Movie Date: Ghostbusters
Don’t be afraid of these female Ghostbusters — give them a call.
STARRING: Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, Kate McKinnon, Leslie Jones, Chris Hemsworth
DIRECTOR: Paul Feig
THE SKINNY: When scientists-cum-paranormal experts Erin Gilbert (Wiig), Abby Yates (McCarthy) and Jillian Holtzmann (McKinnon) are called to investigate a haunted house and encounter their first ghost, they devote themselves to researching and hunting the paranormal. They are eventually joined by Patty Tolan (Leslie Jones) and realise that they might be the only ones capable of saving New York City from an apocalypse.
RATING: PG
MARS by JASON JOHNSON
Wiig is the perfect choice to take over from Bill Murray as the Ghostbusters' ringleader.
To me, she's like the female version of the beloved comedian. The thing that really binds them as funny people is this sense of effortlessness.
She's the only comedian today who seems as floppy as Murray was.
Like Murray, she doesn't trade in wackiness. She just kind of floats around looking put-upon and delivering sad-funny quips in an idiosyncratic fashion.
It's the humour of troubled introverts who can occasionally flip it around to become the life of the party. Anyway, Wiig is great in Ghostbusters.
Love her dorky outfit, including the "world's tiniest bow tie".
Love the way she's always desperately pawing at Hemsworth.
Love the way she delivers her lines in quiet little burbles.
Unlike almost any other woman in Hollywood, she actually seems like a person that I might have known growing up.
She's not the only good thing about Ghostbusters - there are plenty of laughs and scares and a few touching moments - but she's my favourite thing.
The one area where this reboot kind of lets us down is that it's a bit too kid-friendly.
The original Ghostbusters had a more adult edge.
Where-oh-where are the "Gatekeeper" and the "Keymaster"?
Rating: 3/5
VENUS by DEBORAH WEE
I'm terrified to admit it, but I actually enjoy Ghostbusters.
Netizens have slimed this all-female incarnation since its trailer was released earlier this year.
I admit it looked pretty terrible. But once Wiig, McCarthy, McKinnon and Jones appear on screen, it becomes clear that the preview did not adequately capture the film's comedic flair.
Ghostbusters is pretty funny. You don't laugh at all the jokes, but you laugh at enough of them to have a good time.
The four leading ladies are brilliantly cast, with Wiig leading the team like the veteran comic she is.
Under Feig's direction, they inject a different kind of comedy from the boyish humour of the original 1984 film.
But unless fans expect a carbon copy of the original, this isn't a bad thing.
Even franchise fans have enough to enjoy, as Ghostbusters is more than generous with its cameos.
Not to mention, the film is certainly empowering for women to watch.
It does not explicitly discuss gender, as if there's nothing surprising about brainy women wielding guns and battling the supernatural. For this, it deserves an extra thumbs up.
Then there's Hemsworth's hilarious but painfully accurate gender spin on the pretty but airheaded receptionist.
At the end, the Ghostbusters appropriately proclaim: "It's not terrible at all."
That's true. It really isn't.
Rating:3/5
THE CONSENSUS: Don’t be afraid of these female Ghostbusters — give them a call.
Movie Review: Star Trek Beyond (PG13)
Justin Lin sure knows how to make an action movie.
The director, best known for his Fast & Furious franchise, takes over Star Trek from J.J. Abrams and delivers many dazzling sequences, making it one pretty fun summer blockbuster flick.
The story starts with Captain Kirk (Chris Pine) feeling dreary about the monotonous life on board the USS Enterprise, which is on a five-year mission to explore new frontiers.
But adventure comes when the mysterious, evil Krall (Idris Elba) enters the picture and destroys the spaceship, putting Kirk and his gang's lives in peril.
Even though the plot gets boring and predictable at times, the characters continue to be interesting and their relationships gripping, particularly the budding bromance between Spock (Zachary Quinto) and Bones (Karl Urban).
Sofia Boutella also stands out as new alien heroine Jaylah.
Rating: 3/5
Poster poser
SKIPTRACE
What It Looks Like:
Jackie Chan and Johnny Knoxville star as cowardly detectives who run at the first sign of danger. Tasked with escorting a shoplifter from the mall to the police station, they freak out when they find an EXACTO knife in the 12-year-old thief's pencil case.
What It's Really About:
A cop (Chan) and a gambler (Knoxville) team up against a Chinese criminal.
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