Rating: Summary: I would REALLY Love To Review This DVD (but...) Review: When I opened the packaging and fought with the DVD seals (I hate those!) I excitedly threw the DVD into my player only to be severely disappointed. IT WAS THE ORIGINAL GHOSTBUSTERS! Somehow an original got placed into a Ghostbusters 2 box! I now am the proud owner of two copies. I tried to take it back but the store has a no return or exchange policy on CD's & DVDs.Be Warned!
Rating: Summary: Still Funny, Still Scary, But More Juvenile Review: You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll... SCREAM... AGAIN! I still ain't afraid of no ghost, because, well, they still make me laugh. This movie is hilarious, almost as good as the first one. Now, five years later, and the Ghostbusters are out of business. That is until some slime that affects emotions appears, and an old warlock's spirit in a painting wants to reincarnate itself and take over the world through Sigourney Weaver's newborn son. The Busters are back in town. As I said, this movie is funny, yet some of the jokes are aimed towards kids. Also, I hate to ruin the end, but the villain has all these powers that he uses, but then the battle seems to last 2 minutes maximum. Eh, whatever, it was still a good movie, and you'll like it if you enjoyed the original.
Rating: Summary: My favorite! Review: I was very excited to find this on DVD. It is hysterical. Bill Murray, Dan Ackroyd and all of the cast from the original ghostbusters are back and as funny as ever. I love this movie as much as I did the original and recommend it to anyone that wants a good laugh.
Rating: Summary: "Well I guess we're gonna have to take control..." Review: Anyone else notice how so many reviews for Ghostbusters II open with quotes from the movie (or in this case, the closing credits song)? I guess it's because Ghostbusters II, though not as good as the first film, is still very kinetic, fun, and quotable. It's taken me awhile, but I've finally been able to pinpoint why Ghostbusters II isn't as good as the original. As a kid, I used to love Ghostbusters II. For a seven year-old, Vigo was the creepiest thing in the world, and I was watching the movie on a 13-inch TV screen to boot! Gozer from the original film might have been a bigger threat, but she wasn't nearly as scary as Vigo. Maybe that's why when I picked up the remastered edition I felt slightly let down that the actual movie wasn't as good as I remembered it. Vigo is still creepy, but once he steps out of the painting, he's just an old man in a costume. Even worse, in a rather anti-climatic ending, Vigo is easily beaten. So Ghostbusters II is diminished in that it fails to live up to the high nostalogic expectations I had of it. But that's not the only thing though, Ghostbusters II feels...watered down compared to the original. Yes, the plot was exactly the same, but that wasn't really the problem for me. Maybe it's because the original movie spawned a huge cartoon series, and Columbia felt that it had to cater to the kiddies, and a lot of the adult-oriented jokes were removed (also, Jenine's hair is now red, as it was in the series). The problem may lie with Dan Aykroyd. He was the heart of the original movie, and the way he played Ray with a snappy, serious attitude made for some of the most memorable moments. Here, after Venkman grabs Ray's ears and forces him to reveal their new client, Aykroyd loses his spark. He gets possessed by Vigo, he's the one who has to venture down to get the slime, he's the one who has to give the speech about goodwill towards the end. It's a weaker, kiddier Ray, like in the cartoon, and here it weakens the film. However, I still enjoyed Ghostbusters II a great deal. The special effects are amazing, considering that they were made in 1989 before CGI. The ghosts look convincing, and the Statue of Liberty scene, though obviously bluescreened, is excellently composited. There are a lot of funny gags, including scenes from the montage, the river of slime, the abandoned underground railroad, and the courtroom battle. Plus, it's just great fun to see the entire team reunited, they really play off each other very well. It's hard these days to find so many comedians together in one film. The DVD itself is a very nice edition. It's not a special edition, but for its relatively low price it's a definite purchase. The picture and sound quality are great. For a scene that you can use to demo your sound system, check out the courtoom scene. The rear speakers pick up the drafts and echos of the room, and the ghosts pan from speaker to speaker as the guys blast 'em. Also of note is that the film comes in three different audio languages and a bunch of subtitles, particularly in Asian languages. I'm Asian, so it's nice to see Mandarin subtitles, even though I can't read it that well. How does this apply to you? It might not, but if nothing else, I at least give Columbia points for the variety of languages one can enjoy the film in. Fans of Ghostbusters should grab this one, but make sure you have the orignal first!
