Adventures in Red Boxing 1

So, I've been watching movies someone else rented from Redbox the last couple days.  The renter in question has been renting them based on how new of a release they are.  Cause Van Helsing would have been so much better the day after it came out on DVD, right?  Wrong, it sucks any time.  So far, they have been hit and miss.  But here's a little capsule review of some of the stuff I've been sitting through. 

1) Language of the Enemy

This was an interesting film that had a lot of good content, but tried to be too many things at once.  Romi, A Jewish man from Boston travels to Israel for the funeral of his father, killed by a suicide bomber on a bus.  While there, he is talked into gathering information on the Palestinians who organized the bombing by his cousin, as he knows Arabic (hence the name of the film).  At the same time, Joleh, a Palestinian woman working as a doctor in a refugee camp treats a young boy with a cut on his head.  Shortly thereafter, the boy is killed in a skirmish between Palestinian militants.  Romi takes over a bakery his father secretly owned in a Palestinian city.  Joleh comes into the shop late, asking for donations for the boy's family.  Romi gives generously, and the two strike up a relationship.  After Romi is shot during the dead boy's procession, he ends up at Joleh's hospital where they strike up a friendship, and after a time fall in love, despite being sworn enemies. 
The strength of this film is in the interactions between the two sides of the conflict, learning each others wisdom and eventually mutual respect, at least between two families.  It's weakness is in some of the romantic sequences and any time it's trying to be funny.  All in all a decent movie with some themes that far outperform the movie itself.  5/10

2) The American

George Clooney stars as a deep cover black ops agent working for an undefined agency.  The film opens in a cabin in rural Sweeden, with Clooney in bed with a woman.  The two of them go for a walk and get ambushed by a sniper.  Clooney quickly dispatches him, then tells the woman to run back to the house.  As she flees, he shoots her as well.  His cover blown, he travels to Italy under orders from his superior to lie low until his next assignment.  In the meantime he is assigned the task to aqcuire and customize a weapon for another agent.  In his ample free time, he sees a local prostitute. 
With The American, it pays to check your "James Bond" expectations at the door.  Clooney plays a professional killer with years of experience hiding in plain sight.  His Poker Face is unshakable.  The pacing is deliberately slow and reflects what real spy work would probably be like.  7/10

3) Buried

Ryan Reynolds (always a good sign) plays a truck driver working as a civilian contractor in Iraq, Paul Conroy.  As the film opens, Paul wakes to realize he has been buried alive.  Using his Zippo lighter, Paul finds a cell phone in the coffin with him, and begins to call anyone he can in an attempt to secure his rescue. 
It has to be said that, as I have clautrophobia, this was a really unsettling film for me, as the Entire picture takes place inside the coffin.  Every shot is Ryan Reynolds holding a zippo or the cell phone and calling anyone who might be able to help him, and while there are a few Heavy Handed political messages (seeing as how he's in Iraq), it is overall a very interesting film.  7/10. 

4) Case 39

A stupid-natural thriller starring Renee Zelwegger.  She's a case worker for Child Services who takes in a child who's parents tried to bake her in an oven.  But it quickly becomes apparent that she is the problem.  Spoilers!  She's some kind of stupid Demon yada yada yada, Rene burns down her house and drives into a river to get rid of her, the end.  1/10  Just Awful. 

Anyway, I'm sure this wont be the last time I'm forced to watch Redbox movies against my will, so I'll let you know that I see next time.

And Just because I can, 'Sucker Punch"

Saturday Anime: A Quick word about a Weird Show.

So it's my weekend to work, and that means not much time for writing.  But, I did watch some Anime today, so here we go!

If there is one thing I really love, it's Weird Anime.  The odder the plot, characters, jokes, etc; the more fun I tend to have with it.  One such show that is just overflowing with insanity is Excel Saga.  I'll likely tackle this series in more detail another time, but suffice it to say, it's completely irreverent and crap-house crazy, and I laugh my ass off every time I see it.  The director of Excel Saga Watanabe Shinichi (Nabeshin for short and Giggles) had a running inside joke going with fans of his in Japan about the most ludicrous character ever to appear in a "Magical Girl" show, and after a few years, he decided the perfect punchline for such a joke was to actually produce a show based on her.  Like Excel, Nabeshin appears in the show as a key character, and also like Excel, it's hilariously insane.

It's Puni Puni Poemy.

Now, when Nick put me onto Excel way back in the day, it was a hard sell at first.  He explained some of the plot (mostly how the Great Will of the Microcosm keeps having to resurrect Excel because she repeatedly gets herself killed in the first episode, and the show would not exist without her) and I checked out a few of the early episodes.  After a second watch or so, I was hooked on the insane pacing and wacky sense of humor.  So when Nick told me about a spin off of Excel that was even crazier than the original, I was all in.

And crazier, it was!  The very first thing we see is Poemy, a pink haired magical girl spaz, fighting off a team of other magical girls that look a lot like Sailor Scouts to me, culminating with Poemy putting the last of them into a technically perfect Sharpshooter that Bret "Hitman" Hart would be proud of and Breaking Her Back.  That was all I needed to see to realize I was going to love this show.  And it just gets better (read: Crazier) from there.  From the pants-less alien with a spiked ball hanging from a string where his genitals should be who speaks in jibberish, to Poemy stabbing herself in the legs with pens in an attempt to stay awake, to the character who is a professional Dominatrix punishing her sisters for making her angry.  This show is just Bat-Shit insane, and I love every moment.  One of the best scenes comes when the Sisters discuss whether Poemy can live with them, and they talk so fast it is impossible to follow, and after they discuss existential philosophy for about 3 seconds, the house explodes.  Just insane.

Anyway, here's some sample pics, just to demonstrate how all-over-the-place this thing is.

See?
Anyway, I think I'll post some Poemy AMV's this time, enjoy!

I wanted to hate this because of the song, but it was actually pretty funny.

This one is Poemy and Excel, but it's too good to pass up!

This one includes FLCL (The ONLY show I can think of that's crazier than PPP) as well.

One more Excel.  It's my blog, I do what I want!

Saturday Anime: Tenchi Muyo

I've decided to ditch the History thing in favor of just talking about some of the series I would have mentioned in them anyway individually.  Let's start with the first series I actually owned all of the episodes of, Tenchi Muyo OVA.

