GHOSTBUSTERS: AFTERLIFE REVIEW
Finally saw GHOSTBUSTERS: AFTERLIFE. Overall, I liked it. It was a fun, nostalgia-packed romp. It was different from the other two films, but it stood on its own. The character work was the best part. The new family in it barely did anything in the start of the movie and I already liked them. THIS is the approach a sequel after all this time should take: introducing the next generation without dismissing or overwriting the old.
But, I do have some nits to pick. I'll leave specifics to stuff that was seen in the trailer.
As good as the new characters were, that was limited mostly to the family and Podcast. The worst thing you can do to a character is make them replaceable in the story, and that's just what Lucky was. She offered nothing to the story except to be there for one moment of badassery in the finale and to be someone for Trevor to lust after. Her familial reveal wasn't utilized in any way, she didn't offer anything about the lore that couldn't have been observed independently, she was just there for the ride.
I felt there was a bit of mischaracterization in the old team to justify their fallout so that this story could happen. Also, I question the brilliance of a certain character in the fact that they led another to the very thing that, if they had just done nothing, wouldn't have kicked the story off. And this fell into the trope of the new characters instantly becoming AS good (if not better) than the old characters were at the start. It took some real suspension of disbelief to believe a little waif like Phoebe could handle the weight of a pack AND the kickback of the blaster with minimal struggle.
The fan service I didn't find as distracting as most, but there WERE some things that DIDN'T need to be there. It's also a shame they couldn't come up with a NEW villain. OR escape the trope of them being out of business AGAIN.
But, as I said, overall I liked it. Hell, hard to hate a movie that utilized a number of ideas I had come up with over the years. I don't know if it'll have the same effect the original one did for all of us over the next 40 years, but I do hope that they do a follow-up.
SATURDAY MORNINGS FOREVER NOW ON THE WEB
A year after starting my Facebook group, I decided to try and turn the concept into a book. Sure, there have been books that chronicle every TV show ever made, or every cartoon ever made, or even tried to pretend they were about Saturday morning television while actually being a sermon on the decline of quality on TV, but, as far as I've seen, never really been a book DEDICATED strictly to Saturday morning programming.
But, here I am, plugging away at these entries for a good year and making very slow progress. See, I love special features. I love the background of things. So, my entries are not only about the show, but as much information BEHIND the show as I can find. So, there's a lot of research involved. And then I love episode guides, so finding ones I can cultivate from as well as accurate airdates is also a bit more research. As such, I tried to speed up the process by working with shows with low episode counts. As progress gets made, I get antsy about showing off what I've done to the world. After much deliberation and some advice, I found a solution to that:
A blog.
That's right, to build up interest in my eventual book as well as get some immediate feedback on what I've been doing, I've started an official SMF blog. Updated regularly every Saturday, I discuss the TV shows and anything else I can think of related to Saturday morning. So, if you're a Saturday morning lover as well (especially if you've been liking my various banners), head on over and check out my blog. And feel free to submit any feedback...all is welcome!
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Devious Journal Entry
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EVERYTHING OLD IS NEW
I NEED YOUR VOTE!
Or, it WILL be your book, but it needs your help to get there! All you have to do is go to DimestoreProductions.com, register for their message boards for FREE, head on over to www.dimestoreproductions.com/F… and reply to the topic with a YES every day. Your support could bring back the days of good guys vs. bad guys, character growth, stories that can exist without a major event attached and absolutely no retcon deals with the devil!
In this modern world of terror and uncertainty, there is a void that needs to be filled. Technologies Incorporated, also known as TechIn, has stepped up to the challenge of filling that void by proposing the recruitment of the first government-sanctioned team of bonafide superheroes to protect the nation. The proving ground? New York City. With the number of super powered individuals (or, as scientists have come to dub them, Homo provectus) being born increasing every year, and the number of costumed vigilantes already out on the streets, there are no shortage of decent applicants for the plan.
But, the question is: who to recruit?
The answer inadvertently comes when a mercenary group known as The Quartet, four super-powered individuals each with their own specialty, under orders from a mysterious client steals an ancient artifact from a monastery in Tibet and an invention from TechIn itself. These events set the stage to allow the Quartet to cross into the lives of four unique individuals.
Seeing an opportunity, Masako Takashi, CEO of TechIn, orders his top inventor and one of the four, Jason Mae, to recruit them for TechIn's project. Four ordinary men, seemingly thrown together by fate, are now the first line of defense for the citizens of New York.
They are the NEW YORK HEROES: Chameleon. Arachnid. Azure. The Life Giver. Four men from different walks of life, brought together seemingly by fate. They will become the greatest heroes the city has ever known.