Daily Loaf

Green Halloween This inaugural “eek-o-friendly” event offers a pumpkin patch cake walk, a “best green costume” contest, bobbing for organic apples, making a Halloween goodie bag from recycled magazines, and a sweet-n-scary selection of healthy treats. Visit greenhalloween.org for more info. Fri., Oct. 23, 3:30-6:30 p.m., Hyde Park Village, Tampa.

Zombie Weekend A cadre of creepy films await on Friday, including Night of the Living Dead, Shaun of the Dead (pictured), and a special zombi-fied version of the Rocky Horror Picture Show. Saturday features more family-friendly (but still freaky) flicks like Ghostbusters, Gremlins, House on Haunted Hill and The Tingler — which, thanks to the shocking power of the theater’s Percepto system, will actually make you tingle! Visit beachtheatre.com for full schedule. Oct. 23-24, Beach Theatre, St. Pete Beach, $5 Friday; free family movies Saturday.

Horror Fest The Sunscreen Film Festival presents a cadre of chilling cinema – and then fills you in on how to get onscreen yourself. At the Horror Fest workshops, acting coach Mark Durso explains his Uta Hagen technique; Twilight casting director Lana Veenker (whose advice you may or may not heed, depending on your opinion of her vapid vampires) explores “How to Break into the Film Biz without Living in Hollywood” and “Auditioning for Film and TV”; and special effects make-up artist John Rusnak leads a horror make-up workshop. Spooky special movie screenings include indie or limited release flicks like Trick ‘r Treat (starring True Blood’s Anna Paquin, appropriately enough), Deadfall Trail, Sauna and Evil Things. A haunted Halloween party follows Saturday’s films. Oct. 23-25, Mark Durso and Lana Veenker Workshops 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Sat.-Sun., The Studio@620, 620 First Ave. S., St. Petersburg; Horror Fest Screenings, 7 and 9 p.m. Fri. –Sat., John Rusnak Workshop, Noon, Sat., Muvico Baywalk 20, 151 Second Ave. N., St. Petersburg; $8 per movie; $25 four-movie pass and make-up workshop; $125 full access pass, visit sunscreenfilmfestival.com for detailed schedule. – Franki Weddington

Hit the break for more events, and check back as we add to the list of spooky spectacles. Read the rest of this entry »

Can a game succeed solely because of pop-culture fandom? Thankfully, Ghostbusters manages to capture enough ghost-wranglin’ gameplay that we don’t have to answer that question. We love the plot, find some fault with the repetitive — occasionally brutal — gameplay, and appreciate the light hand with Ghostbusters 2 fan service.

So, does bustin’ make the GammaTesting.com guys feel good? Sure. Good, but not great.

Listen up! (Then check out all the other Gamma Testing episodes.)

Gamma Testing Podcast Ep14: Ghostbusters

Remember 1989? Remember the disappointment? How exciting the mere prospect was, the idea that we’d get more of that magical, hilarious madness. Another two hours worth of memorable quotes – what would replace “When someone asks you if you’re a God, you say yes!” or “Listen; Do you smell something?”

But then we got Ghostbusters 2 in all it’s lifeless, tepid, walking Statue of Liberty forgettableness. Who would want another sequel after that mess? And how could we get it two decades after the fact? Of course you’ve guessed the answer – Ghostbusters: The Video Game, which really is the sequel I’ve been waiting for.

All the original busters are back, Murray, Aykroyd, Ramis, and Hudson playing digital, young versions of their now aged and expanded selves. Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis are even credited as writers of the game, and I can believe it. The story has the same sensibilities as the original movie, the same over the top mythology and paranormal gobbledygook, and I found it a lot more interesting and entertaining than the Ghostbusters 2 plot. Of course it’s spread out over 7 hours of game play, but that works fine. It’s the transition to digital actors and recorded voice overs that’s less satisfying.

More review and video after the jump: Read the rest of this entry »

News from Ain’t It Cool via MTV is that Ghostbusters 3 is a go, with the original cast on board! Per Harry K.’s site:

Ramis promised that all the old core players will take part in the updated version, including Bill Murray (Dr. Peter Venkman) and Dan Aykroyd (Dr. Raymond Stantz), who co-wrote the original films. “We’re all going to be in it in different kinds of roles,” Ramis said. “We’re going to be the sage mentors. There are going to be young Ghostbusters.”
At the moment, Ramis is waiting on a first draft of the script, which is being penned by Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky, two writer/producers on “The Office,” who also wrote “Year One.” “Gene and Lee, both of whom I mentored, are now writing the new ‘Ghostbusters,’ ” Ramis said. “I’m consulting with them, as is Dan Aykroyd and [original director] Ivan Reitman.

Best part was Ramis’s kicker at the end:

“Bill Murray is just waiting for the truckload of money to arrive to get him out of his office,” Ramis joked.

Tough to say whether or not Ghostbusters 3 will be worthy of the hype. The original is a classic, but Ghostbusters 2 sucked slimer’s green gonads. Injecting young blood into the franchise is certainly a decent — if tired — way of resurrecting the franchise.

Now, if only Ramis and Murray would get to work on Caddyshack 3, maybe we’d have something here.

Who ya gonna call? Writers/producers for The Office are reportedly at work on a sequel to Ghostbusters

Tarantino’s WWII drama Inglorious Bastards is already stirring up controversy.

Looks like he’s walking: De Niro leaves Mel Gibson starrer, Edge of Darkness

Check out the trailer for Kevin Smith’s Zack and Miri Make a Porno