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Dead and Buried and Loving it - The Frighteners & Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
28 Plays1 month ago
Is this podcast in the room with you now?
Max and Mitch go into business with ghosts this episode as they shack up with the three that hang out in their unfinished dream house and have contracted to con people with. Then, they venture into the afterlife to stop their estranged daughter from getting some.
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License code: TNWVZKOXJY0OWBZK
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Transcript
Introduction and Podcast Setup
00:00:07
Speaker
Welcome to Blockbuster, the movie review podcast where we use ghosts to pull elaborate cons. I'm Gullish Mitch. And I'm Home Alone style escapade Max. And today we are looking at the Frighteners and Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.
Sound Check and Banter
00:00:35
Speaker
My mix is bad. Hold on. I couldn't hear myself. We can keep this in. This is perfect. Oh, yeah. Nah, there we go. Can you say something? Boo. Too loud. Say something again. Boo. Still too loud. Stop doing that. Say something. I'm here to contact. I'm contacting you about your cause expired warranty. Extended warranty even? No, it's an expired warranty. Oh, I thought my warranty was extended.
00:01:03
Speaker
and why That's what's spooky about it. Okay. Well, speaking of spooky, my, my mic's fixed. Speaking of spooky. um Don't we have an episode for you? We have so many episodes based around spooky things.
Theme of the Week: Spooky Comedies
00:01:18
Speaker
um I think we're gonna just be more specific about what kind of spooks. Well, yeah, so this this week, we're we're looking at spooky comedic films about ghosts and cons with them or around them or by them. That had soundtrack by Danny Elfman. Oh, really? Yeah, I did not notice that. Wow. By directors who peaked in the aughts.
00:01:44
Speaker
by with actors who were famous in the 80s. Yeah, dude, actually, this is kind of crazy. I mean, it does kind of help that one of these is a legacy sequel to a film that was made in the 80s. But yeah, I mean, and I mean, they're not both movies made in the 80s, though. That's the one for all. I mean, once made in 2024, and the other one was made in 1996. So neither of these films are in the 80s.
00:02:09
Speaker
banter. Yeah, come on, Max, get into it. No, don't shake your head at me. All right. Well, you know what? um Let's promise that I haven't started drinking my beer today. So there we go. um Today, I'm drinking a hop nation, J juice, hazy IPA. Shout out to my dad for handing that to me on the weekend. I told him I'd drink it during the podcast. Dad, I'm doing it. ah I'll give some thoughts.
00:02:37
Speaker
ah We can do beer review in mini media. I mean, if, if, if there's any, uh, micro breweries, I want to sponsor the Blockbuster podcast, we will, uh, do that.
Future Beer Review Segment?
00:02:50
Speaker
We will absolutely do that. But we can't just be, you hand us one of your cans for free. That's literally all we're asking for. And we will shout you out for that. That's good enough for us. We will take a single can.
00:03:05
Speaker
prefer single two h actually two sorry yeah two single count So we can both drink it. Uh, cause we don't, we don't, we're not in the same space where we're across the interwebs.
Episode Promise: Wacky Ghost Movies
00:03:16
Speaker
But yeah, ah this ah this week, we're going to make you laugh. We're going to make you go, ah, ghosts, ghosts galore. Never before have I seen so many wacky ghosts. Never before. Never before. Except for when I saw the original Beetlejuice and the first time I watched The Frighteners.
00:03:36
Speaker
um o When we, what about that? the time when we played LEGO Harry Potter. They're not really that wacky. They're so wacky, they're made of LEGO. But everything's made of LEGO. Yeah, and that's why the whole game is so wacky. Okay, but like the whole game is wacky, not specifically the ghosts. In these movies, it's the ghosts that make them wacky. Also, what about Ghostbusters?
00:04:07
Speaker
Ghosts aren't that wacky in Ghostbusters. Primus are wacky, dude. That's one ghost. Name another wacky ghost in Ghostbusters. They puffed Marshmallow Man. Not a ghost. Yeah, the everyone's a ghost. No, what? Is this like that thing where it's like, you're made of stardust and you're a skeleton puffed by a ghost in a meat suit. ah You know, like those types of posts. Is that what you're doing right now? or like No, it's just because Ghostbusters.
00:04:37
Speaker
but not everyone's a ghost in Ghostbusters. There's dog people and a- And they're ghosts. And a sexually ambiguous- Ghost. God was actually what I was gonna say. Cause it's a ghost. No, they're not a ghost. They're all ghosts, Mitchell. I think you're misremembering the movie, Mitchell. They're all ghosts. At the end, remember at the end when they fight the thing at the top of the building?
00:05:06
Speaker
It's a god, not a ghost. That's the whole thing. And where do you think the word God comes from Mitchell comes from ghost? It's ghost. You can't argue with that logic.
'The Frighteners' Plot Overview
00:05:21
Speaker
The Frighteners, released in 1996 and directed by Peter Jackson. jackson Peter Jackson. Ixtarj. Michael J. Fox. treat Trini Alvarado. Damn it, these are white names. Peter Dobson. John Astin. Dee Wallace Starn. Jeffrey Komes. And who I thought was Gary Busey, but is actually his son, Jake Busey.
00:05:45
Speaker
Max, can you frighten a summary for us, please? When Frank Bannister, a local con man, gets wrapped up in an, uh, afterlife plot, uh, he, this is terrible synopsis. Um, did you make this one? Did you write this one down? Yeah, I was, I was trying to add a little bit. Let me try again. So you didn't write it down. No, I never write these down. But I said, did you write this down? and You just said yes.
00:06:15
Speaker
Was it filmed in New Zealand? Yeah, of course it was. Where else would it be filmed? Peter Jackson filmed it. Did it? and well he didn't Well, he filmed it. Yeah, he filmed it. He's probably behind the camera. Do it again. Come on. Let's go. Come on. Frank Bannister is a con man who can communicate with ghosts, ah which he uses to pull elaborate schemes until people start mysteriously dying and he gets embroiled in the affair. Why? Because ah they all live in the same small town. Technically, um they were dying before, like, they dying ages ago. Sort of.
00:07:02
Speaker
he was was He was the first one who got got by ghost, well he didn't get got, his wife got got by ghost, ghost boy, ghost Bucy. Ghost Bucy. I'd seen this movie before. ah Max, as someone who's not familiar with Peter Jackson's work because you haven't seen Law of the Rings, what do you think of this movie and Peter Jackson? I'm not gonna comment on Peter Jackson, I don't know him.
00:07:27
Speaker
I meant his work. I won't speak to his character. I'm not asking you to speak to his character, I'm asking you to speak to his ability to make a film. I just don't feel comfortable talking about him as a person. Well you've really misjudged what I was asking for, right? I really appreciate the... what he's done.
00:07:45
Speaker
um for cinema. I actually have seen some of his films. na yet because I have seen all of the Hobbit films. Those were just put shit out of a hole in. um Yeah, but technically he was technically he was the director on them all. I think that's just because he made it packed with some new line. um And anyway, what do you think of the film? Um,
00:08:16
Speaker
It's a wacky film. It's a wacky film. it's It feels very silly. actually actually i'm go to let let's Can we do a thought experiment? Do you mind if I do a thought experiment with you? Sure. Picture yourself. This is a classic for us. We've done this before, so you shouldn' this shouldn't be too hard for you, but picture yourself a studio executive. You are a studio executive.
00:08:42
Speaker
Yes. um And you something comes what comes before you is the proposal to make a very expensive ah trilogy of fans fantasy films called Lord of the Rings based off the the books of the same name and the guy who's placed it in front of you. ah His previous work includes um a Muppets ripoff before they did um the but Happy Time Murders, whatever that one was called. Happy Time Murders? Whatever it was called. I'm up, it's like ah Adult Ripoff and this film. Would you decide that this is- And Heavenly Creatures. Oh, I beg your pardon. And hang but Heavenly Creatures, you're right. I'm not um i'm i'm i'm not a i'm not ultra-versed in Jackson's previous Before Lord of the Rings work.
00:09:36
Speaker
Uh, but that's actually like a real movie there. Like, no, I know it is. hey wins one Okay. Okay. Okay. but Have you seen heavily creatures? I probably seen like part of it. Have you? Okay. Well, just, just, can you, can you, for the sake of my thought experiment, just follow along with what I'm saying?
