Day 197: Ghostbusters (2016)

ghostbusters-2016For today’s film, I probably chose the most controversial film of the year so far and I say controversial for all the hate it received on Youtube. The film I am talking about is the remake/reboot of the most legendary 80’s series Ghostbusters. Things in Manhattan seem pretty normal until a paranormal invasion happens at a local historical building that calls on paranormal enthusiasts Erin Gilbert (Kristen Wiig) and Abby Yates (Melissa McCarthy) along with nuclear engineer Jillian Holtzmann (Kate McKinnon). After the occurrences that strangely keep happening around the city, they decide to form a team to battle the ghosts which could be connected to someone who is trying to bring them back to cleanse the world. The film also stars Leslie Jones (Saturday Night Live) as Patty Tolan, Zach Woods (The Other Guys) as Tour Guide, Ed Begley Jr. (This Is Spinal Tap) as Ed Mulgrave, Charles Dance (Last Action Hero) as Harold Filmore, Steve Higgins (The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon) as Dean, Neil Casey (Inside Amy Schumer) as Rowan North, Chris Hemsworth (Thor: The Dark World) as Kevin, Cecily Strong (The Boss) as Jennifer Lynch, Andy Garcia (The Untouchables) as Mayor Bradley, Michael Kenneth Williams (Boardwalk Empire) as Agent Hawkins, Karan Soni (Deadpool) as Benny, and the film was directed by Paul Feig (The Heat).

ghostbusters-2016-trailer-slimerI am going to warn you that from here on going forward that there may or may not be spoilers contained in this part of the article. So I am setting up a spoiler alert warning and do not continue if you do not want to know. There are going to be a lot of differences of opinions when it comes to this film with some that claim they hated it and some that claim they liked or loved it. You ultimately have to make that decision for yourself, but I am on the side of I loved it. It’s not better than the original Ghostbusters movie, but it was so much fun to watch.I had so many laughs through out the whole film especially with Chris Hemsworth who plays Kevin, a hunky guy who is a complete and utter idiot. Chris does a great job playing one of the comedic reliefs of the film. I thought that Melissa McCarthy would be my favorite Ghostbuster in the film, but that award goes to Kate McKinnon who plays the outrageous and weird Jillian Holtsmann. She was one of the best parts of this film and provided me with a lot of laughs as well. The ghosts were really cool, but the CGI in the film reminded me a lot of the first Scooby Doo film that came out. It’s like they used the same technology as that film to create their ghosts. One of my favorite things about this film is the various cameos in the film from all the original cast members of Ghostbusters except for Rick Moranis (who says that he is not retired) and Harold Ramis (who passed away in 2014).

maxresdefault (2)There are times in the film where it seems more like a horror film because some off the scenes with the ghosts can be spooky as hell. One of my favorite sequences in the film has to be the fight scene between the Ghostbusters and all the ghosts in the city. It’s your typical action like sequence, but it’s very cool and bad ass. I also thought that I would be opposed to seeing the ghost from the logo as an actual ghost in the film, but I actually enjoyed it. Besides the original cast members of the original films, there are also references to the original film that made me happy that they at least recognized it. I am going to leave you guys with one statement regarding the film and take it for what it is and form your own opinion. I really enjoyed the film, had a lot of fun watching it, and I would be open to a sequel if it came up. Like I said, is it better than the originals, obviously no, but it is it’s own film.

Day 182: 3-Headed Shark Attack (2015) 

Shark Week is almost coming to a close which means we are heading into the tale end of it. As usual, we are continuing to observe Shark Week with today’s film 3-Headed Shark Attack which is a SYFY film. Maggie (Karrueche Tran) is about to embark on a very cool internship at a program under water studying the marine life. It sounds absolutely amazing and fun until something very dangerous decides to interrupt. A mutated shark with three heads wants to make everyone in his waters lunch. Now they’ll have to run for their lives as the three headed shark comes to get them, but that’s if Maggie has anything to say about that. The film also stars Danny Trejo (Machete) as Max Burns, Rob Van Dam (Wrong Side Of Town) as Stanley, Jason Simmons (Baywatch) as Dr. Nelson, Jena Sims (Last Vegas) as Dr. Laura Thomas, Brad Mills (The Drop) as Greg, Scott Thomas Reynolds (Devil May Call) as Ryan, Rico Ball (The Boss) as Omar, Dawn Hamil (Rage) as Alison, Brianna Ferris (Your Worst Nightmare) as Rosemarie, Jazy Berlin (Lust In Space) as Polly, and the film was directed by Christopher Ray (A House Is Not A Home).

