Tag: Logan Kim

Cinema Dispatch: Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire

~ Matt Vetrano ~ Leave a comment

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire and all the images you see in this review are owned by Sony Pictures Releasing

Directed by Gil Kenan

I came into the last Ghostbusters film with more than a little ambivalence, and to this day I still think I overcorrected and gave it half-a-star too high in the final score. I can’t say I’m any more optimistic going into this one, since it looks like all the same nostalgia bait without any of the context, but I’ve been wrong before about movies I expected to disappoint me. Maybe by doing away with any pretense, we can get a proper adventure movie that forges its own path instead of an attempt at redoing the comedic magic of the original! Ghostbusters on Ice? Lots of potential there! Will this take advantage of its premise to grow past the shadow of the franchise, or is this content to stand still and not budge an inch as long as people continue to clamor for Venkman, Stanz, and Zeddemore? Let’s find out!!

Following the events of Ghostbusters: Afterlife, the Spengler family consisting of Callie (Carrie Coon), her two kids Phoebe and Trevor (Mckenna Grace and Finn Wolfhard), and their new step-dad Gary (Paul Rudd) have moved to New York and into the good ol’ firehouse to start up the Ghostbusters yet again. Things seem to be going well as the kids are growing into their roles as busters, but after a particularly destructive chase through town gets them in hot water with Mayor Peck (William Atherton), Phoebe is shelved until she turns eighteen which leaves her with nothing to do but be a teenager, and who wants that, am I right? On top of that, an ancient artifact ends up at the bookshop of Ray Stantz (Dan Aykroyd) which seems to contain a spirit more powerful than anyone has seen before and seems to be connected to the family of Nadeem (Kumail Nanjiani), the guy who sold to Ray in the first place. On top of that, there’s also a new Ghostbusters franchise being led by Winston Zeddemore (Ernie Hudson) that’s making some interesting discoveries about ghosts, but perhaps are missing the forest for the trees when they’re confronted with Ray’s mysterious artifact. Oh, and on top of that, Trevor is trying to catch Slimer in the attic because… well, I guess if you’re gonna get Finn Wolfhard, you’ve gotta give him something to do. Can Phoebe find a place that she belongs, especially after meeting a fellow teenage ghost who seems to understand her better than her family? Will this artifact unleash a great threat to the city that only the Ghostbusters can take care of? What do you say, fans? Is any of this doing it for ya!?

“ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED!?”
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Cinema Dispatch: Ghostbusters: Afterlife

~ Matt Vetrano ~ Leave a comment

Ghostbusters: Afterlife and all the images you see in this review are owned by Sony Pictures Releasing

Directed by Jason Reitman

I was a pretty big fan of the 2016 Ghostbusters reboot and am still a bit salty that we never got a sequel to it, so seeing the trailers and just how much the studio was backtracking to safe and familiar nostalgia was pretty demoralizing to see and left me with a bad feeling about this.  A Stranger Things knockoff that revels in the legacy of the first two films while grabbing a mostly indie director who just so happens to be the son of the original films’ director just felt like too many ideas on how to make this a MARKETABLE Ghostbusters movie instead of a GOOD one.  Still, Reitman is a good director and the buzz so far has been good for the movie, so perhaps I’m being a bit overly critical before even seeing the darn thing.  Did my low expectations set me up for a pleasant surprise that finds the balance between mining nostalgia and finding new ideas, or is this a cynical paycheck from a guy whose complicated history with this franchise landed him in the director’s chair long before he ever picked up a camera?  Let’s find out!!

Many years after the events of the first movie (and the second presumably), Egon Spengler has made a new life of sorts in a total nothing town somewhere in the Midwest, and while it’s probably not much of a spoiler considering that the actor is no longer with us, he has recently died under mysterious circumstances, and his estranged daughter Callie (Carrie Coon) has come to settle his affairs as well as start a new life for her and her two kids Phoebe and Trevor (Mckenna Grace and Finn Wolfhard).  While packing up his things though, Phoebe finds the PKE Meter as well as Egon’s ghostbusting Batcave, and Trevor starts to see some strange things around town; especially while hanging out with Lucky (Celeste O’Connor) at the nearby mine, which is… a thing kids do I guess?  In any case, Phoebe starts to investigate the strange occurrences in the town with her paranormal podcasting friend named Podcast (Logan Kim), but more importantly starts to learn more about her grandfather and, by extension, herself.  That, and her Summer School teacher (Paul Rudd) is a total nerd who was obsessed with the Ghostbusters when he was a kid, and so the stage is set for the next generation to take up the mantel once these strange things around town turn into STRANGER things!  What was Egon doing in this Podunk town in the first place, and is there more than just his old eighties crap that he’s left behind for his family?  How will Phoebe and Trevor deal with their newly discovered legacy, and why was their mother hiding it from them all this time?  Do you think in thirty years someone will try to do one of these for the 2016 Ghostbusters movie?  I mean how ELSE are we supposed to get a sequel!?

“Is this thing environmentally friendly?” “I don’t know, maybe we should check with the EPA.” “Yeah, they may not be perfect but it’s not like they’re full petty jerks who just want to disrupt small businesses.” “Hashtag Green New Deal!!”
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