00:09:57
Speaker
but for 10 seconds. Yep.
Horror Comedy Genre Discussion
00:09:59
Speaker
This is you've only seen this movie of this man who's just placed a very expensive fantasy franchise in front of you who wants to make one. Would you greenlight it?
00:10:10
Speaker
is This is the man you want to interest millions of dollars. to some make a fancy film If you pitched it like that, no, but that's not how it was pitched. And you know, that's not how it was pitched.
00:10:22
Speaker
You're a fun vampire. You suck it out. I suck the fun out of everything. You suck the fun out. Because Peter Jackson was, like many people in the horror comedy space for some reason, were really into VFX.
00:10:39
Speaker
yeah um that's how he That's how he got the job doing Lord of the Rings was that he did heaps of VFX work before he um moved into a directorial position, and um as a result, that sort of made him uniquely qualified to take on an ambitious project like the Lord of the Rings.
00:11:10
Speaker
But this movie is so wacky. It's so silly. Well, so many groups. I think um not only is it wacky and silly, but I actually think it's pretty original and it has some really cool just. Like it has ghost action in a way that I don't think.
00:11:28
Speaker
was done before and hasn't kind of really been done since. like there's just some It's just got its own identity and I think that's very impressive in a world where it's been nearly 30 years since it came out. and like It's I just, I, I really like it. I think this is a fun film. The way I would describe it is cartoonish. Yes. I think, um, what you're describing there is, is like, when, when you talk about like ghost action, I guess, um, what I guess you're describing is, is this sort of slapstick comedy that not even, I mean,
00:12:10
Speaker
Well, I'm thinking, so the thing I'm thinking of when I say like interesting, ghost like that you're right, the that is also a ghost action, like I think, but what I'm thinking of is there's a heavy emphasis on the main ghost, the main bad guy ghost, sorry. ah ah What's his name? Steve Busey? Jeb Busey? Jake Busey.
00:12:30
Speaker
he He... he like acts as this he a lot of his stuff at some in certain points is done through like coming through walls and different um what's it called surfaces and I think a lot of that stuff looks really cool and it acts as like a really interesting antagonist because it's like it's limited It's a limit on the antagonist. Like they can only reach you if you're in reach within walls, but also you're in a house. It's all walls and it's all doors. I don't know. I just thought it looked cool and fun. And I don't think we've seen something like that except for that one time in terminated to when the T 1000 becomes a chequered floor and then turns into the security guard at the asylum that Sarah Connor is um staying at. oh But like, I don't know. I think it looks cool.
00:13:24
Speaker
What do you think?
00:13:28
Speaker
I... That's not a good sign. and Look, this is a funny movie. It's very silly. Yeah it is. oh And I think...
00:13:44
Speaker
that there is always a place in my heart where I all really love horror comedy and actually horror comedy is unique in its position as a very easy entry into filmmaking and I think what a lot of people describe um is that the two easiest movies to make in terms of budget in horrors and comedies and and horror comedies um as a result. yeah And so I think i I have often have a very good time with horror comedies and I did enjoy watching this film. The problem with I find with a lot of horror comedies and that included to this film is even if they are very fun, a lot of them do not have a huge amount of substance and
00:14:40
Speaker
as much as I think this is a really fun idea and um I think Michael J Fox's performances is very fun even though it's very similar to uh a lot of his other early performances um hey don't you dare diss Michael J Fox all right um I think that ultimately for me um I'm just There's really so much for me that I can get out of a movie that's just like gag after gag after gag. um And it just... I feel like some of it doesn't hit for me and some of it...
00:15:21
Speaker
Um, I think that there's too many like pauses. I don't know. I'm just, have I'm a bit cynical today. Um, early today there. Other days you're pretty old. The last couple of days I've been pretty cynical. So like, ah um, I just like, I had fun, but I think this is a really dumb movie.
00:15:45
Speaker
and say dull dumb oh like this is a really stupid movie yeah there's a lot of people who do really stupid things yeah but it's funny and i look it is funny but it's not clever funny it's dumb funny don't you think they're like there's some like this is like stoner movie no but like i think there's dumb funny and then there's clever dumb funny and that like There are certain jokes that are just like, this is dumb. And it's meant to be funny because it is dumb. But then there's certain jokes where it's like, there's been effort put into like crafting the dumb.
00:16:19
Speaker
And I feel like there's a level of craft in this dome, if that makes sense. Like I, one of the, one of the ones that stuck out for me was when they're in the museum and the cops just like shoot up all the artifacts and just blow to pieces, bill possibly like countless of, I was gonna say billions, but like countless of dollars worth of dollars of just priceless, uh,
00:16:44
Speaker
I need to end up saying priceless. ah Egyptian artifacts from, you know, ancient Egypt. And ah it's just, that's kind of hilarious. And like, don't you find that hilarious? Like, it's funny. And like, I agree. I think it's funny. I just like, it's not saying anything other. And I know it's not trying to say anything other than, isn't this a funny idea? But like, I don't know. I just like, it wasn't It wasn't what I need right now. So this is going on the pile of movies that need to be rewatched with ice on the TV glow? No, it's a different, different pile. Oh, if I'm never going to watch this again? um I think it was like fun. And I've said that a lot. I just don't think there's a huge amount of substance to it.
00:17:41
Speaker
I think it's creative in, I think, I actually think what's really interesting is and looking at it is looking at a lot of like what you could call proto Peter Jackson stylisms and stylisms, that's not a word, ah but like stop per proto Peter Jackson style and where he gets the ideas, like the ghosts in this film,
00:18:06
Speaker
you can see the seeds of the dead army that is in the return of the expo- this is spoilers sorry um but in return of the king there's like ah there's an army of ghosts and you can see the seeds of like how he visualized that and like what like he he had that idea kind of already here and then he just changed it up a bit to suit the world of Middle Earth more in the Lord of the Rings films but you can see that there and you can see a lot of the um ah just
00:18:38
Speaker
It's hard to describe, but you can just you can see him crafting well sorry ah like building his style and building his ideas, and that's, I think, really interesting. i I can appreciate that, and I can appreciate the like the technical elements that go into this film. It's it's like early CGI,
00:19:00
Speaker
um That is using CGI animation in a very sort of traditional animation style if that makes sense it's not um we get a lot of CGI now that's very Like, it's meant to feel realistic, whereas this was meant to feel animated, I i think. um Well, the ghosts are, as you said, cartoon and the ghosts themselves are basically cartoon characters, the way they're treated and the way they, like, crumple and when killed and, like,
00:19:36
Speaker
the way they're affected by certain things. And, you know, there's this slapstick of Michael J. Fox continuously backhanding the dead husband and stuff like that, you know, like, yeah, there's like, they're like, ah they're treated as animated characters.
00:19:51
Speaker
um And yeah, I can so appreciate where that's gone on, especially with one of the rings is ah as a ah technical achievement. um But I think, like, ultimately, for me,
00:20:16
Speaker
like, this is not the beyond. that and beyond the the the gags there just doesn't seem to be a whole lot and as a result i'm just sort of left feeling a bit unfulfilled um and i guess i'm waiting for the movie dealer to say anything
00:20:52
Speaker
at all and I don't know if that that's probably an unfair expectation of the movie but at the same time I think we're seeing some stuff um come out at the moment um in ah not quite independent cinema um that is in a similar vein this dark dark black comedy horror comedy um that is using the platform to um tackle some interesting issues um and I just feel like there's not a bunch here that says much
00:21:42
Speaker
I guess like everything you've said is true. I'm not gonna argue that I don't believe this is a movie that has a big message to tell. I don't believe that Peter Jackson went into this with like proper, you know, more moral or philosophical questions that he wanted to ask the audience. And like as we've described, is it is just kind of a ah horror comedy fun time, but i I think that's perfectly fine. Like I think, I think asking, I think saying, I can understand. Sorry, give me a second. Sorry, sir.
