Ghostbusters

It is with a heavy heart that I cannot give a thumbs up to the new and highly anticipated (by me) Ghostbusters. For those of you living under rocks, Ghostbusters has been rebooted with all the gender roles reversed (except for the Mayor of NYC). In this new film, Kristin Wiig is Bill Murray, Melissa McCarthy is Dan Aykroyd, Kate McKinnon is Harold Ramis, Leslie Jones is Ernie Hudson, and Chris Hemsworth (aka Thor) is the secretary (Annie Potts). They have reversed gender but not race so Jones and Hudson are both African-American. Even though Murray, Aykroyd, Ramis et al. were amazing, the new cast is great too. The SNL connection is still strong. Aykroyd and Murray were on SNL back in the day as were/are Kristin Wiig, Leslie Jones, and Kate McKinnon. The casting for the new Ghostbusters is perfect. I like Wiig and McCarthy a lot from previous movies, and I instantly liked McKinnon, who I hadn't seen before (ok I don't watch SNL anymore).

There are cameos by all the surviving Ghostbusters, Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, and Ernie Hudson, as well as Annie Potts and Sigourney Weaver, oh, and the the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man. Daniel Ramis, the son of Harold Ramis does appear. Harold Ramis is missed, not just because he died and can't do a cameo, but in the writing or lack thereof in the new Ghostbusters. The original Ghostbusters was written by Ramis and Aykroyd. Reboots are always problematic because they will be compared to the original, and in this case the original is pretty damn good. Ghostbusters had great comic actors, a really funny script, and some snappy directing by Ivan Reitman. There are several lines that I still quote regularly in conversation, "Don't cross the streams." "When someone asks you if you are a god, you say yes!" "Generally, you don't see that kind of behavior in a major appliance." and my favorite quote of all time, "Cats and dogs living together!"

The new Ghostbusters has a great comic cast, but it leans very heavily on physical gags and is quite light on the brilliant repartee. The plot is a bit vague. It is more like Ghostbusters II in that there is an actual bad guy (Neil Casey), who is creating the paranormal emergency. Not that Zuul wasn't the baddest dude ever. BTW, Zuul does get mentioned in the new movie, but you have to wait for the scene at the end of the credits which indicates that a sequel is planned. Speaking of the credits, they are dominated by Chris Hemsworth, who plays the role-reversed secretary.  The writers and director seem to think that the only significant male character in this movie is the funniest thing in the movie. It's a bit creepy actually.

Where was I? Oh ya, the plot is a bit vague and tends to wander. There are some strange directorial choices. The last scene of the movie is a cameo by Ernie Hudson which ends things on a very weird note.  The new Ghostbusters only actually catch one ghost and then they let him go. And I hate to say it, but it isn't very funny. I don't think I laughed out loud once, ok once, but that was during Dan Aykroyd's cameo. The CGI is obviously better than in the original but there is no need to see this movie in 3D. With the exception of a little slime coming out of the screen they don't make much use of it.

Besides all the cameos, the hearse and the fire station return unchanged. Although, for most of the movie they are living above an ethnic takeout restaurant which is the source of several vaguely racist and extremely unfunny scenes. It was great to see the backpacks and have them "light 'em up." And there are some scenes that play homage to the original like one with Wiig that is reminiscent of Rick Moranis' scene where he is banging on the window of the restaurant. They also have a meeting with the Mayor of New York (Andy Garcia), which is much less dramatic than in the original.

I was really looking forward to the new Ghostbusters. I wanted to love this movie but I didn't. Oh well. Back off man. I'm a Scientist!

Swiss Army Man

Sometimes, it is easy to describe the plot of a movie. Swiss Army Man is Cast Away crossed with Weekend at Bernie's. A man (Paul Dano), stranded, possibly, on a desert island, is trying to commit suicide when he notices a body washed up on the beach. The body, played by Harry Potter himself, Daniel Radcliffe, is dead. As Charles Dickens said, "There is no doubt that Marley was dead. This must be distinctly understood, or nothing wonderful can come of the story I am going to relate." The dead body does have some superpowers related to the gases forming in the body as it decomposes. In Cast Away, as Tom Hanks starts to lose it, he befriends and talks to his volleyball, Wilson. Similarly, in Swiss Army Man, the dead body begins to come to life and becomes a friend to Paul Dano.

