Whenever anyone muttered the words “Ghostbusters” and “remake” in the same breath, it has caused some rather extreme reactions from some people over the last year or so. Now, some of it has been understandable as for some audiences, the original Ghostbusters is a childhood classic that should just never be touched. I get that and I can respect that. If Hollywood ever touched Independence Day…oh wait, yeah I definitely sympathize with that notion. Alright, so that idea does have some validity to it but the people who are out to get this film, whether it’s because the film is a classic to them or that it stars four women in the iconic roles, are reacting in a way that is insanely unnecessary. The misogyny on Reddit is simply absurd and I hate to burst their bubble (actually I enjoy it), but the studios don’t pay critics for their reviews. The reaction from these “fanboys” is simply based on pride and hatred, and it’s an unwarranted distraction from the real problems our country is facing currently. That said, let’s all take a second to thank “Mudron” for bringing logic to these insane Reddit comments.

Okay, now that I’ve purged out my frustration on that, back to the film. I’m personally excited for the new Ghostbusters film. I think the original Ghostbusters is a lot of fun, but looking at the film objectively, it’s not a masterpiece by any means. In fact, I’m curious as to how it would be perceived today with modern audiences and critics. I’m not so sure it would be received with open arms. Nostalgia makes it hard to envision that, but if you take an honest step backwards, there are pacing issues, the exposition of the film is poorly handled and as iconic as the climax is, the tension is released rather quickly. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying it’s a bad film. As I mentioned above, it’s a great time, most of the jokes land hard and the characters are a riot. I also love Rick Moranis’ commitment to his character, it wonderfully juxtaposes the “cool” of the Ghostbuster characters and honestly, their performances as well. You can’t forget that soundtrack too. There’s a lot about this film to appreciate, but I wouldn’t call it a classic.

At this point, a lot of you are probably ready to polarize me with your proton packs but for the reasons mentioned above, it’s why I’m excited for the new Ghostbusters. I’m genuinely curious to see what director Paul Feig does with the material and how they modernize some of the iconice sequences of the original. I also really like this cast. Yep, I said it. Kristen Wiig is an actress that has proven her worth, even outside of comedy, over the last several years. Say what you want about Melissa McCarthy, and yes she can be hit or miss, but I do find her really funny in films that suit her well. Leslie Jones isn’t as well known in the general public but she is hysterical. She’s also been the best part about the trailers too. And the one consistent thing you’ll read in all the reviews, is that Kate McKinnon steals the show. It seems like this could be a star-making role for her. Oh, and there’s Chris Hemsworth, who is actually pretty funny. His jokes in the Marvel films are some of the best and his little role in Vacation was pretty good as well.

I would agree that the marketing for the new Ghosbusters hasn’t been terrific but the reviews are alluring. Given Feig’s history, it doesn’t surprise me either. Spy, The Heat and Bridesmaids were all critically praised films. Personally, I wasn’t the biggest fan of Spy but I would say that I enjoyed all three of those films though. It doesn’t surprise me one bit that the critics have gone for another Feig film when he’s proven himself over and over again. And I don’t buy for a second the “critics have an agenda to prove the haters wrong” argument. Critics don’t get paid by the studios and they aren’t out to get the fans either. They just do their job. End of story. Of course, you don’t have to agree with the critics (I still don’t understand the love for Cheap Thrills) but if the majority of them say it’s good, and you don’t want to believe them, that’s on you. It’s perfectly fine to disagree with critics, we do all the time on our show, but to say they have an agenda is kind of silly to me.

All of that said, and maybe I’ll regret asking this, but what about you? Are you excited for the Ghostbusters remake?

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Here’s what else is coming to theaters this weekend:

The Infiltrator

Cafe Society (limited)
Equals (limited)

If you didn’t know, we are big fans of Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli. Understandably, much of the U.S. general audience haven’t experienced Studio Ghibli and we find that awfully sad. Studio Ghibli and Miyazaki have not only made some of the best animated films over the years but some of the best films period. The Tale of the Princess Kaguya was Brendan’s #1 film of 2014 and made my Top 20 as well. In hindsight, it probably should have been higher on my list. We were also huge fans of The Wind Rises, which also came out in 2014. Grave of the Fireflies is not only a great animated film from 1988 but it’s also one of the best war films and one of the most moving films I’ve ever seen. Princess Mononoke has been considered by some to be one of the greatest animated films of all-time. There is a reason Disney bought the distribution rights to Studio Ghibli in the U.S. Disney doesn’t mess around when it comes to quality. They snatched up Pixar as soon as they possibly could and once the opportunity came for Studio Ghibli, they did the same thing, which speaks to the quality of films coming from Miyazaki and company.