Entertainment vs. Message in Film
00:22:28
Speaker
If you need a movie to have more to it, to enjoy it, then that's perfectly fine. But I think it's unfair to judge a film on something it wasn't trying to be, which is... ah something with a proper message. There's this discourse that goes around continuously which is like there are certain films that work well if you just kind of turn your brain off and enjoy it through like no thinking and some people believe that if to enjoy a film you have to turn your brain off that's a bad film and
00:23:04
Speaker
i I disagree because I think certain films are designed to be just mindless fun. And I don't think there's anything wrong with mindless fun. Because as as long as there is still room for media that challenges you, mindless fun is not a problem. Like I don't have anything against that. It's when there's only mindless fun, there's an issue. You know, variety is the spice of life. You know, I just think I don't think this movie's trying, I think this movie's just trying to entertain you. It's not trying to ask you anything. It's not trying to give you any, like,
00:23:42
Speaker
I don't know, the movie ends with don't fear the reaper. Like it's, it's, I don't know. I think it's just unfair to ask it like to, to consider it like a failing of the film to not provide more when it wasn't trying to provide more. I can understand if it's not something you enjoy, but I just don't think that's like the movie's fault. Yeah. I'm not saying it's the movie. I'm not saying it's a movie's fault, but I feel like, okay, then that's fair then. Yeah.
00:24:08
Speaker
in but I guess the context of what I'm seeing and what I'm wanting out of a film like this um yeah is very different to what this film is and I just think like as much as You know, there's a intention to go into every film with a sort of neutral, uh, approach and a critical approach. Um, especially when you're, you know, talking about it on a podcast every week, but, um, I feel like, um, I feel like for me at the moment,
00:24:57
Speaker
at this moment where, um, in, in this moment for me personally, and also in this like cultural moment, I just feel like there's just not enough there that really grabs me and, uh, interests me beyond the, like the really like just silliness.
00:25:24
Speaker
of it. And like, I appreciate and I enjoy a silly movie. um And there are definitely times where I would really love to just sit and not think and just be silly with the movie. um And I just
00:25:51
Speaker
ah Yeah, i don't it's probably a me thing, but it very much is just something that I don't feel like is needed right now. And obviously it's not made right now. So it's not, that's a not a fair thing to say either. Yeah. that's harsh i feel Like it was made in 1996. At the same time, I feel like it's, it's a bit like, um,
00:26:31
Speaker
You know, that yeah for me, the the silliness and the fun of it can only go so far. It goes pretty far. It's pretty fun. ah I had a good time with it. um And the characters are very silly and and um play off each other in fun ways.
00:26:54
Speaker
um We get um
00:27:01
Speaker
just some very like yeah slapstick performances that's sort of assisted by that CGI um VFX work but um yeah I think ultimately at the end of the day for me um I'm just wanting something a little bit more I don't know I feel I look I'm never gonna begrudge someone for personal taste like that's just you can't begrudge someone for personal taste that's unfair and that's just not how the world should work like people like what they like and so I'm not gonna like everything you've said is perfectly reasonable I'm not gonna argue for that because that'd be rude and I don't want to be rude
00:27:48
Speaker
Um, I just think, I think while maybe the film itself doesn't contain certain of messages or certain like meaning beyond what it's showing, and to be perfectly honest, maybe the film is, and I just missed it. That's like something that I'm happy to admit. And I'm not saying that Max isn't happy to admit that. I'm just sorry. I felt like I was insinuating you weren't willing to do that. I wasn't trying to do that. I was just saying that I might've missed, I might've missed bigger meanings. I'm not convinced there were bigger meanings in this film. look me either. I'm just willing to admit that could have been and I might have missed it. But I'm not saying that I'm i'm not trying to just but it's put anything on you. This is just on me. All right. Anyway. ah But I think there's just some interesting creative choices that I actually really like, like those at the very start when I come to her name, I think it's Lucy, Lucy, the um the physician.
00:28:42
Speaker
um The end of the the the main ah the the lead ah ah female role she She goes to this house that's attached to an insane asylum where a murder spree occurred a certain amount of years ago and ah she meets with a person who turns out she was part of that murder spree and there was at the time when the murder spree happened it was confusing whether or not she really had much to do with it or not.
00:29:15
Speaker
but blah blah And I thought was was what was really interesting was when she was getting kind of kicked out ah by by the end of that scene by the mum who's in charge of this person who is kind of insane.
00:29:26
Speaker
ah the mom There's this, is and i don't know I don't even know if this is like the movie trying to subvert that or not, but I felt it was a subversion. A lot of the times what would happen in this scene it was like, the mum would say something, or like the characters kicking the person out would say something that's really weird, and just be like, get out of here, and they wouldn't give much information.
00:29:49
Speaker
But in this version, instead of waiting for the character to return after learning more, the mankind just gives like the thesis of what they believe. And I feel like I'm not making any sense right now. It's just like it's just it seemed to like shuffle the order of how information is given generally in these types of like the mystery was is in these types of films. And I I really appreciated that because it felt somehow fresh, even though this film is only 30 years old. And just in general, I feel like there's just a lot of things in this movie that are not done haven't been done since and not in like a this is like a one of a kind thing it's just it feels fresh still it doesn't like ah what dates it is it's CGI and it's it's visual effects i don't feel like i don't feel like this movie is from the 90s i feel like it could have been released more recently just
00:30:46
Speaker
And i I don't know, it's very impressive. And I i think I really like how dark it gets as well. like it It's really not shying away from anything uh that could be considered uncomfortable and instead it's just kind of showing it to you and then making jokes about it which obviously certain certain things shouldn't that shouldn't be the case but i feel like the way this did it with its topic topics that it chose to look off about i found refreshing i don't know it
00:31:24
Speaker
It was just I liked it a lot. And I do. but I mean, there's a lot of there's a lot of inconsistency throughout the film, though, like I think ah what ghosts do and do not get affected by in the real world is confusing. Well, sorry, physical world is confusing, such as sometimes they go through the ground and sometimes the ground is the ultimate like they won't go through this. ah Sometimes they will just pass through walls but then other times a car will affect them like it just doesn't doesn't make a lot of sense to the rule of cool. It is the rule of cool. Absolutely. ah ah But I don't know. It was something I noticed. But I also was kind of happy to forgive it because the film had given me I had given the film enough goodwill to not
00:32:09
Speaker
decide that it was something I cared enough about. Another film that I wasn't enjoying nearly as much, this would be a penalty, but the film had offered me enough. It's, I'm biased, okay? and what What can I say? I'm like, if I'm enjoying it, I'm going to give films free pass. That's how it works. If you're enjoying something, I'll give films free passes, like, because I'm not hating on it. I mean, yeah, I mean, like, that that didn't bother me.
00:32:34
Speaker
ah at all. it was Yeah, it wasn't a bother. It's something that was very obviously like, what is the funniest thing we can do in this situation? um And you just you just run with that. And I think that is the best way to approach a movie like this where you just yeah yeah you just um want just ah achieve the funniest outcome, even if your rules sort of bend a bit. I respect the ah commitment to the bit. I respect that it was lost first.
00:33:15
Speaker
continuity second and in another film once again that would not have flown for me like I absolutely would have been frustrated by that but this just there's just something charming about this film uh Michael J Fox you're absolutely right he is playing the exact same character he kind of plays every single time whoa this is heavy But I like that character. um I like Michael J. Fox, and I'm more than willing to kind of watch him in anything. I still haven't seen Teen Wolf. ah I mean, I've seen the TV show, but I haven't seen the movie, so I need to get on that. But beyond that, I just, yeah, I don't know. There's not a ah lot to really discuss with this film um beyond what I think we've said already. and But i I think it's super fun, and I really enjoyed it. And I think
00:34:01
Speaker
I think it works really well as as a comedy and not really a horror. I didn't find it super scary. I liked I would like to have known what this would have been like watching it back in the day if it would have been more a more scary film, but.
00:34:16
Speaker
in this day and age it doesn't feel like it holds up to the horror part of horror comedy but as a comedy I think it's still pretty funny and I think it works so it works as a
Final Thoughts on 'The Frighteners'
00:34:25
Speaker
comedy on its own but it also I think works as an interesting artifact of Peter Jackson's career which I find an interesting topic because I i love Law of the Rings and i I think he's a really brilliant filmmaker and so Yeah, that's pretty much that's pretty much it. Should we give some scores? Let's give some scores. Alrighty, I gave this film $500, I would allow myself to be scammed out of by Michael J. Fox to get rid of my ghosts. I gave the Frighteners three ghosts that live in my unfinished house who I pull elaborate schemes with. Nice.
00:35:14
Speaker
have the button
00:35:20
Speaker
Ah, the button. I was like, no, your word spark. I worry, but your tone said nothing. It was great. Max, my walls are bleeding into a message. What do you think that message is?
