In Retrospect: Ghostbusters Afterlife

I still have a fair bit to say.

First and foremost I did enjoy it more on the second watch and made my peace with some aspects. When I first saw it I felt it was mostly superflous to rely so much on the original Ghostbusters, with so much iconography incorporated into the plot. I still stand by that point and feel it was unnecessary to bring back Gozer, the terror dogs, Ivo Shandor, the Stay Puft marshmallow man, among other things because I was so invested and digging the original story. Oh sure, could I believe Gozer came back at some point to slug it out with the boys in grey? Absolutely, it wouldn't surprise me if during the comics run or in the animated show such a thing did happen, but it really is the crux of my albeit small problem with the movie. Just swap it out for an original villain and I would have next to zero to complain about. I loved the story of Phoebe Spengler learning about her grandpa's past and using her own smarts to carry on his legacy, while meeting these new characters and getting to see the old ones. McKenna Grace is nothing short of perfection in this, and adds one more example of future daughter goals for me, I just cherish her in this. Paul Rudd is such an affable great guy to hang out with, we go out for drinks twice a month he's wonderful, but anyway he's just fun to watch in this although he is 1000% to blame for the events that occured in the movie. Logan Kim, a wonderful addition to the cast and feels like a real kid in these situations. I do still feel Finn Wolfhard's brief portions of the plot were...yeah, pretty much useless and no slam against the actor of course but I hope should he come back for another film gets a lot more attention and stance in the story. Of course I hold no grudges seeing Bill, Dan, and Ernie again to the point where if I was being crystal clear, Ernie's line of "I should have called. I miss you my friend." and the after credits scene with him and Janine were kinda cutting near the heart man. Those bits were handled expertly. Now I must confess, I didn't actually like seeing Egon the first time I saw this. The beginning was fine, just seeing a silhouette or a hand, and it honestly took me an embarassingly long time to figure out he was leading Phoebe to all the important kit and the secret lab. But when he shows up at the end and you fully see him I felt that wasn't needed. That we didn't need a physical manifestation, I let out a heavy sigh when he was essentially a desk lamp, I don't know man I just wasn't for it. But then I saw other people's reviews and how much they loved seeing Egon in the movie, so it softened my opinion on it and I'm mostly okay with it now. I will also admit I had no idea that was Olivia Wilde as Gozer, that blew my mind when I found that out. PS. I would fully fund a short film where the mini-Stay Puft's wreak havoc and continue to be adorable even when they are brutally and graphically killed. It's a tiny bit of a love/hate relationship with this movie, I adore the original stuff and am screaming for more but all the call backs do bog it down just a little bit for me. But a good movie is a good movie, and I do still find it highly entertaining and a worthy succesor to Ghostbusters 2. I move it up to 4 stars, 8/10, and apologies in advance for only getting two reviews out this week and I suspect next week might be the same as well but I'll see what I can do.

Ghostbusters Afterlife

Well at least we ended on a good note.

As an individual who was interested but not highly anticipating or very excited about seeing this movie, I would love to compare notes with someone who was. Not at all that I hated the movie, but it did do some stuff I didn't want and felt could have been done a notch better. It's a decent fun little movie that could birth some cool stuff in the future. IDW, get on this. You could make some great new stories based off this movie and give some excellent character bits to the new cast. I literally didn't know until about a month before this movie came out it focuses on Egon's granddaughter and once I heard that my interest was hooked. I really really digged her story man, in fact the whole scenario of the movie with them inheriting Egon's house and slowly piecing together exactly what he was doing there as she becomes a young ghostbuster is cool stuff. Plus McKenna Grace is awesome in this, I would guard her with my eternal soul, she works so well with this script and this character, 10/10! Her and Logan Kim have outstanding chemistry and their friendship in the movie is damn good stuff. Poor Finn Wolfhard, I feel this kid just gets drafted into any old f***ing script with teens and supernatural occurences because of Stranger Things and I'm just like, does he even like it anymore? Cause I really was checking out on his B-story, not because of the actors but the script itself. It digs it's heels into contrivances that simply do not need to be there throughout the picture and actually stops it from being a great movie. A good chunk of the story beats work, but others simply fall flat. At least Paul Rudd was good, thank the babay jeezuz his acting has improved since Halloween 6. I think I'm grasping what people thought of when The Force Awakens came out talking about all the easter eggs and similar plot elements, it does go there from time to time. Completely unnecessarily, they could have crafted a new villain, they could have gone without a lot of the fan service, hell it kinda works as an introduction to Ghostbusters. If younger kids who never saw the original films saw this movie, it could make them into fans who love the original, seriously the movie works that well crafting it's own world and could be a stepping stone. I like that a great deal. It's fun, it's simple, a good movie but stick to the Ghostbusters video game for that official third entry. 3 stars, 7.5/10. I have no idea what to do next week, cause after that we got another series for you to wrap up the year. So I'll figure something out, have a fun time at the movies in the meantime.

