 The previous 'Sonic' film took me some time to really warm up to, but it has since become something I enjoy. I originally had my hang-ups about adapting a famous property into yet another "fish-out-of-water" story like, 'Smurfs,' or 'Masters of the Universe,' in which our hero's extraordinary home world is left behind to spend the majority of the film on Earth, trying to get back. 'Sonic' did this as well, but at the very least, things weren't as simple as that basic plotline idea. Plus, we had the resurrection of Jim Carrey.
However, there may be a bias here with me and the 'Sonic' franchise because these games were a significant part of my childhood. If these movies had been released in the early '90s, when Carrey and the Sonic franchise were both in their prime, and I was still young, I'd have loved them and probably made them favourites among titles that still sit close to my heart today, like 'Ghostbusters' and 'Ninja Turtles.' But alas, we weren't even at 'Toy Story' yet, as far as CG animation goes, so here we are. The nostalgia particularly pops for me with this sequel, as it introduces the likes of both Tails (Colleen O'Shaughnessey) and Knuckles (Idris Elba), whom I remember fondly from a couple of my games, particularly, 'Sonic Triple Trouble,' which I was addicted to. But I'm getting ahead of myself. The sequel, here, picks up eight months after the first film's events. Robotnik (Jim Carrey) has been banished to a Mushroom Planet, and Sonic (Ben Schwartz) is living the good life with Tom (James Marsden) and Maddie Wachowski (Tika Sumpter). However, Sonic becomes easily bored and, with his super-speed powers, acts as a vigilante hero for the town of Green Hills, Montana. This leads to an "Uncle Ben" moment from Tom, who tells Sonic to be patient and responsible with his powers after Sonic pretty much tears up a city block. Eventually, Tom and Maddie depart for Maddie's sister's wedding in Hawaii, thanks to one of Sonic's incredibly handy Warp Rings (I gotta get some of those). Of course, Sonic goes hog-wild with the house to himself, but he has no idea what's coming. Sonic's "party" is soon disrupted by Doctor Robotnik and his new "friend," Knuckles, the Echidna, who has a hilarious "Drax"-like personality. Both are out for revenge; Robotnik's is obvious. Knuckles wants to honour his extinct Echidna tribe by finding the legendary Master Emerald, allowing whoever possesses it to bend reality to their will. Of course, once Robotnik gets hold of this information, he starts a scheme of his own, along with his old assistant, Stone (Lee Majdoub), to help Knuckles find the Emerald and steal it from him. Sonic's only real help is from a kid who idolizes him: a two-tailed fox named Miles "Tails" Prower. Miles Prower is a fun play on words here and even a part of the character's original history, showing that the writers here did at least a little homework. And that's what I do enjoy about these movies. Most of the time, if there's something out of place about the film as far as an adaptation goes, I do a little of my homework and usually realize the movie is pretty accurate. They're also not shy about the design of things. For example, here, we see Robotnik floating around in a big half-ball machine straight out of the games. While these films give me a certain sense of nostalgia, as so much about them is very '90s, I can't deny there was a thing or two that irked me here. The cliche of dancing to get out of a sticky situation at a rough and tumble bar is in here, for example, feeling a lot like filler. Also, like its predecessor, the jokes and gags are very "Dad." But I can't just sit here and point out everything I don't like about it. The film is meant for a younger audience; it's harmless, and again, I can't deny that the child within me sees the appeal. I'll say again: I'd have loved these as a kid. 3/5
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 Through and through, I consider myself a Mario Man. But there was something special I couldn't deny about those 'Sonic' games I had for my Sega Game Gear. I didn't even go for much else when equipping my Game Gear with fun because I always knew I'd have fun with 'Sonic' games and their "Blast Processing" (which gave Sonic his incredible speed). It sure beat putting around in the OG 'Mario Kart,' and to put a cherry on top of it all, those 'Sonic' games had some amazing, catchy soundtracks.
