Eric Muller">
Psycho Drive-In logo
Search
  • PDI Press
    Featured
    • ON SALE NOW! NOIRLATHOTEP 2: MORE TALES OF LOVECRAFTIAN CRIME!!

      Eric Muller
      December 31, 2018
      News, PDI Press, PDI Press Catalog
    Recent
    • ON SALE NOW! NOIRLATHOTEP 2: MORE TALES OF LOVECRAFTIAN CRIME!!

      psychodr
      December 31, 2018
    • VOICES FROM THE NIGHT: The Living Dead Tell Their Stories

      John E. Meredith
      October 31, 2018
    • American Carnage: Tales of Trumpian Dystopia

      psychodr
      March 24, 2018
    • PDI Press Catalog
    • PDI Press Writers
      • Fiction
  • Columns A-D
    • A Fistful of Dollar Comics
    • ABCs of Horror
    • All Binge… No Purge
    • Anything Joes
    • Beautiful Creatures
    • Big Eyes Smart Mouth
    • Big Sleeps and Long Goodbyes
    • Cahiers du Horror
    • Dispatches From the Field
    • Drive-In Saturday
    • Dungeons & D-Listers
  • Columns F-P
    • The Final Girl
    • First Looks… Second Thoughts
    • The Flesh is Weak
    • Innocence and Experience
    • Lost in Translation
    • Page to Screen
    • Popcorn Cinema
    • Psycho Essentials: The ’80s!
  • Columns S-Z
    • Schlock & Awe
    • Shakespeare on Film
    • Shot for Shot
    • Sick Flix
    • Unnatural Selections
    • Versus
    • Video Word Made Flesh
    • We Got Lists
    • Women in Horror
    • The Xeno File
    • Zombies 101
  • Reviews
    Featured
    • Psycho Goreman (2021)

      Eric Muller
      February 12, 2021
      Movies, Reviews
    Recent
    • Psycho Goreman (2021)

      Nate Zoebl
      February 12, 2021
    • Advance Review: Bad Girls (2021)

      Paul Brian McCoy
      February 9, 2021
    • Shadow in the Cloud (2020)

      Nate Zoebl
      February 2, 2021
    • Books
    • DVD/Blu-ray
    • Movies
    • TV
    • Series
  • Interviews
    Featured
    • Interview with Indie Horror Master, Chris Bickel

      Eric Muller
      July 13, 2018
      Interviews
    Recent
    • Interview with Indie Horror Master, Chris Bickel

      The Final Girl
      July 13, 2018
    • David Black: Carnies, Carnage, and the Creative Chaos of Darkness Visible

      Dan Lee
      March 7, 2017
    • Jaiden Kaine joins the Marvel Universe as new Luke Cage baddie, Zip

      Andre Lamar
      September 29, 2016
    • SDCC 2016 Interviews: The Cast and Creators of Batman: The Killing Joke

      Jason Sacks
      July 28, 2016
    • SDCC 2016 Interviews: The Cast and Creators of Syfy’s Van Helsing

      Dave Hearn, Paul Brian McCoy
      July 27, 2016
    • Wondercon Interview: The Cast of Damien

      Gary Richardson, Laura Akers
      April 16, 2016
  • News
    Featured
    • John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum arrives on Digital 8/23 and 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, DVD and On Demand 9/10

      Eric Muller
      July 30, 2019
      DVD/Blu-ray, News
    Recent
    • John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum arrives on Digital 8/23 and 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, DVD and On Demand 9/10

      psychodr
      July 30, 2019
    • X-Men: Dark Phoenix arrives on Digital 9/3 and 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray and DVD 9/17

