Movie #246 - Groundhog Day

Groundhog Day
1993 - Rated PG - 1 hr 41 min
Director: Harold Ramis
Starring: Bill Murray, Andie MacDowell, Chris Elliott, Stephen Tobolowsky, Brian Doyle-Murray, Marita Geraghty

If you had to live one day over and over, with no consequences, what would you do?  To answer your question, Bill Murray tries everything.  He starts off in denial, then embraces it and breaks the law, then tries to use the time to make something right in the world, then woos the woman of his dreams.  How can he make an eternal February 2 turn into February 3?

Check with Andie MacDowell.

I love this movie so much and always have.  It's such a clever premise and so expertly executed.  And they don't waste time trying to explain why this happens to him, which makes it better.  Sometimes stuff happens and we don't know why. This is an extreme example, but hey. My point remains.  Bill Murray accepts his unusual fate with gusto, and doesn't waste too much time trying to figure it out.  It sucks, but it's his lot in life, so he deals with it the best way he can.  Buy nailing Nancy, punching Ned, and learning to play piano.  Do what you gotta do, you know?

And he even gets his own happy ending, when all is said and done.

Movie #227 - Ghostbusters II

Ghostbusters II
1989 - Rated PG - 1 hr 48 min
Director: Ivan Reitman
Starring: Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Harold Ramis, Ernie Hudson, Rick Moranis, Annie Potts, Peter MacNicol, Harris Yulin, David Margulies, Kurt Fuller

Yay, they're back! Even Slimer is back!

This movie finds the Ghostbusters in some legal trouble that's quickly solved by a ghostly attack. Cool.  Sigourney Weaver is in trouble again, or her baby is, and this makes me worry for her future.  This poor woman! Will it ever stop?

On a side note, the baby on a ledge scene now makes me nauseous, thanks to motherhood.  Seriously.

As a sequel, this movie holds up well.  It revisits these well-loved characters without overkilling the jokes or self-indulging too much.  They face new problems and come up with even bigger solutions. I cite the "Libby" hijacking incident--a step above and beyond the Stay Puft marshmallow man.  But strangely, it works.

It was fun to watch these back to back, something I'd never done before.  Good times were had by all... or....me. Yay.

Movie #226 - Ghostbusters

Ghostbusters
1984 - Rated PG - 1 hr 45 min
Director: Ivan Reitman
Starring: Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Harold Ramis, Rick Moranis, Annie Potts, William Atherton, Ernie Hudson, David Margulies

Classic.  Really, this movie is a classic.  I'm not sure how "technical" all that ghostbusting equipment really is (though I'm guessing most of it's imagined), but they make it seem like the real deal, in terms of how they attempt to explain and use it.  Scientific or not, you really want these guys to find and "bust" some serious ghost ass.

Watching the movie this time, I was impressed and surprised at how good the effects are.  They're not as good as they would be today, but for 1984, they're not bad at all.  Actually, the "streams" are decent and, as long as the creatures aren't moving, most of the ghosts/demons look okay.  It's not CGI, but it definitely doesn't distract you.

Anyway, what I love about this movie is the campy approach.  They don't take it too seriously and they embrace the weird concept.  A movie like this was ahead of its time, considering the ghost tv show craze that's happening now. Did they make it trendy to hunt for ghosts? I don't know about that, but they did make it look almost fun.

Movie #223 - Get Smart

Get Smart
2008 - Rated PG-13 - 1 hr 50 min
Director: Peter Segal
Starring: Steve Carell, Anne Hathaway, Dwayne Johnson, Alan Arkin, Terrence Stamp, Terry Crews, David Koechner, James Caan, Bill Murray, Patrick Warburton, Masi Oka

Another tribute to a TV show back in the day... but this reboot is blessed with the awkward comedy of Steve Carell.  He actually does a good job here, not too wacky, and comes out on top in the end.  The weird pairing of younger Agent 99 (Anne Hathaway) with his older Agent 86 is explained away as a cosmetic procedure done in the line of duty to make her look younger.  But I bet those kissing scenes were still awkward to shoot.

Meanwhile, I love Alan Arkin, who makes a great department head. And Dwayne Johnson's bad guy turn is done pretty well. All in all, a fun one to watch and a nice tribute to the original.