Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

 Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

The original Beetlejuice was 36 years ago in 1988. It was more cartoonish than its sequel and all the action took place in the house. This sequel brings in a more real-life subplot. The script is a bit messy. It tries to be nostalgic but the new characters do not have the same connection to the old ones. It is still a fun movie but does not have the same vibe as the original.

The main returning characters are Michael Keaton as Beetlejuice. He has less screen time than the original but he is the same manic horny character. His lust for  Winona Ryder’s character has not diminished. Along with Keaton are Catherine O’Hara and an older Winona Ryder. Ryder has a daughter played by Jenna Ortega named Astrid.  Ortega played a character similar to Wednesday Addams in the Netflix series. She is not as obsessed with the occult as her mother and does not heed the warning about repeating Beetlejuice's name three times (notice the film title only repeats his name twice).

Justin Theroux plays the fiancé of Winona Ryder. His role is generic and not of import. Monica Bellucci as  Delores is Beetlejuice's ex-wife. Her face and body are held together by stables akin to Frankenstein. She sucks the life force from anyone who gets in her way. Danny DeVito has a brief role before his life force is sucked out. William Defoe is a former B movie actor who is now a ghost detective. His overacting is appreciated. Many other actors are performing in the film.

This is a Tim Burton film, with his trademark melding fantasy with a light touch of the grotesque. Danny Elfin wrote the score which imitates the original. As a homage to Harry Belafonte, they played Day-O (the Banana Boat song) but lacked energy.

Post script-It is killing at the box office

The Substance

 

The Substance

This is the strangest movie of the year. It is grotesque and some scenes are hard to watch but it is a good story. This film won the best screenplay at Cannes for 2024. Demi Moore is the protagonist as Elisabeth Sparkle the host of a popular aerobics show. On her fiftieth birthday, she was fired from the show. The obvious message is beauty is superficial but the film's core is to what ends will you go to stay young and beautiful. The Substance is the fountain of youth from hell.

Demi Moore is the wrong actress for this part; she looks good at any age. A great deal of prosthetic makeup is used to make Moore grotesque. The metamorphosis of her character is symbolic of aging and the Faustian bargain she makes to stay youthful.  Margaret Qualley is the younger version of Moore. The gore is how Qualley comes to be. The film is a subset of horror called Body Horror. The Body Snatchers and the Blob are examples of this genre.

Denis Quad is the producer of the TV show. He overacts the role but is comical. His outfits would make a pimp envious. He is insensitive when he dismisses  Moore and is predatory in his efforts to find a replacement. 

The final scenes of the movie are extremely grotesque and over the top. They combine traits from Carrie, Altered States, and the Elephant Man. There is a copious amount of blood in the final scenes.

The cinematography is interesting. There are extreme closeups of Moore’s face to highlight her fine wrinkles.  The shower scenes are reminiscent of Psycho.

This movie is not for everyone but for its type it is exceptional. Rotten Tomatoes gave a grade of 90%.

Megalopolis

 

Megalopolis

I wanted to see how bad Megalopolis was, and I was not disappointed. It boggles the mind how a renowned auteur can make such drek.  This is a vanity movie. Coppola invested $125 million of his own money to make this film because no other studio wanted to touch it. The plot is convoluted; subplots meander. The acting was awful and contrived. Some screens looked like improv. Besides directing Coppola wrote the screenplay. So, all of this is on him

The film melds the Roman Empire and the futurist utopian city of Megalopolis. Most of the action takes place in a futuristic New York City. There are subliminal messages about the decadence of modern cities but the poor direction muddles the message.

Given the impressive roster of actors, Coppola must have called in some favors. They include Dustin Hoffman, Jon Voight, Shia LeBeouf, Adam Driver Audrey Plaza, and others. These talented actors are wasted on this frivolous film.

Coppola’s body of work assures his stature as a great director. At 85 erasing the stain of this film is unlikely. Hopefully, it will be an asterisk.