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Working as both a direct sequel to Ghostbusters II and a fresh reboot (I for one was a fan of Paul Feig’s take, but that’s neither here nor there), Ghostbusters: Afterlife finds the Ecto-1 in a barn somewhere in the middle of nowhere Oklahoma. Co-writer and director Jason Reitman, son of the original film’s director Ivan Reitman, injects a large helping of heart into the franchise. More akin to bygone family-focused adventure films like Honey I Shrunk The Kids than the first two films, there’s plenty here for viewers of all ages. 

The film opens with a stunning late-night car chase, it’s clear we’ve got a ghost – and a Ghostbuster. We get our first glimpse of Summerville, a town that looks as though trapped in amber. The chase takes us past a neon-lit car hop diner, an abandoned mine, silos, and of course an eerie old house at the edge of the cornfield. Things go bump in the night and our Ghostbuster, mostly kept in shadows, appears to lose their fight. 

Sony

The next thing we know we’re in the apartment of single mom Callie (Carrie Coon), her science-minded daughter Phoebe (Mckenna Grace) and her angsty teen son Trevor (Finn Wolfhard). They’re on the brink of eviction, but that’s okay because they’ve just inherited the creepy farm house in the middle of nowhere, Oklahoma. Coon is wonderful as always, a mess of a woman, but one you believe has an endless pit of strength. 

Wolfhard has the more thankless role. He falls in love at first sight with a roller skating waitress named Lucky (Celeste O’Connor), so of course he gets a summer job at this dump to be near her. Wolfhard has easy chemistry with Coon, their dynamic more like a partnership than a mother-son. With his unique look and quirky screen presence, it’s a shame he doesn’t get much more to do beyond pine for a girl. 

The real breakout of the film is McKenna Grace as Phoebe, who loves learning but hates school, tells bad jokes so well you cannot help but laugh, and is the spitting image of her grandfather. She’s a scientist, and eager to use her skills whenever she can. You simply cannot look away from Grace when she is on screen. She’s funny and smart, but in a way that feels authentic and true; not like the artificial wit found on many a sitcom featuring a genius named Sheldon.

Sony

Making friends with a classmate who’s nicknamed himself Podcast (Logan Kim, a perfect little ham), the two discover more of her inheritance: ghost traps, proton packs, and gadgets galore. The glee of watching them test them out on glass bottles as if it were a BB gun is truly something to behold. When chasing a ghost through an abandoned building, Podcast asks if she’s not scared at all. She replies overstimulation calms her. Truly badass material in the making. 

When summer school teacher/seismologist Mr. Grooberson (an affable Paul Rudd), teaching these Zoomers about the Ghostbusters via YouTube (in a wonderfully cheesy use of footage from the first film), convinces them to open the ghost trap, all hell is let loose – literally. The rest of the film follows our new crew as they learn old secrets and figure out how to save the planet once and for all. 

While the film uses plenty of CGI, it always feels aligned with the effects of the original films. This coupled with the practical effects makes the visuals in Ghostbusters: Afterlife far more like the films earlier in the franchise than most of today’s effects-heavy films. The action set pieces are thrilling – especially the sequence that begins with Trevor taking the Ecto-1 for a joyride and ends with Phoebe and Podcast using the newfound equipment to capture a blue, metal eating blob named Muncher, a worthy successor to our beloved Slimer. 

Sony

The film reveals Easter eggs from throughout the franchise to the audience like the layers of an onion. Superfans will catch them much earlier than casual viewers, but both will leave feeling satisfied. The current of nostalgia coursing through the film is helped by its rural setting – with Canada playing Oklahoma – bringing true Norman Rockwell vibes to the whole affair. 

Without revealing major spoilers, fans of the original two films should have plenty of moments to spark the joy of watching them for the first time. Plenty here is shiny and new, yet just as charming and cool as anything those original films had to offer. The weakest parts of the film really are when it leans a little too hard into fan service, with too heavy a knowing wink. It shines brightest when Reitman finds new ways to spin these callbacks, rather than just repeat them. 

