‘Ghostbusters Frozen Empire’ Coasts on Nostalgia But Never Ignites

‘Ghostbusters Frozen Empire’ Coasts on Nostalgia But Never Ignites

By Lynn Venhaus
A silly and confusing nostalgia-infused stew that suffers from ingredients well past their sell-by dates, “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire” is an erratic mess of plot and pacing, with too many layers and too many characters.

Whatever goodwill people have for the original cast Bill Murray, as Dr. Peter Venkman, Dan Aykroyd as Ray Stantz and Ernie Hudson as Winston Zeddemore, quickly evaporates when co-screenwriters Gil Kenan and Jason Reitman poorly integrate their beloved characters into a storyline weighted down by paranormal mumbo-jumbo.

It’s unnecessarily more complicated than any thread in “Oppenheimer,” and all the levity is sucked out of it, which is sad for tarnishing the late Harold Ramis’ legacy as the nerdy Egon Spengler, the big-brain of the original outfit.

This latest installment takes up after “Ghostbusters: Afterlife“ in 2021 resurrected the franchise that began with a bang in 1984, which was followed up with a 1989 sequel, and then dormant until a 2016 all-female reboot, which has largely been ignored but had a terrific cast.

In “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire,” the Spengler family returns to the iconic New York City firehouse to team up with the surviving Ghostbusters, who’ve developed a top-secret research lab to take busting ghosts to the next level.

But when an ancient artifact unleashes an army of ghosts that casts a death chill upon the city, the new and old team join forces to save the world from a second Ice Age. The gizmos are more high-tech — drones! — but that doesn’t improve lucidity.

Sure, Slimer is back, and William Atherton shows up as the despicably oily Walter Peck, only he’s now the mayor of New York City instead of an EPA inspector — but still would like to rid his town of the ghostbusting heroes. A tiny army of mischievous mini-Stay-Puft Marshmallow Men cause more mayhem than when first introduced in 2021.

But even those welcome sentimental sightings don’t add much to an inexplicably leaden Kenan-Reitman script that is directed with a heavy-hand by Kenan, following “Afterlife” director Jason Reitman, the son of original “Ghostbusters” director Ivan Reitman.

As charming as Paul Rudd is as Gary Grooberson, the beau of Callie Spengler (Carrie Coon, one of the great modern actresses, just going through ‘mom’ motions), he can’t carry this cash-grab on his own. Grown-up make-believe needs a reason to watch.

Callie is Egon’s daughter, and her two teenage children Trevor (Finn Wolfhard) and Phoebe (McKenna Grace) are back, this time as fierce ghostbusters now enthusiastically embracing the family business.

There is a strange subplot where Phoebe is attracted to a ghost named Melody (Emily Alyn Lind) that is just a bizarre detour in an already complex template.

The Spenglers have taken over the Firehouse as a home, which is fun to explore, but then the ghosts they capture in the Ecto-Containment Unit start acting up (go figure) because of an apocalyptic diety hellbent on igniting a deep freeze (but why?). Layers and layers of confusing backstory prevent the film from ever taking off, and engaging in a way audiences might expect.

The set-up is unusually long and meandering, and is weighted down by the ancient lore explanations that seems to be as thick as mud. You can only watch so many electronic sparks before it becomes mind-numbing.

There is little to connect the “Afterlife” dirt farmer in Summerville, Oklahoma storyline, but two of the characters return with a passing reference — a podcaster played by Logan Kim and Lucky played by Celeste O’Connor.

The very funny comic actor and stand-up comedian Patton Oswalt is wasted in one solo scene as a librarian with vast knowledge of the spirits underworld, and ever-reliable Kumail Nanjiani offers goofy support as the slacker grandson of a deceased woman who held a lot of ancient (and kinky) secrets in their modest apartment.

While Aykroyd and Hudson are game as the more prominent returning heroes, Murray shows up rather late, with little to do, and coasts, devoid of the goofy charm that made Venkman so appealing. While Annie Potts is another welcome sight as former receptionist Janine Melznitz, it’s just a drive-by appearance, the role without any pizzazz of her past self.

This film is disappointing on multiple levels, but the by-the-numbers visual effects take over as a big chill plot point that is just deadening.

If you’ve seen Disney’s “Frozen” and its sequels, you’ve already seen everything a fast-moving widespread ice storm can do — and this plethora of GCI icicles is eye-catching for a few minutes, but in a repetitive loop, it quickly becomes tiresome. There was more heart in “Godzilla Minus One.”

While much of the “Ghostbusters” lore involves the childhood toys Millennials grew up with, that fondness is frittered away with this soulless, lifeless plot — although it might sell a few proton packs and jumpsuits.

And Ray Parker Jr.’s kicky “Ghostbusters” theme song can only do so much when it’s overused.

There is no reason to call these synthetically engineered characters ever again. Let it go.

“Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire” is a 2024 comedy sequel directed by Gil Kenan and starring Paul Rudd, Carrie Coon, McKenna Grace, Finn Wolfhard, Kumail Nanjiani, Patton Oswalt, Annie Potts, Dan Ackroyd, Ernie Hudson, Bill Murray. Logan Kim, Celeste O’Connor and William Atherton. It is rated PG-13 for supernatural action/violence, language, and suggestive references, and runtime is 1 hour, 55 minutes. It opens in theaters March 22. Lynn’s Grade: D

‘Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio’ Is A Beautiful, Wise Retelling of a Classic Story

‘Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio’ Is A Beautiful, Wise Retelling of a Classic Story

By Alex McPherson 
Visually spectacular and thematically rich, “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio” is a feast for the senses, a rallying cry for rebellion, and a reminder to cherish those we hold dear.

