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Reviews
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (2024)
Disappointing but Still Fun
Admittedly, I found this film more enjoyable simply because I am a die hard fan of Ghostbusters. That being said, I still think this is not a bad film to see in theaters. It just feels like it could have been much better.
The Good Stuff
The film has several strong points. For one, it really makes you feel as if you are inside of the firehouse. It transports the audience from floor to floor, showing you new areas and also showing you how the firehouse is connected- which is cool if you're a GB nerd.
Frozen Empire is also fairly good at creating a "lived in" world feel of a Ghostbusters New York. I didn't necessarily mind the brief cameos of returning characters. I know some will say they only function as nostalgia bait (which yeah- that's a bit true) , but I also think they provide the sense that the Ghostbusters have a history in this version of New York- and it oddly gave a nice sense of escapism.
Also, I have to say that the old cast (especially Dan Aykroyd and Ernie Hudson) really shine in this film. Despite the fact that they are all up there in age, they injected a life and spirit to the story that at times felt sorely lacking when they weren't there.
The Plot
I found that the plot is where this film really struggles. Much of this can be attributed to the ridiculous number of characters it boasts. On top of almost all of the original characters from Afterlife returning, we have several new characters unique to this film as well as much larger roles for members of the original cast. I liked certain characters from Afterlife, but the ways they're shoe horned into the film really make you wonder why they have to be in this particular story. At the very least it would have made more sense for Winston to have created a "Junior" Ghostbusters summer internship ( for all of them) as opposed to the various ways these characters come to New York City.
The sheer number of characters creates a lot of subplots - many of which fell quite flat for me. Despite the fact that it starts with a car chase through New York, the film feels like it's clearing its throat for the majority of its 2 hour run time rather than hitting its stride.
The editing of this film ( basically all of the various subplots put together) gave me the feeling that I was watching a loose collection of scenes that were pasted together- almost as if different versions of the script were put together to make this final version. The leads to a tonally inconsistent feeling. Frozen Empire often feels like it's veering from The Real Ghostbusters cartoon to Twilight to quirky Marvel-esque kind of humor. I hate to say, but I think a lot of the jokes in Frozen Empire fell flat because of this.
The Sense of Realism
Though it was admittedly a story about scientists catching ghosts, the original Ghostbusters had a sense of realism to ground it just enough . You felt that they were starting this fantastical business in the real world.
This film at times is more reflective of the Real Ghostbusters cartoon and Ghostbusters 2 as opposed to the original. There are certain events that happen early on in this film that detract from the more grounded tone of Afterlife and the original. I want to be perfectly clear that I am referring to the human side of events and not ghosts.
Essentially, there are a number of pretty blatant plot contrivances that hurt the film. I know the audience for this will be children, but I found certain things just blatantly didn't make sense as to how they were able to happen- and made the world seem inconsistent.
The Ending (NO SPOILERS just what ifs)
Okay, so again, NO SPOILERS will be included in this section. The ending felt underwhelming. To be vague, certain things happen that have happened before- and I felt like the story doesn't do enough to make me see why this time it would be much worse. Plus, I personally think we should have gotten to the frozen-ness side of things much earlier on in the script. Instead we get very little of the big bad, and two contrived ( well what if we do this?) solutions that kind of feel like the writers pulled them out of their arse as opposed to their arsenal.
It would have been neat to see the GB team split up into groups to traverse a frozen, paranormal New York City- teaming up together to fight the big bad at the end.
Sadly that didn't happen.
Final Conclusion
I would really like to say more about this movie, but I want to avoid spoilers. Despite my complaining, I still enjoyed it and hope Jason Reitman is able to make one more. It would be nice if he directed a third film instead of Gil Kenan.
This film's main weakness is that it felt like it could have been so much more than what was released. Even with an almost 2 hour run time, there is often too much happening and a serious lack of cohesion. I would hope that a third film could be a lot tighter and have less characters- even if that meant we don't see some of our friends from Afterlife the next time around.
The Call (2020)
Uneven at Best
This film has an interesting concept. Taking the old urban legend of the phone inside the tomb and mixing it with a supernatural teen slasher gives the story potential. Unfortunately, potential is all the it has.
Acting wise, performances go from being uneven (some of the teen cast have good moments at the end) to amateur for the entire film. Lin Shaye and Tobin Bell are the experienced anchors of this film. They both provide performances that are far better than the script warrants. In my opinion, they both make the film watchable.
Storywise, this film (much like the acting and everything else I will cover) is also uneven. Parts of the film are intriguing and got me excited to see what would happen next. There are a few good twists to the plot and to the main character which provide glimmers of what the film could have been. However, the writing would then either get too clever or just crash into boring absurdity that dragged back into the land of "Idon'tcaredom". I will go more into the ending at the end of my review.
Cinematography in this film has some very cool framing and camera movement. I especially liked the frame of However, the choice of that weird, muddy tungsten lighting for memories and nightmare portions felt overused and didn't look good most of the time. I know it's a horror film but I felt that it dragged the film into feeling low budget. That being said I really liked the silhouette shot of Chris and Bret's father standing with the chains behind him. So sometimes the lighting worked.
I also feel that the lighting and color grade were too contrasty- even for a horror film. There are also times where characters have greens or blues that appear to be motivated by ambient light- but really just looks bad- and not in a "good bad" kind of way (in my opinion). Perhaps this could have been the tv I was watching it on. However, it's my main display and no other films look like this- so I'm chalking it up to choice or skill. In the end, it felt like less color and contrast would have helped the look of this film.