After I moved on to Hollywood Video in my hometown for rentals, I started perusing their Anime section and discovered a few really good shows and movies, but none more so than Tenchi.  My first taste of the series had been in the form of Tenchi Muyo In Love, the first Tenchi film, which was played on Sci Fi channel during their Saturday Anime block (which is where I stole the name Saturday Anime from).  I remember being utterly confused, effectively being dumped into the middle of a universe I couldn't possibly understand completely, almost like watching Return of the Jedi without seeing A New Hope and Empire.  I admired the art, liked the characters even though I knew nothing about them beyond what the film tells you, and found the action and romantic undertones of the story compelling.  As I attempted to understand the series better, I found a copy of the Mihoshi special at Hollywood and rented it.  However this didn't help much, as it's a completely independent special that has nothing to do with the main story.  So even though I was largely in the dark about most of the story, I sought out more episodes because what I had seen was so much fun, even if I was lost most of the time.

Since this was long before the days of Youtube and wikipedia to fill in the gaps, I started to look for VHS copies of the OVA, as I had determined that it was the first series released.  I finally found a collection of all the episodes on VHS on eBay, and created an account just to buy them.  I sent the money order, waited a bit, and picked up my first UPS package, then dove into the true beginning of the story.  I would later find out that I was hardly the only one confused about the canon of the series, but I'm sticking to the OVA here because it is still my favorite.

Masaki Tenchi is a fairly normal teenager, working at his grandfather's Shinto Shrine in the mountains.  One day, he attempts to sneak into his Grandfather's office to steal a key.  There is a cave near the shrine with a locked gate that his Grandfather has warned him to stay away from for years because a Demon was buried there 700 years ago, but his curiosity has gotten the better of him at last.  After lifting the key, Tenchi investigates the cave and finds that his Grandfather's story was not all bluster.  He finds a Sword Hilt and what appears to be an ancient corpse, but when the corpse comes to life and attempts to embrace him, he flees in fear, resealing the cave and swearing never to return.  Later he falls asleep on the roof of his school and is woken by a youthful Blue Haired girl.  She chuckles and says "Ryoko..."  When Tenchi looks perplexed, she continues, "That's my name, Ryoko."  She opens her eyes, and they are glowing an eerie gold, the same as the Demon in the cave.  Ryoko laments how horrible her 700 year imprisonment and informs Tenchi that she will have to work out some tension on him right away.  She then summons a light blade from thin air and attacks Tenchi, flying, teleporting, laughing giddly and tossing energy bolts in his direction.  As the one sided fight continues, Tenchi's entire school is destroyed by a gas line explosion.  Ryoko finally corners Tenchi and attacks him again, but the Sword Hilt which he hid in his book bag generates an energy field that deflects the blow.  Incredulous, Ryoko attacks again and the hilt generates a light blade of it's own.  The two fight, with Tenchi unable to control the sword as it moves on it's own, then lops off Ryoko's hand.  She laments that she lost another battle, regrows her hand, and sinks away into the ground.  As Tenchi returns home, glad to be done with the whole affair, but wondering what happened to the girl, he doesen't have to wonder long.  He finds Ryoko sleeping in his bed, and she warmly welcomes him home when he wakes her.

It isn't long after this before Tenchi and Ryoko's fight attracts the attention of Aeka, a princess from the planet Jurai who has been searching the galaxy for her missing half brother Yosho in her massive space-tree/Ship Ryu-oh.  Aeka considers Ryoko her sworn enemy, as during her days as a Space Pirate, she caused great damage to the Jurai empire and homeworld.  After capturing them, in spite of the fact that the statuate of limitations on Ryoko's crimes just ran out the day they arrived at Earth,  Aeka tortures the Space Pirate in hopes of extracting information about Yosho's whereabouts.  Meanwhile, Sasami, another of Jurai's princesses releases Tenchi and press-gangs him into playing a trick on her older sister.  It isn't long before Ryoko's ship, Ryo-Oh-Ki attacks Ryu-Oh and the two ships crash near the Masaki Shrine.  With no way off the relatively primitive planet Earth, Ryoko, Aeka, and Sasami are all forced to stay with Tenchi and his Father.  It isn't long before another fight between Ryoko and Aeka causes another ship to crash, stranding the bumbling Galaxy Police officer Mihoshi on Earth as well, followed shortly by a childish looking super-scientist named Washu, who also claims to be Ryoko's "Mother".

While it isn't immediately obvious at first for most of the female characters, besides Ryoko's playful flirting towards the end of the first episode, it soon becomes clear that they all have at least some romantic interest in Tenchi.  However, it is Ryoko, the Brash, Fun Loving, Sake drinking former space pirate and Aeka, the prim, proper, princess; who become the most interesting rivals from the first moment Aeka learns Ryoko is on Earth.  They have a history and don't much like one another, but their mutual interest in Tenchi forces them to tolerate one another's presence.   At one point, the two of them make a pact to work together in order to get the other girls out of the picture, then read romantic Manga for pointer on how to woo Tenchi, with hilariously disastrous results.

However, throughout all the bickering between the girls over Tenchi's affections, he never seems to become more attached to any one of the girls, treating all of them as if they were members of his own family and doing everything he can for any one of them.  This, even more than his powers and lightblade, make Tenchi a truly admirable character.  And while his seeming ignorance of the girls feelings for him, Ryoko's in particular, can be frustrating for the viewer, it is his devotion to all of them equally that sets Tenchi Muyo apart from most Harem anime that would follow.  Where most series in the genre ultimately end with the protagonist choosing one of those competing for their affections (Love Hina for example and Fruits Basket as a notable exception), Tenchi Muyo always leaves the answer to the burning question "Who's Tenchi going to end up with?" vague.  The closest they ever came is the ending  to Tenchi Muyo in Love 2, which is ambiguous at best, and that isn't even the same continuity.  It's more confusing the the Trek reboot.  Although I haven't seen the end of the 3rd OVA, so I may be wrong.

Still, when it comes down to it, there are four key elements that really make Tenchi fun to watch.  Interesting Characters, Excellent animation, oft gut busting Comedy, and unrequited love.


    


























And Now, your Moment of AMV Zen...

Top Ten: RPG's

Thanks to my home skillet Nick for suggesting this topic when I was stumped.

RPG's have been a passion of mine pretty much since I was old enough to hold a controller.  The idea of filling the roll of a character thrust into extraordinary circumstances in a fantastic setting was always so appealing.  From old-school Silent Protagonist games to the Choose your Destiny choice driven games of today, anything that has the words Level Up and X Exp Gained has my interest.  While my interest in new J-Rpgs has been waning of late, I still love to replay the classics from time to time, and modern RPGs still bear hug me into submission.  I'll rank them by quality of system, story, sound, time played, times beaten, etc.  So, here is a list of my faves, and in the interest of avoiding filling half the list with one series (Cough Final Fantasy Cough), I'm going to limit myself to one game per series.

And No, there will be no Super Mario RPG on this List. 

