Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire

Title: Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire
Director: Gil Kenan
Released: 2024
Starring: Mckenna Grace, Emily Alyn Lind, Finn Wolfhard, Bill Murray, Carrie Coon, Gil Kenan, Paul Rudd, Ernie Hudson, Dan Aykroyd, Jamie Acaster, Annie Potts, Kumail Nanjiani, William Atherton, Patton Oswalt,  

Plot: Three years after the events of Ghostbusters: Afterlife the new Ghostbusters team have relocated to New York only to soon face Garraka, a demon set on bringing about a new Ice Age.

Review: With the franchise revived and the winey fanboys appeased by the previous film rehashing the first film but hey if it worked for Star Wars with The Force Awakens why not Ghostbusters. Still while Afterlife brought a fresh rural setting to the film Frozen Empire decides to move the team back to New York for no real explainable reason other than being a convenient way to work the original crew into the mix. 

Hitting the ground running we find the Spenglers and Paul Rudd’s former teacher long term Ghosterbuster groupie Gary still holding up grandpa Egon’s legacy as they continue to bust ghosts much to the ire of Mayor Walter Peck (a returning William Atherton) which soon sees Phoebe being benched. Elsewhere both Podcast and Lucky are also in the city thanks to convenient plotting with Podcast now hosting a youtube show about cursed objects with Ray while Lucky is now working at a Ghostbusting lab set up by Winston who provides the real backbone to the film by being able to link the various plots together and being the much needed voice of reason when everyone is so busy giddily running around the city having their own paranormal encounters. 

The film certainly starts off on a promising note in 1904 with the Manhattan Adventurers society unwittingly releasing the ice demon Garraka and while this is followed up by the current team chasing down a sewer dragon through Hell’s Kitchen showcasing some fun new pieces of kit like a drone trap the film soon begins to stumble as it tries to find something for this greatly expanded crew of Ghostbusters to do. If the film wasn’t already creaking under the weight of its cast it further adds to this mix with Comedian James Acaster’s paranormal researcher Dr. Pinfield who is a fun addition to the team while Patton Oswalt while enjoyable as always, is really only there to provide an infodump on the background of the film big bad who themselves only shows up at finale.

Frustratingly with every character having to have their moment we do get a lack of paranormal thrills even though Slimer is brought out once more to maximise the nostalgia dollar while the Mini Stay Puffs also make a return though the reasons why are as unexplained as the reason for many characters being worked into the plot. Sure there are some fun new ghosts showcased such as slime spewing spud on legs but in a film crying out for setpieces the film instead chooses to invest its energy into establishing Kumail Nanjiani’s Nadeem’s legacy as a “Fire Master” which only serves to provide a bail out for the team rather than getting to see that Ghostbusters creative problem solving

While it’s still a fun time I couldn’t help the whole time that the film was a mini series that had been edited down into a film version. Sure there are some fun ideas introduced like the Ghost lab that I’d love to see developed further in the next film. Hopefully this film was just the transition to the city and now the foundations have been laid the future instalments can focus more on the Busting and less on the group turmoil. 

Perhaps now the nostalgia has hopefully been tapped out of the franchise we can get back to having new adventures than rehashing the past for if the cartoon series can come up with seven seasons and a spin off worth of material surely the same inspiration can be found for the films aswell.

Baby Assassins

Title: Baby Assassins 
Director: Yugo Sakamoto
Released: 2021
Starring:  Akari Takaishi, Saori Izawa, Yasukaze Motomiya, Satoshi Uekiya, Mone Akitani , Tsubasa Tobinaga, Takashi Nishina, Yousuke Oomizu 

Plot: Chisato (Akari Takaishi) and Mahiro (Saori Izawa) are high school students and highly trained assassins. Now facing graduation they are tasked by their agency to get part time jobs to help them blend in further which might be their toughest assignment yet. 

Review: A unique film to say the least as while the film is bookended with a pair of blistering action sequences the film itself is much more of a mumblecore comedy following schoolgirl assassins Chisato and Mahiro who facing their impending graduation from High School find themselves thrust into adult life by their agency as the pair are forced to move into together as well as finding part time jobs to further their cover. 

