Who Ya Gonna Call? Bill Murray… But he probably won’t answer

matt

Part of me is annoyed at Bill Murray, and part of me sympathizes with why he’s turned his back on the long-gestating “Ghostbusters 3.”

The latest news, as reported by IGN.com, is that production for the long-talked-about sequel will begin summer 2013 and will do so without Murray.

My inner fanboy is crying out, “Why not do this for the fans, Bill?! We all are dyeing to see you back as Dr. Peter Venkman. We love you, and we love you in this unforgettable role. We are the ones who put all that money in your pocket. We’re the ones who waited in line and spent our hard-earned money to see your movies. We made you who you are, and you owe us — even if you’re not crazy about doing it.”

But  the truth is, we paid our money to see Bill Murray because he’s an incredible talent. I’m a huge fan of his, and I trust him. I believe when he makes a movie, it’s going to be a good one. I’m looking forward to his next movie, “Hyde Park on the Hudson,” in which he plays Franklin D. Roosevelt. There’s already early Oscar buzz surrounding his name. This is a man whose made some amazing movies, has incredible range, and always delivers a good performance — even if the movie isn’t great.

So I have to trust that he’s making the right choice to not take part in Ghostbusters 3. There have been so many prequels, sequels and spin-offs that I’m confident to say I could have lived without a third installment in the franchise. I’m sure it would be much better with Murray back in the cast, but it’s not going to ruin my day.

As a public, we often get the feeling that we’re entitled to the work of an artist. We feel that authors, artists and movie makers owe us their work, but it’s really not true. The greatest creations are those born naturally. It goes back to the old saying that sequels are never as good as the original, and it’s true for the most part. The reason being is that great original works are organic. When a spin-off is born out of request by the public or the demand for more dollars by a studio, it’s usually watered down, forced, and not fresh.

All great artists produce work that satisfies them. Stanley Kubrick never set out to please studios with his films. Pablo Picasso didn’t paint more or pursue surrealism because people demanded it. They created because they were artists, and people enjoyed their work because they were great at it. Bill Murray’s his own man, and I can’t help but respect him for it.

I look forward to the rest of Bill Murray’s career much more than I long for a third Ghostbusters movie.

Scream 4

Perennial survivor Sidney Prescott, now a successful self-help author, returns to her home town of Woodsboro in the fourth act of director Wes Craven’s Scream franchise. Sidney’s homecoming, however, coincides with a slew of unsettling new murders.

Matt
Rating: 6 out of 10

The original “Scream” was full of smart dialogue, suspense, fun characters, a great killer, and it was a blast. While this latest sequel doesn’t have the same pop, it’s a lot of fun.

My wife and I saw it on opening night, and while a lot of the script had some super corny lines, and the material doesn’t seem crisp — it’s hard to after four iterations and a huge gap between the last one — we both enjoyed ourselves. It’s not as suspensful as the original, but I’d say it’s the best sequel in the franchise.

If you go see “Scream 4,” don’t expect to see “Raging Bull.” But you can expect to see a fun movie that kept the ending interesting while spoofing itself along the way. It’s a funny, campy slasher flick. The 6 out of 10 rating means it’s above average as a movie. But the fun factor was more like an 8 out of 10.

Top 5 Movies Shawn Was Right About

Matt

I tease my cousin Shawn about his taste in movies a little more than I probably should.

Shawn loves classic, critically-acclaimed cinema as much as I do, but he also loves shoot-em-ups, science-fiction, and action movies I would never even consider watching. He loves the, and I quote, “‘splosions,” and “pew pew.” He said he enjoyed “The A-Team” more than “Black Swan,” and said “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” was good.

He can be sentimental, too, for movies like “Shrek Forever After.” He loves TV, which I don’t. But he does a superb job on our sister blog, TV-Tastic.

I ran him through the ringer for his review of “The A-Team” and I figured since I beat him up all the time, I should do a Top 5 list of movies Shawn was right about.

5. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home: In this case, I thought this installment of the Star Trek film franchise was silly and far too wide a sidestep from the franchise. Shawn, a giant Trekker of the most massive scale, explained to me that I shouldn’t over think it. This is the Star Trek comedy. I hadn’t watched it in a long time and went back for a second viewing. Shawn was right. This is a lighthearted, fun Star Trek adventure that is very accessible and I enjoyed far more the second go around.

4. X-Men: Before going to see this  in the theater with Shawn, I really thought it wasn’t going to work. With a massive cast and so many characters to develop in the huge X-Men Universe, I didn’t think they could pull it off. I really wasn’t amped about seeing it, but Shawn really wanted to go. And he was right. It was a blast. The Wolverine performance by Hugh Jackman remains among the best ever in comic book films. I was wrong, yet again.

