Babylon : An Indictment of Empire and a Celebration of Cinema

So I saw Babylon last Sunday night.  Twice.  I saw the 6:25 show and then picked Kalie up and went right back for the 10:35 show.  If Tinseltown had still been open after that, I’d’ve seen it a third time.  I can’t tell you the last time I saw a movie and then went right back in to see it again just because I loved it.  Sure, I’ve purchased multiple tickets in advance for “big” Marvel or Star Wars movies on opening weekend but to see a film back-to-back just because I fell in love with it?  It’s been ages.  Babylon’s three hours and nine minutes long, too, so with previews I was at the theatre for seven hours.  And I loved it!  Not a single second dragged and I saw so much more to appreciate my second time through.  I’ve read a lot of wildly divided opinions on Babylon in articles and across social media – people seem to either adore it or think it’s the worst thing they’ve ever seen – and any film which is so polarizing intrigues me.  Last night I caught the 8:25 show, and now with three viewings under my belt, I wanted to write a bit about why I love Babylon so much.

Note, spoilers for Babylon will follow but the film’s ending won’t be discussed.

Ghostbusters: Afterlife and Ghostbusters: Answer the Call – Honoring the Ghostbusters Legacy

Making a sequel to Ghostbusters (1984) is tricky.  Ghostbusters is one of few perfect movies.  Everything about it works!  It was one of my all-time favorite movies when I was five-years-old and it still is now at thirty-nine.  Already a fan of the cartoon show, my world was forever changed when my uncle gave us a VHS tape on which he’d recorded a Ghostbusters movie with real people in it from HBO.  I was a little thrown (at first) as they looked different and I am 99.99% sure it was what scarred me and made me scared of dogs all through my youth (as they constantly refer to the demonic forms of Zuul and Vinz Clortho as “dogs”) but none of that really mattered.  It was love at first viewing and it’s the only movie from my youth I still watch multiple times a year.  It spawned three sequels – Ghostbusters 2 (1989), Ghostbusters: Answer the Call (2016), and the new Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021).  One I loved!  One disappointed me.  And one was a straight up traumatic experience.  With thoughts of Ghostbusters: Afterlife fresh in my mind, I felt it’d be fun to discuss which is which!

The Rise Of Skywalker – Excitement and Ambiguity in the Disney Era of Star Wars

I really wasn’t planning on writing something about The Rise Of Skywalker so quickly.  In fact, I had a totally different Star Wars-related post planned for this weekend.  But sometimes a movie hits and I, inexplicably, find myself with something to say right away.  The Rise Of Skywalker was one of those films.  The first trilogy of the Disney Canon has come to a close and the journey Rey, Finn, Poe, and Kylo Ren began in 2015’s The Force Awakens has ended.  It left me with lots of thoughts, feelings, and questions.  So let’s talk about it, huh?

Note, there will be spoilers but that section of the post will be clearly marked.  If you don’t want to know anything at all before you see it, stop reading now.  But if you’re fine with overall-type comments, I’ll speak generally first and then give a clear warning before any plot spoilers happen.  Ready?  Ready.

Logan: A Fitting End

By Nancy of Graphic Novelty²   (This article contains some spoilers.)

Already a fan of Wolverine, when I heard the movie Logan would be inspired in part by the outstanding graphic novel Old Man Logan I had to give it a go. The movie exceeded my expectations in every way!

The Ghostbusters are BACK!

Okay so we saw Ghostbusters last night and I began writing this as soon as I got home.  I can tell you I don’t have anything brilliant or insightful to say about the film yet.  There’s no layered deconstruction or analysis in this piece.  But what I can offer is a lifelong fan’s totally SPOILER-FREE thoughts on the latest incarnation of Ghostbusters, staring Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Leslie Jones, and Kate McKinnon.