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Gender, Poverty and Livelihood in the Eastern Himalayas

Sanjoy Hazarika and Reshmi Banerjee

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Book

The Eastern Himalaya region covers a geographical area that spans five nations and has diverse...

Conquest and Community: The Afterlife of Warrior Saint Ghazi Miyan

Shahid Amin

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Book

Few topics in South Asian history are as contentious as that of the Turkic conquest of the Indian...

Awix (3310 KP) rated The Yin and the Yang of Mr. Go (1970) in Movies

Dec 9, 2020

'It'll make you think of Dr No!' promises the poster for this almost indescribable comedy-thriller written and directed by Burgess Meredith. It didn't make me think of Dr No: it made me think of what it must be like to take hallucinogenic drugs while suffering from a bad case of the flu. The details of the plot are almost enough to defeat the English language - suffice to say that the key turning point in the story comes when the Buddha (who also narrates the story) uses his mystic powers to turn villainous Chinese-Mexican Mr Go (James Mason - yes, it's James Mason trying to play a Chinese-Mexican) into a benevolent philanthropist.

It's not just that the film is bizarre and incoherent, with plenty of gratuitous nudity, and European actors cheerfully playing Asian characters: it's also that the production values are incredibly primitive. It's almost like watching pornography without the sex (or so I would imagine). Not one element of this film is robust enough to elevate it into 'so bad it's funny' territory. It's just bad. That said, Jeff Bridges made his film debut in it, which presumably goes to show that even the least promising starts can lead to a distinguished career. But even so - for masochists and the troubled only.

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Environmental Communication and Community: Constructive and Destructive Dynamics of Social Transformation

Tarla Rai Peterson, Hanna Ljunggren Bergea, Andrea M. Feldpausch-Parker and Kaisa Raitio

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Book

As society has become increasingly aware of environmental issues, the challenge of structuring...

Bostonian916 (449 KP) rated Ghost in the Shell (2017) in Movies

Sep 2, 2020 (Updated Sep 2, 2020)

Ghost in the Shell (2017)

2017 | Action, Drama, Sci-Fi

6.2

(73 Ratings)

Movie Rating Watch

Ghost in the Shell (this movie) got a ton of vile response when it was announced and released. While the source material differs from this film VERY much, as a standalone movie, Ghost in the Shell is actually quite good.

I'm a big fan and advocate of letting a movie based on anything else (comic book, novel, whatever the case might be) stand as its own entity. Conveniently, this allows me to enjoy a ton of movies that I otherwise wouldn't have been able to. This is a classic example of this mentality in action.

Scarlett Johansson does a fine job in her role, regardless of whether people think she should have ever been cast in what is traditionally an Asian role. She doesn't deserve a lot of the hate that she received. She is doing a job that she is being paid to do. Simple as that, the same way that you and I go to work every day and do things we might not be in love with.

Anyway, if you can get over the disconnection from the source material, Ghost in the Shell is an enjoyable experience. The only way to know is to watch for yourself.