00:35:40
Speaker
pizza Pizza time. Yes. Actually, no, it does say pizza. And then underneath it, it says, ah do Max and Mitch and his mini-media. I think I said midges, not midges. I got my own name wrong. That's great.
00:35:57
Speaker
Um, do you want to do beer review right now? Or do you want to do it at the end? You, you do what you want to do. Well, I want, I, as mentioned previously, I believe in your agency. I think we should do beer review right now. Cause it's going to be really quick. It's good. Good beer. Um, drink it. If you like IPAs that have a bit of like a fruity tinge to them, go for it. They have a fruity tinge. Hold on.
00:36:23
Speaker
There's no fruity tinge, I imagined it. ah But it's still good. Drink it. All right. um is who first what What do you got for us this week, Mitch? Is it me? Me to go? Go. I watched the... What year did it come out? Hold on. Give me a second.
00:36:43
Speaker
The 1987 horror film Hellraiser, one of the like classic 80s horror franchises that then got ran into the dirt by an endless ah flood of sequels, much like ah Friday the 13th, Halloween, and um I'll let you name one. You got this. Halloween. Or did I not say that? I said Halloween. Oh, um. I said for the 15th Halloween. Five Nights at Freddy's. Do you mean Nightmare on Elm Street? Nope. You heard me.
00:37:18
Speaker
Well, Nightmare on Elm Street was the correct answer. Yay. It was really good. um It's not. Yeah. So, Hellraiser's, um, Pinhead. Needlehead, isn't it? Pinhead. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. You're absolutely right. So, this film... is so 80s. I love it. oh But what's what I think holds up, and it's obviously like you can tell the fakeness just because it's from the 80s, but it still looks good. though yeah You know, when something like looks fake, but looks good. They did so many practical effects to just do weird gross body horror crap.
00:37:55
Speaker
and it's awesome. I don't know, I love, I don't know what they're called, like the xenobites or something, I think is what Pinhead and his chums are called, but ah they look that like that costuming is really cool and the makeup that's done on them is really cool. Like one of them has their throat.
00:38:11
Speaker
opened and it's held open by like piercings and and chains and that looks really cool. um There's a guy throughout like the one the main the main monster in the film is this guy who's escaped them. And so he's like this puddle of guru like the first a little bit and then he slowly rebuilds into a man and you kind of see they like what because you he's rebuilding he starts off like just as a skeleton and then has muscles over that and then the skin and then finally like skin gets put on of him. But it just looks so good. It looks ah it's it's so good. And like he he moves around like it looks like a human and, and it's just awesome. And my roommate and I have decided we're going to watch the rest of them even though we know we'll get diminishing returns watching the rest of them. But it's just, it's awesome. Like I, I don't know. It's, it's the type of thing that
00:39:06
Speaker
you know would never be created today because it's just so it's so 80s and it's so ah it's just got it it's got this essence i loved it it's so gritty and gross and yucky and and and and fun like it's it's so dumb as well like like it's it's so BDSM-y like they're all just like pleasure and pain and chains and and nipple piercings it's like oh okay i didn't realize it's so horny such a horny film love it great 10 out of 10 uh what did you what did you um i also did horror stuff this yes horror um
00:39:43
Speaker
as I am want to do ah every couple of months or so. Oh wait, you teased this. You teased this before. I did tease this. I teased this a couple of months ago. Not in a couple of months, a couple of weeks maybe. um The new Magic the Gathering set, ah Duskborn, a House of Horror released. Oh yeah. Well pre-release.
00:40:07
Speaker
over the weekend. It's an homage to classic horror films such as Hellraiser, Children of the Corn, The Ring,
00:40:21
Speaker
um Friday the 13th, Shining, Hellraiser. Heaps, I said Hellraiser. Oh, I wasn't listening, sorry. And I had a lot of fun with it. I think it's the art in this set is some of my favorite Magic the Gathering art that I've seen in a really long time. um They've got some really great um designs and creature designs have been able to go really funky and weird with with what they're doing um i enjoyed playing it i lost a a ton of games but i still had a lot of fun um playing with the cards i think it's um my favorite way that they've done face down cards i know the last time i talked about face down cards i complained about them
00:41:09
Speaker
um I think they did face down cards good in this set which is a huge compliment um and um I ah had a lot of fun um with it I think It's not necessarily the best place to onboard, but if you like ah horror movies and you like sort of those trophy kind of things and um just kind of general spooks, it's good fun.
Magic the Gathering and Horror Films
00:41:41
Speaker
um I'm probably going to play a lot of it. um And that yeah, it's it's very cool and I liked it.
00:41:51
Speaker
I have multiple questions. There was something else I was going to say. I remember i will hold on to my questions. No, I can't remember. yeah I'll now ask my questions. So ah usually a different ah set or whatever you want to call it um will bring like different ah um mechanics,
00:42:14
Speaker
like new mechanics. Like what's the like kind of like new mechanic in this one? So yeah, there's like, they know when you like four or five new mechanics, so I won't go through all of them. but It's like the big, like the big draw. one the The big, the big one that I sort of references is this face down card mechanic called manifest bread. And it lets you look at um the top card, top two cards, your library of your deck libraries what they call it in the game and put choose one of them to put face down and the other one to go into your graveyard. The thing that this set does, um which was really fun is it used a lot of the um stuff in the graveyard um mechanic called delirium which wants you to have lots of different card types in your graveyard to give you better effects on the battlefield. and So you have a combination of getting to
00:42:59
Speaker
peak at the top of your deck, play creatures for um next to nothing and then flip them over at the time ah is right to spook your opponent into losing. um There's a very cool limited mechanic called impending, ah which lets you cast a creature for a reduced cost, but it can't act as a creature for several turns. Oh, um which is pretty fun and flavorful. um And yeah, I mean, that's that's the most of it. There's another one which is about surviving.
00:43:35
Speaker
which was like, it does cool things. It's just like not as interesting in terms of the flavor. Gotcha. I have another question. Yes. So actually the gathering famously kind of is just a conglomerate of different IPs and, you know, ah it is Is the stuff you you mentioned, is it all like dollar store versions of them? Or is it like the actual characters? Absolutely dollar store version. So that's kind of that that kind of makes me like it more honestly. way The way that
00:44:07
Speaker
wiz and and The way the Magic the Gathering works is that there's two, or they've got their main Magic the Gathering sort of worlds, which are all original IPs, and then they have their branch of products called the Universes Beyond, which has included things like Lord of the Rings, ah Street flyinger straight Fighter, ah The Walking Dead,
00:44:32
Speaker
that great Assassin's Creed. Assassin's Creed. You're welcome. Hatsune Miku. Wait, what? There's Mustard more recently. So is there a Hatsune Miku deck? um There's not a deck. There's about 10 cards with Hatsune Miku on them. Could I make a deck based around those cards? You absolutely could make a deck based around Hatsune Miku. Would it be good? No. Are they bad cards?
00:44:56
Speaker
No, it's not that they're bad cards, it's like, you know, it's like, it's not, they're not built for like, the cards are not like, oh, we got to make the cards have a super powerful work together. It's like, they're cards that are funny because they're Hatsune Miku on them. So the more just collectors items more than anything else. Yeah, they're definitely collectors items. Gotcha. Do you have any? I don't have any Hatsune Miku ones. I do have Assassin's Creed ones.
00:45:22
Speaker
Everyone has Assassin's Creed fan. You can get them from Melbourne Central at some point. Yeah, I know. They're so expensive. And they're doing Marvel one soon. They haven't done the leak. Nah, they're starting the leak. They did Doctor Who? That was cool. Watch out if it leaks, you might get the Pinkertons on you.
00:45:48
Speaker
They had Doctor Who, which was cool. Was that a good deck? like Was that a good set? i i It wasn't a full set, it was four commander decks that were released and I liked it. What were the different commanders? ah So the different commanders were um talk the one I got was the fourth doctor.
00:46:07
Speaker
um One insane doctor to get that's Tom Baker, right? Tom Baker. but Yeah, um Tom Baker's a doctor. um Then I think there was one which was, I think it was the 10th. David Tennant. David Tennant with Rose. Oh, so two as a companion. They like you. They work together as like partners. oh um Fourth doctor was with someone as well. But I can't remember. I don't know any companions from them. So um then it was I think Jodie Whittaker's doctor. Oh, yeah. And then there was one with the master. No Matt Smith. No Matt Smith. Well, they did a segment and it was like doctors one through seven and then eight through eight.
