MOVIE: Saturday Night (2024)

by benmweilertNo Comments
Saturday NightYear: 2024Rating: RLength: 109 minutes / 1.82 hours Say what you will about whatever era of Saturday Night Live you want to pick on, but the fact that this show has been on the air for 50 years is astonishing. Even more so when you realize how close it came to not airing on that first night at all. All the iconic moments that have become part of pop culture over its five-decade run should be placed in the context of what Lorne Michaels was trying to do with this ragtag group of comedians. Saturday Night (2024) is a look into that last hour before the very first episode aired in 1975. I appreciated the ticking-clock aspect that director Jason Reitman brought to this film to emphasize how much still had to come together to make the show work. That everything is moving in real time shows just how frenzied these last-minute preparations were for everyone. There were quite a few...
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MOVIE: Ghostbusters (2016)

by benmweilertNo Comments
Ghostbusters Year: 2016 Rating: PG-13 Length: 116 minutes / 1.93 hours Look, I'm all for giving women a shot in traditionally male-focused franchises, but when all it boils down to is an application of "Rule 63," then I don't think we're doing these women justice. In this remake/reboot, the visuals and weapons get an upgrade, and that's about it. If they truly wanted to make a "Ghostbusters with women," then the characters shouldn't have been so interchangeable with the originals. I understand the need to maintain the parallels to the original, but these characters come off more like men in women's bodies than women who have their own, unique challenges and approaches to solving problems. If anything, Ghostbusters (2016) shows how extraordinary the comedy and special effects of the original Ghostbusters (1984) were. While the original usually earned its laughs with a wink, this remake had jokes that mostly relied upon awkward and uncomfortable situations or faux pas. I get that sometimes the improvisational nature of comedy can work for...
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