10) The World of Warcraft


This pick was actually a tough one to make my mind up about.  It has to be said that WoW might hold the "Most hours Played" title for me, since I've been playing all but a few months since it's debut in late 04.  And while the game is neck deep in lore, the massively multi-player aspect always takes me out of the story.  That said, there are few games that give you more options for character customization.  From basic appearance andtitles to varied classes and talent trees, not to mention the joys of being a Hunter and naming a menagerie of pets (Like my bear, FurryTractor, for example) and boatloads of gear and mounts to acquire , the options are huge.  And while it was a little boring soloing in the past, the leveling process revamp that came with Cataclysm has provided a single player experience on par with rpg's that are exclusively single player.  Combine that with the fun of teaming up with 4 friends to take on a dungeon or24 to raid the most challenging depths the world has to offer, as well as professions and playing the server wide auction house, and there is plenty of fun to be had.

9)  Neverwinter Nights


Based on the d20 system rules of Dungeons and Dragons 3.5 and set in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting, Neverwinter Nights was a 3D culmination of a lot of Nerd fantasies.  For the first time, a fully realized, fully 3D D and D game was available.  While the main stories of Neverwinter 1 and 2 are good in their own right, the real value to be had here was in customizing the game itself.  From the deep character customization included right out of the box to the plethora of downloadable mods that added additional options, to modules that added all new player generated stories and the official expansions that added more depth to the core experience, the re-playability of this game was off the charts. Add to this the ability to play multiplayer cooperative games and this game became a regular installment at LAN parties.  Good times had by all as we leveled our characters, killed monsters, and laughed when one of us got killed by a trap.

8)  Breath of Fire II

Now we're kickin' it Old School.  Throughout the 8 and 16 bit eras, I was a JRPG fanatic, and I still have a soft spot for Sprite Based Role Playing.  Breath of Fire II is a standout in a period when there were a lot of excellent games in the genre.  Centered on the life of Ryu, a young orphan who is the last of the ancient Dragon Clan, BoFII starts out simply enough.  After a brief scene in which we see a glimpse of Ryu's childhood which culminates in an encounter with the Nightmarish creature Barubary who makes his family vanish and the rest of the village forget who he is, an older Ryu and his fried Bow set off to find a Pet Pig for a Princess.  It isn't long after this quest that a much larger plot unfolds and Ryu and crew face off with a number of various threats, from Demonic possession, to a corrupt Religion, to a final confrontation with Barubary and his Master.  The cast of characters is varied and interesting, and only gets deeper when you learn how to fuse their souls with elemental shaman to grant them new forms and powers.  The town building element, by which the player builds a town up from a single shack to a thriving community full of useful vendors and craftsmen, was revolutionary at the time. The story is rich, very character driven and full of emotional moments.

7)  Fallout 3


Fallout 3 is a great example of how the genre is evolving to be more action oriented, but still maintain the aspects that make RPG's so much fun.  Set in an alternate America who's culture stagnated in the 50s, and was subsequently destroyed in a nuclear war, F3 depicts a very grim reality of how the Atomic Age could have ended. Starting from you birth within a community sized bomb shelter known as a Vault, the life of your character is completely controllable.  And while the illusion slips from time to time and you realize how much the story is "On Rails" as they say, it is largely an open-ended adventure that encourages the player to interact with the world around them any way they choose.  Add an ingenious and endlessly entertain system of incorporating slow motion dramatic action scenes into the heat of combat so players can savor just how much they can mess a guy up with a combat shotgun or any of a number other weapons, and the addictive nature of this game should come as no surprise.

6)  Mass Effect 2


The current King of the "Modern RPG" hill, Mass Effect 2 is a truly epic space adventure.  The title character, Shepard, is whatever you make of him/her, from baby hugging goody-two-shoes to baby punting heartless bastard.  As you begin this sequel, you can import data from your Mass Effect 1 save to deepen the immersion and see the results of you actions from the first game on the second.  And while there is a definite feeling of being 'on rails' on your journey, the good news is that it's a great ride.  The story starts with Shepard being brought back from the dead after the Normandy was destroyed by a Cerberus, an enigmatic pro human organization who's leader, the equally enigmatic Illusive Man see's Shepard as the only hope for humanity.  The cast of characters is impressive and varied, with fan favorites rounding out a group of interesting newcomers.  One may argue that this game only barely qualifies as an RPG, and as far as the combat and Item system goes, I have to agree.  In those areas, it could easily be described as RPG Lite.  But the story is where it's at:  Full of intrigue, deception, action, romance, mirth, despair, hope, and determination.

5)  Illusion of Gaia


Another Snes title, Illusion of Gaia is another game that isn't quite the textbook definition of an RPG, but has more than enough soul and character development to earn it this spot on the list.  Set in a world with many familiar landmarks like the Pyramids, Machu Pichu, and the Great Wall of China in unfamiliar places, Illusion of Gaia has a lot going on under the surface of a game that plays a lot like Zelda.  Will is a young man who was the only person to return from his Father's expedition to the Tower of Babel, though he has no memory of how.  He leads a normal life in the care of his Grandparents until one day he is summoned to the palace by the King of his land.  The King has requested that he bring the Crystal Ring Will got from his father, but throws him in prison when he arrives.  After escaping with the help of the Earth Spirit, Gaia, who transforms young will into the powerful dark knight Freedan, Will and his friends embark on a journey to visit sacred ruins all over the world and learn the secrets of the Spirit Statues and what became of Will's Father on his expedition.  The ending is a real tearjerker and I've played through this game many times just to experience the story again.

4)  Disgaea



Oh, Disgaea.  How to describe this game?  Well, it is hilariously aware of what it is, an insanely deep Tactical RPG with an insane number of possible characters and side-splitting tongue-in-cheek story. Early on, we learn that our hero, Prince Laharl, is the next in line to inherit the throne of Overlord of the Netherworld, after his father died when he choked on a Black Pretzel.  Unfortunately, Laharl has been taking a nap for the last two years and missed it.  In the meantime, other demons have started to lay claim to the title of Overlord for themselves.  The first of these demons that Laharl dispatches is Vyers, the self styled Dark Adonis.  The prince dismisses him as a trivial stepping-stone on the path to domination and to drive home the point, he officially changes his name to Mid Boss.  This self referential joke is an example of what makes this game as hilarious as it is additively challenging. 



3)  Final Fantasy VI


Picking one Final Fantasy game as the best is a hard enough task in and of itself, let alone deciding where it belongs amongst it's peers.  While FF Tactics is an absolute classic in my book, and VII changed RPGs and their Fanbase forever, I still have to say that FF VI is the high water mark of an excellent series.  An Industrial Era world where Magic scarcely exists and is spoken of as a myth of ancient times is a compelling setting for a FF game, which up to this point, had only featured worlds steeped in sorcery.  There are only two known magic users in the world when the game starts, and one of them is Terra.  Press-ganged into military service with a mind control device by the nefarious empire, Terra is sent to acquire a recently unearthed frozen Esper, a Magical creature of mysterious origin.  When Terra encounters the Esper, a sequence of events is set into motion that will see the world torn apart.  The graphics and sound were jaw dropping when it was released, and the epic story stands the test of time and multiple playthroughs. 