BONUS In Retrospect: The Addams Family (2019)

I'm very happy to see this movie again.

I will fully admit if you did match the 90s films to this, it does genuinely work better in the live action films, but to be honest those films are so loved and adored it's kind of an impossible task to surpass them. But I'm just happy this film didn't and went for their own style and story while keeping all the standard Addams tropes we adore. Is it perfect? No. But to be perfectly honest, I never have expectations for any film. I simply can't afford it if I'm going to be an unbiased reviewer, so I always take a movie for what it is and go from there. For instance, the satirizing view on modern culture doesn't delve too deeply and is handled just okay. I do kinda wish we got a bit deeper into that, but do you really watch an Addams Family movie for satire? Of course not, you watch it to see these wonderful characters, and the cast does do them justice with Oscar Isaac and Chloe Grace Moretz being the standout performances. I did take slight issue with Morticia being a bit more apprehensive to new things and people in the neighborhood, because to be honest the whole appeal of this family is their unilateral acceptance of others, they never look down or judge people in any way, they just like them regardless of who they are despite them not agreeing on everything. It's a wonderful trait to posses in human beings, but then again I can understand why Morticia feels that way, her family has constantly been chased around by hateful people with torches so I fully understand why she would be cautious and a bit untrusting of people, though Gomez is still the exact same character we love fully ready and able to meet new people and be very neighborly. I love especially the fact we actually get to see Wednesday go to school, we hear of it in the 60s show but never really saw it and it is everything I wanted it to be, and while I greatly enjoy the cute little girl of the 60s show I'm happy they brought back the mannerisms and characterization of the 90s movies. This is my favorite kind of Wednesday. One strange thing I noticed is while the main characters utilize the original Charles Addams designs, the rest of the characters in the town kind of radically shift. Margeaux looks like a Mike Judd Beavis And Butthead character with her beady eyes, ridiculously huge hair, and slender figure, while other characters like her daughter look like they come from any 3D animated film, some look like humans from The Lorax, some look like Despicable Me, it's kind of a mish-mash of animation styles. Is it bad though? No, but it is something I noticed. The film is good, nothing spectacular but certainly nothing bad either. I still give it a solid 3.5 stars, 7.5/10, This is a fun movie for any fan of this series, and will probably be on a watchlist for many people during October. We still need more Lurch though, I appreciate the wonderful music interludes we have but I could have lived without the song. But a few missteps is hardly worth a bad score and I still genuinely love this movie.

Next time, we finally watch it, so stay tuned for that review.

The Addams Family (2019)

It couldn't be a better day.

