“Ghostbusters (2016)” Mostly Escapes the Ghost of the Original

Ghostbusters (2016), directed by Paul Feig, had a solid opening this past weekend, taking in about $46 million. That’s a good enough box office take that there’s already talk that a sequel is likely. Fun fact: the original Ghostbusters had a sequel too. It was so lackluster that I didn’t remember anything about it. Then I read about Ghostbusters II to refresh my memory, and I wished I hadn’t. But that’s OK! Because I saw a pretty good Ghostbusters today.

Ghostbusters stars Kate McKinnon, Leslie Jones, Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, and Chris Hemsworth. Though often referred to as an all-female remake of the original Ghostbusters, it’s not at all a remake. It’s a new riff on a familiar topic, telling the origin story of this particular group of ghost wranglers.

The story is what one would expect of a Ghostbusters movie. When ghosts start appearing in New York City, a bit of shared history and a bit of chance brings the four ladies together. They set up shop above a Chinese restaurant and hire Kevin (Chris Hemsworth), a handsome yet useless idiot who can’t even handle a basic phone call. So, basically Thor (kidding – mostly). But he’s nice to look at, so what more do they need in an assistant? As they investigate the paranormal disturbances, they discover that a sorry loser of a guy who can’t handle the fact that the world doesn’t cater to him is trying to bring about the end of the world by laying devices in a large “X” across the city. The “X” represents “lay lines”, which delineate areas where ghosts can easily cross over into the corporeal plane. As the movie builds toward the ghost apocalypse, the Ghostbusters must deal with a Mayor’s office that privately applauds their actions while publicly denouncing them. Ultimately, the ladies end up successfully fighting a lot of ghosts with old and new tools alike.

It’s a fun movie that takes a solid story outline (for a ghost movie, and with a slightly weak ending) and fills it with the great personality of the headline actresses. Both Leslie Jones and Melissa McCarthy are great. Kate McKinnon’s eccentricity is amazing. Only Kristen Wiig feels a half-step behind expectations with her more straight-laced yet embarrassingly goofy character. All except Wiig would hold their own with the 1984 cast of Bill Murray, Dan Akroyd, Ernie Hudson, and Harold Ramis.

Indeed, the movie has just enough familiar iconography and Easter eggs for fans of the original to make it a fun wink without overwhelming the feeling of this being a new era. Murray, Akroyd, and Hudson themselves made brief cameos in the movie: Murray as a paranormal skeptic, Akroyd as a cabbie during the apocalypse, and Hudson as an uncle who owns a funeral home. Slimer also makes an appearance, as does Sigourney Weaver at the very end.

In all, Ghostbusters mostly manages to escape the ghost of the original. It’s lighter in tone and it’s deliberately different. For those who grew up with the perfection of the original (it has a 97% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes), it’s difficult but necessary to push that iteration to the back of one’s mind, even after 32 years. If forced to compare, this movie is a step below the original. That’s a given. Replicating the original would be impossible, and even the creators of the new version know that. Thew new Ghostbusters isn’t perfect; it suffers a bit from a somewhat weaker ending and from losing some of the darker moments. But in my mind, it’s better than Ghostbusters II by a wide margin. This new Ghostbusters is very much its own movie, and it’s the right Ghostbusters for 2016. A solid popcorn flick that provides some fun and laughter for kids and families. That’s about all you can ask any time you go to the movies.

If you’re going to go see Ghostbusters, stay for the very last closing credits scene.

Grade: B

 

The Jungle Book: Review

The Jungle Book has a new cinematic standard bearer. The 2016 Disney edition, directed by Jon Favreau, stars Bill Murray as Baloo, Ben Kingsley as Bagheera, Scarlett Johansson as Kaa, Idris Elba as Shere Khan, Lupita Nyong’o as Raksha, Giancarlo Esposito as Akela, Christopher Walken as King Louie, Garry Shandling as Ikki the porcupine, and newcomer Neel Seethi as Mowgli. A cast like that sets a high expectation for acting excellence. Favreau’s 2016 remake of The Jungle Book matches that expectation easily.

