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Ghost in the Shell (2017) | Movie News


Based on the internationally acclaimed sci-fi manga series, "Ghost in the Shell" follows the Major (a.k.a. Major Motoko Kusanagi played by ScarJo), a cyborg policewoman, special ops, one-of-a-kind human cyborg hybrid, who leads a mid-21st century elite task force called Section 9. Devoted to stopping the most dangerous criminals and extremists, Section 9 is faced with an enemy whose singular goal is to wipe out Hanka Robotic's advancements in cyber technology.

The original Ghost in the Shell manga ran in Japan from April 1989 to November 1990 in Kodansha's manga anthology Young Magazine, and was released in a tankōbon volume on October 5, 1991, before being made into a cult Japanese anime movie six years later.

Ghost in the Shell opens on March 31 and stars Scarlett Johansson, Michael Pitt, Michael Wincott, Juliette Binoche, Pilou Asbæk, Rila Fukushima, and Takeshi Kitano.

Comments

  • mwhitt80mwhitt80 Posts: 4,638
    Ohh boy. I would love for this to be awesome. But I'm not putting any hope that it will be.

    The cool thing about Ghost is that there a ton of versions to choose from. The manga (so far I have not been impressed), the movie (which is great), the other movie (ehhh), the cartoon series (maybe my favorite), and Arise (currently watching the episodes and movie).
  • BrackBrack Posts: 868
    edited February 2017
    mwhitt80 said:

    Ohh boy. I would love for this to be awesome. But I'm not putting any hope that it will be.

    The cool thing about Ghost is that there a ton of versions to choose from. The manga (so far I have not been impressed), the movie (which is great), the other movie (ehhh), the cartoon series (maybe my favorite), and Arise (currently watching the episodes and movie).

    You can also watch The Professionals, which Shirow was inspired by. Aramaki is clearly based on Cowley, and to a lesser extent Batou and Togusa are Bodie & Doyle. (Shirow more directly used Lewis Collins' likeness in Appleseed)

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oq4Ur9S15gQ

    That's why in terms of Western adaptations of manga, GITS isn't one I'm overly bothered by, as there's a lot of 70s British genre TV its in DNA already.
  • bralinatorbralinator Posts: 5,967
    mwhitt80 said:

    Ohh boy. I would love for this to be awesome. But I'm not putting any hope that it will be.

    I'm in this camp. I really hope it exceeds my expectations. I loved the original anime movie.
  • TorchsongTorchsong Posts: 2,794
    A shame. I enjoyed it. I wouldn't say it was the be-all, end-all greatest thing in the world, but it wasn't horrible either. And I agree with the overall reasoning for the poor performance (bad marketing, limited knowledge of the IP, and expensive production) but they're lying if they don't include bad word of mouth about the whitewashing* elements behind it.

    * For the record, I'm very much anti-whitewashing, but never felt that was the situation with this particular movie.
  • MattMatt Posts: 4,457
    I'm going to see the movie when it's on Netflix, but ONLY because of Scarlett*. If Olivia Wilde or Maggie Grace starred in the movie, I'd be skipping it. The whole premise is pretty generic.

    There are some stating it bombed because of the whitewashing & whitewashing controversy. I wonder if that's just an excuse. As I said, aside from the visuals, is there anything really stellar about the movie; plot, characters, music, etc? How many people didn't see this movie because of the whitewashing? How many people didn't see it because of the controversy? How many people would've seen it if the lead was Asian**? I saw someone on Twitter use recent movies like Moonlight & Rogue One with diversity casts that weren't whitewashed as comparisons, but are those really the same?

    * I've read & seen enough about Scarlett to know she's very liberal, so it's interesting to see her in the crosshairs for this. I've read how she justified it & claims she would never play another ethnicity, but it's interesting how sooner or later they (liberals) come after everyone. Even when there is nothing nefarious or intentional (I'm not convinced that's the case here), things can get twisted and shoved down a person's throat.

    ** if you only go see or read something because the of main character's shading, gender, religious beliefs, or sexual orientation, isn't that bias? How's that any different from not seeing/reading something for the same qualifiers?

    M
  • bralinatorbralinator Posts: 5,967
    Seems like all of ScarJo's recent movies, she's just sleepwalking through the movie. Playing a robot, an alien, or a computer AI. I'm just losing interest in her work altogether.
  • MattMatt Posts: 4,457
    Lucy is watchable. I'll say this stuff is easier for me to watch then her earlier stuff.
  • bralinatorbralinator Posts: 5,967
    Matt said:

    Lucy is watchable. I'll say this stuff is easier for me to watch then her earlier stuff.

