Top 5 The Walking Dead Episodes

The Walking Dead is probably the biggest show on Television right now. With over 10 Million viewers an episode, this zombie drama show following the story of Rick Grimes and his group is one of the best shows on TV. To kill some time during the hiatus till February, I'm going to count my Top 5 The Walking Dead Episodes.

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.

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.

Top 5 Animal Antagonists

Top 5 Animal Antagonists by The Critical Canuck

Our Top 5 Antagonists that Man vs. Nature (or Nature vs. Nature) has to offer.

Top 5 Land Before Time Sequels

The Land Before Time was a wonderful film by Don Bluth. But it also has been plagued with a bad case of sequelitis  Spawning over 12 sequels, which everyone on the internet seems to think are spawns of the devil. But I actually like a few of them. Please don't shoot me! Some of them are really not that bad! And I'm going to count my Top 5 Land Before Time Sequels.

Top 5 Animated Movies

Top 5 Animated Movies by The Critical Canuck

Who doesn't love Animated Movies? Movie's like The Lion King, An American Tail, The Little Mermaid, We Friggin' love them. And this list is dedicated to our favourite films from this genre (it is a genre, right?).