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Reviews
Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021)
Another Wasted Opportunity - Or Was It?
There are few classics that just cannot be sequel'd. Especially this one which was shaped in 1980's NYC and so it should remain in the 80's. The third movie was a disappointment. The acting was just flat and I felt the same about this one also. Using kids as the main characters made it even worse.
For one making Spengler's granddaughter look like him was a bit cheesy and obvious. The story was weak to. The entire ghost story was ripped out of NY and moved to a small town in Oklahoma? Really?!
Not even Paul Rudd could save it, although he helped give it some depth, and that's saying something. Another problem was the character who played Gozer. What a waste of an acting moment. In the original movie Gozer was much more talkative and gave the character more meaning, but with this one? She was flat, barely said anything and suddenly it turned into more of a CGI moment instead of focusing on the characters thoughts, as if CGI could replace good acting. In this case no acting at all.
Finn Wolfhard, a strange looking kid who stars in the TV series Stranger Things, in that series he was wearing a ghostbusters outfit. Talk about auditioning for a part in this movie?
As a matter of fact the only time I felt excited was at the end when all three living ghostbusters arrived. The vintage humor was still there, it put a smile on my face immediately (the only time during the whole movie), and for a moment I felt the magic was back. In my opinion the only people who can make this work are the original cast members.
And that was kind of sad because if the story had been written a lot differently, if it had included more of the original characters throughout the film, then it might have worked better. A ghost Spengler interacting with the characters seemed a bit of a stretch also - but a tribute is a tribute right?
It was nice seeing Segourney Weaver playing around with Bill Murray at the end of the credits, giving him shock therapy, just incase you didn't see that. It was nice seeing Annie Potts also and once again Rick Moranis was MIA, but you don't need ALL of the original cast members to make this work.
During the film I wondered why the makers decided to put a christian theme into this one? What was the point of that? If I want that I'll go to church. I wanted this film to work, especially after the third one failed to deliver. I hope they don't make anymore these. The story just doesn't fit in any other generation, nor does moving it to Oklahoma work either. Bad idea.
And the comedy of the past was raw and much more open but in today's society? Things have changed too much to accommodate this classic. Look at what happened to Chris Rock just for cracking a simple joke that wasn't even meant to hurt anyone, let alone be funny. And he's a comedian, that's his job!
It doesn't reflect well anymore, especially now, in these times when the far right is trying to institute control over everything we do.
If it was me making these new versions? I would've written these films much, much different to fit todays world and I would've changed the look, updated the look to times just to accommodate the new actors. So the pieces fit better in the moment. These new characters are wearing out the outfits and the power packs already and now they are starting on the classic ghostbusters car.
At the end of this film when Ernie stood before the old ghost car making the gesture "what have they done to you?" as he touched the vehicle? He wasn't making a gesture for posterity. He was making a statement about the makers of these films.
Indeed, what are they doing with this classic story, this franchise? Either leave the classic alone or update the story to fit the times. Todays versions cannot be classics one day if they are going to keep trying to emulate the originals!
That is my opinion, based on my observation.
Downton Abbey (2010)
Why Brutalize Annie???
I was sailing along enjoying this series until key people begin to disappear in it. People I really came to like a lot. And I got pretty far in this series. It was one thing for Sybil to be off'd but for Mathew to be killed in a car wreck was a bit too tragic for me. And did you have to do it right after his wife had the baby? Two huge key pieces were now missing among the characters.
The thing that ended it for me was the horrific assault on Anna. Was that really necessary? Of all of the people in this story, why did Anna have to be brutalized? Her and Bates were the happy part of this house, the few who brought sense to this house. We could all count on them to bring something good to this house, a house that was already full of disfunction, in a society that was dysfunctional during this period.
I would like to add two positive notes about a character and the cast. Maggie Smith, she is absolutely hilarious! The overall acting is EXCELLENT for what it's worth. Maybe I'll change my mind as time goes by and finish it. I do miss the story a bit.
High Score (2020)
Blast From The Past!
What a great series! This was very educational, there are things that went on that I didn't know about, some things I simply forgot or didn't realize, and yet some things brought back those memories.
I'm one of the people who 40+ years ago played the classic arcades. Space Invaders, Galaga, Pac-Man, Asteroids, Donkey Kong, Missile Command, Centipede, as well as some others. And just a few years ago, some forty years later I found a video bar that had them all! I discovered that I am a master at Missile Command as I went undefeated for over an hour. That was great fun!