Dano's charater is batshit crazy so we don't believe that the body is actually alive anymore than Wilson the volleyball was alive. Nevertheless, Dano and the body set off to find their way home, inspired by the woman (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) whose picture is on Dano's phone. Dano keeps checking for a cell signal even though his charge is only at 10%, and the body, Dano's alter ego, becomes obsessed with the woman, who Dano had loved from afar.

All of this is in the trailers for the movie, but I won't say more about what happens. No spoilers. Paul Dano has made a career playing slightly crazed characters, most recently, an actor about to play Hitler in Youth, the Beach Boy's Brian Wilson in Love & Mercy, and a sadistic plantation owner in 12 Years a Slave. Daniel Radcliffe forever associated with Harry Potter has been trying, I think, to pick roles as far away from Hogwarts as possible. Both Dano and Radcliffe are great here. Swiss Army Man is an unusual movie, to say the least, and you just have to accept everything it throws at you including what comes shooting out of the dead body. And in the end, there is a resolution. We do find out what the reality is. And the dead body is alive in a certain way. So if you are tired of superheroes and sequels, you might want to go for something different and see Swiss Army Man.

Independence Day: Resurgence

As everyone knows, Independence Day: Resurgence, is a sequel to the original Independence Day, which came out 20 years ago. Most of the characters who survived the original are back. The one exception is Will Smith. I guess he didn't want to do it. He cannot really be replaced, and there is no way to replace Randy Quaid, who turned out to be just like his character in Independence Day in real life. The plot of the new movie is almost identical to the original. The Aliens are coming back to destroy the Earth and Earth isn't ready. Like in Close Encounters of the Third Kind, people are having dreams where they see a round shape with a slash through it. So added to the cast is Charlotte Gainsborough as a sort of Robert Langdon Symbologist. I'm not sure why she is there, but it's nice to see her. She's wonderful, but usually makes arty foreign films. I hope she made some money. Robert Loggia, who was perhaps the best thing in the original Independence Day died recently, but has been inserted by CGI into one scene as a tribute. He is missed. 

The President is now a woman (Sela Ward), but the ex-president (Bill Pullman) is still around, and tries to channel his inner Randy Quaid. The crazy scientist at Area 51, played by the wonderful and crazy Brent Spiner, has been in a coma for 20 years but wakes up just in time. Jeff Goldblum is now a respected Alien expert, but his father (Judd Hirsch) is still insufferable. Will Smith is gone, but is represented by his now grown up son (Jessie T. Usher) a hot-shot pilot, and Viveca Fox returns as the boy's mother. Two other young pilots, one Pullman's daughter (Maika Monroe) and Gale from Hunger Games (Liam Hemsworth) make up a love/hate triangle. 

The original Independence Day is a classic not because it is a great film, but because it falls in the category of a bad film that somehow rises above the material to make a very entertaining movie. The sequel is fun too, but Spiner and Pullman cannot make up for the crazy out-there performances by Smith, Loggia, and Quaid in the original. And what's wrong with Jeff Goldblum? He almost seems like a normal person in Independence Day: Resurgence. What's with that? 

X-Men: Apocalypse

I like to think that the pitch line for X-Men: Apocalypse was, "Sansa Stark is Jean Grey." Sophie Turner joins the cast of the X-Men as a young Jean Grey. I do love that a sea-change is happening in recent fantasy/superhero/dystopian films. Of course, we have the Hunger Games with Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence), Divergent with Tris (Shaileen Woodley), and Star Wars VII with Rey (Daisy Ridley). But, the supposedly male dominated DC and Marvel superheroes are also beginning to crack. In Batman vs Superman, Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) shows up to save their bacon, and in Captain America: Civil War, it is Natasha Romanoff aka Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) who tries to keep the peace. In the new film, X-Men: Apocalpse, Professor X ( James McAvoy) and Magneto (Michael Fassbender) seem powerless in the face of the ultimate mutant Apocalypse (Oscar Isaac). It is up to Raven/Mystique, played by the indefatigable Jennifer Lawrence to become the de facto head of the X-Men. She gets some help from Jean Grey, Qucksilver (Evan Peters), Beast (Nicholas Hoult), and Nightcrawler (Kodi Smit-McPhee).

