RECENTLY VIEWED: BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE

This past weekend, I had the chance to revisit one of my boyhood movies I saw - Beetlejuice! Decades after the original film, a sequel is out, which is pretty entertaining. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is an American dark fantasy comedy horror film directed by Tim Burton from a screenplay by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar. A sequel to Beetlejuice (1988) and the second film of the Beetlejuice franchise, the film stars Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, and Catherine O'Hara reprising their roles alongside new cast members Justin Theroux, Monica Bellucci, Jenna Ortega, and Willem Dafoe.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice opened the 81st Venice International Film Festival on August 28, 2024, and was theatrically released overseas on September 4, 2024, and in the United States by Warner Bros. Pictures two days later. The film has received generally positive reviews from critics and grossed $145.4 million worldwide. The model village was built by Curvature Group.

Even right after the orignal film came out, sequels were announced. Even absurd titles like Beetlejuice Goes To Hawai were thrown around, but nothing came of it through the years In February 2022, a sequel was announced again, this time produced by Brad Pitt's studio Plan B Entertainment, alongside Warner Bros. Burton stated in October 2022 that he was not involved in the project, but backtracked days later, saying "nothing is out of the question." Burton ultimately returned as the film's director and tried to strip everything from the story to go to the basics of working with "good people, actors and puppets," feeling that the project made him reflect why he liked making movies. Burton came up with the film's story upon thinking about Lydia Deetz, a character of his with whom he connected as a teenager, wondering what could have been of her life after the first film's events and how her family life could have developed, turning from a "cool teenager" into a "f—ed-up adult" who hosts a popular medium-related show titled Ghost House with Lydia Deetz whose daughter hates her, Burton credited the years of his life since the original film's release as the reason he couldn't do Beetlejuice Beetlejuice until then, having experienced many of those things himself, finding the project a very personal movie starring a weird family in a family-friendly and emotional story of three generations experiencing basic things everyone feels in life when growing up. Burton and Keaton agreed to not use excessive amounts of technology, and sought to make the film feel "handmade".

Filming wrapped in November of 2023, and it was really well made. There were a lot of storylines going on. Some worked and some seemed unneccassary like the story line with Beetlejuice and his ex-wife. Danny Devito makes a fun cameo appearance, and the whole movie was fun and definitely worth the trip. My daughter and I had a great time!

MY RATING: 8 out of 10

RECENTLY VIEWED: THE FLASH

 

On Father's Day, I took my daughter to see the long awaited move The Flash. It was a good movie overall, but with the star Ezra Miller's problems with the law, it was hard to get past that, but overall the movie was a fun flick to watch. The film is directed by Andy Muschietti from a screenplay by Christina Hodson and stars Ezra Miller as Barry Allen / The Flash alongside Sasha Calle, Michael Shannon, Ron Livingston, Maribel Verdú, Kiersey Clemons, Antje Traue, and Michael Keaton. In the film, Barry travels back in time to prevent his mother's death, which brings unintended consequences.

Development of a film featuring the Flash began in the late 1980s, with multiple writers and directors attached to the project through 2014. The film was then redeveloped as a part of the DCEU, with Miller cast as the title character. Multiple directors were attached to the film over the following years, with Seth Grahame-Smith, Rick Famuyiwa, and the duo of John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein all departing the project over creative differences. Muschietti and Hodson joined the film in July 2019, and pre-production began in January 2020. The film is influenced by the comic book storyline Flashpoint, featuring multiple DC Comics characters, including Ben Affleck and Keaton reprising their respective versions of Batman. Principal photography took place from April to October 2021 at Warner Bros. Studios, Leavesden and on location around the United Kingdom.

The Flash premiered at Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles on June 12, 2023, and was released in the United States on June 16, following multiple delays caused by director changes, the COVID-19 pandemic, and post-production setbacks. The film received praise for its plot, action sequences, humor, and performances (particularly of Miller and Keaton), but criticism for the quality of its visual effects and third act.

For those of you that do not know, there is a new regime at DC Studios, and they are going to reboot the super hero movies. So what began as a film that would be a new beginning for Warner Brothers ended up as a finale of sorts. Michael Keaton was going to return as an older Batman but I think his appearance in this movie is marking the end of his years as Batman. The whole reason I went to see this movie was because of him. Sasha Calle as well made a wonderful Supergirl, but her time in that role is probably limited as well. What was going to be a fun movie for me, has become a sad ending on the DC movies. James Gunn is running DC now, and I do not care for his movies. I don't feel compelled to go see the movies when they begin in 2025. So I enjoyed The Flash for the time I saw it in the theater for what it was. I just wish I would have been something more...