The Jungle Book tells the well-known Rudyard Kipling tale of young Mowgli, a young orphan raised by wolves in the jungles of India. The wolves follow the law of the pack, and the animals have their own social order that includes rules about all species being allowed to drink from the watering hole peacefully. Generally, Mowgli is well accepted by the animals, as he learns their ways and tries to refrain from the tool making “tricks” of mankind. But Shere Khan, the tiger, is a menacing villain in favor of killing Mowgli due to his harrowing experience of having his face burned by a man. It’s because of Shere Khan that Mowgli sets off to find a man village. He encounters all kinds of diversions, adventure, and mayhem along the way. And in the end, he must face down his feline enemy.

When I first saw the trailers for the Jungle Book, I was optimistic but hesitant. The Jungle Book is a mixture of live action and cgi. I’m naturally wary of any movie that leans heavily on cgi, even though the movie looked promising. But I enjoyed The Jungle Book more than I ever thought I could. The cgi is incredibly well done, from the range of animals that they make to capturing the detailed look and natural movement of each animal. They clearly spent a lot of time carefully observing how the animals move. The end result is that even though you know the animals are computer generated, you can absorb yourself in the story because they’re so well animated that you can suspend disbelief and and get lost in the story.

But the real strength is in the acting. The murderer’s row of actors bring their best to the movie and imbue the animals with a vibrant personality that also fits the characters’ species. Baloo truly has the sense of humor of Bill Murray. Kaa is more seductive than she could ever be with Scarlett Johansson’s voice. Raksha is a perfect mother wolf. Shere Khan and King Louie are both menacing as can be. And Bagheera is a perfect mix of noble, snobby, and protective. Bill Murray and Christopher Walken even perform updated renditions of “The Bear Necessities” and “I Wanna Be Like You”, in homage to the 1967 Disney cartoon classic.

In short, The Jungle Book is a pure delight.  It surpassed all my expectations of what I thought was possible for the movie. The 1967 cartoon version of The Jungle Book, though classic, was barely in the top half of my favorite Disney movies. The 2016 version is already one of the best Disney movies ever made in my mind, and I highly recommend it to everyone who has any interest in the movie.

Grade: A

A Very Murray Christmas is Coming to Netflix December 4th

Murray Christmas! Forget Halloween. Forget Thanksgiving. Christmas is only a little more than 2 months away. And though we all know that Thanksgiving is really a pre-Christmas celebration by a different name, what better way to get the Christmas season started than with a Christmas special by Bill Murray? Enter: A Very Murray Christmas.

Now, the more cultured of you will say, “Wait! Just you wait a second, Mr. Writer Man! Bill Murray has already made a Christmas movie!” And you would be right. Scrooged, the 1988 retelling of A Christmas Carol, will always be one of my holiday favorites. And I’m told there’s a “Murray Christmas” meme (source: the internet) that I know nothing about. But A Very Murray Christmas is new and shiny. And it’s a very real, very Christmasy present from Bill Murray to his faithful disciples fans.

The special will be directed by Sofia Coppola, who previously worked with Murray on Lost in Translation. Stars seen in the Christmas special’s trailer include Chris Rock, Amy Poehler, Paul Shaffer, Maya Rudolph, George Clooney, Miley Cyrus, Michael Cera, Rashida Jones, Phoenix, and Jason Schwartzman. If other stars make cameos as well, it will not be least bit surprising.

You can’t really glean anything about the plot from the trailer. But though the general vibe of A Very Murray Christmas reminds me a bit of A Colbert Christmas, from the split-second shots and cast, it looks like A Very Murray Christmas will have more of an actual story, whereas A Colbert Christmas is more musically oriented.

One thing’s for sure: if Bill Murray is at all still Bill Murray and he doesn’t mail it in, A Very Murray Christmas should be funny. Hopefully, we’ll have another Christmas classic on our hands. A Very Murray Christmas airs on Netflix beginning December 4, 2015.

