Josh Kingsley
The year is 1989 and I am an 8-year-old farm kid in rural Kansas. Going to the movies is a rarity and always my mom’s idea with movie selection. My honest belief is movie theaters remain closed and open for big, important movies. Family movies most likely from Disney. And then it clicks: movie theaters are always open, but we just don’t go. It wasn’t a family thing for me. However, the year 1989 produced a movie I badly wanted to see. On brand for me side note: I have a litany of movies I love from this year.
1989: Epic Year for Movies
This year rocked. Seriously, check out this list. I found no shortage of films I will watch from any spot if I catch them on TV. Here is my random order list of favorites:
- Christmas Vacation: my absolute favorite of the Vacation franchise. I watch this movie every Christmas in series with Elf, Bad Santa, Die Hard (which IS a Christmas movie), and add Scrooged if time permits.
- Indiana Jones & The Last Crusade: the third, and final (do not consider Chrystal Skulls – I agree with South Park Ep 175 called The China Probrem) installation of Indiana Jones with a great addition of Sean Connery.
- Back to the Future II: the middle of one of my favorite trilogies with a flying Delorean to boot.
- Lethal Weapon 2: another incredible part 2.
- Field of Dreams: my favorite of the holy trinity of Kevin Costner baseball movies.
- Major League: the first of the holy trinity of Major League movies.
- Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure: man I loved this movie when I was a kid. One of my favorite movie experiences was re-watching this in college and understanding all the jokes. I totally got why my parents hated it and got mad when I watched it.
- UHF: drop what you are doing and watch this if you have not seen it. This is a “Weird Al” Yankovic gem and Michael Richards’ film debut.
The movie I really wanted to see: Ghostbusters II. The tale of Vigo the Carpathian AKA the Scourge of Carpathia, the Sorrow of Moldavia trying to take over the world via NYC museum. Only a Carpathian would do that.
All Love for the Ghostbusters
I was obsessed with the Ghostbusters in 1989, and I had to see this movie. My main exposure to the franchise was the animated offering called The Real Ghostbusters. It debuted after the original movie dropped in 1984, and was based loosely on the characters. I consider voice actors to be some of the most talented and fortunate folks in the entertainment business, and here was the lineup with some of my favorite other work from them:
- Maurice LaMarche (Egon AKA Brain from Animanics)
- Frank Welker (Ray and Mickey and Roadster Racers)
- Lorenzo Music (Peter and Garfield)
- Dave Coulier (Peter and Uncle Joey)
- Arsenio Hall (Winston and Coming to America)
Check out the body of work for the top 3 guys, and prepare for amazement. They work constantly on incredible projects, and can also go to the grocery store in peace. It sounds like a fun life to me!!
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The Original ’84 Movie
I saw this movie before seeing GBII in the theater, and I loved it. Like Bill & Ted, I missed a number of the jokes, but I liked it as much as a little kid could. Watching it now is a much better and funnier experience. My favorite part my young mind could not comprehend was how awesome the Louis Tully was as a character. The party scene at his apartment where he is airing everyone’s business is pure comedy gold. The world also learned an important lesson: if someone comes from another dimension and asks if you are a god, you say yes.
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Worthy Sequel
The anticipation was high for me as the time neared to see Ghostbusters II in the theater. It was all worth it as I loved the movie. The movie is a blockbuster, and I was glued to the screen. I loved the process of getting from a creepy painting in a museum to turning the Statue of Liberty into a battle droid. The court room scene was incredible, and I didn’t even know it was funny at the time. This is another great Rick Moranis as Louis Tully moment, and this edition featured him as an inept lawyer. The guys got put on a judicial mistrangement order, which was the blue thing she gave him. Thankfully, no one ended up exposing themselves.
Ghostbusters II did a great job of building on the character quirks and took many, such as Louis Tully, a step, or ten, further. It also kept the story line of Pete Venkman and Dana Barrett intact, and the baby was a nice addition. In 1989 it was a fun story line with a cute baby, but today it makes the story real. Pete and Dana were professionals making their way through a crazy city, and Dana was doing it as a single mom. It was a step beyond the single situation in the original and how life goes. I also appreciate the added factor of the workplace romantic tension and chasing artistic passion. It is a nice romantic story line on it’s own, and then you add Vigo. I love this movie more now than I did in 1989.
Afterlife As We Know It
That brings us to present time, where we have a new addition to the Ghostbusters franchise. I will mention now that I have love for the 2016 female cast movie. The story lacked, but the cast was solid. My first reaction to news of Afterlife was skepticism. It seemed unnecessary, and I lamented the concept… and then the trailer came out, and I became intrigued. Key optimism ,Point 1) Paul Rudd, the dude is a notable Chiefs fan, box office gold, and one hell of a model American. Key optimism, Point 2) the trailer is awesome, an the story looked fresh, engaging and appropriate immediately.
I saw the movie Thursday night with my wife and one of my DJs, and left the theater thrilled. The movie hit with me from the opening credits. I spent the time to paint the picture of my experience with II to illustrate love and expectations, but I mention the movie only to recommend you see it. I do not want to risk anything of a spoiler, so I will not say anything more about the plot. The last thing I will mention is the universal consensus from my friends, who are fellow fans. I wrote about Star Wars in two columns earlier in the season, and made it clear I am an easy sell for sequels. My default setting is to enjoy them, so I cannot paint myself a purist. I find it important validate my feelings, and I have full consensus.
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How About Them CHIEFS!
I put priority on seeing the movie Thursday so I could write about Ghostbusters for this week. The expectation was enjoying the movie and watching a Chiefs win. I have been bullish on the Chiefs through their slump, and I feel validation on that as well. The wins have not all been pretty, and I don’t really care. This was a win over another top NFC team, and this time the MVP candidate played. Dak was a tad off, the WRs had drops, and running game never got going for the Cowboys. It is possible to chalk this up to a bad day for the Cowboys.
You know what else is easy? Pointing out that the pass rush was working and Chris Jones was living in their backfield. Dak was held under 250 yards, was picked twice, and those picks were not nonsense like the one Mahomes (pronounced Kelce) “threw.” The Dallas running game did not get going because the Chiefs D did not let it. The offense was again imperfect, but it was good enough. We have seen what a 3-phase clicking Chiefs team looks like, and so have the Raiders. Does it really matter if regular season games are won with only the O or D working? I don’t think so. I am content at the moment knowing a 3-phase can happen, and am willing to keep buying low on Patrick and the offense.
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Rest of Season Projection
I will end every column the rest of the season projecting the remaining games. My thought before this game was expecting a 6-1 run to end the season. Here is where I am now:
- Week 12: BYE
- Week 13: vs Broncos. The league knows this is a big one, and flexed it to Sunday night to highlight. WIN
- Week 14: vs Raiders. Another beat down. WIN
- Week 15: @ Chargers. There will be an epic red presence starting with the Arrowhead Kingdom Tailgate. WIN
- Week 16: vs Steelers. Merry Christmas, hope you enjoyed Die Hard. WIN
- Week 17: @ Bengals. This should feature two playoff ambitious teams, which is remarkably differently than I looked at this game in August. WIN
- Week 18: @ Broncos. I have a feeling this game will mean something, and the Chiefs Will be playing to WIN.
That’s right y’all. I fully expect the Chiefs to WIN OUT, be 13-4, and be in play for the #1 seed. My current pick for the AFC Championship game: CHIEFS vs Patriots.
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Josh Kingsley — ArrowheadOne
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Follow Josh on Twitter: @mkechiefsfans
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