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Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021, D: J. Reitman) -- S: Coon, Rudd -- The Spoiler Reviews Thread

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View Poll Results: What did you think of Ghostbusters: Afterlife?
4.69%
15.63%
43.75%
14.06%
6.25%
6.25%
3.13%
3.13%
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0
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Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021, D: J. Reitman) -- S: Coon, Rudd -- The Spoiler Reviews Thread

Old 10-31-22, 06:58 PM
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Re: Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021, D: J. Reitman) -- S: Coon, Rudd -- The Spoiler Reviews Thread

Oh hell, I’ll say it …


Three?
Old 10-31-22, 10:29 PM
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Re: Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021, D: J. Reitman) -- S: Coon, Rudd -- The Spoiler Reviews Thread

Originally Posted by tanman
So I have a confession to make.

I've never seen any of the Ghostbusters movies.

Considering I'm a male in my 40's that's pretty much heresy. I'm definitely familiar with the property and have definitely watched parts of the first two and watched the Real Ghostbusters cartoon occasionally. But never really sat down and watched the movies.

So I decided to correct that and watched all three of them this past week for Halloween.

Ghostbusters - wow great movie. I'm surprised how much of the movie I was already familiar with despite never having fully watched it all. Of course Bill Murray is legendary in this but didn't realize how funny he was in the movie. I definitely didn't expect the movie to be so horny though. Especially for a "family movie." WTF was up with that ghost BJ scene?!

Ghostbusters 2 - This was definitely not the classic the first one was. Still an okay movie and kind of furthered the characters but was just kind of a retread of the original and a lot more self aware then it should have been.

Afterlife - I was really kind of blown away by this movie. This is really the way you handle a long dormant beloved franchise. I don't know maybe since I'm new to the IP and haven't been a decades long fan I didn't have the built in expectations that could go along with that. I appreciate that this movie had so much providence and really cared about the original movie. Just the fact that it was Jason Reitman who directed it was really cool. The love and care they showed in how they handled Ramis's death was really something else as well. I can't think of another IP who handled the death of a actor so well. I was really impressed with the kids in this movie as well. They weren't annoying at all and weren't just one dimensional caricatures of kids. Mckenna Grace was really impressive in this movie. One of the move impressive child performances in recent memory and is what really elevates this movie. She's the link between the past and the future of Ghostbusters and she handled it remarkably well. Maybe I missed it, since it wasn't on my radar, but I'm kind of disappointed this movie didn't seem to get as much buzz at it should have. I guess the timing of the release with the pandemic was pretty unfortunate. Because it's really once of the best 70's/80's property sequels/reboots that I can think of.
I'm a long-time fan of the franchise and your sentiments mirror my own. I'm surprised at the hate Afterlife gets but to each their own.
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Old 11-01-22, 10:25 AM
  #128  
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Re: Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021, D: J. Reitman) -- S: Coon, Rudd -- The Spoiler Reviews Thread

Originally Posted by Abob Teff
Oh hell, I’ll say it …


Three?
Seven?
We just typing random numbers here?
Old 11-01-22, 12:17 PM
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Re: Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021, D: J. Reitman) -- S: Coon, Rudd -- The Spoiler Reviews Thread

Originally Posted by jjcool
Seven?
We just typing random numbers here?
Presumably, the number of times Count Dooku was in a movie theater with parents who didn't want to get a sitter.
Old 11-01-22, 01:45 PM
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Re: Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021, D: J. Reitman) -- S: Coon, Rudd -- The Spoiler Reviews Thread

Originally Posted by Count Dooku
When Ghostbusters was released in 1984, it was not a "family film" or one that children were taken to see. People in 1984 knew that Murray, Ackroyd, and Ramis were not in the kid-friendly comedy business.

It was the Real Ghostbusters cartoon that introduced the property to children, and is in part to blame for the mediocrity of GB2.


