MOVIE REVIEW: BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE

 

Three generations of the Deetz family return home to Winter River after an unexpected family tragedy. Still haunted by Beetlejuice, Lydia's life soon gets turned upside down when her rebellious teenage daughter discovers a mysterious portal to the afterlife. When someone says Beetlejuice's name three times, the mischievous demon gleefully returns to unleash his very own brand of mayhem.

Director: Tim Burton

Cast: Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder,  Catherine O'Hara, Justin Theroux, Monica Bellucci, Jenna Ortega, Willem Dafoe

Release Date: September 6, 2024

Genre: Comedy, Fantasy, Horror

Rated PG-13 for violent content, macabre and bloody images, strong language, some suggestive material and brief drug use.

Runtime: 1h 44m

Review:

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice sporadically recaptures the manic energy from Burton's original but it’s not consistent enough, thanks to an overstuffed story, to really deliver the way it should.  Tim Burton does manage to rediscover his gleefully macabre, cartoonish visuals that made him a name in the 80's and 90's.  The film works best when it’s playing in the afterlife with its exaggerated color schemes and wonderfully twisted character designs.  He's clearly having a ball revisiting this particular playground, but he adds some new wrinkles to mix such like a sequence using claymation and a subtitled, Ed Wood inspired flashback.   Those moments when Burton really leans into the weirdness work so well that you wish that he'd done it more throughout the film.  That's not to say that the rest of the film won't have fans grinning even if some of the jokes don't quite land the way they should.  Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder and Catherine O'Hara easily jumping back into their characters make it easier to navigate some of the film's dead spots.  They are able to recapture the essence of the original characters without missing a beat, which is great fun to see onscreen.  Ryder serves the film's north star doing some strong subtle work as the middle aged Lydia.  Catherine O'Hara is the film's bright spot in the opening act as the film pops to life as soon as she appears onscreen.   Keaton's voice is noticeably deeper and he's not bouncing around with the same chaotic energy he brought to the role in the original but he's still able to channel that mischievousness that made the character so memorable.  Newcomers, Justin Theroux, Monica Bellucci, Jenna Ortega and Willem Dafoe are solid with some leaving a bigger impression than others.  The ageless Monica Bellucci looks wonderful as an undead, soul sucking frankenstein but the film gives her woefully little to do.  Willem Dafoe is given a bit more rope and he has a ball chewing up scenery as deceased actor turn detective.  The film would have been better off giving those two more screentime as opposed to Ortega and Theroux's characters who are uninteresting and flat for the majority of the time.  The overload of subplots saps so much energy and momentum from the film that you're left wishing they had focused on the story more and kept it more straightforward.  The film works better in its second half once it becomes more focused with some threads being closed off rather quickly which gives Lydia and Beetlejuice more of a spotlight.  A quick throwaway line handles the absence of the Maitland's while Jeffery Jones' character death sets off the entire plot which allows for some clever methods to have him be a presence without the actual actor.  If there was a film that's perfectly suited to deal with the exclusion of an actor who'd run afoul of the law, its definitely this one as they easily weave it into the story's vibe.  It’s a testament to the cast and crew that they are able to recapture the original's vibe so succinctly in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice even if the story doesn't land the way the original did.

B-

MOVIE REVIEW: SCREAM 6

 

Four survivors of the Ghostface murders leave Woodsboro behind for a fresh start in New York City. However, they soon find themselves in a fight for their lives when a new killer embarks on a bloody rampage.

Director: Tyler Gillett, Matt Bettinelli-Olpin

Cast:  Melissa Barrera, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Mason Gooding, Jenna Ortega, Hayden Panettiere, Courteney Cox, Jack Champion, Henry Czerny, Liana Liberato, Dermot Mulroney, Devyn Nekoda, Tony Revolori, Josh Segarra, Samara Weaving

Release Date: March 10, 2023

Genre: Horror, Mystery, Thriller

Rated R for strong bloody violence and language throughout, and brief drug use

Runtime: 2h 2m

Review:

