a strong group for muscle, but when it comes to it, intelligence, quick thinking, and above all, teamwork get them out of sticky situations.

The El-ahrairah stories, although complete detours from the plot, add so much to the book as well. They're all very clever and enjoyable stories, and they add another layer to the story to make the world believable as these stories are basically their religion. The rabbits even have their own language called Lapine. All this makes the book so much more interesting because even thought the characters are rabbits that act like rabbits, these elements make them even more relateable and make us root for them much more.

It's often said that Watership Down can be enjoyed on many levels from just mere reading pleasure to a clever social commentary. Me personally, I love it because it has rich characters and atmosphere  with a very interesting high stakes story that I can very easily lose myself in.  This was my favourite book of all time at one point, but it was recently replaced by Bambi a Life in the Woods as my favourite book. It's my second favourite book now. If you haven't read it yet, check it out. This is a book that warrants a read at least once in a lifetime.

Spirited Away Review

Chihiro and her parents are moving to a small Japanese town in the countryside, much to Chihiro's dismay. On the way to their new home, Chihiro's father makes a wrong turn and drives down a lonely one-lane road which dead-ends in front of a tunnel. Her parents decide to stop the car and explore the area. They go through the tunnel and find an abandoned amusement park on the other side, with its own little town. When her parents see a restaurant with great-smelling food but no staff, they decide to eat and pay later. However, Chihiro refuses to eat and decides to explore the theme park a bit more. She meets a boy named Haku who tells her that Chihiro and her parents are in danger, and they must leave immediately She runs to the restaurant and finds that her parents have turned into pigs. In addition, the theme park turns out to be a town inhabited by demons, spirits, and evil gods. At the center of the town is a bathhouse where these creatures go to relax. The owner of the bathhouse is the evil witch Yubaba, who is intent on keeping all trespassers as captive workers, including Chihiro. Chihiro must rely on Haku to save her parents in hopes of returning to their world.

So, the great, all powerful, all benevolent lord and god of animation, Hayao Miyazaki and his highly praised Spirited Away. Let's see what he's got.

Martin The Warrior A Tale of Redwall Review

This show just keeps upping the Ante!

Saints Row IV Review

       The crazier then ever latest entry in the Saints Row Franchise. In this installment, you're character becomes the President of the United States as the world is attacked by aliens known as the Zin Empire, led by Emperor Zinyak.  After being abducted by Zinyak and shoved into a simulation meant to "break" you, you must find a way to break free of the simulation and beat Zinyak at his own game.

       I began the Saints Row series with Saints Row 2. I thought it was a great mix of humor, craziness, and drama with some rather heavy moments in it. There was a ton to do, customization was sick, it was one of the funnest games I ever played. Saints Row 1 was also very good. It had a good story, good writing, and it was a a lot of fun, but there was nothing wholly remarkable about it. Saints Row 3, I was really disappointed with. I hated the new direction it was going in, it stopped being a good mixture of seriousness and craziness and just tried to go full on crazy and the story was less than thrilling. It was fun, and it brought in some great new mechanics as well, but I'm a guy who prefers to have a game with a good story and good writing. I mostly see gameplay as just a means to an end more than anything. And now the fourth game was going to have aliens, super powers and you becoming the President of the United States. I was less than thrilled. I was prepared to hate this game a lot. But dammit, it won me over.

       Although maybe not on Saints Row 2's level, the story and the writing in Saints 4 is actually very good. The ridiculous concepts that I loathed when I first heard about them actually somehow worked. I think it's because the writing is so good, and the characters are so fleshed out and realized, that I just said "Fuck it! I'll buy whatever this game is throwing at me!". And, there's also quite a bit of serious dramatic moments as well. While still completely ridiculous and asinine, there was some high stakes, and some really clever twists. It's almost as if they decided to bring some of Saints 2 back, and they pulled it off stupendously. The small moments like the return to Stilwater, or Johnny Gat's (yes, he's back) loyalty mission where you and Gat discuss the past fill me with Nostalgia, and are just great character moments and callbacks to the previous games, and they pretty much make the game for me. Zinyak, the big baddie alien, is a really fun villian and he's freakin' hilarious. Gathering the text adventures that explained his back-story was a real treat. Gathering all the audio recordings of your homie's back-story's also provided some great character development. 

