Scarlett Johansson signs on to star in Dreamworks' 'Ghost in the Shell'
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Harbinger O Great Justice
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Counter-intuitively, the big name actor is actually what they put in place to get investors to pay for the film, rather than it being a big cost to the film. Scarlett's casting is pretty much what got them their massive VFX budget for the film. That's specifically because the director and the IP alone don't give enough confidence that it can be done well to gain $$$ from investors to produce the film, and she's seen as a generally sound investment both in terms of acting capability and also for RoI on films she's in. As a note, the production companies for this film were:
• DreamWorks Pictures
• Reliance Entertainment
• Arad Productions
• Shanghai Film Group Corporation
• Huahua Media
Those last two are Chinese production companies (which are becoming bigger and bigger now days with China becoming a bigger presence in the movie industry), which is why I'm exceptionally curious to see how the film lands over there, since it's not-at-all unheard of that a film that doesn't land over here absolutely RULES the box office over there. (Just look at WarCraft, where it made $220 million in China alone, but under $100mil in the US – also based on a seemingly big IP with a VFX-heavy film).
tl;dr – Film funding and money making aren't always straightforward and also, the domestic opening weekend wasn't strong, but that's not surprising given the criticisms that have been latched to the film basically non-stop – but it's also yet to open in two potentially VERY significant markets which I think will present a bigger picture, especially insofar as the "whitewashing" conversation is concerned since they're both big Asian markets, so it'll be really interesting to see how the next 2 weeks go.
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Harbinger O Great Justice
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A good look at the practical effects and behind the scenes stuff that they did. There were a couple pieces of wirework that I mistook for CGI (assuming that it wasn't enhanced in a later cut), and seeing all of the gunfire happening on a live set was really neat.
Additionally, this article looks into a TON of the reasons that this film is likely to lose cash even assuming that it does decently in China & Japan, but this part was FAR AND AWAY the most interesting to me:
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Additionally, this article looks into a TON of the reasons that this film is likely to lose cash even assuming that it does decently in China & Japan, but this part was FAR AND AWAY the most interesting to me:
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Lulcielid
Eyes of the Lord
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- Lulcy
Hideo Kojima on the Philosophy Behind 'Ghost in the Shell'.
Metal Gear Solid' creator shares his love of the original, and questions whether the new live action movie captures the same spirit.
Metal Gear Solid' creator shares his love of the original, and questions whether the new live action movie captures the same spirit.
Shadowfox
You look like you need a monkey
LTTP!
I finally watched GITS 2017 on my TV the other night, and my thoughts below...
Visually GITS 2017 looked really nice, and there were a lot of visual details to see. Some parts of the presented cityscape -- with the layers of holographic advertisements and vehicle lights -- could get a bit busy, but they weren't overwhelmingly so, to my relief. (Wholly unlike the chaos in, say, Bay's 'Transformers' movies). I liked the design of the future world; I thought the city and tech looked new and far out future-land enough, while still holding recognisable aspects of the current day. That said, the spider tank in the final battle was a little disappointing, IMO, compared to GITS 1995's tank.
I thought the music was okay, though I admit I didn't find it as instantly memorable as the music from GITS 1995, nor SAC's.
I liked the different take on the Major. Here, she's someone who'd lost her past and her human body, and now lived and acted as one who was disconnected from humankind as a whole. However, over the course of the movie she both rediscovered herself and was finally making steps to reconnect with her humanity. I found Scarlett Johanson's portrayal of the Major to be disconcerting at first, but found myself becoming fascinated and intrigued as the film went on. There were times when her movements and mannerisms came across as very stiff and unreal, and when she held herself still it was almost as if she was like a mannequin; Johansson played it as though the Major, without her memories and stuck in her artificial shell, had neither reason nor motivation to act "more human".
I loved Juliet Binoche. Her character, Oelet, brought a lot of warmth and humanity into the Major's otherwise sterile and stoic existence, and her compassion and care for the Major felt genuine. I thought that Johansson's scenes with Binoche came across very well. The relationship between the two was convincing, to the point where
The Section 9 team was on screen, of course, but only a few of them were mentioned by name and even fewer actually had any kind of meat in their roles. I remember being very surprised when Saito showed up in that one scene near the end, so much so that my first reaction was to say, "Wait, so there is a Saito in this movie?" Not something to knock this movie for, since 1995 was more or less the same in this regard. Aramaki is still a badass, though, and I liked seeing him get a bit more into the action here.
Batou was, as usual, the only other Section 9 character after the Major to get some development. I don't think his romantic attraction to the Major was played up at all in this movie compared to previous iterations. He was probably the closest thing she had to a confidant, one of those in her small circle of peers that brought some element of humanity into her existence.
Talking about comparisons with the anime, I was disappointed in the garbage man scenes in GITS 2017. I loved the scene in the 1995 anime. There, the reveal with the ghost-hacked man's picture of his daughter was chilling given that he'd spent a good amount of his earlier dialogue talking about his little angel. The scene in the 2017 GITS was... well, it felt kinda flat. Even the part when the garbage man finally
didn't elicit much emotion, because I barely knew anything about him. Only remember thinking, "Well, that was quick." (I do suspect that perhaps this movie wasn't putting much of its focus on the ghost-hacking aspect, nor of the doubts or fears about the truth/validity of one's self if your experiences are all in your head/not of your own, if your thoughts and memories only exist because someone else wrote it into your brain.)
