movie review

Film Review: LIGHTS OUT (USA 2016)

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lights_outLIGHTS OUT (USA 2016) **
Directed by David F. Sandberg

Starring: Teresa Palmer, Gabriel Bateman, Maria Bello

Review by Gilbert Seah

LIGHTS OUT is a new low budget horror produced by HOSTEL’s James Wan and directed by David F. Sandberg based on his short story.

LIGHTS OUT is based on several potentially scary premises. There is the mother with mental health problems, the imaginary friend who could be a figment of mother’s imagination (or not), a boy scared of the dark and a monster that disappears and burns in light, surviving only in the dark. But one second thoughts, none of those are original concepts. The last one, though seemingly new is the same premise used in all vampire films.

But the movie plays confidently as a film that scares from things that go bump in the night. A large part of the film obviously takes place at night. The majority of the scares come from the ghoul called Diana who can appear out of nowhere, but only in the dark. As the lights go out in the house, a large mansion of course, the survivors have to arm themselves with torches or flashlights, batteries that soon run out of juice. This ‘novelty’ runs out very fast. After half an hour, the film really gets monotonous, with Diana appearing and disappearing. A bit of distraction is also provided in the script in which Diana might be imaginary and in the head of the mother, Sophie (Maria Bello), who was previously a mental patient.

Sandberg knows how to incite fear from small and dark enclosed spaces. But it takes much more to make a complete horror film.

The story goes like this. When the film opens, a creature kills a man who had promised to return home to his son who had complained of his mother being mental. The boy, Martin (Gabriel Bateman) is still afraid years later with the mother still having problems now manifested in Diana, who she has befriended in the mental hospital. Now Diana is able to appear as a creature but only in the darkness. Diana is breaking her promise that she will not hurt the mother’s children. Enter (out of nowhere), Rebecca (Teresa Palmer), Martin’s older sister and her sexy boyfriend, Bret (Alexander DiPersia) to rescue Martin from crazy mom and monster Diana.

The film makes the rules of the monster as it goes along – how it exists and so forth. The actors all do their screaming convincingly with Bret being the beau in distress. This is more of a female film where the women are heroes with the male and female roles reversed. No complaint here, as it is good to see things going the other way for a change.

But LIGHTS OUT would have succeeded as a 30-minute short film. It is stretched out too long, even at only 80 minutes. Boring, over manipulative and predictable, the film is a good idea that unfortunately does not play out as a full length feature. But it should make its money owing to its low budget. It would be interesting to see what writer/director Sandberg comes out with next.

Film Review: PHANTOM BOY (France/Belgium 2015)

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phantom_boy.jpgPHANTOM BOY (France/Belgium 2015) **
Directed by Jean-Loup Felicioli and Alain Gagnol

Starring: Edouard Baer, Jean-Pierre Marielle, Audrey Tautou

Review by Gilbert Seah

PHANTOM BOY is the next animated feature after the French directors Felicioli and Gagnol’s successful Oscar nominated A CAT IN PARIS. While the latter film took a distinct Parisienne personality, the new film hopes to do the same with New York City where the story is set.

The film begins with a boy reading a story to his little sister. It is revealed then that the boy has a sickness and has to go to hospital for extended periods of time. The boy somehow (don’t ask!) attains supernatural powers of being able to leave his body. He befriends a cop who is wheelchair bound. The cop is in the process of saving NYC from a computer hacker that will hold the city ransom. A girl (Audrey Tatou from AMELIE) helps destroy the virus and saves the city with the help of both he cop and the boy.

PHANTOM BOY as an animated feature looks like the older toons such as BETTY BOOP unlike the slicker animated features from Disney, Pixar or Dreamworks that North Americans are spoilt with. Inevitable comparison will make PHANTOM BOY look inferior despite the directors attention to detail The stars on the socks of a character can be seen just as clearly as any of the character movements.

The film is screened in French with English subtitles. The French is simple enough so that those learning the language can understand the dialogue without resorting to reading of the subtitles. But as much as foreign films should not be dubbed and shown in their original languages, the characters in New York City speaking French look odd. The film loses its credibility.

Despite the supernatural story, the story is quite plain and predictable. A lot of rules are dictated into the story. The boy, for example will die if he does not return to his body after a certain amount of time. How does he know and how did this rule come about? Strange supernatural reasonings make little sense in the film.