Live Action Jungle Book Remake Trailer Released

The first trailer for Disney’s live cgi-action remake of The Jungle Book (1967) has been released. Slated for 2016, the movie is directed by Jon Favreau, who’s known mostly for Elf and the Iron Man trilogy. The film looks gorgeous and very big in scope. The Jungle Book also features some big names doing the animal voices:

 

Baloo: Bill Murray

Shere Khan: Idris Elba

Kaa: Scarlett Johansson

Baheera: Ben Kingsley

King Louie: Christopher Walken

Akela: Giancarlo Esposito

Raksha: Lupita Nyong’o

Gray: Emjay Anthony

Mowgli: Neel Sethi

 

This is actually one of two Jungle Book movies to be released. The other Jungle Book movie is currently in production and called Jungle Book: Origins with Andy Serkis (Lord of the Rings, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes) making his directorial debut. It will also star big name voice actors: Cate Blanchett, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Christian “You want me to trash your freakin’ lights” Bale. That film is set to drop in 2017.

Some outlets are calling the 2016 remake unnecessary. Well, I’m calling their hot takes unnecessary. I mean, yeah Hollywood overdoes it on the remakes. But really, we can’t give a classic story another take after nearly 50 years? The jungle jazz flute alone in the original movie just screams 1960s.

Let’s go over some pluses and minuses.

On the one hand, the original animated version does stand on its own as a classic. This is the only reason that people are saying the remake is unnecessary. That’s just lazy thinking. The original is also little kid friendly. Really little kids probably won’t be able to watch the remake because with realistic beasts, some of the scenes look scary. You should probably be at least 5 to watch the remake, whereas the original is something my toddler has been watching. And as with any movie, if the writing or acting sucks, so will the movie. That’s not a conclusion we can get out of the trailer.

The biggest hurdle facing the remake is the music. If the movie doesn’t feature enough of it, it may be a Disney flop. If the music isn’t good enough, the movie will probably stink.

Bill Murray is supposed to sing The Bare Necessities, so it’s got that going for it. Songs will also be written by Richard M. Sherman, who co-wrote songs from the original with his brother, Robert B. Sherman. And this is Disney, which has a knack for churning out catchy music like they invented it. So we’ll see. Those are at least some promising signs.

It’s also worth keeping in mind that this movie isn’t meant to blow the minds of jaded asshole adults. It’s for kids and their families. You and I were born much closer to 1967 than kids born more recently. You’re telling me after watching the trailer that The Jungle Book remake isn’t something the 8-year-old version of yourself thinks he or she would enjoy? Get out of here. Pop Culture Crunch Editor-in-Chief Nicholas “Nitro” Petersen agrees: “The live action Jungle Book movie trailer would give 8 year old me nightmares…in a good way.” Either you have no memory of being a kid, you’re lying, or as a kid you were lame.

At the very least, the trailer looks interesting. I love the voice actors they have lined up. Hopefully this remake will be one worth seeing. If not, chalk it up to another tiny hiccup from the massive Disney machine.

 

August 2015 Movie Releases (DvD & Blu-Ray)

August 4^th

Insurgent – The movie cousin to The Hunger Games has a sequel. Based upon the YA(young adult) novel, this sequel focuses on the war between four factions (Amity, Abnegation, Erudite, and Dauntless). Tris is one of the divergents (having all 4 characteristics) as she helps lead the way in a fight for peace or something like that. Starring: Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Kate Winslet and the god awful Jai Courtney.

Do You Believe? – A religious movie about how a pastor influences another pastor to be more pastorly. Starring: Mira Sorvino, Sean Astin (Rudy), and Cybill Shepherd.

True Story – This is that James Franco and Jonah Hill movie that was based on a true story. It focuses on the relationship between a writer, Finkel (Hill) and a murderer, Longo (Franco), taking upon Finkel’s identity. Finkel was a writer for the New York Times Magazine and was actually fired for fabricating parts of a news story in 2002.

