Ghostbusters (2016)

[Jonathan Perregaux]

Title: Ghostbusters (2016)

Tagline: Who You Gonna Call?

Genre: Action, Fantasy, Comedy

Director: Paul Feig

Cast: Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, Leslie Jones, Chris Hemsworth, Neil Casey, Charles Dance, Michael Kenneth Williams, Cecily Strong, Andy García, Matt Walsh, Ed Begley Jr., Steve Higgins, Michael McDonald, Karan Soni, Zach Woods, Nate Corddry, Toby Huss, Katie Dippold, Jessica Chaffin, Jamie Denbo, Dave Allen, Steve Bannos, Adam Ray, Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Sigourney Weaver, Annie Potts, Ozzy Osbourne, Al Roker, Rosanna Scotto, Greg Kelly, Daniel Ramis, Sam Richardson, Milana Vayntrub, Bess Rous, Pat Kiernan, Eugene Cordero, Jeanine Ramirez, Tom Yi, Susan Park, Stephen Boss, Robin Shelby, John Milhiser, Ben Harris, Jaime Pacheco, Davey Jones, Ryan Levine, Dan Teicher, Theodore Shapiro, Matteo Borghese, Cheryl Wills, Tony Viveiros, Johnny Higgins, Elizabeth Perkins, Kristen Annese, Stephanie Atkinson, Brian Baumgartner, Chemi Che-Mponda, Kadian Clarke, Mackenzie Hawe, Erin Katrina Hayes, Sigrid Lium, Paige MacLean, Lesley Nicol, Diane Pimentel, Lexie Roth, Stephanie Ann Saunders, Kallie Tabor, Jordan Tofalo, Chaunty Spillane, John Franchi

Release: 2016-07-14

Runtime: 116

Plot: Following a ghost invasion of Manhattan, paranormal enthusiasts Erin Gilbert and Abby Yates, nuclear engineer Jillian Holtzmann, and subway worker Patty Tolan band together to stop the otherworldly threat.

I just watched the first trailer. I may be wrong, but I assumed this movie was supposed to be funny in some way. Did I miss something? I sat stone-faced through the whole thing.

 

[Jason Charlton]

I'm just tired of reboots.

"Let's take something that worked brilliantly before and do the same thing!"
"Except we'll switch all gender roles, but otherwise stick to what works (even down to the awkward diversity.)"

"With the advances in VFX over 30 years, think of how much COOLER all the ghosts can be!"
"Except Slimer - he needs to be in the movie, and he should look the same - like he's a plastic puppet."

"But we can brainstorm to come up with lots of different and clever scenarios to introduce ghosts to the audience."
"Except there should still be a scene in a library where the scientists meet a seemingly harmless spectre and attempt to make contact with it only to discover that the spectre is really nasty and scary..."

"We'll definitely have to update the gear - the backpacks should look cooler and the trap should use tons more CGI"
"Except the car - they'll need to convert a hearse into essentially the EXACT same thing from the earlier movies."

Honestly, from the tone of the trailer I'm not even sure this is a reboot or not?

Why mention the events from 30 years ago and show us the same firehouse if this is supposed to be a reboot?

I'm so very confused, and confused is not something that draws me to the theater.

 

[SamT]

 

[TravisR]

I'm just tired of reboots.

Me too. Unfortunately, the rest of the world does not want something new.

 

[dpippel]

Yawn.

 

[WillG]

Just watched. It does not look very good to me at all. Nothing seems all that funny and since "mass appeal" trailers have a habit of including the best jokes, it does not bode well here.

Couple of red flags:
"That slime got into every crack, that's really hard to wash off" so right off the bat with a vagina joke.
Leslie Jones: "Oh HELL no!" "The power of pain compels you"....McCarthy: "That's going to leave a mark"
They also happen to use a Hearse as their vehicle.

Overall it seems hacky in every way that the original was not.

That being said, I can now, of course, see this as being a mega-hit

Also, I'm confused, this appears to be in the same universe as the original but from what I have heard, Aykroyd, Murray and Hudson are making cameos not as Stantz, Venkman and Zeddmore?

So far, the only good thing about this movie I have seen is that apparently Ecto Cooler is coming back.

Edit: I'm reading that the Social Justice Warrior websites are already putting out "articles" on how not liking this trailer is sexist. So, for the record, I liked "Bridesmaids" and "The Heat"

 

[TravisR]

Edit: I'm reading that the Social Justice Warrior websites are already putting out "articles" on how not liking this trailer is sexist. So, for the record, I liked "Bridesmaids" and "The Heat"

I don't watch trailers online (I'm sure I'll see it in a theater soon enough) so I can't comment on it but Melissa McCarthy has certainly made me laugh and I'm a big fan of Paul Feig (I loved Freaks And Geeks and Bridesmaids) & Kristen Wiig (she's wonderful in Bridesmaids and gave an excellent dramatic turn in The Skeleton Twins) so I'm rooting for Ghostbusters to be good. If I don't like it, it'll have nothing to do with the gender of the ghostbusters.

 

[Patrick Donahue]

I like this screen grab, though...

 

[Chris Will]

Just as horrible as I thought it would be, I have never liked the idea of this movie and that trailer screams STAY AWAY!

The day this hits theaters I'm going to watch the original on BD as protest.

