Movie Man Darian Watching All Night Long

Ghostbusters : Afterlife 

This film is the sequel I’ve been waiting 17 years to see! Now I’ve been a fan of ghostbusters since I was a kid I first saw the original film when I was 7 years old and ever since then it’s been my all time favourite film and I have always dreamed of seeing a third Ghostbusters film with the guys back in their flight suits having the proton packs strapped to their back and busting ghosts. Now sadly back in 2014 Harold Ramis passed away a Ghostbusters 3 could never now happen because Ramis was one of the co- writers of ghostbusters and one of the Ghostbusters and for a very long time it seemed like it just wouldn’t happen because how can you make a Ghostbusters film without one of the original guys in it. Now Jason Reitman stepped up to that very task and not only crafted a film that is a authentic sequel to the last two films but also centres the film around Harold Ramis as since he can’t be part of the film the entire undertone of the film is all about Egon. 

Firstly, I think from a narrative point of view that’s genius because then your able to still have Egon’s spirit part of the story even tho he can’t psychically be in it. So I felt that was very moving and you can tell Jason really poured his heart and soul into this film as his father Ivan directed the first two original films back in the 1980’s and it should be noted Jason is a great director in his own right from films he’s done like Tully, Up in the Air and even Juno he’s made a name for himself as a solid filmmaker and he doesn’t really venture into big blockbusters like Ghostbusters. Now this is probably his Father’s most popular film he ever did and Jason takes the franchise head on and really pays so much attention to every detail of every frame to make sure he not only gives a satisfying third film to this beloved franchise but also to make his dad proud and I feel like he did both. 

Secondly, As the film isn’t a retread of similar Waters we’ve seen before as the issue I had with the 2016 female ghostbusters was that it just did a scene by scene remake of the 1984 original film with zero creativity whatsoever and here the film goes back to its roots and yes their are references and Easter eggs and tons of fan service but they established a firm narrative that wasn’t done before but actually an original concept that engages the viewer in a very well constructed premise. As I mentioned earlier it’s a film about Egon and the legacy he left behind and that comes in many forms from what he literally left behind and also his grandchildren and so theirs a heartbeat to this film that really pulls at you emotionally in a way that will have you tearing up by the final act of the film in a way that will truly move you in a way you don’t see coming. As their are characters from the 1984 film that cross over to this film but it’s not done in a way to use nostalgia to the extreme it’s to show the characters that we love come back one more time and hangout with them for a few more hours and it leaves a big grin on your face. And what was smart about the references and the Easter eggs is it didn’t feel to much for me like I didn’t feel it was constantly saying hey remember this in such a loud way it was done so smartly. The film also has some truly genuine scares and what I love so much about the 1984 film is that it’s a spooky comedy so it packs both the scares and laughs all at the same time which I think is a genius tone that hasn’t been matched so brilliantly since. That being said Jason injects this film with some scares that will actually scare children as I myself jumped quite a bit and it wasn’t done in some cheesy way no like the scares were so well timed and executed. I loved that he brought that spooky aspect about Ghostbusters back as it has always been Spooky with some scary parts and he brings that to the full front greatly. Another great quality that’s brought is the amount of comedy and heart for the comedy it’s not like the 2016 film where it was a joke every 30 seconds here the jokes are so well constructed and so well written in a way that the jokes pay off in such a fantastic way that I found myself laughing genuinely at all of Mckenna Grace’s Jokes as they were so freaking funny. Then for the heart oh does the film pack so much of that if it’s from the story or from the tone you can feel the amount of love that was put into this film from everyone involved especially Jason Reitman. 

Then you have the performances from the cast that were all great! You have talents like Carrie Coon, Paul Rudd Logan Kim  and the person who for me stole the show Mckenna Grace she brings a performance to this film that is so strong as she shows so many layers of both comedy and drama in her character that works beautifully and she knocks it out of the park with a performance that reminds you of Egon for sure but she makes it her own and gives this truly charismatic performance you can’t look away from. Everyone else was great in the film now the ones who gave me a smile when they appeared was Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Annie Potts and Sigourney Weaver now their all not in the film a lot but when they appeared onscreen especially Bill, Dan and Ernie I turned into a child it was everything I ever wanted seeing them back in those suits for the first time since 1989 yeah you could say I was beyond satisfied. They came in at the final act of the film and just crackled the screen with energy that will satisfy any fan of this franchise but if you’ve been apart of this fandom as long as I have you’ll know how truly special it was to see the original cast come back in this film. Overall everyone gave an amazing performance that made the screen pop with such energetic performances. 