Child 44 – Tom Hardy plays a Russian Intelligence agent (in the Joseph Stalin era) who takes on a case involving multiple murders of children. Leo Demidov’s (Hardy) case leads to high authorities in the Russian government. Based upon the first in a trilogy of novels by Tom Rob Smith, the story follows Demidov’s exploits. Starring: Tom Hardy, Noomi Rapace (Prometheus), Gary Oldman (The Dark Knight, The Professional), Joel Kinnaman (The Killing, upcoming Suicide Squad), Jason Clarke (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes), Vincent Cassel (Trance), and Charles Dance (Game of Thrones, The Golden Child).An incredible cast doesn’t always spell box office success. Still, I am likely to rent this.

A Little Chaos – A movie about competitive garden designers that are tasked to create a one of a kind water fountain on the grounds of le chateau de Versailles. I’m not making this up. Starring: Kate Winslet (The Reader), Alan Rickman (Harry Potter), Stanley Tucci(Transformers 4: Age of Extinction), and Matthias Schoenaerts (Bullhead).

Adult Beginners – A drama about a businessman (Nick Kroll) that loses it all but while staying with his sister (Rose Byrne) learns valuable life lessons. Starring: Nick Kroll (The League), Rose Byrne (X-Men: First Class), Bobby Cannavale (Ant-Man), Joel McHale (Ted) and Jason Mantzoukas (The Dictator, The League).

The Salvation – Mads Mikkelsen stars as a vengeful settler in the American West circa 1870s after the murder of his family. After killing the man responsible, the leader of their gang also seeks revenge. Looks like a decent flick. Starring: Mads Mikkelsen (Casino Royale, Hannibal), Eva Green (Casino Royale), and Jeffrey Dean Morgan (Watchmen).

Barely Lethal – This movie follows a 16 year old teenager assassin after she fakes her own death and enrolls in a suburban high school. She quickly learns that school clicks and popularity come at a price. Starring: Jessica Alba (Sin City), Sophie Turner (Game of Thrones), and Samuel L. Jackson (every movie). Yawn!

Madame Bovary – A drama focusing on an adulterous wife as she tries to escape her boring lifestyle. Starring: Mia Wasikowska (In Treatment, Alice in Wonderland), Ezra Miller (Trainwreck, upcoming Flash), Paul Giamatti (Sideways) and Rhys Ifans (The Amazing Spider-Man).

Jackie & Ryan – Katherine Heigl still manages to headline movies, although this one looks straight to video. The story involves two musicians as they find themselves in love. Starring Katherine Heigl, Ben Barnes and Clea DuVall.

 

August 11^th

Hot Pursuit – All of the previews for this mess looked like a rip off of The Heat with Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy. This is a ‘female buddy’ film that has a conservative cop (Reese Witherspoon) and the wife of a drug dealer (Sofia Vergara) that must team up against a drug cartel. If Sofia’s blabbering accent on Modern Family isn’t enough for you, then check this out!

Unfriended – A high school girl that killed herself due to a cruel prank now communicates via Skype in video group chats! Okay, it sounds lame but at least it’s a different way for the genre of horror to reach another generation of kids.

Robot Overlords – Humans are slaves to a race of robots that conquered the world. People are confined to their homes and must wear implants. I’m not sure how this escaped me as it stars Ben Kingsley (Ghandi, Tut) and Gillian Anderson (X-Files). I may watch if the SyFy Channel picks it up.

 

August 18^th

Little Boy – A seven year old boy ventures off to bring his father back home from the World War II. The boy’s innocence incites those embedded in the war. Starring Emily Watson, Kevin James (you read that right), Michael Rapaport, Tom Wilkinson and Ali Landry (that hot Dorito’s commercial girl).

Lambert & Stamp – This documentary chronicles the journey of aspiring filmmakers, Christopher Stamp and Kit Lambert, as they try to produce a movie during the 1960’s underground music scene. The doc also features footage with famous people related to The Who, Richard Barnes, Roger Daltry, and Pete Townshend.

5 to 7 – This is a romantic comedy that follows a woman who writes about falling in love. Things get crazy when the person she is in love with is the French diplomat’s wife! Gasp! Caged Heat sounds better.

