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I'm not wavering on this: Ghostbusters (dir. Reitman, 1984) was a very funny comedy movie. Edit: Christ, what an awful snipe. Okay. Ghostbusters: A Frightfully Cheerful Roleplaying Game (West End Games, 1986) was not a very good or funny roleplaying game.
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Nov 15, 2023 18:59
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FishFood posted:Nah, I think the original Ghostbusters is a comedy with a bug budget and adventure elements. It's just that it's a type of movie that has kind of disappeared: it's tightly scripted and uses a lot of wordplay while comedies have moved pretty far away from that in the last 20 years. Modern comedies all have these long scenes of extended improv so any movies that have more traditional (read: better) pacing don't feel like comedies to people more used to the modern style. I don't know if I would have called the original tightly-scripted (I dunno, maybe it is, I'm not a film expert) but is more elliptical. We don't see Spengler, Venkman, and Stantz each doing their own different research and then being fired to establish why they take up bustin'; Venkman ("it is a star") stands for all three. The original's focus is Venkman >>> Stantz > Spengler > Zeddemore though! The 2016 film clearly wanted to spread the love around more, and I think they felt they had & needed more screen time to establish each character's quirks and motivations than they really did, given how uneven the comedy there was.
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Nov 15, 2023 19:18
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Halloween Jack posted:Understanding media will not lessen your enjoyment of it. Come on now, I know you've met grad students before.
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Nov 15, 2023 19:29
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I think I started this derail by mentioning the MCU and I am very sorry.
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Nov 15, 2023 19:44
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Ghostbusters (1984) is a cheap piece of amateurish schlock compared to the masterpiece that is Ghostbusters (1975)  
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Nov 15, 2023 19:54
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Prime Evil > Strahd > Gozer
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Nov 15, 2023 19:58
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homullus posted:I don't know if I would have called the original tightly-scripted (I dunno, maybe it is, I'm not a film expert) but is more elliptical. We don't see Spengler, Venkman, and Stantz each doing their own different research and then being fired to establish why they take up bustin'; Venkman ("it is a star") stands for all three. The original's focus is Venkman >>> Stantz > Spengler > Zeddemore though! The 2016 film clearly wanted to spread the love around more, and I think they felt they had & needed more screen time to establish each character's quirks and motivations than they really did, given how uneven the comedy there was. It's tightly scripted in the sense that the jokes were largely in the script itself and are tied into the plot and characters. There are no extended sequences with a static camera and the actors riffing and saying random "funny stuff" for minutes at a time, the comedy arises from the situations and the characters themselves. I don't think 2016's problems are due to it spreading the focus more evenly between the four leads, it's that the movie will grind to a halt so that the leads can "yes-and" about Chinese food for five minutes. I'm not wild about Will Ferrell/Paul Feig style improv comedy in general, but it really doesn't work in a high-concept movie like Ghostbusters, not to mention how the riffing blends all the different characters into being kind of generically zany.
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Nov 15, 2023 20:26
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Comrade Koba posted:Ghostbusters (1984) is a cheap piece of amateurish schlock compared to the masterpiece that is Ghostbusters (1975) Larry Storch's greatest role.
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Nov 15, 2023 20:29
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grassy gnoll posted:Come on now, I know you've met grad students before. Or hell, check out some of the other forums on this site.
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Nov 15, 2023 20:31
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FishFood posted:I'm not wild about Will Ferrell/Paul Feig style improv comedy in general, but it really doesn't work in a high-concept movie like Ghostbusters, not to mention how the riffing blends all the different characters into being kind of generically zany. It's why Leslie Jones felt like the only real person to me, her approach to all of the comedy was as a New York service worker rolling with all of the zaniness as opposed to 'generic quippy scientist.'
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Nov 15, 2023 20:31
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Midjack posted:Or hell, check out some of the other forums on this site.
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Nov 15, 2023 20:41
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Lumbermouth posted:It's why Leslie Jones felt like the only real person to me, her approach to all of the comedy was as a New York service worker rolling with all of the zaniness as opposed to 'generic quippy scientist.' She was one of the two people I liked most in the film and I wish they'd done more with her as an expert on the city itself, but the other was Kate McKinnon for largely opposite reasons - she leaned in to the cartoony aspect of the movie and the character and was just so much fun to watch in a way that McCarthy and Wiig weren't quite so much.
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Nov 15, 2023 20:49
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Humbug Scoolbus posted:The original Ghostbusters was a supernatural action-adventure movie played mostly straight by very funny people. Leaning into either full-on comedy (2016), or super-serious (Afterlife) doesn't work. You need to thread the needle. Halloween Jack posted:Ghostbusters: A Frightfully Cheerful Roleplaying Game (West End Games, 1986) was not a very good or funny roleplaying game.
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Nov 15, 2023 21:14
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Midjack posted:Or hell, check out some of the other forums on this site. other forums?
