Eric Muller" />
Psycho Drive-In logo
Search
  • PDI Press
    Featured
    • BETTY WHITE VS THE STUPID WORLD: The Movie

      Eric Muller
      January 17, 2022
      Fiction, PDI Press, PDI Press Writers
    Recent
    • BETTY WHITE VS THE STUPID WORLD: The Movie

      John E. Meredith
      January 17, 2022
    • Betty White Vs the Stupid World (Chapter Seven)

      John E. Meredith
      January 16, 2022
    • Betty White Vs the Stupid World (Chapter Six)

      John E. Meredith
      January 15, 2022
    • 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
    • The Marvels (2023)

      Eric Muller
      November 22, 2023
      Movies, Reviews
    Recent
    • The Marvels (2023)

      Nate Zoebl
      November 22, 2023
    • The Fall of the House of Usher (2023)

      Peterson Hill
      October 23, 2023
    • Heart of Stone (2023)

      Nate Zoebl
      August 18, 2023
    • Books
    • Comics
    • 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
    • "PATER NOSTER AND THE MISSION OF LIGHT" UNLEASHES TERRIFYING UNDERGROUND HORROR - A PSYCHEDELIC CULT MOVIE EXPERIENCE COMING SOON!

      Eric Muller
      November 15, 2023
      Movies, News
    Recent
    • “PATER NOSTER AND THE MISSION OF LIGHT” UNLEASHES TERRIFYING UNDERGROUND HORROR – A PSYCHEDELIC CULT MOVIE EXPERIENCE COMING SOON!

      psychodr
      November 15, 2023
    • Breaking Down The Upcoming DC Studios Slate

      Paul Brian McCoy
      February 1, 2023
    • 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
    • Trailers
  • Psychos
  • Merchandise
Breaking
  • The Marvels (2023)
  • The Fall of the House of Usher (2023)
  • Heart of Stone (2023)
  • Obstacle Corpse (2022)
  • Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One (2023)
  • Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023)
  • 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
    • Comics
    • DVD/Blu-ray
    • Movies
    • TV
    • Series
  • Interviews
  • News
    • Trailers
  • Psychos
  • Merchandise
Home
Movies

Advance Review: Ghostbusters (2016)

Eric Muller
July 14, 2016
Movies, Reviews

Warning: A non-numeric value encountered in /home/psychodr/public_html/wp/wp-content/themes/valenti/library/core.php on line 1104

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

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.

Related Posts

  • ABCs of Horror 2016 Day 31: W is for Sigourney Weaver

    Laura Akers
    October 31, 2016
  • First Looks Second Thoughts: Star Wars: The Last Jedi Trailer #2

    Eric Muller, Paul Brian McCoy, Peterson Hill
    October 11, 2017

Daily Top Ten

  • resident-evil-final-chapter-headerResident Evil: The Final Chapter (2017) by Paul Brian McCoy
  • i-spit-on-your-grave-09The Final Girl: I Spit on Your Grave (2010) by The Final Girl
  • AttackInterview of the 50 Foot Cheerleaders! by Jason Sacks
  • cake-05Cake (2014) by The Final Girl
  • Uzumaki_3Uzumaki (2000) by Matthew Fantaci
  • trueblood409b copyTrue Blood 4.09 “Let’s Get Out of Here” by Rafael Gaitan
  • PF3Pulp Fiction (1994) by Paul Brian McCoy
  • crossing4Crossing the Line by Jason Sacks
  • Satana 1Easter Zombie Movie Marathon 2013 Day 6: Astro Zombies by Paul Brian McCoy
  • WD_Cleaning_HouseThe Walking Dead 4.09 “After” by Paul Brian McCoy
400x400 GI Joe Funko Banner

Weekly Top Ten

  • i-spit-on-your-grave-09The Final Girl: I Spit on Your Grave (2010) by The Final Girl
  • blade-runner-2049-headerBLADE RUNNER 2049: The Sad and Lonely World of the… by Psychodr
  • i-spit-on-your-grave-09Women in Horror: I Spit on Your Grave (2010) by The Final Girl
  • HHSR-harlotHaunted House on Sorority Row (2014) by Paul Brian McCoy
  • legend-tarzan-headerAdvance Review: The Legend of Tarzan (2016) Blu-ray by Paul Brian McCoy
  • 2-headed-shark-attack-headerUnnatural Selections: Two-Headed Shark Attack (2012) by Brooke Brewer
  • Murder-Set-Pieces-03Sick Flix: Murder-Set-Pieces (2004) by Corin Totin
  • salo-headerSick Flix: Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom (1975) by Corin Totin
  • RY-pictureAdvance Review: Russian Yeti – The Killer Lives by Paul Brian McCoy
  • hills-have-eyes-02The Hills Have Eyes (1977) vs The Hills Have Eyes (2006) by Corin Totin
400x400 UA Affiliate Banner

Latest Reviews

  • The Marvels (2023)

    Nate Zoebl
    November 22, 2023
  • The Fall of the House of Usher (2023)

    Peterson Hill
    October 23, 2023
  • Heart of Stone (2023)

    Nate Zoebl
    August 18, 2023

psychodrivein

Today at https://psychodrivein.com The Marvels (2 Today at https://psychodrivein.com

The Marvels (2023)

No Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) movie has had a bigger trail of negative buzz than The Marvels.
---
Read more of Nate's review at the link in our profile!

#CaptainMarvel #MsMarvel #WandaVision #TheMarvels #CaptainMarvel2 #NiaDeCosta #BrieLarson #TeyonahParris #ZaweAshton #ImanVellani #SamuelLJackson
Today at https://psychodrivein.com "PATER NOSTER Today at https://psychodrivein.com

"PATER NOSTER AND THE MISSION OF LIGHT" UNLEASHES TERRIFYING UNDERGROUND HORROR - A PSYCHEDELIC CULT MOVIE EXPERIENCE COMING SOON! 

