I watched the new Ghostbusters and lived to talk about it.

Before I start this post, I want to get this disclaimer out of the way.  The original Ghostbusters is my favorite movie of all-time.  It's perfect.  It stands the test of time. It should never be duplicated.  The fact that I love it so much clouded my vision and dampened my expectations for any reboot/remake that could possibly ever make.

That being said, I finally got around to seeing the new Ghostbusters (now subtitled Answer The Call) the other night and I have to tell you... I didn't hate it.  I found it to be a perfectly fine, but wholly unnecessary film.  It didn't crap on the legacy of the original film, but didn't really do anything exceptional to justify its existence.

I don't know if there was another film in 2016 that was as highly scrutinized as Ghostbusters:  Answer The Call, and that's really unfortunate.  Misogynists railed against this film because of its all female cast, and racists went on a deplorable tirade at Leslie Jones on Twitter.  The initial trailer to this film was the most disliked in YouTube history.  All of this negative backlash definitely had something to do with its underwhelming box office returns.  Looking back at it, I will say that people had a reason to dislike this film, they just did it for the wrong reasons.  We should be having a discussion on Hollywood's eternal chase for the next "cinematic universe," and why that is bad for business.  Ghostbusters is not a world that deserves a rich and expanded cinematic franchise.  I think the original Ghostbusters worked because it was a finite story.  I'm still not fully convinced that the 1989 sequel ever needed to happen.  My biggest issue with this new film is that it was about 80% remake and about 20% new.  Let's break down this film into its elements to see where it went wrong.

Cast

Much has been said and written about director Paul Feig's choice to have an all-female cast.  I'm not against this in any shape or form.  My biggest problem was that the cast seemed to be going through the motions for large chunks of this movie.  Melissa McCarthy and Kristen Wiig were basically playing themselves the entire time.  Leslie Jones wasn't given much to work with besides portraying the characters she does every week on Saturday Night Live.  There wasn't much beneath her character.  The only standout in the 4 female Ghostbusters was SNL superstar, Kate McKinnon.  Her character (whose blond hair was a shoutout to the 1980s Real Ghostbusters cartoon series) was the only one who had me consistently laughing.  The other stand out in this film was Chris (Thor) Hemsworth, who played a hilariously dumb receptionist (so dumb that he covered his eyes when something was too lout).  Hemsworth should explore his comedic side in future films.

Cameos

Every original Ghostbusters cast member had a cameo in this film (with the exception of Rick Moranis, who is effectively retired from acting).  These cameos were all a bit of a distraction to me.  They all spoke lines that were essentially a wink and a nod to the original films.  While I appreciated them, I didn't think they were needed.  I have said from the beginning that this should have been a movie where the original cast passed the torch to a new set of Ghostbusters, and this film failed to do that.

Plot

This film was essentially a remake of the original plot.  Scientists get kicked out of Columbia.  Scientists find ghosts.  Ghostbusters are formed.  New York City is in danger.  Ghostbusters (spoiler alert) save the day.  The ghosts and villains were "different", but not really.  They even teased a Zuel appearance in an after the credits scene.

Music

Fall Out Boy's re-imagining of Ray Parker Jr.'s classic theme song is terrible.  The less said about it, the better.  Moving on...

Overall, I did not hate this film.  I laughed sporadically throughout, and thought it was a decent little film.  However, I still don't think it should have been made.  Hopefully, there wasn't enough of a box office success to justify future Ghostbusters movies and we can all move on in life.

The Birth Of A Nation's message resonates in a politically toxic 2016

The Birth Of A Nation, the controversial new film from writer/director/star Nate Parker opened last weekend to a resounding box office thud.  While fresh on Rotten Tomatoes (77% fresh as of this writing), it hasn't received the predicted universal praise from critics that many thought after it soared at Sundance (and received the largest offer for a film in the history of the festival).  The resurfacing of rape allegations against Parker that came to the forefront a few months ago have certainly cast a long shadow over the film's release, and almost certainly had a part to do with the tepid box office returns.  Controversy aside, Nation is also a tough film to swallow and was released at a time when people, perhaps, want a getaway from the toxic political climate the nation is currently facing.  I went into the film wanting to separate the art from the real life story, and I can tell you that this is a powerful film that speaks volumes about where we are as a nation by looking to the past.

The Birth Of A Nation tells the "Based On A True Story" tale of Nat Turner, who led the largest (and bloodiest) slave rebellion in the history of the United States.  The film introduces us to Turner at a young age, where he learns to read and become a preacher.  As Turner grows up (and returns to the field), we learn that the slave masters use his religion to further enslave Turner's people.  The most effective scenes of this film happen as we follow Turner and his master (played excellently by Armie Hammer) go from plantation to plantation to spread the word of God to the slaves.  However, we soon find out that the slave masters only want to twist the words of the Bible as a way to preach black subservience.  Fears of insurrection are rising throughout the South and these deplorable slave owners are using any means necessary to keep their workers in line.

The horrors Turner witnesses during these visits push him to his own breaking point.  He begins to view the Bible with fresh eyes.  He finds comfort and salvation in his religion, and uses the Bible's message as a means to justify the attacks.  This is an interesting dichotomy in which both sides of the coin use the same religion to justify their actions.  This draws an interesting parallel to modern times, where the same thing is still happening.

Despite being billed as the story of Turner's rebellion, the actual rebellion doesn't happen until the final 20 minutes of the film.  I, for one, appreciated the slow burn approach to this story.  As the story progresses, you can feel the tension building to its snapping point.  Nation wisely strays away from the tendency to focus on the action instead of the people.  By telling the story this way, we as an audience, can feel Turner's pain.  We are there with him as he leads his fellow slaves into revolt.  There are many violent moments, for sure.  However, it's not a violent film.  At its core, this is a film about hope, about decency, and about the depths people will go to obtain freedom.

The Birth Of A Nation is an important film whose message is as important today as it was 200+ years ago.  It speaks to us about how we must never forget America's greatest sin, or let our country succumb to its darkest desires..  It shows us why it's important to fight for what's right. It shows us that any religion can be corrupted to the desires of the wicked.  And, most importantly, it shows us why it's important to say that Black Lives Matter.  There's an especially poignant moment where Turner laments that his brethren are killed "for no reason at all but being black."  This line, above all else, has stayed with me since walking out of the theater.

I'm giving this film 3 out of 4 stars.  It's not quite the home run that early buzz led me to think it would be, but it's still a must see.  Parker is a talented director, but he often indulged in over the top symbolism that I felt detracted from the film.  I would definitely see it in the theater if you can.  Though, judging by its box office returns, I fear this will be a footnote in the 2016 Oscar race.