Ghostbusters

Wanna feel old? Just look back at movies that were released the year you were born. Last week I went and saw Guardians of the Galaxy only to find a poster advertising the coming 30th anniversary of 1984's Ghostbusters hitting theaters. My first thought was something along the lines of "Haha what an old movie. That's crazy." Well....I'm 29 so that makes me....oh, God, I'm gonna be 30 next summer!!! Okay, calm down, calm down. Yeah, anyways, Ghostbusters is really good. Definitely couldn't pass up that re-release in theaters.

When their grant with Columbia University runs out, doctors/screwballs/misfits/friends Pete Veckman (Bill Murray), Ray Stantz (Dan Aykroyd) and Egon Spangler (Harold Ramis) find themselves in quite the sticky situation. Experts of sorts in paranormal activity, the trio decide to go into business for themselves, dubbing the little group 'Ghostbusters.' Their start-up business struggles at first but quickly hits a groove to the point they become celebrities, popping up in newspapers, magazines and TV news all over the country. Their reputation spreads and they keep on scooping up and observing all sorts of paranormal activity across New York City. Then, they take a job that may be too big even for them. A woman, Dana Barrett (Sigourney Weaver), claims some inexplicable things have been happening in her apartment. What's going on exactly? The Ghostbusters are on the case.

How crazy is it that Ghostbusters is 30 years old? Seriously. It's 30 years old. Let that sink in for a little bit. Process it. I hadn't watched this sci-fi, horror comedy in years (like....lots of years) but the girlfriend is a big fan so it was hard to pass up the opportunity to see it remastered on a big screen. It's easy to forget the impact the film has had in those 30 years, spawning a sequel (and possibly a third upcoming one), two cartoon series -- I loved The Real Ghostbusters growing up -- and too many iconic things to mention. Okay, let's try. There's the instantly recognizable theme from Ray Parker Jr. (listen HERE), the great throwback beige jumpsuits, the Ghostbusters warehouse, and of course, the NYC firehouse turned Ghostbusters office. Oh, and Slimer too. You can't forget Slimer.

As far as comedy writers go, there's a certain mad genius quality to Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. Together or working separately, they've helped write The Blues Brothers, Coneheads, Dragnet, Spies Like Us, Caddyshack, Meatballs, Stripes and Animal House. Oh, and this one, Ghostbusters. You combine those two mad geniuses and let them do their thing. The script is a gem, funny without ever trying too hard. It lays things out, assembles a ton of talent and gives each of them a chance to shine. Murray gets the most laughs, but it is a smart-ass, underplayed, dripping with sarcasm part as he unleashes one memorable one-liner after another. Aykroyd is just manic energy, Ramis is the straight man who's always ready with a scientific response, and joining the crew late is Ernie Hudson as Winston Zeddmore because a job is a job.

What a cast though. It's 107 minutes and the cast and story never feels rushed. Murray, Ramis and Aykroyd are pretty perfect together, giving the impression of three friends just hanging out and shooting the breeze. Throw in the very sexy Sigourney Weaver who gets to deal with her nerdy neighbor played to perfection by Rick Moranis, and you've got quite the group of talented actors assembled here. Also look for Annie Potts as the Ghostbusters' secretary, Janine, and familiar 1980s snooty bad guy William Atherton as an EPA agent more than a little interested in what the Ghostbusters are actually doing.

No point in any overanalysis here. Director Ivan Reitman has a gem here, one I very much enjoyed catching up with how many years later. The entire movie is strong, but it is at its best in the final act as the Ghostbusters must tangle with an ancient spirit and demigod, Zuul, and a Sumerian shape-shifting god of destruction, Gozer. It produces probably the movie's most memorable scene, a gigantic 100-feet tall Stay Puft Marshmallow Man terrorizing New York City. Hard not to like this one. Well worth revisiting....even if it does mean I'm almost 30 years old.

Ghostbusters (1984): ***/****

Twilight Zone: The Movie

Airing for five seasons on CBS between 1959 and 1964, The Twilight Zone is one of the all-time great television shows. A mix of horror, science fiction, paranormal and all sorts of wackiness, almost all the episodes were able to deliver some shocker/twist in the end. It's been revived several times in TV reboots, and even received a big screen adaptation, the much-maligned 1983 Twilight Zone: The Movie, a film shrouded in controversy even before its release.

