Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

Movie Name: Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice
Year of Release: 2024
Director: Tim Burton
Starring: Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, Catherine O'Hara, Jenna Ortega, Justin Theroux, Willem Dafoe, Monica Bellucci, Danny DeVito, Arthur Conti, Burn Gorman, Amy Nuttall, Sami Slimane, Liv Spencer
Genre: Comedy, Fantasy
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 6
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Synopsis and Review

Director Tim Burton is back, tackling one of his most famous characters, following the huge hit that was the Netflix show "Wednesday", which revitalized his creative energies. "Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice" reintroduces us to the characters from the first film, with Lydia Deetz now a grown woman with a TV Show of her own where she addresses the supernatural, also dealing with an estranged daughter who resents her, whereas her stepmom continues to dazzle in the art world. Lydia's father, Charles, dies, forcing her to go back to her teenage house where all the events with the Maitlands and Beetlejuice occurred. Her agent/producer Rory accompanies them, and while the service for Charles is taking place, proposes to Lydia. Astrid in the meantime wanders around the small town and meets a young man by the name of Jeremy, who entices her. In the world of the dead, Beetlejuice finds himself in a tough situation when his late wife comes in his pursuit, destroying the souls of the dead in her path. When Jeremy turns out to be more than he led Astrid to believe, Lydia has to resort to Beetlejuice in order to save her from a rough situation.

Tackling an iconic film such as "Beetlejuice" was always going to be a tall order. Since premiering in 1988, the film has become this unique property in Tim Burton's career, one where there's a touch of his sensibility in the fact that it tackles a marginalized character, contrasting with the apparent normalcy of a family that joins the narrative, all the while also having a very distinct visual flair. The original "Beetlejuice" also featured one of the most interesting anti-heroes that has appeared in a Tim Burton film, in the sense that Beetlejuice himself is self-serving, crazed, and also very funny character. Capturing that energy once again in a sequel was always going to be a challenge, and the question was even, did this film really need to exist. As it stands, there's quite a few interesting threads to this film, namely the narrative surrounding Lydia, Delia, and Astrid, all of whom deserve a film of their own, whereas the connection with the world of the deceased doesn't feel as well established and organically connected as it did in the first film (the Maitlands were that connection, and it all stemmed from their need/want of getting rid of the family who had taken over their home). The writers populate this narrative with a series of supporting characters all of which end up detracting from the core of the main ones, namely Lydia, Delia, and Astrid, and they do so without giving these sub-plots enough dimension to make them compelling and nothing more than anecdotes. In the end there's much to love here, particularly the relationships between Beetlejuice and Lydia and the latter with Delia, the same going for revisiting some of the stylistic choices that are adopted, but these characters definitely deserved a better script. The cast is uniformly solid, particularly the always fantastic Michael Keaton, the wonderful Winona Ryder and Catherine O'Hara, with Willem Dafoe bringing his charm to barely there character. The production team is solid, with highlights going to Colleen Atwood's costumes, Danny Elfman's iconic score, though Haris Zambarloukos cinematography is too dark and grayish, making the film look a bit too murky at times (and Bo Welch is a visual consultant on this film, not the production designer as was the case in the original film). It's watchable, and there's much to enjoy, but one can't help but wish for a better script for everyone involved in this project. 

Uglies

Movie Name: Uglies
Year of Release: 2024
Director: McG
Starring: Joey King, Brianne Tju, Keith Powers, Chase Stokes, Laverne Cox, Charmin Lee, Jay DeVon Johnson, Jan Luis Castellanos, Sarah Vattano, Ashton Essex Bright, Zamani Wilder, Joseph Echavarria
Genre: Sci-Fi, Adventure
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 0
Watch it on Netflix

Synopsis and Review

Director/producer McG continues his prolific association with Netflix, releasing "Uglies" soon after his prior assignment, "Family Switch", which featured Jennifer Garner and Ed Helms. The film is based on the novel "Uglies" by Scott Westerfeld, which in turn seems like a ripoff from one of Rod Serling's episodes from "The Twilight Zone". The film focuses its attention on the character of Tally, a young girl living in a dire world, where natural resources are almost entirely exhausted. She lives in a society where everyone gets an enhancement surgery at the age of 16, in order to make everyone "pretty". Prior to the surgery, everyone is deemed an "Ugly", including Tally and her best friend Peris. When he leaves for his surgery, he makes a deal with Tally to meet in one of their special spots. However, he does not show up and when Tally finally locates him, she is shocked to realize that non only has his physical appearance changed, but so has his personality. She then befriends another girl by the name of Shay, who informs Tally of a place of freedom and where everyone has a close bond with nature, a place going by the name of "The Smoke". Shay eventually leaves to go to "The Smoke" and to follow the words of its leader, David. Tally decides to stay behind, and go ahead with her surgery, but on the day of the procedure, she gets denied since Dr. Cable, the leader of operations, wants Tally to figure out where Shay is, uncover David's location, and find out about a secret "weapon" he's been developing. Tally eventually does locate "The Smoke", following Shay's leads, and what she finds surprises her in more ways than one.

