Undead Friday
Jul. 29th, 2016 11:11 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
crossover_chickSo named because the two big things I did today were see the new Ghostbusters reboot and play a good chunk of Vampire: the Masquerade -- Bloodlines. And I suppose working on Chapter 9 of "In The Land of the Dead" counts too, since we're dealing with talking skeletons and the like. Though they're not really undead. . .still.
First things first -- Ghostbusters! What did I think?
YEAH BABY!! kinda sums it up XD
The trailer really doesn't do the film justice -- it starts off strong with some great lines, and just keeps moving from there. I liked all of the new cast -- was very worried Jillian Holtzmann was overhyped, but nope, she really is that cool. Especially when she does her one-woman army thing in the climax. Her tech is also all kinds of awesome too. :D I like too that the story wasn't a remake of the original film -- while it hits some of the same beats, the actual plot is quite different.
I do, however, appreciate all the cameos from the original film! Nobody's the same character they were before, but Bill Murray's actually got a semi-important bit part, Dan Akroyd, Ernie Hudson, and Sigourney Weaver all have great moments near the end -- even Annie Potts (Janine) is in it! Plus Slimer and the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man. And while they obviously couldn't get Harold Ramis, the film is dedicated to him, one of his kids gets a bit part, and there's apparently a bust of him early on that I sadly missed. About the only one missing is Rick Moranis, and I just learned that he's become super-selective about all of his projects because he's raising his kids after the death of his wife from liver cancer, so yeah, don't blame him for sitting out. I admit, I squeed at every reference -- but then again, I am a complete sucker for these kind of jokes (look at how many live in my own work), so. . .
My only real complaint is that I think the movie goes a bit too fast. Erin's character arc can feel a mite rushed, and there's a bit where she's separate from the others but it doesn't seem to be for a particularly good reason? It's like they skipped a scene where she tells the others she really needs to take a little "her time" to destress or something. It's in service of a Big Damn Heroes moment, but it does feel a little off. I also don't think Rowan and his plan was developed quite enough. In particular, I'd liked to have seen/heard a little more about his backstory -- he mentions being bullied all his life, but we don't see THAT much of it. The "Nightmare Fuel Coloring Book," as TV Tropes puts it, is very effectively scary, though. Did a good job with that -- and it really drives home just how CHILDISH he is. Good contrast with the leads, who can be goofy and silly but have a innate maturity he doesn't.
So yeah -- all in all, I'd say go see it! If you're a fan of the 1984 one, like me, you'll love the shoutouts, and there's plenty to enjoy about the new stuff too. :) And I've already decided to do the Ghostbuster jumpsuit for Halloween. XD
As for the continuing adventures of Harold The Gangrel:
-->He completed Arthur Kilpatrick's quests and got some cash out of it and has now got the "Mudd Hunt" quest started for later
-->He went to the hospital, bought some blood off Vandal, and grabbed the morphine for Mercurio after I started wondering if Lacroix's "werewolf blood" quest only triggered after talking to him
-->He completed Mercurio's quests and got his lead on the next main quest -- and after returning to his haven, discovered I was right with the e-mail I wanted popping up on his laptop
-->He went back to the hospital and mostly-completed the "Thinned Blood" quest by freeing Lily (though I'm now on Vandal's shit list because I couldn't tell him a gruesome story to convince him I was worthy of blood -- Harold's too high Humanity -- and I may have missed out on the 'get him an alternate victim' quest? Maybe I'll talk to him again later and see), completed Heather Poe's "Trick or Treatment" quest (yay!), and successfully blackmailed Malcolm St. Martin for $75 (Malcolm's having an affair, you see, and I spent Harold's most recent experience point gains on increasing his hacking skill enough to learn this). However, he's now stuck when it comes to the werewolf blood -- I found out where it was being stored thanks to hacking one of the computers, but I can't find the actual room it's in. According to the wiki, there's a guard I need to be caught by so I can get the key to the right room, but I can't find him either. . .so Harold's currently parked by some soda machines until my next try.
-->He drank from Pee Man (this one guy who goes to urinate behind the dumpsters next to The Asylum -- nickname is from Helloween, guy was his favorite victim for a while XD) twice. Unfortunately, the first time earned him a Masquerade violation as someone walked in to see the attack. Oops. Another reason to get that werewolf blood -- it'll clear my record.
So yeah. Nothing much else to report, as the majority of my evening has been spent on TV Tropes looking up the pages for BOTH 80s and 16 Ghostbusters. At least I'd already anticipated my night would be largely a wash because of that. :P Gonna buckle down and catch up on my tumblr now, though, plus get a queue ready for Butterfly Boy. Always something to doooo~ Night all!
