Ghostbusters 2016

[ChgoTheatreGuy]

Today is the official opening of the remake of "GHOSTBUSTERS", 32 years after the orignal film opened.  I saw it today, and with the exception of the whole theatre being evacuated 30 minutes into the film due to a fire alarm being pulled, it was not as terrible as naysayers had been anticipating.  The film did drag in parts, much in the same way all of Paul Feig's films do, but all four of the women were funny and they were not copycats of the original cast.  The cameos from the original cast, were not forced and were handled subtlely.  All in all, a good fun way to spend a hot summer afterrnoon.

[Broadway Joe]

I only go to the movies once or twice a year now so I won't watch this for a few months but I'm really curious to see how it does at the box office considering it had such negative hype. 

[AEA AGMA SM]

I have the day off tomorrow before I head into tech on Sunday and am planning on seeing it in the morning. A friend saw an advance screening earlier this week and was generally positive about it, so I'm looking forward to it. Kate McKinnon seems to be getting quite a bit of good attention for her work especially. 

[Jordan Catalano]

I'm going to see it tomorrow. It's got a 73% currently on Rotten Tomatoes and people are saying how it's not the trainwreck people "needed" it to be. I don't understand the hatred it's gotten since before it even started filming. I love Paul Feig's work the past decade and I'm really looking forward to it and I'm sure I'll laugh more than once.

[gypsy101]

all of the hatred stemmed from pure unadulterated sexism and nothing else.

[Mr Roxy]

Surprised it took 4 posts to come up with that one.It never entered your mind that the movie might just not do it for many people. Not everyone will like every movie. Saw the original but never had any desire to see a reboot no matter who was in it. The first one was fun but now the whole thing just seems dated. If it appeals to you and other great>

[BeadleDeedle]

Jeez Roxy! He's talking about the crazy negative backlash the film got for months before it was even released! It just came out yesterday! You've been much more negative and hysterical than usual recently. Take a maximum strength chill pill. 

 

* this post no longer makes sense since Roxy edited his. I still prescribe some sort of pill for him though

[hork]

It wasn't just sexism. There was also the fact that they were remaking a beloved classic, which was bound to get a backlash no matter whom they cast.

[sabrelady]

hork said: "It wasn't just sexism. There was also the fact that they were remaking a beloved classic, which was bound to get a backlash no matter whom they cast."

 

Ya mean like the backlash Van Sant didn't get when he remade "shot for shot" Psycho?

Or the reboot of the StarTrek franchise w new Kirk/Spock et al? Where was that vicious poisonous backlash? 

 

[wonderfulwizard11]

I have no connection to the original, but I'm so excited to see this. All of these ladies are brilliantly funny, and McKinnon in particular has been my favorite on SNL for several years now. I'm glad to see her work singled out so much- she's a really gifted and unique performer. 

[Call_me_jorge]

I hope kate McKinnon doesn't get too famous. I want her to stay on snl so her Hilary can continue for the next 8 years.

[hork]

sabrelady said: "hork said: "It wasn't just sexism. There was also the fact that they were remaking a beloved classic, which was bound to get a backlash no matter whom they cast."

 

Ya mean like the backlash Van Sant didn't get when he remade "shot for shot" Psycho?

What are you talking about? There was a huge backlash. If you didn't hear about it, it's because there was no social media and very little internet presence in 1998.

Or the reboot of the StarTrek franchise w new Kirk/Spock et al? Where was that vicious poisonous backlash? 

Actually, a lot of Trek fans were angry about it. But the fact that it was a genuine sequel/prequel assuaged their bitterness. Ghostbusters, on the other hand, is a straight remake, which always pisses fans off. A lot of naysayers have said they wouldn't have a problem with it if they had just made it a sequel, with the new cast taking over from the old.

[Jordan Catalano]

That PSYCHO remake got so much backlash, I'm surprised he didn't just burn the print. I have no idea what you're talking about. 


*****SPOILERS******
As for GHOSTBUSTERS. I saw it this  morning and had a good time. This isn't a remake of the film, I guess you'd call it a reboot since the only thing that carries over from the original is the premise of four people fighting ghosts in NYC. There are many many nods to the original film, which are (in most cases) a lot of fun.
 

The four women were great, with my only exception being McKinnon who from the second she appeared on screen just bugged me non stop. Her character, the kooky one, was completely one-note and exceptionally annoying. It's a shame too because I think she's hilarious but what she did here just didn't work for me. Chris Hemsworth really made me laugh a lot as the stupidest person ever created. 

My biggest problem with this though is the last 30 minutes or so. The end fight made no sense to me. Were they all of a sudden transported back to the 40's? Or was old Times Square just a "hologram"? And the reversal effect which they talked about that magically cleaned up the city didn't erase peoples memory of it ever happening? It was really confusing for me, at least. 

But other than that I did laugh a lot and there were more than a few good belly laughs. I've said before that I really adore Paul Feig and the relationship he has with McCarthy and Wiig is so great and he knows just how to write for them. There is a part of me that wishes that he would have just been able to take it to the next level and make it an R rated film like his others are, because it did feel at times that he was holding back. But in the end all I wanted was one special cameo and as long as I got to hear "What d'ya want?" again I'd be happy, so I left the theater a happy boy today. 

Oh and stay until after the credits finish rolling.

[TheatreFan4]

Surprised it took 4 posts to come up with that one.It never entered your mind that the movie might just not do it for many people. Not everyone will like every movie.