Utilizing stop-motion animation and updating Carlo Collodi’s 1883 story to 1930s Italy — during a scourge of fascism, with the threat of violence ever-looming — the film zooms in on an elderly carpenter named Gepetto (voiced by David Bradley, with ample tenderness), who tragically loses his young son Carlo (Gregory Mann) in a bombing.

Drunk, furious, and at the end of his rope, Gepetto chops down the tree growing from Carlo’s tombstone — which turns out to be the home of the erudite, self-absorbed Sebastian J. Cricket (Ewan McGregor) — and crudely fashions together our titular Pinocchio (also voiced by Mann) as a stand-in for his lost child.

A vibrant, yet ominous Wood Sprite (Tilda Swinton, as cooly off-putting as always), with dozens of eyes peppering its wings, takes pity on Gepetto and brings his hurried creation to life, entrusting Sebastian to be Pinocchio’s moral guide. Suffice to say, Pinocchio’s first moments don’t go entirely smoothly. He careens across Gepetto’s cottage with gleeful abandon — destroying practically anything that gets in his way — as Gepetto watches, horrified, dodging incoming projectiles. 

Pinocchio’s a lively, rambunctious, and curious soul, but Gepetto’s constant need to make him behave and fit certain roles — most notably, that of Carlo — only ends up backfiring. Townsfolk, most of whom are religious, immediately label Pinocchio as an Other to be ostracized. A fascist official named Podesta (a menacing Ron Perelman) takes a keen interest in Pinocchio’s peculiarities, as does the slimy owner of a traveling carnival, Count Volpe (Christoph Waltz), and his abused “assistant,” Spazzatura (Cate Blanchett, convincingly imitating a monkey).

What follows is a meditation on grief, freedom, childhood, and death that follows the general trajectory of Collodi’s vision and Disney’s 1940 iteration of the story, but with an extra helping of del Toro’s trademark empathy and political fervor.

Indeed, from a visual perspective alone, “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio” is damn-near flawless. From the minute, tactile details poured into each and every character, it’s clear that the film is a labor of love from all involved.

Del Toro and co-director Mark Gustafson (the animation director of Wes Anderson’s brilliant “Fantastic Mr. Fox”) imbue these hand-sculpted figures with expressiveness (both grotesque and enchanting, often simultaneously) that — paired with the impeccable voice cast — beautifully suits this tale of love and compassion amid suffering.

The occasional rough edges only strengthen the characters’ authenticity, each molded from a world that’s beaten them down, in one way or another, in attempts to maintain control and “order.” Frank Passingham’s eye-popping cinematography takes full advantage of the freedom of animation to present numerous shots that won’t leave my mind anytime soon — particularly regarding the freakishly unnerving sea beast.

Pinocchio himself feels right at home in del Toro’s oeuvre — charming, naive, ignorant — thrust into an unfamiliar environment and told to obey. This pressure put on him by Gepetto to be someone he’s not is mirrored by Podesta’s son, Candlewick (Finn Wolfhard), who’s being forced to adopt a vile ideology forced on him by his father and by the larger authority. 

Mann brings an expert level of innocence and confidence to the character, delivering both heartwarming and heart wrenching dialogue throughout. Pinocchio’s coming-of-age is as poignant as ever as he fights his way out of heinous situations — including exploitative work conditions, for entertainment and in service of a tyrannical government — to finally be seen as more than the irreplaceable Carlo in Gepetto’s eyes and to be loved for who he actually is. In this regard, Gepetto has just as much to learn about himself as Pinocchio does, and del Toro renders him a flawed, uncertain, yet deeply caring person, capable of growth even at his old age.

On the lighter side, McGregor is often hilarious as the stringent, wiseass cricket, shouldering most of the film’s laughs. Del Toro and Patrick McHale’s script crackles with sly, dark humor, paired with plenty of slapstick comedy at Sebastian’s expense, that never insults viewers’ intelligence. Waltz’s iconic line delivery perfectly suits Count Volpe’s capitalistic deviousness, and Blanchett is incredible without uttering a single line in English — her vocal mannerisms as the poor monkey Spazzatula convey multitudes.

Even though “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio” follows a familiar template, there’s boatloads of creativity on display in terms of storytelling and aesthetic grandeur. Setting the tale during Mussolini’s reign gives Pinocchio’s acts of disobedience even more weight, and the emphasis on mortality (and the afterlife, given a morbidly idiosyncratic spin) adds wrinkles that caught me off-guard in the end, nearly bringing me to tears.

Additionally, it’s, for some reason, a musical, and while Alexandre Desplat’s score is typically sublime, the songs aren’t exactly necessary to keep the plot moving. That minor quibble aside, this is a film full of joy, sadness, danger, and understanding of life’s great challenges — one that will prove to be a timeless achievement.

“Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio” is a 2022 stop-motion animated musical fantasy film co-directed by Guillermo del Toro and Mark Gustafson and voice-work is done by David Bradley, Gregory Mann, Ewan McGregor, Ron Perelman, Christoph Waltz, Cate Blanchett, Tilda Swinton, John Turturro, Tim Blake Nelson and Finn Wolfhard. It is rated PG for dark thematic material, violence, peril, some rude humor and brief smoking and the run time is 1 hour, 57 minutes. It was released in select local theaters on Nov. 18 and will be streaming on Netflix Dec. 9. Alex’s Grade: A.