The Scream franchise has always been a strange one for me since I've never really had the deep affection that a lot of people have for the series.  The meta schtick was an interesting take but it'd run its course which brought about the semi revival that hit the screens last year.  This follow up entry, again directed by Tyler Gillett and Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, feels more confident and self assured than their first run.  Moving the setting and resetting the characters give the series a boost of life that makes Neve Campbell's absence a bit easier to take for long time fans.  This entry delivers some solid energy from the start with the performers more than ready to take the handle of the series.  Gillett and Bettinelli-Olpin set up some solid sequences, the subway portion is particularly well done, but there's nary a sense of tension or actual scares throughout the entire thing.  That being said, they are entertainingly choregraphed even as they get increasingly goofy due to plot armor that allows characters to survive various forms of bodily harm even though the script overtly promises nobody is safe.  It’s one of my overreach issues with the series since it's never as edgy and it thinks it is before it falls into standard genre tropes.  It's a good thing the cast is game enough to make it all so watchable.  Melissa Barrera, whose eyebrows should be their own character, and Jenna Ortega make for a solid duo even as they spout out some terribly stilted dialogue.  There are hints here and there about Barrera's character that could make her much more interesting but much like the previous entry it only scrapes the surface of her mental state.  Mason Gooding and Jasmin Savoy Brown return with another fun supporting turn as the brother and sister movie buffs.  Hayden Panettiere and Courteney Cox return with varying degrees of effectiveness with Cox's character feeling mostly inconsequential for the most part.  Dermot Mulroney performance as an NYPD detective is straightforward initially before it jumps off a cliff into cartoonish, much like the final act, territory by the time the film ends.  Scream 6 is still peppered with the issues that have plagued the series overall but it’s entertaining enough to make for mindless fun.  

B-

MOVIE REVIEW: X

 

A group of actors sets out to make an adult film in rural Texas under the noses of their reclusive hosts, but when the elderly couple catches their young guests in the act, the cast finds themselves in a desperate fight for their lives.

Director: Ti West

Cast: Mia Goth, Jenna Ortega, Martin Henderson, Brittany Snow, Owen Campbell, Stephen Ure, Scott Mescudi

Release Date: March 18, 2022 

Genre: Horror

Rated R for strong bloody violence and gore, strong sexual content, graphic nudity, drug use, and language

Runtime: 1h 45m

Review:

Ti West has always shown a deep affinity for 70's horror film with The Innkeepers and House of the Devil serving as prime examples.  X is his loving tribute to Grindhouse horror with heavy homages to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre before it veers into even stranger and grosser territory.  The plot itself is familiar and the first half of the film checks all the requisite boxes.  West does a great job of establishing the setup with wonderfully crafted shots and goofy dialogue from the future victims.  The performances from the cast are fun and loose which fits the film.  His approach is impressively restrained initially which makes the mayhem that follows all the more potent and impactful.  In the latter half of the film you get the strong sense that he wants to make the audience squirm in their seats and for the most part he succeeds.  There's violence and gore aplenty but it's never overly serious or heady.  X is the type of horror film that isn't setting to make some grand statement it just wants to titillate, shock, and even gross you out.

B+

MOVIE REVIEW: SCREAM

 

Twenty-five years after a streak of brutal murders shocked the quiet town of Woodsboro, Calif., a new killer dons the Ghostface mask and begins targeting a group of teenagers to resurrect secrets from the town's deadly past.

Director: Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett

Cast: David Arquette, Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, Melissa Barrera, Jenna Ortega, Jack Quaid, Dylan Minnette, Mason Gooding, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Mikey Madison, Sonia Ben Ammar, Marley Shelton, Skeet Ulrich, Heather Matarazzo, Roger L. Jackson

Release Date: January 14, 2022

Genre: Horror, Mystery, Thriller

Rated R for strong bloody violence, language throughout and some sexual references

Runtime: 1h 54m

Review:

Wes Craven's original Scream was a nice bit of self referential satire on slasher films.  It's the type of film that would have been better served if its subsequent sequels never existed.  It's heavy meta approach wasn't ever all that clever, Craven had done it before with his series send off for Freddy Krueger with New Nightmare.  As the film's have progressed the self reflection and satire has slowly devolved into self parody.  This fifth entry from directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett is unintentionally funny in parts and rarely if ever scary to any tangible degree.  The script riffs on elevated horror here and there while being a prime example of why most of the slasher genre is dead and buried.  They are clearly fans of the genre but they deliver some uninspired, bland and mildly boring bits of what can barely be called horror.  The kills are fairly rudimentary with them choosing brutally over creating any palpable sense of tension.  David Arquette, Neve Campbell and Courteney Cox all return with varying degrees of impact with even certain moments that should register emotionally falling flat.  Melissa Barrera, Jenna Ortega and Jack Quaid do the heavy lifting for the better part of the film with Quaid being the only who seems to be having a good time.  Barrera is surprisingly flat with her eyebrows leaving the biggest impression on the film.  The who done it at play here sadly isn't all the complex or terribly intriguing as it tries to make a point about toxic fandom.  This fifth entry feels like it should be the last in the series and probably for good reason.

D