2)  Secret of Mana


There's really only one word I should have to say to explain why this game was such a big deal when it came out in '94.  Multiplayer.  At the time, RPG's and even Action games like Zelda never even attempted Multiplayer modes.  In Secret of Mana, it's one of the best reasons to play.  Three people could huddle around their Super NES and play through an extended quest of epic proportions.  Hours of gametime with friends, slashing, casting, and laughing when people got turned into Moogles.  It is almost a forerunner of MMORPGS, like a first baby step in that direction.  And while the action is largely similar to action games like IofG or Zelda, there is definitely strategy and timing involved, and the story is epic and worthy of the genre. 





1)  Chrono Trigger


Seriously, who's surprised?   Anyone who has asked me to recommend a game since 95, including my niece, knows this might be my favorite game Period, not just in the RPG genre.  Crono, the hero of our story and all round nice guy/silent protagonist type bumps into a beautiful girl named Marle at the Kingdom of Guardia's Millennial Fair.  After showing her the sights, they go to see a demonstration of a Crono's friend Luca's new invention, a Teleporter.  Marle excitedly volunteers to try out the device, but when Luca starts it, the teleporter reacts with the pendant Marle is wearing and she is transported into a mysterious Gate, leaving the Pendant behind.  Luca examines it and realizes it is a royal artifact that belongs to the Princess of Guardia.  Without hesitation, Crono takes the pendant and steps onto the teleporter, intending to rescue her.  He arrives in Guardia, but it quickly becomes clear that he has traveled hundreds of years back in time.  As the story progresses, Crono and crew ally with a loyal Robot from the far future, a gallant knight that was transformed into a frog, and a tough as nails  prehistoric woman.  As they attempt to return to their own time, they learn of a plot by a master of the dark arts, Magus, to summon Lavos, an inter-planetary Parasite that will destroy the world.  They decide that cannot simply return to their time and live out their lives burdened with this knowledge, and set out on a quest to destroy Lavos before the Cataclysm can occur.  One of the great things that made this game so replayable was the New Game + feature that allowed the player to start a new game with the endgame character data.  To add to this mode there were several varied endings to the game, both good and bad, based on what point in the replay you defeat Lavos.  The soundtrack is one of the most memorable of the 16 Bit Era.  It's a game that has been copied, remade in part by fans, and had a fanmade sequel in the works before Square "cease and desist"ed them.  It's a game that spans the entire history of human existence, from it's primal beginnings to it's eventual destruction and decline, and offers the chance to change history.  It's a game full of interesting characters, monsters, and fantastic locales.
It's a classic.

Bonus, Nifty Japanese Commercial.

Honorable Mention: Final Fantasy Tactics, FFIV, FFVII, FFX (in that order), Knights of the Old Republic, Dragon Age Origins, Destiny of an Emperor, Secret of Evermore, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, .The Lufia Series

Ip Man

As a fan of Martial Arts Films in general and Donnie Yen's brand of frenetic action scenes in particular, it wasn't hard to convince me to give this film a look.  I've stated in the past that any film with Donnie Yen in it has my attention, regardless of how potentially awful other aspects of the movie may be.  Honestly, I would have been happy with 90 minutes of Donnie punching people for no discernible reason.

But with Ip Man, I was treated to so much more.

The film opens in the mid 1930's in Foshan, the hometown of Chinese Folk Hero Wong Fei-Hung, and a well known center of Southern Chinese martial arts schools.  We are introduced to the unassuming, independently wealthy Wing Chun practitioner Ip Man.  He is a humble man who has mastered his fighting style, but has not opened a school because he is uneasy with the idea of having students answer to him.  His privileged life is spent discussing martial arts with his friends, the occasional friendly duel with locals or masters from other provinces seeking to make a name for themselves, and family time.  As humble and selfless as he is, his martial prowess is unequaled in all of Foshan.

The idyllic first act comes to disheartening close, as in 1937, the Second Sino-Japanese War breaks out, and Foshan falls in Japan's invasion.  Ip Man, now destitute as his home and possessions were confiscated by the occupying Japanese forces, is forced to work sifting coal to feed his wife and child.  One day, a Japanese Colonel comes to the coal mine and announces that General Miura is staging martial arts competitions between his soldiers and local Chinese citizens, and with a bag of rice promised to any man who wins, several men accept the invitation.  When one of Ip Man's old friends from before the War never returns from one of these tournaments, he volunteers himself in order to learn what may have happened to him.  Once there, he witnesses another Master and friend fight and defeat a Japanese soldier.  They toss him his bag of rice, but he boasts that he wants to fight three more men.  The General is pleased to acquiesce to this request, and three more fighters take on Master Liu.  It becomes clear that Liu is over-matched and he yields.  When he picks up the rice he won for his first fight, Sato, the Colonel, shoots him dead on the spot.  All Ip Man can do is scream at the interpreter "Why!?  Why did they Shoot him?"  General Miura twists Sato's arm to point the gun at his own face and demands an explanation.  Sato explains that he shot Liu for taking the rice even though he lost the match.  The general forbids him to use deadly force again, but the cold blooded murder goes largely unpunished.

At this point, Ip Man forces himself to the front of the crowd and volunteers to be the next to fight.  When he comes to the center of the ring, he coldly demands Ten Opponents.  The general is intrigued by Ip Man's gall to challenge so many men at once, and obliges.

Ip Man calmly brutalizes all ten opponents into submission, shock due to broken bones, or unconsciousness due to broken skulls.  From there, his legend only grows and the film culminates with an honor duel of epic proportions.

The plot is epically good, telling several touching stories against the backdrop of one of the most turbulent periods in Chinese history.  Westerners were seemingly blissfully ignorant of the attrocities being commited in China at the time, and seeing what the twisted bastardization of the Japanese Warrior Code of Bushido let bubble to the surface in Japan's society prior to the end of World War II is a sad reminder of the grim realities of the first half of the Twentieth Century.  When you really look at the sequence of events leading up to the Cultural Revolution, the rise of communism in China begins to feel less like a sinister reversal for a free and happy culture, and more like a tragic inevitability.

That said, this film is pro China and celebrates the culture that existed before the march of time and endless war swept it away forever.  Donnie Yen's character demonstrates the best virtues of old Chinese Culture perfectly.  He is level headed, selfless, forthright, humble, and strong willed.  This film is also loaded with a lot of very talented actors and impressive martial artists.

