Posts tonen met het label Monica Bellucci. Alle posts tonen
Posts tonen met het label Monica Bellucci. Alle posts tonen

zondag 15 december 2024

Movie Review - Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

Director:
Tim Burton
Genre: Comedy/ Fantasy/ Horror
Runtime: 105 minutes
Year: 2024
Starring: Michael Keaton, Catherine O’Hara, Winona Ryder, Jenna Ortega, Monica Belucci, Willem Dafoe, Justin Theroux, Danny DeVito
 
Description: After a family tragedy, three generations of the Deetz family return home to Winter River. Still haunted by Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton), Lydia’s (Winona Ryder) life is turned upside down when her teenage daughter Astrid (Jenna Ortega), accidentally opens the portal to the Afterlife.

Review: “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” is the long-awaited sequel to “Beetlejuice” from 1988. Lydia Deetz has grown from melancholy goth-teenager to mother with her own television show in which she is a spiritual medium. The she receives word of her father’s death. Together with her stepmother Delia and daughter Astrid, she returns to her haunted house where she grew up. And Beetlejuice is fully aware of it.

Most sequels, that happen so long after the original, make the same mistake. The same story told a just a bit different. When there are some things that you might recognize from the first film, “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” is completely different from its predecessor.

Some characters we already knew from the previous film. Besides Beetlejuice and his trusty assistant Bob, we see Lydia and Delia Deetz again. But new characters are being introduced as well. Astrid, Lydia’s daughter, portrayed by Jenna Ortega. Ortega fits into Tim Burton’s universe like she was always meant to be apart of it. Her character might be a bit stereotypical, grumpy, rebellious teenager. But she is a nice addition, still. Justin Theroux, as Lydia’s new boyfriend, is also a welcome new character. Kind of a disgusting new-age attention seeker, but really funny. Monica Bellucci’s character Delores doesn’t really add anything. When she is introduced, in a dark but fun scene, she seems like a very important character. But at one point, when she enters a scene again, you realize you had almost forgotten she was also apart of the story. She is supposed to be a huge treat, but she doesn’t feel that way in the end. Willem Dafoe’s character is kinda fun though, an actor/ detective called Wolf Jackson. But his role is fairly small as well. Jeffrey Jones, who played Charles Deetz in the original, doesn’t return due to a scandal, but his character does return in a different form. And I thought Burton was quite clever with this. Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder and Catherine O’Hara are all really good, as they were in the first film.

“Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” did not disappoint. The cast, the jokes, the beautiful images and the physical special effects (including a bit of stop-motion) makes it an entertaining and fun film. But only if you have seen and loved “Beetlejuice” as well. Praise to Tim Burton to not recycling a plot, but actually giving us an original plot. With the characters we’ve came to love so long ago, giving them a new, crazy, creepy and funny adventure.

Rating: 4/ 5

zaterdag 28 november 2015

100 Movie Challenge 2015 - # 152: Spectre

Director: Sam Mendes
Genre: Action/ Adventure/ Thriller
Runtime: 148 minutes
Year: 2015
Starring: Daniel Craig, Monica Bellucci, Dave Bautista, Léa Seydoux, Christoph Waltz, Ben Wishaw, Naomie Harris, Rory Kinnear, Andrew Scott

Description: A cryptic message from Bond's (Daniel Craig) past sends him on a trail to uncover a sinister organization. While M (Ralph Fiennes) battles political forces to keep the secret service alive, Bond peels back the layers of deceit to reveal the terrible truth behind SPECTRE.

Review: James Bond goes on a mission to Mexico, without the permission of the MI6, to end the mysterious Sciarra. There he learns about a secret organization SPECTRE, who wants to rule the world. Together with the beautiful Madeline Swann he tries to stop SPECTRE. The many obstacles lead him to the sinister leader of SPECTRE who is somehow connected to Bond’s past.
The previous Bond film, “Skyfall”, broke records worldwide. There was never a Bond movie that brought in so much money and even got two Academy Awards. The expectations for “Spectre”, which is directed by the same guy Sam Mendes, were immense high. That’s why I think this movie got so many mixed reviews. Please, never go in with such high expectations. I didn’t and I really liked “Spectre”.
“Spectre” starts with an amazing opening scene in Mexico, on the national day of the dead. Many typical Bond elements are in this first scene: an exotic location, a beautiful woman and a very confident James Bond in his slick suit. After his mission, Bond is suspended by M. But James Bond wouldn’t be James Bond if he didn’t start his own mission. With the help of Q and Moneypenny he starts his search for SPECTRE. We get spectacular action scenes, funny one liners, car chases, great camera work. “Spectre” is fairly long, but I never felt that. That’s always a good sign
Daniel Craig has always been a good Bond and he doesn’t disappoint in “Spectre”. He is so darn charming! And even physically he manages to be convincing as an action hero. But he isn’t as rough as he was in “Casino Royale”.
There was a lot of controversy about Bond girl Monica Belluci, who is with her 50 years the oldest Bond girl ever. Who cares, there is a lot of chemistry between her and Craig and she is still sexy enough to pull it off. But main Bond girl is Léa Seydoux as the smart Madeline Swann. Seydoux is good in her role and also has chemistry with Craig, but she is more the ‘damsel in distress’. Madeline could have been more than that.
Christoph Waltz plays the villain, something everyone was excited for. Waltz does more of the same, but not as intense and more timid. The big twist that his character got, wasn’t that surprising for me. This thanks to all the speculation and rumors, which can obviously ruin a movie experience.
“Spectre” is a good Bond movie. Daniel Craig in, wat probably is, his last Bond film. His series of Bond movies is very successful and I really enjoyed “Spectre”. I really don’t see the problem a lot of people had with it.

Rating: 4/ 5