I watched How to Train Your Dragon 2 yesterday afternoon. I absolutely adored the first movie, and the second was just as good. I would have tweaked the ending a bit, but other than that it was a fantastic film with incredible animation.
I've watched quite a few movies at home lately but the most recent movie I saw in theatres was Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. It's not a 44; it's not even a 28% either. But it's definitely not great. The word that best describes it is: baffling. After I see Civil War this weekend I might further explain my thoughts on BvSDoJ, since they're so thematically similar.
Last movie I saw in theatres was Captain America: Civil War. I enjoyed it. Although, Winter Soldier is a much stronger movie.
I still plan on doing a comparison of these two movies, but I'll wait until I see the Ultimate Edition of BvSDoJ.
The last movie I saw was "Ghostbusters: Answer the Call" at the theatre. In 3D, even (which was pretty neat and fun). I unabashedly adore the original 1984 film. I can appreciate it's less than stellar sequel. I have fond memories of watching the "Real" Ghostbusters cartoon series as a kid. I've read some of the comic series they've put out in recent years. And playing through "Ghostbusters: The Video Game" (written by Akroyd and Ramis, essentially as the third film) last generation was an absolute treat and love letter to fans. I cannot say the same for this reboot. Despite all the Internet backlash in recent months, I went into it optimistic and with an open mind. I wanted it to succeed because I want more from the franchise and this is supposed to serve as a tentpole for launching a "cinematic universe" (ever elusive for Sony). Reboots are fine (my fondness for Nolan's Batman Begins is not hidden), but there was a strange undercurrent throughout this film to take down the original film needlessly. Bill Murray shows up in an unnecessary second cameo, and he dies by being thrown out of a window. Kevin, the receptionist, is a total dunce that characters fawn over (and why, I don't know what point they tried to make here. Since Janine in the original was not fawned over - Egon was pretty much oblivious to her - and she was smart and sassy). There's nothing occult or mythic about the villain here, he's just a nerd (i.e., the franchise's core audience). He's no Gozer the Gozerian or Vigo the Carpathian or Azetlor the Destroyer... or even Samhain the Ghost of Halloween; he's just Rowan... the angry Reddit nerd. The "big bad" at the end is a gigantic version of the familiar Ghostbusters logo that they fight and shoot in the crotch to defeat (I can't think of no better heavy-handed metaphor, really). There was a lot of explaining imaginary tech that didn't need to be explained. We don't see the birth of the Proton Pack in the original, we can simply infer from Egon's genius that he's able to do it. Holtzmann keeps popping up in this movie with a "I made this now!" scene and then whatever she makes is ultimately underused (but would be pretty cool in a video game. Like, come on, ghost grenades!?). All of this falls on writing and directing - not the cast. I was not among those complaining about a female cast. Female Ghostbusters are nothing new in the franchise's expanded universe (Janine, Kylie, anonymous Rookie in the Wii version of the game). I did have some concerns on the casting early on (never particularly been a fan of McCarthy or Wiig) - but they were all mostly fine. They did the best they could with the material they were given. I don't get why Abby Yates and Erin Gilbert are both Ray Stanz-like "straight man" characters, but again that comes down to the material, not the actors. The Jillian Holtzmann is this... typical "mad scientist" kind of character. Closest counterpart would be Egon Spengler, but he's more aloof. McKinnon's character is cooky. I could see her being used in comics down the road. She'd fit in with the "Extreme Ghostbusters" team for the 90s cartoon. Jones as Patty Tolan was probably the most relatable - filling in that everyman role that Winston Zeddemore in the originals. With the exception that his ethnicity wasn't a defining characteristic of his character. He was black, but he wasn't the "street-wise" black character. But that is what Patty is, by her own dialogue even. But again, writing is at fault here. She does deliver perhaps the most wonderfully mundane and typically Ghostbusters-feeling line of the movie though... Towards the end of the movie, a ghostly Kevin/Rowan hybrid has an entire army and police force frozen in a strange pose. It looks like a dance number is about to break out, but it doesn't, and it's kind of a missed opportunity but whatever. The Ghostbusters show up to this bizarre scene and Patty exclaims "Why are they doing that?" or something along those lines. That kind of dialogue is what I like about the old movies, the bland mundaneness of it; highlighting the absurdity of the situation. Classic lines like Janine going "picking up, or dropping off?", or Egon's non-sequiturs, Venkman's reaction to Ray saying he isn't a god, etc. They are not haha moments, but simply grin-worthy. But these are few and far between in this reboot. The audience gasped and groaned a couple times too in the half-empty theatre I attending. I guess I can't condemn fart jokes ("from the front" as the dialogue eloquently puts it) or all the different ways to flip the bird on display, when the original has the infamous ghostly intimacy scene with Ray and a couple dick jokes from Peter. I've been to screenings of the original movie though, and no one gasped at those. So, that's something. The plot overall felt incomplete and rushed (as opposed to the mythos of Akroyd and Ramis). And a lot of the jokes were "modern" and Sandler-ly with running gags that wouldn't end. Chinese food and poor proportions of wonton are a constant. The subtitle of "Answer the Call" is also fitting given the inability of Kevin to successful use a phone throughout the movie. Overall, the movie is weird and unnecessary. The end. (honestly, a ghostly dragon? Did a dragon die in NYC? Where'd it come from? Why? And why are Macy's balloons haunted. What on earth)
A dance number did break out...during the credits. But again, it wan't funny. I was just thinking "Why is this happening? Why does Rowan/Kevin want these people to dance?" This was truly one of the worst villains I've ever seen. The Ghostbusters never seemed intimated by him or sympathetic towards him. If the Ghostbusters don't care about him and what he's doing, then why should the audience?
Watched Eye in the Sky, a movie surrounding a drone strike against terrorists in Kenya. Normally I don’t care for silly suspense, but this was serious enough to catch my eye. Plus it had the guy who played Snape, and how could I say no to that? :p
Last movie in theatres: The Beatles: Eight Days a Week - The Touring Years Last movie at home: Pan's Labyrinth
I saw Rogue One the Wednesday after Christmas. It was a bit slow to start but still better than the prequels, and it ended with one of the best battles in the franchise's history. Initial reaction is that I liked The Force Awakens better overall upon leaving the theater, but I need to rewatch TFA to see whether that's actually the case.
