Blindspot 2018: Ghostbusters (1984)

Plot: Three former parapsychology professors set up shop as a unique ghost removal service.

Whether you’ve seen it or not, you really know who to call. Ghostbusters (1987) is one of the most instantly recognizable films and soundtrack – like the Matrix, another Blindspot choice, you know of it whether you have seen the film or not.

Bill Murray is a surprisingly hunky (sorry) scientist, Venkmen. He is fired from his plush job at the university, and has an idea to start a business capturing supernatural creatures, and takes his equally fired colleagues Ray Stantz (Dan Aykroyd) and Egon Spengler (Harold Ramis) with. They officially become Ghostbusters, hunting down the alarmingly high number of supernatural creatures on the loose in New York City.

In fulfilling these activities, they attract the attention of Dana Barrett (Sigourney Weaver), who has the really annoying supernatural phenomena of cooking eggs on her countertop and a demon named Zuul, who naturally won’t settle for anything less than destroying the world. The Ghostbusters set themselves on the task of saving said world, while procuring the affections of Dana for Peter.

A remake of this classic film was released in 2016, and man, there were a lot of angry men. I’ve been told that not all men were pigheaded in this regard, and with that I agree – some aren’t sexist prigs. However, I can see why they were so angry – the original Ghostbusters have some rather sexist attitudes – Peter Venkmen is rather persistent in Dana Barrett, even after her explicitly stating that she’s not all that interested. That type of humor was okay back in the 80’s, and I am sure a lot of men still subscribe to the nothing that even if a woman is clearly not interested, you should still harass her. But I digress. There is also the fact that all the heroes are men – and I do like a good hero – but I can see that some could feel threatened by it.

Anyway, back to the actual film. It was fun, short and packed with adventure. The graphics aren’t half bad for the time, and it is truly fun to see Bill Murray in action. It’s not my favorite role of Sigourney Weaver (Alien forever), but she’s really good to watch as always. There were some great supernatural moments, and what I genuinely liked is that this movie manages to pass as a comedy rather than some thriller, because that would never have worked.

Ghostbusters is definitely not a bad way to start my Blindspot series, and I really hope the rest of the year’s films will be equally as fun.

Rating: 7.5/10

February 15, 2018 by Natasha Categories: 2018, Blindspot, Movies, movies, Review, Reviews, UncategorizedTags: 1987, Bill Murray, Blindspot, Blindspot 2018, Comedy, Dan Akroyd, Egon Spengler, Ghostbusters, Harold Ramis, Movies, Peter Venkmen, Ray Stantz, Reviews, Sigourney Weaver, Supernatural 4 Comments

Halloween Month Movie Review: Hocus Pocus (1993)

Plot: After three centuries, three witch sisters are resurrected in Salem, Massachusetts on Halloween night, and it is up to two teenagers, a young girl, and an immortal cat to put an end to their reign of terror once and for all.

What better month to finally watch Hocus Pocus? Following news of an imminent and probably unnecessary sequel, combined with the onset of Halloween, I knew I had to finally sit down and watch this favored and loved cult classic. It was a completely different movie than I thought it would be! The acting of Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy is amazing and hilarious. Sarah Jessica Parker in particular surprised me. She’s just Carrie Bradshaw in my mind, and I couldn’t see her as something else. Well, as the beautiful, crazy and really damn weird Sarah Anderson she was all the levels of entertaining – such an inspired and crazy performance. The three actresses as the Sanderson sisters work great together; they share symmetry in their movements so accurate it is almost like watching a dance routine. Realizing that Sean Murray – always Timothy McGee in NCIS to me – is the poor Thackery Binx also gave me such delight.

I really enjoyed the performances by the Sanderson sisters and how ridiculous they were and still so nastily evil, but I did find the story just a bit lacking. There isn’t always too much structure, but even with this flaw I still had a really entertaining time with it. It’s the generic “the youth defeats the evil” storyline, and while you would just love to question everything about it, I suggest you don’t, and watch Bette Midler with really weird dentistry enchant you and make you cackle with glee.

Have you seen Hocus Pocus? Let me know what you thought!