      Paul Brian McCoy
      July 16, 2019
    • Avengers: Endgame arrives on Digital 7/30 and Blu-ray 8/13

      psychodr
      July 16, 2019
    • Trailers
  • Psychos
  • Merchandise
Breaking
  • Psycho Goreman (2021)
  • Advance Review: Bad Girls (2021)
  • Shadow in the Cloud (2020)
  • Promising Young Woman (2020)
  • Possessor: Uncut (2020)
  • Wonder Woman 1984 (2020)
  • RSS
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • Tumblr
  • Who We Be
  • Contact
  • PDI Press
    • PDI Press Catalog
    • PDI Press Writers
      • Fiction
  • Columns A-D
    • A Fistful of Dollar Comics
    • ABCs of Horror
    • All Binge… No Purge
    • Anything Joes
    • Beautiful Creatures
    • Big Eyes Smart Mouth
    • Big Sleeps and Long Goodbyes
    • Cahiers du Horror
    • Dispatches From the Field
    • Drive-In Saturday
    • Dungeons & D-Listers
  • Columns F-P
    • The Final Girl
    • First Looks… Second Thoughts
    • The Flesh is Weak
    • Innocence and Experience
    • Lost in Translation
    • Page to Screen
    • Popcorn Cinema
    • Psycho Essentials: The ’80s!
  • Columns S-Z
    • Schlock & Awe
    • Shakespeare on Film
    • Shot for Shot
    • Sick Flix
    • Unnatural Selections
    • Versus
    • Video Word Made Flesh
    • We Got Lists
    • Women in Horror
    • The Xeno File
    • Zombies 101
  • Reviews
    • Books
    • DVD/Blu-ray
    • Movies
    • TV
    • Series
  • Interviews
  • News
    • Trailers
  • Psychos
  • Merchandise
Home
Movies

Advance Review: Ghostbusters (2016)

Eric Muller
July 14, 2016
Movies, Reviews

Ghostbusters is the reboot of the classic 1984 film of the same name; yes it is a reboot, not a continuation of the much-loved franchise. Now, I could go through and write an article just on the marketing of this film and all its failures but that has been talked about already. I am here to talk about the new film starring Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones and directed & co-written by Paul Feig of Spy and Bridesmaids fame.

Let me tackle the biggest issue first: yes, when compared to the 1984 Ghostbusters, this new movie is not as good, but what movie could be? The sequel to the original is just the same movie again with the cast clearly phoning it in but we still love it, so why not give this new movie a chance? With that out of the way, the new Ghostbusters film has some positives and some negatives going for it.

ghostbusters-01

Ghostbusters follows paranormal enthusiasts Erin Gilbert (Wiig) and Abby Yates (McCarthy), nuclear engineer Jillian Holtzmann (McKinnon) and subway worker Patty Tolan (Jones) as they deal with the new threat of a ghost invasion of New York. The four new Ghostbusters are the prime example of what works and doesn’t work with this film. Wiig and McCarthy, in my mind, were the weakest of the new Ghostbusters. While McKinnon and Jones are playing characters, Wiig and McCarthy are playing themselves with weak character development and even weaker chemistry. In the first 15 minutes, Wiig and McCarthy go through of an arc of hating each other to being best friends again in a Hollywood trope that I hate. McKinnon and Jones give the performances that carry the collective group in this film. McKinnon plays oddball very well and she has a great action setpiece in the third act that should help her land work in more action comedies. I owe Leslie Jones an apology, since based on the trailers, I thought she would be the weakest link in the cast but she plays straight man to everyone and does it very well. The worst parts with Jones’ character are in the trailer but she really does well in the film.

My favorite performance in this movie is Chris Hemsworth as dumb yet hot assistant, Kevin. Chris plays dumb to a level I haven’t seen since Channing Tatum in 21 Jump Street. Hemsworth has some of the funniest moments in this film, and he steals every scene he is in. I am happy to see Hemsworth try to stretch his acting wings into comedy and unlike in 2015’s Vacation, this is a memorable performance.

ghostbusters-02

Ghostbusters 2016 tries to blend comedy and horror much like the original but I’m not sure if Feig’s humor works well with the horror genre. If you love his comedy writing then you will love all the jokes in this movie, if you are not a fan of his humor, Chris Hemsworth will help you get through it. The story for the new Ghostbusters is nothing new and this does lead to some pacing issues. The first act seems to lag, then the second act is too short, just to make room for the big third act.

One pressing issue I had with this film was the fact that they did themselves a disservice by making this a reboot instead of a continuation of the Ghostbusters universe. They spend too much time on trying to familiarize the audience with the Ghostbusters world, which leads to the aforementioned pacing issues.