Two animated series came out to add to the fun of the 'Sonic' games. They ran parallel, but one show was far better than the other. 'The Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog' was far more cartoonish, kid-friendly, and had several uncomfortable PSAs. The other, 'Sonic the Hedgehog,' provided an overarching story featuring characters who didn't exist in the games and told an environmentally conscious story without rubbing it in our faces. It was great! A Sonic movie should always have come from that concept for my money. But we got this instead, which many people still love. We start on Sonic's (Ben Schwartz) home planet, where he was born with super speed powers, and the land's native echidnas are constantly chasing him down for said powers. In his childhood, he was protected by an Owl named Longclaw (Donna Jay Fulks), who, as far as I can tell, is brand new here. That might irk some, but the cartoon I loved did the same thing, so it wasn't a big deal for me. During one such chase, Longclaw uses a "Warp Ring" to send him through a portal to Earth so he can stay protected, sending a bag of rings with him. On Earth, Sonic grows up as a cryptid, often called the "Blue Devil." He suggests that he's living the good life, but this life of hiding has him lonely. As a result, Sonic throws a tantrum that causes a power outage throughout the quaint little town of Green Hills, Montana. Knowing he caused the blackout, Sonic tries hiding in Tom Wachowski's (James Marsden) garage, where he can get off Earth using one of his rings, away from the people who will now be looking for him. But when Tom busts in to discover Sonic, a mishap with the Warp Rings occurs, sending Sonic's rings through a Warp Hole to San Francisco. The loss of Sonic's rings sends him and Tom on a road trip to San Francisco to retrieve them. Why doesn't Sonic zoom over and grab them himself? He has no idea where San Francisco is or how to get there. In the meantime, the massive blackout Sonic caused has the government bring in Doctor Robotnik (Jim Carrey in what is arguably his resurrection), who eventually discovers Sonic is the source and could very well have the ability to supercharge his machines. Hence, their rivalry begins. The film all comes down to being a road trip chase movie, complete with Easter eggs for fans like me. The fact that it takes place in "Green Hills" is only the tip of the iceberg. There are relatively obscure references, too, like the "Mean Bean Machine," which is just a coffeemaker in the film. You even get to hear a bit of that classic Green Hills Zone music (if you know any music from the game, it's probably that theme). So, this is a pretty good choice for a movie that will appeal to the Genesis/Game Gear generation and kids who may be brand new to the 'Sonic' franchise. I wasn't as sure about the quality of this film the first time I saw it, but I have to admit that it has grown on me over time. With the help of Jim Carrey's comedic timing and showing us a lot of game familiarity, I credit the film for successfully executing the "fish-out-of-water" cliche. It's not just "Sonic on Earth". They do something with it, making him a cryptid and having him meet his arch-nemesis on Earth instead of someone just following through a portal. It's not quite the movie I wanted initially, but I'll be damned if I can't give this movie a bit of real kudos for doing a video game movie, perhaps not perfectly, but damn well. 4/5  Perhaps it was my trip to Hawaii over New Years Eve, 2012-2013 that really did it, but as far as more modern Disney animation goes, I have to say that 'Moana' is a film that absolutely stays on top for me. It's a great story that delves into a bit of Polynesian culture, full of cool, original ideas, catchy music, beautiful visuals, and some solid comedy. There are a few titles out there that I can watch that will make me want to revisit those breathtaking Hawaiian islands, and 'Moana' is one of them.
