Thirty-six years after the events of Beetlejuice, the Deetz family returns home to Winter River after Charles Deetz’s unexpected death. Lydia’s (Winona Ryder) life is turned upside down when her rebellious teenage daughter, Astrid (Jenna Ortega), discovers the mysterious model of the town in the attic and the portal to the Afterlife is accidentally opened, releasing Betelgeuse (Michael Keaton).

When it comes to filmmakers who carry their own singular vision, Tim Burton stands out above the rest. As an artist through and through, Burton has brought his singularly unique creativity to the big screen for more than 50 years, and now he returns to the world of what some would call his quintessential film in, Beetlejuice. Long noted for its signature performances, a crazy mix of horror-comedy and striking visuals, Beetlejuice was a wholly original piece of cinema, and fans have long wanted to know what happened to the Ghost with the Most! Now, thirty-six years later, Burton has returned to provide us with this answer, and Beetlejuice Beetlejuice provides a wildly original sequel with plenty of surprises. Burton again throws the Deetz family directly into the path of Betelgeuse and a trip deep down into the Afterlife, and with his fresh sense of creativity and completely goth aesthetic, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is an absolute treat of a movie!

While Burton does let demonic ‘bio exorcist’ Betelgeuse loose again to wreck his own kind of unique sense of havoc on the Deetz family once more, he’s also handling some deep themes of the passing of time, the heaviness of loss and whether it’s really the dead who haunt the living, or the other way around. Even though it’s entirely fantastical and completely out there in its presentation and aesthetic, audiences will feel just how personal and reflective this film is for Burton, and watching it, you feel as if the filmmaker is going back home in a way. It also allows him to unleash his inner creativity, and every frame is permeated with his unique ink-pot palette of goth glam, and the kookiness of the Afterlife leads to some incredibly bizarre yet brilliant moments on screen. Burton also gets to dial up both the horror and the comedy of this piece, and Beetlejuice Beetlejuice hits with a solid whack this time around!

Michael Keaton gave a lightning-rod performance as Betelgeuse back in 1988, and for years, fans have longed for him to return to this classic! Now we get our wish, and he smashes it out of this park as our favourite kooky, perverted, devious ghoul. Banished back to the bureaucratic slog of the Afterlife, Betelgeuse is still offering up his ‘bio-exorcism’ services to the living, and when disaster strikes the Deetz family, he finds his way back into the world of the living and into the arms of his ‘beloved’ Lydia (Winona Ryder). For Keaton, Betelgeuse is a second skin for the actor, and he cranks up his performance as he brings Lydia back into his world while also trying to stay away from his ‘vindictive’ ex-wife Delores (Monica Bellucci), who has her own score to settle with the Juice! Keaton’s comedic timing is spot-on, and it’s a lot of fun to watch him as he wrecks his own unique type of chaos, as only he can, in a damn lively performance.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is a family saga, and once again, the Deetz family are pulled into a macabre predicament as death is in the air, and they return to the ghost house! Thirty-six years later, Lydia Deetz (Winona Ryder) has made a life for herself as a wildly popular medium, with her own Hollywood show that has set her up with preening sycophantic producer Rory (Justin Theroux), and she is still haunted by her near-marriage to Betelgeuse. She’s also still dealing with the flamboyant outbursts of her step-mother Delia (Catherine O’Hara), who is left distraught by the sudden passing of her husband Charles, and seeking a new way to court the limelight with her art, and then there’s Astrid (Jenna Ortega), Lydia’s precocious and sullen teenage daughter, who can’t stand her mother and falls into a predicament that leads to a reunion between Lydia and Betelgeuse… much to his enjoyment. Ryder, O’Hara and Ortega have fantastic chemistry together, and it’s a lot of fun watching them together on screen. This sequel allows new sides to be revealed from our characters, and drama does ensue, and it all leads to a very intriguing watch.

