Quarantine Control #112: Who You Gonna Call? Tigers?

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A small discussion came up between the Damage Control staff about the improved ability to work while shutting off the news and social media, and it’s very easy to see how good of a point that is. We have reached a stage where COVID-19 is far from the biggest issue, even though it’s still literally hovering around. The United States is reeling from two mass shootings, a common occurrence in a country plunging to hell in a bullet train, while the war between Ukraine and Russia has raged on for more than two months now. There’s no need to go on any further to hammer home the point that digesting the news and social media a bit less is a great idea. Not that everyone will take the advice.


Geoffrey Barnes

Ghostbusters Afterlife (2021)
Source: Starz on Demand
Episodes: 1 movie (with a sequel coming)

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I had — and this is going to shock you — several reasons to be skeptical of Ghostbusters Afterlife before sitting down to watch it, despite the bevy of opinions about it that have circulated around the internet since it hit theaters last November. Every Ghostbusters live-action film since the original 1984 one that kickstarted the movie franchise has fallen short in at least one area, though that’s perhaps not a dramatic-enough description for the 2016 reboot. The way in which Afterlife wanted to realize the Ghostbusters concept was another ostensible point of contention, one so influenced by Netflix’s Stranger Things that it even roped in one of its key actors (Finn Wolfhard).

Fortunately, I found Afterlife as good as I’ve heard, enough that it’s easily my favorite Ghostbusters film since the original. It’s different in terms of its tone and direction, but it works at what it wanted to do.

The key Ghostbusters cast here is considerably younger this time around. Several adults are involved, but the majority of the plot centers around Phoebe (McKenna Grace) a 12-year-old nerd who loves science. She and her mother Callie (Carrie Coon) and older brother Trevor (Wolfhard) move to a rural, run-down Oklahoma place after being evicted from their Chicago apartment, forcing the kids to settle into an unfamiliar environment. It doesn’t take long for Phoebe to discover the significance of her grandfather, Egan Spangler, one of the four original Ghostbusters. She soon discovers why he moved out there, which is tied to his old legacy as a Ghostbuster, to put it vaguely.

The feature in Afterlife I adored the most is how it throws a number of bones to fans of the old Ghostbusters film (tossing a little shade at the 2016 one in the process) while not overtly leaning on them to prop up a film. Nearly every important figure from the 80s movies appears, but those cameos are hardly enough to stop this particular film from establishing its own unique voice, nor does it hinder character development for the new faces. There are several reasons to care for the plights of Phoebe, Trevor, Callie, and Phoebe’s science teacher Gary Grooberson (Paul Rudd). It’s a great fusion of old and new.

It’s the tone that seriously distinguishes it from the older films. The filmmakers, led by director Jason Reitman (the son of Ivan Reitman, director of the older films who died shortly after this one hit theaters) wisely knew that critics and the audience would rake them over the coals if Afterlife aped the older films too hard. Those comparisons to Stranger Things from the trailers panned out, with teenagers and junior highschoolers involved in unwrapping a mystery suffused with horrors. But it works well for the film, even when fused with scenes clearly meant to generate nostalgia. The intent here was to rope in parents and general adults who remember Ghostbusters from their childhoods and their kids who want an introduction for the franchise. I can vouch for it working for the former.

That said: As an old person with plenty of nostalgia for the older films, I did miss the sense of humor they had here. I understand why this one didn’t go with the same vibe, because it is no longer the 1980s. It returns later in the film in a celebrated scene that everyone could have seen coming, which actually strengthens its nostalgia it provides as a result. I realized that I missed seeing that kind of sarcastic wit as the credits rolled, but I wouldn’t argue that the film needed it.

I enjoyed Afterlife a lot more than expected, and its success tells the story of how I’m not the only one. McKenna Grace seriously held her own as Phoebe, who has a bright future ahead of her as long as she doesn’t stumble into any mistakes, particularly outside of Ghostbusters. At the very least, she and the other cast members who survived will have a future in this franchise with Sony’s desire to make at least one sequel. Maybe they’ll even go back to New York City.


Joseph Daniels

How has it been a year and a half since we lost Alex Trebek and we’re no closer to knowing who’s going to replace him as the permanent Jeopardy! host?  I do kinda blame Mike Richards for making it take this long, but he’s not even in charge any more.  Filling Mr. Trebek’s shoes has been such a shit show.

Actually, before I get around to finishing that segue, I should briefly mention a movie I saw recently, one which, surprisingly, features a not insignificant amount of tiger content.

Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers (2022)
Source: Disney+
Tiger content: Tigra

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Yep, there’s a tiger lady in this film, but her presence doesn’t save the movie, not for me anyway.  And yet, despite how little I thought of it, it’s been getting mostly positive reception.

I liked how the movie handled the concept of the “uncanny valley” and the Polar Express joke was pretty good, but I also feel that not every joke lands.  I guess I just don’t like that the Rescue Rangers movie turned out to be more like a spiritual sequel to Who Framed Roger Rabbit? and less like a story in either the original Rescue Rangers continuity or an updated version.

A lot of critics seemed to like it, though, so you might as well give it a watch since I’m likely in the minority.

Sh*t Show Podcast (2020)
Source: Spotify, or your preferred podcast provider
Episodes: Ongoing
Tiger content: Believe it or not, yes

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Making stuff is hard, and whenever something finds itself in production hell, there’s usually a story behind it.  Even movies that weren’t delayed by years might still have something juicy to talk about.  What were the circumstances behind movies like Justice League or Batman Forever?  This podcast series covers films like that and occasionally dives into other topics, like actor feuds.  As much as we want to believe that everyone who worked on things together got along, the truth is, some people are just incredibly difficult to work with.

The podcast also includes YouTube videos, and those are distributed in audio form as podcast episodes.  They work better when watched on YouTube, honestly, especially the one about The Emperor’s New Groove.

As for the tiger content, one of the films discussed by the podcast is probably one of the most notorious bad ideas ever, 1981’s Roar.  Having heard about it on the podcast, I’m not sure I want to see it now.  I certainly am not going to be recommending Roar in a Quarantine Control column, so instead, just listen to a podcast that discusses it.

Grimoire of Zero (2017)
Source: HIDIVE, via Anime-Planet
Episodes: 12
Tiger content: Mercenary (Japanese name: Yohei)

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Grimoire of Zero is about a mercenary named… Mercenary, who hates witches and is hired by a witch named Zero to protect her while she searches for a missing grimoire, the “grimoire of Zero” mentioned in the title.  Mercenary is what’s called a Beastfallen, a person with the body of an anthropomorphic animal.  In the world of the anime, you can be turned into such a being by a witch, or you can be born one, even if your parents are human.

Mercenary is a tiger Beastfallen who wishes to be human, and despite that he hates witches and attempts to kill them whenever he’s hired to, the bargain he strikes with Zero is that she’ll make him human if he protects her during her quest to find her grimoire.  The story is engaging and full of interesting and sometimes unexpected twists and turns and after twelve episodes which somehow still felt far too short, I found myself wanting to explore the world more.  Surely twelve episodes isn’t all I’ll ever get of this world and its characters?

Of course, those of you who are paying attention to the current season of anime knows where this is going, but for everyone else… come back in two weeks for column #114!  And yes, I totally gave a Quarantine Control column a cliffhanger ending.


It’s tough to find the words for anything anymore. But the theme of the lede and conclusion this week is about consuming less news and social media, so let’s stop here. Until next week.

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