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Hello, America!
That All-American weekend has arrived.
July 1st is not only the first day of the best month (I’m biased), but summer’s (and this country’s) biggest party with friends, family and neighbors is here. In a mere three days, the 4th of July will bring us together to genuinely, and almost exclusively, remember and celebrate the history-defining events of 1776.
In the wold’s history, the American experiment is stunningly young. Based on the current presidential election cycle, America must be entering its teenage years. There’s a lot of communication using abbreviated, generational terminology (social media), a great deal of frustration and unease at its own identity because of their “out of it” parental units (distrust of institutions and its leaders) and their future is frequently declared “over” and ruined because of scary, unknown variables (life) and in-the-moment chaos from every perceived angle.
What quells teenage angst, especially with the weekend upon us?
Normally, a reminder of, well, normalcy will do the trick.
A cheap trick.
Some forty odd years later and we’re still hangin’ out, down the street, doing the same old thing that we did last week.
And, if that’s not comforting enough, we all know what Red can do to motivate us.
Bust a Move
Will the new Ghostbusters movie honor the original by more than simply name only?
That is the question and a heated one at that.
July 15th is the movie theater release date, so there’s still plenty of time for debate and prognostication. For now, fans of the Ghostbusters can unite together to sing and dance to one of the single greatest (if not the greatest) original pop songs for a major motion picture.
Here’s a throwback to the ’80s synthesizer.
Ray Parker Jr. still has it.
As does Bill Murray!
The Ghost of Busters Past
There was a time when people didn’t have Ghostbusters in their lives.
And they had no idea who to call.
For today’s history lesson, June 8, 1984 was the day when the science-fiction comedy starring Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, Sigourney Weaver, Rick Moranis and Ernie Hudson changed the real movie world by saving a fictional one with proton packs, sharp wit and the courage to cross streams. With a 97% rating on Rotten Tomatoes (that’s pretty good), Ghostbusters is uniquely beloved by fans and critics alike. This is important to note because part of the intense backlash against the new all-female reboot this summer is not a reaction to an all-female cast, but more to do with the caricature nature of the new cast and their characters. The original film and its superb cast was smart, clever and never tried hard to be funny.
They were naturally funny, endearing and (ironically) real.
As odd as it sounds, the 1984 classic doesn’t appear like actors playing parts, but instead felt like a genuine group of misfit friends chasing and capturing ghosts throughout NYC in the coolest ways imaginable within the parameters of a major motion picture. The film has an escapism quality that transcends far beyond the cinema and culture of the mid-1980s.
Thus far, the reboot isn’t generating that same reaction.
For the record, this is how you make a Ghostbusters trailer that kicks some–
History thanks you (in more ways than one), Ghostbusters.
Happy Monday!
It’s not Midnight in Paris, but 2 a.m. at a Jazz club in LA.
Woody Allen has written another movie set in a magnificent locale during a wonderfully nostalgic era. This time, the famed writer/director takes us to Los Angeles circa the 1930s. There’s a young, curious and neurotic lead character played by Jesse Eisenberg (aka – the Woody Allen character) who is introduced to the Hollywood scene at the beginning of its golden age, tempted by everything and everyone around him.
Conversationally, Café Society is quintessential Woody Allen.
While difficult to decipher in the trailer, there seems to be at least some degree of hope for the film’s actors and actresses being able to laugh at themselves and not take the dialogue as seriously as one easily can get when reading a script by Mr. Allen. For such a golden time in film history, it would be a shame to make a movie with more of a humorless statement with only celebratory accents than a Gatsby-like party with a great twist (or two) at the end.
Ironically, the brief scene in the trailer when a person is tossed into a hole being filled with cement, followed by the line, “You ask politely, people listen” gives me hope for the latter.
Café Society arrives in theaters on July 15, 2016.
Have a Great Week (sans cement)!
Jimmy's Daily Planet 