Adnerb the Movie Nerd

Movie reviews from a middle school teacher's perspective

Ghostbusters Afterlife

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Do the following words mean anything to you: Spengler, Ecto 1, Shandor, Muncher, Keymaster, or Zuul? If so, I have just the movie for you! If you have no idea what any of those words mean, I think you would enjoy this movie anyway. “Ghostbusters Afterlife” is chock full of references and homages to the original movie, while at the same time adding new life into the Ghostbusters franchise. The newest spectre seekers are played by some up and coming youngsters: Finn Wolfhard (Stranger Things and It, as Trevor), Mckenna Grace (as Phoebe), Celeste O’Connor and Logan Kim (Podcast). Trevor and Grace are siblings who are dragged to the middle of nowhere to live in a spooky old house inherited by their mom (Carrie Coon). Her father, who she hates for having essentially abandoned her as a child, left it to her. Circumstances force them to move out west! Unbeknownst to them, their grandfather was Egon Spengler, one of the original Ghostbusters (played back then by Harold Ramis). The plot follows the kids and their friends – Podcast is especially fun – as they try to figure out why various strange phenomena are occurring in their small, seemingly boring, town. Strange sounds, daily earthquakes, and other spooky things are happening. Paul Rudd plays a disaffected teacher who has lost interest in the job. He shows his summer school students some very inappropriate movies. But ultra-smart Phoebe connects with him when she finds he is an ameteur siesmologist. They start investigating the reasons for the unnatural quakes; while Trevor and Podcast track other sources and clues. There are a lot of little sub stories, and plenty of references and humor that come along the way. And it all adds up to some special arrivals who “help” the kids save the planet.   By the way,stay to the very end to see a spoiler for a sequel, perhaps.  SPOILER ALERT: It has been all over the internet that some of the characters from the original 1984 movie show up in this one, and they do! If you are a fan, you will be satisfied and a little moved by the end of it all. There’s more than enough to entertain fans at any level.

The Dead Never Die

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This was a very strange movie, and I mean strange.  “The Dead Never Die” stars Bill Murray and Adam Driver as taciturn policemen who work in the sleepy small town of Centerville.  Fracking by American energy companies has caused a problem with the Earth’s rotational axis which leads to ZOMBIES!!  The movie follows various characters as they try to deal, mainly unsuccessfully, with this epidemic,   I usually love quirky zombie movies, but I must say, this one, not so much.  For a dark comedy, there are hardly any laughs.  For an action movie, there isn’t much action.  There are tons of zombies though, doing the usual things  that zombies do and it is very graphic.  It just wasn’t very interesting though.  There is even a potentially clever twist featuring Tilda Swinton that goes nowhere except into a strange sort of plot hole.  The movie ends with a preachy diatribe about how we are ruining the planet that seems totally unnecessary and out of place.  If I were you, I would rewatch Bill Murray in “Zombieland” and skip this one entriely.

Isle of Dogs

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Do you like quirky movies? Do you enjoy stop-motion animation?  Do you long for movies that are so original that you can’t quite guess where they are going?  Well, me too!  That is why I enjoy movies written and directed by Wes Anderson.  “Isle of Dogs” has a simple premise.  It is about 20 years in the future and an outbreak of canine flu has caused the Mayor (whose family has a long history of anti-dog activities!) to exile all of the dogs of  Megasaki to an island reserved for trash.  Atari, a young boy who is his ward, flies to the island to rescue his dog, Spots.  Once there, he is joined by a pack of abandoned dogs, who have interesting stories, and who decide to help him find his dog.  Unusual hijinks follow, which include uncovering a government conspiracy, robotic bloodhounds, cannibal dogs, and incredilble cricus-like tricks.  The dogs come across as very realistic, as if they are behaving just like you would expect them to if they could talk.  It doesn’t hurt that they are voiced by the likes of Bill Murray, Brian Cranston and Edward Norton, just to name a few.  Many people may be tempted to bring kids to see this. but I wouldn’t recomend it.  Not because it is scary or violent, but the themes may be difficult to understand. The action is slow, but there are plenty of visuals to delight and most of the dialogue is witty and droll.  If you enjoyed “The Fantastic Mr. Fox,” I think you will enjoy this cute, bizarre and creative little movie.