It’s been two years since the all-female reboot of the 1984 movie Ghostbusters was announced and today the movie finally hits theatres. It’s the film that everyone’s got an opinion about and until today most of these opinions were completely based on speculation. Now that people are finally able to actually see the movie (and maybe judge it on its merits rather than the gender of its cast) the internet has exploded with think pieces, articles, and click-bait. Here’s some of the best links we’ve found:

• We here at The Pop Culture Reference saw Ghostbusters last night and LOVED it. And we all agreed that the standout performance of the movie belongs to Kate McKinnon. Slate has a great post breaking down when people first fell in love with her (for me it was her take on Cecilia Gimenez on Weekend Update). The post does a really good job of paying tribute to the queer lady fans she’s had for a (relatively) long time.
• Websites that aggravate reviews can be tricky but there is SO MUCH AMATEUR CRITICISM on the internet right now about this movie (largely from people who haven’t even seen it) that I genuinely feel the Rotten Tomatoes score is actually very relevant here. If you’re not familiar, Rotten Tomatoes collects reviews from certified members of writing guilds and film critic associations and aggregates a general score out of 100. The movie is currently sitting at a 73% and is considered “Certified Fresh.” Delicious.
• Salon did a great job of looking at the statistics of review aggregators like Rotten Tomatoes and how gender imbalances in film criticism can impact them. Extra points for using Meryl Streep movies as test cases.
• Are you guys familiar with Katie Dippold yet? She co-wrote this movie (and The Heat!) with Paul Feig. She’s also credited with various Parks and Recreation episodes (including April and Andy’s surprise wedding). According to IMDb she’s currently working on The Heat 2 (!!!) and an untitled mother-daughter action comedy, which we are HERE for.
• New York Mag posted an article today titled “If You Care About Hollywood Sexism, Go See Ghostbusters On Opening Weekend.” I do care about Hollywood Sexism and I did Go See this movie On Opening Weekend but I’m also wary of the sort of responsibility that’s been hoisted on this film to be the Important Test Case for Women Led Comedic Films. This post does start hilariously with the sentence “Looking for an easy way to fight the patriarchy this weekend, other than waiting for a bunch of men to Pokémon Go themselves off the edge of a cliff?” And it is a good primer on the backlash this film has faced and the stakes that they’ve set.
• The Chinese box office has never been more important than it is today. China is the second largest film market in the world and how well a movie does in China now impacts whether or not a movie will get a sequel. It was announced officially this week that Ghostbusters will not be screened in China. There are conflicting reports as to why, but the decision is ultimately going to make it harder for the film to make back its original investment.
• But maybe that won’t matter! Deadline Hollywood is reporting that the film is set to make around $50 million in its opening weekend here in North America.
• Chaz Ebert offered up her opinion on the new Ghostbusters on RogerEbert.com. She takes the requisite amount of space to discuss the misogynist situation this movie has found itself in but quickly moves on to both talk about what she liked and also spread the word of other female critics. If this movie has to be a benchmark moment for female led action comedies, here’s hoping it can also signal the need for more female voices in film criticism, as well.
• And speaking of great female film critics, Tasha Robinson (of the really super podcast The Next Picture Show) did a great breakdown of all the ways this new movie justifies its own existence—something that films are generally being asked to do as we get more and more remakes, reboots, and sequels every year.