Jim Henson Idea Man
Remember the life. Honor the legacy. Inspire your soul. The new Jim Henson documentary "Idea Man" is now streaming exclusively on Disney+.
Back to the Rock Season 2
Fraggle Rock Back to the Rock Season 2 has premiered on AppleTV+. Watch the anticipated new season and let us know your thoughts.
Bear arrives on Disney+ The beloved series has been off the air for the past 15 years. Now all four seasons are finally available for a whole new generation.
Sam and Friends Book Read our review of the long-awaited book, "Sam and Friends - The Story of Jim Henson's First Television Show" by Muppet Historian Craig Shemin.
I'll say this. For all the crap that Paul Feig and the cast and even the cast of the previous movie for defending it got, the real controversy should have been how freaking poor the distribution of the snackfoods have been. I have never seen a movie tie in this poorly handled. I'm sure scalpers have a lot to do with it, sure, but I'm still seeing Mike and Ike boxes branded with summer's stateside flop, Warcraft. I'm not saying anyone's deserving of death threats by any means, but strongly worded complaints should have been cast on Coca-Cola for its terrible handling of Ecto-Cooler.
Because in the end, movie or no movie, I could care less. Bringing back a cult classic like Ecto-Cooler on the other hand filled me with more excitement than any Ghostbusters comeback of any kind could. This stuff is on the level of Hostess bringing back the Turtle Pie (which, frankly, they could have for a Ghostbusters tie in, as they have 2 kinds of GB tie in Twinkees, both impossible to find as well).
As someone whose opinion of the film went from "if its existence brought back the holy grail of 80's/90's nostalgic kid's beverages, it can't be all bad" to "maybe if I'm bored enough it'll be a few laughs" to cautiously optimistic...
I freaking loved it. Yeah, obviously, I do not find it as good as the original movie, but (and what I'm about to say will seem blasphemous) it's a freaking better Ghostbusters 2 than Ghostbusters 2. Better concepts, better story, just overall the second best Ghostbusters movie there ever was. In fact, I dare say making an alternate universe soft reboot was actually a better idea than a true third film. Especially with the concepts that were leaked, and the fact it would have been a Seth Rogany, Jonah Hilly type cast with no doubt their brand of humor. And I think I had the same experience as Herald here. The movie theater was packed (which is unusual for the theater I went to, only ever seeing it that full for maybe Despicable Me, Captain America 2, and you better believe I got a sucky seat at Lego Movie), and the audience roared with laughter and applauded every cameo and familiar ghost with gusto. Easily the second most fun I've had at a live action film this year after Deadpool. Other than a couple groaner kinda juvenile, but working in context jokes, there's nothing in the film I didn't like. Maybe Fall Out Boy's version of the theme song, but that's it and I really don't like them anyway.
Specifics:
Kate McKinnion, Leslie Jones, and especially Chris Hemsworth stole the show. That's not saying McCarthy and Wiig weren't good in the movie as well. I liked seeing Wiig actually be the sanest one of the group for a change. But Kate's odd mix of Doc Brown and Harley Quinn (or Gwenpool if you prefer) really just stole every scene she was in. I like at no time any of the characters acted like they were just female clones of the original busters. Melissa and Kate did share a kind of Egon and Ray dynamic, but weren't distaff counterparts. Also liked how Wiig's character actually felt ashamed about her paranormal research, especially since it was costing her pension.
I like how, out of all the cameos in the film, Bill Murray's was the longest, the most referential to his original role in the film (only from the side of the skeptic, brilliant counterpoint to the original I might add), and had some bearing on the plot. Consider the fact that part of the reason why GB 3 never happened was because he was reluctant to come back. And also, to pay tribute to Harold Ramis (which the film does at the end), he's scene as a bronze bust in a university. Awwww.
However, there's one thing I find this film actually improve d upon the original. The black cast member actually has a backstory and reason to join the Ghostbusters, thus not kinda coming off as the token. Unlike Winston Zeddmore, who just shows up halfway through the movie and just says "need someone else?" Of course, that was always because Eddie Murphy was originally scripted to play the part (like how John Candy was supposed to be Louis), but because Hudson wasn't as recognizable, most of Winston's scenes went to Bill Murray.
But overall, a fine film and one of the best updates I've seen in a long time. It definitely is like if Ghostbusters were made today, both in humor and in tone. I raise my Ecto-Cooler to Feig and the cast.
On another note, found the Key Slime Twinkees at a Wegman's. Brad Jones was right about the lime flavor being subtle, not that it was necessarily a bad thing. Whil I would rather they had the Marshmallow ones, I'm glad I got these.
And I think I had the same experience as Herald here. The movie theater was packed (which is unusual for the theater I went to, only ever seeing it that full for maybe Despicable Me, Captain America 2, and you better believe I got a sucky seat at Lego Movie), and the audience roared with laughter and applauded every cameo and familiar ghost with gusto.
