It’s September, and that means it’s the start of my favorite time of the year: Festival Season. So far this year, we have had a few Oscar threats released in theaters (Dune: Part 2 and Sing Sing), but Festival Season is where the rest begin to show up. Telluride ended on Labor Day, and during that festival in Colorado, Conclave, Emilia Perez, Maria, Nickel Boys, Saturday Night, The Piano Lesson, and The Seed of the Sacred Fig all were shown. That is most of the Best Picture possibilities. With TIFF happening right now, and Anora, The Brutalist, Queer, and the Room Next Door all show up there. We still have a few other big festivals to happen this year, and I will be going to Chicago next month for their festival, and I I’m hoping a lot of those films will be there too. As for this week, it 4 movies, but one of those is one I have looking forward to for awhile. Didn’t let me down? Time to find out. On to the reviews!
I love Beetlejuice. I’ve watched it at least a hundred times by now. I can quote so much of it. I also really like the musical version. I saw it a couple years ago when it toured here in Detroit. I’ve also known about the development hell this sequel has been in for so long, dating back to when it was still set in Hawaii for some reason. Now, finally, we get the follow-up, and I’ll be honest here: it was fine. That might not seem like a glowing review, but I’m not sure they could have done better, and they could have done a lot worse.
Set 36 years after the original, this one sees the Deetz family return to Winter River after Charles dies. Ryder and O’Hara both return for this, but no Jones since he is a monster and we never need to see him again. New to the cast is Jenna Ortega as Lydia’s daughter and Justin Theroux as Lydia’s manager/boyfriend. On the ghost side, there is Willem Dafoe and Monica Bellucci new. Neither of them add anything to the plot really, but it’s Bellucci’s Delores that could have been cut from the movie and not hurt anything. That is kind of the problem here. There is so much going on plot wise that it just seems like a mess. If the just focused on the Astrid storyline, it would have been a better movie most likely.
Enough of the bad things. This one is fun. The reason you come to see this is Keaton, and man is he in his A game in this. You do kind of hit the memorable parts of the original again (possession song, wedding) but they still work. Another thing I really like about this is the use of practical effects. There is CGI used in this obviously, but there is so much you that just looks so awesome and physically is there in the scene. I don’t think this will convert anyone who wasn’t interested in the original, and it certainly is too wacky for those who need a more artistic film. For the rest of us, this is an enjoyable sequel that succeeds in returning us to a world 30 years later. One final note: the opening credits are the same style as the original and it’s awesome. (The Beetlejuice theme is my ringtone in October)
I didn’t go into this with too high of expectations. This one is about Mark Wahlberg, playing a construction worker, running into his high school sweetheart, played by Halle Berry. Berry is really a secret agent for a secret group called The Union. They are trying to stop the sale of information that will expose everyone’s secret identities. Berry basically kidnaps him to be part of their mission, but he follows along once he is clued in. You kind of have to leave your brain at the door when the movie tells you Wahlberg needs a training montage to become a spy. This is a spy movie, so there are of course a couple twists as it goes along, but after last week’s spoiler fest, I’ll keep those for you to discover. The big problem I had in this is once we reach the end, they kind of yada yada the resolution. I was watching this with my Dad and I audibly questioned what happened to the macguffin (I didn’t say “macguffin” but saying the actual word would again be a spoiler). This was just another forgettable spy movies that has the nerve to tease a sequel that will most likely get made because Amazon Prime needs content. Still, J.K. Simmons is here as the leader of The Union, and he seems to be wearing the hat of the best baseball team in every shot of the movie. So, it’s not all bad I guess.
The plot synopsis reads as this: Three friends who call themselves “The Supremes” have experienced life together through the good and bad, and are now finding their friendship tested. While there was supposed to be “good and bad times”, there were way more bad times for our lead trio. However, I wasn’t sure what “tests their friendship”. Then, we hit the 30 min left point. At that point in the film, we get the big argument, but it resolves itself in the next scene. While the cast is excellent, and everyone gets put through something awful, in the end, there isn’t a plot. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but sometimes you go to the theater to escape. Two hours of very relatable happenings that ends on an open note may not work for everyone. It was ok for me, but I probably won’t revisit it to be honest.
Last year, Blumhouse came out with M3gan, and it was surprisingly good. They quickly announced a sequel, and we are getting that next June. However, right now we have AfrAId, and boy does it seem like a sequel to M3gan. The only problem here is after M3gan, the idea of having an artificial friend is kind of covered. The movie itself was kind of a dud. Things I liked about it was it was under 90 minutes long and it didn’t really have a happy ending. That is about it though. Just wait until it’s on Peacock and save money on it.
The Ghost with the Most had a big weekend this weekend, and I really don’t see either of the two new films next week beating it. What should be interesting is to see if Reagan continues what it is doing.
- Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
- The Killer’s Game
- Speak No Evil
- Reagan
- Deadpool & Wolverine
Another 4 movies to watch this next week, so I will be busy. Screen Unseen tomorrow, and I have now idea what it could be, so that is fun.
Mitten Film Nerd 
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