3. Mr. Brooks: This was a movie I totally would have overlooked. Kevin Costner has passed his peak, and I don’t really seek out his films anymore. But Shawn reviewed this film for us, and based on his recommendation, I checked it out. Very solid little psycho-drama, mystery movie with a really good performance by Costner. Good choice, Shawn.

2. The Other Guys: This was another one of those movies I would have passed over. I like Will Ferrell, and all, but another buddy police comedy? Like that hasn’t been done? Well, this happens to be one of the best ones. We laughed often and hard in the theater when we went to see it. We had a blast, and I’m glad he got me to go.

1. The Matrix: Man oh man oh man, was I wrong about this one. Because Keanu Reeves was in this, I instantly wrote it off as a crap-fest of epic proportions and literally scoffed at Shawn when he glowed about it to me over coffee. When I finally got around to seeing this on video — God, was I late to the party — I was hooked on “The Matrix.” This is one of the best action/sci-fi films of all time. While the sequels may have left a bad taste in our collective mouths, the original remains a modern classic.

Shawn 5, Matt 0.

The Hospital

George C. Scott stars in this black comedy as Herbert Bock, a suicidal doctor who struggles to find meaning in his life while a murderer stalks the halls of his hospital. Herbert’s life is on a downward spiral, but just as he contemplates killing himself, patients at the hospital begin dying — apparently from erroneous treatments they’re being mysteriously ministered. Diana Rigg co-stars in this Academy Award winner for Best Screenplay.

Victor
Rating: 8 out of 10

Arthur Hiller directs a finely tuned George C. Scott in The Hospital. Released in 1971, “The Hospital” is a black comedy in every sense of the word. Many a film and TV show has had a hospital as it’s setting, and though Hiller makes the hospital a character on it’s own, it’s the human element that is prevalent in this movie. Black comedies can only work if the subject matter is indeed something that we all take very seriously. Screenwriter Paddy Chayefsky flexes his muscles here with an Oscar winning screenplay about a suicidal doctor who, during a midlife crisis, loses control of his hospital and his sanity.

Scott turns in an Oscar-nominated performance as Dr. Herbert Bock, who is the chief of medicine at a Manhattan hospital where there are some strange goings on. Dr Bock is indeed a troubled man. His children shun him and his wife leaves him as things at the hospital fall into despair. He even contemplates suicide at one point as he deals with a self image and impotence problem. So with all these things going wrong for him, there is the small matter of the murders of two physicians and a nurse. As the film unfolds he falls for the daughter of an interesting patient of his played by the energetic Diana Rigg, who is spot on playing against the gruff and surly Scott. They in turn have to get to the bottom of the murders as Dr Bock also deals with protests from displaced drug addicts and hospital administrators.

The film is full of quick wit and humor but it also delves deeply into helplessness and disparities. “The Hospital” get a bit bogged down with too much exposition. The direction often times starts to meander, leaving the viewer wanting some type of resolution since we are in this for the long haul. In it’s defense, the film is biting and critical of the entire health care system and our place in it. The great cinematographer Victor J. Kemper shoots the movie with gritty realism and texture. But this film belongs to Scott and Chayevsky. So admit yourself into “The Hospital” for two hours and enjoy.

Fanboys

They’ve waited years for the release of Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace. But when one of their own discovers he’s terminally ill, a group of pals embarks on a road trip to Skywalker Ranch to steal the long-anticipated film. Sam Huntington, Chris Marquette, Dan Fogler, Jay Baruchel and Kristin Bell star in director Kyle Newman’s labor of geek love featuring cameos from Star Wars alums Billy Dee Williams, Carrie Fisher and Ray Park.

Matt
Rating: 7 out of 10

This movie is a lot of fun if you’re a giant Star Wars nerd like me. If you’re not, this movie won’t really be your thing. It’s packed with all kinds of inside jokes and cameos revolving around sci-fi and Star Wars.

This is a road trip movie with a thin plot about a group of Star Wars nerds who find out their friend has cancer and doesn’t have long to live. They follow their childhood dream to break into George Lucas’ Skywalker Ranch to view Star Wars Episode I before it’s been released. It’s a very sorry plot, but it’s just enough to move the story through some hilarious moments. The best of which is when they visit William Shatner’s fictitious home town where Star Trek nerds are giving tours. They show up on the tour and harass them in front of a statue of Captain Kirk fighting Kahn — and the crotch on Kirk is insanely bulbous.

If you just laughed at that, you’ll enjoy this sentimentally nerdy comedy that is flawed but fun. If you didn’t, you won’t like it at all. This is one for the fanboys.