I adored that because it's something we haven't seen before. The guys never really cared too much about ridicule, they could brush it off (except when the city was directly in danger). But I could identify with Wiig's need for approval getting her in trouble, hehe. It's not better than the original movies, it's just different.
However, there's one thing I find this film actually improve d upon the original. The black cast member actually has a backstory and reason to join the Ghostbusters
Agreed, there was never any great excuse for the way Winston was treated. They've corrected that here ten fold. Patty was such a sweet character and, again, I could identify with her passion for Old NYC.
On another note, found the Key Slime Twinkees at a Wegman's. Brad Jones was right about the lime flavor being subtle, not that it was necessarily a bad thing. Whil I would rather they had the Marshmallow ones, I'm glad I got these.
Yup, a lot of hyped up blockbusters ended up not doing so well this summer. Meanwhile GB16 proved a lot of the doubters wrong; it was nowhere near the train wreck they assumed it would be.
According to Box Office Mojo:
Finishing second was Sony's Ghostbusters, which matched Mojo's weekend forecast with an estimated $46 million. This is the largest domestic opening for both director Paul Feig and Melissa McCarthy. Attention will now turn to the film's future prospects, mostly due to how well Feig and McCarthy's films have performed beyond their opening weekend.
I'm not thrilled that Star Trek Beyond is currently tracking well. All these fans claiming they want originality and something that "respects the source material," and then they support yet another Star Trek reboot that has no clue what Star Trek is even about.
Whatever anyone can say about this Ghostbusters movie, let's go back to before it was released and just the mere announcement of the female cast movie was gaining traction. I'm ignoring the fact the movie was really good, and for all the crap that the cast, crew, and original Ghostbusters (including the one who came up with the freaking concept), the real blame for resurrecting the franchise at all fell on Sony, who was heckbent on making a new GB movie at any cost.
Now, again, this worked out for the best, but let's look at the other options. While it's been debunked that there was a second reboot was being made in tandem in case the Feig version fell flat, that one was a distinct possibility had we not seen the version that came out. By all accounts, the alternate film's treatment was terrible. I'd say that, all things considered, the Ghostbusters film we got was probably the best possible one, and making it a one off alternate timeline film in case there was a chance that a proper GB 3 movie was a good compromise.
I'm hoping that animated one is still happening, though.
I find it hilarious yet annoying that detractors still are whining about this movie like it means something. Love how they call this one the box office bomb when it made back at least or almost half its budget in 2 weeks. Something ID4 2 and Tarzan never did.
I find it hilarious yet annoying that detractors still are whining about this movie like it means something. Love how they call this one the box office bomb when it made back at least or almost half its budget in 2 weeks. Something ID4 2 and Tarzan never did.
It's has become quite the spectacle to say the least, hehe. If the complaints are about women, well, those detractors can't be helped. And if it's about the movie being a reboot instead of a sequel, those detractors really ought to move on at this point!
Btw, the whole "reboot, not a sequel" thing reminds me of Piggy's meltdown after finding out her show is a special, not a series, lol.
Not that there aren't those who have valid complaints about the movie as it is. It was a fine film, nothing great, I can see why certain viewers would dislike it on the grounds of new humor and not liking McCarthy and rather have a different female cast. And the fact the movie was very homage heavy. That seems to be a common complaint, and I kinda agree to that. It could have cooled it off here and there. But frankly, in a summer of stinkers, Ghostbusters is hardly a bad film, let alone one of the worst of the summer when they did what they did with Tarzan. or Warcraft, but at least with that one was appreciated by the die hardest of the fanbase that was able to understand it. Frankly, I'm more annoyed by how "Out of the Shadows" handled Casey Jones than even the "fart sound from the front" joke. Seriously. Hey! Let's make Casey Jones a cop and have him don the Hockey mask once for a whole minute. And I actually liked that movie to an extent.
But let's face it. Ghostbusters 3 would have been closer to Independence Day Resurrection than it would have been Mad Max: Fury Road. Like I said before, Sony was going to make a Ghostbusters film no matter what. If this was a one off, it's a one off. It might get a sequel, and I'm very mixed about it. The original film's sequel was, to put it kindly, a big ball of disappointing wasted concepts. And I swear when they wrote it, they knew some adults who liked the movie actually watched the cartoon and trolled fans of it. Why else would they have been out of business for years, and then pair up Janine with Louis Tully? Ghostbusters bnever had a chance to make a third movie in its prime to apologize for how wasted the second film was, unlike Men in Black getting a serviceable third film to make up for the waste of a second film. And yeah, I think they knew the cartoon had a fair share of fans of the movie watching, and trolled them by making the Worms raunchy instead of bizarrely obsessed with coffee.
Seriously. Real Ghostbusters and Men in Black the series were stronger than their respective films' sequels.
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Jim Henson Idea Man
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Bear arrives on Disney+
Sam and Friends Book
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