Following Ghostbusters: Afterlife’s debut at CinemaCon, reactions from the screening have been flooding in. Thankfully for those of us eagerly anticipating this “reboot” sequel, the reviews are all glowing. Germain Lussier wrote on Twitter that the film is the “sequel fans have been waiting decades for”.
John Nguyen from Nerd Reactor said the film was destined to become a classic saying the "stars are the kids and they are charming on screen, giving off the Goonies meets Ghostbusters feel."
A third Ghostbusters film had been in various stages of development since Ghostbusters II released in 1989, stalling as Murray refused to commit to the project. After the death of cast member Harold Ramis in 2014, Sony instead produced a reboot released in 2016. The film performed poorly at the box office, and Reitman began developing a sequel to the original films. The new cast members were announced by July 2019, while the original cast signed on two months later. Filming took place from July to October 2019.
Ghostbusters: Afterlife was screened unannounced on August 23, 2021 during the 2021 CinemaCon event in Los Angeles and is scheduled to be released in the United States on November 11, 2021, after being delayed three times from an original July 2020 date due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ghostbusters: Afterlife film review
Reviews are currently embargoed so here's the premise:
After being evicted from their home, a single mother and her two children are forced to move to a decayed farmhouse in Summerville, Oklahoma, left to them by the children's late grandfather, where a series of unexplained earthquakes are occurring despite not being situated on any fault and strange things are happening in an old mine which once belonged to the alleged occultist Ivo Shandor.
The children discover their grandfather's history with the original Ghostbusters, who have since been largely forgotten by the world beyond their fan base.
When supernatural phenomena relating to New York City's "Manhattan Crossrip of 1984" arises and threatens the world, the kids, along with their family and friends, must use the Ghostbusters' equipment and become their successors to save it.
The film had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival on September 1, 2016, and was released in the United States and Canada by Paramount Pictures on November 11, 2016. It grossed $203 million worldwide and received praise for Adams's performance, Villeneuve's direction, and its exploration of communication with extraterrestrial intelligence. Considered one of the best films of 2016, Arrival appeared on numerous critics' year-end lists and was selected by the American Film Institute as one of ten "Movies of the Year".
Linguist Louise Banks's daughter Hannah dies at the age of twelve from an incurable illness.
Twelve extraterrestrial spacecraft hover over disparate locations around the Earth. Affected nations send military and scientific experts to monitor and study them; in the United States, US Army Colonel Weber recruits Banks and physicist Ian Donnelly to study the craft above Montana. On board, Banks and Donnelly make contact with two cephalopod-like, seven-limbed aliens, whom they call 'heptapods'; Donnelly nicknames them Abbott and Costello. Banks and Donnelly research the complex written language of the aliens, consisting of palindrome phrases written with circular symbols, and share the results with other nations. As Banks studies the language, she starts to have flashback-like visions of her daughter.
When Banks is able to establish sufficient shared vocabulary to ask why the aliens have come, they answer with a statement which could be translated as "offer weapon". China interprets this as "use weapon", prompting it to break off communications, and other nations follow. Banks argues that the symbol interpreted as "weapon" can be more abstractly referred to the concept of "means", "tool"; China's translation likely results from interacting with the aliens using mahjong, a highly competitive winner-take-all game.
Rogue soldiers plant a bomb in the Montana craft. Unaware, Banks and Donnelly re-enter the alien vessel, and the aliens give them a more complex message. Just before the bomb explodes, one of the aliens ejects Donnelly and Banks from the vessel, knocking them unconscious. When they wake, the military is preparing to evacuate in case of retaliation, and the craft has moved beyond reach.
Donnelly discovers that the symbol for time is present throughout the message, and that the writing occupies exactly one twelfth of the 3D space into which it is projected. Banks suggests that the full message is split among the twelve craft, and the aliens want all the nations to share what they learn.
China's General Shang issues an ultimatum to his local alien craft, demanding that it leave China within 24 hours. Russia, Pakistan, and Sudan follow suit. Communications between the international research teams are terminated as worldwide panic sets in.
Banks goes alone to the Montana craft, and it sends down a transport pod. Abbott has been mortally injured as a result of the explosion (which Costello refers to as "death process"); Costello explains that they have come to help humanity, for in 3,000 years they will need humanity's help in return. Banks realizes the "weapon" is their language, which changes humans' linear perception of time, allowing them to experience "memories" of future events. Banks's visions of her daughter, Hannah, are revealed actually to be premonitions; her daughter will not be born until some time in the future.
Banks returns to the camp as it is being evacuated and tells Donnelly that the aliens’ language is the "tool". Those who master the aliens’ language are able to perceive the future and past. She has a premonition of a United Nations event celebrating newfound unity following the alien arrival, in which Shang thanks her for having persuaded him to stop the attack by calling his private number and reciting his wife's dying words: "War doesn't make winners, only widows."
