It can be difficult writing reviews when you watch far too many films in a row. That’s where Mini-kickers come in. Little bite-sized reviews from the laziest man in the movie blogging universe. The theme this time is films based on existing characters and universes. Wow, all this stretching is starting to get painful.
Ghost in the Shell (2017)
My love of Scarlett Johansson is no secret. Sometimes I even spell her name correctly. Which makes it feel like I’m cheating on her when I say Ghost in the Shell is kind of crap. It’s based on the superior manga and anime but this time it’s live action. Scarlett is a sexy robot uncovering a deadly plot by the huge robotics company in futuristic Tokyo. The effects are spectacular but there’s a strange lifeless-ness to the whole thing. Like a robot! (my analogies need more work). Sorry Scarlett! Watch the original instead.
4/10
The Void (2016)
The Void is a crowd-funded cosmic horror film set in a beseiged hospital. Clearly inspired by John Carpenter classics such as The Thing and Prince of Darkness it’s actually really good. I’m a huge fanboy of the writing of H. P Lovecraft and The Void is one of the best interpretations of his crazy mythology. The acting from lead actor Aaron Poole is excellent, there are mad cultists and practical monster effects and I was gripped. Check it out.
7/10
Kong: Skull Island (2017)
Let’s get this straight, Peter Jackson’s King Kong film was a load of monkey shit. It had terrible special effects, boring characters, and was far far far too long. In contrast Kong: Skull Island is great fun. The CGI is spectacular, it’d full of action, and at one point Samuel’s L. Jackson stares down King fucking Kong. The cast are great particularly John C. Reilly as a WW2 pilot stranded on Skull island for thirty years, and Tom Hiddleston as the hero of the piece. Kong: Skull Island is a thrilling throwback to those classic Ray Harryhausen monster flicks. A pleasant surprise.
8/10
All these films are available somewhere. Have you seen any of them? Are you reading this Scarlett? Come back to me, I didn’t mean to trash your film!
Screenkicker! 
I am thrilled to see Kong Skull Island more after reading this review. I’m starting to think Ghost in The Shell belongs in the same ScarJo as an Alien universe with titles such as Lucy, Her, and Under The Skin
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Dang, I love ScarJo as well and I’m a massive fan of the Ghost in the Shell animes but all the sour reviews put me off seeing the live action version on the big screen – I’ll probably still rent it though. Kong was enjoyable but pretty dumb, a shame considering the casting but it certainly delivered in terms of the action.
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I had to copy and paste Scarlett Johansson to make sure I had the surname right – what is up with celebrities and impossible surnames? I like her as well, but even from the trailer of Ghost In A shell I could see it looked like BS.
I really enjoyed Kong: Skull Island. Tom Hiddleston looks so good when his hair isn’t dyed black and he isn’t wearing golden horns, and I really like Brie Larson as well.
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Mike! Where are you? Can’t find you on Twitter. Hope all is well with you. I’ve not seen any of these films, so… I guess I have no further comment. 🙂 I’ll watch Ghost in the Shell at some point (love the original).
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