If you are a person who loves the 1984 movie, then you are a person who loves a horror-comedy created by and starring a bunch of the greatest comic talents working in the early 80s. It's not the idea of people having to bust ghosts that makes the movie worthwhile; it's who was involved.
A legacy sequel that continues the story of the 1984 film is fine and hits the nostalgia button, but ultimately it is a movie about kids busting ghosts with Ant-Man in a supporting role.
Children were absolutely taken to the movie. It is rated PG. I was 7 when it came out and went to see it at the theater several times. It was all over the place. I believe the video game was a massive hit before the cartoon as well. Children were already well aware of Ghostbusters.
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Old 11-01-22, 02:03 PM
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Re: Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021, D: J. Reitman) -- S: Coon, Rudd -- The Spoiler Reviews Thread

Ah yes, a gentle reminder of all the times I was in a movie theater with parents who didn't want to get a sitter, so they brought their too-young kids with them, and the kids just ending up running up and down the aisles, or playing on the floor down in front of the screen.
In the late 90s and early 2000s, I lived within 10 minutes of a multiplex discount Cinemark theater, so I went there A LOT, usually to last showings, and I'm talking about R-rated movies and real adult dramas.
I don't have a number to say how many times I observed this behavior, but it was common enough for me to conclude that some people thought this was a normal thing to do. I suspect that since the movies were starting after 9pm, the parents figured that the kids would just fall asleep in their seats.
Old 11-01-22, 02:14 PM
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Re: Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021, D: J. Reitman) -- S: Coon, Rudd -- The Spoiler Reviews Thread

Originally Posted by clckworang
Children were absolutely taken to the movie. It is rated PG. I was 7 when it came out and went to see it at the theater several times. It was all over the place. I believe the video game was a massive hit before the cartoon as well. Children were already well aware of Ghostbusters.
It is not my recollection from the summer 1984 that children were being taken to see Ghostbusters. I was an adult, and my recollection is that it was considered a movie for adults. However, if other people had a different life experience, then so be it. I can't argue with that.
I will maintain that Ghostbusters is not and was not intended to be a "family film." It's a comedy and the comedy is absolutely aimed an adult audience, specifically the SNL generation that was immersed in dark and ironic humor. As I recall the movie in my mind, I am hard pressed to think of anything funny that a child would understand besides Murray getting slimed.
Old 11-01-22, 08:07 PM
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Re: Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021, D: J. Reitman) -- S: Coon, Rudd -- The Spoiler Reviews Thread

Originally Posted by tanman
So I have a confession to make.

I've never seen any of the Ghostbusters movies.
Being a virgin to the Ghostbusters franchise, I would be curious about what you thought of the 2016 reboot that produced a ton of discord and fan backlash.
Old 11-01-22, 08:08 PM
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Re: Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021, D: J. Reitman) -- S: Coon, Rudd -- The Spoiler Reviews Thread

I took my kids to see Ghostbusters. They were under 10. The comedy is goofy enough for all ages to enjoy. And the characters are cartoon-like a lot of the times.
Old 11-01-22, 08:26 PM
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Re: Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021, D: J. Reitman) -- S: Coon, Rudd -- The Spoiler Reviews Thread

the Egon stuff was pretty awesome, but the rest was fairly forgettable.

Old 11-02-22, 06:51 AM
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Re: Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021, D: J. Reitman) -- S: Coon, Rudd -- The Spoiler Reviews Thread

Originally Posted by Josh-da-man
Being a virgin to the Ghostbusters franchise, I would be curious about what you thought of the 2016 reboot that produced a ton of discord and fan backlash.
You should read his post then.

Edit to add: Oh, wait. You're referring to that other film. I had forgotten about the female-led film. That would be interesting.

Last edited by clckworang; 11-02-22 at 06:59 AM.
Old 11-02-22, 07:41 AM
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Re: Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021, D: J. Reitman) -- S: Coon, Rudd -- The Spoiler Reviews Thread

Chris Hemsworth was the only funny part of the GB reboot. And I am generally a fan of 3 of the 4 female leads.
Old 11-02-22, 08:23 AM
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Re: Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021, D: J. Reitman) -- S: Coon, Rudd -- The Spoiler Reviews Thread

Yeah I saw Ghostbusters as a kid too, I mean it was a PG movie (right before PG-13 came out) and it wasn't any raunchier than many of the other PG rated movies (or scarier than say Temple of Doom or Gremlins). But my parents let me watch a ton of Murray/Ramis movies including Stripes and Caddyshack, which were much worse in many ways.

