Saturday, September 14, 2024

“Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” Opens Venice Film Fest to Muted Reviews: “Storytelling sprawls all over the place”

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Tim Burton’s “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” opens the Venice Film Festival today.

Reviews are muted. Top critics on Rotten Tomatoes from Vanity Fair, The UK Times, and other UK publications panned it.

US reviewers don’t seem to like it much, describing it as “fan service.”

Burton’s visuals are always fresh and innovative. But the story seems to leave a lot to be desired beside Jenna Ortega as Winona Ryder’s daughter confronting Michael Keaton’s character.

What worked in the first movie was the dead couple upstairs — Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis — who were squares battling the demon. This version appears to lack that juxtaposition.

I was really excited about “B2” but it may be somewhat of a letdown.

Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News, where he created the Fox411 column. His movie reviews are carried by Rotten Tomatoes, and he is a member of both the movie and TV branches of the Critics Choice Awards. His articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. He is also the writer and co-producer of "Only the Strong Survive," a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals, directed by DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus.

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