Strangerland – A family moves to the Australian outback when a dust storm results in the loss of their children. A search party forms to find the missing children amidst rumors and suspicion. Spooky! Starring: Nicole Kidman (Fur), Joseph Fiennes (Voldemort’s brother) and Hugo Weaving (The Matrix, Lord of the Rings).

The Riot Club – In this thriller, two freshman join an infamous club at Oxford. One day, all of the spoiled, rich students get in over their heads. Based upon the play, Posh.  The movie,Skulls, is probably much better than this but that ain’t saying much!

Vendetta – Remember Dean Cain? Well, if you haven’t went out of your way to research where he’s been, you’d still only remember him for playing Superman in the TV series, Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. Mr. Cain has been playing in direct to video movies for quite some time. In this movie, he plays a cop who must get revenge after his wife is murdered by The Big Show (Paul Wight or WWE fame). This looks like hung-over viewing.

 

August 25^th

Aloha – An all-star cast surrounds this box office disappointment. Brian Gilcrest is a US weapons consultant that becomes disgraced, then later talks to a robot and then eventually heads to Hawaii to oversee the launch of a spy satellite. He must also get permission for the launch from the Hawaiian council as part of his assignment. Directed by fan-favorite Cameron Crowe (Almost Famous, Jerry Maguire) and starring: Bradley Cooper, Emma, Stone, Rachel McAdams, John Krasinski, Danny McBride, Alec Baldwin, and Bill Murray.

Citizenfour – This riveting looking documentary showcases how filmmaker, Laura Poitras (who focuses on gov’t surveillance of private citizens post 9/11) receives an encrypted email by “citizenfour” who claims to have inside knowledge of covert surveillance by intelligence agencies. “Citizenfour” ends up being Edward Snowden. The documentary focuses on key interviews with Snowden and Julian Assange. Looks very interesting.

Where Hope Grows – Holy 1980s! This movie stars Danica McKellar (The Wonder Years) and William Zabka (bad guy from The Karate Kid). The story focuses on a former professional baseball player who retires because of panic attacks. He eventually develops a relationship with a store clerk who has Downs Syndrome. His perspective on life changes and hope is learned…blah…blah…blah….I’ll pass.

Two Days, One Night – Marion Cotillard (Inception, La Vie en Rose) stars in this drama about how working class people who may have been disenfranchised from society. Sandra (Cotillard) tries to return to her job after an episode of depression only to find that her employer no longer needs her. She learns her fate is to be decided by her fellow employees in a vote.

Big Game – A teenager finds the President of the United States in a pod while hunting. Together they must make it through the woods alive as terrorists close in. Starring: Samuel L. Jackson (every movie) and Onni Tommila.

Skin Trade – Dolph Lundgren stars as a detective out for revenge after his family was slain by the mob. The mob is eventually connected to a human trafficking ring and Dolph must work with Tony Jaa (Ong Bak, The Defender), a Thai detective, to destroy them once and for all. Hung-over viewing.

Justice League: Gods and Monsters – Set in an alternate universe, DC’s trinity (Wonder Woman, Batman and Superman) find themselves framed for a bombing. DC’s main guns all have different origin stories and must decide whether they want to save the world or conquer it. Voice actors: Benjamin Bratt, Michael C. Hall, Tamara Taylor, Jason Isaacs and C. Thomas Howell. It’s a comic book animated movie! Count me in.

Lila & Eve – A drama/thriller surrounding a mother, Lila, who loses her son in a drive by shooting.  Lila eventually meets Eve, another mother who lost her daughter the same night. Together they go after the criminals responsible. Starring: Viola Davis and Jennifer Lopez. Lifetime should starting making theatrical releases.

October Gale – This follows a doctor who tries to assist an injured man on an island from a man that is hunting him. Starring Patricia Clarkson, Scott Speedman, and Tim Roth.

The Runner – Nicolas Cage is back again as a once idealistic politician that must re-examine his life after a sex scandal destroys his career. Not to be confused with a good movie, this stars Nicolas Cage, Sarah Paulson (12 Years a Slave), Peter Fonda (Easy Rider) and Connie Nielsen (Gladiator). Will Nic Cage ever make a comeback from box office obscurity?