We all know who and what the Ghostbusters are, you do not need to re-educate us. We can figure it out.

ghostbusters-03

While trying to familiarize the audience with Ghostbusters, the creative minds behind the new film brought back the cast from the original for cameos, but only half of them have good cameos. I mean the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man has a better cameo than Bill Murray – a sentence I never thought I would type in my life.

At the end of the day, though, does this new Ghostbusters deserve all the hate that the Internet seems to have had for it before it was ever even released? No. Is it going to ruin your childhood memories of the original film? Not any more than Ghostbusters 2 did. I believe in this possible new franchise for the Ghostbusters;, the mix of humor, horror, and special effects work. I would have given this movie a 3 out of 5 stars but the post-credit scene is brilliant and pumps the grade up to a 3.5 out of 5 stars.

(Visited 25 times, 1 visits today)
Advance Review: Ghostbusters (2016)
Eric's Rating
3.5Overall Score
Reader Rating: (0 Votes)

Share this:

  • Tweet
  • Share on Tumblr

Like this:

Like Loading...

Related

Chris HemsworthEric MullerGhostbustersGhostbusters (2016)Kate McKinnonKristen WiigLeslie JonesMelissa McCarthyPaul Feig

How to Save Us (2014)
Lost in Translation 169: Being Adaptation Ready

About The Author

monsterid
Eric Muller

Eric Muller is the co-host of the Ramble On About Movies podcast and is part of the award-winning film group, Edwin J Hill.

FACEBOOK

FACEBOOK

Daily Top Ten

  • Women in Horror: I Spit on Your Grave (2010)Women in Horror: I Spit on Your Grave (2010) by The Final Girl
  • Advance Review: The Legend of Tarzan (2016) Blu-rayAdvance Review: The Legend of Tarzan (2016) Blu-ray by Paul Brian McCoy
  • Unnatural Selections: Insecticidal (2005)Unnatural Selections: Insecticidal (2005) by Brooke Brewer
  • POPCORN CINEMA 32: You and the ShmooPOPCORN CINEMA 32: You and the Shmoo by John E. Meredith
  • Interview of the 50 Foot Cheerleaders!Interview of the 50 Foot Cheerleaders! by Jason Sacks
  • Throne of Blood (1957)Throne of Blood (1957) by Rick Shingler
  • Batman Begins (2005) ReviewBatman Begins (2005) Review by Kelvin Green
  • All Superheroes Must Die 2: The Last Superhero (2016)All Superheroes Must Die 2: The Last Superhero (2016) by Fred L. Taulbee Jr.
  • Sick Flix: American Guinea Pig - Bouquet of Guts and Gore (2014)Sick Flix: American Guinea Pig – Bouquet of… by Corin Totin
  • All Hail the Newest Scream Queen: Samara WeavingAll Hail the Newest Scream Queen: Samara Weaving by Paul Brian McCoy

PDI Press Bestsellers

Entertainment Earth

Weekly Top Ten

  • Everybody Dies: Hamlet at Elsinore (1964)Everybody Dies: Hamlet at Elsinore (1964) by Rick Shingler
  • Sick Flix: Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom (1975)Sick Flix: Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom (1975) by Corin Totin
  • Advance Review: The Legend of Tarzan (2016) Blu-rayAdvance Review: The Legend of Tarzan (2016) Blu-ray by Paul Brian McCoy
  • Women in Horror: I Spit on Your Grave (2010)Women in Horror: I Spit on Your Grave (2010) by The Final Girl
  • Unnatural Selections: Two-Headed Shark Attack (2012)Unnatural Selections: Two-Headed Shark Attack (2012) by Brooke Brewer
  • The Final Girl: I Spit on Your Grave (2010)The Final Girl: I Spit on Your Grave (2010) by The Final Girl
  • The Searchers: A Quaint and Polite Film about Racism, Rape, and RemorseThe Searchers: A Quaint and Polite Film about… by Thom V. Young
  • The Hills Have Eyes (1977) vs The Hills Have Eyes (2006)The Hills Have Eyes (1977) vs The Hills Have Eyes (2006) by Corin Totin
  • Page to Screen: The Boys Season OnePage to Screen: The Boys Season One by Paul Brian McCoy
  • Drive-In Saturday: The Big Bird Cage (1972)Drive-In Saturday: The Big Bird Cage (1972) by Paul Brian McCoy
Entertainment Earth