In the present, Banks steals CIA agent Halpern's satellite phone, and calls Shang's number to recite the words. The Chinese announce that they are standing down and release their twelfth of the message. The other countries follow suit, and the twelve craft depart.
During the evacuation, Donnelly expresses his love for Banks. They talk about life choices and whether he would change them if he could see the future. Banks knows that she will agree to have a child with him despite knowing their fate: that Hannah will die from an incurable disease, and Donnelly will leave them after she reveals that she knew this.
How good is Arrival?
Arrival (Denis Villeneuve, 2016)
If 2009′s Polytechnique didn’t convince you that Denis Villeneuve is one of the most significant directors working this century, then Enemy four years later should have clued you up that he is one of the most original. Arrival sees him taking further steps into the mainstream after the Hugh Jackman fronted thriller Prisoners in 2013 and the 2015 CIA-meets-Mexican-drug-lord crime film Sicario with Emily Blunt and Benicio del Toro.
But even in terms of the diversity that marks Villeneuve’s filmography thus far, Arrival feels like something altogether new. Based on Ted Chiang’s “Story of Your Life”, the very scale of Villeneuve’s linguistics-oriented science fiction epic takes him somewhere grander in scope, laying the groundwork for what he might conceivably achieve with the much anticipated Blade Runner 2049, currently pencilled in for an October 2017 release.
Aside from anything else, Arrival stands with Bruce McDonald’s 2008 film Pontypool – another Canadian film, coincidentally – to explicitly address language in the context of fantastic cinema. While Pontypool builds its exploration around the zombie film tradition, Arrival turns its attention towards the alien invasion trope. Like Pontypool, however, Arrival transcends the limitations that so often govern the less creative examples of the subgenre, instead using it as a loose conceptual foundation upon which to build a theoretically-informed examination of what precisely it is that makes us human.
It is on this front that Villeneuve understands that the success of Arrival relies less on the flamboyant special effects that typify the quasi-intellectual dudebroism of Christopher Nolan than it does its lead character Louise, played by Amy Adams. It is hardly original to suggest that – alongside her stupendous performance in Tom Ford’s Nocturnal Animals – 2016 has been an exceptional year for Adams, both films positioning her strongly for Oscar consideration. Although very different roles, in both Arrival and Nocturnal Animals, Adams’ strength lies in what she holds back. The nuance of her often minute physical gestures are at times overpowering; she speaks volumes with the turn of a wrist or the tug of a lock of hair.
Largely a result of the collaboration between Adams and Villeneuve (built on Chiang’s already strong source material), it is the emotional scale of Arrival that ultimately leaves its most enduring mark. In the hands of another director, Arrival could easily collapse into pomposity and self-importance, but Villeneuve’s respect for silence, for nuance, and for the value of small things allows the heart of the story to float to the surface, dazzling brighter and longer than any glitzy intergalactic CG spectacle ever could.
Originally set for theatrical release by Paramount Pictures, the film's distribution rights were acquired by Amazon due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and digitally released on July 2, 2021 via Prime Video. The Tomorrow Warreceived mixed reviews from critics, with praise for the concept, action sequences, and performances (particularly Pratt and Richardson), but criticism aimed towards its derivative execution. A sequel is in development.
Think it's a silly question? Well, the phone has played a vital role in some very dramatic scenes throughout the years... how about Scream, for example, or the chilling beginning to When A Stranger Calls...
Of course, it's also been used for laughs too...
When Harry Met Sally... is a 1989 American romantic comedy film written by Nora Ephron and directed by Rob Reiner. It stars Billy Crystal as Harry and Meg Ryan as Sally. The story follows the title characters from the time they meet in Chicago just before sharing a cross-country drive, through twelve years of chance encounters in New York City. The film raises the question "Can men and women ever just be friends?" and advances many ideas about relationships that became household concepts, such as "high-maintenance" and the "transitional person".
The origins of the film were derived from Reiner's return to single life after a divorce. An interview Ephron conducted with Reiner provided the basis for Harry. Sally was based on Ephron and some of her friends. Crystal came on board and made his own contributions to the screenplay, making Harry funnier. Ephron supplied the structure of the film with much of the dialogue based on the real-life friendship between Reiner and Crystal. The soundtrack consists of standards performed by Harry Connick Jr., with a big band and orchestra arranged by Marc Shaiman. For his work on the soundtrack, Connick won his first Grammy Award for Best Jazz Male Vocal Performance.
