Absurdism corner

[Caine]

Another franchise ruined

Oh man. That's bad. I'm going to ignore the existence of this one.

 

[WizardStan]

What does worry me the most, however, is how gorram bad the movie looks from the trailers

Ah, another fake geek. Have you recently watched the original Ghostbuster's trailer? The new trailer was intentionally designed to pay homage to it: similar shots, similar pacing, all intended to drive a sense of 80s nostalgia. If you were a true fan you'd know that.
Does the trailer suck? Yes, yes it does, because it was modeled after the original trailer. If you judge this movie as bad based on the trailer then you must, necessarily, judge the original movie as bad based on the very similar trailer. Fortunately there's enough of us true fans that recognize the brilliance that was the original and what they've done with the reboot.

 

[_jr_]

What is the problem, exactly? To me it doesn't look any worse than the original.

 

[levi]

Not enough Bill Murray, I guess.

 

[rygD]

I haven't watched the trailer for the new one. The thing is, though, that the originals were bad. Extremely cheesy. They didn't take themselves seriously, and that is why they are still so enjoyable and fondly remembered.

They are comedy films. Do I need to mention the ectoplasm in the library , zapping the guy who got the cards correct while not zapping the woman that got them wrong, the giant Stay Puft marshmallow man, the Twinkie, or sleeping with the mood slime? I also watched the cartoons, including the newer series.

Be happy there is any new Ghostbusters, even if it sucks. Let's hope it sucks in the same way, or is even better than the original.

 

[levi]

So films with jokes in are all bad now are they?

I've seen people complaining that the jokes in the trailer are no good, and one is borderline racist.

But it's fair to say the original trailer was also no good, on a comedy front. It doesn't contain any of the gags you remember. and the only real one I could spot was Murray's 'dogs and cats' line.

 

[rygD]

I've seen people complaining that the jokes in the trailer are no good, and one is borderline racist.

I thought there was a racist joke in one of the originals, no borderline. I should go back and watch them again (primarily because I like them, but also to refresh my memory on everything). I don't know what condition the DVDs are in.

So films with jokes in are all bad now are they?

Nah, the jokes are just how they tell everyone else to join in the fun.

I am reminded of how the fancy remake of Evil Dead sucks compared to the original, yet the series Ash vs Evil Dead has a lot of the classic charm and stupidity (also found in the Hercules and Xena series by some of the original team). Lucy Lawless is also in the new series. If you are a fan of Evil Dead, check it out.

Remakes/reboots themselves aren't bad. Consider Battlestar Galactica.

 

[levi]

Yeah, there's probably something racist in the original, considering it has a token black cast member. But you can't get away with that kind of stuff in 2016.

I guess you only like dark humour, that's fair enough I guess. Still strikes me to as harsh call straight humour films actually bad films, but I can see where you're coming from now.

And of course some reboots are good films; the 70s Body Snatchers film comes to mind as a good reboot.

 

[rygD]

Yeah, there's probably something racist in the original, considering it has a token black cast member.

I think he was the one that made the joke I am talking about.

But you can't get away with that kind of stuff in 2016.

You sure about that? Racist jokes seem to be alive and well in mainstream media.

I guess you only like dark humour, that's fair enough I guess. Still strikes me to as harsh call straight humour films actually bad films, but I can see where you're coming from now.

Not only, but it is amongst my favorite types. Some of the stuff in Evil Dead (especially 2 and Army of Darkness) is slapstick (actually, Ash vs Evil Dead is full of slapstick, too, but its Ash...and now he has friends...and racist jokes). Same for a lot of stuff by Raimi and friends. The snot comment in Ghostbusters, as well as the thing about sleeping above the bed, and the thing about many subtle levels of cleanliness of laundry in the second one are also fun, and among the many jokes that always come back in funny ways. (I have made that comment about laundry in the last year, and a couple days ago I was watching Paranormal Activity 4 and was reminded of the bedroom scene I just mentioned.)

My comment about Ghostbusters being bad has nothing to do with the comedy. In fact, it is the comedy that keeps them from being what many seem to think the new one will be. If the first 2 were trying to be serious they wouldn't have been too succesful at it. Also, a lot of bad movies are very enjoyable. I would still like the old Ghostbusters without the comedy, but that is because I appreciate everything else that it has to offer. Like the first Evil Dead. Or go and look through Bruce Campbell's career, and even amongst those that aren't comedies there are some gems (although not to say they aren't bad).