00:46:53
Speaker
through 10, and then 11 through 13. That's an insane. That's insane. Because in the deck that I have, there's like, ah yeah, like eight doctors. That's insane, because that means that you you breed you branched, like all old who with new who that's, that's crazy. Yeah, it's well, so the old who is like one deck. And then we'll know because if you go eight through 10, eight, eight is eight.
00:47:20
Speaker
eccelson 8 is not Eccleston, 8 is the one before Eccleston. So that means 8 is the old who and then 9, 10 are new who. Oh well maybe the one the there's like one which is all the old doctors and then there's like Eccleston through.
00:47:35
Speaker
Matt Smith and I think Melissa Capaldi through 12. Capaldi and Jodie Whitaker and the shooting at 1-1's and shooting at 1-1's. 12-13-15 because 14 is data 10.
00:47:53
Speaker
The, like, the one with all the old doctors also has, like, the war doctor and... Oh, John Hurt? Yeah. That's awesome. I should have that deck. Yeah, you should. It's good. I won't. They do time travel. There's one that does time travel. Only one of them? Only one of them does time travel? Hmm. Hmm. Does other one do space travel and then you can't mix them? No. So, one of them's time travel. One of them's...
00:48:21
Speaker
cares about like, they're called historic spells, which are artifacts and legendary things. They like story events, and so something silly stories, they care about like specific episodes and stuff. What episode? one I can't remember what it does. And then one lets you turn all the people into Cybermen. Probably the master's one, right? Yeah, that does that one. He never works with the Cybermen in New York. No, but it's all the bad guys in one deck.
00:48:49
Speaker
Oh, that makes sense. And Alex, Alex angels. Yeah, we could be here and we could be Satan. Satan in it. I'm from the impossible planet. I haven't. I haven't. Oh, they did fall out once. We've talked too much about much the guy.
00:49:04
Speaker
point is there's new set out. I played it. I had fun. I enjoyed it. I think it's ah not, it's not my favorite this year. Cause lost Kevin to excellent was this year. And it was very, very good, but I reckon is probably my second. Can you, one we should start a thing where why know was lost Kevin's last year maybe lostscar ri was last year. I don't remember. Maybe it's my favorite from this year. I was going to say, we should start a thing. Whenever you talk about magic gathering, you should read it on a scale from one to five, of how good it is for newcomers to jump in on this at this point.
00:49:34
Speaker
Alright, so if one is like bad, bad for newcomers, don't come, don't come. No coming. No, no, come edge. um Five is absolutely. because This is a product design for, for newcomers. This is like, I reckon like a three.
00:49:53
Speaker
Okay. It's not, it's not like impossible, but it's also not ideal. Yeah. What will be ideal is they're doing like an introductory set in next month. In next month. Excellent. Ow. You okay? Yeah, whacked my microphone into my head. I didn't expect it to hurt that much. Oh, I hope you're okay. I'm okay. Should be pretty fun. Yeah, press the button.
00:50:20
Speaker
Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice. Beetlejuice. It only counts if the same person says it three times.
Review: 'Beetlejuice 2024'
00:50:26
Speaker
ah Released in 2024 and directed by Tim Burton. It stars Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, Catherine O'Hara, Justin Thoreau, Monika Baluchi, Jenna Ortega, and Willem Dafoe. Max, can you ah say the summary three times and conjure it up?
00:50:45
Speaker
Yeah, sure. So, um, Winona Ryder grows up and is an adult now and she has a TV show for some reason. Yeah. And also she has a daughter who is Jenna Ortega. And her dad dies in a mysterious plane shark incident and they have to go home for his funeral. And what happens at home? Well, they discover beetle juice.
00:51:15
Speaker
And also Beetlejuice's weird ex-wife from the French middle ages is there. Were they French? I thought it was like Britain. I thought it was like France. No, it was, I don't know. see Speaking in Spanish the whole time as well. So I thought that was a bit. I thought it was a bit also, but honestly, who knows? Honestly, but Monica Bellucci's character does not actually matter at all in this film. She's she's inconsequential.
00:51:42
Speaker
i just want to I just want to say one thing. um yeah Whoever did the casting for this movie just sat on their arse and picked the easiest options.
00:51:54
Speaker
but the eziiest options Well, I mean, to be fair, a bunch of the characters had to come back, right? like Well, okay. um okay let me Let me start the review. Let's start let's start this way.
00:52:26
Speaker
I do not like legacy sequels a a because but like inherently or i and I inherently do not like legacy sequels as an idea and I do not like them most of the time as a product Well, you haven't seen, um, Top Gun Maverick. I have not seen Top Gun Maverick, but I've also never seen the original Top Gun. Yes, you actually don't need to. That's what's so good about Top Gun Maverick. So, so something about this film, you do need to see the original film. I have not seen the original film. That's my own fault. Wait, what? And I'm willing to own it then. No, no, no, hold on. You watched, it you watched this film without having seen the first one. That is correct.
00:53:15
Speaker
You look like you're questioning why you're about to even have this discussion. I feel like I'm talking to someone who actively cannot comment on this film. Probably. Because you don't have the context. So let me talk about why I don't like legacy sequels.
00:53:35
Speaker
is there goingnna be like a bot at the end of you know what i'm just go you do you a bit you do you a bit i'm sorry for interrupting legacy sequels suck the life out of Hollywood because instead of getting new original ideas from newer and original creators we get people who are willing to sell their soul to Disney or Warner Brothers or Universal or whoever to make some schlock that is the rehash of a movie that was popular 30 years ago and as much as the movie from 30 years ago may have been good or even great the movie that they turn around now which may be good or even great is just a rehash of the same ideas and same sort of principles without engineering on any of the ideas or creating any of their own original ones and fundamentally I think it restricts the amount of creativity that can occur
00:54:34
Speaker
in major Hollywood cinema and the popularity and success of the legacy sequel is, in my opinion, inherently detrimental to the Ives.
00:54:51
Speaker
So why'd you think of the film? It was fine.
00:54:59
Speaker
What am I supposed to do with this man? Where am I supposed to go? What did you think of the film? It's a fine film. Perfectly honest, it technically blew my expectations out of the water because I was not expecting anything from this movie and it was a perfectly fine film it is so are down the middle fine like i'm gonna spoil it right now i this movie is a 2.5 for me like it is so just dead center it's not good but it's not bad either
00:55:38
Speaker
Like this film ah It's it's like what what the problem is with this film is ah it is a Somewhat boring film with a lot of really fun things in it that kept spiking my interest So I couldn't remain bored the whole time and it kind of did make a net zero it just by the end of the film just a net zero of how I thought about the film because there are moments when you get to watch Willem Dafoe have the time of his life playing a dead ah action star who is now running the afterlife police department and he's just he loves it Willem Dafoe loves this role he he was born for this role he and he deserves to as well like he puts a lot of work into like when you get when he works with um that guy who did the lighthouse what's it called Eggers Robert Eggers um
00:56:27
Speaker
Roger, Robert, whatever. The guy did the lighthouse. He has to do like actual acting in that. In this one, he got to just enjoy himself. So that's great. um Michael Keaton has sparks of energy in this movie, but it is so obvious that he is tired. Let the poor man rest.
00:56:50
Speaker
What are you, K-Maxx? Sir, okay, so I want to go back to the cast. I really want to talk about the cast. Alright, let's talk about the cast. That's basically what I'm doing. I'm running through the cast. Let's do it. Okay, so there's two ways to approach a legacy sequel, right? You either take the original cast or whoever remains the original cast of the film and you dump them in the film. Yeah, cancel it all dead.
00:57:10
Speaker
or Or you get one guy from the film who everyone remembers and you chuck them in a cameo role. And then you get like Finn Wolfhart or whoever to play whatever. Are you talking about Ghost Becoming?
00:57:28
Speaker
I am talking about Ghostbusters. Have you seen Ghostbusters after life? No, but how can you talk a point stance? This is a casting. You can talk about the casting. It's true. To be fair, to be fair, Ghostbusters actually brings back all four of the Ghostbusters, even though one of them was actually dead at time of filming.
