Ghostbusters (2016)

What’s it all about?

Following a ghost invasion of Manhattan, paranormal enthusiasts Erin Gilbert and Abby Yates, nuclear engineer Jillian Holtzmann, and subway worker Patty Tolan band together to stop the otherworldly threat.

Why did I want to see it?

I wouldn’t have missed this under any circumstances, but I was determined to shoe this movie some love after the drubbing it was getting online before anyone had even seen it. I was excited to see a sci-fi/fantasy film where all of the main characters were women. It brought out my 1970s feminist side. Yes, I am that old.

What did I think about it?

I genuinely liked this, it was huge fun. Yes, it was slight in some respects, and yes, the structure was a bit wobbly but the cast was uniformly excellent and I just loved seeing four women getting on with each other (mostly, and let’s face it, that’s what real life is like, nobody gets on with each other all of the time), making their own decisions and saving the world without a romantic lead in sight.

I may have fallen in love with Kate McKinnon. Melissa McCarthy & Kristen Wiig were relatively known quantities and McCarthy in particular was just lovely. And I thought that Leslie Jones was great, and had a lot of the best lines. I was already in love with Hemsworth Major but it was cool to see him make fun of himself, and he looked like he was really enjoying it. The use of cameos was nicely judged. I nearly missed the post-credit sequence, but a Facebook message from a friend (I was outside of the screening at the time before I’m accused of breaking the Wittertainment Code of Conduct) had me diving back in for the nice reveal.

And most importantly of all, I laughed throughout the whole film. On my to buy list. I would happily watch this one and over again.

A Christmas Carol

What’s it all about?

Really? OK, so:

An old bitter miser is given a chance for redemption when he is haunted by three ghosts on Christmas Eve.

Like you didn’t know that already.

Why did I want to watch it?

There have been many, many versions of A Christmas Carol – the Jim Carrey animated one (which I have seen and reviewed here), the Bill Murray modernised version (which is one of my favourites and which I reviewed here), the Muppets one with Michael Caine (which I haven’t seen in ages), the Jean-Luc Picard Patrick Stewart one (which is very well done), and my least favourite, the Albert Finney musical one. I am sure there are loads more, but the point is the Alistair Sim 1951 version is the classic and absolute best. And it was Christmas Eve after all.

What did I think of it?

I have seen this so, so many times since I was a small girl and it is such a favourite that it’s really difficult to be objective about something that is so much-loved. Sim is a great and under-appreciated actor and manages to convey both the miserly and horrible aspects of Scrooge as well as the wonderful transformation he undergoes after the spirits have visited. The supporting cast is great, including a number of stalwart British actors, some of whom were very young at the time (like Michael Hordern as Marley).

If you have never seen this then do please seek it out as a great post-war British film with a wonderful central performance, but if you do please please make sure you see the back & white original and not the later colourised version (I can’t find the words to describe how appalling it is). A Christmas treat.

Whistle and I’ll Come to You

I am a huge fan of M R James and have long enjoyed the BBC adaptations of his stories which are traditionally shown at Christmas. They were mostly made in the 1960s, I think, and were very atmospheric. The most famous, I suppose, was “Whistle and I’ll Come to You” directed in 1968 by Jonathan Miller, a very influential piece of drama which starred Michael Hordern.

So influential, and repeated so often on TV, that I wondered why anyone would want to make a new version, and debated whether I wanted to watch it or not.

But its star was John Hurt and what is Christmas Eve without a ghost story? So I gave it a go and was rewarded by a very unsettling piece of TV. Creepy, atmospheric, a modern setting with modern preoccupations (age, memory, loneliness etc.). Very well acted.

But not MR James – no whistle in sight. It would be great if someone would do a proper Edwardian setting of the story as it was written, just to see what it would be like.

Still, very glad I watched it.