My library is getting the Ghost In the Shell second season DVDs. I checked out the first one this past weekend and watched it. It wasn’t too bad. The first four episodes were somewhat disappointing to me, though I think that may have been simply because my expectations are so high after the first season. Still, the villain is a lot more obvious seeming so far this series and the general trend also seems less subtle. I could be wrong, since I’ve only seen four episodes it could be that I’m being fooled, but from the little I’ve read elsewhere this season is more overtly political and moralising than before.
The other movie I saw recently was Brick. This was a darn good movie. It’s rated R for a reason; there is a fair bit of rather bloody violence and some themes and discussion inappropriate for the younger set. But I do not recall much profanity, none of the words that will garner an R rating on their own (or used to, at any rate) unless they were whispered. (The speakers weren’t very good when I watched it.) The best I can do to describe the plot is that it all takes place in a high school context and the main character is contacted by an ex-girlfriend (for whom he still carries a torch) who asks for his help. She isn’t able to tell him why she needs help and so the rest of the movie is his attempt to figure out what’s going on and do something about it. If I tell you more than that, I’ll give too much away. Do yourself a favor and don’t go looking for longer plot descriptions and spoilers elsewhere, you’ll enjoy the movie so much more not knowing what’s going to happen next. You’ll probably be able to figure some of it out before it happens, but for me that didn’t detract from the enjoyment. The movie has the snappy dialogue that I love which is reminiscent of Raymond Chandler mysteries and Bogart films. Parts of the movie are a bit corny, but it really is consistent with kids, high-schoolers, trying to act like adults. It’s a bit silly, but when high school kids try to act hard boiled, that’s what happens.
Neh 