Monthly Archive: September 2024

Directed by Tim Burton

Like many adult weirdos, I have intense nostalgia for the 1988 macabre comedy Beetlejuice. The strange combination of slapstick comedy with body horror, ghosts, and an unforgettable performance from Michael Keaton formed a movie that kind of shocks me to this day. I have no clue how they managed to get a PG rating for a movie where Michael Keaton honks his crotch and says the iconic line “Nice fuckin’ model!” and it seems even the filmmakers knew that because the sequel has quietly upgraded to a PG-13, presumably to avoid a riot from concerned parents who didn’t watch the original too closely. With 36 years under its belt, as well as a shelved sequel, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice has a lot to live up to, but with the director and most of the original cast returning, does Beetlejuice Beetlejuice have what it takes to stand with the original classic? Let’s talk about it.

Directed by Rupert Sanders

Full disclosure, I have not seen the 90s cult classic The Crow, starring the late Brandon Lee. I’m familiar with it by reputation of course, a gothic action thriller with a tragic tale of an on-set accident that cut Lee’s life short, it’s reason enough to not want to touch the franchise again, even if there were already sequels without Lee. Good taste never stopped Hollywood, so our good friends at Lionsgate decided the world needed a new The Crow, this time with Bill Skarsgard. Skarsgard is fresh off the quite fun Boy Kills World, so I was hoping that this might be a similarly enjoyable cheesy action movie. Boy, was I wrong.