It's my understanding that the film doesn't exactly nail it when it comes to Polynesian culture and folklore, but as a "tourist," I can say that 'Moana' certainly conveys the overall spirit of what I experienced in Hawaii. Some of the folklore consists of demi-gods like Maui (Dwayne Johnson), some of it is derived from stories about islands being living beings, and some of the Polynesian langauge and style is evident in the songs that are sung, namely one called "We Know the Way," presenting us with voyagers, searching for new lands. With all of that said, one should probably know that all locations within the film are fictional, starting with the island of Motunui, where a young Moana sneaks off to have a look at the ocean. While there, she adorably helps a baby sea turtle make it to the water, while birds are trying to get at it. With this, the ocean presents itself to Moana as a sort of living being, and chooses her to one day return the Heart of Te Fiti to its rightful place, and restore nature to the way its meant to be. The backstory to Te Fiti; a living island, and goddess of nature, was that the shape-shifting demigod, the aforementioned Maui, stole the Heart (a pounamu stone) as a means to gift humanity with the power of creation. As a result of this, Te Fiti disintegrates, and a volcanic monster named Te Kā attacks Maui. As they clash, Maui loses his fish hook, which empowers him, and the Heart sinks to the depths of the ocean. Maui is also banished to a deserted island, where he spends the next thousand years or so. Back to Moana (Auli'i Cravalho), she eventually grows up, and is meant to become the next Chief of Motunui. This means a lot of the relatively typical coddling from her parents, Tui (Temuera Morrison) and Sina (Nicole Scherzinger), who try to keep Moana away from the ocean, and never to cross the reef, where the ocean is apparently incredibly unforgiving. But one day, when blight strikes the island, Moana's Gramma Tala (Rachel House) reminds her that the Ocean chose her to restore the Heart of Te Fiti. So, Moana sets out on her adventure, despite her overbearing parents (father, mainly). As Moana sets off on her journey, a local chicken named Hei-Hei (Alan Tudyk) stows away, and provides a lot of the film's visual comedy, as this bird isn't quite right in the head. Of course, she also eventually meets Maui, whom she needs all the help she can get from. However, as a demigod, he's a bit reluctant to help, and all he really wants is off his island so he can go find his fish hook. Little does he realize that through helping Moana, he has to earn it - and the ocean is sure to remind him at every turn. As the rest of the film unfolds, one of the best credits I can give it is the absolutely beautiful animation, which has a range of variety to it, as seen in the song 'You're Welcome,' on Maui's tattoos, and the film's opening. On top of that, I'd say most of the songs are catchy, the characters are likeable, and I truly appreciate the imagination that went into the storytelling here. It may not be what I see as perfection, but its imperfections are few and far between enough that this is something I can sit back and truly enjoy when the mood strikes me. 4/5  What can be said about my relationship with the original 'Beetlejuice'? The film came out when I was just five years old, and oddly enough, my only memory of it being in theatres was walking by the movie poster for it and pointing out the girl with the crazy hair (Lydia). In the meantime, over the next few years, I would tune into the animated series, which I kinda ate up at the time. It could be said that I was very much into the strange and unusual, because I, myself, am strange and unusual. Shows like this helped fuel my imagination, and I loved it!