The story is broken down into four separate segments, including a prologue. The first segment follows Bill Connor (Vic Morrow), a despicably racist middle-aged man who finds himself in a variety of different situations where he's the one being prejudiced against. The second takes place at a retirement home where one of the residents, Mr. Bloom (Scatman Crothers) offers his fellow residents a chance at a new life of sorts. In the third, a young woman, a teacher, Helen (Kathleen Quinlan), is on a road trip west when she meets Anthony (Jeremy Licht) with a strange hold and ability to control his family. And last, John Valentine (John Lithgow), a man who hates flying, is on a cross-country flight and struggling mightily as the plane flies through a storm. Looking out the window, Valentine is absolutely convinced that something is out on the wing, tearing up the engine. No one else on board sees it though. Is he nuts?

I loved the original Twilight Zone episodes from creator/writer Rod Serling so I went into this movie with some at least modest expectations. As a result, I was more than a little worried as I watched the prologue, two men (Albert Brooks and Dan Aykroyd) driving at night on a road trip out in the desert. The tone was okay -- feeling like a set-up -- if a little odd, but a really stupid twist (supposedly a shocker?) comes completely out of left field. If it was supposed to be a shocker, it came across as laughable. Thankfully, it wasn't a complete harbinger of what was to come. For the most part, the movie does what it's supposed to do. It's creepy, unsettling and plays like a tribute to the original show. Is it perfect? No, not at all. Of the four segments, one is really good, two only good, and one really bad.

Beyond the actual movie, 'Zone' is known for a horrific accident that claimed the lives of three cast members on-set, including star Vic Morrow. Filming the movie's opening segment, Morrow and two child actors were killed when a helicopter crashed onto them after several explosions sent the helicopter out of control. There is actually some horrifically brutal footage of the accident via Youtube if you're curious. It's sickening stuff. The accident put the film in limbo, producers and the studio debating whether to continue with the film. The first segment's director, John Landis, took a ton of heat for the accident (understandably so), even getting through a lawsuit that ruled no one was at fault for the accident. With absolutely no disrespect meant to Morrow or the two child actors, a cloud hung over the film's production and eventual release. The opening segment with Morrow is one of the "only good" segments, but it's difficult to watch it without thinking about what actually happened in bringing this portion of the film to life.

Almost as a novelty, the four segments were divided by four different directors, Landis, Steven Spielberg, Joe Dante and George Miller. The odd part? Spielberg -- the most accomplished of the four by far -- delivers the weakest segment of the film by far. Apparently Spielberg was greatly affected by Morrow's death and debated even continuing the film. He did stick with it, but biographies claim the director just mailed in the effort, and it shows. While Crothers does a good job in his part, the segment plays like a happy go-lucky after school special. In other words? Nothing like the best Twilight Zone episodes, not even the average ones. Directing the prologue and the opening portion, Landis' parts are hit or miss. The Morrow story is good, but it had to be edited on the fly following Morrow's death. The end result is a rather abrupt ending.

Thankfully, the final two portions make up for the somewhat slow start. The Joe Dante portion is based off a Zone episode titled 'It's a Good Life' with the original star, Bill Mumy, making a quick appearance. Quinlan does a fine job as Helen, the young teacher thrust into something she can't even comprehend at first. 12-year old Licht is incredibly creepy as young Anthony, a boy with special powers. Also look for Kevin McCarthy and William Schallert in key parts. The highlight though is George Miller's segment, based off maybe the most well known and classic Twilight Zone episode ever, 'Nightmare at 20,000 Feet' starring William Shatner. Lithgow's performance as an obsessed, possibly paranoid airline passenger is the best performance in the entire movie. It is a truly unsettling segment, also delivering the biggest and best twist of all the four stories.

In the end, the TV show turned movie is a mixed bag. More than a movie that stands on its own, it plays like a tribute without a whole lot originality. Wrapping up at just 101 minutes, it covers a whole lot of ground. Could 15-20 more minutes have aided the cause? Maybe not, but it couldn't have hurt. Also listen for Burgess Meredith as the narrator, transitioning from story to story and keeping us mildly informed....as much as the Twilight Zone will allow!!! Imagine a dun-dun-duh!!! at the end of that statement.

Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983): ** 1/2 /****