Rating: 6/10

October 6, 2017 by Natasha Categories: 2017, Movies, movies, Review, Reviews, UncategorizedTags: Bette Midler, Comedy, Disney, Doug Jones, fun, Halloween, Hocus Pocus, Kathy Najimy, Kenny Ortega, Movies, Omri Katz, Review, Sarah Jessica Parker, Sean Murray, Spook, The Sanderson Sisters, Thora Birch, Vanessa Shaw 9 Comments

Movie Review: Sisters (2016)

Plot: Two sisters decide to throw one last house party before their parents sell their family home.

Rating: 4/10

It’s really hard for me to write out a review when I disliked a film but it didn’t inspire extreme anger in me. It’s hard to pull emotions then and put them into words. Anyone else have that problem?

Sisters should have been good. With two of the best comedic actresses out there, Sisters should have been uproariously funny. It wasn’t – the humor was flat and ill-timed and badly paced. Amy Poehler and Tina Fey looked uncomfortable and it is astonishing but they didn’t have any connection on screen. I was bored most of the time and found the entire movie to be highly implausible and utterly ridiculous. A bunch of middle class Americans completely destroying a suburban house?A sink hole taking out an entire swimming pool?The owners of the house being okay with the complete wreckage? On top of all that a happy ending for everyone involved? I mean really – I can take an enormous amount of improbability in a movie but the quantity of nonsense that occurred in the Ellis house party exceeded even my high threshold of tolerance.

Anyway, this is as much as you are getting from me. I’m really glad I didn’t travel out to go see this in cinema; it would have made it that much worse. The characters are all unlikeable, immature and just plain stupid. The forced romance is unnecessary and insincere. The charisma between the leads lacked and the entire plot was a bunch of shit.

PS: Me and my sisters are WAY cooler than this.

February 17, 2017February 3, 2017 by Natasha Categories: 2016, Movies, movies, Review, Reviews, UncategorizedTags: Amy Poehler, Comedy, Dianne Wiest, Ike Barenholtz, James Brolin, John Cena, Maya Rudolph, Movies, Reviews, Sisters, Tina Fey 8 Comments

Movie Review: Just Friends (2005)

Plot: While visiting his hometown during Christmas, a man comes face-to-face with his old high school crush whom he was best friends with — a woman whose rejection of him turned him into a ferocious womanizer.

Rating: 5/10

It’s rarely that I really don’t enjoy a movie and just wish for it to end. Mostly that only happens when Adam Sandler is involved. I’m most often on board in finding something to like about a film.  I decided to watch Just Friends because I find Ryan Reynolds the height of adorable and he was so damn cute when he just started out. This silly comedy however didn’t satisfy me on any level. Ryan Reynolds was annoying as fat Chris Brander and thin Chris Brander. He was without a personality or substance, and his thicker years didn’t bestow wisdom on him. Amy Smart as Jamie Palamino was a bit lame (okay, a lot), and I couldn’t understand why Chris was carrying a torch for her. Anna Faris as Samantha James was created to be the comedic relief, but there was no comedy nor any relief in this film. I found it stupid, insincere and not funny. I think I’m probably missing the point of the film, it’s probably one of those “So bad it’s good” things, but I’ve seen a couple of those and this wasn’t on that level. Oh well, you can’t win at everything, can you, Deadpool?

Have you seen this? What did you think?

September 23, 2016September 18, 2016 by Natasha Categories: Movies, movies, Review, Reviews, UncategorizedTags: Amy Smart, Anna Faris, Chris Klein, Chris Marquette, Comedy, Movies, Reviews, Ryan Reynolds, The Friend Zone 3 Comments

Movie Review: Wedding Crashers (2005)

Plot: John Beckwith and Jeremy Grey, a pair of committed womanizers who sneak into weddings to take advantage of the romantic tinge in the air, find themselves at odds with one another when John meets and falls for Claire Cleary.