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Nov 15, 2023 22:04
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homullus posted:I don't know if I would have called the original tightly-scripted (I dunno, maybe it is, I'm not a film expert) but is more elliptical. We don't see Spengler, Venkman, and Stantz each doing their own different research and then being fired to establish why they take up bustin'; Venkman ("it is a star") stands for all three. The original's focus is Venkman >>> Stantz > Spengler > Zeddemore though! The 2016 film clearly wanted to spread the love around more, and I think they felt they had & needed more screen time to establish each character's quirks and motivations than they really did, given how uneven the comedy there was. I mean its not hot fuzz but thats a really high bar.
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Nov 15, 2023 23:27
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GB 2016 also had way too many random cameos.
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Nov 15, 2023 23:42
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Lumbermouth posted:It's why Leslie Jones felt like the only real person to me, her approach to all of the comedy was as a New York service worker rolling with all of the zaniness as opposed to 'generic quippy scientist.' Yeah, she's the real bright spot of the movie, she feels like a real person and not a standup impression. Leslie Jones rules and I wish she got more work and hadn't been treated so awfully.
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Nov 16, 2023 00:39
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Comrade Koba posted:Ghostbusters (1984) is a cheap piece of amateurish schlock compared to the masterpiece that is Ghostbusters (1975) I'm Spencer, he's Tracy. I'm Kong.
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Nov 16, 2023 02:25
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Maybe there is a better thread for this question, but what was the name of the unhinged game where the players were part of a matriarchal community of communist witches? I think they also turned men into animals and killed and ate them or something? A friend is trying to remember the name of it for some forsaken reason and now my brain won't let me stop trying to find it, either.
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Nov 16, 2023 04:43
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Kibner posted:Maybe there is a better thread for this question, but what was the name of the unhinged game where the players were part of a matriarchal community of communist witches? I think they also turned men into animals and killed and ate them or something? A friend is trying to remember the name of it for some forsaken reason and now my brain won't let me stop trying to find it, either. ..Bellum Maga? https://writeups.letsyouandhimfight.com/kurieg/bellum-maga/
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Nov 16, 2023 04:46
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Kibner posted:Maybe there is a better thread for this question, but what was the name of the unhinged game where the players were part of a matriarchal community of communist witches? I think they also turned men into animals and killed and ate them or something? A friend is trying to remember the name of it for some forsaken reason and now my brain won't let me stop trying to find it, either. Witch Girls Adventures?
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Nov 16, 2023 04:47
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I do believe this was it! Thanks!
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Nov 16, 2023 04:57
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I saw GB 2016 twice in the theatre but it's mostly because Kate McKinnon licking her gun did things to me so who can say if the movie is good or bad
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Nov 16, 2023 05:12
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Kibner posted:I do believe this was it! Thanks! There was very little Eating of men, there were, however, multiple spells for and even more art of turning men into cigars and *smoking* them. Also turning men into pregnant women as punishment, specifically supreme court justices, in front of a hobby lobby.
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Nov 16, 2023 05:16
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Halloween Jack posted:I'm not wavering on this: Ghostbusters (dir. Reitman, 1984) was a very funny comedy movie. As said above I've heard it's not a very good game, but I think that might be the one that does at least get one aspect surprisingly right that in-game, getting loaded up with all the Ghostbuster gear basically hits your encumbrance limit, showing that all that kit is indeed very unwieldy and heavy, and there's a reason that they have to work in teams. The whole concept with the proton packs, the streams and traps being a complex procedure works very well, making it a genuine challenge with the multi-step process that requires the Ghostbusters to coordinate, plan and outsmart the ghosts. Also comes to mind that the reasons Ghostbusters works as a movie might also be the reason it works as a cartoon, so much about the concept lends itself to that.
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Nov 16, 2023 05:21
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FishFood posted:Yeah, she's the real bright spot of the movie, she feels like a real person and not a standup impression. Leslie Jones rules and I wish she got more work and hadn't been treated so awfully. She's in Our Flag Means Death and while she's not a main character, she's brilliant and I think makes a solid case for more work with her performance.
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Nov 16, 2023 07:50
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Humbug Scoolbus posted:The original Ghostbusters was a supernatural action-adventure movie played mostly straight by very funny people. Leaning into either full-on comedy (2016), or super-serious (Afterlife) doesn't work. You need to thread the needle. Leaning into full-on comedy absolutely would have made 2016 Ghostbusters a better movie. The only really cringey part of the movie was that dumb scene where we see each Ghostbuster blasting away ghosts in bullet-time action sequences. It was such a desperate try-hard way to make them all look “cool and badass” that would have been much better if it were played for comedy. Just like the first Ghostbusters wouldn’t have been improved if you added a part where Egon is blasting away ghouls with proton guns akimbo like in a John Woo movie.
