On this day in movie history - The Black Dahlia (2006):

The Black Dahlia

directed by Brian De Palma,

written by Josh Friedman,

based on the novel by James Ellroy,

was released in the United States on September 15, 2006.
Music by Mark Isham.

Cast:

Josh Hartnett, Scarlett Johansson, Aaron Eckhart, Hilary Swank, Mia Kirshner, Mike Starr, Fiona Shaw, Patrick Fischler, James Otis, John Kavanagh, Troy Evans, Anthony Russell, Pepe Serna, Angus MacInnes, Rachel Miner, Victor McGuire, Gregg Henry, Jemima Rooper, Rose McGowan, Dan Ponce, Graham Norris, Mike O'Connell, Michael P. Flannigan, John Solari, Stephanie L. Moore, Noel Arthur, Todd Thomas, Steve Eastin, Ian McNeice, Claudia Katz Minnick, Mia Frye, Richard Brake, William Finley, Joost Scholte, Terrell J. Ramsey, Teo, Kiril Efremov, Petar Milchev, Désirée Cyganek, Brian De Palma, Kevin Dunn, k.d. lang, David Raibon.

On this day in movie history - Lost In Translation (2003):

Lost In Translation

directed and written by Sofia Coppola,

was released in the United States on September 12, 2003.
Music by Kevin Shields, Brian Reitzell and Roger Joseph Manning Jr.

Cast:

Bill Murray, Scarlett Johansson, Giovanni Ribisi, Anna Faris, Fumihiro Hayashi, Catherine Lambert.

On this day in movie history - Lucy (2014):

Lucy,

directed and written by Luc Besson,

was released in the United States on July 25, 2014.
Music by Éric Serra.

Cast:
Scarlett Johansson, Morgan Freeman, Choi Min-sik, Amr Waked, Julian Rhind-Tutt, Pilou Asbæk, Analeigh Tipton, Nicolas Phongpheth.

On this day in movie history - Ghost in the Shell (2017):

Ghost in the Shell,

directed by Rupert Sanders,

written by Jamie Moss, William Wheeler and Ehren Kruger,

based on the Manga comic book series by Masamune Shirow,

was released in the United States on March 31, 2017.
Music by Clint Mansell and Lorne Balfe.

Cast:
Scarlett Johansson, Kaori Yamamoto, "Beat" Takeshi Kitano, Michael Carmen Pitt, Andrew Morris, Pilou Asbæk, Chin Han, Lasarus Ratuere, Juliette Binoche, Peter Ferdinando, Kaori Momoi, Danusia Samal, Anamaria Marinca, Michael Wincott, Yutaka Izumihara, Tawanda Manyimo, Daniel Henshall, Rila Fukushima, Chris Obi, Adwoa Aboah, Pete Teo, Hugh Han.

On this day in movie history - Her (2013):

Her,

directed and written by Spike Jonze,

was released at the New York Film Festival in the United States on October 12, 2013.
Music by Arcade Fire.

Cast:
Joaquin Phoenix, Lynn Adrianna Freedman, Lisa Renee Pitts, Gabe Gomez, Chris Pratt, Artt Butler, May Lindstrom, Rooney Mara, Bill Hader, Kristen Wiig, Brian Johnson, Scarlett Johansson, Amy Adams, Matt Letscher, Spike Jonze, Olivia Wilde, David Azar, Guy Lewis, Melanie Seacat, Pramode Kumar, Evelyn Edwards, Steve Zissis, Dane White, Nicole Grother, James Ozasky, Samantha Sarakanti, Luka Jones, Gracie Prewitt, Claudia Choi, Laura Kai Chen, Portia Doubleday, Soko, Wendy Leon, Lil Buck, Robert Benard, Lisa Cohen, Grant Samson, Brian Cox, Marc Abbink, Leo Baligaya, Joan Blair, Freedom Bridgewater, Kathleen Carr, Seth Carr, Hallie Marie Chaney, Glenda Chism, Lee Christian, Andy Dale, Sandra Daubert, Nico David, Rick L. Dean, Aristotle Dreher, Mathew Dunlop, Shannon Edwards, William Evans, Kim Farris, Belinda Gosbee, Brandon Von Harrison, Alvin Hsing, Cecily Jamelia, Alia Janine, Richard Allan Jones, Jen Kuhn, Patrick Lander, Paul LeClair, Genevieve Levin, Fiona Lincke, Akeem Mair, Carol McFadden, Laura Meadows, Alan Mueting, Rachel Ann Mullins, Se Oh, Brent Picha, Susan Pinckney, Eric Pumphrey, Jeremy Rabb, Laura Rossi, Pamela Roylance, Jane Runnalls, Marian Saastad Ottesen, Kelly Sarah Samuels, Yvette Saunders, Natasha Sims, Cassandra Starr, Austin Steady, Alyson Stover, Marco Tazioli, Wendy Tsang, Hoyte Van Hoytema.

Ghost in the Shell (2017):

I’m a harsh critic when it comes to remakes, especially when I love the original work.

Unless the remake/reimagining has something that adds to it, making it exceptional, I’m a purist to the source material.

I’ve been a fan of Mamoru Oshii’s original Ghost in the Shell ever since I saw it on its release in 1995.

In 2008, he revamped and improved upon the movie with new CGI and released it again as Ghost in the Shell 2.0.

I recommend anyone who appreciates intelligent science fiction stories, especially those, like Blade Runner, that focus on the clash between humans and A.I., to watch Ghost in the Shell 2.0.

For me, the bar was set very high with Rupert Sanders’ live-action version of Ghost in the Shell.

I was pleasantly surprised: I love it!

The original story has been tweaked and characters have been expanded upon, but it’s a minor difference.

This is a faithful retelling, with improvements to character and plot development, an excellent soundtrack, and brilliant effects.

Many of the visuals were shot-for-shot for the original Manga version.

I’ll happily add this one to my movie collection.

I’ll be posting a more in-depth blog on both the anime and live-action versions of Ghost in the Shell at a later date.