It’s certainly a unique clash of styles that Sakamoto has chosen for the film and considering that Saori Izawa has a background in stunt work worked on both John Wick 4 were she doubled for Rina Sawayama and GI Joe prequel Snake Eyes it’s understandable why he would want to make full use of her skills. The fact that she’s an equally capable actress is only an added bonus as while the two big action sequences which open and close the film might be the draw its the relationship between Chisato and Mahiro that really keeps the film together. 

Chisato and Mahiro are in many ways the odd couple pairing as while Chisato is outgoing and confident, Mahiro is socially awkward and shy which certainly only further hampers her attempts to find a part time job even when she manages to follow Chisato into working in a maid cafe were she mumbles her way through the hyperactive greetings that Chisato attacks with gusto. But watching the pair playing house or more precisely spending more time lazing on the couch than finding jobs you really get a sense of the connection they share which goes deeper than just being paired together. Comedy wise though it’s an acquired taste and might come off more dry than laugh out loud with humour finding the situation rather than a series of intentionally humorous setups outside of Mahiro killing the washing machine when she washes her pistol with her clothes. 

To add some tension to the film we also have the sadistic and genuinely scary Yakuza boss Ippei (Motomiya) whose son and daughter prove that the crazy apple doesn’t fall far from the psychotic tree and who are soon trying to track down when they unwittingly kill his head drug dealer. This subplot really doesn’t add much to the film other than some moments of uncomfortable tension and the action packed finale. But till then it’s mainly just them going around the city and intimidating the locals rather than adding anything too substantial to the plot.

Thankfully the payoff is worth the wait especially when Izawa breaks out of her sloth mode and switches to fighting mode which really makes me hope that she gets a project to show off her incredible skills that we get a taste of here and while Takaishi might not have the same background she still shows off some impressive gun handling skills which add to the fun which only made me wish this there was more action in the film for them to shine and less weird yakuza family antics. Certainly it’s what raised my rating it half a star in much the same way as the finale of A Better Tommorow 2 
It’s not a film which is going to appeal to everyone especially with the dry humour and sedimentary plotting but there’s certainly something about the film whether it was the kick ass action set piece (all two of them) or just the Two Broke Girls esq relationship of Chisato and Mahiro that has me at least curious about the sequel.

Flesh and Blood

Title: Flesh and Blood
Director: Paul Verhoeven
Released: 1985
Starring: Rutger Hauer, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Jack Thompson, Tom Burlinson, Brion James, Susan Tyrrell, Fernando Hilbeck

Plot: Having been betrayed by the noble lord Arnolfini (Hilbeck) a band of mercenaries set out to take their revenge while also kidnapping the future wife of the noble’s son.

Review: The english language debut of Paul Verhoeven who was already a controversial film maker in his native Netherlands were having grown tired of having to appeal for the funding from the government looked to Hollywood for the funding for this Medieval adventure which Verhoeven set out to make with the intention of fully representing the “Stinking time to live” than had previously been shown in other medieval set productions which often leaned more into fantasy than the historical realism that Verhoeven envisioned for the project. 

Certainly the film paints a grim vision of 15th century Italy ravaged by the plague and were bands are mercenaries swear their allegiance to whichever nobel can afford their services which is how we are introduced to Rutger Hauer’s Martin and his fellow dogs of war as they help reclaim a city only to find the promise of being able to loot as they please for 24 hours being revoked and the mercenaries being cast out of the city only to quickly reassemble under Martin’s leadership to reclaim what they believe to be rightfully owed to them by the nobel lord Arnolfini.