Rating: Summary: What's everyone's problem with this movie? Review: Let me start off by saying that I am a HUGE fan of the original "Ghostbusters". The original movie was funny, smart, and an all around good movie. The sequel on the other hand, is a merely a good movie. If the first movie never existed, then I would probably like this movie more. As it stands, this movie lacks the sense of wonder the first film had, and also is missing a lot of the heart. While watching this, you could tell that Dan Aykroyd had a lot more input in this movie than he did in the first one. There aren't as many jokes, and the overall tone of the movie is very dark. Granted, the courtroom scene is very funny, but the rest is severly lacking in comedy. On a positive note, the FX are amazing, and look much better than the first movies FX. The performances by the actors and actresses are for the most part pretty good. The sound FX are about the same as the first movie, which is a good thing. The music on the other hand, in a word, stinks. I loved the first movie's sound track, and this one seems to stray very far from it. The movie is filled with "pop" tracks that are very annoying, and simply don't fit the movie. I'm assuming that most of you already know what the plot is, but if you don't than read one of the other fifty reviews. My major beef with the plot is that it is too similar to the first's. In both movies, an evil being comes through means of Dana Barret, and only the Ghostbusters can stop it. The thing that bothers me the most about this movie is the fact that not a single person remembers what the boys in gray did in the first movie. Nobody believes in ghosts, yet five years ago, a 100ft marshmellow man storming through manhatten. Whatever. Overall, this movie is a good movie on it's own, but pales in comparison to the original.
Rating: Summary: The Ghostbusters Are Back, But Something's Missing Review: When I first saw this film back in the summer of 1989, I remember being somewhat disappointed. I enjoyed the film, but I wasn't as excited with it as I was with the first. I didn't think very much of the film from then on. But now, after catching this film recently for the first time in years and years, I enjoyed it a lot more and thought it was a better movie than I had originally thought. Not great, but not bad. The film picks up 5 years after the original, and we find that our beloved heroes haven't had the best of luck since their big victory a few years prior. But when Dana Barrett(Sigourney Weaver)has a ghostly accident involving her little baby, the guys are brought in on the subject and the Ghostbusters are back in action. It appears that a evil spirit in a painting wants Sigourney's baby in order to reborn again. Nothing really new there. There's also a river of slime flowing through the city that feeds off of the "bad vibes" of the people in New York City. Okay. The effects are pretty solid, but might not seem quite so to people who have been fed such incredible effects in movies in the last few years. Our actors are all back and are all as entertaining, charming, and funny as they were in the classic original. But, I don't know, there's just something that isn't right. I can't quite put my finger on it. The original film was a special, monumental film. I guess anything that follows up will always seem weak to comparison. At least Rick Moranis returns for some comedic relief. Ghostbusters 2 isn't as memorable or special as the first, but it's very entertaining and is better than most sequels. Murray, Aykroyd, and Ramis are so fun, one's wish to see them together again.
Rating: Summary: Better Than The First! Review: I don't know why so many people hated this movie. It's actually better than the first film, if you can imagine. Now, I know that the plot was too serious for some people, but it is handled in such a way that makes it one of the most light-hearted movies ever made. You can't help but feel happy when you watch this film. The performances are extraordinary, especially Bill Murray's. Also, the music is perfect. Just the music alone is enough to cheer you up. All in all, this excellent film is far better than the original, which is very hard to believe.
Rating: Summary: Stupid and cheesy Review: Like the first Ghostbusters movie, I only recently saw Ghostbusters II for the first time only two weeks ago, and all I can say is that it was a monumental waste of my time, and all I had was time to waste in the first place. Part two includes the same cast of brainless actors and a much worse plot and packs a much less exciting movie. The special effects, if anything, seem less spectacular than it's prequel, which came out 5 years earlier, and the plot is unexciting, confusing and drags on. The culmination of this stupidity reaches its climax when citizens of New York City sing together to diminish the malevolent energy responsible for the ominous protoplasmic formations which are enveloping the city! Judas Priest, how stupid is THAT?! It also seems that the only action in the movie is at the very end and it's cheesy, at best. Is it coincidence that this movie came out the same year Back To The Future II (by FAR, the worst of the Back To The Future movies) did and that they BOTH merit submission for review to Mystery Science Theater? I guess '89 just wasn't a great year for Hollywood.
Rating: Summary: Still a good film Review: This is a good follow up on the original. The Ghostbusters have fallen from favor, but continue to try to practice their trade. Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd are perfect together. Throw in Rick Moranis as a bonus. My kids liked this one a lot. They watched it several times when we originally purchased the DVD.
Rating: Summary: Ghostbusters 2 DVD Review: Great movie. Very funny. Not as good as the first but still worth getting. The comedy is smarter then something like Tommy Boy and more recent movies but still very funny. Very much like a Mel Brooks flick where the comedy is in the language. Get it.
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