New on #PeteSaves: How the new #GHOSTBUSTERS isn't going to please everyone but that's not important.

Never have 4 women playing fictional ghost hunters
caused so many losers with no lives to lose their minds.

So, usually, when I write about how I'd have made a film differently, it ends up being a fairly involved explanation.  However, there really isn't that much to fix with the new GHOSTBUSTERS movie.  It works fine and, I'd say, it's probably a tighter origin story than the original film.  Honestly, I laughed my ass off and the fact that women made me laugh my ass off makes it all the more interesting and fun to me.

Of course, I'm not threatened by women in the least, so maybe I'm unique among men.  But I'll get to more of this in a bit.  For now, I'll stick with the film, itself.  So…

WHAT WORKED IN GHOSTBUSTERS

Full disclosure: I am not a big fan of the original GHOSTBUSTERS.  That's not to say I don't like the film--I do.  I'm just not one of those people that praises it endlessly.  I'd rather watch CADDYSHACK or STRIPES.  The point is, this film didn't have to live up to any any preconceived expectations for me.  All it had to do was tell a cohesive story and make me laugh.  Which it did!  The bonus is that the cast are all really funny people who made the film quite fun to watch.  Usually, in American cinema, women aren't allowed to be funny.  So, this was a real treat.

Also, the warm reverence this film holds for the original GHOSTBUSTERS is wonderful.  If only every reboot had this kind of respect for its source material.  It was so great seeing all of this film's nods to what came before.

Obviously, the FX were amazing, but there really is no excuse for them to not be in today's world. 

 WHAT DID NOT WORK IN GHOSTBUSTERS...

Read the rest at PeteSaves.us!

Just Posted my take on #Netflix's DAREDEVIL over at PeteSaves.NichollsPete.com!

It's been a LONG time in the works, but finally, I have part one of my take on Netflix's DAREDEVIL TV show posted and sadly, it ain't pretty (big surprise). Here's a taste:

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OK, that title may be a bit strong, but I do feel that way, if for just one reason. I'll get to that one reason in a bit. Other than that one reason, I still think Netflix's DAREDEVIL series is a mess. Obviously, it entertained a lot of people, but for this comic book reader, it was tedious and meandering and, honestly, pretty misleading.

As this is a series that is effectively 13 hours long, there is a LOT to say. So, I'm breaking this up into two posts. This post will cover the following:

My spoiler-free mini-review Spoiler-rich, What Worked in Netflix's DaredevilNetflix's Daredevil is a Man without SenseTime to Pick a Couple NitsMy Problem with the Kingpin of Crime

Part two will explore:

Enough with the Origin Stories, Guys!
What really got my Blood Boiling About Daredevil
World Building and How Daredevil Screwed it Up
How I would have Written the first season of a DAREDEVIL show

I'll post part two at noon on Tuesday, June 30, 2015 and update this space with a link to that post, then.

Spoiler-Free Mini-Review 

My mini-review is that, as an action show, it was really well made. The action sequences were realistically staged and felt more like real life than anything else in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The acting was nearly perfect. I had a few issues with both Charlie Cox and Vincent D'Onofrio's choices, but I stopped caring about the ones with Cox as the show progressed and the ones with D'Onofrio only got worse as the show went on. More on that, also, in a bit.

Honestly, I was left a little flat by the show, both as an adaptation of the DAREDEVIL comic and as a TV show. When I said it was misleading, earlier, I meant that this show is called "DAREDEVIL" but it really should have been called "MATT MURDOCK" because of how not like the comic character he was.

I'm not a huge fan of the comic, but I read it for a few years back in the late 80s/early 90s. I know the character's abilities and origin story and really thoroughly enjoyed how he was a kind of blue-collar Batman. To be clear, I am no expert on the comic character. That said, the show does stray from the comic that I remember in many places, so using "that's the way it was in the comic" should not be used to excuse a weak choice in the Netflix version. Honestly, I found the comic book version much more fun and intriguing. His powers were much more developed and understandable in the comic than in the Netflix version. I understood how he could be fearless. In the Netflix version, he just came off as kind of an idiot.

I know Daredevil got his ass handed to him a LOT in the comic. The thing is, somehow the Netflix version didn't manage to make him seem dauntless, so much as stupid. To go into more detail, I need to take you into a spoiler-rich zone. You have been warned.

SPOILER-RICH ZONE BEGINS NOW: Enough with the Comic Comparisons, What Worked with Netflix's DAREDEVIL?

I loved the relationships. I got where everyone was coming from and genuinely enjoyed seeing them interact as humans. The really nice thing about the Netflix-model for episodic storytelling is that you don't have to break for a commercial. You can let your scenes run a little longer and it's great. In the first few episodes I LOVED Matt's discussions with Claire and Foggy. I really dug D'Onofrio's choices early on. Loved loved loved them. More than that, I ADORED Vondi Curtis Hall's take on Ben Urich. Urich is probably my favorite non-powered Marvel comics character (SPOILER ALERT: it is how the show treats this character that makes me think Netflix's DAREDEVIL should be tossed in the trash and done over--more on this in part two of this review).

I don't have a problem with the general idea of the series--to be a sort of DAREDEVIL: YEAR ONE kind of thing. The problem with that is, it ultimately doesn't work. And that's my biggest general problem with Netflix's DAREDEVIL. It was the most boring, repetitive origin story EVER. It made me long for the runtime of Ben Affleck's DAREDEVIL movie. My wife, at one point, looked up the Netflix DAREDEVIL hashtag on Twitter and found many tweets echoing the following sentiment:

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Read the rest on Pete Saves (Hollywood).

Want to see what kind of writing chops I really have?  Check out my book on Amazon or listen to the audio drama I wrote.

Welcome to NichollsPete.Com

This is where you can come to catch up on my life as a writer and cartoonist.  I've created a lot over my years on this blue orb (10+ novels, 5 screenplays, short stories, etc) and I suspect I'll be creating a lot more.  I'm a pretty good storyteller and am pretty good at helping other storytellers tell better stories, too.

I live in New York City with my wife of 15 years and the ghosts of my two cats.  I'm a big gadget freak and may mention or even write about my Google Glass in this space, from time to time.  I have a pretty strong passion for Japan and have been studying the language for years, most recently, studying at the Japan Society.  If you're considering classes, I highly recommend it!  I also recommend classes at the Japan Society, specifically, with Akai Sensei.  She's got a wonderfully relaxed demeanor that really helped me relax and learn.

Please read my rants about writing in Hollywood on my writing blog, "Pete Saves Hollywood."

Yes, it's an ironic title as I lived in Los Angeles for 14 years and barely got noticed--but it wasn't from a lack of trying.  And, as you'll see on PSH, I am perfectly capable of saving Hollywood, if they'll just let me.