Ghostbusters (2016) [Blu-ray]
Action | Comedy | Fantasy | Sci-Fi

Tagline: Who you gonna call?

It's a fine time for slime-time when Doctors Venkman (Bill Murry), Stantz (Dan Aykroyd) and Spengler (Harold Ramis) regroup to nuke the spooks in this high-spirited comedy. Sidelined after their spectacular save of New York City five years ago, the heroes of the hereafter once again answer the call when an underground river of ghoulish goo threatens to rot the Big Apple to the core. Dana Barrett (Sigourney Weaver), Louis (Rick Moranis), Winston (Ernie Hudson) and Janine (Annie Potts) are all ball for the ride as these supernatural superstars swing back into hilarious action! Celebrate the 25th anniversary of this hilarious sequel, now fully remastered and with all-new and never-before-seen special features!

Storyline: 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.

Reviewer's Note: Reviewed by Martin Liebman, October 10, 2016 There's a popular YouTube channel called "Honest Trailers" that cuts its own movie trailers, provides its own voiceovers, and, rather than make a movie seem all flashy and cool and put it in the minds of audiences that it's something that they just have to see, tells the real story (as they see it) and provides a more realistic evaluation of the movie in question. It's pretty funny stuff, because most trailers aren't "honest." They sell a bill of goods that, more often than not, it seems, show all the best clips or that carefully edit a condensed version of a movie for maximum "wow" factor. Trailers are one of the most critical marketing tools for studios and probably the most enjoyed by movie fans, because if nothing else and even through the spin they offer a real glimpse, or "preview," of an unreleased movie. So it was with great anticipation that Sony released the trailer for the Ghostbusters reboot. And... Flop. Crash. Thud.

The trailer wasn't a hit, to say the least. It was met with disdain, igniting the Internet into a frenzy the likes of which it hadn't really seen before in response to a simple movie trailer. For its factually incorrect information ("four scientists..."), cringe-worthy gags, and eye-rolling dialogue, its reception was harsh at best and cruel at worst. Arguments exploded all over the Internet, with some claiming sexism as the root of the negative reaction and others citing the general poor performance of the movie depicted therein. The trailer became the most disliked in YouTube history. A prominent conservative voice was banned from Twitter after a feud with Ghostbusters Star Leslie Jones caused her to quit the service. Forums exploded. Emotions ran hot. If nothing else, the trailer got the word out in a way few ever have. All publicity is good publicity. Then the movie hit theaters. In a reversal of the (anecdotal) norm, critical reception was, generally, fair, while audience reaction was, generally, a bit more negative. Opinions remained divided, perhaps not running quite so hot as before, but the base critiques of the film, and its detractors, remained. Turns out, though, that Ghostbusters' trailer was pretty honest on its own. The movie doesn't work as a standalone entertainer or as a reboot of the 30-year-old franchise. It's by-and-large a disappointment, finding a few moments of charm, dramatic intrigue, and enjoyable special effects-laden action scattered amongst a script and execution that tries too hard and flops when it should fly, scuffles when it should star, drags when it should dazzle, suffocates when it should satisfy.

Erin Gilbert (Kristen Wiig) is hoping to nab a coveted tenure position at Columbia. She specializes in Theoretical Particle Physics but has been known to dabble around the fringes of accepted science in the past, all of which is in a book about ghosts that she once wrote and now hopes to keep under wraps from academia. Unfortunately, the book has suddenly become widely available and eventually leads to her dismissal. With nowhere to go, she turns to an old friend, a scientist named Abby Yates (Melissa McCarthy) who, it turns out, was the one to put the book back in circulation to begin with. Abby and Erin share a long history of paranormal studies, and when Abby receives a call to investigate a sighting at a prominent New York mansion, she, Erin, and Abby's colleague Jillian Holtzmann (Kate McKinnon) confirm the sighting and engage the ghost. Soon, they find themselves in the middle of some serious paranormal activity. Using Jillian's gizmos and gadgets and finding help from an MTA employee named Patty Tolan (Leslie Jones), who has first-hand contact with a ghost, and an awkward receptionist named Kevin (Chris Hemsworth), the Ghostbusters set out to save New York from its most sinister and dangerous enemies yet.

Ghostbusters looks pretty good on the surface. The cast is decidedly affable and seems to really want to spark the movie to greatness. The problem is that they're saddled with a drag of a script that's got to be the epitome of the contemporary try-hard. It lacks not just the organic flow, situational laughs, and well constructed characterization of the original film but also tries the near-impossible of recreating iconic moments and lines from the original while still making the movie as uniquely individualized as possible. That's a really tough line to toe, one that few movies have really succeeded in walking. Star Trek is one that did it exceedingly well. Ghostbusters, on the other hand, is largely tone deaf, struggling not so much to put together a good core but rather all of the complimentary pieces around it. That core is fine -- the cast its enthusiastic, the visual effects are by-and-lage excellent, and the action is sufficiently entertaining -- but everything else crashes and burns. The performances suffer because the material with which the actors have to work isn't up to par. They commendably try their best, but they're left to flounder and force their lines because the movie is contextually lacking and substantively empty. Yes, it's Ghostbusters, and it doesn't need to be Shakespeare, but Writers Paul Feig (who also directed) and Katie Dippold spend too much effort on cramming in empty humor and less time really exploring the characters or the world around them in any meaningful, narrative-complimenting way. It never finds an identity or purpose, or at least a positive identity or purpose, instead bouncing from one flop of a gag to the next to the point that, by the time the movie gains some momentum in its third act, has been too much of a drag to really care about some of the great ideas it explores and the awesome visual effects that support them in the climax.

Ghostbusters flashes potential. The cast is by-and-large enjoyable but suffers under the burden of empty writing and a lack of identity for the film. The action isn't bad, neither are the visual effects, and both come together in a splendidly realized climax. When the movie is on, it makes for an enjoyable modern spin on the franchise. The problem is that it there's about 80 minutes worth of unfunny dialogue and crudely paced construction to wade through to get there. Sony's Blu-ray release of Ghostbusters contains a healthy allotment of bonus content. Video is very good, just not great. Audio is excellent, but the studio's refusal to put the best soundtrack available on every release is disappointing, especially when competing studios are doing just that. Fans of the movie, who can't play back the UHD and don't want a 3D copy, can buy this release with confidence. Newcomers should rent before committing to a purchase.

[CSW] -2.4- First I was not a fan of the first Ghostbusters. Second with all of the bad reviews I had extremely low expectations of this remake. I think that because I actually expected to intensely dislike this movie I was surprised that I found it was actually slightly enjoyable. If you go into this with low expectations, just looking for some cheap laughs at something stupid, you'll probably enjoy it. It did have uninspired directing, editing, cinematography and music, add to that cheesy special effects and a forgettable villain (all of which I thought the first one was also guilty of), but somehow I enjoyed the facetious and vaudeville type humor. It is not witty comedy but is much closer to straight single standup comedy. It is hard to explain but if you like it you will like this movie if you don't you will think this movie stinks (which probably explains the mixed reviews).
[V4.0-A4.5] MPEG-4 AVC - D-Box


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