It does still amaze me that they were allowed to turn hard R films like Robocop, Police Academy and Toxic Avenger into kids cartoons
Old 11-02-22, 11:17 AM
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Re: Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021, D: J. Reitman) -- S: Coon, Rudd -- The Spoiler Reviews Thread

Originally Posted by The Cow
Presumably, the number of times Count Dooku was in a movie theater with parents who didn't want to get a sitter.
Perhaps we'll never know.
Old 11-02-22, 11:36 AM
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Re: Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021, D: J. Reitman) -- S: Coon, Rudd -- The Spoiler Reviews Thread

I was 8 when the original Ghostbusters came out and it was very much "my" movie and not one that my parents liked. I'm sure 20-somethings liked it too but my parents were in their 30s and 40s and it wasn't the kind of movie they enjoyed.

It obviously wasn't a "kids movie" like an animated or family film would be, but it was a movie that kids my age liked. Looking at the top movies of 1984, The Terminator, Beverly Hills Cop, Temple of Doom, Gremlins, The Karate Kid, Police Academy, Splash, Romancing the Stone and Footloose were also the movies that me and my friends loved and our parents didn't.
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Old 11-02-22, 11:47 AM
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Re: Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021, D: J. Reitman) -- S: Coon, Rudd -- The Spoiler Reviews Thread

Originally Posted by Draven
I was 8 when the original Ghostbusters came out and it was very much "my" movie and not one that my parents liked. I'm sure 20-somethings liked it too but my parents were in their 30s and 40s and it wasn't the kind of movie they enjoyed.

It obviously wasn't a "kids movie" like an animated or family film would be, but it was a movie that kids my age liked. Looking at the top movies of 1984, The Terminator, Beverly Hills Cop, Temple of Doom, Gremlins, The Karate Kid, Police Academy, Splash, Romancing the Stone and Footloose were also the movies that me and my friends loved and our parents didn't.
but…but…Count Dooku says…
Old 11-02-22, 12:32 PM
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Re: Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021, D: J. Reitman) -- S: Coon, Rudd -- The Spoiler Reviews Thread

Originally Posted by Hazel Motes
but…but…Count Dooku says…
It would be pointless to get into a debate about what people claim to remember from when they were children almost 40 years ago, and as I have already posted my friends' six year old son watches Ghostbusters repeatedly. So, obviously, I know that it is a movie that children DO watch and CAN enjoy. It has CGI ghosts and things blowing up. It has people running around and screaming. It has a catchy theme song with repetitive lyrics and something to shout.

It's not for them.



I can absolutely see a child understanding and being thrilled/entertained by the first three minutes of this movie. I don't believe for a second that a child fully understands what is happening (and what viewers are supposed to learn about Venkman) in the next four minutes.

Ghostbusters is a comedy. Most of the comedy is dark and ironic. The dialogue is filled with sarcasm and subtext. That's not what a "family film" was in 1984.

My mother took me to see Jaws. It was the most popular movie in the world, and everybody was talking about it, and the only way she was going to see it was if she took her child along, and it was rated PG. So yeah, I was a child who saw Jaws. Nevertheless, it wasn't meant for children.

Old 11-02-22, 12:43 PM
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Re: Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021, D: J. Reitman) -- S: Coon, Rudd -- The Spoiler Reviews Thread

Poltergeist was also rated PG and I'm not so sure it should have been. Yes, I was taken by my dad to see it in the theater before I turned eight. There are parts of that movie that are still in my mind 40 years later.
Old 11-02-22, 01:27 PM
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Re: Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021, D: J. Reitman) -- S: Coon, Rudd -- The Spoiler Reviews Thread

Originally Posted by Count Dooku
It would be pointless to get into a debate about what people claim to remember from when they were children almost 40 years ago, and as I have already posted my friends' six year old son watches Ghostbusters repeatedly. So, obviously, I know that it is a movie that children DO watch and CAN enjoy. It has CGI ghosts and things blowing up. It has people running around and screaming. It has a catchy theme song with repetitive lyrics and something to shout.

It's not for them.



I can absolutely see a child understanding and being thrilled/entertained by the first three minutes of this movie. I don't believe for a second that a child fully understands what is happening (and what viewers are supposed to learn about Venkman) in the next four minutes.

Ghostbusters is a comedy. Most of the comedy is dark and ironic. The dialogue is filled with sarcasm and subtext. That's not what a "family film" was in 1984.

My mother took me to see Jaws. It was the most popular movie in the world, and everybody was talking about it, and the only way she was going to see it was if she took her child along, and it was rated PG. So yeah, I was a child who saw Jaws. Nevertheless, it wasn't meant for children.
So, it wasn't a family film even though it's clear that many families went together to go see it ... and it had a lot of appeal for kids. But the main point is you're still right. Got it.