It wasn't until I was maybe about 7 or 8 that I finally got to see the movie at a friend's house, and it ended up being a fun comedy with elements of horror that allowed me to dip my toes into the horror genre ever-so-slightly. Other movies provided this for me like 'Gremlins' or, my all-time fave, 'Ghostbusters', but I never did reach the point of being able to enjoy all-out horror like my peers could because a lot of imagery just stuck with me, and I could scare pretty easily. But not only were movies like this fine for me, they helped shape me! I can actually credit 'Beetlejuice' here in many of the same ways I can credit 'Ghostbusters'. It helped ease me into scary stuff by making it more fun, it was something I could watch again and again, and keep finding new things to appreciate about it, and even helped with my love of Halloween - I even dressed up as Beetlejuice in fourth grade. And for those wondering about my greater love of 'Ghostbusters', I was Egon when I was 5, so it was covered. But, getting back to the point, this was always a title I've held close to my heart. Just for a quick plot summary, the film involves married couple, Adam (Alec Baldwin) and Barbara (Geena Davis) Maitland who find themselves the victims of a nasty car wreck. Upon returning to their beautiful, big, country home, the couple realize they've died, but haven't passed to the other side. Meanwhile, the Deetz family; Charles (Jeffrey Jones), his second wife, Delia (Catherine O'Hara) and Charles' daughter, Lydia (Winona Ryder) move into the now abandoned home, much to the Maitlands' dismay. The game soon becomes one of trying to scare the family enough to leave, but as nothing they do seems to be working, they ask for help from a freelance "bio-exorcist" named Betelgeuse (Michael Keaton - the title name comes from a game of charades within the movie). It's not long before things get completely out of hand once the "juice is loose," and the Maitlands start to have a change of heart once realizing how twisted Betelgeuse can be, and after befriending Lydia, who can actually see them, unlike everyone else. I would strongly consider this to be a movie of acquired tastes, though, and can't recommend it to just anyone. I have a soft spot for it due to it being very influential to my tastes growing up; I like when movies think outside the box, my love of horror comedy and giving a film a certain style. I'd even go so far as to say this might be THE best example of a Tim Burton original that shows you what he's all about, because there's a little bit of everything you'd expect from him here. But if you're not really a Burton fan, it might not work out. To this day, I still have a certain admiration for this film, although it doesn't hit quite as much as it used to. Regardless of how one may feel about it, though, one has to admit that there's something to be said about the overall originality of this movie, and I might even argue its contribution to goth style (thanks to Lydia) before goth really became a thing, circa the late 90s. It may not be for everyone, but for me, despite a dip in how entertained I am by it today, it still means a lot to me in a certain nostalgic way. 4/5  Now that both Godzilla and Kong have been established as two decent introductions to the MonsterVerse, the time has come to expand on it. I find this one to be a fairly interesting chapter of the whole thing, as whether one likes or dislikes it is all pretty much predicated on the same thing; that being what could be considered too many monsters contained in one movie. Here, we get our main players, Godzilla and "Monster Zero" (later named Ghidora), but it also brings in Mothra and Rodan.
Without getting too much into spoiler territory, the extra two monsters serve a purpose, but some may feel like they went too familiar too soon. Basically, when it comes to these classic movie monsters, along with King Kong, these are the four you've probably heard of. In some ways, it can feel like overexposure. However, I will say that if you can watch this as if it was a monster-sized WWE tag team match, the last chunk of this movie is a pretty damn awesome bit of action-packed eye candy. Just to give an idea of a timeline here, just remember that 'Kong: Skull Island' takes place in 1973, and thus represents the first chronological story of the series. 'Godzilla' starts us off in 2014 (present-day at the time), and this picks things back up five years after the big showdown between Godzilla and the unnamed MUTOs (Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organism), so things have progressed in real-time since the first film, and here we are in 2019 where seventeen MUTOs have since been identified and studied by monster-studying organization, Monarch who now refer to them as "Titans". Mothra is almost immediately introduced, being studied by a team that includes paleobiologist, Dr. Emma Russell (Vera Farmiga) and her daughter, Madison (Millie Bobby Brown). Mothra, in her larva state, is all pissed off and needs calming down, and with that, we are introduced to a device Emma has been working on called ORCA; a device that uses certain frequencies in order to call or communicate with the Titans. Soon, a group of eco-terrorists attack the facility, led by Alan Jonah (Charles Dance), a former British Army colonel. His team kidnaps the mother/daughter pair, cause Mothra to flee, and steal the