This is definitely one of the cheesiest films, but nothing else is new with films that SYFY makes. Just look at the past films that I watched this week and you’ll know exactly what I am talking about. You can tell how cheesy a film is when the same people are dancing the same way to the same song for like 20 minutes. They seem so awkward too when they’re doing it. It’s like the director kept telling them to dance the same way for a while. The CGI was OK in the film, but it was a little too obvious at times. I guess that’s the fun with all of these films anyways which is noticing just how cheesy they are to begin with. It was cool to see former WWE superstar Rob Van Dam and all around machete carrying bad ass Danny Trejo in the film, but they don’t make it to the end which was unfortunate. I would have loved to see at least one of them make it all the way to the end. This definitely would have been a cheeseball cinema film for sure, but I kept it for this blog. It was a fun kind of bad to watch which is why I was okay with it, but you may not like the grade because reality hurts. I am going to give the film an D+ for a final grade.

Top 25 Of April

Top-25 copyIt is that time of the month again as we are well into May to give you what I believed to be the top 25 for the month of April. I want to start by saying that this was definitely one of the hardest months to choose a film only because we stepped the game up with the quality of films. We had a couple of stinkers of course, but we had way too many good and amazing ones that made it hard to choose. So, there may be some choices that I make that you may not agree with, but this list is about how I feel the films were. The five films (since there is only 30 days in April) that didn’t make the top 25 cut are: Volcano, Kull The Conqueror, Summer Job, Reefer Madness, and Fifty Shades Of Black. Those films simply did not make the cut because they were either not worthy or just didn’t top any of the 25 films chosen. Here is the Top 25 for the month of April:

25. Home Sweet Hell

24. Hardbodies

23. The Nut Job

22. Eye In The Sky

21. To Live And Die In LA

20. Hotel Transylvania 2

19. Jane Got A Gun

18. Victor Frankenstein

17. My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2

16. The Boss

15. The Flamingo Kid

14. She’s Having A Baby

13. Sisters

12. Brothers

11. Secret In Their Eyes

10. The Giver

9. Everybody Wants Some!!

8. Keanu

7. Me And Earl And The Dying Girl

6. Alice In Wonderland

5. The Hateful Eight

4. Kingsman: The Secret Service

3. Legend

2. Creed

1. The Jungle Book

 

Day 101: The Boss (2016)

m-thebossMelissa McCarthy (The Heat) is really becoming one of my favorite actresses in the comedy world. I have enjoyed for the most part a lot of her films so it was only natural to want to watch and review her latest offering in The Boss where she served as a writer, producer, and star. For Michelle Darnell (McCarthy), life hasn’t always been that easy for her after a life of being tossed around in the foster child care system. She vowed to change her life for the better and she did just that as Darnell became a millionaire. Now, I didn’t say that she became a millionaire from just hard work, but those things she did will come back to haunt her as a former colleague Renault (Peter Dinklage) screws her and she lands in jail and loses everything. Now with the help of a former employee named Claire (Kristen Bell), she will try to rise to prominence once again in a different kind of business. The film also stars Ella Anderson (Unfinished Business) as Rachel, Tyler Labine (Tucker and Dale Vs. Evil) as Mike, Kathy Bates (Misery) as Ida, Cecily Strong (Saturday Night Live) as Dana, Kristen Schaal (Bob’s Burgers) as Scout Leader Sandy, Timothy Simons (The Interview) as Stephan, Eva Peterson as Crystal, Annie Mumolo (This Is 40) as Helen, and the film was directed by Ben Falcone (Tammy).

Boss, The (2016)As I said above, Melissa McCarthy is quickly becoming one of my favorite actresses in comedy. I heard a lot of mixed reviews from people before I went to the theater to check it out for myself and for the people bad mouthing it, what are you talking about? There are so many scenes in the film that McCarthy has me laughing hysterically. I honestly felt bad for the people in the theater that had to put up with me. I don’t know what people are expecting from her in this film, but I was thoroughly entertained which is what a comedy is supposed to do. Melissa’s interactions with the rival girl scout troupe mother is hilarious and Peter Dinklage was amazing too. The film having Peter Dinklage was the icing on the cake that was already a good film. There is a fight scene in the film between the two troupes that you have to check out because it was one of my favorite moments in the film. Another great scene in the film was the interaction between Tyler Labine’s character with the security guard in Renaults building. That was an unexpected, but amazing laugh. In my opinion, every single person in this film served their purpose and played their roles the way they were supposed to. While I agree that this may not be the best Melissa McCarthy film (cause The Heat is still the best in my opinion), this ranks up there with the best of them. I think you all should go and check it out because the film is exactly what it is, a comedy. That is why I am going to give the film an A- for a final grade.