Ghostbusters

'Ghostbusters' runs out of laughs, thrills despite cast's best efforts

By George M. Thomas

Melissa McCarthy, Kate McKinnon, Kristen Wiig and Leslie Jones star

in GHOSTBUSTERS.

“Who ya gonna call?” was a familiar question for those of us who caught the original GHOSTBUSTERS in 1984. That film provided an oasis of silliness along with a few thrills on its way to capturing the summer.

The current incarnation that features a group of talented comedians will likely do the same, just from sheer name recognition.  After all, any film that stars Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, Leslie Jones and Kate McKinnon, will likely attract audiences.

And for most of the first half of GHOSTBUSTERS, they deliver the goods in their take on paranormal scientists looking to prove that they’re not quacks and, in the process, make New York City safer.

For that first hour or so GHOSTBUSTERS, which focuses on Abby (McCarthy), Erin (Wiig), Patty (Jones) and Holtz (McKinnon), zips along with clever one-liners and broader comedy.

Spy

Review by Joseph Anthony

Four years ago, actress Melissa McCarthy and director Paul Feig worked together on the hugely successful comedy BRIDESMAIDS, a film that reestablished the female led Hollywood comedy. Then two years later, they teamed up again for THE HEAT - a weaker comedic effort in my estimation, though still popular among audiences. This year they bring us SPY, their third, and perhaps, strongest outing to date.

In SPY, Melissa McCarthy plays Susan Cooper, a CIA analyst. Sitting behind a computer, Cooper serves as the eyes and ears for the CIA’s leading spy, Bradley Fine (Judd Law). Fine, whose last name serves up a great deal of puns, is a James Bond-type figure. Cooper, who is self-degrading and aware of the physical differences between herself and Agent Fine, is head over heels for him. When Fine’s European mission to prevent a nuclear weapon from ending up in the wrong hands goes off the rails, Cooper volunteers to go overseas as an unexpected agent.

St. Vincent

Review by Joseph Anthony

It wasn’t easy for first time director Theodore Melfi to find the star of this film – Bill Murray. Near impossible, really. In an interview with USA Today, Melfi described how difficult it was to reach Murray, who has no agent or manager. “You call a 1-800 number,” says Melfi.

Weeks of unanswered messages later, the hopeful director called Murray’s lawyer. “What number do you got?” the lawyer asked. “The 800 number.” “Well that’s what I got,” said the lawyer. He recommended snail mail. Melfi obliged. After months, Murray set a date to talk about the ST. VINCENT script with Melfi.

Tammy

Review by Grace Snyder

When TAMMY begins, viewers may be convinced that they are in for a stale drama about finding oneself after failure. Tammy (Melissa McCarthy) is in the midst of a crisis; her car has been totaled, she loses her job at a fast food restaurant, and she catches her husband cheating on her with a neighbor. All signs point to a story line that is all too well-known. However, that is not what TAMMY delivers. Co-written by McCarthy herself (and her husband, director Ben Falcone), TAMMY is anything but ordinary. Just like the shining star that is McCarthy, TAMMY is full of relentless and nonstop hilarity.

The Heat

Review by Bob Ignizo

Everything about THE HEAT is lazy and uninspired, from its generic title to a soundtrack that feels like someone hit shuffle on their iPod and just went with the first dozen or so tracks that came up. The “wunza movie”/buddy cop premise at the heart of the film is as stale as most of what passes for jokes, and none of the characters even remotely resemble people who exist in the real world.

Sandra Bullock is Ashburn (“wunza arrogant by-the-book FBI agent) and Melissa McCarthy is Mullins (“wunza street-wise Boston cop who bucks authority”). In hopes of securing a promotion, the prim, uptight Ashburn agrees to work with the slovenly, down-to-earth Mullins to bring down a ruthless drug kingpin. Would you believe these two don't much like each other at first? Or that they slowly and grudgingly learn to respect each other's differing methods, each learning something from the other over the course of the movie?