There is nothing super exciting or super funny. The main humour is derived from the black mayor who is always screaming at the cop for all the accidents caused while doing his duty.

The film is progressive in featuring a black NYC mayor. The film is current with the fact that hacking a central computer can bring the entire modern city down as just last year the whole New York stock exchange was brought to a halt because of a virus.

I have not seen A CAT IN PARIS but assume that that film is better than PHANTOM BOY which might also be called A PHANTOM IN NEW YORK. The film might have worked better if set again in Paris, France in the home country of the two directors.

Film Review: ICE AGE: COLLISION COURSE

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ice_age_collision_course
ICE AGE – COLLISION COURSE (USA 2016) **

Directed by Mike Thurmeier

Starring: Ray Romano, Denis Leary, John Leguizamo |

Review by Gilbert Seah

Saving the world is a common theme in action hero and animated movies these days. The same is applied in the latest and 5th instalment of the ICE AGE franchise, appropriately called ICE AGE – COLLISION COURSE as the planet is about to be destroyed by asteroids, according to the reading of the pillar by Buck (Simon Pegg).

The film has its signature ice age segment of Scrat (Chris Wedge) chasing his runaway acorn which somehow always gets away. It’s a mostly silent segment and has grown in popularity just as Beep Beep and the Coyote are now famous in the Looney Tunes world. Popular as they are, these antics grow tiresome. I am not a fan of either Beep Beep or Scrat’s acorn antics. In ICE AGE COLLISION, the antics lead to an almost destruction of the planet by an steroid, unless the hero can save the world.

The story goes on like this. While trying to bury his acorn, Scrat accidentally activates an abandoned alien ship that takes him into deep space, where he unwillingly sends several asteroids en route of collision with Earth. Not very original a premise of an alien ship hidden in the Arctic or Antarctic! Meanwhile on the planet Earth, Manny (Ray Romano) is worried about the upcoming marriage between Peaches (Keke Palmer) and her fiancé, Julian (Adam Devine), while Sid (Joh Leguizamo) is dumped by his girlfriend, Francine (Melissa Rauch), just as he is about to propose to her. During Manny and Ellie’s (Queen Latifah) wedding anniversary party, some of the asteroids strike the place and the herd barely escape with their lives. Meanwhile at the underground cavern, after stealing a dinosaur egg from a trio of Dromaeosaurs, Buck discovers an ancient stone pillar, which he takes to the surface, where he meets Manny and the others.

The story is nothing really original nor does it contain a lot of comedic potential. What follows is a rather lame series of mildly funny at best, incidents that lead to a climax that is also not particularly exciting.

Actors from the other ICE AGES movies, Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, Denis Leary, Queen Latifah, Keke Palmer, Jennifer Lopez, Simon Pegg and Chris Wedge all reprise their roles while new additions Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Adam DeVine, Nick Offerman, Max Greenfield, Stephanie Beatriz, Melissa Rauch, Carlos Ponce, Michael Strahan, Jessie J and Neil deGrasse attempt to breathe new life into the franchise.

The film is again directed by Canadian Mike Thurmeier of Blue Sky Studios, who did a few of the other ICE AGES films.

The ICE AGE series were never that funny or inventive compared to other animated series like SHREK, TOY STORY or MONSTERS INC. But they somehow found themselves into the hearts of many, which has resulted in a total of 5 films. I am hoping this will be the last as the series. Scrat chasing his and his acorn has become terribly tedious.

Costing a frugal $50 million to make compared to other more expensive animated features, there should be enough ICE AGE followers for Fox Studios to make their money back. Hopefully, Blue Sky Studios will come up with more original animation as their next project.

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Film Review: LES INNOCENTES (THE INNOCENTS) (France/Poland 2016)

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the_innocentsLES INNOCENTES (THE INNOCENTS) (France/Poland 2016)

Directed by Anne Fontaine

Starring: Lou de Laâge, Agata Buzek, Agata Kulesza |

Review by Gilbert Seah

The nuns in a convent during World War II are THE INNOCENTS referred to in this film, based on a true story.

Anne Fontaine (her last film COCO AVANT CHANEL) is a director who has made her name in making films about women. Her most notable film was DRY CLEANING, my favourite one of hers, in which she dished out a delicious dose of devilishness without being too serious. THE INNOCENTS is her most serious film.