Tim Burton ups the ante with Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, and he helps audiences descend into the wild, colourful, and completely off-the-wall landscape of the Afterlife. And what follows is a groovy, disco-led fun time! While not wanting to run into spoilers, I will say that the narrative of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice leads to some pretty interesting moments, and the schlocky shock value of this sequel will leave you wide-eyed and giggling in your seat. This is a wildly unique picture, courtesy of Burton’s unique goth vision, and the screen sparkles with his moody use of neon-fusion-lit lighting and his ghoulish set dressing. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice also has a fantastical musical element to it, and this is a picture that surrounds its audience from all sides and is one of the most original cinema events of the year! There’s a balance of both nostalgia and something that is strikingly fresh, and the characters literally jump off the screen. I personally have to give kudos to Keaton and Ryder, while O’Hara is the unmistakable scene stealer as the completely unfiltered Delia, and seeing Betelgeuse wreck his own unique brand of havoc will leave you smiling.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is a wildly fun cinema experience that will leave you smiling and shrieking in equal measure. It’s a complete gift from a director who is fully expressing his unique filmmaking style, and for those audiences needing a ghostly bit of fun, you’ll find it with this gothic gem.

Image: Warner Brothers Pictures

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Watch the brand new trailer for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice below:

Here’s the official synopsis:

Thirty-six years after the events of Beetlejuice, the Deetz family returns home to Winter River after Charles Deetz’s unexpected death. Lydia’s (Winona Ryder) life is turned upside down when her rebellious teenage daughter, Astrid (Jenna Ortega), discovers the mysterious model of the town in the attic and the portal to the Afterlife is accidentally opened, releasing Betelgeuse (Michael Keaton).

Celebrated filmmaker Tim Burton is ready to let loose his uniquely quirky gothic creativity once again in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, which will see him re-team with frequent collaborator Michael Keaton for a creepy and kooky new comedy afterlife adventure that finds the living and the dead colliding in a hell of BANG! Burton reacquaints audiences with the Deetz family once more as Lydia, her daughter Astrid (Jenna Ortega), and her mother Delia (Catherine O’Hara) all come under the spell of the self-proclaimed ‘bio-exorcist’ Betelgeuse as they take a haywire trip below into the Afterlife. And it’s about to get damn crazy in the process.

Set to the pulsating groove of The Bee Gees 1979 disco classic, ‘Tragedy’ this new trailer showcases a wealth of new footage and really gives a greater impression of what audiences will get to experience with Beetlejuice Beetlejuice! Burton’s unique creativity is on full display in what will be a totally bonkers film experience, and fans, young and old, will be very pleased with the result.

It’s utterly fabulous to once again see Michael Keaton return to the role of Betelgeuse, and it’s damn electric as one of his all-time greatest characters! Keaton again embraces Betelgeuse’s gauche crazy personality, and he absolutely goes for it as he’s finally ee-acquainted with his long lost ‘love’ in Lydia while also trying to stay away from his vindictive ex Delores (Monica Bellucci). Knowing that it’s Keaton in the lead, I’m sure we’ll see a completely brand-new side to the character, and it’ll add a hell of a lot of colour to the picture.

 

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Beetlejuice Beetlejuice promises plenty of whacky fun, and audiences will be in for something completely out of the left field when it arrives in cinemas on September 5.

The post The Ghost with the Most is back for ‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’ appeared first on SpicyPulp.

Check out the all-new trailer for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice below:

Here’s the official synopsis:

Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton) is back! After an unexpected family tragedy, three generations of the Deetz family (Winona Ryder, Jenna Ortega, Catherine O’Hara) return home to Winter River. Still haunted by Beetlejuice, Lydia’s (Ryder) life is turned upside down when her rebellious teenage daughter, Astrid (Ortega), discovers the mysterious model of the town in the attic and the portal to the Afterlife is accidentally opened. With trouble brewing in both realms, it’s only a matter of time until someone says Beetlejuice’s name three times and the mischievous demon returns to unleash his very own brand of mayhem.

