"The Dozen"

“The Dozen”

1) Princess Mononoke – This was a wonderful movie with beautiful animation accented by the wonderful environments portrayed. However the real appeal of this movie lay in its story and the compelling way in which they characterized the struggle which resulted from having to choose between the environment and industrialization in Japan. Not to mention the enticing way in which they portrayed the struggle between life and death as well as good and evil.

2) Steam Boy – An animated film which features likable as well as realistic characters who play witness to the moral dilemma entailed by industrialization and the development of new weapons of destruction. This arm’s race twists the hopes and dreams of humans as they imagine the good they might do by improving technology, only to have it usurped by those who would use it to gain power over others.

3) Full Metal Alchemist the Movie: Conqueror of Shambala – This movie takes place after the end of the original Full Metal Alchemist anime series. The movie itself is quite dark as it features the horrors of a war driven solely by the human need to conquer and the desire for power. It is portrayed in a compelling way, as it does not shirk from the reality of civilian casualties which do not discriminate between men, women or children. It also deals with the injustice of prejudice and the lengths that humans are willing to go to escape from such discrimination.

4) Digimon – Haven’t seen this since I was a kid, but as I remember it was a great show (way better than Pokemon). Looking back at what I remember, it also deals with the themes of companionship and trust. Not to mention responsibility as the children (not really sure of their age) have to fend for themselves in an unknown world.

5) Van Helsing – A movie that I liked, though I found the ending to be somewhat funny. However, it was at least worth it to see a werewolf completely crush Dracula; not to mention the hilarity of Dracula’s response to the death of his thousands of hell-spawned children as well as his wives.

6) Spirited Away – A great movie that portrays a sort of alternate world full of demons and spirits. The story was great and full of creative characters that were believable despite their many unusual characteristics. One of my favorite overall movies.

7) Godzilla – Apparently this reflected the Japanese fear of nuclear attack as well as the repercussions of such an attack on them as a people. However, when I first saw this I was just a kid who was enthralled by the very idea that there existed creatures capable of destroying skyscrapers. Plus the fact that they could shoot fire, etc. was an added bonus.

8) The Lost World: Jurassic Park – A great movie that I first saw as a child. It portrayed the negative effects of toiling with nature and bringing an extinct species back to life. However, as a kid I was too enthralled by people being eaten by dinosaurs to realize this.

9) Avatar – A beautiful movie (in terms of picture) that can be seen as making a statement regarding a number of controversial issues. It featured elements of both Sci-Fi and Fantasy in an entirely realistic way. Not to mention that it addresses the lack of morality humans display when they seek to make a profit.

10) Predator – Saw it when I was younger. Hilarious how everyone but Arnold and that one lady dies. Especially, how Arnold says something along the lines of we fight or die.

11) The Road – A touching story that featured an apocalyptic future. Notably, there were multiple instances of cannibalism from whom the father and son miraculously managed to escape without even having an ear torn off. The world itself was entirely realistic, as it emphasized those qualities which humans think detestable and which they resort to survive.

12) Bridge to Terabithia – A great movie that addresses the human ability to imagine, an ability that is all too often forgot as people nowadays become enthralled in realistic video games and movies. In doing so, they lose the ability to imagine as they rely on others to do it for them. However, the movie also does not fail to address the cruelty of reality.