00:57:47
Speaker
which makes it even more ghoulish. Beedlejuice, Beedlejuice, opts for the first option, which is, um, let's pull back as many people from the original cast as we possibly can. Uh, so Michael Canton is Beedlejuice. It's no brainer though, right? He's a titular character. So, ah I'll, I'll get to this.
00:58:12
Speaker
my Michael Keenan's Beetlejuice, you have Winona Ryder as Lydia, and um you even have Catherine O'Hara reprising her role as well. Like you would know. Um, I do because I looked it up on the Wikipedia. Um, letterbox. Yeah, i know I already said it. Don't even try.
00:58:36
Speaker
Um, and then I just like, I'm imagining a casting director sitting in their air conditioned office in West Hollywood sipping on a mixed drink oh and going we're gonna make so much money off this movie we're just gonna pay Michael Keaton as much as he wants and he can appear in five minutes of the movie because Michael Keaton frankly does not appear in a lot of this movie but he doesn't appear in a lot of the last movie either that's like the thing that's that's a thing okay sure but they're paying Michael Keaton fat stacks yeah that have to be
00:59:21
Speaker
And I want to see if I can actually find this out. You keep talking. I'm going to research and they go there sitting there in their air conditioned office. They go, okay, we'll bring back Michael Keaton. We'll pay him whatever he wants, because we're going to make so much money off of this film. And we'll just bring back whoever else we can get whoever else we can't, we'll just kill off conveniently. And then we'll get that girl who was in that Adams family.
00:59:48
Speaker
TV show who everyone loves? Yeah, we'll get her in and she can be the new main character. To be fair, that's because Tim Burton was the guy who made the Wednesday show. Like they, he knew her from that. I mean, sure. But I'd say, sorry. i think michael pe Michael Keaton was paid like, I think, hold on, uh, 10 million.
01:00:13
Speaker
Which isn't actually a lot in today's age.
Critique of Legacy Sequels
01:00:16
Speaker
And they're sitting there in their office and they're going, okay, so we got out we're got our returning cast, we got ah general otaga this This General Ortega. We'll get Willem Dafoe because of what he's doing with Lanter Moss because he'll just do anything these days. Willem Dafoe loves acting. He's like the new Nicolas Cage.
01:00:36
Speaker
Because I really cannot stress this enough, Willem Dafoe is playing with the same energy every character he plays in a Yorkhouse Line 2 bus film. ah And then we'll get someone who looks a lot like the last rendition of Morticia Adams, um and also she was in Dracula. So, you know, like it all works out in the end. Sure. I just think. But don't you think that Danny DeVito as a janitor was inspired?
01:01:09
Speaker
It was a fun camera. Like, yeah okay. I think a lot of this movie and a lot of the previous movie, I have similar opinions on. How could you have opinions on the first film? I inherently dislike this one more because of, um, like i cql because of because it's like a sequel. It's fun.
01:01:32
Speaker
And a lot of the movie is fun. And every now and again, to the movie's credit, It does try and talk about some things like the relationship between a mother and a daughter across multiple generations. The effect of show business on women as they get older. um The soul train. The soul train. And some of the movie is fun. And there are extended song bits, which I like. That's from the old movie too.
01:02:06
Speaker
fun it's from the old they have that in the old movie as well that doesn't mean that i can't not like it in this one i just feel like it's hilarious because you could back your point up more if you'd seen the first one i don't disagree with you there's we're not we're here we're here we're talking about the film and i have not seen the first film so you know why did you not watch it we had two weeks for this dig your own bed and lie in it we had two weeks for this And I've been busy playing Magic the Gathering. I told you this. You did tell me this. No, you're right. You're right. I'm sorry. i'm I'm holding you to a standard I shouldn't be holding you to. Yeah, thank you. Doing your background research. Yeah, that's a horror of me. Yes, I agree. Thank you for appreciating that.
01:02:53
Speaker
i um run this all over again and and And as a result, I think as much as many of the elements of this movie are fun, and many of the elements of this movie are funny, and I'm sure a lot of these elements draw from the original elements of the original film. You say original too many times, and elements. um I just think that there's a lack of soul ironically i mean yes there's there's a lack of soul that comes from well there's a lack of um almost integrity that comes from the sort of damn i really i really do not like legacy sequels what did what did they do to you what did they do existing they they took away original ideas I don't think there's anything inherently wrong with a legacy sequel. I think the problem is that many legacy sequels do exactly that. It's like it's the exact same. I think there is the same amount of things wrong with a legacy sequel as there is wrong with a sequel in general. I agree. And that's why most sequels are bad. That's not true. A lot of sequels are actually pretty good. X-Men 2. Sorry, please continue. That's what X2. They knew what I meant.
01:04:17
Speaker
The legacy sequel to me just like or represents the part of Hollywood that isn't the part that has like this creativity and like ingenuity and resilience but that a lot of Hollywood sort of is this like mythological Hollywood, if you will, is is sort of what um I think those those sort of virtues are, and the legacy sequel to me is just the antithesis of that. It's the idea of ripping out a, um in in a similar way to a reboot, is it's ripping out the soul of something that was good um and trying to cram it into a new body. And so I just
01:05:06
Speaker
um unless there's a really good reason for it or there's a really good execution of it, um it's gonna at best feel soulless and at worst feel like a cash grab and I just feel like as much as there are fun elements in this movie, it it really does feel just a bit empty.
01:05:31
Speaker
Yeah, I mean look, it this film bought itself a lot of ah credit because it was kind of, it seemed to have been made the same way Tim Burton used to make his old films. So the, the worms, for example, in this film look the exact same stop. Well, not the exact same they look a bit more updated, but still very stop motiony. And that was how they were done in the original bill juice, because they obviously didn't have the technology they have today. And
01:06:02
Speaker
There's a lot of real sets it felt at least in this film and um recently Tim Burton has been an absolute fiend for the green screen and like like you look at Willy Wonka's look at Alice in Wonderland like it's all these impossible and uncanny looking ah environments that just do not cement the film in any sort of reality no matter how wacky like you you can cement wacky environments in reality if you make the wacky environment tangible and these environments he's been using recently have not been tangible. They've been very CGI. ah So that that the film buys itself a lot of credit for just actually going the distance to feel like a Tim Burton movie.
01:06:48
Speaker
I just feel like Tim Burton is old and so is everyone in this movie. And so the Angie is just not there. And I think General Ortega is pretty great, but she's pretty great in everything. Like that's not a, that's not a boon to the film. That's just cause General Ortega is a pretty good actress who's, who's rightfully so becoming more and more popular as the years go on.
01:07:09
Speaker
As mentioned before, Michael Keaton is a great actor and we mentioned him at the end of last week because we were talking about this movie. Uh, and we were both talking about just like, as a joke, we were like, what's your favorite Michael Keaton? But I honestly believe that I don't, I love Michael Keaton as an actor and I'm so glad he's back, but he can't do Beetlejuice. Like the energy he needs is not there. He said he's tired. He's old. They made him do Batman two years ago and he's so still recovering from that. And, and we're not a writer. She's great.
01:07:39
Speaker
She really is but like It does that thing there's this is thing that a lot of legacy sequels do and it's not even like a legacy sequel encapsulates It's the best but in like spider-man far from home. No, uh, no way home as well as for that movie. They bring in the two Spider-Man's previously and neither of them have moved on since you've seen them last and in this movie it feels like Winona Ryder herself hasn't moved on as a character like there's been no progression for her in the past 30 years except like there's been superficial progression like she's got um
01:08:12
Speaker
a daughter now and she has, uh, she's had a relationship that we didn't see anything all of. And now she has a, uh, a TV show, but she still has the same characteristics and she still has the exact same hairstyle as she used to have. Like she's, she hasn't grown up or anything. Like there's nothing there's this film feels like it's just nothing. Like I, yeah. It's, it's also like interesting or not interesting, but it's, it's a,
01:08:40
Speaker
on the like On the one hand, you get you have someone like Winona Ryder in a film like this because she was the original um protagonist inan in the original Beetlejuice. yeah and then you have the sort of double take and ironically Michael Keaton did this um as well in when he did his sort of superhero stuff but Winona Ryder being a pretty integral character in Stranger Things which sort of took the world by storm as a homage to that era of
01:09:19
Speaker
like sci-fi and horror um with like pretty strong inspiration from um movies like that um and ah um like other sort of movies coming out from that period when she returns as that role, there's a sort of reflexive experience that happens where you're, yeah it sort of feels like you're watching Winona Ryder rather than watching the character as well, purely because she's almost been like typecast, uh, after the majority of her career, um, after the, after the, um,
01:10:06
Speaker
like the the you know the last 15 years of her career, she's returned in a pretty big way to major cinema and and um has sort of been typecast in that spooky mum role.