The eagerly awaited underground horror movie from Christopher Bickel, "Pater Noster and the Mission of Light," enters its final stages of post-production with an anticipated release in early 2024.
---
Read more at the link in our profile!

#PaterNoster #MissionOfLight #PaterNosterAndTheMissionOfLight #ChristopherBickel #UndergroundCinema #UndergroundHorror #IndipendentFilm #AdaraStarr #BadGirls #TheThetaGirl
Today at https://psychodrivein.com Lost in Transl Today at https://psychodrivein.com

Lost in Translation: The Bond Project - Goldfinger

Goldfinger is the prototypical 007 film and performed well at the box office.
—-
Read more of Scott’s article at the link in our profile!

#LostInTranslation #TheBondProject #Goldfinger #SeanConnery #HonorBlackman #BernardLee #CecLinder #DesmondLlewelyn #GertFrobe #HaroldSakata #IanFleming #JamesBond #ToshTogo #LoisMaxwell
Today at https://psychodrivein.com Anything Joes: Today at https://psychodrivein.com

Anything Joes: S01E70 - Pyramid Of Darkness (4) / Chaos In The Sea Of Lost Souls 

Greg and Jaren continue their journey as Cobra tries to activate the fourth and final control cube! Will they succeed? Will someone explain to me how Tomax and Xamot feel pain? 
---
Watch the guys from @AnythingJoesPod at the link in our profile!

#AnythingJoes #GIJoe #GIJoeARealAmericanHero #PyramidOfDarkness #ChaosInTheSeaOfLostSouls
Today at https://psychodrivein.com Lost in Transl Today at https://psychodrivein.com

Lost in Translation 451: She-Hulk: Attorney-at-Law

She-Hulk: Attorney-at-Law leans heavily into one of Marvel Comics’ strengths – characters who are more than just a heroic icon, superheroes who have lives outside being a hero where the two halves interfere.
---
Read more of Scott's article at the link in our profile!

#LostInTranslation #SheHulk #SheHulkAttorneyAtLaw #BenedictWong #CharlieCox #GingerGonzaga #JameelaJamil #JoshSegarra #MaliahArrayah #MarkRuffalo #TatianaMaslany #TimRoth
Today at https://psychodrivein.com Anything Joes: Today at https://psychodrivein.com

Anything Joes: S01E69 - Snakes on a Plane

Greg and Jaren discuss the news and happenings in the world of G.I. Joe! In this episode: Super 7's Cobra Mothership, Hiya Toys Major Bludd, Mezco 1:12 Duke, and Void Rivals 1 - 4!
---
Watch the @AnythingJoesPod guys at the link in our profile!

#AnythingJoes #Super7 #CobraMothership #Mezco #Duke #HiyaToys #MajorBludd #VoidRivals #RobertKirkman
Today at https://psychodrivein.com The Fall of th Today at https://psychodrivein.com

The Fall of the House of Usher (2023)

The Fall of the House of Usher ranks with the very finest of Mike Flanagan’s work.
---
Read more of Peterson's review at the link in our profile!

#TheFallOfTheHouseOfUsher #Netflix #MikeFlanagan #BruceGreenwood #CarlLumbly #CarlaGugino #EdgarAllanPoe #HenryThomas #KateSiegel #MalcolmGoodwin #MarkHamill #MaryMcDonnell #RahulKohli #SamanthaSloyan #SauriyanSapkota #TniaMiller #WillaFitzgerald #ZachGilford
Today at https://psychodrivein.com POPCORN CINEMA Today at https://psychodrivein.com

POPCORN CINEMA 52: Olaf Ittenbach's NO REASON and Other Violent Shit 

CINEMA: Oh, I've seen a few things. Ittenbach was part of the German underground gore movement of the late 80s, early 90s . . . wait, did you want to hear about this?
---
Read more of John's article at the link in our profile!

#PopcornCinema #OlafIttenbach #NorReason #BurningMoon #GermanUndergroundGore #Gore #German
Today at https://psychodrivein.com Cahiers du Hor Today at https://psychodrivein.com

Cahiers du Horror 13: Who is Gahan Wilson?

Gahan Wilson is single-handedly my favorite horror cartoonist slash illustrator.
---
Read more of Fred's article at the link in our profile!

#CahiersDuHorror #GahanWilson
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Latest Columns

  • Lost in Translation: The Bond Project – Goldfinger

    Scott Delahunt
    November 10, 2023
  • Anything Joes: S01E70 – Pyramid Of Darkness (4) / Chaos In The Sea Of Lost Souls

    Greg Engle
    November 8, 2023
  • Lost in Translation 451: She-Hulk: Attorney-at-Law (2022)

    Scott Delahunt
    October 27, 2023

Look Who's Talking

Barbie Worldwide
Barbie Worldwide - 8/5/2023
Lost in Translation 429: The Barbie Movie Teaser
Barbie still in the driver's seat and the movie is speeding past a billion by August 7, 2023.
John E. Meredith
John E. Meredith - 4/5/2023
EZMM 2023 Day 3.1: Zombie for Sale (2019)
Of course, I just woke up from an old-man nap and had a strong urination before reading this, so now...
John E. Meredith
John E. Meredith - 4/3/2023
EZMM 2023 Day 1.1: I Am a Hero (2015)
Oh hell yeah. Looks like one more thing to add to my watch list.
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
    • Comics
    • DVD/Blu-ray
    • Movies
    • TV
    • Series
  • Interviews
  • News
    • Trailers
  • Psychos
  • Merchandise