#movie review
So I didn’t hate Ghost in the Shell.
The movie Ghost in the Shell, is stunning to look at, and weirdly gives me hope for the “Ready Player One” movie, and makes me want a “Neuromancer” movie more than ever. I know I saw the Anime of “Ghost in the Shell” but other than the cool briefcase gun, and Major falling off buildings not a lot of the anime, stuck in my head. (my brain really needs to hold on to the memory of that time I wore blue eyeliner in school, and said something stupid. Thanks brain)
The sets, and cinematography, the lighting, and whatever effects magic they use, truly make the world of “Ghost int the Shell” look marvelous, and futuristic, exciting and grubby, and it all has a nice “gravity” and reality to it.
There’s no sex, although there is the awesomely not naked Scarlet in her special skin tight Thermoptic suit, and I was happy there is no gratuitous naked robots or robot hookers. The Major is no one’s love interest, she is not a honeytrap, or a decoy. I think Scarlet did a great job, as Major and made some very interesting acting choices. And I loved Takeshi Kitano as Aramaki, he was wonderful, and has the sort of gravitas, that helps center this kind of outlandish plot, and I totally believe he could kick some serious ass. The supporting players are all well done, and I loved all of the creepy cheap blackmarket “enhancements” that the bad guys and thugs have. (see my need for the Nueromacer movie). They also did a good job with the visual representation of Data and it’s movement.
The plot and story are what they are, not that great a stretch for an action film, and I think they gave up some chances to address the whitewashing. But I’m just so happy when an action movies allows a female character to not be the sex object, I forgive some banality (that’s sad right?)
All in all for me, it was a great looking, popcorn crunching, Friday date night movie. I get if anyone refuses to see it because they object to the whitewashing, I can’t say they’re are wrong to do so, or even that they are really missing out.
I know in America, there was justifiably concern over whitewashing. But I spent years working in Hollywood and know that the down and dirty, nitty gritty, of getting that movie produced, and it had two huge Chinese (I think) production companies, with the budget it required, they needed a actual International Box Office action star with huge box office dollars attached to her name.
Old white men still write the checks, and in the end they just really only care about dollars. Asian American actors here in the US entertainment industry, have been overlooked made invisible, and have not really been given the chance to achieve the box office numbers, that give you the kind of pull, that gives the actual grumpy number crunching check signing dudes the confidence they need to sign off on multi-million dollar budgets. And that sucks. Keep in mind though, that If this movie’s box office fails, they will not blame the whitewashing they will blame a female lead action film.
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I’m know I’m a little late this week. I’ve been in LA on a work trip but I did NOT forget about my October promise of giving you guys my favorite horror movie suggestions. This week we’re kickin it old school with a Halloween classic - ‘Hellraiser’!
Hellraiser was released in theaters in 1987 the year before I was born. I actually didn’t watch this movie until my 20s because as a child the cover on the VHS (yes I said it) scared the shit out of me. This was a smart move, because when I finally did watch it, it messed me all the way up.
Ok brief synopsis taken from #google:
Sexual deviant Frank (Sean Chapman) inadvertently opens a portal to hell when he tinkers with a box he bought while abroad. The act unleashes gruesome beings called Cenobites, who tear Frank’s body apart. When Frank’s brother (Andrew Robinson) and his wife, Julia (Clare Higgins), move into Frank’s old house, they accidentally bring what is left of Frank back to life. Frank then convinces Julia, his one-time lover, to lure men back to the house so he can use their blood to reconstruct himself.
Yo - this description is gnarly and totally spot on. The plot is absolutely terrifying and the practical effects used are gruesomely vivid. There’s a scene where we actually see Frank’s body being “reborn” and it is the stuff of nightmares. Honestly, I still can’t get it out of my head.
This film freaks me out because of how they portray the idea of different dimensions. It’s got a cool sci-fi angle that’s just real enough to make you believe this could be an actual possibility. And that notion is actually terrifying.