It is Warsaw in the December of 1945 when the second World War is finally over. But the problems are not. When the film opens, a young French female doctor, Mathilde (Lou De Laâge) is treating the last of the French survivors of the German camps. When a panicked Benedictine nun appears at the clinic one night begging Mathilde to follow her back to the convent, what she finds there is shocking: a holy sister about to give birth and several more in advanced stages of pregnancy. Russian soldiers have raped the nuns who are now facing both the shame of exposure and a crisis in their faith. And they have deal with their pregnancies and their babies afterwards. Being nuns, they are totally new to the concept of birth. But worse of all, their strict Rev. Mother (Agata Kulesza) is not helping.

The film is beautifully shot by cinematographer Caroline Champetier. The luscious white snow on the ground, the woods, the middle of winter contrasted are contrasted with the dark corridors of the convent. The haunting music by Grégoire Hetzel is excellent and one wishes that the soundtrack be played a bit louder for it to be more appreciated.

But the narrative is not as strong as one might expect a story of this nature to be. One reason is the lack of a clear point of view. Though the majority of the film is told from Mathilde’s perspective, the film occasionally shifts to nun Maria’s and the Rev. Mother’s views. But the script also fails to establish the strength of the nun’s faith. The nuns and Rev. Mother appear not only helpless, but undetermined to have any self will to fight. All they do is pray and say it is God’s Providence in the midst of all the troubles. The fact that they are this helpless and unwilling to help themselves makes them more pitiless which undermines the power of the story.

The camaraderie between Mathilde and her co-worker, a French Jewish doctor (Vincent Macaigne) provides some needed distraction from the over-serious proceedings. But Vincent claims (and he improbably correct) that he is too ‘ugly’ for Mathilde. His romantic advances are not returned.

Fontaine’s film also ends up over sentimentalizing as in the births of the new born with too many shots of smiling nun faces. The message of Fontaine’s film comes out muddled. It is a pity as Fontaine has put in a lot of effort into this piece of work.

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Film Review: THE MISSING INGREDIENT: WHAT IS THE RECIPE FOR SUCCESS?

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the_missing_incredient.jpgTHE MISSING INGREDIENT: WHAT IS THE RECIPE FOR SUCCESS?

Review by Gilbert Seah

THE MISSING INGREDIENT: WHAT IS THE RECIPE FOR SUCCESS? is the question posed throughout this new documentary of the same name. The answer is given near the end of the film by one of the owners of Gino’s, the successful restaurant that became an institution in NYC. However, one might argue if that is the correct answer- or that there are more ingredients to its success.

Whatever the point is, this Canadian documentary is strangely totally set in NYC. One wonders of the reason the effort was not taken up by an American filmmaker. Maybe it takes an outsider to be able to see the whole picture.

The film centres on two restaurants in NYC. One is already a success as an institution, the Italian Gino’s and the other, another Italian restaurant, Pescatore that strives desperately to be one. Director Sparaga interviews the owners of both restaurants, the clientele and workers. It is difficult to define the success of Gino’s. Gino’s is an unpretentious place, where the customers become family. Gino’s does not accept credit cards, but allows credit as kept in the log of a handwritten book. Gino’s has bright orangey red zebra wallpaper that became the restaurant’s icon. A big part at the end of the film has Pescatore using, after Gino’s has closed, the identical wallpaper with zebras but in yellow – to disastrous results.

Sparaga’s film flows easily. It is a very likeable documentary that never passes judgement on any one of his subjects. Even when Charles, the owner of Pescatore steals Gino’s wallpaper, a definite no-no, as opinionated by everyone interviewed on this subject, Sparaga goes on to film Charle’s view on the topic, even as he he says at his restaurant that if anyone working there will not support the wallpaper would best be looking for a job someplace else. Sparaga later allows Charles as he opens his new restaurant to be respected for his hard work and dedication despite a bad decision in the past.

This is where Sparaga’s film succeeds. Despite having a restaurant’s success as the subject, his film is also a candid study of people’s behaviour – their loyalties; their dedication; their goals and their pleasures. Restaurant come and go. People don’t. Gino’s though terribly successful had to finally close its doors. It is what can be learnt from the people and not from the restaurant that is priceless.

By the time the last reel is played, the audience will remember the sad faces of the founders of Gino’s, the face of Charles who tried so hard to make Pescatore work as well as the words of the loyal customers of Gino’s. But many will not recall the dishes at Gino’s that were displayed in the film.

