Ghostbusters

http://www.ghostbusters.com/

It's classic film time once again folks! But this time I didn't need to travel up to London, or visit my local independent theatre to watch an oldie but goodie, as Ghostbusters came to Cineworld for one night only. 

As I was only 3 when Ghostbusters came out I can't quite remember the first time I saw it. But I do remember that I loved it and still love it to this day. It's an undisputed classic with so many memorable lines it's almost criminal.

For the uninitiated, Ghostbusters is a film about three scientists who decide to become spook catchers in New York City. Their first client Dana Barrett (Sigourney Weaver) experiences a supernatural event in her kitchen and goes to the Ghostbusters, Dr Venkman (Bill Murray), Dr Stantz (Dan Aykroyd) and Dr Spengler (Harold Ramis) for help. They soon discover a coming apocalypse and Dana's apartment block seems to be the gateway. Will they be able to stop it in time? Or will the Environmental Protection Agency shut them down before they have a chance?

If you haven't seen Ghostbusters I suggest you get on it as Ghostbusters 3 (yes that's 3, there is also a Ghostbusters 2 that came out in 1989) is rumored to be coming out next year. The original is (so far) the best though and until now I had not seen it in the cinema. I saw Ghostbusters 2 a few years ago at a special one off screening, not dissimilar to this one, but seeing the original on the big screen was a special experience. 

I don't know what it is about 80s movies but they seemed to get away with so much more than films these days. Or maybe my mum was more accomodating and just allowed us to watch films we were too young for? It just seems to me that films like this and Back to the Future were a staple of my childhood and when I look at them now I see a lot of adult humour that I wouldn't have understood, strong-ish language and some quite scary visuals.

And yet, like another classic 80s film from my childhood, The Princess Bride, I still love Ghostbusters, but I find I love it now for the things I wouldn't have understood as a child. And yet not understanding those things back then certainly didn't make me love it less. I guess it just works on many levels.

Some of the effects haven't aged so well but a great story, written by the stars of the film Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis (and according to IMDb, co-written by Rick Moranis, although uncredited? How they know this I have no idea!) and fantastic comedic performances from Bill Murray, Aykroyd and Ramis, and what can only be described as great chemistry between all of the leads, Ghostbusters still thrills today.

If it's on at a cinema near you I recommend you go and see it, if not then you must buy, rent or borrow this off someone today and remember why it's considered a classic. 9.5 out of 10.

Viewing Date - 15th November 2011

Original UK Release Date - 7th December 1984

Cast Overview:

Bill Murray ~ Dr Peter Venkman

Dan Aykroyd ~ Dr Ray Stantz

Sigourney Weaver ~ Dana Barrett

Harold Ramis ~ Dr Egon Spengler

Rick Moranis ~ Louis Tully

Annie Potts ~ Janine Melnitz

William Atherton ~ Walter Peck

Ernie Hudson ~ Winston Zeddmore

Director ~ Ivan Reitman

Writer(s) ~ Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis

Aliens

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090605/

I was recently told that I focus too much on my 'experience' in my reviews and not enough on the film. I personally don't agree with this as this is first and foremost a blog, and as such I feel a certain amount of personal experience is necessary. But I always welcome your views on the subject and point out that my comments box is always open.

Having said that, I will now advise the person who felt my ramblings were too much, to look away now, as this one is going to be very personal indeed! I have been very lucky to see Aliens this week, at the same cinema I saw The Terminator at last week, The Duke Of York's Picturehouse in Brighton. Aliens puts my total number of visits to this cinema at four. A paltry amount when you consider what a champion I am of the independent cinema in London, The Prince Charles Cinema. You will probably have noticed that my Terminator review didn't exactly go into detail about the cinema itself, the way I do when I visit The PCC. This is because I don't particularly rate The Duke Of York's. Each time I have been I have had a less than perfect cinematic experience. Rude and unhelpful staff on the first two visits and then a poor quality film and lack of attention to detail for The Terminator. Aliens is the first film I have REALLY enjoyed there. And it may be enough for me to start championing them too.

For those unfamiliar with James Cameron's 1986 follow up to Ridley Scott's Alien, allow me to enlighten you. In Alien, the crew of the mining ship The Nostromo, land on unchartered planet LV-426 after receiving what they presume is an SOS. One crewman is attacked on the planet's surface and brought back aboard with an organism attached to his face. We later learn this was implanting him with an alien life that later bursts out of him, killing him instantly. The alien created soon grows into a creature that wipes out the crew within 24 hours, leaving Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) as the only survivor. She sets The Nostromo to self destruct and escapes on the ships shuttle. In Aliens, Ripley's shuttle is picked up by a passing salvage team. She wakes from hypersleep to discover she had been floating in space for 57 years. She is brought before the company board who need answers as to what happened to The Nostromo and it's crew. Despite Ripley's detailed reports, they do not believe what happened on LV-426 and inform Ripley that the planet has since been colonised by terraformers. The company soon eats their words however, when they lose contact with the colony.  Ripley is asked to go back to LV-426 to aid an investigation into what happened to the colonists. At first reluctant to go, Ripley's frequent nightmares about the alien encourage her to face her demons. She agrees to accompany the group of marines sent down to the planet to find the colonists. There they discover an army of aliens that have been bred using more than 100 colonists as human hosts. And one little girl who has managed to survive to tell the tale. 

The showing of Aliens was sold out and the atmosphere was electric. Fans cheered at the start of the grainy original reel of the film. Favourite lines (mostly by Hudson "No way man!") were met with an auditorium of laughter and those less familiar with the film jumped at all the scary moments. I could not have asked for a better way to experience one of my all time favourite horrors.

The film shown was the theatrical cut, and although the reel was not in perfect condition (understandably, due to age), the grainy picture quality and intermittent sound just added to the tension already imbued in the film. Cameron's Aliens is a very different beast to the first Alien film, with hundreds more alien creatures and a higher human body count than before. But it also has more heart. The relationship between Newt and Ripley adding another dimension to the out and out horror of the first film. It's also a lot faster paced and funnier.

I recently watched the first Alien at home and was again forced to admit that although it has it's merits, I just don't love it. But while watching Aliens all I could think was that there is literally nothing I would change about it. This leaves me with the conclusion that Aliens has to receive my third perfect 10 of the year. 10 out of 10.

Interesting fact: Each marine's first name is the same as the actor who played them. The only exception is Cpl. Dwayne Hicks. We see "Frost R." who was played by Ricco Ross, so the character's full name is Pvt. Ricco Frost. The other characters are: Pvt. William Hudson, Pvt. Jenette Vasquez, Lt. William Gorman, Sgt. Al Apone, Pvt. Mark Drake, Cpl. Collette Ferro, Pvt. Daniel Spunkmeyer, Cpl. Cynthia Dietrich, Pvt. Tip/Tim Crowe, and Pvt. Trevor Wierzbowski.

Viewing Date - 29th September 2011

Original UK Release Date - 29th August 1986

Cast Overview:

Sigourney Weaver ~ Ellen Ripley

Michael Biehn ~ Cpl Dwayne Hicks

Carrie Henn ~ Rebecca 'Newt' Jorden

Paul Reiser ~ Carter Burke

Lance Henriksen ~ Bishop

Bill Paxton ~ Pvt Hudson

Jenette Goldstein ~ Pvt Vasquez

William Hope ~ Lt Gorman

Al Matthews ~ Sgt Apone

Mark Rolston ~ Pvt Drake

Director ~ James Cameron

Writer(s) ~ James Cameron (Screenplay and Story), David Giler (Story), Walter Hill (Story), Dan O'Bannon (Characters) and Ronald Shusett (Characters).