Rating: 8.5/10

I watched Wedding Crashers for the first time a few nights ago. I know! It is terrible that I haven’t seen it yet! I really had the best time with it. The movie actually contains so much that I would usually find annoying – the two main characters are such womanizers, there are cliches and stereotypes everywhere, and the humor is often below the belt. Yet the Wedding Crashers worked – it was done with such a good feel that I couldn’t help enjoy it. I think Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson made an excellent comedic pair, and that Rachel McAdams and Isla Fischer made excellent counterparts. Christopher Walken and Bradley Cooper are also both really hilarious and Jane Seymore as the crazy mama made me laugh on a few occasions. The movie is well paced and ends before things become drawn out, and you all know I really do appreciate it. I wish more comedies could reach this level of bawdy and hilarity. I would definitely watch comedy more often then!

February 3, 2016February 2, 2016 by Natasha Categories: Movies, Reviews, UncategorizedTags: Bradley Cooper, Christopher Walken, Comedy, fun, hilarious, Isla Fisher, Jane Seymore, Movies, Owen Wilson, Rachel MacAdams, Reviews, Vince Vaughn, Wedding Crashers 7 Comments

Movie Review: What We Do in The Shadows (2014)

Plot: Viago, Deacon, and Vladislav are vampires who are finding that modern life has them struggling with the mundane – like paying rent, keeping up with the chore wheel, trying to get into nightclubs, and overcoming flatmate conflicts.

Rating: 8.5/10

Things I do in watching comedies: sarcastically snort, fondly smile or gallantly chuckle. I never LOL in them (I doubt people laugh out loud as often as the use that abbreviation, but that is another post for another day). My point is: comedies have become too formulaic with humor that they are rarely truly hilarious anymore.

I laughed out loud watching What We do In the Shadows. It is politically incorrect: Vampire Nazis, Vlad the Poker and Viego’s love for Katherine are some of the funniest things I experienced in here. It mocks the hell out of Twilight and I’m pretty sure True Blood with the vampires floating in the air. The New-Zealand accents exacerbate and the fact that we are dealing with vampires, in New Zealand, makes it just funnier. Everyone’s love for Stu but bare tolerance for Nick, swearwolves everywhere and the whole perfection of Vladislav, Viago and Deacon kept me entertained for the hour and a half it ran for. I loved the whole mockumentary style of the movie and how well that told the story.

Some favorite scenes:

Vlad, my favorite vampire of all time:

 

Probably my second favorite scene and one of the greatest laughs in the movie:

This one is for Zoë:

And then this: The funnest and craziest phrasing I’ve ever come across… LOL!!

What We Do In The Shadows is unique, hilarious and worth a try. You will hopefully shake with laughter. Definitely recommended!

October 19, 2015October 18, 2015 by Natasha Categories: 2014, Movies, ReviewsTags: Ben Fransham, Comedy, Fangs, Jerery Clement, Jonathan Brugh, Laughter, Mockumentary, New Zealand, Rhys Darby, Taika Waititi, Vampire, vampires, Vlad the Poker, What we do in the Shadows 5 Comments

Series Review: Cuckoo (2012)

Ken and Lorna Thompson live a nice normal life in a small British Town. They have a teenage son Dylan, who is very desperate to impress the popular Zoe at school, and a daughter, Rachel, who is returning from her gap year to start studying.

Rachel brings a huge surprise – a husband. Cuckoo is a hippie, strange and new age, American and incredibly sure that he has all the answers in the universe. Ken is horrified, but the eternally optimistic Lorna decides to embrace the situation.

Ken’s life quickly becomes a series of frustrations. He and Cuckoo just don’t see eye to eye, and since Rachel and Cuckoo are living with her parents, Ken feels trapped in his own home. Cuckoo doesn’t have a job, but he manages to buy a potato stand and plans to build his fortune from it. Nothing Ken does have any impact on Cuckoo, he is oblivious that his way of life is not acceptable to others. Rachel is very in love and does not understand where her father is coming from; can no one see how great her husband is?

Ken is very excited when he has the chance to become the local councillor. Cuckoo is excited for his father-in-law, and offers advice on politics, the interview, everything because he is an expert on this matter. Ken has a good interview, but Dylan is the one who ruins it for him – when Dylan kicks another teen in the balls, it turns out to be the son of the woman who needs to decide who will become the next councilor, and Ken is screwed over by his own son.