01:10:20
Speaker
ah which which is it's It's something that I think is i don't i think it's happening more frequently. i I mentioned this with the Michael Keaton thing and I think this is, yeah, it feels very similar to Michael Keaton going and doing um ah we doing Batman and then doing Birdman.
01:10:42
Speaker
20 years later, 30 years later, um and then almost almost immediately going and playing the vulture in the in Spider-Man Homecoming. um For me was the was the real art that's just Michael Keaton doing what he was doing, but what he was commenting on doing in the other thing that he was doing, which is the same thing. Like the best Marvel villain we've ever had, one of the best ones I've ever had. That's only because it's Michael Keaton, but it's like a great performance because he's a good actor. like Look, that's not my problem with the role. That's not my problem. That's not my problem with my problem. It's not that it's bad. And it's like in the same way that I don't think we're not a writer is bad. I really like when no writer. I think I think she's
01:11:26
Speaker
like has a lot of like heart to the way that she like encapsulates characters. Yeah. um But at the same time, it very much feels like I'm watching a return to a character that has already had commentary done on it by the person doing that character. And it it feels almost it feels true on the nose for me um as a as a effect and i guess like in a way and obviously i'm coming from a position of i haven't watched the original movie and i can't comment on it um but it there are as as previously mentioned the other approach of taking legacy sequel is take the world that you've built and and build something new in that and
01:12:21
Speaker
I wonder what this film would have been like if we took, if they pushed Jenna Ortega's role more, I think, um as much as I liked Jenna Ortega, I think her performance in this was kind of just a little bit uninspired. um Just, it didn't feel very interesting to me. Um, the, uh, the role of the character though, like um she was given. I think, I think a lot of it was, was like, it was the character and the writing of the character. Sorry. I said the role of the character. I meant the acting. No, I i yeah. And I know what you mean, but it it very much felt, felt like a bit of Wednesday light. Um, have you seen Wednesday? I have seen Wednesday. I haven't seen Wednesday. So I wouldn't know. Um,
01:13:09
Speaker
Yeah, it feels a little bit Wednesday night, which I understand why they've done that. But at the same time, it doesn't feel interesting or new. And it felt like given the fact that they're introducing a new character, they could have pushed that more. um And then on top of that, you got these three plots sort of running at the same time. And I think a consolidation of that would have really added a bit to the the punch of the film in terms of making each moment count a little bit more rather than this constant jump um from you know, plot point to plot point because to resolve all three in a nice little bow in a song and dance number at the end, you need to um keep it moving with every single scene. and There's no time to like so spend with the characters and I think that's where we get a bit of like that staleness with
01:14:01
Speaker
um Lydia as a character where yeah you don't feel like there's there's much more to her than there originally was and that's because all she does is move the plot forward and all any of the characters do is is move the plot forward and yeah I don't feel like there's a lot of the characters that you feel like you get to know at all.
01:14:20
Speaker
Hmm. Well, like they even they even give Beetlejuice backstory, which is crazy in of itself. But then because it's because his ex-wife comes back to the dead. Was she dead? She comes back to the dead. That's cool. That's that's cool. um I like that.
01:14:38
Speaker
But I said, yeah, she comes back for the to the dead. That's like the whole. Yeah, but yeah that's exactly how they would phrase it. But it's like just it's weird because she spends the whole movie looking for him, but it's pretty inconsequential. Like the fine. The time they finally meet is at the end and she gets eaten by a sandworm really quickly. Also, the side note, do you reckon it felt like they were aping on Dune a little? they were Absolutely aping on Zoom. OK.
01:15:06
Speaker
Doom? They were aping on Dune. They were absolutely aping on Dune. They must have been dooning a little bit in the first one, and but in this one it feels like it was really, like, really obvious. This this this one, yeah absolutely. they Like, the way it was shot and the way that the... the the the Oh, I just whistled through my teeth somehow. The way it was shot, though, and the way that the the the itpi the the worm would come out, it was ah funny.
01:15:32
Speaker
Anyway, ah but yeah, she's just Monica Belucci is really only in this because she's dating um Tim Burton because Helena Bonham Carter used to get that and now Monica Belucci gets that. That's just I don't know the most the most she has the most effect she has on this film is an extra five minutes the runtime because we couldn't speed up the part where she staples herself back together for some reason we had to watch all of it. I and liked that. It's boring. It's fun. It's a fun idea.
01:16:01
Speaker
for two minutes. Not the whole full time we spent on it. It was so long. Oh my god. The song kept going. I thought that was fun. It was it was fun up into a book. Okay, what we got here is a difference in opinion. And I'm not going to judge you for yours. And I heard you don't judge me for mine. But for me, it felt like It went for too long. You didn't feel that way? I respect that, but for me, it needed to move on. The joke was done. I don't see why we spent so much time on that. I liked Bob, the small-headed, like the older small head of ghost guys. They're funny. That's all I got to say on Bob, though. I'm not gonna say on anything. This film has charm. The serial killer subplot where like the boy that General Motega is dating, it's just a reason for them to enter into the afterlife.
01:16:49
Speaker
And that's sort of what you've been touching on. Everything's just for the sake of plot. And you don't really get to know any of the characters. The consequences don't matter because you sort of all know it's going to all tie up. You know it's going to be fine at the end anyway. And it's just like, well, we're just taking the longest route to get there.
01:17:14
Speaker
And yeah, I think as a result, even though, yeah, parts of it are fun, parts of it are fun and funny. It's just missing all of that, that heart that you that I sort of would that you'd want in a film like this. And the other the other thing, the other comparison that I I drew and I know this is going to be impossible for you because you haven't seen this film. But there's a there's a strong of to me it felt like there's a there's part of the film is this commentary on this. Winona Ryder playing this character who's an aging like television celebrity. Yeah, do the substance.
01:17:55
Speaker
I'm going to talk about substance yeah because like there's this whole subplot where the winner and the writer plays this aging television celebrity and she's neglecting her family. and um As a result, like she's becoming substance dependent. and um The substance? Not the substance. Dependent. She's becoming, you know, drug dependent and she is sort of becoming this sort of washed up like actor. And there was a film that came out quite recently. I don't know if it's in, has a full cinema release yet, but I saw it at MIFF and it's called the substance. which is about a washed up actor who ah does who like does what it takes to to stay relevant in a body horror comedy. And um I just think that a movie like that had so much more to say than this did. And this very much felt like, oh, we'll sort of touch on it because we know Ryan's kind of old, hey?
01:18:59
Speaker
And corin so it just felt like that. It didn't really feel like, uh, we're going to really talk about this or we're really going to talk about any of the other sort of ideas, the like mother daughter relationship that general taker has with, with, um, we know the writer, um, or then.
01:19:20
Speaker
we're known writer's character has with Kathara Hara. We just want to like not going to address any of that. We're going to proceed and we're not going to address it. We're going to talk vaguely about the abusive studio executive who like.
01:19:35
Speaker
is trying to leech money off when they're a writer, but we'll just like, get them to do exposition at the end, so it'll all be fine. um And it's, it both makes me feel like the expectation is the audience is stupid, but also just that they didn't want to talk about any issue for or any sort of idea beyond You know, Biddlejuice is a ghost demon who can, who summon, you summon in these go to the afterlife and there's, he wears a funny jacket. And so like, as much as that is fun, it's, I think it's just missing that it's especially the, like the attempt to hit and the mess for me is, is, yeah. Yeah.
01:20:24
Speaker
I don't have much more to say. Um, I'm done. All right. Yeah. I mean, everyone already knows my score, but I have to make a joke to me at least. i game like Can I guess? Yeah.
01:20:36
Speaker
yeah I gave it. Are you going to guess? Yeah. Oh, so yeah. Um, I'm going to guess you gave it three and you're going to say bill juice three times. I wasn't, I was, I actually hadn't got anything planned. I was just going to make something up on the spot. But, oh um, I gave. Beetlejuice. Beetlejuice. Beetlejuice. Beetlejuice. Beetlejuice. The juice is loose. Say it one more time. So he has to go back. ah Yeah, that is how it works. We didn't say it's now he's stuck around a good job. Now he's stuck.