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Nov 16, 2023 08:10
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Kibner posted:Maybe there is a better thread for this question, but what was the name of the unhinged game where the players were part of a matriarchal community of communist witches? I think they also turned men into animals and killed and ate them or something? A friend is trying to remember the name of it for some forsaken reason and now my brain won't let me stop trying to find it, either. The funny thing is that, if played for irony, this would make a great cabal for an Unknown Armies game. Make them all TERF Trump supporters and you can call them Bellum MAGA 
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Nov 16, 2023 08:16
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All I remember about Ghostbusters Afterlife is it had a kid nicknamed "Podcast" because he had a podcast.
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Nov 16, 2023 10:19
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TheDiceMustRoll posted:Bill Murray is oddly well-liked for a complete rear end in a top hat Recently there has been some pushback after people complained about times he was a dick to them a while ago. (Seth Green talked about how Murry threw him in a trashcan as a joke when he was nine among other stores) Not full blown "canceling" but did lower the hype about him. whydirt posted:GB 2016 also had way too many random cameos. Whenever an original cast member appeared the movie completely stopped dead for a good minute. Movie also looked like it was completely changed in editing.
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Nov 16, 2023 11:28
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I can never fully hate the 2016 ghostbusters because it has an inexplicable Ozzy Osbourne cameo in it.
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Nov 16, 2023 11:49
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MuscaDomestica posted:Whenever an original cast member appeared the movie completely stopped dead for a good minute. Movie also looked like it was completely changed in editing. The director's cut adds a bunch of missing context that improves the overall story flow, but it also adds a racist joke where Kristen Wiig pantomimes pulling a Chinese man's queue and says "ding dong," so in conclusion Ghostbusters (2016 film) is a land of contrasts.
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Nov 16, 2023 11:56
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The Deleter posted:I can never fully hate the 2016 ghostbusters because it has an inexplicable Ozzy Osbourne cameo in it. This is as good a time as any to tell everyone on this forum to go check out the rock and roll horror comedy hit of 1986 Trick or Treat.
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Nov 16, 2023 11:58
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Ghost Leviathan posted:Ghostbusters does take the whole setting seriously, Dan Ackroyd's genuine interest in the supernatural is the foundation of the movie and broader franchise. The ghosts are often wacky and grotesque but also genuinely dangerous and fascinatingly strange. The characters are a bunch of weirdos who make jokes and use shady means to keep their business afloat, but the humour comes from the mix of human mundanity with supernatural weirdness and how people treat it. It takes the ghosts seriously enough to play them as horror movie stuff. It in no way ever considers the wider impact of poo poo like 'yep, that was a marshmallow-based kaiju in downtown NYC' or piloting the Statue of Liberty around to break into a museum.
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Nov 16, 2023 14:04
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Kai Tave posted:All I remember about Ghostbusters Afterlife is it had a kid nicknamed "Podcast" because he had a podcast.
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Nov 16, 2023 14:31
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MuscaDomestica posted:Recently there has been some pushback after people complained about times he was a dick to them a while ago. (Seth Green talked about how Murry threw him in a trashcan as a joke when he was nine among other stores) Not full blown "canceling" but did lower the hype about him. Also after he paid a woman $100,000 to settle her claim that he straddled her and mimed kissing her on set in 2022. That movie was shut down because of the complaint. https://www.theguardian.com/film/2022/oct/11/bill-murray-settlement-inappropriate-behavior-being-mortal
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Nov 16, 2023 15:21
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FMguru posted:It was a bad game, and an even worse effort at being Ghostbusters, but it might have been the most influential RPG system in the history of the hobby (after D&D), because it introduced the Dice Pool core mechanic that was reused in Star Wars (1987), spread to Shadowrun (1989), and then to Vampire (1991) and the whole of the WoD and similar systems, so much so that the 1990s is pretty much the Dice Pool Decade as far as RPG systems go. And I'm pretty sure the core design was the work of Chaosium's Greg Stafford, Sandy Petersen, and Lynn Willis. Is it really correct to trace Shadowrun and WoD's dice pool mechanics to GB and SWD6's? It seems to me that GB and SWD6's addition based mechanic is fundamentally different than the counting successes mechanics of Shadowrun and WoD.
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Nov 16, 2023 19:59
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PeterWeller posted:Is it really correct to trace Shadowrun and WoD's dice pool mechanics to GB and SWD6's? It seems to me that GB and SWD6's addition based mechanic is fundamentally different than the counting successes mechanics of Shadowrun and WoD.
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Nov 16, 2023 20:26
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neongrey posted:I saw GB 2016 twice in the theatre but it's mostly because Kate McKinnon licking her gun did things to me so who can say if the movie is good or bad I only just realized, but it was really important to me that I not know this and now you’ve ruined it.
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Nov 16, 2023 20:32
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PeterWeller posted:Is it really correct to trace Shadowrun and WoD's dice pool mechanics to GB and SWD6's? It seems to me that GB and SWD6's addition based mechanic is fundamentally different than the counting successes mechanics of Shadowrun and WoD.
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Nov 16, 2023 20:54
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