Ken and his family are off to see Lorna’s elderly father, who is still recovering from the death of his wife. Cuckoo manages to make Tony believe the house cat is the reincarnation of his wife, and soon they have a very happy Tony. However, when Ken accidentally kills the cat, everything turns around and he is once again in trouble.

Cuckoo manages to convince Lorna’s best friend, Connie that she needs to follow her dream of becoming a singer, the fact that she can’t sing doesn’t really matter. Lorna leaves Steve, her husband, and Cuckoo makes an enemy. Connie is now residing with the Thompsons, and her screeching is driving Ken nuts. Ken makes a plan to get Connie reconciled with her horrible husband, but it backfires and things don’t completely go as planned.

Rachel and Cuckoo are distraught to learn that the British government doesn’t seem to accept a nude Thai ceremony as an official marriage for some strange reason. They need to get married, or Cuckoo will be deported. Lorna is very excited because she gets to plan a wedding for her daughter, but Ken sees an opportunity to delete Cuckoo from his life, despite the fact that Cuckoo and Ken have been getting closer despite the American’s odd mannerisms. Will Ken be rid of Cuckoo once and for all? Can Steve be trusted? What will happen on the bachelor’s night?

Rating: 6.5/10

I have to confess that I am not overly fond of British television. The humour over there is much different in general from the rest of the world, and since comedies are particularly focused on a specific audience, British comedy seems to be stranger than most.

Cuckoo was luckily very funny and enjoyable.  It has a realistic premise – I think every father’s nightmare is to find out his daughter married a man so completely removed from her upbringing it is not even funny. Andy Samberg is so hilarious as the very hippy Cuckoo.  He is everything reprehensible about current culture – so sure of himself, certain everyone feels exactly how he feels about things and has no apparent thought for anyone’s comfort but his own. Yet at the same time he comes across as an apparently decent (but strange) guy who loves his new wife and has a good heart underneath all the layers of scarves he so desperately loves.

I really laughed at Ken Thompson. He is so funny and such an old man, he just wants a nice normal existence without having to revert to madness, but he will if it is needed.

Recommendation: A solid show, entertaining and funny, something to watch if you need to cheer yourself up.

October 10, 2014October 5, 2014 by Natasha Categories: Reviews, SeriesTags: Andy Samberg, Comedy, Cuckoo, Series 2 Comments

Movie Review: The Heat (2013)

FBI Agent Sarah Ashburn (Sandra Bullock) is a highly skilled detective with a bitchy and condescending attitude that makes her very unpopular at the office. When a promotion is up, her boss tells her it might not happen because she is so unpopular, but that she still has a chance if she solves a case working with the Boston Police Department.

Another oddity is found at Boston PD – Detective Sharon Mullins (Melissa McCarthy), whose detective skills is somewhat shadowed by her unconventional methods. Will the two unlikely partners solve the drug mystery and find the drug lord Larkin?

Rating: 5/10

I’ve been busy watching some really light hearted stuff recently; with everything that is going on in my life I really don’t need too much sadness right now. I thought The Heat would have some happy feels to it like Warm Bodies did, but alas, it did not.

I guess you can see from that rating that I didn’t like The Heat all that much. It is just too light-hearted. It is all about cops who never follow procedures, police brutality and general rudeness. The two lead stars are too talented to be caught in nonsense like this. I really don’t get why either Bullock or McCarthy needed this movie. Bullock is already established as a leading lady in some impressive movies and McCarthy IS a comedy actress but she can afford to choose roles where she isn’t always the dirty/unkempt person.

The movie’s retarded storyline could have been saved with a few simple things. If most of the police/FBI weren’t incompetent fools, if the drug dealers weren’t portrayed as silly things and if Sandra Bullock’s character had some sort or redeeming quality things would have been a lot better. Bullock seems very keen to play a washed out cop, and yet she fails to do it with the charm she did Miss Congeniality. I can’t even say she was prissy – the word prissy implicates something cute and annoying, yet she was just annoying.

Director Paul Feig also directed Bridesmaids, and I really hated that too, so I think it is a given that I should steer clear from his movies generally. The movie is two hours long, and it seems very stupid for any comedy to run such times.

