Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024)

I was a casual fan of the 1988 original, having regularly viewed the tamer TV adaptation before that. When I felt like going to a theater again, this sequel was the only feature to grab me. Ordinarily, I'd save its genre for next month, but that slipped my mind.

The decades have not been very kind to Lydia Deetz (Winona Ryder). Her husband (Santiago Cabrera) died in an unlikely accident, and despite her success as a televised ghost whisperer, she hasn't been able to contact him. Disbelieving teen daughter Astrid (Jenna Ortega, fresh off Wednesday) wants as little to do with her as possible. She still freaks out every time she sees someone wearing black and white horizontal stripes, rightly suspecting that the titular source of her PTSD (Michael Keaton) hasn't given up on coercing her hand in marriage so he can return full-time to the land of the living. In some ways, she has it together even less than her eccentric artist stepmother (Catherine O'Hara), who now reports that Lydia's father also died in an unlikely accident. At his wake, her unorthodox producer (Justin Theroux) aggressively talks her into an imminent Halloween wedding. And when Astrid gets involved with a local boy (Arthur Conti) who's not as harmless as he acts, Lydia fears that her worst nightmare has become her best hope.

The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020)

It is somewhat fitting that this should be the first of the year's Academy Best Picture nominees that I see, because it was almost certainly the longest in development: Aaron Sorkin wrote it in 2007. We can only imagine how it would have differed if the original plan for Steven Spielberg to direct had panned out. I did detect a bit of Spielberg flavor before I knew that, but no, it's Sorkin's second turn as a screen director.

After a rather brisk intro, most of the film runs from the start of the trial to the end. For those like me who've been a little hazy, the Chicago 7 are Vietnam War protesters charged with deliberately inciting a riot at the '68 Democratic National Convention. In truth, eight men are on trial most of the time, but Bobby Seale (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) doesn't belong there and eventually gets a mistrial declared. The others are Abbie Hoffman (Sacha Baron Cohen), Tom Hayden (Eddie Redmayne), Rennie Davis (Alex Sharp), Jerry Rubin (Jeremy Strong), David Dellinger (John Carroll Lynch), Lee Weiner (Noah Robbins), and John Froines (Daniel Flaherty). Defense counsel William Kunstler (Mark Rylance -- have a few Brits as Americans) sees an uphill battle as unrelated Judge Julius Hoffman (Frank Langella) is plainly unfair and probably senile. Several of the defendants figure it's political theater and would rather make their message heard than try to get acquitted.

Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)

It is a testament to my ongoing youthfulness that I watched yet another superhero movie in a theater this summer. I watched alone, because I figured my dad would choose to sit this one out. Heck, it's more obviously juvenile than most, given that Spider-Man/Peter Parker (Tom Holland) is a high school sophomore, which no doubt inspired the title. (If you think he should relinquish the "-Man" part, might I point out that he's older than 13 and one of his creators is Jewish.)

Most of the film takes place a few months after the events of Captain America: Civil War. Despite his key part in the biggest battle therein, and despite resources and kudos from Iron Man/Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.), Spidey has yet to be regarded as a full-fledged Avenger. He sends regular reports to Stark's unfriendly aide Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau), hoping to get an assignment rather than deal with the usual petty criminals of New York City, even tho he's still a bit clumsy in handling those. Things finally get interesting for him when he meets some robbers with exotic equipment, but not interesting enough for Avenger backup. Is it wise to hunt down the source of this equipment by himself, against Stark's advice?

Spotlight (2015)

Not since No Country for Old Men (2007) had I been so reluctant to watch an Academy Best Picture. It's a rather disturbing subject, especially to a member of the Roman Catholic Church congregation (I've lost faith but still sing in the choir). Besides, with only one other Oscar, how deserving could it be?

Set mainly in 2001, when allegations of child sexual abuse by priests were nothing new, this drama puts the, y'know, spotlight on The Boston Globe, particularly its four "Spotlight" section team members. New editor-in-chief Marty Baron (Liev Schreiber) thinks they've given too short shrift to such scandals, not least because local Cardinal Law (whose name confused me for a while) has been implicated in trying to hide a recent one. Remember, cardinals rank higher than archbishops, just short of the Pope. If the Globe finds compelling evidence of systematic cover-ups, it'll be big news indeed. But this endeavor faces a lot of obstacles, and not just in the form of direct Church power -- which, surprisingly enough, never really issues a threat.

Birdman (2014)

At last I've seen half the Best Picture nominees, and one of the most favored at that! I had not been excited to see it, because what I'd read made it sound like The Wrestler with a little magic realism (which could be very good, just not worth excitement going in). Fortunately, what I got was far more distinctive and only occasionally predictable.

Director Alejandro González Iñárritu, previously best known for Babel and Amores perros, must have since taken lessons from his buddy Alfonso Cuarón, because this film loves long tracking shots even more than Gravity. Normally this technique helps you feel more present, but whenever it becomes clear that things have not been happening in real time, the scarcity of obvious cuts to other cameras enhances the surreality instead. And for all the credible dialog and genuine show biz concerns, you'd better believe it's surreal.