Lastly, Ghostbusters is a film that means so much to me and it saddens me that we’ll never get that Ghostbusters 3 with all the guys since Harold Passed in 2014 but this film not only gave what is the third Ghostbusters film but it was able to include Harold Ramis in the film even after his passing and for Jason Reitman to centre the film Around him and make the entire film really about Egon was not just sweet it was truly moving. I never thought we would ever get a third Ghostbusters film with the original cast back it took almost 35 years for this to happen but it’s here. Speaking as a person who’s been a fan of this Franchise since I was 7 years old and I went in with high expectations I can tell you not only is this a brilliant film it’s one of the best sequels I’ve ever seen period. It packs the heart, humour, scares and pure enjoyment of what Ghostbusters has always been about and Afterlife provides that in spades in a truly outstanding film that I’ll be rewatching over and over again. It’s also one of this years best films I recommend everyone go see this film. 

This film centres around Egon’s grandchildren and their connection they find to their grandfather of what he left behind for them. 

Rated PG - 13 : Supernatural Action|Some Suggestive References

Mckenna Grace : Mckenna Grace gives a damn good performance in this film! She got my attention a couple years back when she did a film called Gifted which not a lot of people saw. It was a small little drama she did and she was very young in that film and she impressed me of how mature she was for her age and the amount of emotional strength she can showcase at such a young age. And then she did I,Tonya and Captain Marvel both films she played young counterparts of those characters now she is taking on one of the most iconic franchises of the 1980’s and it’s no easy feat and when I heard she was cast in this film I was so happy because I knew she would do so well in this film and she did. She not only gave the best performance of the film I think this is her best performance of her career so far. She brings so much to this film that I’m going to unpack as she plays this awkward kid who loves science and doesn’t really fit in.  Now you can tell she has the characteristics of Egon she shares the same DNA of him and that’s very easy to see as she peels back more layers of herself the more she learns about her grandfather as in the beginning of the film she’s very quiet and keeps to herself. By the midpoint of the film when she’s finding out her grandfather was a Ghostbuster you see her brain and heart just open up and soak in all of this information and you can see how interested she is and how sad also she is that her mom kept all of this information from her. So you see the sheer frustration she has on her mom when she confronts her about why she withheld this important information and it’s shown in a scene that rattled me. As her mother is throwing insults about her grandfather and Phoebe McKenna’s character is sticking up for him and fuming with anger towards her mom you can hear her voice crack and her eyes swell up in such Raw emotion that you as the viewer are so swept up in what’s happening onscreen by Mckenna’s incredible performance at hand. And so by the final act of film you see her open herself up entirely as she has been so closed off emotionally for a lot of her life and due to her finding out about her past and knowing who she is as a person really made her open up and I think that’s pretty profound and Mckenna delivers that emotional vulnerability and sincerity in a beautiful way and it’s truly a outstanding performance that will have you totally mesmerized by what she’s giving onscreen. Overall Mckenna Grace gives what I think is her best work of her career so far. 

Jason Reitman : Jason put his entire heart in this film. Now as I mentioned earlier Jason has done some truly amazing films over the course of his career. Now this is probably going to be his most personal film he’s ever going to make for the soul purpose that has taken on his fathers franchise and their something really heartfelt and emotional about that. What I respect about Jason’s vision for this film was that he didn’t buy into the whole bombastic big scale CGI explosion fest. He was more in tune and more focused on telling this story about this family and it’s connection to Egon everything else was secondary that narrative was and is the heartbeat of the film. As if any other director did this expect for Ivan the film would of sucked because they would of gotten caught up in the big spectacle and wouldn’t of focused on what really mattered. Jason knew what to focus on and the key Elements he needed in order to make this really work as he tells a fresh new story while honouring Harold Ramis and it’s never coming from a place of being cheesy or corny no it’s genuinely moving on how he constructed the whole plot around Egon. All the while using practical effects, a beautiful score that is very much in the same vein of the first film and introducing new characters to the franchise while still honouring the characters we grew up with and mixing all of that together resulted in a Damn good film. Because since this is the third Ghostbusters film Jason knew he had one shot at this and he didn’t blow he satisfied the fans who have been following along this franchise for almost 40 years years and he also made his dad proud and Harold I know Harold Ramis is smiling knowing he knocked it out of the park. He showcases the laughs the thrills the scares that the first film did so brilliantly in a fresh new way that had me engaged the whole time and gives what I would put in my top 3 most emotional last acts of a film ever. Overall Jason Reitman took on his family’s legacy of Ghostbusters and it must of felt so scary to do this project and Jason coming from a big fan of the franchise you did an amazing job and you have truly outstanding direction.