It's been 30 years and the Ghostbusters are back! According to press reports, the idea of a new version was bandied about for years. The issue was: what would the story be about? Two possible storylines included Bill Murray having a lead role as a ghost and another with the Ghostbusters going to hell. It was finally decided to move forward with a script centering on a female cast reestablishing the paranormal investigative agency. Kristen Wiig plays Erin Gilbert, a University professor, who's under consideration for a tenured position until her ghost hunting past not only keeps her from tenure but leads her to being shown the door. She reunites with former partner Abbey Yates (Melissa McCarthy) who never gave up her sleuthing of the supernatural. Kate McKinnon is Jillian Holtzmann, who Yates brought on board after Gilbert's departure. The three scientists investigate some ghoulish activities at a historical location in New York City. About the same time, a subway clerk (Leslie Jones) has an encounter at the station with a phantom. She invites the three investigators to see for themselves. Her fascination with the occurrence leads her to join the Ghostbuster's team.

Ghostbusters is a mere shadow of the original productions and gets a Rent It rating. The characters and storyline are weak and inadequate. The three scientist overlap in personality traits and lack clarity as to who they really are and what really motivates them. Wiig's Erin Gilbert speaks of an early experience with a ghost which spiked her interest. But overall, the four leads, The Ghostbusters, are poorly developed and not at all interesting. Also in a twist of an old plotline, the group hires an attractive, dumb blonde as a receptionist, but in this case, it's a man (Chris Hemsworth) working for women.

Wiig, McCarthy, McKinnon and Jones give it their best shots but they don't have a ghost of a chance with this substandard script. A note to the ubiquitous Melissa McCarthy, will you take a break and give some other actresses a chance to work!

And the plot is a scrambled mess about a misfit, Rowan, (Neil Casey) who uses his supernatural powers to get back at the world.

Ghostbusters doesn't disappoint when it comes to visuals. The imagery fascinates and dominates but is not enough to resuscitate this otherwise failing project.

There are cameo appearances from the earlier 'buster moves: Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Annie Potts, and Ozzy Osbourne.

As to its cast diversity rating, Ghostbusters get a "B". Leslie Jones has a major role. Andy Garcia stars as the mayor of New York City. But overall there is a lack of Hispanics and Asians for a story set in highly diverse New York City.

Ghostbusters is rated PG-13 for supernatural action and some crude humor. It's 116 minutes in length. Save yourself a trip to the theater. Wait and Rent this film. The special effects will be worth it.

Pharrell Williams Earns His First Oscar Nomination; American Hustle and Gravity Lead the field with 10 Noms

The Oscar nominations are in.

Amid a fairly vocal crowd, Cheryl Boone Isaacs, the first African-American president of Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and actor Chris Hemsworth, today announced the 2014 Oscar nominations, which was held at the Samuel Goldwyn Theatre at 5:38 a.m. PT.

The film, 12 Years A Slave, grabbed the following nine nominations:

1. Best Picture (Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Steve McQueen and Anthony Katagas)
2. Best Director (Steve McQueen)
3. Best Actor (Chiwetel Ejiofor)
4. Best Supporting Actor (Michael Fassbender)
5. Best Supporting Actress (Lupita Nyong'o)
6. Best Adapted Screenplay (John Ridley)
7. Best Production Design (Adam Stockhausen and Alice Baker)
8. Best Costume Design (Patricia Norris)
9. Best Film Editing (Joe Walker)

More Oscar Contenders

Gravity and American Hustle top the Academy Award nominations with 10 each.

In addition to 12 Years A Slave, eight other films are Best Picture contenders. They are: American Hustle, Captain Phillips, Dallas Buyers Club, Gravity, Her, Nebraska, Philomena, and The Wolf of Wall Street.

Pharrell Williams received an Oscar nom for the song, Happy; from the movie, Despicable Me 2.

Happy, written and performed by Pharrell, was one of five songs nominated for a Best Song Academy Award. Also nominated in this category are Paul Hewson, Dave Evans, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen, also known as U2 for their song Ordinary Love from Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom. Paul Hewson also known as Bono wrote the lyrics.

Barkhad Abdi received a nomination for Best Actor for his role as a Somali pirate in Captain Phillips.

In the Best Documentary category, 20 Feet from Stardom, a film about the lives of backup singers to some of the music industry's biggest names, also secured an Oscar nom.

Hollywood celebrities, actress Jennifer Lawrence received a nomination for Best Supporting Actress in American Hustle; Leonardo DiCaprio earned his fifth nomination for Best Actor for The Wolf of Wall Street; Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto both received nominations for Dallas Buyers Club, in the Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor categories respectively.

The Oscar Shut-Out

Oddly enough, Lee Daniels who received a nomination for Best Director for Precious, did not get nominated for his critically acclaimed film, Lee Daniels' The Butler, and neither did any other actors associated with The Butler. Sorry, Ms. Oprah Winfrey and Mr. Forest Whitaker.

Fruitvale Station and Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom were also shut out from Academy Award nominations for acting, Best Director or Best Picture. Many were hoping that Idris Elba would get a nod for his role as the late South African president, Nelson Mandela, in Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom.

To see the entire list of Oscar nominations, visit Oscar.com

Find out who will win an Oscar when the 86th Academy Awards ceremony, hosted by Ellen DeGeneres, airs live on Sunday, March 2, 2014, at 7:00 p.m. ET.