 

[Neil Middlemiss]

Jesus. Tough crowd. I thought it looked okay. I'm a fan of the work of most involved and while the trailer didn't bowl me over, I have high hopes for it.

 

[WillG]

Took another look at the trailer. Some more red flags:

The "30 Years Ago, Four Scientists......" For one, I'm confused if this is a reboot or technically a sequel. That opening would suggest it's the same universe (also, the trailer has Slimer), but logically speaking, if ghosts were invading NYC again, why wouldn't the original Ghostbusters be involved at least in some sort of peripheral capacity? Even compounding this is that Aykroyd, Murray and Hudson are appearing in the film in cameos but not in their Ghostbuster roles. I'd say either go complete reboot, or make sure you can get at least a couple of the original guys to reprise their role, even if it's minor. Also, it makes mention of four scientists, but Winston was not a scientist. While this may seem to be a nitpick it does go to show that someone is not paying attention to detail.

Apparently the first encounter with a ghost they have takes place in a library. Why? They couldn't come up with something else? It reeks of desperation to cash in on memories of the original.

The extended shot from like 5 different angles of Wiig being slimed seems juvenile and again, somewhat desperate to look funny.

Leslie Jones literally slapping a ghost out of McCarthy.

Look, I know you can't completely judge a movie by its trailer, but to me, this looks like the kind of movie meant to appeal to the same people who made "Grown-Ups" and "Paul Blart: Mall Cop" major hits.

 

[Sean Bryan]

Doesn't look good to me. Not sure I'll bother to check it out in theaters, maybe at home.

Yes, my understanding is that this is reboot and not a sequel. So the opening of the trailer is structured to cheaply trick the audience into thinking it is a continuation.

 

[Simon Massey]

Must be one of the few who thought this looked ok and certainly better than I was expecting given all the hatred that seems to have been vented online since it was announced. Nothing amazing, but the cast seem to have a nice chemistry between them. Will wait and see as Im sure we will see more before the release.

 

[Jonathan Perregaux]

The original 1984 trailer is much more entertaining:

 

[Tony J Case]

A completely unnecessary sequel. It felt like it was hitting all the same beats that the first one did, but without any the charm or wit. It missed the core of the humor of the originals - which wasn’t in gags, it was in conversation and characters. It's trying too hard to be Ghostbusters like.

The actresses? Okay, aside from the studio mandated "Lets be edgy by making them all chicks!" nonsense are completely un-funny. And why does the black one have to be sassy? Winston was the straight man, not some short-hand for socialized expectation based on ethnicity.

The 'jokes' are total duds, nothing but crass slapstick. Peter gets slimed: “I feel so funky” That’s all it took, it’s called acting. They don't have to beat you about the head with the joke with "it went everywhere. Every crack". And even better, Ray and Egon's cluelessness about Peter's plight and getting excited about it. By not acknowledging Venkman’s dialogue they make the scene just that much better.

And its amazing how the effects 30 years on look significantly worse than they did back in '84. Go compare the original library ghost to that PS4 abomination, worlds apart.

No, fuck this uninspired and childish movie. Fuck this lazy, safe nostalgia cash grab.

 

[MattBradley]

I want so bad to like this movie but that trailer didn't get me excited. It just sort of sat there. Then there's the spoken line:

"Someone is creating a device that amplifies paranormal activity"

That scares me more than any ghost. Does it mean the movie will come down to a fight with a living being (maybe Hemsworth is the bad guy?)

 

[Sam Posten]

I was fully on board with PF making his choices and trying to make a female empowering film, even if it were to not live up to the original. Heck GB2 didnt match the brilliance of the original. But this trailer is just BAD. NOT funny. Poor stereotypes. I hate the weird delayed delivery of the lines similar to the self effacing shlep found in Spy. I really hope the final effort makes us forget this trailer but I haven't had this negative of a reaction to ANY trailer in a loooooong time.

 

[George_W_K]

I'm lukewarm to this after watching the trailer. I've liked Kristen Wiig since the original Joe Schmo Show so that's a plus for me. But I think I'll wait for the Rotten Tomatoes percentage before I decide on a theater viewing, or home.

 

[Oliver Ravencrest]

This has a good cast but that was underwhelming.

 

[WillG]

A completely unnecessary sequel. It felt like it was hitting all the same beats that the first one did, but without any the charm or wit. It missed the core of the humor of the originals - which wasn’t in gags, it was in conversation and characters. It's trying too hard to be Ghostbusters like.

The actresses? Okay, aside from the studio mandated "Lets be edgy by making them all chicks!" nonsense are completely un-funny. And why does the black one have to be sassy? Winston was the straight man, not some short-hand for socialized expectation based on ethnicity.

The 'jokes' are total duds, nothing but crass slapstick. Peter gets slimed: “I feel so funky” That’s all it took, it’s called acting. They don't have to beat you about the head with the joke with "it went everywhere. Every crack". And even better, Ray and Egon's cluelessness about Peter's plight and getting excited about it. By not acknowledging Venkman’s dialogue they make the scene just that much better.

And its amazing how the effects 30 years on look significantly worse than they did back in '84. Go compare the original library ghost to that PS4 abomination, worlds apart.

No, fuck this uninspired and childish movie. Fuck this lazy, safe nostalgia cash grab.

This x1000