Ghostbusters: Afterlife Oozes Nostalgia But Needs A Fresher Take

Gen X-ers have been getting lots of attention from Hollywood studios these days as popular franchises of the golden era keep coming back to the screen. Star Wars, Star Trek, Scream, Jumanji, He-Man, The Muppets, The Karate Kid, Indiana Jones... you name it, they have it. And if not, they are probably already planning on it. There are the reboots, the re-imaginings, the tributes and the sequels, all in an attempt to drown the ‘forgotten generation’ (of which Red Dot Diva is a proud member), with a flood of nostalgia.

In that aspect, GHOSTBUSTERS: AFTERLIFE is not short on the feel-good nostalgia, as Jason Reitman, son of “Ghostbusters” director Ivan Reitman, pulled out all the stops to win the hearts of the original fans. The 2016 all-female Ghostbusters remake by Paul Feig created a lot of backlash that consisted of mostly racist and sexist complaints. Red Dot Diva liked the 2016 movie, and it was empowering to watch the cast of wonderful comedians kicking ass as women ghostbusters. Unfortunately, it goes to prove that society is still not ready to accept when a script is gender-flipped.

There are no such thorny issues with GHOSTBUSTERS: AFTERLIFE. The sequel is likeable, family friendly and provides a great starting point for new fans of the franchise.

Diva's Movie Review: "Ant-man" Is Packed With Oodles of Charm (Spoilerish!)

After the noisy, over-the-top "Avengers: Age of Ultron" that resembled and felt more like a video game than a satisfying movie, Red Dot Diva toned down her expectations on the next Marvel superhero movie.

Sure, she adores Paul Rudd and his work, but Ant-man has never been totally mainstream as a superhero, even when, in the comics, he is actually one of the founding members of The Avengers. Most people could never quite envision Paul Rudd (who mostly did comedies) to be a superhero either.

Moreover, after nearly 9 years in the making at the hands of British director Edgar Wright, "Ant-man" saw his suddn departure in May 2014 due to "creative differences". He was later replaced by Peyton Reed as director, who also re-crafted the script together with Paul Rudd and Adam McKay.

Will this be another storytelling mess filled with too many characters? The promotional trailers for "Ant-man" were very low-key, so would that mean it was going to be a bland movie? She knew she was not alone in her skepticism.

But those niggly feelings fell apart within minutes of the opening scene that set the tone of the entire movie - thanks to the engaging script and innate charm of Paul Rudd as burglar-genius Scott Lang.

WARNING: SOME SPOILERS AHEAD!