Sound is handled extremely well, with no trace of cheesy Foley sound effects and an excellent score.

If there is one term I would choose to describe every fight in the film, it is "One-Sided".  Whether it's Ip Man effortlessly defeating Master Liu before the war, or Jin pounding a reputation out of several Foshan Martial Arts instructors, it is always fairly evident which man is the superior fighter early on.  This actually adds a sense of realism to this film based on the real Ip Man's life.  There are no feeling out processes, no shifting advantages, no second winds, no come from behind victories.

Overall, this film is absolutely solid.  I honestly have nothing bad to say about it.  It more than deserves to be mentioned in the company of such genre classics as Hero, Huo Yuanjia, House of Flying Daggers, Drunken Master, and Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, and should be on anyones watch list, even if you don't enjoy martial arts movies.  And Donnie Yen continues to build his legacy as a Film Legend.

10 Karate Guys broken in Half out of 10.  Seriously, instant classic.

Top Ten: Martial Arts Fight Scenes

-FYI, I was sick as a Dog most of the week, so I am taking a pass on Saturday Anime this week, cause it's 7pm on Sat and I haven't even started it yet.  Good news tho, I am thinking of starting work on a serialized science-fiction/fantasy story, so stay tuned.  I got a Top Ten done, tho, so enjoy!-

One thing I love is Martial Arts flicks.  It is a genre where I can easily forgive film trespasses that would doom other movies in a heartbeat.  The most insanely improbable street gangs look commonplace in a Tony Jaa movie, as long as he jumps off walls and beats seven shades of whupass out of them, the flimsiest plot to motivate Donnie Yen to suplex someone is perfectly acceptable, the most unfathomable racist and over the top dubbing goes unnoticed if Jackie Chan is jumping through playground equipment at the time, and no amount of crappy filmmaking in general can prevent me from enjoying Jet Li doing anything.  For my top ten this week, I decided to compile a quick list of the 10 best fights that come to mind when I think of the genre, whether they be classic duels or a case of the odds stacked against a Wushu master.  You may notice a distinct lack of Bruce Lee fights, and that's because I've honestly not seen his stuff enough to judge it. Enter The Dragon is the only movie of his I've really seen, so Bruce fans, I apologize in advance for my ignorance of his work.  I'm going to link vids because I know nothing about HTML and Something I did messed up embeding them so they come out as tiny little squares. Whatevs, here we go!

10)  Jet Li Vs. Chen Zhi Hui - Huo Yuanjia AKA Fearless

This scene is the moment when Jet Li's character more or less ruins his life, and it comes out in his mannerisms in the fight.  What starts out as a relatively honorable duel quickly degrades to a brutal fistfight with little finesse and a lot of emotion.  As Huo Yuanjia and Master Chin fight, Chin with a weighted sword, Huo is clearly overpowered and outmatched, only turning the tide when he disarms his opponent.  The fight culminates in an act of brutality against a defenseless man that changes Huo's fate and the fate of China in the process.

Fun Fact:  Fans of Dynasty Warriors, if you had to guess which character Chen Zhi Hui played in a movie based on the Three Kingdoms, who would you guess? If you said Zhang Fei, You win, Grats!




9)  Zhang Ziyi Vs. Michele Yeoh - Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon


Zhang Ziyi and Michelle Yeoh epically tangled in this wuxia classic.  When Jen (Zhang Ziyi), the headstrong daughter of an aristocrat  steals wudangquan master Li Mu Bai's (Chow Yun-fat) famed sword Green Destiny, she is intercepted by Li Mu Bai's friend Yu Shu Lien (Michele Yeoh) who was entrusted with the weapon.  Shu Lien attempts to subdue Jen, but the might of Green Destiny overwhelms her and breaks weapon after weapon.  Broadswords, Hookswords, a heavy Brass rod, all are shattered by the legendary sword.  Jen taunts Shu Lien, saying she cannot overcome her no matter what weapon she chooses.  Shu Lien selects a heavy steel sword.  As the fight continues, Green Destiny once again breaks Shu Lien's Weapon, but the broken blade comes to rest against Jen's throat in what could have been a killing stroke.




8)  Donnie Yen Vs. Jet Li - Once Upon a Time in China 2 and Hero


Donnie Yen and Jet Li only had a short fight in OUATIC2, and it only hinted at the epic confrontation these two masters would one day have in Hero.  As the Nameless Warrior (Jet Li) retells his tale of slaying the three most dangerous assassins in the kingdom, he describes his encounter with Long Sky (Donnie Yen).  Confronting the Assassin at a weiqi parlor, Nameless and Long Sky spend a long moment envisioning their fight, before they attack one another.  While this fight is heavy on Wire Fu, it still displays a great deal of martial talent and lightning fast attacks, coming to an amazing finish.





7)  Jackie Chan Vs. Benny the Jet - Dragons Forever.


This one is a rare gem.  Benny "The Jet" Urquidez is one of the original mixed martial arts legends.  His fast, brutal offense and unorthodox style made him an unpredictable competitor in Karate and Kickboxing from 1974 to 1993 with an official record of 63 Wins, 0 Losses, and 57 Knockouts (he claims an unofficial record of 200-0).  The Jet is a real life Martial Arts Legend.  He appeared in two films opposite Jackie Chan, and put him over both times.  "Put Over" is a wrestling term, meaning to lose to someone in order to make the victor look better.  And Benny Urquidez did this spectacularly well for Jackie Chan Twice!  This fight is fast and technical, and even includes the classic "Guy gets knocked through a wall of boxes full of smaller boxes" trope. 





6)  Tony Jaa Vs. Lateef Crowder, John Foo, AND Nathan Jones! - The Protector (Tom Yum Goong)


When Tony Jaa's character arrives to find the Temple he had been hiding out in is under attack, he is confronted by a man with Dreadlocks and the word Pray carved into his chest.  The mystery man (Crowder) knocks Tony around a while with capoeira, until Tony picks up on the weaknesses of the style and exploits them.  Before he can catch his breath, he dodges a flying Dao and is forced to defend himself against it's wielder unarmed.  One Indiana Jones reference later, Tony arms himself with the hammers used to sound the gong and dispatches the assailant.  Then an arm the size of a Great Dane grabs Tony through a door, and Nathan Jones comes through with it.  Tony collects himself, but now he is fighting a man nearly 3 times his size (Tony weighs in at around 130 pounds and Nathan tips the scales at 350).  Jones tosses him around easily, bouncing him off a pillar, rugby tackling him, and kicking him into a bookshelf, destroying it, before the arrival of the police forces him to retreat.
Jaa Vs. Jones II is also awesome and deserves to be combined into this pick.  Even with the help of three other Human Elephants and a whip swinging Lady-Man, Tony still busts Nathan up in their rematch.