Latest Reviews

  • Psycho Goreman (2021)

    Nate Zoebl
    February 12, 2021
  • Advance Review: Bad Girls (2021)

    Paul Brian McCoy
    February 9, 2021
  • Shadow in the Cloud (2020)

    Nate Zoebl
    February 2, 2021

Latest Columns

  • Everybody Dies: Hamlet at Elsinore (1964)

    Rick Shingler
    February 19, 2021
  • Anything Joes: S01E11 – G.I. Joe #3 / The Trojan Gambit

    Greg Engle
    February 17, 2021
  • Sundance Film Festival 2021: Judas and the Black Messiah (2021)

    Peterson Hill
    February 4, 2021

INSTAGRAM

psychodrivein

Today at http://psychodrivein.com Everybody Dies: Today at http://psychodrivein.com

Everybody Dies: Hamlet at Elsinore (1964)

The fact that Hamlet at Elsinore was filmed at the ACTUAL Elsinore castle creates a striking verisimilitude.
---
Read more of Rick's article at the link in our profile!

#ShakespeareOnFilm #Shakespeare #WilliamShakespeare #Hamlet #HamletAtElsinore #ChristopherPlummer #MichaelCaine #DonaldSutherland #RobertShaw
Today at http://psychodrivein.com Anything Joes: Today at http://psychodrivein.com

Anything Joes: S01E11 - G.I. Joe #3 / The Trojan Gambit

Greg and Jaren discuss the giant robot invading The PIT, and explore how science fiction fits into the G.I. Joe universe.
---
Listen to the guys discuss this comic at the link in our profile!

#AnythingJoes #GIJoe #MarvelComics @anythingjoespod
Today at http://psychodrivein.com Psycho Goreman Today at http://psychodrivein.com

Psycho Goreman (2021)

Psycho Goreman is like a gloriously inappropriate Power Rangers episode for adults.
---
Read more of Nate's review at the link in our profile!

#PsychoGoreman #StevenKostanski #OwenMyre #MatthewNinaber #NitaJoseeHanna #AdamBrooks
Today at http://psychodrivein.com Advance Review: Today at http://psychodrivein.com

Advance Review: Bad Girls (2021)

Bad Girls is a kaleidoscopic fever dream of rapid-fire cuts, over-the-top violence, psychedelic drug orgies, raging punk metal screams, and dashes of existential angst.
---
Read more of Paul's review at the link in our profile!

#BadGirls #TheThetaGirl #ChristopherBickel #MorganShaleyRenew #SenethiaDresch #ShelbyLoisGuinn
Today at http://psychodrivein.com Sundance Film F Today at http://psychodrivein.com

Sundance Film Festival 2021: Judas and the Black Messiah

The standout performance in Judas and the Black Messiah is Kaluuya as Fred Hampton.
---
Read more of Peterson's review at the link in our profile!

#Sundance #Sundance2021 #SundanceFilmFestival #SundanceFilmFestival #JudasAndTheBlackMessiah #ShakaKing #DanielKaluuya #LaKeithStanfield #JessePlemons
Today at http://psychodrivein.com Anything Joes: Today at http://psychodrivein.com

Anything Joes: Adroit Theory G.I. Joe Glass Set Unboxing

Greg takes a quick look at the recently released Adroit Theory 7 piece glassware set.
---
Watch Greg's unboxing video at the link in our profile!

#AnythingJoes #AdroitTheoryBrewing #Beer #Glassware #GIJoe @anythingjoespod
Today at http://psychodrivein.com Sundance Film F Today at http://psychodrivein.com

Sundance Film Festival 2021: Ailey (2021)

Ailey might not break any narrative and cinematic ground as a documentary, but it is a gorgeous evocation of artistry.
---
Read more of Peterson's review at the link in our profile!

