Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
There have been multiple attempts to make a Beetlejuice sequel, and the final result seems to have come from throwing all the different scripts into a blender. Tons of disconnected stories that go nowhere, and lots of lazy writing. Example: when explaining why Geena Davis and Alec Baldwin’s characters aren’t in the movie, Lydia (Winona Ryder) says “we found a loophole that let them move on.” They never explain the loophole or reference it again. Also: Jeffery Jones, convicted as a sex offender for soliciting pictures from kids, wasn’t invited back for the sequel, but an animated character that’s clearly based on him has a major scene, and his photo is prominently featured in several major scenes, including one where altar boys sing “Day-O” at his grave. Creepy.
It’s fun to watch the cast play off each other, but it would be a lot more fun if the story didn’t feel like it was written in one draft by a second year improv team.
Fun side note: I teach at Luther Burbank Middle School. Tim Burton went here. He was not a fan.
Lover of Men: The Untold Story of Abraham Lincoln
The idea that Lincoln was gay is hardly new (as the Log Cabin Republicans would tell you), and the subject is a compelling idea for a documentary, but this film just doesn’t work. It meanders all over the place. The music is distractingly syrupy. There are far too many long, slow tracking shots and soft focus, slow motion shots. A short, focused look at the sexuality of Lincoln would be much more compelling.
And a side note: Just because David Bowie had a gender fluid life doesn’t mean it makes sense for this movie’s poster to feature Lincoln’s face with the Aladdin Sane lightning bolt.