Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire – Movie Review

TL;DR – There are some interesting moments here, and the cast is having fun, but the story feels more contrived than anything else.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is a mid-credit scene.

Disclosure – I paid for the Amazon Prime service that viewed this film.

A storm approaches New York.

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire Review

The Ghostbusters Franchise has taken some turns in the last 40-odd years. In many ways, it has shifted from being at the forefront of the genre to being utterly indicative of their time. The question I have is if this new entry will tread along the same tired lines or try to do something new.

So, to set the scene, back in 1904, firefighters in New York stumbled across a peculiar scene when investigating a fire, where the room was frozen and not burnt. In the present, Gary Grooberson (Paul Rudd), Callie Spengler (Carrie Coon), Trevor Spengler (Finn Wolfhard), and Phoebe Spengler (Mckenna Grace) are trying to hunt down the Hell’s Kitchen Sewer Dragon. But when Nadeem Razmaadi (Kumail Nanjiani) brings an old Mesopotamian ghost trap to Dr. Raymond “Ray” Stantz (Dan Aykroyd), little does he know what he just unleashed on the world.

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Musings on The Leftovers (or did Nora Lie?)

TL;DR – In which I wax lyrical or ramble about the series The Leftovers and its exploration of faith and truth.

Warning – Contains scenes which may cause distress.

Disclosure – I paid for the Binge service that viewed this series.

Two men on a roof after an apocalypse that didn't happen.

The Leftovers Review

Today, we will do something a little different than usual in that we will be less of a review and more of a retrospective on a series. Well, it’s not quite a retrospective, but more some musings that have been rumbling around in my head for months and that I better put down on paper somewhere so I can let them go rather than pondering on them all the time. With that in mind, we delve into the world of guilt, trauma, religion, faith, and crisis.

So to set the scene, three years before the start of the series on October 14th, 2011, two per cent of the world’s population vanished instantly. One hundred forty million people were gone in a moment of time, with no rhyme or reason as to why they were chosen. A child was screaming one second, gone the next. A family was eating breakfast one moment and gone the next. The person you were holding hands with during a science experiment, the person you were making love with, all gone. How do you move on after an event like this? Can you? Can society? Can the town of Mapleton and the Garvey family? Now from here, we will be looking at the whole series as a whole, so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead.

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Ghostbusters: Afterlife – Movie Review

TL;DR –  It unravelled a bit at the end, but I enjoyed the ride up till then.   

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is a mid and post-credit scene

Disclosure – I paid for the Amazon Prime service that viewed this film

The family sit on a broken car.

Ghostbusters: Afterlife Review

With our next catch-up film, we get to go back to a movie released on New Year’s Day in 2022. I had meant to watch this well before this, but there was a lot of toxicity around the film building up to release, which put me off a bit, and it never worked into the schedule until now. But what failed at Halloween is now ready at Christmas, and it is time to dive in.  

So to set the scene, on a stormy night at Shandor Mining Co., a man leads an invisible entity back to his farm. He tries to catch it, but the power fails, and the creature attacks before he can recover. With his death, his farm in Summerville, Oklahoma, reverts to his estranged daughter Callie Spengler (Carrie Coon), who is in financial struggle and moves out there with her daughter Phoebe Spengler (Mckenna Grace) and son Trevor Spengler (Finn Wolfhard). They were hoping to be able to sell the place, but nothing is straightforward, and they have to stay for a while. Things are going okay, but for the daily earthquakes with no source. That is until Phoebe finds her grandfather’s old ghost trap, and she, her friend Podcast (Logan Kim), and teacher Gary Grooberson (Paul Rudd) open it up and let out a coming doom.  

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Movie Review – Widows (2018)

TL;DR – This is a film that has one of the most ridiculous casts I have seen in a long time, but it just does not come together in end.    

Score – 3.5 out of 5 stars

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene

Widows. Image Credit: 20th Century Fox

Review

It is rare that a film comes along with a cast just as ludicrous as this, with a premise as strong as this, indeed you should see it just to watch Viola Davis own every scene she is in. Add to this, we have a heist film, and ensemble heist films are some of my favourite films. Now,this should be an instant win for me, but while I think it is a good film, I am not sure it was a great one because it is held back but a couple of things.

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Movie Review – Avengers: Infinity War

TL;DR Infinity War brings everyone together and then tares them apart leaving you with a foreboding as to what will happen next, but also an excitement as they try to work it all out.

Score – 4 out of 5 stars (this is a tentative score, it might change after Part 2)

Post-Credit Scene – There is an end credit scene

Avengers Infinity War Banner

Review

It should be no surprise that I have been eagerly awaiting the new Avengers film. In preparation not only did I map out the Marvel Cinematic Universe (see here) but I also ranked every film released in the build-up (see here). However, if I am to be perfectly honest, part of this stemmed from a nervousness, could they stick the landing, could they create a story that would give justice to all the desperate characters they were involved, could they actually bring on Thanos? Well as you can probably tell I have seen the film now, so I can now answer those questions … sort of. Now a quick note today, there will be [SPOILERS] for several of the recently released Marvel films including Thor: Ragnarok (see review) and Black Panther (see review). As well as this, I will try to avoid most of the major spoilers until a paragraph at the end when we discuss the ending, but because of how quick the film moves this is just a general [SPOILER] warning if you have not seen the film yet.

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Movie Review – The Post

TL;DR – A wonderfully filmed, brilliantly acted look at what was one of the most controversial periods in United States’ history. While it is interesting it does take a bit to get going.

Score – 4 out of 5 stars

Post-Credit Scene – No

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Review

I don’t think a film in recent history has had an easier sell as The Post, a film directed by Steven Spielberg, starring Meryl Streep & Tom Hanks, scored by John Williams, and based on one of the most controversial periods in United States’ history. Indeed, this is a kind of line up that you don’t see happen very often, and it is truly amazing to see it all come together. That being said there are some structural issues that do hold it back, and it does have a very clear message, and it is subtle about it which might work for you or not.

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