The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part
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Critics Consensus: An infectiously fun blend of special effects and comedy, with Bill Murray's hilarious deadpan performance leading a cast of great comic turns.
Critic Consensus: An infectiously fun blend of special effects and comedy, with Bill Murray's hilarious deadpan performance leading a cast of great comic turns.
All Critics (71) | Top Critics (11) | Fresh (69) | Rotten (2) | DVD (14)
Ghostbusters is like romping through Disneyland's haunted house with Bill Murray.
Ghostbusters is primarily a showcase for Murray, who slinks through the movie muttering his lines in his usual cheeky fashion and getting off an occasionally hilarious crack that proves he's thoroughly enjoying himself.
The plotting may be primitive, but it's all carried off with far more style and finesse than one might expect from the creators of Animal House and Meatballs.
On balance, Ghostbusters is a hoot. It's Murray's picture, and in a triumph of mind over matter, he blows away the film's boring special effects with his one-liners.
What's not to like?
Whoever thought of having evil's final manifestation take the form of a 100-ft. marshmallow deserves the rational mind's eternal gratitude.
Partly because of the cast, partly because of the effects, partly because of Elmer Bernstein's score, and partly because of [Ivan] Reitman's directing style, it all just worked -- and it still does
Despite the flaws I've dwelled on here, I feel real affection for Ghostbusters. How could you not? It's goofy, funny, homey - it's genuine comfort food
...an erratic yet consistently entertaining summer blockbuster...
It's almost impossible not to smile while watching it.
Part of the sheer joy of this movie -- aside from the comic timing of Bill Murray -- is the cartoonish crapness of its apparitions and their placid acceptance by the Ghostbusters team.
What you realise about Ghostbusters thirty years on is that Bill Murray is a comedy genius.
I know a lot of Gen-Xers hold a nostalgic place in their hearts for the original "Ghostbusters," but I just couldn't really get into it. Bill Murray's lazy snark is just not my cuppa, and the demon hunting plot is just kinda whatever.
Super Reviewer
I think I will never really grasp what made this mildly entertaining movie so adored when it was released; it is funny and has great performances (especially Bill Murray, ad-libbing insanely), but it drags a bit and the special effects look awfully cheesy and dated today.
"Ghostbusters" stands as one of the best horror/comedies out there. It is hilarious in almost every sense of the word, even if not in the conventional way, and it never falls short with the cheesy scares. It can be genuinely shocking at times but that is taken away immediately throughout the film, especially due to the lack of seriousness. This all being said, "Ghostbusters" is an extremely unique film that will never be able to be touched by any filmmaker. It's smart, cool, slick, witty, scary, and intense. The only issue this film has is that the title is not explored to it's highest potential. It sets up a great premise but it takes just a tad too long to reach the climax in my opinion. Overall, I loved every minute of "Ghostbusters" and it deserves the fame that it has.
Ghostbusters is quite simply one of my most beloved films of all time. The iconic production is a perfect marriage of a special effects extravaganza with spectacular performances to create one side-splitting gem. Bill Murray is the undeniable star and he's in top form as Dr. Peter Venkman a sly, laid back scientist with deadpan delivery that seems more concerned with dating his pretty client Dana Barrett than actually getting to the bottom of her disturbances. Sigourney Weaver nicely straddles the line between exasperated annoyance and charmed love interest. Bill Murray likewise has great camaraderie with his fellow Ghostbusters Dr. Ray Stantz (Dan Aykroyd) and Dr. Egon Spengler (Harold Ramis). Those two are also responsible for writing the finely tuned screenplay. It zips, it pops and it never lets up. Ernie Hudson joins them later as Winston Zeddemore. He delivers my favorite quip after the group is blown away by the lightening bolts of an evil entity from another dimension. There is a slew of funny dialogue and Rick Moranis' nerdy portrayal of Louis Tully delivers a lot of it. He's hilarious. "Okay, who brought the dog?" he grins after hearing the growl from the long horned beast hiding in his closet. The spectacular special effects support the story, but they never threaten to overshadow the actors. The technology was state of the art at the time, even earning an Academy Award nomination. But it lost to the mine cart scene in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. Perhaps time has rendered the optics a bit quaint to a modern audience. The sight of that devil dog leaping from the closet and running around the city is the most dicey. But it's the comedic interactions between characters that hold our focus, not the whiz bang appeal of the visual displays. Ok so there's that "monster" near the end that dwarfs everything else. When the Destructor of their choosing threatens the city and their very existence, it's memorable. That's the kind of silly moment of brilliance that make you realize you're watching a work of creative genius. Oh yeah. I adore this film. fastfilmreviews.com
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