Perhaps you are getting too stuck on my choice of the word bad. I don't use that to mean it isn't enjoyable or financially successful, as the Ghostbusters series is both of those. I use it to mean it is lacking something important to similar works. Although the Ghostbusters franchise is comedy, they are also ghost/supernatural movies. Bad ones. I can only remember one scene across both films that is good, in that context, and the rest of it is just cheesy.

 

[TrashyMG]

I hate this trend of rebooting shit, I see they're rebooting Mcgyver TV series as well.

I was discussing this at my game night a few weeks ago and one thing that came up is how this movie portrays the female equivalent of the Winston character. Winston was a Joe everybody, a black man who was actually the sanest guy in the bunch, who was an equal and just as hard working and capable as the rest of the group. How the previews make it out to be it seems they reduced this character to just a stereotypical sassy black woman providing comic relief. To me it seems like a disservice. I guess things were a bit more progressive back in the 80's. I may rent this movie to see if it's as bad as I expect it to be, but to be fair I do know a bit of Women in my gaming circle looking forward to it, so maybe they will get something out of it.

Also agree with the lack of Bill Murray.

 

[rygD]

Absolutely, with Winston. He was just there to get paid, yet he was the one with his head on straight.

If they are really out of ideas, and that is why they keep trying to reboot things, I have plenty of things I can sell them to make into movies and TV shows. It is rare that they bring something back for the original fans (X-Files and Ash vs Evil Dead seem to be recent exceptions, while 21 Jump Street and possibly Ghostbusters are examples of what I mean, and their countless others). I do wonder what the goal of all this is. At least they won't ruin Star Tre...DAMN IT!

 

[Klumpen]

considering it has a token black cast member.

They planned to get Eddie Murphy for this role (fitting for a comedy) but it didn't work out, so they shoved the whole character to the side and took away focus from him (quite literally).
The Plan-B Winston is still the single sane, honest and humble guy in the bunch.

 

[iprice]

The thing is, if nobody goes to see this GhostBusters movie, the franchise is dead. Totally. And, I for one, don't want GhostBusters to ever be dead

Yeah, it may not be the film fans wanted, but let's actually watch the film first before slating it. And like it or not, it is another Ghostbusters movie, with ghost busting in it. An surely that;s really what the film should be about?

Anyway, I'm looking forward to seeing it, despite my lack of enthusiasm for the trailers.

 

[Caine]

So films with jokes in are all bad now are they?

No, only the ones with American jokes.

 

[TrashyMG]

The thing is, if nobody goes to see this GhostBusters movie, the franchise is dead. Totally. And, I for one, don't want GhostBusters to ever be dead

The original movie is a work of art, in many ways I see it as a perfect execution of a comedy movie. It's also my favorite movie period. I don't necessarily care if the franchise continues on, does it really need to?

 

[iprice]

Some people definitely want the series to continue.

I loved both GB movies - especially the first. I also enjoyed the Real GB cartoon, which continued the series in an accepted manner. The other cartoon (ExtremeGBs?) came just a bit too late in my life to watch, but by all accounts it was enjoyed by those that did watch it, so yeah, why not continue the series in some manner.

There's certainly plenty of scope for more GB in any format, so why stop at just one movie, especially when fans are still asking for more? Fans have wanted GB3 for decades. Whether the series needs to continue or not is a different matter completely. While there is still demand, then why shouldn't it?

If you don't find it (the new film of continuation of the franchise) appealing then don't watch it. That's the choice you have as a consumer.

 

[rygD]

The other cartoon (ExtremeGBs?) came just a bit too late in my life to watch

It was on at a really inconvenient time for me, but I caught it sometimes. I am pretty sure I am much older now than you were when that came out and I still watch cartoons (I have the Simpsons on right now...and Homer, who is older than me, watches cartoons).

 

[levi]

I don't think I've ever seen Ghostbusters 2. I mean, I love the first one but lightning can't strike twice.

 

[rygD]

Well, there is mood slime in it.

 

[iprice]

It was on at a really inconvenient time for me, but I caught it sometimes. I am pretty sure I am much older now than you were when that came out and I still watch cartoons (I have the Simpsons on right now...and Homer, who is older than me, watches cartoons).

I meant that I was out working or busy doing other things like running a home when it was on - not that I was too old to watch it.