THE MISSING INGREDIENT: WHAT IS THE RECIPE FOR SUCCESS? turns out to be a very likeable documentary that is easy to watch. It dishes out life lessons as famously as Gino’s dished out great food.

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Movie Review: CLOSET MONSTER

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closet_monster.jpgCLOSET MONSTER (Canada 2015) ***
Directed by Stephen Dunn

Starring: Connor Jessup, Aaron Abrams, Isabella Rossellini

Review by Gilbert Seah

When the first queer films were made, coming out was a hot topic. Now decades later when LGBTs are accepted and it is considered more incorrect to be prejudiced than to be LGBT, the issue of coming out is no longer than big an issue. CLOSET MONSTER treats the issue as still relevant, made so because the subject coming out is till as stressed as the first gay doing so decades back and that he has a class A asshole father.

So, CLOSET MONSTER is a Newfie movie of an East Coast teenager and aspiring special-effects makeup artist, Oscar (Connor Jessup, BLACKBIRD) struggling with both his sexuality and his fear of his macho asshole father. Oscar has a girlfriend, Gemma (Sofia Banzhaf) but pines for the new cute boy, Wilder (Aliocha Schneider) at his workplace. Schneider is quite the looker. But Wilder is straight but sympathetic. The film teases all the way whether the relationship will happen, but the film takes a few turns. The film uses the boy’s hamster (with a gender twist on it too) to provide insight to the story. The hamster is voiced by Isabella Rossellini.

The film ends up a welcome comedic twist on the coming-of-age genre. The film is not without flaws but given the fact that this is a first-time feature, CLOSET MONSTER is an assured debut.

CLOSET MONSTER has made the rounds already at Toronto’s TIFF and the INSIDE OUT LGBT Film Festival as well as various other festivals around the world. It has won many awards including Best Canadian Feature at both TIFF and Inside Out and awards at other gay festivals around the world as in Melbourne and Miami.

 

 

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Film Review: CAPTAIN FANTASTIC (USA 2016)

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captain_fantasticCAPTAIN FANTASTIC (USA 2016) **
Directed b Matt Ross

Starring: Viggo Mortensen, George MacKay, Samantha Isler

Review by Gilbert Seah

This new family drama tells the story of an eccentric father, Ben (Viggo Mortensen) who becomes the CAPTAIN FANTASTIC of his 6 children, forcing and training them deep in the forests of the Pacific Northwest (though shot in New Mexico), totally isolated from society.

If the plot sounds familiar, Harrison Ford played such a father who did the same in the 1984 Peter Weir film THE MOSQUITO COAST based on the Paul Theroux novel. The novel was much better than the film. But the film did not have as dramatic an impact as this new one – though CAPTAIN FANTASTIC totally bombs in its last 20 minutes. Remove the last 20 minutes and the film would have stood much better as a believable relevant and current family drama.

When the film opens, one of the sons, Bo (George MacKay) has just violently killed a deer. He is now a man having completed his rites-of-age passage. The father praises him. The film goes on to reveal other aspects of the training, a combination of survival skills as well as worldly knowledge in all fields including philosophy and American History. (Math skills seem to be left out in the equation.) When the mother dies, the father is forced to take his family to civilization. The challenges of the outside world are more than Ben and kids had envisioned.

Worst of all, Ben intends to fulfill his wife’s wishes of being cremated while her father, Jack (Frank Langella) plans a religious funeral ceremony.

For a film with this serious a subject matter, the film both written and directed by Matt Ross (28 HOTEL ROOMS) achieves some good humour. It is this humour, mainly derived from the smugness of the all-out-against civilization that hits the right notes. But Ross is also quick to turn the tables. By the mid-section of the film, the audience and the children (as River Phoenix turned against Harrison Ford in THE MOSQUITO COAST) turn against the father.

The dramatic set ups display a good combination of drama, conflict and humour. The best of these is the dinner table scene where his family meets his brother’s family. The conflict between him and his sister-in-law, Harper (Kathryn Hahn), with his brother, Dave (Steve Zahn) trying to cool the fight is brilliantly staged.

The film also contains suspenseful segments (the attempted rescue of one of the sons from the grandfather’s house).

