Live-Action Ghost In The Shell (2017) will be a cult classic

So the live-action Ghost In The Shell movie came and went, and with it, the dream of seeing a high-quality Hollywood produced live-action anime, such as Akira or Battle Angel, took another big step backwards. Fans and critics were, for the most part, on the same page, as the film only made $40M in its first month in the US, and it’s Rotten Tomatoes score sits (at the time of this writing), at 46%. So the immediate reaction is to say that this movie is a bust. But that may or may or be the case. In fact, I am positive that in a few years, future critics and audiences will react more favorable to this film.

The Top Ten Movie Directors

“Like Kurosawa I make mad films
Okay, I don’t make films
But if I did they’d have a Samurai.”
Barenaked Ladies – “One Week”

If you are following my blog and/or podcast, then I don’t need to explain the significance and value a good director brings to the making of a movie. But if you need empirical proof, take a look at your multiplex, or steaming provider. We are living in a gilded age of remakes and reboots. Whereas the originals have given us iconic images and memorable scenes that made them timeless classics, the newer versions are created by those that lack the creative vision, and fail to learn the lessons why the originals work so well.

The Top Ten Female-led Action/Adventure Films

“I’ve been watching you waltz all night Diane,
Nobody’s found a way behind your defenses.
They never notice the zap gun in your hand,
Until you’re pointing it and stunning their senses.”

– Billy Joel, “Sleeping With the Television On”

There is a misconception out there that Hollywood exists in a bubble. That there is a complete disconnect between itself and the rest of the world. This is utterly untrue. Hollywood is in the people pleasing business, and their unofficial motto is “Give ’em what they want.” So if Tinseltown has been covered by an air of chauvinism the past hundred years or so, then it is because the movie-going public at large are chauvinists.  

20th Century Fox will remake Hasbro’s board game, “Clue”

20th Century Fox has picked up the rights to remake “Clue”, the classic Hasbro board game, after it had been dropped Universal Studios.

Josh Feldman, the head of Hasbro’s TV and film division, is producing for Hasbro Studios. Daria Cercek is overseeing for Fox.

The Top Ten Movies Featuring Aliens

“I’m an alien, I’m a legal alien”
Sting – “Englishman in New York”

Let’s get this out of the way. Yes, we already did a Top Ten movie alien list. This one is different for two reasons: 1) the former was just about the characters, this one is now about the films; and 2) this list is omitting the Star Wars and Star Trek franchises (we’ve done plenty of lists regarding those franchises already.)

So what makes an alien film good? Makeup and special effects help, sure, but that is not the be-all and end-all. A plot always help, but if I want to see a story about “us humans defending our blue Earth from evil invaders”, I’d watch an anime. Of course, I’d mentioned over and over how my reviewing mantra is, “It’s the characters, stupid.” But we did that list.

The Top Ten Disaster Films

“Flirtin’ with disaster, y’all damn sure know what I mean,”
– Molly Hatchet, “Flirtin’ With Disaster”

When comprising this list, I discovered something fascinating – the disaster film can be either its own movie genre (i.e. natural disaster), or a subset of other movie genres. The latter includes: sci-fi disaster, man-made disaster, historical disaster, horror disaster, animal disaster, or even the rare comedy disaster (usually a spoof of one or more of all of these genres). The intention was to be exclusively of the former category, but personally, I found more quality entries in the latter. 

Movie Studios Power Rankings, April 2016 edition

It’s been a while since I’ve done one of these things. In the past, I’ve rated foods, beverages, or marketing campaigns. This time, we’re ranking Hollywood’s major motion picture studios. But don’t get upset that I’m omitting foreign studios from China, India, Japan, England, etc. For I am not factoring how well (or poorly) Hollywood films do abroad, I am not going to consider foreign studios here in the U.S., in what they would consider a foreign market.

That might be considered just a bit unfair, since most Hollywood films get somewhere between 55% – 70% of their total gross from overseas. (Only 4 of the top 100 All-Time Worldwide Box Office Grosses made more money domestically than overseas.) But this isn’t all based on money. If Hollywood’s accountants can fudge their numbers for tax purposes, I can fudge their metrics for ranking purposes. 

This List is brought to you by the Number Six

Out of all of the single digits, the number “6” gets the least love. (Yes, even if you include the zero “0.”) Not only that, the number six gets the least amount of respect. It is associated with “The Devil” and is the number of “The Beast” because… reasons?? It is the least distinguishable amongst the single digits. As a composite number, it loses the appeal that the “prime” numbers 2,3,5, and 7 have. It is not a square number like 4 and 9. Even the number eight has a more aesthetic appeal, with its double loop, vis-a-vis six’s single loop with a cowlick. And I shouldn’t have to explain the appeal of being #1. The only thing the number six can take pride is that it is the first counting number to incorporate the use  of a second hand (unless you are one of those people who decides to use the first index finger twice. Come on – get some dexterity, dammit!)