GHOST IN THE SHELL Review

For all the hoopla surrounding the whitewashing of what were originally Japanese characters and the hype that surrounded the source material from which Ghost in the Shell is based one might imagine it being easy to go into this movie with some sort of expectation. Given I have no connection to Masamune Shirow's original 1989 manga or the 1995 anime and understood that in order for such a property to get the big budget Hollywood treatment that it would require someone like a Scarlett Johansson in the lead role I went into Ghost in the Shell with no qualms and more or less an open mind in the hopes that ScarJo was only continuing to make interesting action movies concerning A.I. as she'd done not three years ago with Lucy. While Ghost in the Shell doesn't feel like a breakout in the same way that Luc Besson film was it is still very much an entertaining if not more dour experience than I half expected it to be given the color scheme of the marketing. Speaking to color scheme, it is in the futuristic environment that Ghost in the Shell finds its greatest strengths. Rather than simply offering a few neat visual cues here and there director Rupert Sanders (Snow White and the Huntsmen) owes his production designer, Jan Roelfs (Gattaca, 47 Ronin), and art department a huge thank you as it is this fully realized if not somewhat familiar future world that gives the film a sense of uniqueness despite its overall derivative nature. Of course, the deal with Ghost in the Shell is very much the same as the case was with 2012's John Carter in that much of what the source material inspired in popular culture (namely The Matrix) this big screen feature will now be accused of resembling. It's a sad state of truth, but the order of exposure appropriates how properties are perceived in the larger scope of the public eye and in some cases can tarnish the brand name. Ghost in the Shell isn't bad enough to offend or truly tarnish the name of the material it has re-imagined, but more it isn't noteworthy enough to seemingly live up to the past incarnations that share its namesake. Given I have no connections to those earlier versions of these ideas I actually came away thinking Sanders film was well constructed, that it held more emotional heft than expected, and executed its main ideas clearly if not as effectively as it could/should have.

LIFE Review

First impressions undoubtedly set a tone that will forever tinge the perception one has of another person or thing-such as a piece of entertainment. The first impression given by Life is that of an old fashioned horror movie. Sure, the comparisons to Alien are easy and to obvious extents, valid, but Life gives such an immediate indication of being inherently old fashioned in its approach to what would still be new frontiers that one can't help but to allow those tendencies to carry on throughout the entirety of the film even as it becomes slightly silly and a little long in the tooth. Life accomplishes such vibes by taking pride in showing the audience things we've become conditioned to by the movies that truly are spectacular were we to actually step back and appreciate them once in a while. Whether it be something as simple as the view of earth from space or the way in which director Daniel Espinosa's (Safe House) camera flies as effortlessly through the spacecraft in zero gravity as the characters do-these actions and spectacle are more appreciated due to the sense of sincerity the tone and score from Jon Ekstrand give off. Espinosa's film, which was written by the guys who wrote Deadpool and Zombieland (Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick), places itself squarely into the horror mold while utilizing the always compromising environment that is outer space to heighten the tensions and push the suspense up to eleven. In short, Life doesn't take so many notes from space movies as it does scary ones. Life is a thriller that means to make you claustrophobic despite the fact escaping said confined space would result in a slow, likely agonizing death. There are no good options except to stay and fight and so, as our six man crew is picked off one by one, we are exposed to the dangers of curiosity outweighing fear. We are exposed to how being blinded by what such discoveries promise can distract from the potential trouble at hand, but Life never becomes too heavy handed or ham fisted in these explorations of our psychologies or mentalities. Rather, the film finds a large entertainment factor in coming up with different types of situations to find that tension and suspense in-leaving the larger ideas to fill in the gaps in between; almost as if the residuals of the more striking moments are intentionally left to linger and for viewers to comprehend once the shock wears off. It's an idea that's easy to propose, but Life actually pulls it off rather well and is all the more fulfilling for it.

First Trailer for IT Re-Make

Confession time: I've never read nor have I seen the 1990 miniseries that was based on the acclaimed Stephen King novel. That King novel, which was originally published in September of 1986 spawned a two-part television event that has always felt well-renowned, but that I always felt would be too terrifying to entertain me. As I got older and became a more eclectic movie-watcher this was one that simply fell by the wayside. The novel is told through narratives alternating between two time periods, one following a group of seven misfit eleven year old children in 1958 and the other following these children as grown-ups who come back to their hometown of Derry, Maine in the mid-eighties to face the ominous Pennywise, a being who exploits the fears of its victims thus the reason "it" primarily appears in the form of a clown. The 1990 adaptation split the two time periods into two distinct parts, or so I'm told, and there are apparently plans already in the works for a sequel to this latest iteration of the source material that would continue the original story of "The Losers' Club," as the kids call themselves, into their adult years. As for how this first outing might fare-so far it certainly has my attention. Despite some solid horror efforts over the past few years I can't help but feel we've had a drought on what are truly genre-defining horror films and though It will largely capitalize on its known brand and iconic elements I'm sure there are plenty of people such as myself who've only heard tell of the dread that Pennywise has brought to his victims that will flock to this re-imagining in droves. Coming from the director of Mama, Andrés Muschietti, this certainly has the look and eerie feel of a classic horror flick and to that effect, it's been a while since we've had a solid Stephen King adaptation as well so if nothing else here's to hoping Muschietti's film might reverse that fortune. This first, teaser trailer certainly bodes well for what we might be getting this fall as the trailer sets the tone for something truly menacing. It stars Jackson Robert Scott, Bill Skarsgaard, Jaeden Lieberher, Finn Wolfhard, Jack Dylan Grazer, Wyatt Oleff, Chosen Jacobs, Jeremy Ray Taylor, and opens on September 8th, 2017.   

New Trailer for SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING

It's still strange that we have a new Spider-Man movie coming that is again re-booting the series for the third time in fifteen years, but here we are. Of course, the difference with Spider-Man: Homecoming is the fact this latest version of the webslinger will be co-existing with the heroes that have come to define the Marvel Cinematic Universe and fighting alongside them. In the same way Power Rangers did this past weekend Homecoming seems to want to take on this John Hughes-like approach to Spidey as the major differentiators have always been Peter Parker's young age and prime high school status. This is taken as a point of pride here as opposed to twenty-somethings playing high school seniors as they've done in the movies before. This certainly makes the fact we're getting a new Spider-Man flick a win, but if this new trailer shows anything else it's that this won't simply be an origin story, but a full on action adventure picture. Directed by John Watts (Cop Car) it seems he and his writers room are taking their film as retro as we've indeed heard throughout most of the production. From the design of the logo to the very outspoken intent of making this an inexperienced Peter Parker who enlists Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark as something of a mentor (who designed Spidey's suit as we saw in Civil War), but who really just exists as a normal kid with super powers in a world where superheroes are more or less the norm. This is timely considering this too is what Spider-Man movies have become in an era where the Guardians of the Galaxy are as widely known as Captain America, but while this newest trailer delivers what we all expect from a Spider-Man movie I'm excited to see what else Watts has up his sleeve to make this latest iteration stand apart from his protagonist's new pack. Spider-Man: Homecoming also stars Tom Holland, Jon Favreau, Michael Keaton, Zendaya, Donald Glover, Jacob Batalon, Laura Harrier, Tony Revolori, Tyne Daly, Bokeem Woodbine, Marisa Tomei, and opens on July 7th, 2017.

On DVD & Blu-Ray: March 28, 2017