Bleak skies, cold rushing winds, a wonderfully creepy film, it's perfect. I loved this movie, they did dang near everything right with only one or two major grumbles, they treated the film with love and appreciation and for that it has my love and likewise approval. This is more of a love letter to the 60s series with dashes of the 90s movies and it balances very well. We follow our favorite macabre family once more as Gomez and Morticia find a perfectly haunted house and begin to raise their family, as they soon decide due to Wednesday's intrigue to venture down to the quaint and colorful town below to introduce themselves. But shock of all shocks they're not well liked and soon through a fear mongering retailer decide to oust the family from their town leading to a genuinely nice resolution. The first thing I have to say is, there is a bit of Hotel Transylvania in this, a group of people are chased into hiding in a large luxurious house before a young girl is interested in the outside world and forces both worlds to collide, and this really isn't a bad thing. Because it's a decent story and because they actually do something entirely of their own with it, it's not a ripoff of Hotel Transylvania but you do see some elements there. The animation style is excellent with the original designs by Charles Addams used for the characters and they all look great, with gorgeously gruesome backgrounds and great color choice. The cast was great I mean you have Oscar Isaac as Gomez which is already spot on, but Charlize Theron is wonderful as Morticia, Chloe Grace Moretz kinda stole the show as Wednesday which is funny because Wednesday in the show was just a cute girl and was nowhere near as morbidly hilarious as she's been in the past 25 years, Finn Wolfhard is really good as Pugsley, and even Nick Kroll was cast surprisingly effective as Uncle Fester, so cast is great without a doubt. I had a blast with the comedy also but I've always had an odd and dark sense of humor so of course I loved it and it made me laugh quite a lot and even when I wasn't laughing I had the biggest smile on my face and and a gross warm feeling in my chest cavity. Not many films can do that. The satire was also updated from the 90s movies going from a critique of shallow suburban life to shallow modern life with the town literally called Assimilation, where everyone is exactly the same, everyone is using their phones to know what the other neighbors are doing, and security cameras are everywhere. It's not trying to make a big statement but just poke fun at the tropes of today, and while some people would say it dates the film I don't think so. Originally Illumination was going to make an Addams Family movie but it got cancelled and I'm honestly thankful for that, I don't completely despise Illumination's movies but I'm just very happy it turned out the way it did. Now it does have some pop culture references but it's not horrendous, it's just cute gags and is not trying to be totally hip with the fellow kids, even with Snoop Dogg voicing Cousin Itt it still sounds like Cousin Itt (also known as the funniest thing in the world and I have no idea why)! They treated it with respect and not just some cash grab with a recognizable license, they wanted to make a fun and entertaining movie and that's exactly what they accomplished! It's great to see whether with friends, yourself, or just your family, it's just a nice well made animated movie. Maybe not a great movie, but I don't think it's trying to be a great movie and trust me when I say there has never been anything wrong with that. I give the movie 3.5 stars check it out! A lovely movie for the spooky season that might make you appreciate it even more.

Next week some cult favorites from the 80s, 90s, and 2000s.

In Retrospect: IT (2017)

It has gotten better on a second viewing, I will give IT that. (Ha, ha, ha......)

Yes, IT has grown on me since the first go around. The tonal issues I had have subsided and now that I think about it, I have never seen a straight up horror movie with comic relief throughout. That jarred me a bit but now I can roll with it. The characters are all memorable and the actors have done an amazing job with them, the Losers Club being some of the best acting I've seen in awhile, especially from kids. The whole film was just so well made, and yeah maybe they made it the 80s because of it's resurgence in popular media because of Stranger Things but truthfully, it was bound to happen soon. Same stuff happened in the 80s with the 50s, every roughly 30 years a decade has great fondness for a past decade, which brought up a really good point from one of my friends. He said something to the extent of, everyone who is making movies now has fond memories of the 80s, they grew up during that time and have become nostalgic of it so that's why it's cropping up so much now. That generation is grown up and making stuff now. Which is really awesome to me, for various reasons. I am a highly nostalgic person, I love the things from my youth and share my opinions and views about them. So does that mean in say...2025 the 90s are gonna strike back and everyone will be wearing Jinco jeans, and drinking Zima and Crystal Pepsi while listening to N*Sync and movies will reflect that era of history? That seems to be the trend so I'm curious as to what the future holds. I do love the 80s and seeing that time frame be so prevalent now is a real treat, regardless of if it's a popular trend or not (It is, don't tell anybody. Shh.). But yeah, the movie really did get better, I still cannot contain my laughter at Bill Skarsgard, I am so sorry to all those people afraid of clowns but he just cracks me up. I mean he's weird, but god dang it is he entertaining and makes me laugh. I cannot hate things that make me happy! I like clowns! They are wonderful people and really due to the 90s IT movie is why people have this stigma against them. But I see the humor in his performance as Pennywise and it is a great performance, he is what made this movie for me. Granted I have no idea how this next movie will go down set in the modern day, though thinking about it now Maine probably hasn't changed terribly since the 80s, just saying. No idea if they're doing the spider thing, most likely are, it's more a matter of how the design looks for me to be on board with that element. Really the book is notoriously long, spanning over 1000 pages, War And Peace is over a 1000 pages but for a book like War And Peace it makes sense, and many people have said it reads pretty much like a cocaine bender with tons of oddities and thankfully cut scenes in the adaptations, so really anything can go. I doubt it will be better than the first but here's hoping. So yeah, it is well worth your money to own it, it is a great movie that is done almost pitch perfect, so buy it, rent it, watch it, and you'll float like the rest of us. Now I'm off to listen to New Kids On The Block. Pray for me.