This movie has definitely withstood the test of time and is just as creepy now (if not more) than it was when it first came out. Do yourself a favor and treat your twisted side to one my all-time favorite horror flicks, ‘HELLRAISER’. It’s currently streaming on #HULU and can be rented anywhere you like to stream. Enjoy.
Annihilation Film Review (streaming on Hulu)
So for my next Halloween time viewing suggestion, I’d like to bring something a little bit different to the table. It’s not quite a horror although if you ask me that’s debatable, it is classified on paper as an adventure/drama/thriller. But I’m just going to say it right meow guys, this is a sci fi horror.
Annihilation is a terrifyingly vivid extraterrestrial nightmare. It’s a goddamn work of art. I personally love the sci fi genre because when done right, it’s just as frightening and hopeless as the demon stories, which are my favorite of the horror sub genres, closely followed by zombies ♂️
Here’s a brief synopsis from #google:
Lena, a biologist and former soldier, joins a mission to uncover what happened to her husband inside Area X – a sinister and mysterious phenomenon that is expanding across the American coastline. Once inside, the expedition discovers a world of mutated landscapes and creatures, as dangerous as it is beautiful, that threatens both their lives and their sanity.
My paraphrasing: Basically this super smart scientist goes searching for answers about what happened to her husband and his squad while they were researching what they call “the shimmer”. And it’s exactly what it sounds like - a shimmery oilslick-looking overlay on our world that is expanding from one particular point on the beach. Like a mist or something. It’s so weird and so deep and too awesome for me not to share.
This movie has an awesome cast too and that was the main draw for me when I first saw the poster ads. Natalie Portman leads a predominantly female ensemble, alongside fellow Thor star, Tessa Thompson. This point is particularly important to me as Thor 1 just so happens to be one of my favorite of the Marvel franchises, as well as one of my favorite sci-fi films period. Fight me if you think it’s not sci fi lol. Jennifer Jason Leigh, Gina Rodriguez, and Oscar Isaac’s fine ass are all so great in this.
What makes Annihilation scary to me is the beautiful execution of such a daring and ambitious plot. I don’t want to give too much away before you have a chance to check it out, but I think that may be hard to do anyway. I mean it’s an ever expanding shimmer….bruh, what?! But this film actually poses impossible questions and also attempts to answer those questions that most movies typically have to gloss over for fear of taking up too much time. And I must say…they did a good job of doing just that.
The imagery is beautiful and unnerving, at times making my skin crawl. The final scenes are incredibly innovative in their portrayal of the unimaginable. Its a stunning visualization, a twisted fantasy, a bone chilling spectacle, a total mindfuck and it’s absolutely brilliant. Definitely in my top picks, easily worth your time and undoubtedly going to start some interesting conversations. Should be a great one to enjoy with friends.
Please like share and comment. Especially if you’ve seen it I’d love to hear your personal thoughts. Also if you have scary movie suggestions send them my way!!
Also enjoy the trailer
I don’t know if y’all remember but I used to be so passionate about what I was watching on the Telly that I would sometimes just have to write about it. It’s been a really long time since I’ve done this but this particular show on Netflix just got me so hyped up I couldn’t resist. Btw this is a French show (there’s overdubs but I always prefer to watch foreign shows in the original languages using subtitles).
Brace yourselves for Marianne people it’s scary af. In fact, this show is not for the light hearted and I actually would encourage those of you who don’t like horror to steer clear of this series. It’s the type of scary that seeps into your dreams and puts you on edge to the point you almost think Marianne might be haunting you IRL.
A brief synopsis (taken from #google)
A famous horror writer who is lured back to her hometown discovers that the evil spirit who plagues her dreams is now wreaking havoc in the real world.