Overall, Ghostbusters: Afterlife is a hoot. Truly one of the best sequels in recent memory, offering just enough of the familiar to justify its title, while also bringing so much heart and fun and originality along for the ride. If this serves as a launchpad for a new phase in the franchise, with such a dynamic lead as Phoebe at the helm, I’m willing to follow her anywhere. 

Oh, one last thing: be sure you stay all the way through the credits. 

4.5/5

The post GHOSTBUSTERS: AFTERLIFE Is a Worthy, Joyous Sequel appeared first on Nerdist.

After a long pandemic delay, audiences can finally view the 25th film in the James Bond series: No Time To Die. Daniel Craig’s final outing as 007 features a moody new track from Billie Eilish, who at 18 is the youngest singer to ever tackle a Bond theme song. And she delivers, with the haunting, gorgeous “No Time To Die”:

Bond themes have varied over the years, from the seductive torch songs of Shirley Bassey to the rock n’ roll riffs of The Wings and Duran Duran to Lulu’s funky earworm “The Man With the Golden Gun” (a personal favorite of mine):

Naturally, this had us thinking about the allure of the James Bond theme song, and which musical artists we’d like to see tackle the genre. Here are our picks for the folks we’d like to see tackle a Bond song:

Kaila Hale-Stern:

It may not seem like the first match-up to spring to mind, but the word deserves—nay, needs—to know what Dolly Parton would do with James Bond. Now I will never be able to actually stop thinking about this. And while we’re on the subject of great American songstresses, what about Stevie Nicks, who apparently loves Daniel Craig and his wife Rachel Weisz as much as we do? “It appeared to be a mutual love fest between Mr. Bond and the Gold Dust Woman,” said a source when they met, and yet. AND YET!

Dan Van Winkle:

I want Radiohead to finally get the Bond theme spot they so clearly dream of, after submitting not one but two songs for Spectre, only to have them both rejected for different reasons. One was a preexisting song (“Man of War”) that Thom Yorke once described as an homage to Bond themes, and the second was “Spectre,” which is itself a great example of exactly why Radiohead would be perfect for this gig. I’m sure they’ve moved on by now, but it would just fit so well that it’s one of those things where it comes to mind and you’re like, “Wait, they haven’t yet?”

Chelsea Steiner:

When Amy Winehouse died of an accidental overdose in 2011 at the young age of 27, the world was robbed of decades of music from the brilliant songstress. Winehouse’s rich timbre and powerhouse vocals made her an absolute standout, and her retro sound would have been absolutely perfect for a James Bond theme. In fact, Winehouse and her longtime collaborator Mark Ronson recorded a theme for Quantum of Solace, which was ultimately rejected after delays due to Winehouse’s substance abuse struggles. The producers ultimately when with the Jack White and Alicia Keyes duet “Another Way To Die”.

While I’ll always be sad that Winehouse never got to make her own Bond song, I would love to see what Celeste would do with a Bond theme. The stunning singer evokes the spirit of Winehouse, and is sure to become a massive star.

Rachel Leishman:

I would like Leon Bridges to take a try at a Bond song. Back in the olden days of James Bond, the smooth tones of singers like Shirley Bassey, Nancy Sinatra, Tom Jones, and more have taken a spin with Bond and Bridges has a similar vibe to me. Having him do a Bond song? Inspiring.

Alyssa Shotwell:

Janelle Monae hasn’t done it yet right? I pick her if not.

Who would you like to see perform the next Bond theme song? Let us know in the comments!

(image: Tina Rowden/Netflix)

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Jake Gyllenhaal was a perfect choice to play Quentin Beck a.k.a. Mysterio in the Spider-Man universe, but it didn’t come easy for the star of The Guilty. From being a fan of Marvel and Spider-Man to heading into the biggest franchise in the world right now, Gyllenhaal had some issues with taking on the role. Luckily, he had Tom Holland there to help calm him down and ease his anxiety about playing Quentin Beck.

On The Howard Stern Show, Gyllenhaal opened up about being on the set of Spider-Man: Far From Home and worrying about bringing Mysterio to life in the Marvel Cinematic Universe: “I was freaking out. It was a scene with [Samuel L.] Jackson, Tom…there were a number of actors in that scene…And I remember not being able to remember my lines.”

