Doctor Who's Easter Eggs

So what is Easter like without Doctor Who?

Empty, a little dull. But thankfully, Doctor Who comes to us with a blaze glory that matches the feeling and mood of a second coming.

I wonder if the Doctor could walk on water? But this isn't about the Doctor being the messiah or some other crap like that. This is Doctor Who hitting the television screens again while charting unknown territories.

Perhaps the opening episode didn't have breathtaking excitement as the last year's did. It could be that we are all so used to Doctor Who being on TV now. We take it all for granted. Many of us just think that Doctor Who is on for another year.

But this year is taking you along for another crazy ride. What it lacks for freshness it made up for shockers.

The following would be what River Song would endearingly call, “Spoilers.”

The writers of the show are looking to throw you on a curve. They're shaking things up a bit. There are a couple of shockers that'll leave you hanging on your seat.

Number one, the Doctor dies in the very beginning of the show. I'm not spoiling anything here or saying anything at the risk of River Song putting a bullet into me. But it's a nice way to start the season off by creating what could be a Christ-like death.

It'll make you think more about the show when the Doctor comes back again seemingly from life. Is he the real Doctor? Might be be some parallel version of him because he is seemingly much darker character than what we're used to. But I do like of like it when the Doctor acts like douchebag towards others. It's rather funny.

Next on the list. The Silence.

This has got to be on of the creepiest aliens to come along in a while. It's nice that head writer Stephen Moffat and his team are coming up with new creatures to bring menace to the good Time-Lord and his crew.

The Silence reminds me of The Scream painting by the Norwegian artist Edvard Munch. Interesting to note that Munch is from the period as Vincent Van Gogh who made an appearance last season. Probably just a coincidence.

The Silence's intentions are creepy. They move like whispers and shadows in the background. And they can make you forget things. How can you fight something you forget? Is that why they are called the Silence? Because making you forget is their natural defenece mechanism?

They're well dressed in three piece suits which may in fact make them more creepy because they should be civilized.

But they're not.

They make Richard Nixon look like a goody two shoes in comparison.

Moffat's love of time travel ideas is something I enjoy because I like the Back to the Future movies. Those movies offer the idea of time-traveling splintering reality if not fixed right. I think the same thing is happening here. Moffat is putting cracks in the universe and we'll be seeing what the consequences are for the remainder of the season.

Will the Doctor be able to fix all the wrongs here? Give him time.

Th story is set in 1969 America where you can see American at its finest with the colorful landscape while at the same time you see Nixon presiding over the country with his paranoia. It is this mood and atmosphere that creates a tension for the episode.

It's nice for the series to give some scenes to the well known actor William Morgan Sheppard best known for his role in Max Headroom and Star Trek VI: the Undiscovered Country. More so, his son Mark Sheppard is in it as well who's very good.

But the Doctor Who crew did a nice job of using sights of America to give their opening episode a nice boost. It is a nice gesture for the American fans who have long and dedicated fans including myself.

I'll be interested to see how this new, strange alien race The Silence will pan out for the forthcoming episodes. It's nice to see the Doctor Who team is moving away from reusing old, familiar villains and looking to make new monsters. That's a good thing. One of the reasons why the Tom Baker shows remain my favorite of the old days is because the writers' desire to create new myths and history for the long running series. You already have an excellent fourth Doctor at the helm. Why not take the chance of creating new monsters without relying on the old?

I'm interested in what the role The Silence will play. I know it wouldn't be anything good. How will they be a threat to the Doctor? They were already responsible for the destruction of the TARDIS in the previous season. Now they are moving in closer now like pieces on a chess game, soon to corner the Doctor.

The season makes room for other strong characters such as River Song, the now wedded Amy Pond and Rory Williams. Let's not hope they become casualties in the destructive path of the Doctor's travels.

Anime's True Storyteller

You might have never heard of Hayao Miyazaki.

But you would have watched one or two of his movies already and not even know it.

There's “Princess Mononoke,” “Spirited Away,” “Castle in the Sky,” “Kiki Delivery's Service,” “Ponyo,” “Howling's Moving Castle,” and many more.

I'm willing to bet you saw at least one of them.

Miyazaki hails as one of the foremost and influential animators from Japan whose crisp and simple style often is colorful, always a visual delight. I call him the Walt Disney of Japan. There are many similarities.

His films often have young, innocent children or older teen adults as the protagonist. They are central to the emotional core of the story. His characters are often strong, easily identified by youngsters of today.

Not only that, Disney films have recently repackaged many of Miyazaki's films as Disney presentations complete with a new English audio track for those who do not like subtitles. The voices are some of the most well known actors in the business today: Mark Hamill, Gillian Anderson, Billy Bob Thornton, David Ogden Stiers, John Ratzenberger and many more gave their voice talents to create an English version of the stories.

For those who prefer the original Japanese tracks, you get that too on the Disney presentations. But it is nice to see that Disney is paying its homage and respect to one of the best animators working in the field. He's semi-retired now with his son working in animation. However, Miyazaki said in an interview, “My son will find his own way in animation. I'm not interested in creating a dynasty.”

His own words hold sway. His works and thoughtful stories often portray a youthful rebellion in a world filled with conflict. He has a stunning imagination that fills the animation with visual schemes that are often otherworldly.

Yet, at the same time, he is able to recreate a sense of the past with familiar settings such as 1940s Japan for his beautiful, yet very sad film “Fireflies of the Graves,” appointing him as one of the best presenters of ideas.
Go ahead and pick any one of his movies.