        And as for the gameplay, there is plenty for you to do. There are tonnes of side quests, and activity's, and distractions that are a ton of fun. Although, they might get a bit repetitive after a while, but honestly, they're different enough to keep them from feeling repetitive. The combat is rather simple, you pretty much aim and shoot and the AI isn't too smart. I actually found the game decently challenging, but that was because I didn't spend much time trying to upgrade. I did upgrade, but I just didn't use it that often. Although if I were to get all the upgrade's, the game would be pretty easy. I never found it to be too easy. But then again, even if it was, the game is mostly about doing crazy shit , blowing shit up and just generally providing stupid, unadulterated fun. And the game really delivers on this front. I don't think there was any major changes in gameplay from Saints 3, but that's fine. Saints 3's gameplay was what saved it for me, and why fix what ain't broke ya know. And as for super powers, they were fun to use. Though, I never really used them all that much (Except for the super jump and sprint which I always used, which actually made cars and car customization kinda pointless). I only really used them when I needed them, or when I wanted to get creative with my kills. Aside from that, I mostly just saw them as a means to an end. 

       As a fan of the first two game's, I love this one. It brought back the good writing and seriousness that Saints Row 2 had, and it maintained Saints 3's great gameplay and mechanics and the ability to just play with the world in whatever way you want.

Final Verdict: 9.5

        

Top 5 Hayao Miyazaki Movie's

                                                      The Japanese Walt Disney (which 
                                              actually is probably not an appropriate title)

           Hayao Miyazaki. A name I've heard so many times, and have heard people say nothing but good things about. This guy is considered a god of animation, as a matter of fact it's probably a crime to say bad things about him. So, being the animation buff I am, naturally I wanted to check out some of his work, particularly Spirited Away (which many seem to consider his flawless masterpiece). The only problem was, I'm no fan of anime. There's just something about it that really rubs me the wrong way. So I was in no hurry to check out his work. But, then I came upon this still from Spirited Away.

That is one awesome Dragon design!

          "Alright Mr. Zaki, you won me over! Let's see what the Japanese God of Animation has to offer!" I cried to the clouds. He had more to offer than I could possibly imagine. As of this post, I have watched eight of Miyazki's films. The only ones I haven't seen are Ponyo, The Castle of Cagliostro, and his newest film, The Wind Rises. Not that I have any particular interest in seeing those ones, as I'm perfectly satisfied with the eight I've seen. Which now brings us to the point of this article: I'm going to count my Top 5 Favourite Hayao Miyazki Movie's. So let's get the ball rolling, shall we?

#5. Kiki's Delivery Service

              This one was a tossup between Porco Rosso, Howl's Moving Castle, and Kiki's Delivery Service. As much as I liked Porco Rosso and Howl's Moving Castle, I had to go with Kiki. I just love the story in Kiki, a 13 year old witch who has go out on her own and make a name for herself. She moves to a new town, makes some friend's and starts her own little business. Pretty much how people in the real world operate. As much as I like movie's with villains and evil plots and shit like that, it's a nice change of pace to just see somebody in a movie trying to get their life on track, especially in an animated movie. And while that's all well and good, the main reason I chose this one over the other two is because of one scene. Kiki has to deliver a cake an old woman cooked for her granddaughter. As it's not ready yet, Kiki helps the old woman around the house, and then she helps her cook the cake. This scene was very touching. But then, in the next scene, Kiki delivers the cake to the granddaughter. Only to find out she's an ungrateful little cunt and is unappreciative of her grandmother's work. If I hadn't had seen the hard work Kiki and the old woman did baking that cake, I might have had a different reaction. But seeing all that hard work go unappreciated, made me want to reach into the movie and smack a bitch! Any movie that has that kind of effect on me is worthy of a spot on my list.

