For the folks that asked, "What if Ghostbusters, but with none of the jokes?" we present "Afterlife." In 2021 Jason Reitman heled a sequel to his dad's two entries from the 80s, ignoring the existence of the 2016 movie altogether. The result is a good looking, well acted, well directed, two hour slog of a film filled with Easter Eggs and nostalgia bait meant to pull at the heart strings of every guy that said the previous film "killed their childhood." Mike, Brian, and Ariel are here to talk about this one, and boy do we try not to.

This week Mike and Brian look back at the 201 reboot of Ghostbusters. Featuring a cast of four of the most gifted female comedians, the movie seemed doomed from the start as fandom reared its ugly head. We look back at the online backlash, the trolls, and the litany of abusive, racist and sexist comments the cast had to endure. We ask what kind of moron thinks a movie can "ruin their childhood." We do our best to evaluate the movie on its own merits, both its strengths and flaws.

This week we're back to talk about one of the most (unfairly)maligned sequels of the 80s. Facing strong headwinds on the road to getting made, Ghostbusters 2 was criticized as a carbon copy of the first, and it struggled to capture even half of the box office of the 1984 classic as Batman fever swept the nation, and sequels from Back to the Future and Indiana Jones took up moviegoers attention. Credited for "killing the franchise" for decades, Ghostbusters 2 is a solid example of "if it ain't broke don't fix it" filmmaking, and this week Mike, Devaughn and Jessica are on hand to weigh its pros and cons.

If you like what you’re listening to make sure to subscribe wherever you get your podcast feeds. 

Please take a moment to rate and review us on the Apple Podcast app, or rate us on the Spotify app. Reviews and five star ratings help new listeners find us every day, and we greatly appreciate the feedback and support. 

Check out our website for easy access to our full catalog of shows, with hundreds of hours of free content. You can search the catalog, leave a review and even leave us feedback all from the site. Go to ⁠www.podandthependulum.com⁠ to check it out. 

If you have the means, consider becoming a patron today and support the show. Patreon members get exclusive full length episodes, audio fan commentaries, exclusive mini-sodes and more. Join today at ⁠patreon.com/podandthependulum⁠.