ORCA device for themselves. Meanwhile, some of our Monarch stars from the first film return, namely Dr. Ishirō Serizawa (Ken Watanabe) and Vivienne Graham (Sally Hawkins) along with newcomer, Sam Coleman (Thomas Middleditch). They learn about the disappearance of Emma and Madison, and approach Emma's ex-husband and Madison's father, Dr. Mark Russell (Kyle Chandler), to help find them. Eventually, it all comes together in Antarctica, where the eco-terrorists plan is to unleash the frozen "Monster Zero", and other Titans (that go as far as Rodan) to restore natural order to the Earth after mankind has destroyed it. I do appreciate how there seems to be three different arguments for the whole Titan situation. The eco-terrorists think they're doing the world a favour by letting monsters take over humanity; various members of Monarch think that mankind has to find a way to adapt and coexist with the Titans to survive; and the majority seem simply say "kill 'em all." To some degree, things can feel a bit "tree-huggy", and the environmental message is pretty heavy-handed. I also find Madison to be largely one of those "in-the-way" characters and often irksome in her actions. Although, its her mother's speech about the environment that might make one roll their eyes. So, what about Rodan? He shows up, but he's also kinda crowbarred in there and largely more for appearance than plot. Let's just say on a chess board, he'd act as a pawn. Having said that, however, like I've said before, whether you like this or not is all gonna come from what you're looking for. If you want a really good story with really likable characters and solid dialogue, you won't necessarily find that here. But if you wanna watch some really awesome moster fights with a bag of popcorn at your side, it's fine! It reminds me a bit of the first one with its pacing, but the familiarity with the monsters here, I daresay, make it a bit more fun if just a bit overcrowded to some nitpicking degree. 3/5  Shortly after the successful release of 'Godzilla' in 2014, it was announced that Kong was gonna be brought into the picture, and the "MonsterVerse" was going to be put into motion. Once again, they did it right by introducing Godzilla in one movie, Kong in the next, and developing things from there. Growing up, I was always a little more partial to Kong as a bit more of a sympathetic monster, so when I heard this was happening, I was pretty excited for it, and thankfully, it was far from disappointing.
For this one, we go back to 1973 where new technology has been developed to capture imagery of areas of the world that have yet been unexplored. This unveils the mysterious-looking Skull Island, which until had only been a myth up to that point. This leads the head of Monarch (the organization mentioned in the 'Godzilla' review who study giant creatures), Bill Randa (John Goodman) to gather a team of professionals to head to the island with him in an attempt to study whatever primeval creatures may be on the island; an island said to be lost in time, and altogether prehistoric in nature. For an experienced escort to get through dangerous conditions in order to get to Skull Island for this mission, Randa's recruits Vietnam soldiers, Lieutenant Colonel Preston Packard (Samuel L. Jackson), his subordinates, Major Jack Chapman (Toby Kebbell) and Captain Earl Cole (Shea Whigham), and his other "Sky Devils", Reg Slivko (Thomas Mann), Glenn Mills (Jason Mitchell) and Joe Reles (Eugene Cordero). In several ways, these guys provide the big bad "mankind" enemy of the film, but I'd probably also argue that, aside from Kong, himself, they are the more entertaining aspect of the film. Further experts recruited to the team include former British Special Air Service Captain James Conrad (Tom Hiddleston), who's also an expert at tracking, and photographer, Mason Weaver (Brie Larson) who's main reason for being here is to represent the "beauty" that Kong is able to see as mankind's innocence, and be almost annoying with how many pictures she takes throughout the film. Perhaps a bit harsh, but there are scenes where she's in real danger and totally camera-ready. I don't mind Brie Larson, but this has to be one of her more mediocre roles when all said and done. Upon their arrival, Packard's men drop seismic charges to map out the island, which eventually flushes out Kong, and results in a devastating (but cool to look at) attack on the team, ultimately separating them all from each other. From there, the motives vary as Packard wants to set his men up for revenge as well as a mission to get their men back, while Conrad and Weaver along with a few others stumble on the locals, and surprise World War II survivor, Hank Marlow (John C. Reilley) who has been trapped there for a couple of decades. Their main forcus is more about just surviving and getting off the island. Really, the only big tie-in with 'Godzilla' ('14) here is the idea of Monarch, which also plays into a pretty cool post-credit scene in which we see a bit more of an 'Avengers'-like tease for what's to come (seemingly appropriate, considering how many 'Avengers' characters are in this). Otherwise, as a stand-alone, it makes for a pretty great survival adventure, reminscent of something like 'Jurassic Park', but with bigger, badder monsters and some pretty awesome fight scenes involving said monsters, paving the way for an eventual 'Godzilla vs. Kong', and every single one of us knew it. Despite a little bit of rough acting, and cheesy dialogue throughout the film, I'm hard-pressed not to like it. There's a lot of CG in here that one may or may not take with a grain of salt, but I'd suggest that in order to appreciate the film, one has to lean into the action/adventure involved in the story to get the right effect. At the end of the day, Kong, like Godzilla, is here for some decent quality, albeit cheesy, box office adventure, and both movies pretty much live up to that. I'm just glad that there's much more Kong here, along with several other creative creatures as opposed to Godzilla's lack of appearance in his own movie. 