Crisp Criticism - "Ghostbusters", "The Shallows", "Demolition"

by

Julien Faddoul

Ghostbusters

Following a ghost invasion of Manhattan, 2 paranormal enthusiasts, a nuclear engineer and a subway worker band together to stop the otherworldly threat.

Wretched, lame-brained remake of the 80s comedy that switches the gender of its main characters for no real reason other than to fuel civic agendas that exist outside of the movie. Feig’s grasp of comedic rhythms and stereotypes remains utterly clumsy.

d – Paul Feig

w – Katie Dippold, Paul Feig   (Based on the Screenplay by Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis)

ph – Robert D. Yeoman

pd – Jefferson Sage

m – Theodore Shapiro

ed – Melissa Bretherton, Brent White

cos – Jeffrey Kurland

p – Amy Pascal, Ivan Reitman

Cast: Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, Leslie Jones, Chris Hemsworth, Andy García, Michael Kenneth Williams

The Shallows *

A great white shark attacks a surfer, and her short journey to safety becomes the ultimate contest of wills.

Blank, fun procedural without much on its mind but stripped of all things extraneous. Certain kinds of erudite cineastes will laud it.

d – Jaume Collet-Serra

w – Anthony Jaswinski

ph – Flavio Martínez Labiano

pd – Hugh Bateup

m – Marco Beltrami

ed – Joel Negron

cos – Kym Barrett

p – Lynn Harris, Matti Leshem

Cast: Blake Lively, Óscar Jaenada, Sedona Legge, Brett Cullen, Janelle Bailey

Demolition

An emotionally desperate investment banker finds hope through a woman he meets in Chicago.

Fairly maladroit drama concerning the sudden loss of life that hammers every one of its uninteresting themes into the ground.

d – Jean-Marc Vallee

w – Bryan Sipe

ph – Yves Bélanger

pd – John Paino

ed – Jay M. Glen

cos – Leah Ketznelson

p – Lianne Halfon, Sidney Kimmel, Thad Luckinbill, Trent Luckinbill, John Malkovich, Molly Smith, Russell Smith

Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Chris Cooper, Naomi Watts, Heather Lind, Judah Lewis, C.J. Wilson, Polly Draper, Malachy Cleary, Debra Monk