I'm not sure it is worth explaining but the plot of X-Men: Apocalypse involves the original mutant, who somehow gave birth to the pharaohs before being buried "forever." He is reawakened and with his gang of four, a young Storm (Alexandra Shipp), Angel (Ben Hardy), Psylocke (Olivia Munn), and Magneto. I'm not sure why Magneto joins up. Let's face it, he's not a joiner and he switches sides three times in this movie. Olivia Munn is very scary as Psylocke. Anyway, Apocalypse co-ops Professor X's mental powers to take over the world. Also in the mix, is the evil Colonel Stryker (Josh Helman) who, as usual, has Wolverine on ice. In a typical X-Man cameo, Raven releases Wolverine and he runs off into the woods. Oh ya, since this is a Marvel film, there is a final scene at the end of the credits. The plot makes no sense but I don't really care. It's always nice to see those adorable mutants. I think X-Women might be a better name.

Love & Friendship

Jane Austen is the most successful screenwriter in Hollywood today but she has not produced anything new in quite a while! So, just when we thought that Jane Austen was never going to produce any new screenplays, we have a new one. It is Love & Friendship which is based on an early unpublished novel, Lady Susan. Lady Susan (Kate Beckinsale) is a matchmaker but unlike Emma, is only interested in matches for herself and her young daughter (Morfydd Clark). And the matches must be rich. Lady Susan will stop at nothing to achieve her twin goals and she must manipulate a large number of people. You almost need a program to keep everyone straight. In fact, there is an explanation with subtitles every time a new character is introduced. 

There is Lady Susan's American confidant (Chloe Sevigny) whose husband (Stephen Fry) is "just old enough to be formal, ungovernable and to have the gout – too old to be agreeable, and too young to die." Also, they are staying at the house of her in-laws (Emma Greenwell, Justin Edwards) and her sister-in-law's brother (Xavier Samuel). The brother is in love with Lady Susan and another lord (Tom Bennett) is in love with the daughter. Lady Susan is also having an affair with a married man and his wife (Jenn Murray) is very upset about it. 

No spoilers but Lady Susan and her daughter do quite well for themselves by the end. The cast is a bunch of great British character actors in addition to the A-listers. The most entertaining character is Sir James who is in love with the daughter. He is a complete nutter and very, very happy about it. His joy is extremely infectious and the audience was laughing out loud whenever he was on the screen. The director, Whit Stillman, keeps this film moving right along and it is a very entertaining and light-hearted romp. Love & Friendship has had a lot of buzz since it was shown at Sundance this year and it has an unbelievable 99% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. What's not to like?

Money Monster

Sometimes it's just nice to see the old-pros on the A-list do their thing. The big Hollywood movie isn't what it used to be, but Money Monster stars George Clooney (Two Oscars, eight nominations) and Julia Roberts (One Oscar, four nominations), and is directed by none other than Jodie Foster (Two Oscars, four nominations). I don't mind saying that I just love Foster. I also think a lot of George and Julia, so maybe this is a biased review. The A-list stars are backed up by a nice supporting cast, Jack O'Connell (Unbroken), Dominic West (The Affair), Giancarlo Esposito (Homicide: Life on the Street), and Caitriona Balfe (Outlander).

Money Monster is the name of a financial investment cable TV show that is more circus than investment advice. Clooney is the manic host and Roberts is his cool-headed producer.  They have a lot of history together, and Roberts is about to jump ship for a job at another network. During the taping of their daily show, a young man with a gun (O'Connell) comes on camera, takes Clooney hostage, and forces him to wear an explosive vest. He is upset after losing all of his savings after following Clooney's advice to buy a certain stock. Of course, the SWAT team, led by Esposito, soon arrives, and Money Monster seems to be heading toward a typical hostage standoff. But the company that O'Connell invested in and lost his money has wheels within wheels, and so Clooney tries to figure out what is really happening by trying to pigeonhole the company's spokesperson (Balfe) and CEO (West). All the while, Clooney is trying to keep O'Connell alive. Stockholm Syndrome takes hold pretty quickly.

