Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

After numerous attempts to get a sequel made since the 1988 original, Michael Keaton finally returns as the over the top bio-exorcist in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. Keaton returns alongside cast members Winona Ryder and Catherine O'Hara with director Tim Burton while introducing new characters played by Jenna Ortega, Monica Bellucci, and Willem Dafoe. The sequel sees Winona's Lydia return to her old home after the death of her father, alongside her stepmother and daughter, Astrid. With Betelgeuse aware of Lydia returning and his ex-wife being freed and seeking him out for revenge, he must figure out a way to escape his ghostly confines by once again trying to marry Lydia. The sequel definitely keeps the gothic and darkly comedic feel and tone of the original while still feeling fresh and unique from it. Burton's style has not lost its touch and he can still capture that over the top and weird feel that made the first film work so well. One strong aspect that keeps the movie from being stale is that Burton chose to do the effects more practically, alongside stop motion, rather than overdo it with CGI, which it still uses but when it's needed. The writing from Alfred Gough and Miles Millar does capture a lot of what made the original script by Michael McDowell and Warren Skaaren so special. They were smart not to overuse the title character similarly to the original and keep him minimally instead of just wholly focusing on him as one would expect due to his large popularity. Most of the story is pretty good and Gough and Millar both manage to make the characters memorable and have such fun moments, but certain storylines, such as Lydia's boyfriend taking advantage of her abilities and Betelgeuse's ex looking for him, often feel like they needed more time to them. All the while, the returning and new cast members all give strong performances and Keaton hasn't lost his physical prowess even in his 70s. Two strong aspects that also perfectly capture the essence of the '88 original are Haris Zambarloukos's cinematography and Danny Elfman returning to do the score. The movie wouldn't be as memorable without their work not only keeping the original's style and look but also further expanding on Elfman's music by incorporating instrumental versions of songs the first film used and newer songs this entry introduced. It can be agreed that Beetlejuice Beetlejuice may not reach the highs of its predecessor, but still manages to be incredibly entertaining on its own. Over all: 93%

2024 top list so far:

1. Dune: Part 2

2. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga

3. Deadpool & Wolverine

4. A Quiet Place: Day One

5. Inside Out 2

6. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes

7. The Fall Guy

8. MaXXXine

9. The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare

10. Abigail

11. Monkey Man

12. Late Night with the Devil

13. Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire

14. Alien: Romulus

15. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

16. The Book of Clarence

17. Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire

18. Drive-Away Dolls

19. Kung Fu Panda 4

20. Lisa Frankenstein

21. Argylle

22. Mean Girls 2024

The Brave and the Bold Vol. 1 #28

A lot of well known DC Comics characters were introduced in various anthology books meant to gauge whether or not they were popular enough to come back and maybe lead their own series, and The Brave and the Bold Vol. 1 #28 did something similar by introducing the Justice League. While the comic sees the first appearance of the League, it isn't an origin story to how the team was formed as they're already established and well known. With the exception of Batman and Superman dealing with their own things, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Martian Manhunter, Green Lantern, and Aquaman have to contend with an invasion from Starro the Conqueror. The comic definitely has the rather dated elements of its time and certain flaws of the Silver Age, but still manages to be fun and engaging. Gardner Fox knew that for the writing to be believable he had to challenge each of the heroes in a way that would mean working together would mean Starro's defeat. Now sure you have the rather silly conclusion of Snapper Carr being able to be immune to Starro's mind control due to being covered in lime, but that's par for the course of this time and the rest of it works much better. The art of the era is pretty good, but since DC knew this needed to hit differently the look for this one definitely needed a big push. And thanks to the work of artist Mike Sekowsky and the coloring of Bernie Sachs, Joe Giella, and Murphy Anderson the comic has a more livelier and detailed style to it. The world of comic books definitely changed in 1960, and all thanks to The Brave and the Bold Vol. 1 #1 introducing the Justice League. Over all: 100%

Top list so far for 3rd set of comics:

