Ghostbusters: Afterlife – A Trailer, A Mixed Bag of Emotions…

Obviously I’ve been eagerly awaiting the trailer for writer/director Jason Reitman’s Ghostbusters: Afterlife to drop.  The original Ghostbusters (1984) is my all-time favorite movie.  I not only watched it all the time as a kid but I still watch it all the time as an adult.  It’s consistently been bringing joy to my life, and I’ve consistently watched it multiple times every year, for over thirty years!  I don’t have that relationship with any other film – not Avengers, not (500) Days of Summer, not any of the Star Wars movies.  Also, I enjoy Ghostbusters even more as an adult because now I get all the jokes!  So not only do I love this movie but it keeps getting better for me.  Of course then, when I heard Reitman was making “a direct sequel” to his father’s iconic 1984 film, I was intrigued.  So much could go right!  But so much could go wrong too.  Now the trailer’s here and I’m feeling…lots of things.

Well, I’ll Say It…Venom Was A Pleasant Surprise

I wasn’t planning on writing tonight.  But I saw Venom and, after being pretty open about how awkward I thought the movie would be in presenting a Spider-Man-less Venom, I felt I had to write something.  Why?  Because I was wrong.  I thought this film was going to be a rushed, convoluted mess and it wasn’t.  Now, it didn’t redefine the genre like Wonder Woman nor did it fully embrace the idea of the antihero in the way Deadpool did.  But it was an enjoyable night at the movies and with it currently sitting at a 29% freshness rating on Rotten Tomatoes, I wanted to take a few moments to write a short, spoiler-free reflection on why Venom was better than I thought it’d be.

The Hyperspace PodBlast Coast-to-Coast Last Jedi Extravaganza!

No spoilers here my friends, don’t worry – not yet.  This isn’t even about The Last Jedi‘s plot.  Rather, this is all about our hopes and dreams going into the film.  Hyperspace PodBlast’s Bryan and Shelby spent opening day talking to people in line at Maya Cinemas in Bakersfield, CA while Hannah and I interviewed people at Tinseltown in Erie, PA.  You heard that right folks – I’m a STAR WARS REPORTER now!!!  Yay for team work!!  It was incredible and we had sooooo much fun doing these interviews.  So we owe a big THANK YOU to Hyperspace PodBlast for having us be your Senior East Coast Correspondents and a big THANK YOU to everyone who chatted with us all day too.

Wonder Woman…YOU’VE GOT THIS!!!

Okay, I shouldn’t be writing right now.  I should be going to bed.  Tomorrow night’s Baccalaureate and Thursday night’s graduation.  And my homeroom kids are graduating!!  Aaaahhh!!  I’ve had these kids for four years and I’m an emotional and nostalgic mess.  I should be in bed.  BUT I just read that Wonder Woman is currently sitting at a superhero-movie-record-setting 97% on Rotten Tomatoes!!!  To give context, the best the Marvel Cinematic Universe has done on Rotten Tomatoes is Iron Man at 94%, The Avengers at 92%, Guardians Of The Galaxy at 91%, and Captain America: Civil War at 90%.  (And nothing the DCEU’s offered has rated “Fresh” so far.)  Now, I make no attempt to hide that I’m a Marvel guy through and through.  I also can’t say I’ve been a huge fan of what the DCEU’s offered so far.  But I want Wonder Woman to hold this place and take this title.  DC deserves this.

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.