Ghost in the Shell

Even better than I remembered and never in any need of a live-action adaptation.

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Here's what I've been watching and playing over the last seven days...

MOVIES

Ghost in the Shell

Plot summary: A cyborg policewoman and her partner hunt a mysterious and powerful hacker called the Puppet Master. (IMDb)

The big question: Ghost in the Shell or Akira?

They're both excellent, but I have to say the sheer scale of the sci-fi epic that is Akira wins out, with this movie being 'only' the greatest cyberpunk action movie ever made, in live action or animated.

One thing I really appreciate about Ghost in the Shell is just how matter-of-fact it is about things, with a world featuring highly-advanced cyborgs and spider-like tanks, but never making these things overly showy - the audience is treated like any of the characters: these things exist, so just get used to it.

I will warn that this does also extend to the violent side of the movie, which has absolutely no qualms about depicting limbs being broken, or people being reduced to essentially bloody red chunks - or cyborgs being torn apart and/or smashed to pieces.

Just to repeat: this is absolutely an action film and is most definitely not for young kids or the squeamish when it comes to violence.

Not that it's just action, action, action, with the central theme being about the sense of self, what constitutes being alive and how does someone define their own identity - both to themselves and others.

There's plenty of meat to chew on here and it's high-quality meat at that - don't dismiss Ghost in the Shell because it's 'only' a cartoon.

Ghost in the Shell is, as mentioned before, the best cyberpunk action film ever made and simply a great film too, which I have zero problem recommending fully - it had been a while since I'd last seen it and can tell you now that the gap until I watch it again won't be that long. [10/10]

GAMES

Assassin's Creed Origins

While I am having more fun than expected continuing through this game, I might scale back how much time I spend on it for a little while, or at least until Death Stranding is out of the way - playing two big games at the same time will mean it'll take ages to finish both, so I'm prioritising the shorter one to get it out of the way!

Death Stranding: Director's Cut

Not that I'm not enjoying my time with Death Stranding, although I do have to admit to really not being a fan of a game where the majority of the gameplay is being given an open world, the tools to deal with it and being set free, but then having that experience grind to a halt so you can engage in highly-scripted, linear sequences where most of the story is.

???

I think I'm around three-quarters of the way through the penultimate game on the list I've set myself to play, so hopefully I'll be able to reveal what all the question marks are for at some point in the next few weeks.

Also currently playing: FTL: Faster Than Light; Microsoft Flight Simulator (2020)

TV

Okay, I still haven't started Star Wars: Rebels yet, but will absolutely be watching it beginning this week, starting with the shorts that I didn't know even existed before heading straight into the first season.

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