The Dark Knight

Nolan, Christopher. The Dark Knight. Warner Brothers, 2008. ASIN: B001GZ6QC4.

Plot
A sinister new villain has appeared in Gotham City. He calls himself the Joker and no one knows anything about him. The only problem is that he does not commit crimes for any monetary gains, he lives just to bring chaos and breed fear. Batman now is pushed to the limits in taking on his toughest opponent yet.

Critical Evaluation
Usually with movies it is either a hit and miss with the quality of the sequels. However, this movie has to be one of the most well made sequels for a long time. The plot is intricate and there is no way for viewers to guess what will happen next. There is a lot of action, great characters as well as lot of suspense.

Reader's Annotation
Batman faces his toughest opponent yet, his name is Joker and his only goal is to see the world fall into chaos.

About the Author
Christopher Nolan was born in London, UK in 1970. He started making films at the age of seven. He later attended the University College London and studied English Literature. He still worked in film while he attended college and went on to pursue it after his graduation.

Christopher Nolan has directed nine films to date. He has also written screenplays and has produced several other films. He is married and has three children.

Genre
DVD

Curriculum
None

Book Talking Ideas
None

Reading Level/Interest Age
13+

Challenge Issues
Violence, psychological disturbed villains.

Challenge Answer
There is little gore and actual blood in the movie. The actions of the Joker are disturbing, but they are negatively viewed and the people in the movie are shown to raise above it.

Why Included in Selection
This is an awesome action packed movie. It totally wowed me in the theater. This is the way comic movies are supposed to be made.

Azumanga Diaoh: Entrance Vol 1

Azuma, Kiyohiko. Azumanga Diaoh: Entrance Vol. 1. Adv Films, 2004. ASIN: B0001I5682.

Plot
Chiyo is an elementary aged girl who is so gifted that she transfers to a high school. Quickly following, an absent-minded girl from Osaka also transfers into the same class. Along with a few other weird personalities in the class, this group of girls become unlikely friends. Together they have silly and quite random adventures together with their quirky homeroom teacher Yukari Sensei.

Critical Evaluation
At first this anime may seem like any other high school based comedy. However, this DVD and the rest of the series quickly became a personal favorite. The group of friends in the story go on so many fun and amusing adventures together. Also, because there are so many quirky personalities, the anime is just plain funny. The humor is a little random, but overall a wide range of teens will relate the craziness of high school.

Reader's Annotation
Chiyo is a gifted elementary school student who transfers to the local high school. There she meets a group of friends who take a bunch of crazy funny adventures together.

About the Author
Kiyohiko Azuma was born in Hyogo, Japan with the name Kiyohiko Adsuma. He is a manga writer and artist known for his unique style of art differencing himself from the common shojo and shonen art styles commonly used in manga.

He is best known for Azumanga Daioh, but he also has other series out. Currently he is working on a series called Yotsuba&! Most of his works are slice-of-life stories.

Genre
DVD

Curriculum
None

Book Talking Ideas
None

Reading Level/Interest Age
15+

Challenge Issues
A character from the anime drinks a lot, another male teacher has a fetish for high school girls.

Challenge Answer
The anime shows the teacher's drinking habit as a negative aspect and does not glorifies it. The male teacher with a fetish does not do or say anything inappropriate and it is not the focus of the anime.

Why Included in Selection
This anime is a funny series that many teens and adults have enjoyed.

Fruits Basket: A Great Transformation?

Takaya, Natsuki. Fruits Basket: A Great Transformation?. Funimation Productions, Ltd, 2002. ASIN: 704400030956.

Plot
Tohru Honda just lost her mother and in order to avoid troubling others decides to live in the woods by herself. She has one goal, to graduate from high school, a promise she made with her mother. She actually finds that she has trespassed on the land of the Sohma family, a well off family with one of them being her handsome mysterious classmate. As she grows closer to the family she finds that they have a secret, something that has to do with a family curse. Each member is possessed by the spirit of an animal from the Chinese zodiac, if they are hugged by a member of the opposite sex they temporarily transform into the animal.

Critical Evaluation
The premise of the movie may seem quite odd to the viewer, however it brings some mystery to the plot. The characters are interesting since each Sohma member takes on the typical characteristics of the animal of the Chinese zodiac. Although the family curse does bring some sadness to the story there are great moments of humor which makes this anime very entertaining.

Reader's Annotation
Tohru has just discovered the Sohma family's greatest secret, they are cursed. Each member is possessed by the spirit of a Chinese zodiac animal. If they are hugged by the opposite sex they temporally transform into that animal. This means a lot of fun and mystery is in store.

About the Author
Natsuki Takaya's real name is Naka Hatake. She was born in Shizuoka, Japan, but grew up in Tokyo. Ever since she was young she was interested in drawing and becoming a manga-ka a manga artist.

She is best known for her manga series Fruits Basket that was published in 1992. In 2002 the series was adapted to an anime series with twenty-six episodes.

Genre
DVD

Curriculum
None

Book Talking Ideas
None

Reading level/Interest Age
12+

Challenge Issues
Violence

Challenge Answer
It is more of comic violence. There is no blood and the fighting is more of squabbles between family.

Why included in Selection
This is a great anime series that has everything: heartbreak, humor and a great story.

The Fast and the Furious Tokyo Drift

Lin, Justin. The Fast and the Furious Tokyo Drift. Universal Studios, 2006. PG-13. 105 minutes. ISBN 1-4170-1349-4

Plot
Sean Boswell is a teen with a passion for illegal racing, and he has the rap sheet to prove it. In order to avoid trouble, he and his mom has been moving each time he is busted. Not this time, to keep him from serving time in jail his mom sends him to his father, a military man living in Tokyo Japan. It does not take long for Sean to get mixed up with the racing crowd there, except the scene is complicated, the stakes are higher and he has yet to master drifting, a new and dangerous way to race.

Critical Evaluation
I must admit that there was not that much expectations going in, but the movie turned out to be surprisingly entertaining. Of course there is not that much character development or an intricate plot, but the action was non-stop and there weren't any boring breaks in the movie. The drifting in the movie was amazing to watch and the acting was pretty solid all around. Guys will enjoy the movie for the good driving and fancy cars while girls will enjoy the fast action pace of the movie.

Reader's Annotation
Sean Boswell, a kid with a juvenile record for illegal driving arrives in Tokyo. He has no problem finding the racing crowd, only to find higher stakes and a new way to race.

About the Author
Justin Lin is a director hailing from Taipei, Taiwan. He graduated from the UCLA Film School. He has also directed Fast and Furious 4.

Genre
Action

Curriculum Ties
Culture
Peer Pressure mentality

Book Talking Ideas
Why do you think Sean is unable to stay away from trouble?
What do you think of the cultural differences between American and Japanese teens?

Reading Level/Interest Age
13+

Challenge Issues
Scenes of parties, illegal transactions and violence

Challenge Answer
The party scenes and violence are brief and the movie shows negative consequences of illegal transactions.

Why Included in Selection
I was curious about the Fast and Furious movies and was interested in the movie's portrayal of Japanese culture.