I need to mention two small roles in Money Monster. In one, Lenny Venito, one of those character actors who looks always vaguely familiar, has a breakout role here as Lenny the Cameraman. In the other, Emily Meade has only one scene as O'Connell's pregnant girlfriend who is brought in to talk him down. Meade almost steals the whole movie with one scene. It is great.

Money Monster is directed by Jodie Foster. All of her Oscar nominations have been for acting, but she has been concentrating on directing recently. Money Monster is her fourth feature film and she has been directing episodes of House of Cards, and Orange is the New Black. Foster does a good job here, keeping the action simple and moving along. This film makes good use of the intimacy between the on-air talent and the producer in the control room talking through their earpiece. This technique has been used to good effect before in Broadcast News (a great movie if you've never seen it)  and more recently in the HBO series, The Newsroom (a great series if you've never seen it).  Anyway, it's fun to see Clooney and Roberts is action. Hollywood is not dead yet.

Captain America: Civil War

Aunt May and Tony Stark? I have to say that I never considered that one. But they are both New Yorkers, and having Aunt May played by Marisa Tomei doesn't hurt. But I digress. Yes, Spider-Man is back and he is from the Marvel Universe, so here he is in Captain America: Civil War. Wait, I think I am still digressing. This is a review of the aforementioned Captain America: Civil War, the latest in the many Avengers movies. It is the third in the line of Captain America movies. This one follows a plot that was in the comic books where, yes, there is a war between the Avengers. The New York Times review was discussing it as a political allegory. Think Tony Stark as Donald Trump and Steve Rogers as Bernie Sanders. I am reticent to even try to describe the plot. But it is quite a bit similar to the other "war" move on the DC Comics side, Batman vs Superman. In both movies, a superhero with control issues decides that another superhero is a vigilante not a superhero and needs to be reined in. And in both, a villain is pulling the strings. Here it is Daniel Bruhl. he is good. You gotta see him as Niki Lauda in Rush.

In Captain America: Civil War, the US Secretary of State (William Hurt) and Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) decide that the Avengers should be put under UN control. I have to say that I am on Captain America's side here. But Cap (Chris Evans) is somewhat biased since he really just wants to save his boyhood pal, Bucky (Sebastian Stan), who keeps killing people and laying waste to the planet. Anyway, as I said, let's not analyze the plot too closely. The Avengers take sides. Thor, the Hulk, and Nick Fury are MIA, so we don't know what they think. Added to the mix are Ant-Man (Paul Rudd), Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman), and Spider-Man (Tom Holland). The other Avengers from Age of Ultron are all back, some just briefly. Natasha Romanov aka Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) is the only sane member of the Avengers and that's saying something. She tries to keep them together, then sides with the Iron Man team, but not really since her best buds Steve and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) are on the other team. She is also smarter than the others because she just disappears rather than be put in Supermax with the other bad Avengers. Unfortunately, then she isn't in the last third of the movie.

This is really three movies, one where they are all trying to find Bucky but can't and blame each other, and then a very entertaining middle bit where the two Avenger teams face off. This is the best part of the movie and it's obvious no one is going to get killed. Spider-Man and Ant-Man get the most laughs. Then, there is a third movie where it is just Tony versus Steve with Bucky in the middle.

The Avengers movies are mostly well-made and, happily for me, very well written. This movie is no different. It continues the subplot of Black Widow trying to set up Steve with the nurse (Emily VanCamp) who turns out to be in the CIA and has other secrets. But I can report that there is a kiss somewhere in this movie. You can also look out for some nice cameos, William Hurt and Marisa Tomei as mentioned above, Alfre Woodard as a grief-stricken mother, John Slattery and Hope Davis as Tony's parents, and Martin Freeman as a nasty CIA torturer. Don't ask why Martin Freeman is in this because I don't know.

What else? Now we know what was in the folder that Romanov gave to Steve at the end of the last movie. Also, there are two scenes in the final credits, one right at the end which you should stay for. Oh, and look out for Stan Lee playing a Fedex man.