Filmation's Ghostbusters - The Animated Series, Vol. 1 (1986) Review

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(More customer reviews)Not to be confused with "The Real Ghostbusters," the animated series based on the 1984 hit film, Filmation's "Ghostbusters" was actually based on the 1975 live action Saturday morning series "The Ghost Busters" starring Forrest Tucker and Larry Storch [of "F Troop" fame] as ghost busters Jake Kong and Eddie Spenser respectively. Along with Tracy, their gorilla played by Bob Burns, Jake and Eddie fought the ghosts of historical villains. Both versions of the show were produced by Filmation.
Filmation's 1986 animated Ghostbusters series featured Jake Kong Jr. and Eddie Spenser Jr., the sons of Jake and Eddie assisted by Tracy the gorilla, Jessica the reporter, Belfry the bat, and Futura the sorceress. From their Ghost Command headquarters, they battled ghosts and phantoms from fairy tales, present-day and future. Whether traveling through time and space in their transforming Ghost Buggy, or battling the evil spooks of Prime Evil at his Haunt-Quarters, the Ghostbusters would always answer the call to action with their battlecry "Let's Go Ghostbusters!" The battlecry much like He-Man's transformation scene, albeit to a lesser extent, was that scene in the show I always looked forward to, and never got tired of.
I almost didn't bother to watch Filmation's Ghostbusters back in first-run because [at the time] I felt it was trying to steal The Real Ghostbusters' thunder--which it was, sort of. It's all relative however as neither animated series would've been produced if it weren't for the success of 1984's "Ghostbusters" film. Columbia Pictures (who owned the film and spin-off cartoon) settled a lawsuit with Filmation for an undisclosed sum in order to use the title in the film, but that didn't preclude Filmation's own animated attempt to capitalize on poltergeist popularity. With all of that in mind, I did watch both shows in first-run and had found there to be plenty of ghostbusting fun to be had from both shows.
Hopefully, the folks at Sony who produced those infuriating Real Ghostbusters 4-episode volumes will take notes from BCI's Ink & Paint, and sometime soon package The Real Ghostbusters into a set as bountiful in episodes and extras as this Filmation Ghostbusters set.
Filmation's Ghostbusters - Volume One is a 6-disc set featuring the show's first 32 [of 65] episodes in Full-Frame (1.33:1) video, plus the following Special Features:
* Creator interviews with producer Lou Scheimer, writer Robby London and directors Tom Tataranowicz and Tom Sito
* Ghostbusters anti-drug spot
* Original 10 min. presentation of the promo pilot
* Slideshow storyboard for episode 22 "Laser and Future Rock"
* Image gallery of Ghostbusters heroes including the original model sheets and sketches
* English & Spanish audio for all 32 episodes
* Easter eggs and series trivia
* Ink & Paint trailers
* DVD-ROM material: the complete five-episode script for the Ghostbusters "origin story"
* Bonus episode: "The Ghost Busters" live action series episode #1 - "The Maltese Monkey" featuring ghost busting trio Forrest Tucker, Larry Storch and Bob Burns"Yeah!"
Episodes:
1. I'll Be a Son of a Ghostbuster (Part 1)
2. Frights of the Roundtable (Part 2)
3. No Pharoah At All (Part 3)
4. The Secret of Mastadon Valley (Part 4)
5. The Ones Who Saved the Future (Part 5)
6. Witch's Stew
7. Mummy Dearest
8. Wacky Wax Museum
9. Statue of Liberty
10. The Ransom of Eddie Spenser
11. Eddie Takes Charge
12. The Great Ghost Gorilla
13. A Friend in Need
14. No Mo Snow
15. Prime Evil's Good Deed
16. Cyman's Revenge
17. The Headless Horseman Caper
18. Banish the Banshee
19. Rollerghoster
20. He Went Brataway
21. The Looking-Glass Warrior
22. Laser and Future Rock
23. Runaway Choo Choo
24. Dynamite Dinosaurs
25. Ghostbunglers
26. My Present to the Future
27. The Beastly Buggy
28. Belfry Leads the Way
29. The Battle for Ghost Command
30. Going Ape
31. The Haunting of Gizmo
32. Ghostnappers
Ghostbusters - Volume One:
Feb. 27th!

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Episodes: 1. Witches Stew2. Mummy Dearest3. Wacky Wax Museum4. Statue of Liberty5. The Ransom of Eddie Spenser6. Eddie Takes Charge7. Tracy Come Back8. A Friend in Need9. I\'ll Be a Son of a Ghostbuster10. Frights of the Round Table11. No Pharaoh At All12. The Secret of Mastodon Valley13. The Ones Who Save the Future14. No Snow15. Prime Evil\'s Good Deed16. The Haunting of Gizmo17. The Headless Horseman18. Banish That Banshee19. Rollerghoster20. He Went Brat-A-Way21. Looking Glass Warrior22. Laser and Future Rock23. Runaway Choo-Choo24. Dynamite Dinosaur25. GhostBunglers26. My Present to the Future27. Beastly Buggy28. Belfry Leads the Way29. Battle For Ghost Command30. Going Ape31. Cyman\'s Revenge32. GhostNappersFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre:TELEVISION/SERIES & SEQUELS UPC:787364722990

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Life (1999) Review

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(More customer reviews)Yes, this movie has plenty of funny moments, but there is a very real and sometimes rather touching story that takes precedence over everything that happens. You can't get through the most serious of situations without the palliative of laughter now and again, and Life actually does tell a serious story. Eddie Murphy proves once again that he is a great actor, and Martin Lawrence was surprisingly good as the more serious of two men sentenced to life in prison for a murder they didn't commit. One night in 1932, fate brought Rayford Gibson (Murphy), a smooth-talking hustler with big dreams, and Claude Banks (Lawrence) a respectable fellow about to start a good job, together in a New York nightclub. For entirely different reasons, both guys have to face the displeasure of the club owner's wrath; and so it is that Gibson and Banks end up going on a bootlegging run to Mississippi. One dead man later, and both men are sentenced to life in prison for murder. Since Banks blames Gibson for getting him into all this mess, there relationship varies in quality as the years go by, but gradually a real friendship develops between them. They try to escape several times but end up spending basically their whole lives in prison. Along the way, we meet with several sub-plots involving some of their fellow inmates, but the movie never strays far from the lives of Gibson and Banks. The passage of time is marked by clips of historical events, and some excellent makeup works makes both men look old and worn out as they advance into their senior years.
This is not a prison story of hopelessness, however. While no pardon ever comes their way, justice has a way of willing out eventually, and the final ten minutes of the film are just terrific. Since the story does take place in Mississippi in 1932 and beyond, race plays a major part in the film, but it does not define the movie by any means. There are a number of funny scenes, especially those involving pie and cornbread, and Eddie Murphy will definitely make you laugh - Martin Lawrence sort of plays the heavy here to Murphy's periodic antics. Some familiar faces pop up in the movie: Rick James plays the New York club owner, Bernie Mac has a relatively minor role, and Heavy D plays a small but important part. Wyclef Jean contributes an original score for the film. The whole cast is excellent, and a very good script keeps the film on pace and lively.
This isn't Stir Crazy; there are plenty of laughs, but I wouldn't call this a comedy - Life the movie is funny in the way life itself can sometimes be - laughter can get us through the hard times, but it doesn't hide the fact that the hard times are there. This movie really deserves more attention than it has received; with its serious underlying quality, it ranks among Eddie Murphy's most impressive films.

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