Ghost In The Shell

This is a much anticipated live action adaptation of the hugely acclaimed cyberpunk manga by Masamune Shirow, it has also gained a fair amount of attention for its casting of caucasian Scarlett Johansson in the lead role amid accusations of ‘whitewashing’

Well Johansson plays ‘Major’, a woman, who’s brain has been placed into a cybernetic body, and against the wishes of her Doctor/Designer Dr. Ouelet (played by Juliette Binoche) now heads up a combat unit for Section 9, dedicated to tracking down cyber terrorists, most notably the mysterious ‘Kuze’ who is rather busy making scrambled egg out of the brains of Hanka Corporation employees involved in a mysterious project 2571 , the very company that built Major…. Da Da Daaaaaa!

Much chasing of Kuze with sidekick Batou and unit boss Chief Aramaki ensues, more Hanka peeps get turned into breakfast bites, and Major discovers that she is not who she was conditioned to believe she was before her fantastic drastic plastic makeover. As she delves deeper into the motivations of Kuze’s beef with her makers, apple carts get upset, truths get exposed, mums get met, and nasty corporate bosses get even nastyerish.

This movie is a near future cyberpunk flick, so you don’t need Sherlock to deduce it’s fairly big on the CGI, but there is nothing groundbreaking in its look. The influences such as Blade Runner, Fifth Element, and under-appreciated Tarsem Singh movie ‘The Cell’ are worn pretty heavily on the old sleeve. It looks good without wowing ya, but on the plus side it’s not so busy that it makes you boss eyed, but instead allows you to take in the view, which compared with some recent fare (Latest instalment of resident Evil a prime example) is a blessed relief and gives me hope I will not develop celluloid induced epilepsy anytime soon.       Script and pace are pretty sound and overall Rupert Sanders filled the directors chair ably.

This is not a great movie. If I had to categorize it I would say it sits somewhere between Okay and good, but it is a must see. Why you ask? Well I will tell ya, and you are not gonna believe it kids! Put the whitewashing guff to one side. Scarlett Johansson was cast in this movie because she was able to convey the very basic theme of the movie, and that is asking the question ‘How far do we embrace technology before we stop being human?’ Scarlett Johansson showed us in the Indy flick ‘Under the Skin’ that she is able to physically convey un-humanness to a spectacular degree, and that is why she was cast in this movie. Miss J is truly unnerving in this film. The way she walks, her posture, the way she interacts, are all infinitesimally ‘off’ to the extent that you don’t notice it at first, but it kinda pulls you in and subtly freaks you out over time. This is an actor doing what they do at the top of their game, and it’s worth the ticket price for that alone.

The persona of Johansson’s ‘Major’ absolutely dominates this movie, to the extent that few others manage to really get a look in, but Juliette Binoche, and Takeshi Kitano as ‘The Chief’ both manage to give their characters some depth.

If like me you are into the Ghost in the Shell lore, you are more than likely to find this a strong(ish) addition to what has gone before, otherwise it’s a fairly entertaining watch that will leave you slightly weirded out by an actor with alt-human bones….

Exodus: Gods And Kings

Ridley 'Diddley' Scott does epic. Like proper Biblical epic like he's eaten the ghost of Cecil B. DeMille or something. But why the subtitle? Given that Judaic scripture forms part of most of the major religions of the world to some extent or other does the story of Exodus need subtitling? Are we likely to expect it to be a biopic of Bob Marley without the addendum 'Gods and Kings'?

The soundtrack is entirely lacking in skanking guitars but replete with often solitary violins propping up Christian Bale's strange accent whenever we might be in danger of wondering why a Welshman has been cast to play a Middle Eastern man. Or when Egyptians mingled with Australians to cast Pharoahs.

Whitewashing is, of course, a Hollywood tradition. Just ask Scarlett Johannson. And Al Jolson.

Anyhoop, the casting is the least of this film's problems. When an atheist willingly directs a movie depicting one of the seminal tales from the Old Testament then takes liberties with the original text it's a safe bet that large numbers of the potential audience will find fault with the result. As will non-religious viewers who were hoping for something less creaky with better dialogue and fewer holes in the plot.

Marauding crocodiles gets the best of the action, all scenes with chariot in them smack of desperately trying not to evoke Ben Hur, there is actually only one god represented - contrary to the superfluous subtitle - and he's portrayed as a somewhat stroppy pre-adolescent whom only Moses can see. It's hardly in the same league as Blade Runner, is it Ridley?

I do hope nobody decides to butcher the story of Noah in this cavalier fashion just to make cinema seem deep and meaningful. Oh wait, Aronofsky already has.