#4. Nausicaa Of The Valley Of The Wind

           When I first watched Nausicaa, I watched it in English (actually, I've only watched Miyazki's movie's in English) and I had high expectations. The movie sadly did not meet those expectations. As a matter of fact I thought it was quite underwhelming. Maybe it had something to do with the English dub, maybe it had something to do with the protagonist, or maybe it just wasn't as epic as I thought it would be. But sometime's, it just takes a second viewing to fully appreciate something. I watched it in Japanese this time around and, it improved the movie quite a bit. And with my high expectations gone, what I saw this time was a very entertaining, action packed movie with an interesting world and maybe more complex than I thought it was. There was still some problems, mainly having to do with the Protagonists' naivety and her almost inhuman ability to connect with nature, and the ending I thought was a bit sappy and stupid. But overall, I really like the film, and it's the only Miyazki film I may prefer to watch in Japanese. 

#3. Laputa: Castle In The Sky

              If Miyazki made anything that closely resembled a Disney movie, Castle in the Sky would probably be it. If it wasn't for the easily recognizable Japanese Anime style, I probably would mistake this for a Disney movie. It's got a princess, it has an evil villain, and it's a pretty straightforward adventure story with a mystery. But even when Miyazaki is his closest to being Disney, he manages to outshine them in many ways. This movie is just pure entertainment, it's got colorful characters, it's got a great story, and I freakin' love Mark Hamill as Muska and Cloris Leachman as Dola in the English Dub. But the thing I love most about it is it's soundtrack. I think Castle in the Sky just might have the best score in any of Miyazaki's movie's. I especially love the rescore in the English dub. But those damn purists just can't leave well enough alone can they? Why the hell do they even care about the English Dub's rescore? They probably never even watch it anyway!

#2. Spirited Away

            The movie many consider Miyazaki's Magnum Opus. I.... don't think it quite reaches that level. Don't get me wrong! It's an amazing film! Why else would I put it in the number 2 spot? Was that last sentence even necessary? Point withdrawn. 

             Anyway, Spirited Away is an amazing film, and the first Miyazki movie I seen. It's creative, it's imaginative, it's dripping in atmosphere, and the story is amazing. It has so many great moments like the River Spirit being cleansed of pollution, Chiriho going to see Zaniba, and my personal favourite moment in the film, the train ride. The animation is beautiful, and Joe Hisashi's score is wonderful. Has there ever been a Miyazki movie Hisashi hasn't composed? Hisashi's Miyazki's John William's! I have nothing to complain about in Spirited Away, and it would have been my favourite if it wasn't for the movie that ultimately ended up being my favourite.

#1. Princess Mononoke

          Now THIS is what I consider Miyazki's Magnum Opus, his undisputed masterpiece. Spirited Away was amazing, but in my eyes it just couldn't top Princess Mononoke. Miyazki really outdid himself with this one. This isn't just my favourite Miyazki movie, it's my favourite animated movie and probably one of my favourite films in general. It has everything I love about movie's and more. Action, romance, story, character, tearjerker scenes, a beautiful soundtrack, and it's not a simple good vs. evil tale. It's complex, there are no right or wrong answers, everyone has their reasons for fighting. And those reasons are perfectly understandable. I don't think I've ever seen an animated film as profound, complex and epic in scope as this is. I've watched this movie 5 or 6 times since I've seen it, so there's also the replay value to it. I have no complaints with this movie at all, it's just one of those perfect movie's. This movie alone convinced me that Miyazki is a master in a class of his own. 

         If you haven't seen any of Miyazki's works, check them out! And take it from me, you don't have to be an anime fan, or you don't even have to like anime, to love Miyazki's work.