Movies
Good, which is much more than I expected from this film. I'm not a terribly big Ghostbusters fan and the all-female version was just a horrendous franchise update. For Afterlife, they stuck closer to what this series is all about: ghostly fun for younger audiences. And who better to take on this mission than Jason Reitman, son of Ivan, who directed the first two films? The daughter of Egor inherits his house when he comes to pass. With no money to spend, she has no choice but to drag her two kids to a remote town and stay there. Phoebe (her nerdy, scientist daughter) bumps into some tech gear left behind by her grandfather, stuff she'll need when ghosts break free and terrorize the town. The build-up is a tad slow, with some unnecessary winks to the original, but the setting is nice, the kids are actually half-decent and the atmosphere is spot on. Not too childish, but far from serious or explicitly comedic. It's just a fun adventure with ghosts and an appropriate amount of nostalgia attached to it. Reitman did well.Read all
Reitman has never been a full-on comedy director, but through the years it seems the fun and comedy has been slowly disappearing from his films. Tully is still booked as a comedy/drama, but I have to wonder if that it's just based on Reitman's profile or whether there's some sly comedy I simply didn't catch. Marlo struggles with her responsibilities as a mom. She has two kids and a third one the way, her husband isn't helping much around the house and her oldest is having troubles in school. Marlo is at the end of her wits, but things change when she hires Tully, a night nanny who helps her out so she can get a decent rest. It's not the most imaginative setting and even though Theron does her best, she'll still somewhat of a miscast. Once Davis hits the screen things get a little better, but some silly twists and questionably executed scenes in the second part don't do the film any good. Not a terrible film, just rather mediocre.Read all
Disappointing political drama by Reitman. Unless you're interested in the history of US politics and its minor anecdotes, there just isn't a lot here. While the film appears to be framed around the mediatization of politics, Reitman prefers to stick to Hart's story, which pushes all the interesting bits to the background. Hart was well on his way to become the Democratic presidential candidate that would run against Bush, but his extramarital missteps would sink this opportunity once the press started reporting on it. Apparently this was somewhat of a turning point in American politics, before that time the press was known to grant politicians a bit more privacy. Reitman used to be quite sharp and witty, sadly The Front Runner is little more than a decent and safe political drama. Performances are decent and Reitman does a solid job recreating the 80s, but the plot is dull, the cinematography and score are uninspired and the themes are underdeveloped. Very forgettable.Read all