Roxy, no. You don't like a movie? GREAT. But you can't tell me you rationally DON'T like a movie since it was announced 2 years ago. There was not even any footage of until f*cking March. People were tearing it to **** from go. From the moment it was announced he was doing an all female version it's been lit torches against the movie.

Saw the original but never had any desire to see a reboot no matter who was in it. The first one was fun but now the whole thing just seems dated. If it appeals to you and other great> 

Dated? How is it dated? Ghostbusters is actually a pretty timeless movie. 

[songanddanceman2]

Anybody who thinks Van Sants remake of Psycho didn't get negative backlash is kidding themselves. It was trashed, hated before it opened, called pointless etc. I remember the backlash very well. I also remember the same with the Texas Chainsaw remake from 2003, luckily that one turned it well.

[Jordan Catalano]

That TEXAS CHAINSAW remake is still hated on because it dared touch a classic film. But for me, I think it surpasses the original in many many ways and stands out as the best horror remake of the century so far. Every time I watch it, the scene with Biel and her boyfriend while he's on the hook still actually makes me cry.  It's just great acting and a great script that lets you care about your characters.

 

[BroadwayNYC2]

Well on the plus side there were no reddit posting men with neck beards in the theatre!

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

The movie is a delight. It's refreshing, and funny, and just a lot of fun. It's such a nice breather from the tired Marvel/DC movies that populate the theaters in the summer. The foursome of women is excellent, especially since they have genuine chemistry and they are hilarious. I loved each of them, it's hard to single anyone out since Feig gives them all a moment to shine. I thought Kate McKinnon was genius, every look, every line reading, every reaction seemed to go against what the audience expected or how anyone would typically deliver the line, it seemed quite masterful to me. Oh, and Chris Hemsworth and particularly the women's reactions to Chris Hemsworth (which are all very different) were another highlight. The script doesn't make a lot of sense as Jordan pointed out, especially those last 30 minutes, and it absolutely should have been an R-rated movie to truly shine and let Feig do his thing. But I was grinning from the second it started until well after the movie was over.

[Jordan Catalano]

Ok I'm glad I'm not the only one confused by the ending. 

[Taryn]

I saw it yesterday and thought it was a ton of fun.  The whole cast was amazing, but I'm definitely on board the train that found McKinnon a total standout.

The idea that the backlash that's been going on since the film was announced hasn't been largely rooted in sexism is ridiculous.  Perhaps whoever saw that didn't see the overwhelmingly sexist and venomously misogynistic language that accompanied much of it.  (It may very well have gotten backlash if it were a more traditional reboot with four guys, but trust me: the tenor of it would have been very different.  There's a reason there's a huge gap in its user ratings on IMDB between men and women.)

[Jordan Catalano]

The scene where Wiig & McCarthy read internet comments about themselves - I'm really curious if that was added later on as a comment to all the hatred. 

[sabrelady]

 Perhaps whoever saw that didn't see the overwhelmingly sexist and venomously misogynistic language that accompanied much of it.  (It may very well have gotten backlash if it were a more traditional reboot with four guys, but trust me: the tenor of it would have been very different. 

^^^^^^^^

This.

The Psycho crew didn't get the spew from the He-man Wimmin Haters Cub that Ghostbusters got.

And STrek fans  can be mean but its mostly about picayune details like" What was the Measurement  Dr Miranda Jones gave between herself and the door?" Seriously, Strek fanfic , which explored all sorts of different scenarios was among the earliest  stuff on the Interweb ( after it left fanzines) so they can't have been too married to preserving the STrek world intact. 

[hork]

Taryn said: "I saw it yesterday and thought it was a ton of fun.  The whole cast was amazing, but I'm definitely on board the train that found McKinnon a total standout.

The idea that the backlash that's been going on since the film was announced hasn't been largely rooted in sexism is ridiculous.  Perhaps whoever saw that didn't see the overwhelmingly sexist and venomously misogynistic language that accompanied much of it.  (It may very well have gotten backlash if it were a more traditional reboot with four guys, but trust me: the tenor of it would have been very different.  There's a reason there's a huge gap in its user ratings on IMDB between men and women.)

 

No one is denying that. The film's opponents who were against it for sexist reasons came out and said they were against it for sexist reasons. Those who were against it for other reasons (like for being a remake of a movie they love, or because the trailer was terrible) also made their reasons clear. There's no ambiguity here.

[Jordan Catalano]

The backlash is so stupid to me. I told my friend who refuses to see it (purely based on them remaking it) to imagine in 1984 people freaking the f*ck out about remaking a movie from 1952. Because that's the same amount of time that has passed and it just sounds stupid when you look at it like that.

[TheatreFan4]

The scene where Wiig & McCarthy read internet comments about themselves - I'm really curious if that was added later on as a comment to all the hatred. 

It was and they were actual comments they found.

[Someone in a Tree2]

Caught it today. Mildly entertaining and completely disposable. I was totally onboard with what Kate McKinnon and especially Leslie Jones were doing throughout. But why were Melissa McCarthy and Kristen Wiig so straightjacketed through the whole thing? That final sequence where one girl is diving through a vast amount of green air to rescue another girl in some infinite time-space portal? That's when the movie literally put me to sleep. I mean, snoring.

But all they had to do to keep me wide awake would have been for Chris Hemsworth to lose his shirt (and then his pants) halfway through the 2 hours. That casting was pure genius and the dumb babe joke with Chris NEVER got old. He was the true breakout star in my book.