5)  Jackie Chan Vs Jet Li - Forbidden Kingdom



What can I really say about this one?  Do I even Have to explain?   This is a dream match that fans of the genre really never believed would happen, especially after Jet Li stated that Huo Yuanjia would be his final Martial Arts film a few years before this film came out.  So to see two of my favorite film martial artists actually face off was surreal and thrilling.  Say what you want about this film, the fact that Jet and Jackie are both in it makes it absolutely worth it.






4)  Jackie Chan Vs Ken Lo and Ho-Sung Pak - Drunken Master II


In the final confrontation of this wuxia classic, Wong Fei-Hong confronts the leaders of the gang that was smuggling Chinese artifacts and selling them to foreigners in the steel foundry they had taken over as a front for their operation.  Fei-Hong takes care of the lower ranks easily, but the lightning fast Tae Kwon Do master (Ken Lo) and his brutal thug (Ho-Sung Pak) prove a much greater challenge.  Earlier in the film, he had shown that the right amount of alcohol augmented his Drunken Fist fighting style, but he had also made a drunken fool of himself by consuming too much.  In desperation to even the odds against his two opponents, Fei-Hong grabs a container of industrial firestarter.  Whether it was grain alcohol or pure Gasoline, consuming just the right amount of the volatile liquid does the trick, and Fei-Hong proceeds to dispatch his foes in spectacular fashion.


3)  Tony Jaa: The Pretzel Factory - The Protector (Tom Yum Goong)



While some may argue that most of what goes on in this scene may not strictly qualify as martial arts, it is nonetheless impressive at the very least.  The sheer number of ways Tony and the fight coordinators came up with to bust these schmucks up is just mind boggling.  And the lesson to be learned is Don't mess with Tony's Elephants.









2)  Jackie Chan Vs. Benny The Jett - Wheels on Meals



Remember how I said that Benny The Jet faced off with Jackie Chan Twice?  Are you really surprised to see the other fight on this list?  This is a very well paced fight, if you can call "almost too fast to follow" a pace.  Jackie bodily dragging Benny off the steps to clear an escape route for Sammo Hung?  Good Stuff.  Benny taking a stiff punch in the face and licking his lips in response?  Wow.  Benny back kicking Jackie AND taking his coat off at the same time, then snapping his oh so snappy suspenders?  Classic.  The "feeling out" process mid fight?  Benny attacking a shelled up Jackie and pushing a banquet table around the room in the process, the roundhouse kicking the Flames off Several candles, no special effects required?  Holy Crap!  And that's just the first Minute and a half of this Five and a half minute brawl.  A true Classic, and a Must see fight.


1)  Jet Li Vs An Entire Karate School - Fist of Legend


It's Jet Li.  Versus an entire Karate School.  Jet never even breaks a sweat.

Need I say More?

Bonus:  Watch for the move I affectionately call the "Crotch Toss".









Honorable Mentions:  The Bride Vs. Gogo Yubari and the Crazy 88s, Tony Jaa Vs everyone in the Ong Bak movies and the stairwell longcut in The Protector, Tak Sakaguchi Vs. Everything that Moves in Death Trance, Nathan Jones in Som Tam, and Any fight involving Donnie Yen, particularly Donnie and Rong-Guang Yu Vs Yen Shi-Kwan in Iron Monkey.  Mifune Toshiro in Sanjuro or any of a number of other samurai movies.  And there is something Hilariously Awesome about the Conveyor Belt Fight in The Myth, starring Jackie Chan.  Oh, and I have to mention The Hammer scene from Old Boy, but I'm not posting a Vid, so you have to see the movie.  Go do it now.  Seriously, stop reading this and watch Old Boy.  I'll wait.

Saturday Anime: History Lesson Part 2

Here we are again with another addition of Saturday Anime.  You know, last week I had such a good time reminiscing about anime from my childhood, I thought it would be interesting to continue along to the next stage of my fandom and talk about my early Teen years and a little place called Freedom.

Warning, this is where it may get a little blue, no Kids!

So as I continued to grow up and watched a lot of cartoons along the way, I saw a lot of American animation that impressed me.  Ren and Stimpy, Beavis and Butthead, Rocko's Modern Life...  They were all good shows, but they focused more on often crude humor and the quality of the animation varied greatly.  But one show stood out from the pack.  A show that was well animated, expertly acted, and didn't patronize it's young viewers with it's complex stories.  That show was Batman.  I would rush home every day to watch the Dark Knight get after the bad guys, and loved the cinematic action and film noir style.  And while it was not the only Action show for kids (Gargoyles comes to mind), it was the best, in my opinion.  My love of Batman also affected my tastes moving forward.  I now craved higher quality animation and stories, and I was often disappointed with American shows in that regard.  It was around this time that I started to wish I could find something different to watch, and I got my wish in the form of another video rental store.

Freedom Video was a fairly standard video store of the time.  It was housed in what was once a Gas Station in front of the local Mall in Marshalltown.  They offered the standard fare; hundreds of movies, an impressive selection of video games, and one section that would become very important to me.

I vividly remember the sign above this section, reading "Japanimation - Animation not intended for Children", and was emblazoned with pictures of characters from Battle Arena Toshinden and other shows.  I've long since come to dislike the term Japanimation, for I think obvious reasons.  As a teenager, I made two conclusions about this sign.  1, I was not a child, so no trouble there.  And 2, whoever owned the place must have loved the stuff, since they had put a lot more work into that sign than they did any of the others in the shop.  I remember worrying that someone would ask me to leave or shoo me away from this "Adult" section, but I perused the available videos anyway.  It took me a while just to gather the stones to add an anime tape to the pile of movies my grandfather and I were renting (I know, I know).  But after that first tape, I never looked back.

Ghost in the Shell was the first movie I rented.  And looking back, it was a pretty steep movie to start out on.

See what I mean?  And that's just the first few minutes.  I mentioned this in my list of the greatest Animated films, but it bears repeating.  This movie changed everything.  It instantly became the yardstick by which I measured any other action or sci-fi movie I saw.  It was this film that inspired my interest in Philosophy and cemented my fate as an Anime Fan.  The first time i watched it, I remember sneaking downstairs after everyone else was asleep to do so, for fear that if anyone else saw it, I would be forbidden to watch it.  Whenever I watched it after that, I still waited till after everyone went to bed because I knew I would be.  (As a point of reference, I was once forbidden to watch Chip and Dale's Rescue Rangers because there was one episode that included a group of Soda-addicted mice called the Cola Cult.  Just sayin.)  This was my rebellion.