#Ailey #SundanceFilmFestival #SundanceFilmFestival2021 #Sundance2021 #JamilaWignot #AlvinAiley
Today at http://psychodrivein.com Anything Joes: Today at http://psychodrivein.com

Anything Joes: Top 10 G.I. Joe Classified Figures of 2020!

Greg & Jaren share their thoughts on the top 10 best releases from the G.I. Joe Classified line last year.
---
Watch Greg and Jaren count them down at the link in our profile!

#GIJoe #GIJoeClassified #AnythingJoes @anythingjoespod
Today at http://psychodrivein.com Shadow in the C Today at http://psychodrivein.com

Shadow in the Cloud (2020)

Shadow in the Cloud would have been better with a little more pruning, a little less Max Landis, and some tonal consistency.
---
Read more of Nate's review at the link in our profile!

#ShadowInTheCloud #ChloeGraceMoretz #RoseanneLiang #MaxLandis
Today at http://psychodrivein.com Sundance Film F Today at http://psychodrivein.com

Sundance Film Festival 2021: Jockey (2021)

Clint Bentley’s sophomore effort, Jockey, is a handsome and elegant character study that finds an aging horse jockey towards the end of his career.
---
Read more of Peterson's review at the link in our profile!

#Sundance2021 #Sundance #SundanceFilmFestival #SundanceFilmFestival2021 #Jockey #CliftonCollinsJr #ClintBentley #MoisesArias #MollyParker #AdolphoLevoso
Today at http://psychodrivein.com Sundance Film F Today at http://psychodrivein.com

Sundance Film Festival 2021: Passing (2021)

Passing is an extraordinary directorial debut.
---
Read more of Peterson's review at the link in our profile!

#Sundance2021 #SundanceFilmFestival #SundanceFilmFestival2021 #Sundance #Passing #RebeccaHall #RuthNegga #TessaThompson #AndreHolland
Today at http://psychodrivein.com Anything Joes: Today at http://psychodrivein.com

Anything Joes: S01E10 - Winterfest

Greg and Jaren recount their time at the first G.I. Joe Convention of 2021, Winterfest.
---
Listen to @anythingjoespod at the link in our profile!

#AnythingJoes #GIJoe #Winterfest
Load More... Follow on Instagram

TWITTER

My Tweets

Look Who's Talking

Amari Wolfe
Amari Wolfe - 12/11/2020
Popcorn Cinema: Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (1964)
Don't know why, but the mention of Whammo Air Blasters made me laugh until it hurt. Very nicely...
mega leo
mega leo - 12/5/2020
Women in Horror: I Spit on Your Grave (2010)
To torture someone takes a cold kind of sadism. One that exceeds rage or revenge. One that shows a...
Dignan
Dignan - 10/29/2020
Nosferatu (1979)
Thanks for that, I can never seem to nail down that movie!
RSSTwitterFacebookinstagramtumblr

Archives

Large_rectangle_336X280
All work on this site is Copyright © each individual writer.
  • PDI Press
    • PDI Press Catalog
    • PDI Press Writers
      • Fiction
  • Columns A-D
    • A Fistful of Dollar Comics
    • ABCs of Horror
    • All Binge… No Purge
    • Anything Joes
    • Beautiful Creatures
    • Big Eyes Smart Mouth
    • Big Sleeps and Long Goodbyes
    • Cahiers du Horror
    • Dispatches From the Field
    • Drive-In Saturday
    • Dungeons & D-Listers
  • Columns F-P
    • The Final Girl
    • First Looks… Second Thoughts
    • The Flesh is Weak
    • Innocence and Experience
    • Lost in Translation
    • Page to Screen
    • Popcorn Cinema
    • Psycho Essentials: The ’80s!
  • Columns S-Z
    • Schlock & Awe
    • Shakespeare on Film
    • Shot for Shot
    • Sick Flix
    • Unnatural Selections
    • Versus
    • Video Word Made Flesh
    • We Got Lists
    • Women in Horror
    • The Xeno File
    • Zombies 101
  • Reviews
    • Books
    • DVD/Blu-ray
    • Movies
    • TV
    • Series
  • Interviews
  • News
    • Trailers
  • Psychos
  • Merchandise
%d bloggers like this: