Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire Brings On More Scares and Fun

It’s all in the family as Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire takes the Spengler family back to where it all began in New York City. I don’t ask much from Ghostbusters films other than to be not quite as dark as Ghostbusters 2. They don’t change up the formula too much in this film. What I can say for certain is that the Spenglers and Gary have embraced their role as Ghostbusters following the previous film. It’s…

"Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire Brings On More Scares and Fun"

Juno: Witty Comedy Marks 15th Anniversary

Juno, the rare comedy to receive an Oscar nomination for Best Picture, marks the 15th anniversary of its 2007 theatrical release. Diablo Cody wrote one of the funniest screenplays of 2007. Fifteen years after its release, Juno still holds up as one of the funniest movies released in the early 2000s even as it plays differently in 2022. In terms of casting, it could definitely be better on the diversity front but this is where…

"Juno: Witty Comedy Marks 15th Anniversary"

Ghostbusters: Afterlife Gets The Nostalgia Right

Ghostbusters: Afterlife hits at all the nostalgic emotions as the torch gets passed to a new generation of Ghostbusters. If you read nothing else, please make sure to sit through the end of the credits. There is a mid-credit and a post-credit scene. Jason Reitman takes the best of his father’s two films and the best of Paul Feig’s solo outing to bring this bittersweet sequel. If bittersweet is the right word, that is. It’s…

"Ghostbusters: Afterlife Gets The Nostalgia Right"

Up in the Air: One of 2009’s Best Films

Over a decade following its theatrical release, Up in the Air remains one of the best films to have been released in 2009. With the exception of 2014’s Men, Women, and Children, Jason Reitman can do no wrong. Heading into Up in the Air, Reitman was hitting home run after home run.  This was his third feature following both Thank You for Smoking and Juno.  Basing the film on Walter Kirn’s 2001 novel of the…

"Up in the Air: One of 2009’s Best Films"

Jason Reitman directing Ghostbusters film

It was reported this evening that Jason Reitman is set to direct a new Ghostbusters film set in the original universe of the 1984 classic. During Comic Con in 2017, director Ivan Reitman said that there would be big things coming, including a new film.  Nothing was given at the time with regards to the film’s specifics.  This is really big news for the Ghostbusters franchise given that this summer marks the 35th anniversary of…

"Jason Reitman directing Ghostbusters film"

Jason Reitman talks The Front Runner

Writer-director Jason Reitman spoke with members of the Chicago press during the press tour for his new film, The Front Runner.  I had the opportunity to sit down with the Oscar-nominated director in a 20-minute roundtable interview with four other Chicago area film journalists.  While Hugh Jackman and the Gary Hart story were discussed, what follows are the two questions that I asked of the Juno and Up in the Air director. Congrats on the…

"Jason Reitman talks The Front Runner"

TIFF 2018: The Front Runner

The Front Runner offers striking commentary not only on American politics but the media’s responsibility to report on the players involved. American politics was different in the 1980s.  There was no such thing as cable news.  People weren’t walking with a computer in their pocket, let alone their palms.  Reporters didn’t have the ability to be published instantaneously.  While some aspects such as the traveling beat are the same, it’s how they are able to…

"TIFF 2018: The Front Runner"

Tully: A Commanding Performance from Charlize Theron

Director Jason Reitman and screenwriter Diablo Cody have reteamed to bring us Tully, a modern-day look at parenting and how it takes over so much of our lives. Parenting is exhausting.  There’s no other way to say it.  It’s something that Diablo Cody seeks to explore in the script for Tully.  There’s always something about Jason Reitman bringing Cody’s words to the big screen.  Cody has a way with writing and this film proves that…

"Tully: A Commanding Performance from Charlize Theron"