And you'll be washed away by some of the most simple ideas and beauty. This is what animation should be about. Personal vision. It's a unique storytelling that is his own.

Miyazaki spoke of not wanting to create a dynasty. But he did anyway. His great number of films has dominated the animation scene for years. He also co-created the Studio Ghibli to help finance many of his later films. He is essentially an independent filmmaker who brought his films to the celluloid with a personal touch.

His “Princess Mononoke” film was very successful in both Japan and the United States which might have been the most public exposure of Miyazaki's work. Roger Ebert of the Sun-Times placed it sixth of the top ten best movies of 1999. Filmmaker Terry Gilliiam placed it on one of the top 50 best animation ever made.
High praise continue from directors and other animators.

It's unfortunate that his name is not known throughout the western hemisphere like it should be. As with Akira Kurisawa, his works and achievements do shine brighter than his own name did.

It's difficult to pick which ones are favorites. There are so many to choose. They're all good in their own way. They carry the quality and weight of a very hard-working animator who understands how to tell a story.

There is his most famous work “Lupata: Castle in the Sky” which involves a city which floats in the skies according to myth and legends. But several groups of greedy people want to find the floating caste and take the treasure for themselves.

“Princess Mononoke” is one of my favorites because it was my first film which introduced me to the famed animator's work. It was stylish and brilliant. And it offers a kind theme of saving the forest from the reckless hands of humanity. In fact, such themes still make sense in this day and age.

There are never really any villain in his work. They are antagonists who don't understand the situation around them and may come to reason later on in the film. But the films are children's stories. They are meant to teach a lesson. And hope they would somehow capture the innocence of childhood for you.

If you haven't seen any of his works, be a good sport and check one out now. It's worth the time and effort. And you wouldn't feel ashamed about being greeted to one of the most imaginative worlds

It's nice to see that women characters are very strong in the stories. And you'll find that you're sympathetic with the youths in the stories. And perhaps you may feel that you share their dilemma as well.

Miyazaki should be more well known for his works. It's a shame he's not. They're bringing his works under Disney presentations. It's a start.

World of Narnia

There’s nothing wrong with watching a good fairy tale.

And the “Voyage of the Dawn Treader” offers just that. It is also the third part of the Chronicles of Narnia series which began with the explosion of popularity with sword and sorcery stories which became popular when the Lord of the Rings movies hit the theaters.

How does it fare? I do like these films more than the Harry Potter series which are coming to the movie screens at breakneck speed. However, the Chronicles of Narnia has more imagination poured into them.

There have been mixed reviews on this film especially with some of the internet critics. I don’t understand why.

The film has many strong performances from all the child actors and remains true to the spirit of the previous films. The third film has become the subject of negative reviews from the Rotten Tomatoes website, a site I never cared for. I would rely more on the critical responses of Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times and Roger Moore of the Orlando Sentinel… both of them liked the film for all its worth.

It’s a nostalgic trip to the fantasy land where some animals talk and spirits come back to haunt. And there is also a dragon and a sea serpent to boot as well. But the movie really banks on the magnificent performance of the youngest children Lucy and Edmund Pevensie who are kings and queens in the Narnia world. And they tag along a snot-nosed brat cousin Eustace Scrubb.

The interesting thing is Eustace might be the most important character in this chapter. At first, he squeals, cries like a baby and thinks only of himself. No one likes him. Not a one considers himself part of the family except a talking, sword-wielding rat who serves as his good guide. But throughout the adventures the boy becomes all the stronger for it.

Much of the film is told through his own point of view as he writes in his dairy. He hates everything about Narnia at first. But after a time he begins to believe the fairy tales and myths. He starts to accept his imagination as real.

Apparently younger children who still believes in the old legends are magically transported to this world. The adults lose their faith of imagination and is no longer brought back to the tales of Narnia. The older children become embedded in reality. All you have to do is believe enough to find a doorway back to this fantasy world.

I have already mentioned that the children actors are strong in their leading performance because the story of Narnia is certainly told through their point of view. The strongest performance, however, belongs to one of the adults. It is Anna Popplewell as Susan Pevensie who offers a cameo. She shows a deeper sexuality and forceful personality in the cameo she is allowed in the film.

It is brilliant how they worked into the film how the younger sister Lucy wishes she was beautiful like her older sister Susan. And it becomes a very nice sub-plot that British actress Popplewell is involved in. Such scenes shows how she is becoming a very adult woman who is now interested in getting married and going to rich parties. It is this greed that shows a remarkable flaw in the character.

But it’s a shame that Popplewell won’t be any more films as her character appears only in a few books in the Narnia series. She is indeed a very beautiful woman. And her acting gives a great credibility to the film.

It is all the leading characters in the film are tested by temptation. And the evil is like the trailing snake in the garden of Eden that is seems to overshadow everything else.

The film offers a staggering glimpse of the end of the world with tall waves of waters and the brutal seas in which the Dawn Treader must cross. At the very same time, there is a storm of emotions between Edmund, Lucy and Prince Caspian. They become thrown into a soap opera of jealousy, rage and betrayal which becomes the centerpiece of the film’s pace.

Is it a worthy follow up to the other films in the series? Yes. It is a very enjoyable film which will gain interest from people in all age groups. The film maintains the same kind of innocence and grace reveals the illusion of fantasy.

It is this remarkable innocence that makes this film notable. The same kind of innocence that the Harry Potter films has lost so long ago. It feels like nothing has changed in the world of Narnia. There’s still the sweet nostalgia that lingers in the world between the doorways of reality. It’s a place you wouldn’t mind going to again. And that might be a good thing.