I broke into a grin when I saw Michael Wincott in the early part of the movie. Not because of anything related to GITS, specifically. Just that he's one of those actors who probably isn't considered a big name, but who I've found is always great to watch. (Too bad he seems to take on roles that, more often that not, end up with his characters dying on screen.)
And, yeah, you can't have a GITS 1995-inspired movie without showing at least one appearance by Gabriel the basset hound.
Overall, I enjoyed GITS 2017. I wish I'd watched it in a movie theare back when it came out; I'd probably get a better visual and audio experience there than on my relatively dinky TV screen.
When the movie was announced, I was apprehensive, thinking that I would not enjoy it, given that the anime's been one of my all time favourites. I think one of the reasons why it took me a while to watch GITS 2017 because I was trying hard not to let my previous experiences with the anime preemptively colour my impression of this movie. (I think I had limited success in that regard.)
This movie drew a lot from the past GITS offerings -- visuals, plot elements, characters (of course), and even some of the scenes were shot by shot recreations from the anime -- so you really can't avoid being reminded of them over and over again. Speaking for myself, I found the constant reminders a bit distracting, and I would have liked a bit more of an original presentation. Still, it's not too much of a negative for me to dislike the movie.
Not to say that this movie is without its flaws, but I do think that this isn't a disaster either. I found it to be a pretty entertaining movie, and a satisfactory contribution to the GITS universe.
I finally watched GITS 2017 on my TV the other night, and my thoughts below...
Visually GITS 2017 looked really nice, and there were a lot of visual details to see. Some parts of the presented cityscape -- with the layers of holographic advertisements and vehicle lights -- could get a bit busy, but they weren't overwhelmingly so, to my relief. (Wholly unlike the chaos in, say, Bay's 'Transformers' movies). I liked the design of the future world; I thought the city and tech looked new and far out future-land enough, while still holding recognisable aspects of the current day. That said, the spider tank in the final battle was a little disappointing, IMO, compared to GITS 1995's tank.
I thought the music was okay, though I admit I didn't find it as instantly memorable as the music from GITS 1995, nor SAC's.
I liked the different take on the Major. Here, she's someone who'd lost her past and her human body, and now lived and acted as one who was disconnected from humankind as a whole. However, over the course of the movie she both rediscovered herself and was finally making steps to reconnect with her humanity. I found Scarlett Johanson's portrayal of the Major to be disconcerting at first, but found myself becoming fascinated and intrigued as the film went on. There were times when her movements and mannerisms came across as very stiff and unreal, and when she held herself still it was almost as if she was like a mannequin; Johansson played it as though the Major, without her memories and stuck in her artificial shell, had neither reason nor motivation to act "more human".
I loved Juliet Binoche. Her character, Oelet, brought a lot of warmth and humanity into the Major's otherwise sterile and stoic existence, and her compassion and care for the Major felt genuine. I thought that Johansson's scenes with Binoche came across very well. The relationship between the two was convincing, to the point where
seeing the Major's reaction to Oelet's fate -- which was one of the few times in this movie where she allowed her stoicism to slip and her emotional upheaval is displayed -- was heartbreaking.
The Section 9 team was on screen, of course, but only a few of them were mentioned by name and even fewer actually had any kind of meat in their roles. I remember being very surprised when Saito showed up in that one scene near the end, so much so that my first reaction was to say, "Wait, so there is a Saito in this movie?" Not something to knock this movie for, since 1995 was more or less the same in this regard. Aramaki is still a badass, though, and I liked seeing him get a bit more into the action here.
Batou was, as usual, the only other Section 9 character after the Major to get some development. I don't think his romantic attraction to the Major was played up at all in this movie compared to previous iterations. He was probably the closest thing she had to a confidant, one of those in her small circle of peers that brought some element of humanity into her existence.
Talking about comparisons with the anime, I was disappointed in the garbage man scenes in GITS 2017. I loved the scene in the 1995 anime. There, the reveal with the ghost-hacked man's picture of his daughter was chilling given that he'd spent a good amount of his earlier dialogue talking about his little angel. The scene in the 2017 GITS was... well, it felt kinda flat. Even the part when the garbage man finally
hanged himself
I broke into a grin when I saw Michael Wincott in the early part of the movie. Not because of anything related to GITS, specifically. Just that he's one of those actors who probably isn't considered a big name, but who I've found is always great to watch. (Too bad he seems to take on roles that, more often that not, end up with his characters dying on screen.)
And, yeah, you can't have a GITS 1995-inspired movie without showing at least one appearance by Gabriel the basset hound.
Overall, I enjoyed GITS 2017. I wish I'd watched it in a movie theare back when it came out; I'd probably get a better visual and audio experience there than on my relatively dinky TV screen.
When the movie was announced, I was apprehensive, thinking that I would not enjoy it, given that the anime's been one of my all time favourites. I think one of the reasons why it took me a while to watch GITS 2017 because I was trying hard not to let my previous experiences with the anime preemptively colour my impression of this movie. (I think I had limited success in that regard.)
This movie drew a lot from the past GITS offerings -- visuals, plot elements, characters (of course), and even some of the scenes were shot by shot recreations from the anime -- so you really can't avoid being reminded of them over and over again. Speaking for myself, I found the constant reminders a bit distracting, and I would have liked a bit more of an original presentation. Still, it's not too much of a negative for me to dislike the movie.
Not to say that this movie is without its flaws, but I do think that this isn't a disaster either. I found it to be a pretty entertaining movie, and a satisfactory contribution to the GITS universe.