4/5  This was one of those movies that came along and made me fully realize how incredibly loyal its fan base is, unless we're talking about the 2016 version, which provided, shall we say, mixed emotions. But at the end of the day, I consider it non-canonical, a fair attempt at a re-imagining, but still not my Ghostbusters. Nevertheless, upon its release, critics weren't big on it, but fans (including myself) enjoyed it for what it was. This kind of establishes that 'Ghostbusters' movies are far more fan-driven projects, and to some degree, I can respect that.
However, for as much as I don't terribly mind it, I can understand where so many critics come from, as this wasn't something I'd dub "perfect" by any means, and I say that as a huge fan of 'Ghostbusters' (remember, the original is my favourite movie of all time). So I will do my best to look at it from every angle, both critically and as a die-hard fan. I can, however, say quite honestly that as time passes, the more I watch this chapter of the 'Ghostbusters' saga, the more I appreciate it, and the more I can wrap my head around some of my criticisms and use my imagination to fill in the blanks. We open things here 30-someodd years after the events of 'Ghostbusters II', where we meet Egon Spengler's estranged family; daughter, Callie (Carrie Coon), and grandkids, Phoebe (Mckenna Grace) and Trevor (Finn Wolfhard). While Trevor is a bit more what one would consider a "normal" teenager, Phoebe largely takes after her grandfather - not only in the ways of science, but she has his dry sense of humour and general attitude as well. Really, she kinda carries the movie, and to me, is pretty much perfect casting for who we'd imagine Egon's granddaughter to be. They family learns of Egon's passing, and further find out that the only inheritance he left them was a creepy old farm house in the middle of a quaint little town called Summerville - home to the Shandor mining operations. This is a callback to the first film which mentions a lunatic architect, Ivo Shandor, who once headed the cult of Gozer; Gozer, of course, being the big baddie from the first film. Thankfully, however, this isn't just fan service, and is all part of the big story, making 'Afterlife' the true spiritual sequel to the 1984 film. Yes, there's a 'Ghostbusters II', but the story in that has no tie-ins with the original. Getting back into it, Phoebe ends up taking a summer science course, "taught" by seismologist, Gary Grooberson (Paul Rudd), whose method of teaching is basically to throw on a horror movie for the kids who don't wanna be there. Phoebe also meets "Podcast" (Logan Kim), who quickly becomes her lab partner. Meanwhile, Trevor meets a waitress named Lucky (Celeste O'Connor), by applying for a job at the diner she works at, in an attempt to get to know her better. Soon, Phoebe meets Egon's ghost, who guides her on how to use Ghostbusting equipment, necessary to continue his work, which is ultimately preventing the end of the world. As a critic, I would say there were some things that either weren't needed, or should have had some better explanation; namely, the mini marshmallow men, who make it abundantly clear that they're there for a laugh in the same way 'Dispicable Me' minions are. And while they are adorable, it quite honestly does feel like a cheap way to get an "aww". There's also a moment or two here that make one wonder about some of the characters' stupidity, like Gruberson opening a ghost trap just to see what's inside. But even with any crtiicisms I have for the film, I also fall under the categry of "fanboy", and there's a lot here for people like me. On the whole, there's a huge nostalia factor here that works out really nicely for us hardcores. It even goes right down to a Nestle Crunch wrapper in Egon's old suit's pocket JUST because Peter gave one to Egon in the first film. It's a great title for 'Ghostbusters' nostalgia, and a loving, even somewhat tear-jerking tribute to the late, great Harold Ramis. Criticisms aside, there's a lot of heart put into this, and writer/director Jason Reitman has managed to fill his father Ivan's shoes quite nicely. 4/5  To put my cards on the table, even for as much as a 'Ghostbusters' fan as I am, even I can admit that this movie is pretty damn ridiculous and, often, kinda dumb. But so help me, that's exactly what makes it so entertaining for me. One should also bear in mind that I was still a kid when this came out, so there will always be that nostalgic influence for me as well. This isn't what I'd say is a movie that's "so bad, it's good" as much as I'd say I'd simply mark it as a guilty pleasure. It's something recognizably "bad" that I still hold near and dear to me.