"Uglies" source material leverages some concepts from Rod Serling's "The Twilight Zone", but unlike the smartness of that show, "Uglies" opts to go in the direction of a generic young adult novel, populating this narrative with nonsensical plot points, and a type of message that is as subtle as a Chris Farley comedy from the 1990s. Whereas some of McG's prior features had a B-movie appeal to them, including the marriage of horror and comedy that existed in his "The Babysitter" series, this film on the contrary takes itself and its message very seriously, which is all the more shocking, when the script itself doesn't have either the depth nor the intellectual prowess that it believes to possess. The film looks and feels like a cheaper version of what Gary Ross and Francis Lawrence did with "The Hunger Games", and even what Neil Burger and Robert Schwentke created with "The Divergent" series. The film is so close to what these other properties have set in motion, that I actually thought this film was a spoof, as opposed to its own identity. The director has a difficult task in bringing something unique to this property, and sadly fails at doing so across the board. There's a lack of authenticity and dimension in nearly everything in this film, from its threadbare characters, to the production design, costume design (and why is it that even in all dystopian futures, those who live beyond the fringes of society always have perfectly coiffed hair, and impeccable tailoring in their costumes), and also visual effects (who look a bit cheap in certain parts of the film). The cast assembled for this adventure is equally mediocre, with Joey King failing to bring anything substantial to the lead, whereas Laverne Cox tries (and resoundingly fails) to be a copycat to Kate Winslet's character in "The Divergent" series. It's puzzling how this film saw the light of day, since it doesn't even work as a sub-par TV pilot for a possible upcoming show. Avoid. 

A Quiet Place: Day One

Movie Name: A Quiet Place: Day One
Year of Release: 2024
Director: Michael Sarnoski
Starring: Lupita Nyongo, Joseph Quinn, Alex Wolff, Djimon Hounsou, Eliane Umuhire, Takunda Khumalo, Ronnie Le Drew, Benjamin Wong, Michael Roberts
Genre: Sci-Fi, Drama
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 6
Watch it on Amazon

Synopsis and Review

Writer/director Michael Sarnovski made a name for himself with his feature directorial debut, "Pig", which was met with great reviews and showcased another wonderful Nicolas Cage performance. His sophomore directorial output is now part of a known series, the "A Quiet Place" franchise, which for some reason has become a commodity, when in fact the first feature never really need a sequel to begin with. The narrative focuses on a woman by the name of Samira, a terminally ill cancer patient, who lives at a hospice outside of New York City, with her cat. She lets herself get convinced to come to the city by Reuben one of the nurses. The plan is for all of them to watch a theatrical performance, and afterwards get some pizza. While in the city they suddenly witness what appears to be a meteor shower in the skies, only for the city to suddenly become invaded by alien creatures who respond to noise, and kill everyone in sight. The survivors, including Samira, hear announcements from the military telling people to stay silent and hidden until authorities are able to rescue them. Reuben is soon killed, and Samira decides to leave for Harlem with her cat. All the while people are moving towards an evacuation point located on South Street Seaport. Samira soon finds herself with Eric, an English law student, who followed her cat and who looks to her for help. As they try to make their way to Harlem, Eric learns more about Samira, all the while the creatures are getting closer and closer.

The "A Quiet Place" franchise is honestly one that puzzles, since all that it needed to tell from a narrative perspective was indeed covered in the first film. The fact that this is a second sequel, or even a prequel with different characters, is all the more surprising, or a testament on how very little can indeed go a long way. Michael Sarnoski thankfully understands that this property is in fact a B-movie with some decent budget, and therefore manages to create a film that is more about the creation of tension, than gratuitously showcasing alien creatures (though they do appear sparingly). John Krasinski's original film smartly construed the narrative around a nuclear family who had learnt to deal with this threat, whereas in this case, we are introduced to two characters who are at very different journeys of their lives, and suddenly are confronted with an extraordinary threat, and having to depend of each other for survival. Sadly the script doesn't provide much depth towards these characters, but Michael Sarnoski makes the best of the interactions between Samira and Eric, and their journey towards what is a possible escape for him, and a peaceful epilogue for her. The script for this film does eventually run out of gas, since none of the characters has been properly developed, as well as their Odyssey is very much a limited one, but while this limited scope is illustrated, the film does manage to keep one's attention focused. The cast is solid, starting with the underrated Lupita Nyongo, who always elevates all the material she works with, and who benefits from solid support from Joseph Quinn and Alex Wolff. The production team is solid, including Pat Scola's cinematography, Simon Bowles' production design, and Alexis Grapsas' score. It's watchable, but also quite forgettable.