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BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE (in theaters)

The long-awaited sequel to Beetlejuice is here as Michael Keaton slips back into the title role as if no time has passed in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. Rumors of a Beetlejuice sequel have been gestating for at least a decade now. Patience was key, as I can’t imagine a better cast of new actors and characters to join in on the fun. The Deetz family is just as dysfunctional as we last left them. Winona Ryder’s Lydia Deetz still sees ghosts, and she’s turned that into a career as a psychic mediator and host of her own television series. Justin Theroux plays her boyfriend and producer, Rory, whose Earthy New Age ways seem a little off. Lydia’s daughter, Astrid, is off at an arts school and basically wants nothing to do with her mom. The family must come together when Delia Deetz informs Lydia that her father, Charles, has unexpectedly passed away. In the Afterlife, Beetlejuice runs an afterlife call center still pining over Lydia and afraid of his ex-wife Delores.

-Starring: Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, Jenna Ortega, Catherine O’Hara, Justin Theroux, Willem Dafoe, Monica Bellucci

-Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice came out in 1988, and moviemaking has changed greatly since then, but Burton and his production team deserve kudos for keeping the sequel as close to that original film’s essence as possible.

-You can spot the practical effects and make up prosthetics mixed in as much as possible before CGI is needed.

-A wickedly funny movie while also acknowledging the silliness of it all. You can feel Burton freeing himself and his actors to try anything and have fun with being as wacky and random as ever. They’ve packed this film with a few different narratives that eventually come together.

-There’s a pointed effort to not rehash the original too much even when it comes down to expected musical numbers or callbacks. This is a mother/daughter story instead having Beetlejuice haunting another married couple.

– It’s terrific to see Winona Ryder play Lydia as an adult still stuck at what her life means. Catherine O’Hara is just as zany and loud as you would expect as Delia whose art has taken a turn to stay relevant in 2024. Michael Keaton reminds you again he’s such a terrific character actor by disappearing behind Beetlejuice’s grotesque look and finding new shades of him. He may not be as manic and crazy, but he’s still the character you’ve loved for decades.

-A Beetlejuice sequel needed to be crafted in a very particular way, and Tim Burton found that magic again. You can see his quirky fun side back in play which has been missing in some of his more recent movies.

RATING: 3.5 out of 5 TICKET STUBS

BLINK TWICE (in theaters)

Zoe Kravitz has a strong directorial debut on her hands with Blink Twice. Kravitz presents a dizzying spell on her audience with this audacious story of revenge that seems ripped from the headlines. Naomi Ackie and Alia Shawkat play Frida and Jess, besties and roommates who work as cocktail waitresses for a catering company. They’re working a benefit dinner for The Slater King Foundation. Channing Tatum plays Slater King who we learn is a big tech giant and CEO who had to step down from his position after abuse of power. He’s moved to a new island and claims he’s changed and doing better. He takes notice of Frida and Jess and invites them to spend the weekend on his island. They agree and can’t believe they’ve been asked to spend the weekend with a small group of Slater’s friends on this lush, gorgeous compound. No cell phones are allowed as any type of debauchery, sex, and drugs will be kept a secret. It’s not long before Frida realizes something feels off and oddly familiar with this island.

-Starring: Naomi Ackie, Alia Shawkat, Channing Tatum, Geena Davis, Christian Slater, Haley Joel Osment, and Adria Arjona

-It’s best to go into this film with very little knowledge of what to expect. It’s a slow burn as Kravitz eases her audience in for what seems like a tropical fun time until she pulls the rug out from under us for a bloody, shocking climax.

-Kravitz clearly has an eye for directing using strong visuals, eye-popping bold, solid colors and tight framing to lure us in without revealing too much. She’s engaging in all our senses to make us feel the majestic escape of the island.

-Naomie Ackie and Alia Shawkat have an easy, natural chemistry as friends who have a built-in banter between them. Ackie is a terrific rising star recently seen in the Whitney Houston biopic I Wanna Dance with Somebody and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. She starts off soft and innocent and turns into the badass heroine of the film.

-Channing Tatum is easy casting as a sexy and charming tech guru, and it’s terrific to see Geena Davis back on screen as Slater’s absent-minded assistant.

-There’s a pointed commentary here on why powerful white men thrive while women are not taken seriously. Kravitz has an explosive ending with more twists and daring turns after the big reveal. She never loses the thrill of what she sets out to do despite the heavier themes she’s bringing attention to.

RATING: 4 out of 5 TICKET STUBS

ALIEN: ROMULUS (in theaters)

They say that in space, no one can hear you scream. There’s something very visceral about that marketing campaign for the first Alien film. The latest in the franchise, Alien Romulus, goes back to its horror roots under director Fede Alvarez. Cailee Spaeney plays Rain Carradine, a young orphan stuck on a space colony lightyears away from Earth with zero sunlight. She works for the Weyland company, and if you’ve seen the other movies, you know nothing good comes from them. Finding her mission and purpose in life has become challenging. By her side is her brother Andy who happens to be an android. Her friends convince the two of them to join them on an unofficial, illegal trip to a space station hoping to find cryostasis chambers that could take them to another planet or colony all together. They come across an abandoned space station known as the Renaissance that is divided into two sections, the Romulus and the Remus. What they find there is something they could never have imagined- a massive colony of xenomorphs, the vicious alien species and their little facehugger baby aliens that attacked the crew of the Nostromo years prior.

–Alien: Romulus is the ninth film in the franchise if you consider the Alien vs Predator movies. In terms of timeline, it takes place in between the events of Alien and Aliens.

-Director Fede Alvarez clearly studied the Alien franchise and pulled what’s best out of those movies. Ridley Scott made the first film a masterpiece of terror in outer space, and Alvarez primarily goes back to those roots of scaring the crap out of his audience with well executed scares in the back half of the movie.

-It’s not necessarily trying to re-invent the wheel or bring in completely new mythology here but rather nestles in nicely with the others. From the opening credit font and a score that feels very reminiscent of the first film, it’s easy to settle back into this world.

-The film boasts has terrific set pieces as it primarily takes place on the Renaissance space station. The sets feel weathered and worn, but tangible for the audience and actors to play on. You almost feel like Alvarez made this back in the 70s.

-The cast, led by Cailee Spaeney is much younger than the crews we’ve seen before. It adds a different dimension bringing in that youthful inexperienced mentality on board. Spaeney is not trying to be the next Ellen Ripley. There’s really no topping Sigourney Weaver’s masterful, iconic performance.

-Alvarez makes the daring movie to use AI-generated imagery and previous dialogue to bring back a legacy character despite the actor having passed away. Apparently, his family signed off on it, but I think it sets a dangerous precedence moving forward.

–Alien: Romulus succeeds thanks to Fede Alvarez’s thoughtful approach at reminding the audience why the first film worked so well. It has all the staples of the Alien franchise with the xenomorphs, facehuggers, chest bursting moments, and some familiar dialogue.

RATING: 4 out of 5 TICKET STUBS