One of the early posts on my blog was some brief commentary on the trailer for the all female Ghostbusters reboot from 2016. I’ve still not seen the film but by most accounts, it was as bad as I expected it to be and perhaps worse. The film wasn’t a total financial disaster but it still likely lost money when advertising expenses are factored in. It wasn’t so disastrous that the franchise was abandoned though and Ghostbusters: Afterlife followed in in 2021. This was directed and co-written by Jason Reitman, the son of Ivan Reitman who directed the original. He was clearly well aware of the fan response to the female reboot and so held more consciously to the series roots — at least superficially. The film was received well and I actually watched it — though I didn’t like it! Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire was released earlier this year and was a direct sequel to Afterlife with the cast all returning with the original setting of New York also being brought back. In my previous post, I mentioned how belated sequels to old films tend to be bad or pointless and these two films are good examples.
I have rather fond memories of the original Borderlands which released in 2009. I got a copy for PlayStation 3 along with a small group of friends and a number of fun multiplayer sessions followed for some months afterwards. It was not the kind of game that would normally appeal to me; as the object is less about getting to the game’s end than it is about finding better equipment and grinding up levels. It was the well integrated cooperative play, the generally unique design and the quirky tone that drew me in. Although the sequel Borderlands 2 is usually considered the better game, I didn’t do more than play through the story and I can’t recall many details about that game off the top of my head. I have barely even looked at the series since — with the sole exception of Tales from the Borderlands, an episodic adventure game from the now defunct Telltale Games released in 2014.
Starquest: Space Pirates Of Andromeda by John C. Wright, Tuscany Bay Books, October 8th, 2024