Disney is about to live in its Past….with live action remakes!!!

Today, the Hollywood Reporter reported that Disney would be developing a live action remake to the 1963 classic,  The Sword in the Stone. Brian Cogman (Game of Thrones) is set to write the script from Brigham Taylor, one of the producers of Pirates of the Caribbean. Let’s not forget that there’s going to be another King Arthur movie coming out soon as well — Knights of the Round Table: King Arthur (this is set to be a 6 film franchise with Guy Ritchie directing!). Personally, the best incarnation of King Arthur is Excalibur…hands down! You owe it to yourself to see that classic.

Just last week it was reported that there is going to be a live action Genies movie , an origins story based off of Aladdin that Disney hopes will become a franchise in its own right and eventually lead to a live action retelling of Aladdin.

Then there’s Jon Favreau’s The Jungle Book (there is another Jungle Book movie being developed with Warner Bros. and Andy Serkis directing — The Jungle Book : Origins). What’s crazy is that both movies will have A-list casts. Favreau’s film will have Bill Murray, Idris Alba, Ben Kingsley, Scarlett Johannson, Lupita Nyong’o, and Christopher Walken. Andy Serkis’ version (first time director) will have Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Naomie Harris,  and Benedict Cumberbatch attached. I don’t understand why both of these movies are going to be forced down audiences’ throats. I guess dueling at the box office (over the same stories) has yet to end.

That’s just the tip of what’s going to be coming from Disney! Here’s everything else that’s currently in the works.

Alice Through the Looking Glass (sequel to Alice in Wonderland) – May 2016
Beauty and the Beast – March 2017
Dumbo (being directed by Tim Burton) – 2017
Winnie the Pooh – TBD
Mulan – TBD
Pinnochio – TBD
Maleficent (yes, another one) – rumored
Tink (Tinkerbell from Peter Pan) – TBD – Reese Witherspoon recently announced to star as Tink.
Prince Charming (of Cinderella) – TBD

If you didn’t already know, Disney owns Marvel and Lucasfilm. It’s not like they should be hurting for money now or in the foreseeable future. I am concerned that Disney isn’t taking any chances on original ideas but then I’d be wrong in saying that. Actually, Disney has poured a LOT of money into getting more original material in theaters but sadly has failed pretty miserably in the category (see: Tomorrowland, John Carter, Mars Needs Moms, Treasure Planet, The Lone Ranger). So, what do they do to recoup? Rely on their tested and true material or…..just bank on for sure wins like Marvel movies, Pixar films and the anticipated release of those Star Wars movies.

Afterthought: If I had to make my dream live action version of a Disney animated film it would be Aladdin and involve these filmmakers:

Dream Director: Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire, Trance)
Dream Cinematographer: Wally Pfister (Inception)
Dream Writer: Wes Anderson (The Grand Budapest Hotel, Rushmore)

In Defense of the All-Female Ghostbusters Remake

If you don’t know, now you know: the iconic 1984 movie Ghostbusters is being remade with an all-female core cast. Ghostbusters is scheduled to hit theaters in July 2016.  Instead of Bill Murray, Dan Akroyd, Harold Ramis, and Ernie Hudson, the Ghostbusters remake will star Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, Kate McKinnon, and Leslie Jones as the eponymous quartet. Who’s excited? Perhaps not as many people as could be. 

Yes, the movie is still a year away, and we have no idea what the movie will actually be like. But there’s something a little off about the public’s vibe in reaction to the movie. It smells a little iffy. My dog just sniffed the air. She’s getting something. Ah, yes – she says it’s the invidious stench of misogyny. 

Stay with me, here. 

Obviously, not every negative reaction to the Ghostbusters remake has anything to do with misogyny. The original was so great, and it is so seared into viewers’ brains, that many cannot even imagine a universe in which the remake can hold a candle to the original. That’s true of every classic movie remake, and there’s a reason. For instance, the Total Recall remake. Yikes. It’s especially true when the movie in question stars comedic giants whose legend has grown over the years. And let’s face it – nobody wants Hollywood messing with their nostalgic memories. 