    Have you seen Under the Skin? Same deal.
  • TorchsongTorchsong Posts: 2,794
    edited April 2017
    Honestly she's never been the main reason for me to want to buy a ticket to a movie. I mean she's a good actress and deserves her success and all that, but I can't say I'm fanatical about her or anything.

  • MattMatt Posts: 4,457

    Matt said:

    Lucy is watchable. I'll say this stuff is easier for me to watch then her earlier stuff.

    Have you seen Under the Skin? Same deal.
    Yeah. It was a bit too artsy for me. Even the couple minutes of nudity couldn't really help that movie.
  • MattMatt Posts: 4,457
    Torchsong said:

    Honestly she's never been the main reason for me to want to buy a ticket to a movie. I mean she's a good actress and deserves her success and all that, but I can't say I'm fanatical about her or anything.

    I am, but only on a rental level. If there's a solo Black Widow movie, I'm there in the theatre. Beyond that, I'm waiting for Netflix.

    After my Anne Hathaway phrase, I've started picking & choicing what movie an actor or actress does before I watch it. Too much crap.

    I don't think there's an actor or actress I'd HAVE to see in the theatre since SMG in Cruel Intentions & Simply Irresistible. I go to the theatre because the movie looks interesting.
  • CaptShazamCaptShazam Posts: 1,178
    So does this movie erase any possible good feelings from Lucy with the studio powers that they may have about making a Black Widow movie? Is this just a blip that is forgotten or will there be concerns about Scarlett's ability to carry an action film or franchise?

    *with the understanding that understanding the mind of a studio exec is at times almost impossible.
  • MattMatt Posts: 4,457
    I hope not. I think the Black Widow movie would have the luxury of riding the coattails of the MCU. I think something fresh, like GitS was, it'd be a struggle.

    How successful would the movie have been with, say, Angelina Jolie? Did/Does she get people to rush into theatres?
  • bralinatorbralinator Posts: 5,967
    Matt said:

    I hope not. I think the Black Widow movie would have the luxury of riding the coattails of the MCU. I think something fresh, like GitS was, it'd be a struggle.

    How successful would the movie have been with, say, Angelina Jolie? Did/Does she get people to rush into theatres?

    I actually think these underproducing films she's been in (aka "bombs") further convince the studio execs to postpone any ScarJo led Marvel movie. The one thing that might change their minds would be a Wonder Woman success, but the two characters really aren't even in the same league. But if they moved forward it would still come after there several other films in pre-production, And then if Captain Marvel isn't a big hit, I really don't expect we'll ever see a Black Widow led feature film - unless it's a Netflix original or something like that.

    I'd personally like it if Marvel would bring back those clever one-shots they used to do and feature Black Widow in one. The ones they did for Sharon Carter, Agent Coulson, and the Mandarin were all pretty enjoyable.

    Of course there's no money in those, and Disney likes to make bank.
  • CaptShazamCaptShazam Posts: 1,178
    I do not think her recent movies are hurting a future Black Widow movie but I also think they are not helping. If these recent movies were all huge hits, Marvel would have dropped a BW movie in the schedule. Now there is just no rush.

    By the time they get around to a BW movie, I think either Scarlett will not want to do it or the studio may get the idea she is "too old" for it. She is 32 now and by the time a BW movie was to be made, she would be probably 35+. Young for me, but ancient in Hollywood studio actress years.
  • BrackBrack Posts: 868
    Ghost In The Shell would have been a bad movie with or without Scarlett Johansson. The script, as it was, is unsalvageable. It's clearly tied itself in knots over the 9 years of production.

    But even with a good script, it would have still been a bad movie as Rupert Sanders is not a good film maker.

    The world looks too bland, too clean, action is shot incoherently unless it's a scene they've copied from earlier GITS projects, in which case it merely underwhelms.

    And we get to do this all over again next year with Alita: Battle Angel from one of 6 or 7 screenwriters who worked GITS.
  • MattMatt Posts: 4,457
    Brack said:

    Ghost In The Shell would have been a bad movie with or without Scarlett Johansson. The script, as it was, is unsalvageable. It's clearly tied itself in knots over the 9 years of production.

    But even with a good script, it would have still been a bad movie as Rupert Sanders is not a good film maker.

    The world looks too bland, too clean, action is shot incoherently unless it's a scene they've copied from earlier GITS projects, in which case it merely underwhelms.

    And we get to do this all over again next year with Alita: Battle Angel from one of 6 or 7 screenwriters who worked GITS.

    Reminds me of when a WB exec claimed Green Lantern bombed because people were getting tired of comic book movies.

    Yeah, that's what happened.
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