Appleseed: Ex Machina (2007)

When they say they made this sequel “even better” than the first film, what they really mean is they added more action scenes and stripped it of the visual element that made it unique in the first place; it's as bland as every other shitty CGI film ever made. It's a slick disappointment.

2½ synchronised tickers out of 5

Appleseed (2004)

A Japanese animation with a unique visual flair that’s CGI motion capture but respectful to cel animation colouring methods, and also faithful to traditional Japanese styles. It's hard to describe in words. It’s much too polished at times but it’s undeniably beautiful to look at.
It attempts to inject some emotion into a typically exposition-heavy Masamune Shirow narrative about future societies and what it is that makes us human, and occasionally it succeeds.

3½ sins of humanity out of 5

Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex: The Laughing Man (2007)

A 154 minute edit culled from 300+ minutes of 'Complex' episodes of the first SAC series (for a fuller explanation of that see HERE). It keeps the action but losses much of the philosophical underpinnings.
A new dub replaces the usual cast. It wasn't as bad as I’d feared, except for Batou who was lifeless and limp, rendering the character emotionally vacant; his unspoken feelings were almost completely excised.
Had this been the Laughing Man episodes collected without cuts, retaining the regular cast, it would've scored a perfect 5 out of 5. Instead, it stumbles over the line with a half-assed insult on its lips.
I can’t recommend it as a substitute for the series. For existing fans, there's a new Tachikomatic Days episode. It’s the only part of real interest.

1½ deaf-mutes out of 5

Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence (2004)

I'm limited in what I can say because it'll be mostly spoiler, so I'll stick to basics: Section 9 members Batou and Togusa are assigned to investigate a series of  murders perpetrated by gynoids. The investigation opens doors to a great deal of spiralling philosophy and ruminations on the nature of humanity.

Animation and character movement are superb, with backgrounds even more detailed than before. The plot is at times mind-bending and at other times simple and understatedly heartfelt. It's not passive viewing, so you'll need to engage and question what you're given if you want to get the most from it.

4 cyborg sluts out of 5

Ghost in the Shell 2.0 (2008)

2.0 is NOT Ghost in the Shell part two, for that see here. It's the first film given some digital jiggery-pokery. The original score was re-recorded. The English language dub updated. Colours were changed to more closely match the sequel and in so doing eliminated some subtle animation and changed the symbolism near the end. Finally, as if they hadn't abused it enough, they added some really shitty CGI. Really shitty!
The blu-ray of 2.0 contains both versions, but the original film is bad quality; for a better encode of it stick with the old DVD edition, not this.

3 'fixes' that don't out of 5

Ghost in the Shell (1995)

William Gibson popularised cyberspace and over a decade later the combined efforts of Masamune Shirow and Mamoru Oshii made it kick mainstream ass.
The pacing is a little clunky at times, but you may be too busy trying to wrap your head around the concepts on your first viewing to really care.
It’s intelligent, sexy, slick and influential; a good place to start if you’re new to anime. The dub occasionally contradicts the subs, so a viewing of both is recommended until you settle on a personal preference.

5 ghost hacks before breakfast out of 5