But there’s something else going on, and I’m not going to go trolling the web searching for examples. This is the internet – you know this is happening.  And if it’s happening on the internet, it’s happening in the real world as well. 

For some (but not all), the idea of an all-female cast is a great source of hesitation. Wherever a Ghostbusters item appears online, I can guarantee there is at least one guy shitting all over the movie for the simple reason that the Ghostbusters in this movie don’t have a dick between their legs. Sometimes it’s overtly spoken; sometimes the subtext is between the lines. It’s the same people that subscribe to the notion that women aren’t funny. There are still others that are more socially aware, but still have no interest in seeing a Ghostbusters remake primarily due to its leading ladies. They just do so quietly or in a more polite way. “All women? No thanks”. “Oh, that’s women’s interest – it’s not for me”. “I just can’t relate”. “I’m not into chick flicks”. Ghostbusters isn’t a romance comedy or a women’s comedy. It’s an action comedy. 

Perhaps eventually, the aversion to entertainment created by women will go away. Until then, agitating against narratives that are particularly ingrained is uncomfortable but necessary. Again, I am not speaking of all people or even all men who do not want to see the movie. We are discussing a particular slice of the entire spectrum of people who do not want to see the Ghostbusters remake. That being said, it’s enough of a slice to be noticeably pervasive. 

The perspective that dictates that women are not funny is not a perspective that I even understand. A person who refuses to acknowledge that women are funny is either a simpleton, a misogynist, or dead inside. 

For his part, Director Paul Feig isn’t having it: “Look at the backlash to what I’m trying to do with Ghostbusters,” he stated. “It’s bananas. What time is it? Oh right, it’s 2015. Is this still going on? Really?” (via Bustle) 

He went on to say there’s a reason that Ghostbusters doesn’t have a mix of men and women for the 4 leads: “It shouldn’t be these women’s movies and these men’s movies, it should be all mixed up,” Feig says. “Which is why people are like, ‘Well you should mix Ghostbusters,’ but I have too many funny women I want to put in there. I don’t want to take a job away from them. It’s a cause, but it’s a selfish cause because I just know too many funny women.” (via Bustle) 

It’s worth nothing that there is also another movie in the Ghostbusters universe starring 4 men as the leads; that movie is scheduled to come out in 2017. But Feig’s version isn’t setting out to be a women’s action comedy or a women’s movie. It’s a movie for everybody, starring four human beings who happen to be women. 

Will it suck? Maybe. Maybe not. Nobody knows. Maybe it will be great. I’m withholding judgment on the merits of the movie until I actually see it. If Ghostbusters is going to be a bad movie or even a so-so movie, it will not be because its stars are women. It will be because it was written, acted, directed, or edited poorly. The vitriol of the internet will certainly always remain, as will the imperfections of human beings. Moreover, nobody has to like or want to see the Ghostbusters remake. Nobody is forcing anybody to manufacture excitement about the movie. Just don’t let misogyny be a factor in disliking the movie. 

When Ghostbusters comes out in 2016, it will be 32 years since the original. The original is one of the first movies I remember loving. For me, like everyone else, nothing could duplicate the greatness of the original. It simply cannot be exactly the same, even if it was possible for the entire original cast to try to recreate the movie line by line. That benchmark is not rooted in reality. This is a remake, but it is also something new. It is different, but all it is meant to do is entertain. After 32 years, why not try a remake? It doesn’t threaten the original Ghostbusters or make it go away. The success of the new Ghostbusters, or lack thereof, is of no concern to me. 

What is import is that the four leading women of Ghostbusters are getting a rare opportunity for the action-comedy genre. Perhaps in the future, that will not be a notable detail. Until then, some must simply open the closed, musty cellar of their minds. As more details come out, here’s to hoping that more people come to discover that the Ghostbusters is a movie they might enjoy.