Top 5 Bill Murray Movies

matt

I think Bill Murray is one of the best actors of his generation. He once said it’s much harder to make an audience laugh than to cry. But he’s done both and in excellent fashion. He’s long shown range in acting — whether it’s something dramatic like “Broken Flowers,” or something completely goofy like “What About Bob?,” Murray has a way of engaging an audience like few can. This was a hard list to write because he has so many great movies that aren’t on this list, like “Ghostbusters,” “Get Low” “The Royal Tenenbaums,” “The Fantastic Mr. Fox,” “Rushmore” “Kingpin”
“Scrooged,” and the list goes on. But these are my Top 5 Bill Murray Movies:

5. The Man Who Knew Too Little: This is a movie with a simple concept that is just beautifully played out by Murray. He plays a simple American guy who visits his brother in London. His older brother needs to get him out of the house because he has important company and gets him tickets to “The Theater of Life,” in which the audience member meets the cast on the street and take part in a realistic, life-like play. Only when Murray’s character goes to a designated payphone for his call to start the play, he gets a call from a real life spy. The rest of the movie, he’s acting like a spy, thinking he’s acting, but is actually caught up in real-life espionage. It’s brilliant, and Murray makes me laugh every time in this very underappreciated film in his large body of work.

4. Quick Change: Murray plays a bank robber in this romp of a heist movie. It’s got a lot of action and an actual smart bank robbery story at its core, but it is a brilliant comedy with excellent supporting roles by Gina Davis and Dennis Quaid. This is classic Murray from the early 90s. If you haven’t seen this movie, check it out. It’s one of Murray’s best performances in a very smart, funny movie. Oh, and he directed it, too.

3. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou: This is a visually compelling film by Wes Anderson, a director Murray has collaborated with on “Rushmore,” “The Royal Tenenbaums,” ” The Darjeeling Limited” and “The Fantastic Mr. Fox.” It’s a comedy, for sure, but it’s also a complex father/son story. This is one of those films where you either love it, or you didn’t care for it very much. I think this is one of Anderson’s best films and Murray gave an understated performance in what could have been a campy delivery of a character surrounded by a lot of zany imagery. It was brilliant.

2. Lost in Translation: Murray was fantastic in this Golden Globe-award winning role, for which he won best actor. He was nominated for an Academy Award and didn’t win, but sometimes getting the nomination is enough. Again, this is the kind of range great actors like Robert De Niro — who constantly flops in comedy — don’t possess. This was a simple film, but sometimes the best stories are. Murray was strong as the once-famous actor who goes to Japan to make commercials. He was engaging, funny without trying, and dramatic without effort. This could be his best performance in this group.

1. Groundhog Day: This is a great film that showcases everything Murray does well. He plays a great sarcastic jerk with moments of sincerity, drama, slapstick all wrapped in one of the most brilliant comedic scripts ever written. The Academy almost completely ignores comedy. I’m not saying this should have won best picture, but this is one of those ones that should have at least been nominated for original screenplay. Murray plays a man stuck on the same day — Groundhog Day. He’s a weatherman there on assignment and every morning, over and over again for eternity, lives the same day. He does everything all of us would do, like commit suicide, think you’re a God and go a little mad, and eventually screw around and break the law. But ultimately, he begins to figure out that he needs to change and make himself a better man to get out of his rut. It’s an unforgettable film, and Murray’s best.

I’m Still Here

In 2008, Oscar nominee Joaquin Phoenix walked away from acting to pursue a rap career, an inexplicably bizarre detour captured in gritty detail in this “documentary” directed by Phoenix’s brother-in-law, Casey Affleck. Some speculated Phoenix’s behavior was part of a well-orchestrated hoax — or, even worse, a mental breakdown. But some of the film’s graphic footage suggests it could have been a little of both.

Kyle
Rating:7 out of 10

I’ve been anticipating seeing this and was really excited when I found out it came out on Netflix instant. It would appear that Joaquin Phoenix completely lost himself in this role as ‘himself.’ Even though I went into watching this I knew it was a faux documentary (Affleck recently confirmed this), I was still debating if it was real or not because of Phoenix. As someone who has had problems with severe anxiety and depression, I really felt that Phoenix was actually experiencing all of these issues. The chain-smoking, babbling and going off on some of his closest friends are good examples.

“I’m Still Here” adequately captures the experiences and emotions of a person when they decide to make a big change in their life. It can be very confusing and frustrating making huge transitions for more emotionally fragile people. If the point of this faux documentary was to show how hard it is for celebrities to retire from the spotlight, it didn’t capture it quite well. Yes, there were a lot of celebrity cameos but most of them were in the film for, I kid you not, seconds. As I said, the film just captured the emotional distress of Phoenix, not his struggle to get away from the spotlight.

The film was also a bit humorous at parts, in a dark way. The things Phoenix did and was done to him by others (if you see it or have seen it, you’ll know) were quite shocking. If you have a twisted sense of humor like me, you’ll thoroughly enjoy it.