On the surface, Ghost in the Shell is an action thriller with some excellent animation and a beautiful protagonist.  But the real story is the human condition itself.  The nature of what we are, and what defines human existence.  The nagging doubts that annoy a normal person eventually nearly paralyze the almost fully artificial Kusanagi Motoko.  The entire third act of the film is about Kusanagi's desperate need to discover the truth about her very nature.

Also, I feel I must mention, without Ghost in the Shell, The Matrix could not have happened.

From there, I rented several other titles from Freedom Video's Anime department, and continued to be blown away by what I found.

Blue Seed was my first taste of purely Japanese episodic anime, and did it ever stick with me.

At first, I only had the first two episodes available to me, so I wondered where the series went from there for years.  Based around a mass reappearance of ancient mythical beings known as the Aragami in modern Japan.  The protagonists work for the TAC, a government agency specializing in countering the threat.  Fujimiya Momiji was a fairly normal teenager living in Izumo.  One day, when walking home from the Shinto Shrine where her grandmother was training her to be a priestess, Momiji is accosted by a mysterious young man named Kusanagi who informs her that she has to die.  It becomes clear that he is no mere mortal when he is thwarted by TAC members Kunikida Daitetsu and Takeuchi Ryoko, and escapes by leaping from tree to tree.  The TAC members fill Momiji in on here origin and the fact that she is the descendant of the Princess Kushinada from the ancient fable of Susano O slaying the Eight Headed Dragon Yamata no Orochi.  Even as Momiji reads the legend in the Library at her school, Orochi himself attacks.  It seems that if Momiji is killed in a ritualistic manner within a ceramic field, the Aragami will roam the earth forever.  Even as Orochi is about to accomplish his goal, Kusanagi returns and rescues Momiji.  He reveals that he wants to kill the Aragami, but he also becomes attached to Momiji during the ordeal, and decides to protect her from them.

Another film I saw at this time that even I had to admit I wasn't ready for was Ninja Scroll.  The title alone prompted me to rent this film, and My expectations for anything involving Ninjas were obviously a little out of whack, having grown up a huge TMNT fan.  I am pretty sure there were no severed limbs, split skulls, or graphic portrayals of sex involved with any ninja show I had seen.  Ninja Scroll changed all that.

Warning, no kids, don't get me in trouble with your family here!

I continued to partake of other films from Freedom Video and Hollywood Video as well.  It wasn't long after this that I went from casual observer to collector.  Starting with VHS copies of some of my all time favorites, and DVD's of new favorites when they became more available.  Next time, I'll talk about some of my favorite series from that time period.







And now, your Moment of AMV Zen...

Thursday Top Ten: Animated Films

So just for giggles, I signed up for Amazon Associates, a program where by I can post Items from Amazon here on my blog, which sounds pretty cool to me.  So by way of testing out how it works and also as an excuse to introduce a new idea I've been thinking about, it's time time for the Thursday Top Ten.  I'm going to pick the subject matter for now, but if anyone has Ideas for future installments, I'm open to suggestions!

For this inaugural TT10, I'm going with my Top Ten Animated Feature Films.  When I say animated, I am Not talking computer generated, actual animation here.  This is a list of My personal favorites.  We can argue about the particular merits of other works, but this list is just stuff I love personally.

10)  Jin Roh

Jin Roh is the story set in an alternate modern day Japan.  It is a world in which Germany won World War II and Japan is now a totalitarian state.  As dissatisfaction with the government grows, riots break out and citizens clash with the local police and armed forces alike.  One young girl is carrying packages for a resistance group when she is confronted by one of the heavily armed, armored, and red eyed shock troops sent in to break up the crowds with deadly force.  This trooper, Fuse, confronts the girl, attempting to take her in peacefully.  However she pulls a string within the package she carries and the explosives inside detonate.  Fuse's Armor saves his life, but he is haunted by the answer the girl gave when he asked her "Why?"  She gave none.  After a time, Fuse goes to the girls grave to pay his respects and try to make sense of the event.  Here he meets the girl's sister, and the movie from there deals with the complex relationship the two develop.  Loaded with intense action sequences and even more intense emotional scenes, Jin Roh is a heartbreaking movie.

9)  The Place Promised in our Early Days

Another film set in an alternate modern day Japan, in which the Islands of Japan have been occupied in a similar manner as Germany was after WWII, with the US controlling Honshu and Kyushu, and "The Union" controlling Hokkaido.  Three school friends in Aomori spend their last year of Junior High marveling at the Hokkaido Tower, a seemingly impossible spire that rises straight up past the clouds on the other side of the Tsugaru Straight in Union territory.  The two boys, Takuya and Hiroki, and their female friend Sayuri find a crashed drone plane and rebuild it together with help from their boss at a local manufacturing facility.  The three friends make a pact to one day fly over to Hokkaido Tower and see how high it really goes and what is at the top.  However, Sayuri goes missing the entire summer.  For the next three years, she suffers a severe condition similar to narcolepsy and sleeps almost constantly.  In the intervening years, the brilliant Takuya has become a physicist and studies the Hokkaido Tower.  One of Takuya's coworkers believes Sayuri's condition is linked to the tower.  Hiroki has moved to Tokyo and suffers depression as a result of grief related to Sayuri's condition.  After receiving a letter Sayuri wrote shortly before she fell ill, Hiroki becomes convinced that the only way to get her back is to fly her over the Tower, the place the three of them promised to visit together.  The movie from there deals with Hiroki and Takuya working to fulfill their promise to Sayuri.  This is a Tear-jerker of a movie with a side of Sci Fi.

8)  The Sword in the Stone

 Yup, there is a Disney Movie on this list, but it may not be the one most people expect.  While The Lion King, Aladdin, Jungle Book and a few others are all great films and runners up for this list, The Sword in the Stone was always my favorite of Disney's animated films.  The classic tale of young Arthur and how he met his most trusted advisor, the Wizard Merlin.  Through a series of Magical Lessons, Merlin teaches the young downtrodden boy the wonder's of the world around him and the life lessons that would define him as a legendary King.  The film closes with the Iconic scene of Arthur pulling the Sword from the stone and being crowned king.  Chock full of Magic, Music, Mirth, and of course the Mad Madam Mim, This Disney Classic never fails to entertain.



7)  Spirited Away

When young Chihiro's family moves to a new town, she worries about having to make new friends in a strange place.  But after a Magical gateway in an abandoned amusement park transports them to a land of wandering spirits, Chihiro quickly attempts to escape with her parents.  Unfortunately, they have been turned into pigs as punishment for stealing the food of the spirits.  Chihiro believes all is lost, but help comes in the form of Haku, a young man who sneaks Chihiro into the Bathhouse of the Spirits and tells her she must get a Job from Yubaba, the witch that rules over the land.  Along the way, Chihiro befriends many of the occupants of the bathhouse and an outcast known as No-Face.  The magical atmosphere and moving story make for an enchanting film experience from the master of the artform, Miyazaki Hayao. 


