Review of Ghost in the Shell (1995) by Michael W — 13 Feb 2014

Haven't seen this in about a decade and it's even better than I remembered. I've long maintained that Oshii topped himself with the sequel, but on closer inspection they are just about equal.

I love the melancholic mood and the quiet atmosphere offset by the completely badass action sequences. The only real problem is that it's too short: the Puppet Master isn't really setup very well and the denouement arrives abruptly.

This is also true of the Patlabor movies, but in this case Oshii's direction compensates entirely for any deficiencies in the script.