But the film almost succeeds in making both a statement on American consumerism and family values before it all goes bust in its last 20 minutes. The father drives off alone only to discover later than his 6 children has somehow hidden in the bus. How can this be possible if the father is so skilled in survival skills that he had not noticed this. Where can 6 kids, most of them grown up hide in a bus? The removal of the mother’s coffin from the graveyard and performing the cremation ritual is all a little too much, especially with the entire family bursting into song and dance.

Despite the film’s flaws, the performances, especially by the young cast portraying the six children are more than fantastic. The film should be seen for this reason alone.

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Movie Review: LAST CAB TO DARWIN (Australia 2015) ****

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last_cab_to_darwin.jpgLAST CAB TO DARWIN (Australia 2015) ****
Directed by Jeremy Simms

Starring: Michael Caton, Ningali Lawford, Mark Coles Smith

Review by Gilbert Seah

Based on the 2003 stage play by Reg Cribb, LAST CAB TO DARWIN is the story of a cab driver, Rex (Michael Caton). Rex who is diagnosed with stomach cancer, drives thousands of miles to Darwin in the Northern Territories where euthanasia is just legalized in order to to die with dignity. Rex is an unsavoury character and leaves behind the only woman Polly (Ningali Lawford-Wolf) who loves him.

This is the kind of subject that audiences turn away from. This might be the reason the film was hardly noticed when premiering at last year’s Toronto International Film Festival. The characters in Australian films are often harsh and crude, the landscape bleak and racism existent. But surprisingly, this film ends up a totally winning film at the end.

The film is basically a road trip. Rex drives off to Darwin, meeting other people on the way.

One of these people is Tilly. The film relies on the relationship of Rex and Aborigine Tilly. Both have led problematic lives and are reluctant to change. In a key scene Rex tells Tilly: “I don’t tell you how to lead your life and you don’t tell me how to lead mine!” But Tilly affects Rex’s life and vice versa. A lasting and precious friendship develops between the two.

Actor Michael Caton carries the film confidently on his shoulders, apt at conveying sympathy in a character hardened by life. He is without family and friends with no will to live. Those who recognize Caton will remember him in one of the funniest Australian low budget hit of all time, THE CASTLE. His role is similar to that of the one in THE CASTLE, an underdog fighting the big guys. In THE CASTLE, he fights the authorities who want to buy his home (a man’s home is his castle) to put in an airport runway. In this film he is fighting for the right to die. The federal government and church will do their all to prevent this as to allow it would be to give power to the common man. The film’s story thus takes on greater proportions. Director Simms keeps the tale of Rex intriguing from start to end.

The film contains a relevant message on euthanasia. Though a little predictable at the end, Simms’ film unfortunately tends to be too sentimental. The story also appears desperate in trying to get a happy ending, though happy endings are not always possible in some stories.

For a film with the theme on death, LAST CAB TO DARWIN is surprisingly full of life. It is occasionally a feel good movie. When I was in Sydney during Christmas when the home video of THE CASTLE was released, I could not rent a copy as all the copies were out in all the video stores. in Sydney. Quite unbelievable! LAST CAB TO DARWIN will not likely share the same success as THE CASTLE, but it comes pretty close as an unforgettable movie.

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Movie Review: Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie (2016)

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absolutely_fabulous.jpgABSOLUTELY FABULOUS – THE MOVIE (UK 2016) ***
Directed by Mandie Fletcher

Starring: Jennifer Saunders, Joanna Lumley, Jane Horrocks |

Review by Gilbert Seah

At one point in the movie, Edina Monsoon (Jennifer Saunders) quips: “Sixties are the new forties.” When the first AB FAB skit appeared in1990, both actresses Saunders and Joanna Lumley were in their forties. Now, more than twenty years later, they are still at it, creating havoc in the PR world of high fashion.

When AB FAB the movie opens, Edina is still running her PR agency that is quickly running out of money and interest. The duo realize that Edina needs a miracle to save her company and renew her reputation. Edina tries to recruit high fashion model Kate Moss at a party but accidentally pushes her over the balcony into the Thames. To hide from the press and bad publicity, the two take off to the south of France with Edina’s grand-daughter, Lola in tow, hoping to tap her youth in the fashion business. Patsy gets married. Other crazy adventures ensue.

Films made from TV series (KEVIN AND PERRY GO LARGE, HOLIDAY ON THE BUSES and THE IN-BETWEENERS) more than always have their characters go on holiday. Though Patsy and Edina do not really go on holidays, they end up in the south of France to escape being arrested. Here at least, the wealthy affluence of the French suits the environment of the characters.

