Frozen Empire has enough ghouls, goo and goofy wisecracks to justify another movie

The fifth Ghostbusters movie arrives just in time to commemorate the franchise’s 40th anniversary but its feel-good forward-momentum will keep this series going, writes Leigh Paatsch.

GHOSTBUSTERS: FROZEN EMPIRE (PG)

Director: Gil Kenan (Monster House)

Starring: Paul Rudd, Caroline Coon, Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray

Rating:★★★

Still the only ones to call

The fifth movie to hail from the Ghostbusters universe arrives just in time to commemorate the franchise’s 40th anniversary.

Though definitely overloaded with nostalgic shoutouts to the ‘Busters’ 1980s heyday, Frozen Empire does not just repeat the former glories of the good old days.

In fact, this new instalment’s determination to maintain its feel-good forward-momentum at all times will definitely keep this much-loved series going for some years to come.

While it does help if you have seen the 2021 box-office hit Ghostbusters: Afterlife – if only to keep track of who’s who in the new-character department – rookie viewers won’t be playing catch-up for long.

That’s all thanks to a ripping opening chase sequence in which those next-generation Ghostbusters from Afterlife pursue the bizarre reincarnation of a translucent flying anaconda all over Manhattan.

Gary Grooberson (Paul Rudd) and Callie Spengler (Carrie Coon) in Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire.

Once the dust has settled (and some major damage is done), we learn that the descendants of original ’Buster Egon Spengler have now relocated from their base in rural Oklahoma to the founders’ traditional firehouse HQ in New York City.

Teenage paranormal prodigies Phoebe (McKenna Grace) and Trevor (Finn Wolfhard) have upscaled their skills since we last saw them. As for their mother Callie (Carrie Coon), she has now incorporated boyfriend Gary Grooberson (Paul Rudd) into the family unit in a trainee-stepfather role.

While the Spenglers seem well-equipped to dispense with most modern ghosts, they may need additional firepower to handle a new threat of ancient origin.

Let’s not get too bogged down in details about a mysterious gizmo that has the potential to trigger the next Ice Age, and also release a chilling brand of spectral evil.

All that really matters is that the Spenglers are going to need the help of all surviving pioneering Ghostbusters to save the day.

While it is pleasing to see original cast members Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson and Annie Potts suited-up and back in action, the really good stuff doesn’t start happening until OG Ghostbuster Bill Murray makes a belated entrance as the delightfully deadpan Peter Venkman.

Pioneering Ghostbusters Janine (Annie Potts), Peter (Bill Murray), Ray (Dan Aykroyd) and Winston (Ernie Hudson).

With Kumail Nanjiani also bringing added comic relief as an unlikely new recruit to the team, the second half of Frozen Empire well and truly outshines the first.

There are more than enough ghouls, goo and goofy wisecracks to justify yet another movie, which should be recommendation enough.

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire is now showing in general release

ROAD HOUSE (MA15+)

Rating:★★★½

Now streaming on Amazon Prime Video

Conor McGregor and Jake Gyllenhaal in Road House.

It took well over a decade for the ridiculously over-the-top 1989 action flick Road House to reach its exalted status as one of the most brilliant bad movies of all-time.

Just as it is impossible not to have a good time with the original Patrick Swayze-starring version, a new update with a hyper-ripped Jake Gyllenhaal upfront is destined to prove equally irresistible.

While Gyllenhaal cannot hide the fact he is having a ball while having a brawl – fans of the original will be thrilled to learn the number of barroom barneys has not decreased here – the leading man adds a sly wit and welcoming warmth to his performance that never lets up.

Though the bulk of the action has been relocated to the Florida Keys, the essence of the first movie’s presence remains the same. Gyllenhaal’s Dalton, a down-and-out drifter with a Ph.D in thumping misbehaving rednecks, turns his life around when he takes a job placating the clientele of a lively booze house with his bare fists.

The fight scenes in the movie are every bit as ferocious (and giddily guilty-pleasure-inducing) as any action fan could possibly hope for. Especially when loopy MMA legend Conor McGregor (surprisingly good here) shows up and starts rearranging furniture and faces with manic abandon. Another sure-fire cult hit in the making.

JUST A FARMER (M)

Rating:★½

Selected cinemas

Leila McDougall in the Australian movie Just a Farmer.

Making a living off the land – and living your best life while doing so – has become oppressively difficult for Australian farmers for some considerable time.

In a bid to shine some light on an array of important issues that generally don’t get much traction with city-dwelling folk, a woman named Leila McDougall has decided to do something about it.

Despite no past experience in the movie game, McDougall has not only penned a screenplay about what so many of our farmers are going through right now, she also stars in the leading role of the production as well.

For sheer guts and determination, McDougall (and the team of like-minded cast and crew she gathered to make her dream a reality) must be genuinely lauded.

However, the movie itself may have trouble attracting a wide audience. Without putting too fine a point on it, the story told here – of a farmer who takes his own life, and the wife and family left behind to try and keep their property going – will prove to be just too bleak a prospect for most viewers.

Co-stars Robert Taylor, Joel Jackson, Damian Walshe-Howling.