Columbia Pictures released When Harry Met Sally... in selected cities, letting word of mouth generate interest, before gradually expanding distribution. The film grossed $92.8 million in North America, and was released to critical acclaim. Ephron received a British Academy Film Award, an Oscar nomination, and a Writers Guild of America Award nomination for her screenplay. The film is ranked 23rd on AFI's 100 Years... 100 Laughs list of the top comedy films in American cinema and number 60 on Bravo's "100 Funniest Movies". In early 2004, the film was adapted for the stage in a production starring Luke Perry and Alyson Hannigan.
This was the only audition where I did the reading and was hired right there in the room. I absolutely adored Spinal Tap, so to get that kind of affirmation from a director like Rob Reiner at that time in my life was really powerful.
Rob and I both agreed very strongly that there was no mushy side to this guy [villain Ace Merrill]. This is an asshole to the marrow of his bones; unfortunately, every town seems to have one. He was a bully and the only way to make the character work was if you hated him.
I worked with the main cast very little but when I’d get there early, they would be workshopping scenes and trying out each other’s lines. River [Phoenix] specifically had such an appetite to learn and be good – and, of course, he was. He was a year older than the rest of the boys and I think it made a pretty significant difference. When the others were doing age-appropriate things, River was asking questions like: “Would you mind running lines with me?” He saw me playing guitar and asked: “What song is that? Would you teach me?” His desire to get to the next level was so evident that you knew he was going to do something special. He was interested in storytelling from the perspective of learning and sharing as opposed to just entertaining.
‘This is an asshole to the marrow of his bones’ ... Kiefer Sutherland as Ace Merrill (right). Photograph: Columbia Pictures/Allstar
There was no animosity between the older and younger cast – I’ve never been that kind of actor. There’s a separation between how I am in my life and what we’re doing in between “action” and “cut” – thank God, because I’ve played some horrible characters, and Ace Merrill was one of them.
John Cusack was on the film for at least a week. I admired what he was doing and thought he was an actor I wanted to emulate. I got to spend time with him and we had some fun. We weren’t that far from Portland so we’d go to dances or try to meet girls. There’s absolutely nothing I don’t remember fondly about that film.
There was maybe a three-year period where I felt like the luckiest person on the planet. I got to do Stand By Me, The Lost Boys and Young Guns. I was cruising through and having a blast. There’s never felt like another time like that. In many ways, the story that was being told in the movie was actually happening to me in my life. Those are the summers and friends I will never forget.
Rob Reiner, director
Some friends were developing Stand By Me for the director Adrian Lyne but he left the project. They took it to me to read. I connected with the characters, loved the time period and everything about it. “Maybe I’ll take a shot at this,” I said.
For the next four days I drove around LA with a migraine because I couldn’t figure out what to do with it. It was this wonderfully observational piece that Stephen King had written about his experience going to look at a dead body with his friends. Once I hit on the idea of Gordie (Wil Wheaton) being the one that goes through this big emotional upheaval, then I hooked into it. In the book, Gordie was just an observer; once I decided to make him the main character, it all fell into place.
Wil had this sensitivity and intelligence. Jerry O’Connell (who played Vern) had never acted before apart from a commercial. The only one with real experience was Corey Feldman (Teddy). I’d never met a 12-year-old with that kind of rage inside of him, but in learning about his background and that his parents had split up and there wasn’t a lot of closeness there, I could see where it was coming from. River (Chris) was 13 and like a young James Dean. There was so much soul there. He had this great wisdom for a guy that age.
‘When it came out and was accepted it validated me’ ... Rob Reiner shooting Stand By Me. Photograph: PictureLux/The Hollywood Archive/Alamy
We shot in Brownsville, Oregon. It rains a lot there but we were lucky and got 60 straight days of sunshine. Even the day they were supposed to find the body was sunshine – we had to soak the whole set so it looked gloomy. I was looking for a town that had stopped in time and felt like it was in the 50s. We purposely tried to give it this hazy, gauzy and nostalgic look. Cinematographer Thomas Del Ruth did a magnificent job.
The vomit in the pie-eating scene was a mixture of large curd cottage cheese and blueberry pie filling and we were flinging it all over the place. That was fun, but the train sequence was difficult. For long shots we had stunt doubles and when I did shots with the actual boys, we used long lenses so the train looked like it was right on top of them even though it hadn’t even entered the trestle. They were supposed to be freaking out but didn’t feel the pressure. I started getting mad. It was hot and the crew had to push the camera down this long dolly track, so I said: “These guys are breaking their asses because you guys are fucking up!” The next time, they were frightened. Afterwards, they ran over, gave me a big hug and said “We did it Rob!” They were great.
Stand By Me means more to me than any of the other films I’ve made. It was the first time I did a film that reflected my own personal sensibility; it had a mixture of melancholy, humour and nostalgia. I was 12 in 1959 so the music was the music I listened to and the feelings I had in relation to my father, I injected into the film. When it came out and was accepted it validated me. It gave me a big boost to press forward.