All of that said, while The Secret Life of Pets is getting descent reviews leading up to its theatrical release this weekend, we are forgoing that film and instead discussing Studio Ghibli’s Only Yesterday on Episode 177. Here is the crazy thing about Only Yesterday; it’s actually a Studio Ghibli film from 1991. So why are we featuring that film on our main show this weekend? While the film may be from ’91, it never saw U.S theaters until earlier this year. You heard that right, it took Only Yesterday 25 years to reach audiences in the United States and we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to, not only discuss the film, but also dive further into Studio Ghibli. Additionally to our review of Only Yesterday, we’ll also be discussing our Top 3 Studio Ghibli Films. Words can barely describe how excited we are for Episode 177.

It is inevitable that at some point we will have to do a Studio Ghibli Movie Series. We are itching to dive much futher into films like Princess Mononoke, Grave of the Fireflies, Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki’s Delivery Service and many more greats from Studio Ghibli. For now though, we are grateful for the opportunity to see and discuss Only Yesterday, a film that is getting some good praise from critics. What about you though? Are you a fan of Studio Ghibli?

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Here is what you can expect to see at the box office this weekend:

The Secret Life of Pets

Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates
Captain Fantastic (limited)
Sultan (limited)
Our Little Sister (limited)
Cell (limited)

Steven Spielberg is one of the best directors of all-time and one of my personal favorites as well. Regardless of content or critical reviews, I will always be excited for a new Spielberg film. And how can you not be excited for Spielberg in the fantasy/adventure genre? E.T., Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and Indiana Jones are some of his best work and seeing him jump back into this genre is rather exciting. It’s especially alluring when you realize that The BFG is Spielberg re-teaming with E.T. writer, Melissa Mathison (Rest in Peace good ma’am). I’m not saying that The BFG will be or should be as good as E.T., because let’s be honest, that would be extremely challenging. However, seeing Spielberg and Mathison reunite is still exciting and it should be fun to see where their imagination goes.

That said, I feel like this film has gotten almost zero buzz. If this were to come out 20 years ago, it would easily be one of the most anticipated of the entire summer. Yet here we are in 2016 and no one is really talking about The BFG. Perhaps it’s more the subject matter than it is Spielberg, but still, I don’t think that would have hindered this film or its buzz if this were 1996. Granted, if that were the case, it would be coming off the heels of Jurassic Park in 1993. So, yeah people would have been elated for the next Spielberg film regardless. Perhaps it’s the fact that The BFG is instead coming off the heels of War Horse, Lincoln and Bridge of Spies, three films that are more “serious”-Spielberg than “fun”-Spielberg. I’m not sure what the answer is but we as cinephiles need to be anticipating this film more, that’s all I’m saying.

The BFG also stars Mark Rylance, who is coming off an Oscar win for Best Supporting Actor at this year’s Academy Awards for his performance in Bridge of Spies. In our conversations around that film, we kept talking about how we were we excited to see more from Rylance. Well, here we are with the “more” and it’s again with Spielberg. The BFG has a solid supporting cast as well, including Rebecca Hall, Bill Hader and Jemaine Clement. And while I don’t know anything about child actor Ruby Barnhill, Spielberg’s history of working with child actors is damn near impeccable.

Regardless of how mixed some of the early reviews have been, Spielberg is a filmmaker I always get up for. Yes, he’s had some bad stinkers (looking at you Lost World) but to compare his bad to his greatness is an absurd exercise. And it’s the reason I’m excited for The BFG. What about you though, are you excited?

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Here’s what else is coming out at the box office this weekend:

The Purge: Election Year

The Legend of Tarzan
Our Kind of Traitor (limited)
Life, Animated (limited)
Equals (limited)