MY RATING: 6 out of 10

RECENTLY VIEWED: DUMBO

We are four months into 2019, and I just saw my first movie in a theater this past weekend! I am much more of a movie viewer in the comfort of my own home now than going to an overpriced theater. However, I went to see the live action version of the beloved classic Dumbo, and I really enjoyed the film. Dumbo is a 2019 American fantasy adventure film directed by Tim Burton, with a screenplay written by Ehren Kruger. The film is inspired by Walt Disney's 1941 animated film of the same name, based on the novel by Helen Aberson and Harold Pearl. The film stars Colin Farrell, Michael Keaton, Danny DeVito, Eva Green, and Alan Arkin, and follows a family that works at a failing traveling circus as they encounter a baby elephant with extremely large ears who is capable of flying.

Plans for a live-action film adaption of Dumbo were announced in 2014 and Burton was confirmed as director in March 2015. Much of the cast signed on in March 2017 and principal photography began in July of that year in England, lasting until November. It is the first of four live-action re-imaginings that Disney is planning to release in 2019 along with Aladdin, The Lion King, and Maleficent: Mistress of Evil.

In 1919, equestrian performer and World War I amputee Holt Farrier returns after the war to the Medici Brothers' Circus, run by Max Medici. The circus has run into financial troubles and Medici has been forced to sell the circus's horses after Holt's wife and co-performer, Annie, passed away, so Medici reassigns Holt as the caretaker for the circus's pregnant elephant, Mrs. Jumbo. Mrs. Jumbo gives birth to a calf with unusually large ears and Medici orders Holt to hide the ears before allowing the public to see the calf. However, the calf accidentally reveals his ears in his debut performance and the crowd mockingly names the calf Dumbo while pelting him with peanuts and other objects. Mrs. Jumbo is distressed by her son's mistreatment and rampages into the ring, causing extensive damage and accidentally killing an abusive handler.

Afterwards, to prevent a public relations problem, Medici results to selling Mrs. Jumbo. Holt's son and daughter, Joe and Milly Farrier, comfort Dumbo and realize he can fly by flapping his ears. The children also discover that feathers are the key to Dumbo's willingness to fly. In another performance, Dumbo plays the role of a firefighter clown to put out a fire with water sprayed from his trunk, but the performance goes wrong and Dumbo is trapped on a high platform surrounded by flames. Milly risks her life to deliver a feather to Dumbo, giving him the confidence to fly. The audience is astounded when Dumbo flying and word of his talent begins to spread. V. A. Vandevere, the owner of Dreamland, a bohemian amusement park, approaches Medici and proposes a collaboration; Medici would become Vandevere's partner and the Medici Brothers' Circus's troupe would be employed to perform at Dreamland. Later, Vandevere demands that Dumbo should fly with French trapeze artist, Colette Marchant. Colette and Dumbo's debut performance at Dreamland goes wrong with Dumbo nearly falling off a high platform leading to him trumpeting in alarm since no net has been added to avoid possible injuries and fatalities. Dumbo hears his mother's call in response and realizes that his mother is an exhibit elsewhere in Dreamland.

Dumbo flies out of the circus ring, reuniting with his mother. Fearing that Dumbo's mother may become a distraction to him, Vandevere orders Mrs. Jumbo to be taken away and killed. Vandevere also fires all of the Medici performers from Dreamland. When Holt and the rest of the Medici troupe learn Vandevere intends to kill Dumbo's mother, they resolve to set both her and Dumbo free. The circus performers utilize their various talents to break Mrs. Jumbo out of her enclosure while Holt and Colette guide Dumbo to fly out of the circus. Vandevere attempts to stop them, but accidentally starts a fire triggered by mismanagement of Dreamland's electricity system which spreads and destroys the park. After Dumbo saves Holt and his family from the fire, Holt, Colette, the children, and the troupe bring Dumbo and his mother to the harbor, where they board a ship back to their native home. Afterwards, the renamed Medici circus is re-established (while it is implied that Vandevere is tried for arson through misconduct) and flourishes with Colette as the newest troupe member. Meanwhile, Dumbo and his mother reunite with a herd of wild elephants in the jungle.

This Disney movie is not making as much money as 2017's live action Beauty And The Beast, but it is an enjoyable film. Michael Keaton and Danny DeVito both worked with director Tim Burton in 1993's Batman Returns, and in the movie Dumbo, Keaton's character comments to DeVito's character, "It feels like I know you". The movie is darker than some Disney productions, and at first my daughter was upset at Colin Farrell missing an arm, but once Dumbo hit the screen she loved it. It is a cute movie. Was it the best Disney movie? No. Was it the best Tim Burton movie? No. What you get in the movie is a fun story about an elephant that could fly, and a lesson that everyone is different and that it is okay to be different...

MY RATING: 6 OUT OF 10