As far as the big screen goes, this was the original Ghostbusters' last hoorah, while all four lead actors were still in their prime. However, I feel obligated to point out that the video game, initially released in 2009, was pointed out by Dan Aykroyd, himself, that it was meant to serve as the proper 'Ghostbusters 3' for those who were still waiting for that title to be an actual film. If you're a fan and get the chance for a play-through, I can highly recommend it. Controls take a bit to get used to, but everything about the story feels "right" for the franchise's legacy. But that's the third storyline, and we're here to talk about the second one, which I've always considered to be a generous blending of both the spirits of the previous live-action film and the animated series, which I was frankly addicted to at the time of this film's release. So, as a kid, anything that I find completely ridiculous now is just an added bit of comedy to the whole thing and makes it, in a word, "fun". I mean, for crying out loud, they make the Statue of Liberty walk around Manhattan in this movie. I'm not sure it was ever meant to be taken too seriously. 'Ghostbusters II' takes place five years after the events of the previous film (essentially in real time) wherein what we don't see in the aftermath is that their collective heroism that fateful night when they fought Gozer got them all sued and barred from their destructive work for good. Ray Stantz (Dan Aykroyd) opens an occult book shop, Egon Spengler (Harold Ramis) runs experiments on human emotions, Peter Veknman (Bill Murray) hosts a television show called 'World of the Psychic', and Winston Zeddemore (Ernie Hudson), other than being a bad children's entertainer alongside Ray, is pretty much left to the imagination. Meanwhile, Dana Barrett (Sigourney Weaver) works at an art museum for her funny little boss, Janosz Poha (Peter MacNicol) who probably has most of the funniest, memorable and quotable lines in the film. Dana also has an infant son named Oscar (William T. Deutschendorf/Henry J. Deutschendorf II) and works alongside a very creepy painting, portraying a 16th Century tyrant named Vigo the Carpathian (Wilhelm von Homburg). This is where we get the idea of haunted/possessed objects, as that painting is possessed with the soul of the same tyrant it portrays which, in turn, also possesses Janosz so that Vigo can use him as a sort of puppet. Vigo chooses this time (around New Years, heading into 1990) to be resurrected in a human form and spread his reign of terror, but needs a human child in order to live again. Of course, that child ends up being Oscar, and it'll be up to the Ghostbusters to stop him. In the meantime, the boys contend with a thick, pink slime that seems to be tied in with Vigo and the negative energy of the whole city, thus dubbed "mood slime", and eventually becomes the "frienemy" the Ghostbusters need to fight this Carpathian dude. There are a few welcome returns to the cast as well, like Annie Potts coming back as a much more cartoonified Janine Melnitz, Rick Moranis coming back as the lovable loser, Louis Tully, and of course, our favourite little spud, Slimer (if only briefly. Honestly after the first film, Slimer acts as more of an Easter Egg in these movies). The film isn't a strong one, but there's plenty to enjoy here as an oldschool fan, and acts as a friendly reminder that sometimes we just wanna be entertained by the silly and strange, which Ghostbusters has pretty much always been, especially when the Cartoon was such a hit at this time. 3/5  I know, I know, this is old news, but 'Ghostbusters' ('84) is my favourite film of all time, and there's a whole story to it all that all my readers have read time and time again. For that, head over here to my "Five Star" review on it. What we have here is just a shorter review that kinda gets straight to the point, and instead of going into why it's my favourite film, it'll go into why it's just an all-around good film, and, I'd even say, remains forever the best title in the 'Ghostbusters' collection. A fine example of "nothing tops the original."
