Ghostbusters

According to the reviews and comments here, I was expecting a disaster of greater proportions, but that is not what the new Ghostbusters are. It is not even close to the original two films from the 80s - there is no need to discuss that. And so we're left to think of this film as a slightly misguided reboot of a time-honoured brand and an attempt at gender swapping to bring balance to the imaginary universe. There were a few jokes that worked, but for the most part, the humor was lost during their execution. As for the actors, the film relies heavily on the physical acting of Melissa McCarthy and the sassy temper of Leslie Jones, plus the fact that Chris Hemsworth, oddly enough, was quite good in the role of the dumb secretary. In short, it's one of those cases where they took too big a bite, and tried in vain to bring to the present day a classic for which that old-school look was a big part of its success. (07/30/2016)

Reality vs the internet. In the movie theater: a continuous volley of laughs, a constant delight at how well it's been transferred to the present day, how wonderful the cameos and blessings of the original team are (I only missed Peter MacNicol). There’s also a geyser of obvious and clever allusions to the current and then-current pop culture (some of the best puzzles are the two Patrick Swayze films). Most importantly - and something which should be applauded by all the suffragettes of the world - the reverse roles work great, including the dumb blonde. On the Internet: "Girly Ghostbusters with Melissa McCarthy? We won't tolerate that." Discerning viewers can decide how they see fit. ;) (08/03/2016)

Sure, it doesn't capture the original film's atmosphere, it's more of a rip-off and actually a pretty bad remake, but it works when it references the original film, when beloved actors appear, and ultimately when it comes to some jokes that are actually quite well done at times. I simply enjoyed it, although nostalgia played a big part in it. (10/04/2016)

One star for Kristen Wiig's sincere effort. Otherwise lame, pointless, and dumb. Probably the most pathetic rip-off ever. A direct copy of the 1984 classic including the theme song and logo, without any invention of its own. Unless you count the character of Jillian Holtzman, and I really don't. (11/18/2016)

I don't have a good feeling about the new Ghostbusters at all - apart from the feeling that the film is completely useless. It didn't impress me, didn't offend me, I liked the female cast quite a bit, but they had nothing to act with, and the humor was so strangely tasteless and odorless that you couldn't even tell what the writers had come up with and what was improvisation gone wrong. The opening scene was good, as was the team's first encounter with the ghost, but the longer the film got, the weirder it got, the more awkward the humor became, and even every cameo role the actors from the original Ghostbusters had in it was a pointless addition (especially Bill Murray). For me, it's just not a good comedy, but there was a dad sitting in front of me in the movie theatre with two teenagers (who obviously knew Ghostbusters, as they recognized the references to the original and danced in their seats whenever the familiar musical theme was played) and they laughed almost all the time. I believe that even this film will find its fans. Three and a half stars. (07/30/2016)