Verhoeven has always been a director with a distinct vision and certainly that can be said about this film which chooses to paint its scenario in shades of grey than reduce the story to traditional villain and hero archetypes which certainly brings a unique tone to the film as while we feel like we are supposed to root for Martin and his ragtag band they are also the same group who have little issue with carrying out gang rape on Jennifer Jason Leigh’s Agnes who is invariantly kidnapped by the group after they carry out a raid on her caravan. The situation only grows further morally dubious when Agnes despite being raped by Martin ends up in a relationship with him pushing the film into the same weird territory as Straw Dogs. Verhoeven however had originally seen the film focusing on the relationship between Martin and his former captain Hawkwood (Thompson) who betrayed him but the studio pushing for a love interest saw the introduction of Agnes to the character and twisted love triangle between her Martin and the Nobel’s son Steven (Burlinson).

Verhoeven’s medieval vision is certainly a welcome change from what we have come to expect from the genre especially when this is dirty and violent world where everything is taken by force and unsurprisingly it’s also an oversexed world with plentiful amounts of nudity though much of it isn’t fun with these scenes often objectifying the female cast members and detracting from the film and making it only the harder to side with any particular character in the film. The violence on the other hand is frequently bloody and lacking the finesse and fancy swordplay of similar films as it leans more into a rough and ready style of action which perfectly suits this world. 

A flop on it’s release as it retained too much European styling than committing to the Hollywood ideal these are things which now work in the films favour as it shuns the cliché tropes of the genre (Brave knights and damsels in distress) and truly delivers something different both in terms of visuals and substance even if he’s clearly still developing his style and while the rape elements do detract from the experience there is still alot to like about the film which now has become the hidden gem in the Verhoeven filmography.

The Lobster

Title: The Lobster
Director: Yorgos Lanthimos
Released: 2015
Starring: Colin Farrell, Rachel Weisz, Jessica Barden, Olivia Colman, Ashley Jensen, Ariane Labed, Angeliki Papoulia, John C. Reilly, Lea Seydoux, Michael Smiley, Ben Whishaw

Plot: David (Farrell) having found out his wife has been cheating on him now travels to a strange hotel where the guests aim to find a partner in 45 days or they will be turned into an animal of their choice. 

Review: Set in a dystopian future where being unattached is a crime while those seeking a partner they are whisked off to a rural hotel where they are given 45 days to find a partner or be transformed into an animal of their choosing. For those familiar with the work of director Yorgos Lanthimos here making his English language debut it’s another jaunt into his warped yet strangely familiar world.

Certainly there is always a question of whether the style of an international director will translate and somehow Lanthimos somehow only manages to make his work even more surreal here perhaps because of the familiarity of the the hotel the kind whose style has not changed since they first opened that you find in tourist towns like Blackpool of Newquay. It’s one of these hotels that David here played by a sedated (like everyone else in this world) Colin Farrell finds himself bused off to along with his fellow singletons who are all looking for similar traits rather than a connection in their potential partner or risk being turned into an animal of their choosing with David having decided upon his arrival that he will be a Lobster because they can live to 100 and have blue blood like aristocrats. 

While the surroundings of the hotel might be unassuming the devil is in the details like the best of Lanthimos’ films with the guests not only being uniformly dressed but are regularly subjected to couple propaganda in the form of plays performed by the staff as they are shown that being single leaves them at risk to being raped or choking at dinner. The rules are enforced by the quiet yet firm spoken hotel manager (Coleman) whose punishments like all dystopian societies are cruel and unusual as one guest finds when they break the hotel’s ban on masturbation and find their hand being stuck in a toaster. At the same time guests can extend thier stay by hunting the guests who have attempted to escape the hotel known as “Loners’ ‘ who now lurk the woods surrounding the hotel. 

The first half of the film is really were the strength of the film lies as we watch the guests of the hotel quirky interacting with each other as it quickly becomes clear how for many this is their last ditch effort to find someone though considering how sedate and deadpan everyone in this world is, what exactly is quirky? Certainly in this world personality is certainly not the main attraction with attraction it seems being based more on what you have in common with a person leading some of the guest to more drastic measures to force that potential connection as Ben Whisaw’s John intentionally fakes nosebleeds to make himself seem a match with Jessica Barden’s character who frequently suffers them. Personality in this world being more quirks than actual personality. 