All the characters from the TV series are present from Bubbles (Jane Horrocks), Edina’s useless secretary to her daughter, Saffron (Julia Sawalha) to her thieving mother(June Whitfield). The film updates the characters. Saffrom is now a mother who has a daughter, Lola.

Written by Saunders and directed by Fletcher who was responsible for a few TV episodes, the story is often all over the place. At one point the duo’s in London at a PR party and the next, Patsy is married in France. Anything can happen and often does. But no one can really take the incidents seriously either. These are the reasons the film works. It is good to laugh at the antics of the two, and they never go stale. But the writing poses a bit of a problem when it tries to rationalize Edina’s reckless living. There are also prize comedic set-ups like the chase with the two in a tiny ice-cream van and the hilarious designer Huki Muki event.

A long list of cameos is often common in films on high fashion (ENTOURAGE, ZOOLANDER). AB FAB THE MOVIE contains a list too long to mention though quite a few of the British faces will go unrecognized by North American audiences. A few stand out like Kathy Burke’s foul mouthed Magda. Burke is always a joy to watch.

The film has already opened in the U.K. and has broken box-office records. Saunders and Lumley appeared in person during London Pride march a week before the film opening. This comedy is just what the doctor ordered to distract from the world’s blues (Brexit, US shootings, ISIS attacks).

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Movie Review: GHOSTBUSTERS (2016). Direted by Paul Feig

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ghostbusters_2016GHOSTBUSTERS (USA 2016) ***1/2

Directed by Paul Feig

Starring: Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, Leslie Jones

Review by Gilbert Seah

It took tons of effort and luck before GHOSTBUSTERS could be get this fresh look on the screen. The original 1984 hit version is best remembered as a classic that should not be tempered with. The original 4 that made GHOSTBUSTERS in 1984 including the late Harold Ramis who died in 1984 made a pact that no more GHOSTBUSTERS movie could be made unless all agreed. Bill Murray was the one who objected to all the previous scripts till this one written by Katie Dippold (THE HEAT) and championed by Paul Feig (BRIDESMAIDS). Bill Murray has a cameo as a supernatural activity debunker. And many loyal fans were upset that the film is given a female cast instead.

The film begins with an impressive opening sequence with a tour guide played by TV SILICON VALLEY’s Zach Woods explaining some paranormal behaviour before poltergeists appear. The story then moves on to professor Erin Gilbert (Kristen Wiig) who reunites with friends (Melissa McCarthy, Kate Mckinnon) to rid NYC of a ghost invasion. The film contains no boring romances, no life lessons or unnecessary drama – just plain silly fun with a female twist.

GHOSTBUSTERS runs out of steam at parts but the audience knows that another funny part will arrive just around the corner. A lot of the humour is provided by the 4 main actresses, who for the most part work well together to keep the laughs coming fast and furious. McKinnon is the most manic of the four, playing the scientist inventor, whose technical gibberish can hardly be understood at times. But who cares? Though Wiig plays the most serious of the four, the professor who loses tenure and has to return to fighting ghosts, she provides a good number of laughs. In fact, the film’s two funniest laugh-out jokes come from her, in the segment where she is manically runs to warn the mayor (Andy Garcia) having dinner of the ghost invasion. McCarthy overdoes it as usual. She does look funny in her oversized jumpsuit, showing that she is game in having a good time. One can get too much of her, while one wishes there is more of Leslie Jones, the reluctant subway employee who joins the group.

The special effects work well. A number of ghosts look like the ones from the original. But the film might be too scary for younger children.
The new GHOSTBUSTERS at least learns from the original. The script by Katie Dippold improves while it can. The original theme song recorded by Ray Parker, Jr. back in the day that was the number 1 hit that stayed on on the billboard for 3 weeks is used at various points in the movie, obviously both reminding and reviving audience’s fond memories. Improvements in the film include adding a human villain, the one that opens the portal for the ghosts. Another is the addition of a new character, Kevin (THOR’s Chris Hemsworth) the male equivalent of the pretty dumb blonde secretary. Kevin has major problems answering the telephone while carrying on normal duties, creating more problems when he becomes possessed. Hemsworth displays a surprising flair for comedy and dance.

GHOSTBUSTERS definitely pleases as evident during the promo screening I attended. It takes quite a lot to both getting the audience to applaud as well as to stay for the closing credits.

 

 

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