TimTheToaster

Ghostbusters is full of problems. The special effects were average at best for the time period and now just look clunky. The acting is flat throughout most of the movie and kills what little traction there is in many of the scenes. The screenplay is incredibly one dimensional is littered with a bit too much misogyny even for an '80s movie. The pacing is out of control, with some segments going on for twice as long as they should and others being a third of the length that a logical screenplay would call for. The only really great quality the movie has is the soundtrack, which is full of heater after heater. To put it into a simpler phrase, the movie kind of sucks. Still, something about it is so loveable in the way that only campy action-comedies from the 1980s can be.

Steven Spielberg may not be the most technically gifted director ever, but I believe that he is a top contender for the director with the greatest understanding of how to make an incredible movie for the viewer. The first approximately ten minutes of this movie are so impressively made and culturally important it is insane. Like many Spielberg's, the tonality of the movie is so consistent and is conveyed so effectively that you really feel engrossed in a movie that is deeply unbelievable. The pacing is some of the best I have ever seen, and leaves a two hour movie feeling like a thirty minute one. The characterization is so simplistic at points but makes the characters so easy to love and to follow. The sets are beautiful, especially now that the film has been remastered. Everything about this movie is loveable and makes you want to make a movie.

I was slightly scared going in that I would have the experience with this movie that I often do with films from this time period of being able to enjoy it but in a very removed sense. Fortunately for me, not only was this one of the most creative pieces of filmmaking I have seen-especially for when it was made-but it was also really enjoyable to watch. All throughout the movie I was asking myself "How did he do that?" in the best way possible. Shocking just how talented Buster Keaton was at so many different things. Very effectively filmed and acted in the more normal things too.

My first Hitchcock in a while, and the main thing I was thinking about while watching was how incredibly effective his use of the camera was. It is definitely artistic still, but the way he used the camera was so direct and so intuitive feeling to the story. The colors of the film on this are beautiful, and the costuming and set design understands that perfectly. A classic Hitchcock plot that leaves you feeling satisfied at the end and on the edge of your seat for the runtime. An incredible performance from Grace Kelly. Not my favorite Hitchcock and not my least favorite. A great movie no matter what though.