1. The Complete Peanuts Vol. 15: 1979-1980

2. Daredevil Vol. 1 #170

3. The Brave and the Bold Vol. 1 #28

4. The New Teen Titans Vol. 1 #1

5. Green Arrow Vol. 1 #1

6. Star Wars: Dark Empire #1

7. Amazing Adventures Vol. 1 #1

8. Barbarella Vol. 1

9. Aquaman Vol. 1 #21

10. Fantastic Four Vol. 1 #48

11. Deadman: Love After Death #1

12. Walt Disney's Uncle Scrooge and Donald Duck: The Don Rosa Library Vol. 1

13. Blue Beetle Vol. 5 #1

14. Showcase Vol. 1 #75

15. Detective Comics Vol. 1 #441

16. Marvel Super-Heroes Vol. 1 #18

17. Eternals by Jack Kirby: The Complete Collection (Eternals (1976-1978))

18. Hulk Vol. 5 #1

19. Avnegers: War Across Time #1

20. The Yellow Kid

21. Sabrina the Teenage Witch Vol. 1 #8

22. Archie and Me #132

23. Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars #1

24. Action Comics Vol. 1 #674

Alien: Romulus

Taking place between the first two films and using plot points from Prometheus and Alien: Covenant, Alien: Romulus focuses on a group of disgruntled colonists who have grown tired of Weyland-Yutani's corrupt ways of forcing them to work much longer than they thought. Commandeering a hauler after detecting a signal from an abandoned station that entered the planet's orbit, the group find a lot more than they bargained for when they thought they found their escape. It's easy to tell how much of a fan of the Alien franchise director and cowriter Fede Álvarez is as this brings back the menace that the titular monsters are best known for since the original films, though while tying in elements from the Ridley Scott, who serves as a producer, directed prequels. The writing from Álvarez and Rodo Sayagues doesn't try to do anything too new and for the most part plays it in the most typical fashion for the franchise. While it taking place in between Alien and Aliens is a reason for this, it's also the most quintessential one since 1997 to not be either a crossover with the Predator franchise or a prequel explaining and delving into the origins of the Xenomorphs. It does everything straightforwardly but done so in a way that definitely shows the love of this franchise and often over does it with references, but while having well thought out characters with understandable motivations, some new ways of them coming up with how to kill the deadly threats, and using a byproduct of the substance introduced in the previous Scott films. Something else that this entry has over the last few is Álvarez's direction giving the franchise back its dark, foreboding, and atmospheric vibe that made the early films so loved. All thanks not just from Álvarez but through Galo Olivares's brilliant cinematography, the unnerving score by Benjamin Wallfisch, the great production design made to make you unsure of what you're looking at, and the great mix of both practical and computer effects. Though one thing that really hurts the movie is the use of a robot made to resemble Ian Holm's character from the 1979 original. While it's understandable that there would be androids with similar looks, the CG unfortunately tries too hard to make it look like Holm while also clearly not having well finished and make it look really terrible. Daniel Betts does a great job at giving a performance similar to how Holm did and manages to have a similar voice, but this was so unnecessary to do. While the rest of the cast, including Cailee Spaeny, Isabela Merced and David Jonsson all give strong performances. Spaeny, especially, definitely has a look that is a combination of both Sigourney Weaver and Noomi Rapace's characters from the past films. Alien: Romulus can often feel like it has the atypical weaknesses of a legacy sequel, but does manage to be better than most thanks to its incredible production and strong cast members. Over all: 93%

2024 top list so far:

1. Dune: Part 2

2. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga

3. Deadpool & Wolverine

4. A Quiet Place: Day One

5. Inside Out 2

6. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes

7. The Fall Guy

8. MaXXXine

9. The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare

10. Abigail

11. Monkey Man

12. Late Night with the Devil

13. Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire

14. Alien: Romulus

15. The Book of Clarence

16. Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire

17. Drive-Away Dolls

18. Kung Fu Panda 4

19. Lisa Frankenstein

20. Argylle

21. Mean Girls 2024