Recommendation: Meh

August 27, 2014August 25, 2014 by Natasha Categories: Movies, Reviews, UncategorizedTags: Comedy, Marlon Wayans, Mellissa McCarthy, Movies, Paul Feig, Reviews, Sandra Bullock, The Heat 13 Comments

We’re the Millers (2013)

David Clark (Jason Sudeikis) is a small time drug dealer. He lives in an apartment building with the socially awkward Kenny (Will Poulter) and Rose (Jennifer Aniston), a stripper. When he helps runaway Casey (Emma Roberts) when they try to rob her, he himself is robbed and loses his entire stash of weed and backup cash. His drug supplier says if David collects some weed in Mexico, all will be forgiven, and David creates a daring plan, needing the help of Kenny, Rose and Casey to act like his family, and they present themselves as the suburbanite family The Millers.

Will David and his delinquents be able to pull it off? Especially with the surprise presence of a DEA officer and his family?

Rating: 6/10

The Millers was really not a bad movie if you look at it with the knowledge that it is cheap humour and isn’t trying to be something more. The desperate attempts to be very funny and offensive worked in some places.

I personally love Jason Sudeikis – he is cute in such an everyday kind of way and has can be rather funny. Jennifer Aniston usually is either super annoying or tolerable, and in here she is tolerable. She is still astoundingly beautiful and she has some ability as an actress. Emma Roberts isn’t on the level of her aunt in regards to acting but she was fine in here – sulky teenager roles suit her to the ground. I loved seeing Ron Swanson again – he always brings such fun to any project he is involved in.

The story line is naturally ridiculous and makes such a joke of the American police system. It makes inappropriate jokes about nationality, sexuality and crime, the cheap tricks of easy humour. I did actually laugh in a few places, so they didn’t make a mess of things, and while there are some cheesy moments and even more predictable ones, I had a good time.

It is a bit long for comedy – two hours, but fun to watch at the end of the day.

I enjoyed this movie, probably not something I will watch again, but not bad overall.

Recommended if you need an easy laugh.

August 19, 2014August 18, 2014 by Natasha Categories: Movies, Reviews, UncategorizedTags: Comedy, Emma Roberts, Jason Sudeikis, Jennifer Watson, Movies, Reviews, we’re the Millers, Will Poulter 8 Comments

Two Broke Girls

Caroline Channing had the perfect life until her father got locked up for fraud. She was well loved, spoiled, and had enough money to do everything she wants. After her father’s imprisonment, she is broke, homeless, and without any friends. When she desperately applies for work as a waitress, she lies on her application to her abilities about waitressing. Max, the other waitress, immediately realises that Caroline doesn’t have a clue how to do the work. Max reluctantly agrees not to sell Caroline out to their boss, Han. After finding out that every friend Caroline thought she had deserted her, and that she slept the night on the subway, she offers Caroline a place to stay.

The pair becomes friends and roommates, even though they have nothing in common. In direct contrast to Caroline’s eternal optimism and good mood, Max is sceptical about everything, with a dark humorous outlook on life.

When Caroline tastes Max’s homemade cupcakes, she realises their potential. After much nagging, she convinces Max that they should start a business together. They start saving and working to their goal, $200 000, but it moves painfully slow and they make many mistakes on their journey.

Rating:

6/10

For a light hearted comedy, I really enjoyed this show. It took a while to grow on me, but now I find it hysterical. The show is littered with bawdy humour, and I just crack up. It might offend some people, and I wouldn’t recommend it as a show to watch with young children around. The casting was well done. Kat Dennings stars as Max Black, perfectly suited for the role. Beth Behrs, who plays Caroline Channing, can be sometimes annoying with that squeaky voice, but overall I was impressed with her performance. Jennifer Coolidge is her normal hilarious self as Sophie, their Polish neighbour. I don’t know what it is about the woman, but everything that comes out of her mouth is extra funny. Another plus for the show is that each episode is about 22 minutes. If you are insanely busy but still dying for some entertainment, this is a good choice.

February 5, 2013February 5, 2013 by Natasha Categories: UncategorizedTags: Beth Behrs, Comedy, Kat Dennings, Sitcom, Two Broke girls Leave a comment