The dark comedy centers on the life and career of the infamous Olympic figure skater, who fell from grace after the attack on fellow competitor Nancy Kerrigan. I, Tonya presents a stylized (and often comedic) approach to staging the story behind the disgraced sportswoman’s societally coded image, including her abusive relationships with her parrot-loving mother, LaVonda Golden (Allison Janney), and husband, Jeff Gillooly (Sebastian Stan).
Growing up my sister and I had a VHS with both Beetlejuice and Short Circuit 2 on it. We watched the shit out of that tape, and for that reason, I was excited when I heard that Short Circuit was getting some new life breathed into the franchise. I got nostalgic and intrigued, but now, news of a possible Bettlejuice sequel moving forward dwarfs that. Beetlejuice was for sure one of my favorite movies as a kid.
It also spawned a cartoon I actually enjoyed too. Even if it didn’t make any sense…
If you’ve not seen Beetlejuice because you’re either too young or an idiot, let me fill you in. It stars one of the most underrated actors of all-time – Pre-Batman Michael Keaton. He plays a poltergeist for hire who haunts houses for other ghosts. The newly deceased couple that hires him to rid their home of the pesky living who moved in are played by Jack DonaghyAlec Baldwin and Geena Davis.
The family they are trying to push out, the Deetz family, is portrayed by Jeffrey Jones, as his wife Catherine O’Hara, and their daughter, the one who can see the ghosts, is the lovely Winona Ryder.
It’s been 23 years since the first movie came out, and there have been plenty of rumors about a sequel since then. The most recent come from Worst Previews:
We’ve been hearing about a “Beetlejuice” sequel for years. Even Michael Keaton and Geena Davis have been looking for ways to get the second installment off the ground.
Now comes word that David Katzenberg and Seth Grahame-Smith have just signed a two-year first-look producing deal at Warner Bros and one of their first projects is expected to be a sequel to “Beetlejuice.” The new film will not be a remake. The intent is to reboot it by advancing the storyline of the original.
“We first got to know Seth through his fantastic work on ‘Dark Shadows,'” said the studio. “And it immediately became a priority to expand our relationship with him. Seth introduced us to David. We firmly believe in their talents and are extremely excited to welcome them to the Warners family.”
Both Grahame-Smith and Katzenberg were attached as co-directors for “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies,” before Craig Gillespie got the job.
Being such an uber fan of the 80’s classic that was the original Fright Night, I went into this one with excitement and apprehension. Were they going to do something completely different than the original or stick to the same thing? Luckily they did a little bit of both. They changed a few things, but gave plenty of nods to the original and what they did change was actually pretty cool.
So we start off with pretty much the same premise as the original Fright Night. There’s a young kid named Charlie Brewster (Anton Yelchin) who lives with his mom (Toni Collette), has a girlfriend and all of the normal teenage problems you would expect. Luckily that’s where the remake changes things up a bit. The relationship between Charlie and Ed was different, as they were nerds-in-arms in the past, but now Charlie is one of the “cool guys” who won’t talk to Ed to maintain his status. I was pretty surprised at how fast they jumped into the “he’s a vampire” mode, but it didn’t kill the movie for me. It’s not long before Charlie is suspecting that there’s something more going on with his new neighbor Jerry than meets the eye.
I never thought that Chris Sarandon could be replaced as the smooth talking, hooker slaying vampire from the original, but Colin Farrell really took that role and ran with it. He was excellent as the vampire lord, looking like he had a ball playing the part the whole movie. Chris Sarandon had a great cameo in the movie that made me grin ear to ear and it’ll be easy enough for you fans of the original to catch, trust me.
Anton Yelchin and Imogen Poots did fine as Charlie and Amy respectively in the movie. They may not have been the most interesting characters in the flick, but I didn’t hate them either. Yelchin is great in pretty much everything up to this point, such as Kyle Reese in the most recent Terminator and Chekov in Star Trek which we’ll see more of in the next year or so. Christopher Mintz-Plasse played “Evil” Ed perfect, compared to his annoying counterpart from the 80’s Stephen Geoffreys. Honestly I’m not sure if Mintz-Plasse can play anything except the dorky outcast kid that he is notoriously famous for since the creation of the Hawaiian organ donor Mc’Lovin in Superbad. Is that a bad thing?
The biggest role that it seemed like the movie kept under wraps until the release of the movie was that of Peter Vincent. We knew that Doctor Who veteran David Tenant would be playing the Las Vegas Illusionist, but other than a couple of publicity pictures there wasn’t much in the way of footage of him. I was skeptical because of how much I adored the Roddy McDowell ‘Peter Vincent’, because there is no way that anyone could replicate that character. Thankfully Tenant took the character and made it his own. At first it seemed like he was channeling Russell Brand, but after about five minutes I began to see he wasn’t as annoying as his fellow countryman. Peter Vincent was definitely a drunken mess to start out, but they pulled out a twist in there that made him have a far more integral part to the story that surpassed the original.
I can’t help but give the movie a 5 out of 5 grizzlies based on what it was, plus I’m a little biased with my love for the original. It was a horror movie that gave me everything I wanted from it and then some, with a bit of humor injected here and there.
It honored the original that it was derived from while still maintaining its own separate identity. I’m definitely disappointed that the movie didn’t fare so well in the box office, limiting its chances for a sequel. Though perhaps based on its modest budget we may still see the continuing adventures of Charlie Brewster and Peter Vincent. And now, check out the awesomeness that is the musical version of the original Fright Night below!
It’s been a bumpy road for the screen adaptation of Seth Grahame-Smith’s novel, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. After a slew of fickle directors (including David O. Russell and Mike White) backing out of the project, as directors do, it was finally announced that Craig Gillespie (Fright Night) will be taking the helm. Now, with the script reaching completion, we still have no definitive word on a female lead for the film.
Originally it was supposed to be Natalie Portman, which would have been awesome. But she had to back out (some garbage about having a baby), and will be on the project as producer. Then there were rumors of Mia Wasikowska, who recently played Jane Eyre in the film of the same name. One period piece under her belt, why not another? It doesn’t matter that I thought she was 14. After that, it was all about Anne Hathaway. That makes sense; because, really, what has Anne Hathaway not been in lately? If a film lately has a 20-something female lead, I’m actually to the point where I’m surprised when she’s not in it.
It now appears that we have moved on to Emma Stone. How is this any more definitive than any other rumors we’ve heard so far? Well, it isn’t. It would only be super awesome if it were true. She doesn’t necessarily strike me as a shoe-in for a film in the time period, but her role in Zombieland gives her a pretty good edge on this particular film. She’s beautiful, she’s talented, and she has experience with the undead. What more could you really ask for?
*Updated*
According to both Bleeding Cool and Deadline Emma Stone is now officially a no go for Pride and Prejudice and Zombies on film. Not much on why she isn’t doing the film but the bottom line is that she said no. That’s the bummer man.
Grizzly Bomb 