The living are about to get gatecrashed by the dead, as Lydia Deetz (Winona Ryder), alongside her mother Delia (O’Hara) and teenaged daughter Astrid (Jenna Ortega) come face-to-face with the grotesque and rambunctious energy of foul-mouthed bio-exorcist, and love-smitten demon Betelgeuse (Keaton) who has unfinished business with the Deetz family, and who is about to turn their world once again upside down.

Burton once again brings his trademark creativity and unique filmmaking flair to Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, and this is a film that is going to take audiences by surprise! Along with the original returning cast, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice also features two newcomers to the production, with the gorgeous Monica Bellucci playing the role of Betelgeuse’s vindictive undead wife, Delores, and she’s none too pleased with the arrival of the Deetz to the world of the dead, along with Willem Dafoe as Wolf Jackson, a ghost detective who, in life, was a B movie action star, and who is hot on Betelgeuse’s trail!

This first trailer for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is a damn good watch and promises plenty of cracking fun for audiences, and it’s very easy to see that Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is going to be an absolute must-watch movie when it arrives in cinemas this year

So get ready for showtime when Beetlejuice Beetlejuice arrives in cinemas on September 9.

Image: Warner Brothers Pictures

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Holt Farrier (Colin Farrell), a former circus star, finds his life turned upside-down when he returns home after the end of the First World War scarred and broken. Finding himself employed by circus owner Max Medici (Danny DeVito) who enlists him to care for a newborn elephant, named Dumbo, whose oversized ears make him a laughing stock in an already struggling circus. But when Holt’s children, Milly and Joe, discover that Dumbo can fly, persuasive entrepreneur V. A. Vandemere (Michael Keaton) and aerial artist Colette Marchant (Eva Green) swoop in to make the peculiar pachyderm a star.

Tim Burton remains one of my favourite directors of all time, and every time I hear that he’s taking up a new project I’m excited for what this visionary director will deliver. And in Dumbo he really gives us a treat with a story that is very close to his heart and touches on many of the themes that he has explored throughout his life. With its narrative and central themes, Dumbo is tailor-made for Burton with his explorations of ideas related to outsider characters, society’s fringes and individual expression. Many characters in Burton’s films are made out to be freaks or monsters and excluded from society and that, of course, happens to the baby elephant known as Dumbo who is vilified and mocked for his large ears. But unbeknownst to the world, Dumbo’s physical extremes actually give him the power of flight and this elephant does soar to amazing heights.

Burton makes the film incredibly personal, and he really takes audiences inside the mind of Dumbo and presents the elephant’s point-of-view to the world. We feel Dumbo’s feelings and his journey to be reunited with his mother once again, and Burton’s reverence for this journey is incredibly impactful and heartfelt. Along with investing your emotions in Dumbo’s journey to find his mother, he also brings you into the life of the film’s other characters including former rodeo star Holt Farrier (Colin Farrell), gifted trapeze artist Colette Marchant (Eva Green) and circus owner and ringmaster Max Medici (Danny DeVito).

Renown for his unique and quirky cinema aesthetic, Dumbo is very much a Disney movie interpreted through the vision of Tim Burton. While it doesn’t hold his typical gothic sensibilities, Burton does manage to place his own unique and thoroughly quirky design elements into the film and puts his own stamp on the material and its characters. His love for German Expressionism also helps inform the design of this early 1900s set film, and the use of practical sets, ornate costuming and wide-framed imagery really help you pull you in deeper to the experience of Dumbo.

For me what made this film so enjoyable was we were seeing Burton get to play with colour and light, and really bringing a sense of warmth to his work. It was engaging to see him get away from the shadows and instead focus on a film where light plays such an important role and his tonal palettes and cinematography borrow a lot from the look at feel of that classic cell-shaded Disney Animation.