Overall, this movie felt like it had budget problems. The ending felt abrupt and didn't really make sense to me given the appearance of the main character's step sister/girlfriend ghost to save him. His defeat by the big bad made that event feel pointless. Certain moments felt rushed and amateurish while others felt cool and well shot. If you're bored and want to watch Lin Shaye be creepy then I recommend. If you're not bored and think Lin Shaye might give you cooties then stay away. STAAAAY AWAAAYYY!
That '90s Show (2023)
Needs a Second Season
I think most people are tired of reboots and spiritual sequels. As much as we love to wonder about what happened to our main characters down the road- sometimes it's better to let them ride off into the sunset.
Then there's, "That 90's Show", the follow up to , "That 70's Show" (we're gonna ignore That 80's show ). The show catches up with our main characters Eric and Donna and then passes the baton to their daughter Leia, who is now spending the summer at her grandparents' house in Point Place, Wisconsin.
At its best, the show demonstrates how talented and well cast "That 70's Show" was. All the returning cast slip right back into their roles. At least for me, they all seemed to be having a good time catching up with characters we haven's seen in 16 years (feel old?)
Debra Jo Rupp and Kurtwood Smith are just great together. They really are like the parents of the show, as their excellent chemistry and experience gives the show some much needed stability (especially in the early episodes).
The new cast is well...I think they need time. They definitely feel younger than their predecessors were 22 years ago. They can be cringey at times and just don't feel like they have the same chemistry (yet) that the original cast had. That being said, I think Callie Haverda and Ashley Aufderheide really fit in to this established world as Leia and Gwen.
Things I liked about the show were Eric and Donna embracing life as one of the "upstairs people". I also enjoyed Leia's character arc of learning how to have friends.
I do think we need more of the original cast for next season. Honestly, they work so well together. When they're on screen it doesn't feel as if 16 years have passed. I do hope that the new cast begins to gel as the actors and writers discover who these characters are.
The Black Phone (2021)
More Like This
I gave this film an 8/10. If this were a few years ago I would have given it a 7/10. Why the overrating? Because there are a dearth of films with decent writing and character arcs. This film, with its plot holes and all, has several characters that actually have true , realistic arcs. From the main character who has to learn to stand up for himself to his father who struggles to love his children while dealing with guilt from his past, it was nice to see that on screen.
The performances were pretty strong across the board. Ethan Hawke was fun to watch, especially since much of his acting is done behind a mask. The child actors are all fairly strong. They actually made me think of the stories my siblings (all who grew up during the 1970's) would tell me about their wars with the neighborhood bullies. Yes, they're foul mouthed kids from the rough side of the tracks.
Surprisingly, the film touches a lot on the faith, love and redemption of imperfect people. It might not blow your socks off, but I found this story and its characters to have a lot of heart.
Minus the unique element of the film's namesake, the plot unfolds fairly straightforward. Could there have been more to it? Possibly. Did the team actually have the money to do that? Given the lack of locations I'm guessing not. Overall I thought it was fun , solid film. I hope we can have more films in all genres that have the heart I felt this film had.
Ju-on: Origins (2020)
Pay Attention! --And You'll Enjoy
I admittedly started this series expecting to be quite disappointed. However, I'm pleasantly surprised to say this series was quite well done and very much tonally in step with the original Ju-On.
Origins explores "the original" house that inspired the Ju-On films. Its important to not lose track of that, as Kayako is not going to death rattle her way down the stairs.
The cool thing about this move is that it frees the writers from the canon of the original films while allowing them to give homages to them when they please. By not being a formal prequel, they're not saddled with any origin story (barf!) or universe building (double barf!) to set up the world of the films. You can feel the fresh air this series puts into the franchise as a result.
Now, without spoiling anything, you're definitely going to want to pay attention. This isn't a show you can tune out of and expect to know exactly what's happening when you come back. The story takes place between 1988-1997. Events are intertwined, characters change appearance as the years pass and new characters come into the fold-often indirectly at first before being drawn in to the main plot. This is also combined with mind bending merges in space/time.
As I mentioned earlier, the most refreshing aspect of the show is being free of Kayako and all the canon of the films. Though we get a new "grudge", the writers elevate the house itself as a nebulously evil place, where anything can happen. Its evil seems to follow characters into oppressive lives, turning many of them into increasingly wretched, desperate people.
The most disturbing scenes and "kills" in the story are not in the house at all- but are seemingly extensions of the curse of which the house gleefully absorbs into its tragic history.
Overall, this was a highly enjoyable miniseries for old and new fans alike.
Dashcam (2021)
Yikes...
Ya know...there has been a lot of division in the past few years over a certain global event. Regardless of your opinions on the way it should have been and is being handled- the main character is supremely obnoxious.
I'm not sure if she was meant to be a stereotype of people with certain opinions on said global situation..or just an idea for a kind of contemporary antiheroine.
Nevertheless, sheesh- no sympathy for this person whatsoever. It has nothing to do with the character's political beliefs.
Having lived overseas for many years I have come across "that" type of American. But she surpasses any of them. She doesn't feel all that real.
Great stories have characters you can identify with and root for. You may not always agree with them, but you see their humanity. For a main character (even low budget horror) , she doesn't have a lot of depth. It makes the movie incredibly difficult to get through. In fact, this film could be a lesson on how every minute in a film counts- as the first fifteen minutes of Dashcam made me really not care to watch the adventure the main character was going to embark upon.
I think one interesting element of this movie is the constant stream of comments in the live chat. Whether the filmmakers intended to do so or not ,it really made me think about the state of our culture, as many people commented on the ultra violence like it was entertainment, or questioning whether it was real at all.
Without blowing anything, the story does get really insane. It is really a Hardcore Henry of found footage horror. I would have liked this film a lot more if the main character were toned downed 800%.