6)  Tenchi Muyo in Love

The first film in the Tenchi Muyo trilogy, this film is part heart-wrenching love story and part action packed sci fi epic.  When a galactic menace and blood enemy of the Jurai Royal family, Kain, escapes from the void he was imprisoned in long ago, his first goal is revenge.  He seeks out Jurian descendants and zeroes in on one who's powers have not manifested themselves.  Back on Earth, Tenchi and the Girls are watching his father's old home movies, including one featuring Tenchi's Late mother Achika when she was in High School.  When Achika suddenly disappears from the film itself, Tenchi is wracked with pain, then thrown bodily against an energy net.  Washu appears, and explains that some event in the past has removed Achika from the timeline, and would have done the same to Tenchi as well if not for the energy net holding him there.  In order to determine what the event was, and how it can be prevented, Washu sends Tenchi, Ryoko, Aeka, Sasami, Mihoshi, and Kiyone back to 1970 to infiltrate Achika's school and monitor her.  Tenchi is thrilled at the opportunity to see his mother again, as she died when he was very young, but Washu warns that such a thing could cause a paradox.  As Aeka and Ryoko join Achika's class and work to become friends with her and Tenchi's Father Nobiyuki, Bubble-headed Mihoshi and her long-suffering partner Kiyone become teachers, and Sasami helps Tenchi keep an eye on Achika from a distance.  The film culminates with an epic battle against Kain at Tokyo Tower. 

5)  Akira

Akira is a tale of two friends torn apart by a secret government program.  Kaneda and Tetsuo are members of the Capsules Biker gang in the alternate future city of Neo Tokyo.  During a brutal turf war with a rival gang known as the Clowns, Tetsuo nearly runs over a child with an elderly face before his bike mysteriously explodes.  Tetsuo and the child are captured by military personnel and Kaneda is taken in for questioning along with the rest of the Capsules.  Kaneda meets a young girl named Kei who is in an anti-government resistance group and after their release, they determine to rescue Tetsuo.  However, it is revealed that Tetsuo is an Esper and has mental capabilities similar to those of the titular Akira, a small boy who's power destroyed Tokyo some years ago.  When three other espers attempt to kill Tetsuo before his power can be unlocked, they only succeed in awakening his true potential.  From there, Tetsuo becomes unfathomably powerful and mad with rage, and Kaneda's rescue mission becomes a desperate attempt to stop his friend from causing destruction on a massive scale.  When it was released, Akira was shockingly violent and outstandingly well animated.  It stands the test of time and is just as compelling now as it ever was.

4)  Cowboy Bebop: Knockin' on Heaven's Door

It's Cowboy Bebop.  The Movie.  If that isn't enough to get you interested, then you really need to check out the original show.  Basically the Bounty Hunting Quartet of Spike, Jet, Faye, and Ed do what they do best. The Action, The Music, the Plot.  It's all undeniably cool.








3)  Grave of the Fireflies

Another studio Ghibli animated masterpiece, this film is very different from most of the others on this list.  Set in the waning days of WWII against the backdrop of the Kobe Firebombings, Grave of the Fireflies tells a gut-wrenchingly sad story of war, poverty, and desperation.  Seita, a teenage boy, and his young sister Setsuko are left orphaned after their mother is burned to death in a firebombing run by American Forces.  They are taken in by a distant relative for a time, but as supplies grow scarcer as the bombings continue, the relative slowly comes to resent them.  The two are eventually forced to leave and set up a makeshift home in an abandoned bomb shelter.  At first they enjoy living on their own and light the rooms with Fireflies.  Setsuko is heartbroken the next morning when the fireflies have all died, and digs a grave for them, asking Seita why they died so quickly.  From there the two continue to struggle to survive.  Roger Ebert has stated that this is the greatest anti-war film. 

2)  Princess Mononoke

An epic fantasy tale of courage, betrayal, and redemption jam packed with gorgeous visuals, moving music, and compelling characters, Princess Mononoke is Truly Miyazaki Hayao's masterwork.  Ashitaka, a young warrior prince living in a small remote village challenges an attacking monster to protect his sister and the rest of the citizens.  The Demon is a huge mass of black tendrils rampaging across the countryside, leaving a trail of decay wherever it goes.  Ashitaka realizes it is a tormented Forest Spirit that once guarded the forest, and attempts to reason with it, begging the tortured beast to spare the village.  The spirit attacks Ashitaka, wounding his hand in the process.  Unable to dissuade him, Ashitaka is forced to kill the Demon and begs it's forgiveness.  The beast Scoffs, and tells Ashitaka he is doomed to suffer the same fate he has.  When it is determined that the demonic wound on his arm cannot be healed, the village is forced to banish Ashitaka.  He sets out to find the cause of the Demon's corruption and meets a shifty Monk named Jigo who Directs him to Iron Town, where Lady Eboshi's people are engaged in increased industry and the spirits of the surrounding forests are growing restless.  On the journey there, Ashitaka finds two dying men who were working as guards for one of Eboshi's caravans when they were attacked by three Wolf Spirits.  As he works to help the men, he encounters the wolves and is surprised to see a human girl with them, cleaning the wounds of one of the Wolves.  He addresses the spirits respectfully, but the girl tells Ashitaka to leave the forest and rides away on one of the wolves.  Later the girl, San, attacks Iron Town in an attempt to kill Lady Eboshi to protect the forest, only to be thwarted by Ashitaka, who's Demonic Wound has granted him exceptional physical strength.  Ashitaka and San leave Iron Town and meet with Okkoto, the leader of the Boars.  From there a complex story unfolds as the humans of Iron Town clash with the Boar Spirits of the Forest and an enigmatic creature known as the Great Forest Spirit becomes the focus of the conflict.  This film is a morality play in which there is no truly good and no truly evil character.

1)  Ghost in the Shell

 If there is any movie on this list that I can honestly say changed my life, it is Ghost in the Shell.  When I saw it in 1996, I had never seen anything remotely like it.  This Near Future cyberpunk thriller is loaded with haunting scenes, intense action, and philosophical musings on the nature of being human.  When a notorious Ghost Hacker known as the Puppet Master comes to the attention of Major Kusanagi Motoko, a secret police officer in New Port City Japan who is almost entirely cybernetic, the trail he leaves leads to an obsessive need to understand who he is.  I will talk more about this film in upcoming posts, no doubt.




So there it is, feel free to tell me how wrong I am, but that's my take on it.  Let me know if you have any ideas for future Top Ten's, I'll consider just about any topic.