Along with telling the story of the film’s titular baby elephant, Burton frames his story around the members of the travelling Medici Brothers circus. Chief among these characters is WWI veteran and former rodeo star Holt Farrier (Colin Farrell), who returns from the war a broken man, having lost his left arm in the trenches, and his wife to Spanish Influenza. Desperately looking for a way to rebuild his life, and support his children, Holt is charged to look after Dumbo, and together these two outsider characters help each other soar again.

The role of Holt was something different for Farrell, who really pulls away from his heart-throb status and falls into the role of the film’s everyman. It’s a performance that he really invests himself into and here we find him searching for the idea of hope again, which he is able to find thanks to the belief of his children and his belief in a certain baby elephant.

Joining Farrell in the film is Eva Green as the fantastical and elegant trapeze artist Colette Marchant and the actress makes the greatest change in terms of narrative arc throughout the story. Beginning as a flamboyant opportunist, Colette soon warms to both Dumbo and Holt and reveals her true persona that she wears under the mask of her circus life. Determined to do the right thing, she invests in Holt’s mission to see Dumbo reunited with his mother, and the inevitable spark that develops between the characters is spot on within the film. Green’s portrayal really borrows from the likes of Hedy Lamarr for the role, and she has this bold presence that one equates with actresses of that classic cinema era within her role as Colette.

Lending the film it’s antagonistic side is Michael Keaton as V. A. Vandevere, who makes a long-awaited return to working with Burton again and the actor again proves why he is in such demand these days. With the flair and parlance of a big-time showman, this seedy entrepreneur is one to hide behind the big lights in order to make a profit, and he sees Dumbo as his winning ticket. Keaton revels in his chance to be a villain here, and he really goes for it with his cruel business acumen. The actor makes for a great villain and he really provides the film’s central characters with plenty of obstacles to set Dumbo free.

Finally, Burton regular and cinema icon Danny DeVito graces the screen with plenty of charisma and a whole lot of comedy as the owner and ringmaster of the Medici Brothers Circus, Max Medici. The minute you see him on-screen DeVito has the whole audience laughing as this charlatan-type promoter who is looking for any way to make a quick buck and whose mounting problems are causing him plenty of stress. But while he does inevitably get his shot at the big time, he soon learns that its cost is too big to bear and that his love for his troop, who in reality are his family, drives him to do the right thing in the end. In my viewing of Dumbo, I’d say that it’s both baby Dumbo and Max who make up the heart and soul of this film and that the two of them are the ones who truly bring everything together.

But if there is one character who absolutely steals the show then it is above all else the character of Dumbo. This doe-eyed baby elephant is the very embodiment of the word cute, and the minute he arrives on the scene you’ll be sure to smile. Dumbo is above all else the epitome of love, and he’s the one hopeful thing that can bring together so many desperately broken people back together. Whether it be Holt, Colette, Max or the entire Medici troop, Dumbo is the one thing that helps to give them a purpose in their lives and to see the brightness and the hope in all things. This baby also goes on his own unique journey and has his courage tested at every turn, but through all of these unique challenges, and the faith that others have in him he does indeed soar high.

Through the vision of Tim Burton, Dumbo makes for a bold and beautiful piece of cinema that holds true to the core of the power of narrative storytelling and the unique attributes of classic Disney animation. It’s a film that truly enchants its audience and champions the ideas of individuality, family and above all else hope, and you’ll leave the cinema feeling that you can fly.

Image: Walt Disney Pictures

The post ‘Dumbo’ – Review appeared first on SpicyPulp.

Focusing in on broken war veteran Holt Farrier (Colin Farrell), and his children Milly (Nico Parker) and Joe (Finley Hobbins), Dumbo brings audiences into an absolutely enchanting environment of the early 1920s, and the birth of a baby elephant with very big ears called Dumbo.

Tim Burton is one of my all-time favourite directors and here he gives us a film that is truly enchanting with plenty of bright colours, and a strong resonance of hope and dreams. Known for his ability to focus his narratives around outsider characters, the story of Dumbo seems like a perfect fit for Burton’s talents and frequent Burton collaborator Eva Green agrees, “Tim Burton is directing, he understands outsiders, people who don’t fit in, vulnerable souls like Dumbo.”

