Ghostbusters II

Ghostbusters II ~ We've talked about how much I love Ghostbusters, and even the recent remake, but back in the day, we all wanted to like the sequel, we really wanted to, and most of us were disappointed. Although, in hindsight, that just might be questionable. In light of friend Derrick Ferguson's positive review of the film and recent TV viewings, I might have changed my mind. Go read it now, and all his other reviews, he rocks. 

I remember distinctly however the moment when I started to doubt the sequel. Run DMC covered the title theme song, and I was a huge fan of theirs and always loved the tune (seriously who didn't, and doesn't?), but the cover was a disappointment, no one's favorite Run DMC song, delivering none of what could have been so cool, just a meh version. This was the first omen.

Then came the movie. I remember even before I saw it, much like recent DC Comics movie releases like Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad, the word was bad even before it was released. Despite warnings I was there first night to see it, and first impressions, it was not good. As I recall, it did not last in theaters for very long, nowhere near the blockbuster the first movie was.

There was much reference given to the successful cartoon based on the original movie, so all the characters had to appear, and Slimer was given special preference for screen time against folks who more deserved it. More than lip service was given to the slime that was too integral to this plot, but only funny in the original in one line. Worse than that, it led to the bad special effects of the Statue of Liberty ending that made audiences groan when it was supposed to make them cheer and sing along.

More screen time was given to the 'nerd love' subplot with Rick Moranis and Annie Potts, and of course the biggest drain was Bill Murray (not as enthusiastic, or as funny, this time) and Sigourney Weaver romance/non-romance and baby. Notably the original film was almost flawless, but the only slow parts were with these two I thought. To build on that was a mistake.

All that said, the rest of the film is not bad, and actually a good follow-up to the original. We get a viable and evil-looking villain (Vigo's visage alone, especially in a picture that may or not move is the stuff of nightmares), and a patsy comparable to Weaver and Moranis played by the underappreciated Peter MacNicol who still makes me laugh with that accent (definitely in agreement with Derrick on this). I especially loved the connection to the first film and homage to Son of Kong as the Ghostbusters are put out of business by property damage lawsuits.

As I said, upon re-watching and reading the above-mentioned review, I may have changed my mind. Derrick might be right.  I think it's bad, but not that bad. Unfortunately the experience may have soured much of the cast on doing a third one, but happily on not cameo-ing in the new film. This is not necessarily a recommendation, but maybe give this one another look with an open mind.

Ghostbusters 1984

Back in the early 1980s I had the perfect job, I worked in a record store at the mall. I watched trends happen on a daily basis. I witnessed the Michael Jackson phenomenon firsthand, Madonna, Prince, Boy George, Duran Duran, the birth of Motley Crue, and the popification of Bruce Springsteen - I saw it all, including the summer of Ghostbusters.

From out of a sea of "Lucky Star" outfits and "Thriller" jackets they appeared, the Ghostbusters t-shirts, just as the trailers began. Not just the logo, there were some that said "who you gonna call" and "I ain't afraid of no ghost" to the rarer "I've been slimed" and "back off, man, I'm a scientist." We knew this was going to be a big movie even before Ray Parker Jr. saturated Hot Hits radio with its theme song.

I remember the Friday night that the movie opened, for all the wrong reasons. I broke up with a girlfriend and asked a friend to see the flick with me instead, who became my new girlfriend. Soap opera aside, that June night launched the blockbuster horror/scifi/comedy that definitely lived up to the hype, and a summer of quoting lines and re-seeing the film began.

Toy lines, a hit animated series, and the emblem were everywhere, and the thing was - it's a great film and deserved it all, watchable even today. Like I said in my review of the new movie, it's not the 1984 Ghostbusters, but very few movies are. I wouldn't say I'm a Ghosthead, but yeah, I love this film.

Three scientists, two serious and one not so serious, enter the paranormal investigation game and discover a way to capture ghosts. They learn that the increased paranormal activity is the result of an extra-dimensional entity trying to break through, and stop it, thereby saving New York. That's about it, and that last bit is very important, as the movie is very New York, almost a love letter to the city. A line from the climactic battle, "Let's show this prehistoric bitch how we do things downtown" says it all.

Despite it being written with John Belushi in mind, I think it's Bill Murray's funniest movie. Dan Aykroyd (who co-wrote with Ivan Reitman), Sigourney Weaver, Ernie Hudson, and even Annie Potts and Rick Moranis are perfect supporting. Harold Ramis is wonderful with his deadpan dialogue and facial expressions, giving Kate McKinnon the perfect template for the new movie. Everyone is on mark and at their best.

When it comes right down to it, what can be said about the original Ghostbusters? It stands up after over three decades, it's one of the funniest films ever made and it's not even technically a comedy, and I watch it whenever I find it on television, and still laugh. And it's been on television a lot with the new version currently on DVD and Blu-Ray. This is probably one of the most iconic films of its generation, and thus the aggravation over the remake, but it stands as one of the best. If you haven't seen it, do so, and if you have, do it again.

The Man Who Fell to Earth 1987

The Man Who Fell to Earth ~ I haven't seen the David Bowie version of this film in decades, so when I saw it on the schedule, I immediately DVRed it. At the time I didn't know there was any other version of The Man Who Fell to Earth, at least until I sat down to watch it. This is a 1987 television adaptation with Lewis Smith in the title role.

There are changes to the story, including oddly the characters' names, and of course the ugly updating that happens with any remake. Smith lacks the charisma of Bowie, yet brings it off well and is adequately believable. Look for Annie Potts and Beverly D'Angelo, as well as then-future "Star Trek" cast Wil Wheaton and Robert Picardo. I love Wheaton, but he's not good in this at all.

Once the memory of Bowie, and the original movie, can be removed, this flick isn't bad. It's not good either, mind you, but it's harmless viewing, a sometimes painful, sometimes amusing 1980s time capsule. All things considered, it's probably better than it should have been.

Corvette Summer

Corvette Summer ~ I guess it's impossible to relay to those who weren't there at the time just how huge this dumb little movie was when it came out. Corvette Summer was Mark Hamill's first film after Star Wars, and his much anticipated non-Luke Skywalker debut.

In the eighth grade, this was the biggest movie of the summer, period, and must see. If you didn't see it, you just weren't cool. I guess that's why I finally saw it on a Friday night on ABC-TV. It is worth noting that as I remember it, no one was really talking about this flick after they saw it. It's not Shakespeare, but I wouldn't be as rash to say it was all that bad either.

Other than Mark Hamill as a possibly slow high school shop jock, and Annie Potts in her film debut as a 'prostitute in training,' Corvette Summer is pretty much just a pretty typical teenage romp. It had a bit more heart than most, and could have easily been a TV movie of the week, but it wasn't bad.

Surprisingly it follows the Hero's Journey template as Luke, I mean Mark, tracks the shop class' prize Corvette Stingray across country to Las Vegas, where he learns some hard truths.

Annie Potts is fun, and look out for an awkwardly older Danny Bonaduce, there's also a cast of great 1970s TV and film character actors. Hamill is good, but after all these years I still wonder if his character is just mental because he's so obsessed with finding the car, or if he's just mental, period.

Corvette Summer was harmless and enjoyable, and a nice time capsule to high school and the seventies. I dug it then, and I dig it now.