'Ghostbusters' is the brainchild of Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis, veering off a bit from Aykroyd's original vision of he and, at the time, John Belushi, would travel through time and space to battle a series of supernatural threats. Sadly, however, Belushi passed in 1982, and the budget for the film wasn't exactly on par with Aykroyd's vision. That's when, Ramis was brought in to help make things a little more practical, and change it up to a crew of exterminators, rounding up nasty spectral entities, residing in New York City. I have to admit though, I'm super curious to see what Aykroyd's original vision would have looked like. The end result, however, involves three paranormal research scientists; Ray Stantz (Aykroyd), Egon Spengler (Ramis) and Peter Venkman (Bill Murray), who, one day, get the boot from a college that refuses to fund their unusual experiments any further. Venkman sees this as a sign that the trio should go into business for themselves based on the paranormal experimentation they've been working on. The business; think of it as a sort of "pest-control", but instead of rounding up cockroaches and rats, they use high-tech gadgets to capture ghosts, spirits, spectres, entities, y'know, something strange in the neighbourhood. With their secretary, Janine Melnitz (Annie Potts), it's not long before their business takes off, and the three becomes a trio of hometown heroes. However, one case in particular involving the lovely Dana Barrett (Sigourney Weaver) involves some deeper, darker stuff than just capture/trap missions involving an anciet Sumerian God named Gozer (Slavitza Jovan), and her minions, the Gatekeeper and the Keymaster who, if not stopped, could very well bring about the end of the world. With all of the paranormal activity building up, they bring in a fourth Ghostbuster named Winston Zeddemore (Ernie Hudson) for help. I'd be hard-pressed not to mention the presense of two more great characters from this. First there's Louis Tully (Rick Moranis), Dana's neighbour who provides us with some of the funniest awkward, nerdy comedy relief that balances the comedy in the film with Venkman's cool, calm and sarcastic sense of humour really well. Then there's Walter Peck (William Atherton) who works for the EPA, is a secondary villain in this, and interestingly enough, we hate him so easily for just doing his job to the best of his abilities. Both are pretty great side characters who each add to the story in their own unique way. More to mention of the overall quality of the movie, it's pretty amazing to still be able to watch this movie today and appreciate how incredibly good the practical effects in it look. Remembering that this came out in 1984, it's another fine example of the fact that sometimes CG is just unnecessary. I still think the ghosts look better here than they do as fully CG-rendered entities in the 2016 film. There may be a bit of a cheapness to it for viewers nowadays, but I still think it works incredibly well, especially with characters like our beloved "Slimer" (who was actually inspired by Belushi with his final design). 'Ghostbusters' is one of the most unlikely films to withstand the test of time in a big way. When you really think about it, on paper, the whole thing sounds so insane that it just plain shouldn't work. Especially when you bring in things like a 100-foot Marshmallow Man that by all means should have been seen as jumping the shark. Somehow or another, it all just fits together incredibly well, combining aspects of horror and comedy while being strong with imagination. It was never meant to be taken too seriously, and I think that's why fans like myself just don't have as many critical issues with the rest of the series. The Ghostbusters will always have a place in my heart! 5/5 |
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