Once David escapes the hotel and joins the loners the film really starts to struggle under the weight of it’s own quirkiness especially as this group have their own rules and even more cruel and unusual punishments as they push back against any form of intimacy only for David to of course find a connection with another group member played by Rachel Weisz who also serves as the narrator for the film, though in this role does lack the engaging flourish needed and comes off too dry and clinical in places even for this deadpan world.

The film only suffers further problems when Lanthimos attempts to open the world further with David and his fellow loners heading into the city which really adds nothing to the film while their raid on the hotel which doesn’t really provide the disruption it feels it should. Despite these issues Lanthimos once again delivers a truly unique vision, though the quirkiness is certainly an acquired taste with your tolerance for the deadpan dialogue meaning that enjoyment may vary.

This Place Rules

Title: This Place Rules
Director: Andrew Callaghan
Released: 2022

Plot: Documentary following the events which culminated in the January 6th attack on the Capital Building in Washington D.C.

Review: For those of you like myself who don’t follow every social media creator Andrew Callaghan started out his documentary career conducting humorous interviews on Bourbon street were he was working as a doorman to pay his way through college. It was here that he hit upon the idea of recording confessions from the people out on the street in the early hours calling them Quarter Confessions which he would then upload onto the internet like a street level version of Taxi Cab Confessions some of which open the film before we meet Joker Gang and his social media rival Gum Gang the redneck stuntman as the pair set to settle their differences in a boxing match which is as much of a car crash as you’d expect it to be. What does this have to do with Capital Building Riot? Well as Callaghan awkwardly explains “Well it was a fight”.

Hitting the road in his R.V. Callaghan takes the style of his interviewing technique to the streets as he meets conspiracy theorists, Trump Supporters, Proud Boys, Antifa protestors aswell as the likes of Infowars host Alex Jones and Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio as he attempts to make sense of the division in the country only to find himself very much in the right place at the right time as the documentary captures the events leading up the storming of the Capital Building and certainly by having access to the key figures cited as helping instigate the event to learn that their intentions are often driven by financial gain than any kind of actual political stance especially with Tarrio openly stating that he prints t-shirts to promote the ideals of both the left and the right because he “Knows how to put food on his table”.

Avoiding the stunts of Michael Moore here Callaghan presents a detached approach to the events unfolding though most of the responses we see from his interview subjects on the street which are just that their responses, we never get to see the questions he’s asking instead just a man and his microphone serving as a form of confession for the various protestors to vent their feeling and often share their unique world views. Sure the focus might be political but Callaghan is still more than happy to highlight the crazies on both sides with the left calling for a communist society, commune living and weed legalisation while the right are more focused on how the election was stolen from Trump and how Biden winning is simply part of a bigger conspiracy against them.

When Callaghan does conduct an interview though it never seems to be with the aim of antagonising his interview subject instead just providing them a microphone and letting them just reel off whatever their viewpoint might be which often will lead them into some often fantastical avenues as in their mind at least they are only further making their point than drifting away from it which certainly seems to be the case of Alex Jones who at one point seems to be trying to create his own sound bites for a future episode as he urges Callaghan to call him a bad person only he does this will Callaghan’s team are filming. It’s a thoroughly confusing moment to say the least.

While there are no big answers to be gleaned from the documentary it still provides a fascinating snapshot into a crazy time in American politics and more so in how social media has played a part more now than ever. None more so when it looks at the conspiracy theory side such as Q-Anon and certainly capturing the disappointment of the Spencer family when the hints and clues supposedly being dropped came to ultimately nothing. It’s equally fascinating to see both sides of the media covered the event much like how the co-called heroes and great leaders of the revolution were nowhere to be found and quickly distancing themselves from the event in the aftermath.

Yes the film might present the infomation in a style which could be seen as irrelevant especially when its not providing big info dumps or even trying to villainise either side but despite at times seeming like a rogues gallery of oddballs it still proved to be an engaging watch throughout while leaving it to the viewer to decide who to really believe and which side is ultimately right or if we should just be looking for a third option.