I wasn't aware that a family film had to have every element be catered specifically to a child's understanding and viewpoint. Silly me. I always thought the best family movies and programs catered to all people and had elements everyone could enjoy, much in the same way something like Looney Tunes appealed to children and younger audiences but also included humor meant for adults to enjoy. But if Dooku says so, it must be right.
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Old 11-02-22, 01:30 PM
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Re: Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021, D: J. Reitman) -- S: Coon, Rudd -- The Spoiler Reviews Thread

Originally Posted by Count Dooku
It would be pointless to get into a debate about what people claim to remember from when they were children almost 40 years ago, and as I have already posted my friends' six year old son watches Ghostbusters repeatedly. So, obviously, I know that it is a movie that children DO watch and CAN enjoy. It has CGI ghosts and things blowing up. It has people running around and screaming. It has a catchy theme song with repetitive lyrics and something to shout.

It's not for them.



I can absolutely see a child understanding and being thrilled/entertained by the first three minutes of this movie. I don't believe for a second that a child fully understands what is happening (and what viewers are supposed to learn about Venkman) in the next four minutes.

Ghostbusters is a comedy. Most of the comedy is dark and ironic. The dialogue is filled with sarcasm and subtext. That's not what a "family film" was in 1984.

My mother took me to see Jaws. It was the most popular movie in the world, and everybody was talking about it, and the only way she was going to see it was if she took her child along, and it was rated PG. So yeah, I was a child who saw Jaws. Nevertheless, it wasn't meant for children.
You are absolutely exhausting.
Old 11-02-22, 01:46 PM
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Re: Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021, D: J. Reitman) -- S: Coon, Rudd -- The Spoiler Reviews Thread

Originally Posted by Draven
I was 8 when the original Ghostbusters came out and it was very much "my" movie and not one that my parents liked. I'm sure 20-somethings liked it too but my parents were in their 30s and 40s and it wasn't the kind of movie they enjoyed.

It obviously wasn't a "kids movie" like an animated or family film would be, but it was a movie that kids my age liked. Looking at the top movies of 1984, The Terminator, Beverly Hills Cop, Temple of Doom, Gremlins, The Karate Kid, Police Academy, Splash, Romancing the Stone and Footloose were also the movies that me and my friends loved and our parents didn't.
We are about the same age. I'm just a year younger, but I have very vivid memories of seeing in theaters Ghostbusters, Temple of Doom, Gremlins, Romancing the Stone, Splash, Footloose, Karate Kid, and even Greystoke: Legend of Tarzan.

My grandma would often take all of the grandchildren to the movies. There were four of us. My sister was the oldest at 5 years above me, and the youngest was maybe 2 years behind me. I'm almost certain one time at Ghostbusters was with all the grandchildren. I remember all of us waiting to see Temple of Doom when it opened. The theater even gave out some 8x10s and such after the showing. I think I even still have some of that. In my family, the movies were seen as a place the whole family could go.
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Old 11-02-22, 01:55 PM
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Re: Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021, D: J. Reitman) -- S: Coon, Rudd -- The Spoiler Reviews Thread

Still trying to wrap my head around the fact that my favorite movie from my childhood was not actually for me and that I only liked the explosions and not Venkman saying "mother pus bucket" and "I feel so funky". Wonder why I liked it so much?
Old 11-02-22, 01:57 PM
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Re: Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021, D: J. Reitman) -- S: Coon, Rudd -- The Spoiler Reviews Thread

Originally Posted by Draven
Still trying to wrap my head around the fact that my favorite movie from my childhood was not actually for me and that I only liked the explosions and not Venkman saying "mother pus bucket" and "I feel so funky". Wonder why I liked it so much?
And we totally missed the dark irony in the marshmallow man.
Old 11-02-22, 02:03 PM
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Re: Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021, D: J. Reitman) -- S: Coon, Rudd -- The Spoiler Reviews Thread

Originally Posted by clckworang
And we totally missed the dark irony in the marshmallow man.
We probably said "Nice thinking Ray" to every dumb idea we ever had growing up. Little did we know we didn't UNDERSTAND it.
Old 11-02-22, 02:20 PM
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Re: Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021, D: J. Reitman) -- S: Coon, Rudd -- The Spoiler Reviews Thread

So it's the Looney Tunes of the theatrical world? With adult themes and comedy that go right over the heads of children?


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