IT (2017)

Okay, new movie! New horror movie even! Was it good? Eh...

Okay so I have not read the novel, and haven't even really sat and watched the whole TV miniseries because I...favor my sanity, so how did this movie stack up? Well, it was really good. Had it's faults mind you, but most could be overlooked. So for the people who are wondering what's the deal with the clown I shall try and tell the story without sounding like I forgot to take my medication. So basically a town is plagued by a supernatural being, able to shift into your worst nightmares, and a small group of kids are being hunted by this thing and they have to try and save themselves and their town from It. Now, onto the bad things! This movie aggravated me. Not because it was bad, but certain elements rubbed me the wrong way. A lot. I pose a question, why does every horror movie rely on jumpscares? Every...single...time a legit scare happens BANG! Loud noise. You're killing me Smalls. You just can't be properly scared anymore, gone are the days of atmosphere and suspense. And the worse part is, the movie tries to build atmosphere through set design, music, lighting, and pacing. But then it gets ruined by the friggin' jumpscares! God give me strength. I'd dare you to take a shot everytime a loud noise happened but you would be comatose, if not dead before half of the movie was over. You can scare people with silence, I assure you. And the other problem, the biggest problem is mood. My sweet baby Moses, this movie has such tone issues. If you want to scare people silly, do it. Do not, I repeat DO NOT make endless jokes. Now granted the comedy in this is funny. But that's the problem! It shouldn't be funny!! When you go from, child being murdered in the sewers to talking about how big someone's johnson is, this is what we call 'ruining atmosphere' or as I like to call it, bipolar. Stop it! But...the movie has good parts in it. The kids are great, so great that this movie passes supernatural horror and could be a really thoughtful and realistic look in pre-teen years. The human element was believable, you can empathize with these kids, and they are all very likable! I hate to say this but, IT would have been a better movie without the clown! Now don't get me wrong Bill Skarsgard was, phenomenal. He made me terrified and laugh at the same time! Loved his performance in this movie! God, he's awesome! But I kinda just wanted a movie about these kids and their problems because they were that great. And you do get this Stranger Things vibe, the movie is set in the late 80s, supernatural things are occuring, and it focuses on kids but it does not distract from the movie. This was leaps and bounds better than the miniseries, the only thing that had going for it was Tim Curry and I laughed at him more than be scared of him. This movie allowed for more creative things because of it's budget. There is cgi in this movie, and it's only noticeable near the end, but it does more than the miniseries. In fact, it takes scenes and scares from the miniseries but add it's own twist to it. So like, I knew what was coming but was thrown a curveball. So that helped out a lot. So all in all, it was a good movie, I do think I would recommend it for the actors in it but not so much the scares. Oh, and while I'm here why do people hate clowns? Everyone says IT made people afraid of clowns, and I don't get it. I like clowns, they are funny people whose sole goal in life is to make people smile. So what's the stigma against clowns? They get a bad rep man. But anyway, it's good to be back at this time of the year and I will be back next week with more things to talk about. See you then!