…Or, more accurately, Ghost in the Shell 2.0, which is not a sequel but a 2008 remastered version of the 1995 movie, offering upgraded animations on a few scenes and not much else (in fact the switch from 1995 2D cel shading to 2008 3D digital rendering and back again can be quite jarring at times).
It’s 2029 in the (fictional) Japanese city of New Port. Cybernetics has become so advanced and accessible that virtually every part of the human body can be replaced and/or augmented by a superior robotic simile, and almost everybody has at least some form of cybernetic enhancement. Major Motoko Kusanagi, a leading field operative for New Port’s “Section 9” public security division (a sort of cyberpunk FBI, if you like) has been enhanced with a complete state-of-the-art cyborg body - or “shell” - to such a degree that only her consciousness - or “ghost” - remains of her human form. Kusanagi and her team are on the trail of “The Puppet Master”, an incredibly dangerous cyber-terrorist who can hack into the augmented portions of peoples’ bodies and minds in order to force them to commit politically motivated atrocities such as assassinations and whatnot. But, the closer Kusanagi gets to The Puppet Master’s true identity, the further away he seems to get. One thing’s for sure, though: He’s after her, too.
I haven’t seen GitS for many years and, obviously enough, I’ve given it a run-out now in advance of the imminent live-action American remake starring Scarlett Johansson as The Major. I remember, before I’d ever seen it, being slightly intimidated; by anime in general - an intimidation which stayed with me for many more years - but more specifically by the movie’s reputation as a fairly inaccessible piece. It’s really not, though. In fact I don’t know if it’s because I’ve seen it a few times now or if it’s because I’ve seen a lot more anime in the last few years but, this time, I was struck by how relatively easy Ghost in the Shell is to follow. It’s keen on posing philosophical conundrums about the nature of what it is to be human, as so many sci-fi movies do, but its plot is quite straightforward. It’s only about 80 minutes long too, so if you’ve never taken the plunge, you should. It’s one of the finest films of its type. Hugely influential, too; you can see The Wachowski’s 1999 classic The Matrix in almost every scene.
Just finished rewatching Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (Edwards, 2016). Really is a fantastic entry in that series. The best since Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (Kershner, 1980) without a shadow of a doubt, and maybe even the best of the lot.
Right now, I’m giving a first look to Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (Anderson, 2016). As ever, the plot barely makes a lick of sense - I assume there’s been a plot somewhere along the way - but it’s still a strangely fun, set-piece-by-set-piece affair. My brain’s not engaged with it at all but, so far, my brain hasn’t been at all necessary.
Well, Asa, I bow to your obvious love of the ‘Star Wars’ films…so I’ll be looking forward to this, when it’s released on Blu-Ray. I will make it one of my 2017 ‘Christnovdecfest’ films.
I just hope it’s better than the first, which had one too many references to the originals, for my liking.
As for the rest of the releases this year:
I must admit, that I am looking forward to:
‘Kong: Skull Island’
‘War For the Planet of The Apes’
‘Guardians of the Galaxy 2’
When the ‘Godfather’ Blu-ray set was released, a few years ago, I seem to remember that a few fans of the films were not greatly impressed with the transfers.
Personally, out of my ‘Godfather’ three-disc BD set, I have only watched the original, and best - and that was with the ‘Coppola audio commentary’, which was extremely informative. The grain on the film stock did not bother me.
To my mind, film grain is preferable to an over-use of DNR. (the early Blu-ray release of ‘Good, Bad, Ugly’, being a prime example of DNR over-dose). After all, if the film grain is excessive, it is easy enough to adjust the T.V. settings, to accommodate.
I really must get round to watching ‘Godfather’, parts 1,2 and 3, all in a row…
A big fat “YES!” to those three; I’m also looking forward to Alien: Covenant, Ghost in the Shell, The Dark Tower, Blade Runner 2049, God Particle (that one’s apparently the third movie in the Cloverfield franchise) and of course Star Wars: The Last Jedi in December. I still haven’t seen Logan or John Wick 2 yet either.
Goodness, I’d forgotten about ‘Alien;Covenant’, and ‘Ghost in the Shell’.
As for ‘Blade Runner 2049’, it’s a shame that it’s not released until October, this year. If it had been on the circuit earlier in the year, I would have looked forward to it as a Blu-Ray, for Christmas-time.
Oh, well…being a fan of the late, great, writer, Philip K. Dick, the original ‘Blade Runner’ was a superlatively excellent experience…which has always featured in my ‘Sci-Fi’ top 10. Time will tell if the next ‘Blade Runner’ is any good…
A nearly forgotten Dutch (English language) movie by Fons Rademakers, the director of the Oscar winning The Assault (De Aanslag - 1986). It tells the story of six disaffected teenagers who break into houses and commit vicious crimes, including the multiple rape of a woman old enough to be their mother. A police detective is on their trail, but they’re all kids from wealthy parents who will do anything to protect their offspring …
Rademakers has always sustained that his own movie was already in production when A CLOCKWORK ORANGE was released in Holland. He may have had a point: his script (written by renowned Flemish novelist Hugo Claus) was based on a 1963 novel by Nicholas Freeling (a novel in the Van der Valk thriller series) and if the premise of both movies seems similar, the plot of Rademakers’ movie takes a different turn: it’s not a dystopian story set in the near future (the atmosphere is in fact more Sixties than Seventies Holland) and the youngsters are under the influence of a Charles Manson type of malevolent genius.
Because of the cats was dismissed as a exploitation movie almost unanimously. The bone of contention was the protracted rape scene in the beginning of the movie. It’s rather crude and tasteless (if not as graphic as it’s reputed to be) and the rest of the movie isn’t much better. It’s a thriller without suspense and doesn’t really work as a drama mixed with social comment. The acting isn’t bad (British actor Bryan Marshall is quite good as the police inspector) and there’s a great underwater scene, an orgy that turns into something violent and nasty. Otherwise: only for those who want to know what the fuzz was all about.
Seoul Station serves as the animated prequel to the impressive live-action zombie-fest Train to Busan (also by Yeon Sang-ho) although in truth, Seoul Station was actually made before Train to Busan even though TtB came out first, it offers no more explanation to the outbreak than its live-action successor (predecessor? Ha, I’m not sure which is most appropriate now), it contains none of the characters who appear in Train to Busan and it’s a completely self-contained tale. Hm. In fact one could say the two movies are entirely unconnected beyond both being zombie flicks set in South Korea, written and directed by the same guy. Still, who cares? Seoul Station is a terrific genre entry in its own right, tense throughout with an appropriately downbeat ending and with a character twist towards the end which, whilst probably unnecessary, added to the fun of the piece anyway. Recommended.
Well I have been away from the forum for a bit. I have watched a few movies in the past little bit. I watched Sing, John Wick 2, Hercules (Lou Ferrigno), Train to Busan, Secret Life of Pets, and Doctor Strange.
I’m a fan of animator, Ralph Bakshi, (‘Lord of The Rings’, ‘Fire and Ice’, ‘Wizards’ etc).
Ahead of his time, and not afraid to ‘do his own thing’…brill!
Re: the late, great Scatman Crothers, who performs the main theme to this film…
I hadn’t realised just how absolutely wonderful this gentleman was…
As a singer, actor, and performer, I’d only ever really remembered him from ‘The Shining’; ‘The Shootist’; voice artist on Disney’s ‘The Aristocats’:, and - believe it or not - singing the main theme from ‘Hong Kong Phooey’.
This wonderful man was so much more…anyhow…check it out…