Oh, PS -- yes, I'm already coming up with a new GB16 AU for BTTF/CB/Alice. XD It's what I do, you should know that by now.
First things first -- Ghostbusters! What did I think?
YEAH BABY!! kinda sums it up XD
The trailer really doesn't do the film justice -- it starts off strong with some great lines, and just keeps moving from there. I liked all of the new cast -- was very worried Jillian Holtzmann was overhyped, but nope, she really is that cool. Especially when she does her one-woman army thing in the climax. Her tech is also all kinds of awesome too. :D I like too that the story wasn't a remake of the original film -- while it hits some of the same beats, the actual plot is quite different.
I do, however, appreciate all the cameos from the original film! Nobody's the same character they were before, but Bill Murray's actually got a semi-important bit part, Dan Akroyd, Ernie Hudson, and Sigourney Weaver all have great moments near the end -- even Annie Potts (Janine) is in it! Plus Slimer and the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man. And while they obviously couldn't get Harold Ramis, the film is dedicated to him, one of his kids gets a bit part, and there's apparently a bust of him early on that I sadly missed. About the only one missing is Rick Moranis, and I just learned that he's become super-selective about all of his projects because he's raising his kids after the death of his wife from liver cancer, so yeah, don't blame him for sitting out. I admit, I squeed at every reference -- but then again, I am a complete sucker for these kind of jokes (look at how many live in my own work), so. . .
My only real complaint is that I think the movie goes a bit too fast. Erin's character arc can feel a mite rushed, and there's a bit where she's separate from the others but it doesn't seem to be for a particularly good reason? It's like they skipped a scene where she tells the others she really needs to take a little "her time" to destress or something. It's in service of a Big Damn Heroes moment, but it does feel a little off. I also don't think Rowan and his plan was developed quite enough. In particular, I'd liked to have seen/heard a little more about his backstory -- he mentions being bullied all his life, but we don't see THAT much of it. The "Nightmare Fuel Coloring Book," as TV Tropes puts it, is very effectively scary, though. Did a good job with that -- and it really drives home just how CHILDISH he is. Good contrast with the leads, who can be goofy and silly but have a innate maturity he doesn't.
So yeah -- all in all, I'd say go see it! If you're a fan of the 1984 one, like me, you'll love the shoutouts, and there's plenty to enjoy about the new stuff too. :) And I've already decided to do the Ghostbuster jumpsuit for Halloween. XD
As for the continuing adventures of Harold The Gangrel:
-->He completed Arthur Kilpatrick's quests and got some cash out of it and has now got the "Mudd Hunt" quest started for later
-->He went to the hospital, bought some blood off Vandal, and grabbed the morphine for Mercurio after I started wondering if Lacroix's "werewolf blood" quest only triggered after talking to him
-->He completed Mercurio's quests and got his lead on the next main quest -- and after returning to his haven, discovered I was right with the e-mail I wanted popping up on his laptop
-->He went back to the hospital and mostly-completed the "Thinned Blood" quest by freeing Lily (though I'm now on Vandal's shit list because I couldn't tell him a gruesome story to convince him I was worthy of blood -- Harold's too high Humanity -- and I may have missed out on the 'get him an alternate victim' quest? Maybe I'll talk to him again later and see), completed Heather Poe's "Trick or Treatment" quest (yay!), and successfully blackmailed Malcolm St. Martin for $75 (Malcolm's having an affair, you see, and I spent Harold's most recent experience point gains on increasing his hacking skill enough to learn this). However, he's now stuck when it comes to the werewolf blood -- I found out where it was being stored thanks to hacking one of the computers, but I can't find the actual room it's in. According to the wiki, there's a guard I need to be caught by so I can get the key to the right room, but I can't find him either. . .so Harold's currently parked by some soda machines until my next try.
-->He drank from Pee Man (this one guy who goes to urinate behind the dumpsters next to The Asylum -- nickname is from Helloween, guy was his favorite victim for a while XD) twice. Unfortunately, the first time earned him a Masquerade violation as someone walked in to see the attack. Oops. Another reason to get that werewolf blood -- it'll clear my record.
So yeah. Nothing much else to report, as the majority of my evening has been spent on TV Tropes looking up the pages for BOTH 80s and 16 Ghostbusters. At least I'd already anticipated my night would be largely a wash because of that. :P Gonna buckle down and catch up on my tumblr now, though, plus get a queue ready for Butterfly Boy. Always something to doooo~ Night all!
Oh, PS -- yes, I'm already coming up with a new GB16 AU for BTTF/CB/Alice. XD It's what I do, you should know that by now.