Gyllenhaal went on, explaining the situation: “And I went up to Tom Holland and was like, ‘Dude, help me out.’ He’s like, ‘It’s all good, man. Just relax.’ It was like he was me in so many situations. And I finally did. I just put a lot of pressure on [myself] because I love that world.”

But more than that, he admitted to how much he loves the world of the Marvel Cinematic Universe: “…I love that world, man. It’s not me coming in as an actor going like, ‘Oh, I’ve made 60 films…I know what I’m doing. It’s me coming in every time being like, ‘I love Spider-Man. I love this world. I want to kill it here.'”

To be quite honest, that might be why I loved his Quentin Beck so much. Gyllenhaal’s Mysterio was brilliant, and I think that Far From Home was an incredible Spider-Man movie despite not being set in New York City. Having people who care behind the scenes and playing these characters? It does make a difference. It’s why I love Andrew Garfield and Tom Holland so much, because they grew up loving Spider-Man and it shows in their performances.

Knowing that Jake Gyllenhaal has that same history and that he got help from Tom Holland (or, I guess, Spider-Man in this case) to calm down and have fun? That’s just an amazing story, especially given how fans have loved how close Holland and Gyllenhaal are. This story just gives us all more fuel to love their friendship.

I wish we could see more of Jake Gyllenhaal as Quentin Beck. I don’t think that we will, given his fate in Spider-Man: Far From Home, but with the multiverse, we have a world of endless possibilities. If that means Mysterio coming back to torment Peter Parker and Jake Gyllenhaal getting to be back in the MCU? Well, that’s just the icing on the Marvel cake, and I’d love to see it.

(via CBR, image: Marvel Entertainment)

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The 355 is a star-studded affair as Simon Kinberg directs powerhouses Jessica Chastain, Lupita Nyong’o, Penelope Cruz, Diane Kruger, and Bingbing Fan in a spy thriller. Focusing on international female spies from around the world, the movie introduces us to the idea of the first female spy, all the way back to George Washington. What happens when a group of women from America, the United Kingdom, Germany, China, and Colombia take on the legacy of Agent 355 and the secrecy of being a spy?

With a cast as stacked as this, The 355 is sure to wow us whether or not this is a genre we typically enjoy. But this new trailer for the film gives us a deeper look into the story and the connection that these five women have not only to each other but to the characters played by Édgar Ramírez and Sebastian Stan.

The description for The 355 is as follows:

“When a top-secret weapon falls into mercenary hands, wild card CIA agent Mason “Mace” Brown (Oscar-nominated actress Jessica Chastain) will need to join forces with rival badass German agent Marie (Diane Kruger, In the Fade), former MI6 ally and cutting-edge computer specialist Khadijah (Oscar winner Lupita Nyong’o), and skilled Colombian psychologist Graciela (Oscar winner Penélope Cruz) on a lethal, breakneck mission to retrieve it, while also staying one-step ahead of a mysterious woman, Lin Mi Sheng (Bingbing Fan, X-Men: Days of Future Past), who is tracking their every move. As the action rockets around the globe from the cafes of Paris to the markets of Morocco to the opulent auction houses of Shanghai, the quartet of women will forge a tenuous loyalty that could protect the world—or get them killed.”

And honestly, we need another good female spy movie in our lives. We have movies like Salt and Atomic Blonde, but there are rarely spy movies that are diverse or feature more than one female spy, so to see a cast this amazing giving us a spy thriller? Great! Sign me up for whatever they need, even if it is someone to go out and get all these spies coffees.

You can see the new trailer here!

The 355 is far from the first spy movie to heavily feature female spies at its center, but it is rare enough that a movie like this is still a relatively big deal. It shouldn’t be that way—it is 2021—but we’re used to seeing men in these types of films, and so to see a trailer like this just feels power to me? Like I can take out the bad guy while wearing a ball gown, and I’m here for everything that writer Theresa Rebeck and director Simon Kinberg are trying to sell me.

And who doesn’t want to see Lupita Nyong’o, Bingbing Fan, Penelope Cruz, Jessica Chastain, and Diane Kruger kicking ass? Sounds like an absolute dream!

(image: Universal Pictures)

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 —The Mary Sue has a strict comment policy that forbids, but is not limited to, personal insults toward anyone, hate speech, and trolling.—