By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)
The live-action Hollywood “remake” of Ghost in the Shell (GitS) hardly succeeds in waxing the philosophical from Masamune Shirow’s manga or the anime directed by Mamoru Oshii. While I knew these ideas will be the farthest thing the hive mind planned for the Western adaptation, I secretly hoped for some redemption. A few scenes from the anime were nicely recreated in live-action format, but I wanted more substance than style, to which this film had in abundance. When this movie is partially shot with Alexa 6K (65mm) cameras, I’m hoping the National Geographic IMAX theatre in my hometown gets it during this film’s second run at theatres so I can see this movie proper on a square screen.
While I did not expect much of the Frankenstein-style discourse to exist throughout the film, there were a few moments Major (Scarlett Johansson) tries to understand who she is, why she was created and where her “ghost” comes from. This actress basically got a chance to play a different kind of Black Widow, a person stripped of her identity to become a professional hit-man (woman) and not have “family” to worry about. When she’s the main character, at least fans of this actress got what they wanted instead of waiting for a Marvel Comics Entertainment version.
By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)
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By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)
The Days of Future Past with Terminator: Dark Fate
8 Nov(The Vintage Tempest)
The meaning behind Terminator: Dark Fate may well on how destiny can’t be changed. Sarah Connor tried to keep her young son John safe and in the future, the elder version reprogrammed a T-800 to prevent his death. When Skynet can mess with the past by sending a bunch of robot assassins to various moments in time, the inevitable has to happen and the question has to be asked, do they go Back to the Future?
A lot of questions are raised in light of the grander picture. Time travel stories are always going to be a head scratcher because of the effects of Schrödinger’s cat in the timeline. Robert Zemeckis’ film (and Legends of Tomorrow) explains that alternate time-lines can be shut down so long the heroes act fast enough before the effects become permanent. That way, only one continuity exists. James Cameron (who’s taking far too long to make sequels to Avatar) returned to his seminal creation to say everything we saw that he wasn’t involved in is all alternate universe material.
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Tags: 20th Century Fox, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Commentary, Dark Horse Comics, Gabriel Luna, James Cameron, Linda Hamilton, Natalia Reyes, Paramount, Terminator, Thriller