This is about as much as I can say without ruining the scares. It’s a pretty meta concept: horror writer is haunted by her own creation, or so we think. What I think I loved most about this first season is the use of practical effects over CGI. This is something that’s always been more effective to me in creating a eerie, more realistic atmosphere.
This is a series! This fact threw me off a bit in the first episode. I just was so totally freaked out that I couldn’t imagine they could drag the scares out for 8 episodes. However, I soon learned that this story definitely deserves the extra time to really delve into the characters and most importantly our villain. The cinematography is absolutely beautiful and the location in a small coastal French town only lends to the story’s uneasiness.
I love that it uses classic horror elements like the stabbing violins, long, close tension building shots and the nice cheap scare here and there. My main issue with this was pretty much my same issue with every horror - where are the goddamn police?!
To be fair, there was some pretty decent involvement from the authorities, but you know you, it could’ve been a bit more realistic. However, when I think about it, that could also have just taken away a lot of the campy elements that make a good horror seem not so serious or self important, and just a touch silly. And I like that.
Speaking of camp, there’s nothing like a good creepy smiling face to really mess up your whole evening or week of evenings if you’re easily creeped. And this show is chocked full of the most unnerving facial expressions I’ve ever seen - the opening scenes in episode one hit me hard and I wasn’t sure I’d be able to push through it. And I LOVE horrors, so that saying a lot for me.
The thing is, I’m a horror fanatic, and it takes quite an effort to truly spook me. That being said, the scariest sub genre of horror for me is and always will be that of the demonic variety. I dunno, ghost stories don’t scare me because like my husband says, “If you get me ghost, I’ll be on your plane and you’ll have to deal with me forever.” Monsters aren’t scary because there’s usually so much CGI involved that it loses it’s grounding. Slashers? Bitch please - come at me bro. However demons be on some other s***. Like how do you even fight that?!
Another fun fact about Marianne is that it’s received the seal of approval from living horror legend Stephen King himself. From #businessinsider -
The legendary author tweeted, “If you’re one of those sickos - like me - who enjoys being scared, ‘Marianne’ (Netflix) will do the job.”
“There are glints of humor that give it a 'Stranger Things’ vibe,” he added. “It also has (I say it with all due modesty) a Stephen King vibe.”
So now that it’s officially October aka Halloween time, if you think you can handle it, check out this new horror gem. I absolutely can not wait to see where this goes in the next season.
Thoughts On Black Widow
So I finally watched Black Widow! It’s certainly taken me a while but I watched it. And my thoughts are…
It was very good!
I enjoyed it a lot! I love Yelena! She is too brilliant! I want more of her! She stole the whole show in my eyes, even more so than when she was in Hawkeye! And just in general I liked the bond between Natasha and Yelena and it was great fun and an exciting story and just really, really good.
The main villain didn’t stand out all that much but the way I see it, he wasn’t meant to. This wasn’t a superhero film about beating the villain but rather a superhero film about freeing others as well as themselves from their past. So having a pretty mediocre villain didn’t hurt the film in the slightest.
The only issue I have with the film was that I did not enjoy the bond between Melina and Alexei with the girls. This is all just my personal opinion, but I did not really feel the connection between them. It felt very forced, like we were being told they cared about each other more than we really saw it. They actually ended up annoying me more than anything (I really wanted Natasha/Yelena to smack Alexei or throw the table during that dinner). Mostly I just didn’t see 3 years of pretending as long enough to develop the bond they apparently had. Plus, Melina gets a bit of a pass because she was also a victim but in the end they still helped/did nothing as innocent girls were taken, tortured and brainwashed. Alexei even tried to play it off as a good thing because of how they turned out which is where the annoying me part comes into it.
I much prefered the moments between Natasha and Yelena and kind of wish Melina and Alexei had smaller roles so we could get more of just the sisters. They were the best parts anyway. But even with the parts I wasn’t a big fan of, I still think it was a great film. I don’t necessarily regret not watching it when it first came out but I’ll certainly watch it again in the future.