I didn't get a chance to play the early consoles, but I did finally get a chance on pc's when DOOM came out in 1993-94. This documentary series brings back that fun. The sounds alone of the old classics are more than enough to take me back to a time when we were all into video fun at our local arcades or couch.
Actually we did have the original PONG consoles around 1977. It came in that orange and yellow striped box. Exciting for two weeks before it turned into one of the most boring video games. I was more than glad to play though. Whether you are old or young, cherish ANY video games you have a chance to play.
I think early video games are classics because around that same period is when the pc began to come onto the market. It was an exciting time to get into computers and video games were no exception.
Doom (2005)
I Loved It!
In a film world where so little video games are made into films with some kind of quality, DOOM is exceptional! It's not fantastic but it's not bad either as it has a few twists in it and the creatures really aren't bad. As a matter of fact a few of them really do represent what is in the video games. Especially the 1993 and 94 - 3.5 games you played on the pc back in the day. And the actors where very good as well.
You'd think filmmakers would be able to make some really good stories out of these games, but for some strange reason the majority of video game films are basically lousy! I would site the Resident Evil films that came from the video game concept, they seemed to have mastered a look and story of those games.
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018)
This One Is Better Than The First One
Again this series does not match up to the Harry Potter series but I still found it entertaining and it explains some of the confusion about Credence quest to find his identity, but you really have to pay attention in order to figure out what's going on as there are several things happening with the different characters. Johnny Depp did a great job for his character as Grindelwald (and that makes it sad that he had to leave the series). The icing on the cake was a short return to Hogwarts which made it feel like old times again! Can't wait for number three!
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016)
Nice Starter Film For New Series
Loved the introduction of beasts never before seen and good intro to the newest characters as well. Newt's character was perfect and his new side kick, Jacob, they make a good team. The story is pretty good because it is fairly simple like the Harry Potter series. Of course this series does not measure up to the classics but not a bad start either. And I do want to see more stories, especially early stories that pre-date the Harry Potter stories.
Coded Bias (2020)
Spot On!
A definite must see! It goes beyond just people of color. It also has an affect on women, the gay community and those less fortunate! We use to keep big brother at arms length but now because of social media we are giving our life over to the few who control this technology.
Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore (2022)
This film? MUCH BETTER!
This film was much, much better, although I would've liked to see Johnny Depp finish the Grindelwald series. Mads Mikkelsen did a very good job taking Depp's place as Grindelwald, but still Depp was noticeably missing as we have become familiar with him in the first two films. Depp's character, his look, the way he carried himself emphasized the very meaning of evil.
He might even have rivaled Voldemort who was pretty terrible himself? The difference though was Depp interpretation of muggles, his absolute disgust of the non-magical, even half-bloods, along with the creepy look he developed was more frightening in my opinion. Coldly calculated I think the phrase is what I'm looking for.
And that's not to undermine Voldemort who was excellently evil in the Harry Potter series. The difference was Voldemort always warned what he would do. Grindelwald did things without warning.
But either way, whether it was Depp or Mads, this film still worked. In the first two films there were a lot of complaints of too much CGI and not enough character building. I noticed that also, but that's not the case in this newest film. Much of that is toned down and I have also noticed a lot less creature fondling to. As a matter of fact there is a terrific scene between Newt and a bunch of crabs that makes for a funny comedy moment.
The stories plot was better and once again we get to momentarily visit our old school Hogwarts! Even Jacob Kowalski is there trying to get a grasp of the concept.
Dumbledore and Grindelwald's stories, relationships get told. In the old Harry Potter stories there has been talk of Dumbledore's sexual identity. That is cleared up in this film for sure. There is more to Dumbledore's brother to. Things mentioned in the older stories come to light in this film.
If you are not familiar with this story, and you plan to see it soon? You'll have to pay close attention to what goes on in this film, assuming you watched the first two films. As in film #2 it is easy to get lost, especially with the Lestrange and Kama family drama that happened and how Credence fit into all of that. Or didn't as it turned out.
I walked out of the theater very satisfied and now cannot wait for the fourth film to come out, probably sometime next year? I might even go see this one again because I liked it so much. That was not the case for the first film with me.
Cheers!