Simon's Movie Reviews

Who you gonna call? Since 1984 there is only answer to that question: GHOSTBUSTERS! Now an established part of pop culture, in no small part thanks to Ray Parker Junior’s signature theme song, it was at the time one heck of a gamble. What were the odds that a comedy/horror movie filled with some of the most expensive special effects at the time and starring the wise-cracking comedian from Caddyshack and Stripes , one half of The Blues Brothers, and the heroine from Alien would become a massive hit? With Canadian director Ivan Reitman at the helm and Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis on writing duties, it turns out the odds were pretty good. I didn’t watch Ghostbusters until sometime in the mid 90s when it was playing on TV at my grandma’s house, but before that it was firmly ingrained in my culture. Plenty of kids could hum that earworm of a song, the animated series was doing pretty good, and I had a horn shaped like Slimer on my bicycle. I think I actually ended seeing Ghostbuste...

There are plenty of movies focused on a particular holiday, with Christmas notably hogging the spotlight, but who knew Groundhog Day would end up with an inspirational movie about life, love, and spirituality? Starring Bill Murray as an egotistical weatherman stuck in a time loop, Groundhog Day (1993) is a film that, just like its main character, you want to live again and again…and again. Screenwriter Danny Rubin and director Harold Ramis successfully create a fantastic situation in which a man must embrace the day because for him there is literally no tomorrow. This is a movie better discovered over time, and I gradually discovered it when it would play on TV back when I was living in South America in the mind-90s. As a family it was very fun to watch Bill Murray go crazy and kidnap a groundhog, but much to my surprise I later learned my mom didn’t like the movie. She didn’t like the fact Murray kept repeating the same day, even though that is the whole point. You have to han...