Not only has Burton worked his creative genius into the project, but this film is also a reunion piece for the director with the likes of Michael Keaton, Eva Green and Danny DeVito lending their talents to the whimsical story. All of the performers seem to have been blown away by the size and scope of the project, and of it’s relevance as a narrative Danny DeVito, who portrays circus owner Max Medici, summed it up best by saying ‘we need this movie right now.”

Get ready for your heart to soar a little higher when Dumbo arrives in cinemas on March 28.

The post Step inside the magic and wonder of ‘Dumbo’ appeared first on SpicyPulp.

Here’s the official synopsis below:

Holt Farrier (Colin Farrell), a former circus star, finds his life turned upside-down when he returns home after the end of the First World War scarred and broken. Finding himself employed by circus owner Max Medici (Danny DeVito) who enlists him to care for a newborn elephant, named Dumbo, whose oversized ears make him a laughing stock in an already struggling circus. But when Holt’s children, Milly and Joe, discover that Dumbo can fly, persuasive entrepreneur V. A. Vandemere (Michael Keaton) and aerial artist Colette Marchant (Eva Green) swoop in to make the peculiar pachyderm a star.

Following in the footsteps of the heartwarming first teaser, this new trailer for Dumbo takes you inside the magic of the circus and Dumbo’s extraordinary ability to fly. Alongside everyone’s favourite baby elephant, Dumbo will also explore the story of Colin Farrell’s Holt Farrier, a former circus star who suffered greatly through WWI and is now at a loss with his life and how to raise his two young children. But together with Dumbo the Farrier’s may just find the hope they need to soar once more.

I’ve long regarded Tim Burton as one of my all-time favourite filmmakers and to see him back at the Walt Disney Company really brings a smile to my face. With his extraordinary imagination and desire to entertain I’m certain that Dumbo will take audiences on a fantastic ride of magic and wonder and prove that no matter how hard things get, with a little bit of hope, anything is possible.

Check out our full reaction for the new Dumbo trailer below, and you be guaranteed that the tears started to roll pretty quickly:

Get ready to witness the impossible and find your courage when Dumbo arrives in cinemas on March 28, 2019.

The post Experience the magic of ‘Dumbo’ with its brand new trailer appeared first on SpicyPulp.

Here’s the official synopsis:

Holt Farrier (Colin Farrell), a former circus star, finds his life turned upside-down when he returns home after the end of the First World War scarred and broken. Finding himself employed by circus owner Max Medici (Danny DeVito) who enlists him to care for a newborn elephant, named Dumbo, whose oversized ears make him a laughing stock in an already struggling circus. But when Holt’s children, Milly and Joe, discover that Dumbo can fly, persuasive entrepreneur V. A. Vandemere (Michael Keaton) and aerial artist Colette Marchant (Eva Green) swoop in to make the peculiar pachyderm a star.

Burton looks to have clearly elevated the film with a new focus to the story around the central figure of Holt, a broken war veteran played by Colin Farrell who finds himself charged with the care of Dumbo. Both are lost souls looking for some kind of love in a new and rapidly changing world and it’s here that I sense Burton is really exploring the idea of family and how in the hardest of times its the one thing that we can cling to.

Dumbo sparkles with imagination and Burton and his team of magnificent artists have done a terrific job of realizing the fantastic world of circus with plenty of bright lights and big colours and Dumbo looks like it will be a film that will thoroughly enchant it’s audience, both young and old with enchanting story of magic and love.

Make sure you’ve got tissues beside you when Dumbo arrives in cinemas because it is sure to be film that will really tug at your heartstrings and will cause a flutter in your heart of March 28, 2019.

The post The first teaser for ‘Dumbo’ will pull at your heartstrings appeared first on SpicyPulp.