01:21:08
Speaker
Uh, how are you going? Oh, still my guts. I sound like Rick from Rick and Morty version of it, though. Um, I give this movie to Michael Keaton rolls from 80s Tim Burton movies that he reprised in the 2020s in a substantial role for Tim Burton's partner. Hooray. Yay.
Fan Mail and Listener Feedback
01:21:34
Speaker
Uh, the blood that said pizza and, um, Max and Mitch's mini-media is now also saying fan mail? Question mark? Dude, dude, dude, dude, fan mail. Has that gotten louder? No. Hmm. Interesting. We do have fan mail. Yay. This one's titled. Aliens. Aliens? I barely know them. Hi.
01:22:02
Speaker
hi big never That's me. Sorry, I mispronounce it. Wow. Wow. Yeah, that's me. And from from the from the because I was that's what I said in the alien film. I'm i'm a little behind and just caught up on the ATA alien app. And I have a cute fact for you that I heard on no such thing as a fish.
01:22:23
Speaker
First of all, though, I want to say that I think it's super cool that you've got an actual alien to guest host with Max for this episode. Love that representation. It was actually a lot of work to bring in an alien. The visa restrictions are really tough. It was hard to bring it in, but it was also hard to get me to relinquish my spot on the podcast. I've fought with him for weeks about it. I'm such a diva. I'm such a diva.
01:22:52
Speaker
So apparently during a lunch break on the set of E.T., someone noticed that tiny Drew Barrymore was sitting next to the E.T. puppet and chatting away to him as though he was real. But it gets cuter. They hired someone to operate the puppet during breaks so he could actually respond to her.
01:23:10
Speaker
ah Adol through Barrymore has been adamant in interviews that she knew he wasn't real, but everyone who was on the set as an adult at the time is pretty sure she didn't. Adorable. That was very cute. Anyway, it was really great to hear, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Perspective on movies that depict their own people, but I did miss Mitch's input. I'm sure he had a good reason for skipping out. Yeah, it's because I kicked him out. Yeah, I wasn't allowed in. But I have to say, it was a little weird that his absence wasn't even acknowledged. um
01:23:43
Speaker
yeah look sometimes yeah it felt like his presence was there i don't know if you listened to that episode but like it's because i was i really i was standing behind well ah the whole time and it was just uncomfortable so they didn't the guy was just ignoring me uh you guys are really normally really good with that stuff okay keep busting them blocks we
01:24:07
Speaker
hu um let's let's sign off but listen for second Beetlejuice? Can you spell that out for me? Um, yep. Oh yeah. ah yeah Okay, sure. It's cryoxian. What's cryoxian? I learnt that at university. What is it? It's an extraterrestrial language.
01:24:35
Speaker
but we don't know any real extraterrestrials. You didn't go to university, Mitchell. It's okay. Well, I'm going to one. It's true. It's not in the past tense. It's current tense. Well, you should take your extra extraterrestrial language class. Let's just move on to me embarrassing myself.
01:24:54
Speaker
Hey, hey, Mitzi, I saw it. Oh, what? Max, what? It's time for...
01:25:07
Speaker
Filmbuff, Filmbuff, Filmbuff!
01:25:27
Speaker
we'll get to that later. The first one's always a court. Let's go! Can we have that court? I'm ready. First one is always a court. I don't know if you've been in a fight before. There's not usually this much talking. Oh, that's some Falcon from Civil War. I'm fairly sure you're correct. On the card, it does say Spider-Man. It's too Spider-Man. It's too Spider-Man. It's not Spider-Man. I definitely remember it not being Spider-Man. It might also be the Winter Soldier. I don't know which one of those two it is because it's the same fight, but I think it's Falcon.
01:26:03
Speaker
Um, we're not going to, I'll give you a point. I'll give you a point. We're also not going to check that because neither of us care about that. Yeah. Kevin Costner and Christian Slater play half brothers in which nineties classic Christian Slater. Is it, um, field of dreams is not field of dreams. The answer is Robin Hood, Prince of Thebes.
01:26:26
Speaker
Oh, I haven't seen that one yet. That's the one that, um, Kerry Eules makes fun of in Robin Hood Man Tights, because they're like, why are they going to listen to you? And it goes, because unlike some Robin Hoods, I can speak with an English accent. I've come to warn you that if you do not stop levying these evil taxes, I shall lead the good people of England in a revolt against you. And why should the people listen to you? Because unlike some other Robin Hoods, I can speak with an English accent.
01:26:56
Speaker
For what movie did Prince win an Oscar?
Movie and Director Mix-Ups
01:27:01
Speaker
It's a Batman. It was not Batman. Damn it. Although that single... Is it Purple Rain? That movie. It is Purple Rain. Who directed The Usual Suspects? Oh no. Oh no. So it's half the times when you know the movie, you know who's in it, but you don't actually know who made the goddamn thing.
01:27:26
Speaker
who made who who directed the usual spot brian singer I actually forgot that. That's okay. He's had a head of file. I don't even remember him. name the two rices of rushmore and The West Anderson is one. Surely it's the same actors in both, which would be, um,
01:27:48
Speaker
He plays Gideon Graves. Am I right? is it but it's not It's not the character person you're thinking of. I am fairly sure he is in both films. Is it Bill Murray? It is not Bill Murray. It is Owen Wilson. Damn it! He's actually not in the first one. He's not in Rushmore. Is he not? Okay. I haven't seen it. I don't think he is at least. He might be, but I forget. I didn't like Rushmore that much.
01:28:10
Speaker
What do Chris Pine, Alec Baldwin and Harrison Ford have in common? They were all, they've all played Jack Ryan. That is correct. I think this has been your best round so far. That's, um, one, two, three
Podcast Editing Jokes
01:28:27
Speaker
and a half. You actually always, um, I've found a lot of times when I've been editing, you've actually taken a point off me at the end. Like you've always reached. It's tax. that's such one Like one for me, one for you, right? oh boy like yeah so that's Is that where you get your points? You take one of. ah Yeah. it See how many you notice me taking off here.
01:28:52
Speaker
Um, all right. Well, it doesn't matter anyway. That's the wrong one. All right. This has been the, uh, ghostly blockbuster podcast. No, I'm not doing that because that means I'm going to have to think of when you want each week. I don't want to do that. I've been the joke. I told her the very start of this podcast. You ain't for me to say it. Um, ghoulish Mitch. And I've been elaborate home alone style.
01:29:22
Speaker
um You didn't
Contact Information
01:29:24
Speaker
remember that. You have that written down, don't you? ah Hi Jinx. Hi Jinx. Max. Max. You're welcome. I forgot my name for a moment. It's okay. I said my name wrong at the very start, remember? um You can send us questions, reviews, and 100 hate mail at blockbusterpotty at gmail
Critiquing Podcast Endings
01:29:43
Speaker
dot.com. I feel like some point of us would say we're not saying reviews of us. We're saying reviews of other films and other, well, your mini medias, just give us like review media and we'll read it. like You can also review us. that You can't review us, but um you can do that on podcatches. You don't need to send it by email. Yeah, but but if you see a movie that you like and or a book you want to tell us about it, you should do that.
01:30:07
Speaker
Yeah, like send it in. Um, we should probably make that more obvious from now on because I feel like it gets lost now. And yeah, maybe we should rewrite that. We should rewrite this end. This is a boring end. And we've, we've made it such an impenetrable mess of garbage to listen to. Let's, let's, let's try it. Let's spit ball. Let's go right now. This has been the block busted podcast. Yeah. We have the two of us and, um, send us questions.
01:30:37
Speaker
your own reviews. So currently, all you've done is just add words and slightly change around how we de introduce ourselves. Okay, okay, okay, okay. I got this. i got was Yeah. This is definitely what the listeners want to listen to.
01:30:54
Speaker
Yeah. Welcome to, wait, no, fuck. Welcome. We're leaving. Other end, other end. Goodbye to the Blockbuster Podcast. Thanks for Thanks for listening to the Blockbuster Podcast. Can we say goodbye from the Blockbuster? Like we're saying goodbye. Goodbye from the Blockbuster Podcast. Good night everybody. This has been the Blockbuster Podcast. Nope. You sound like, um,
01:31:15
Speaker
something that would be politically incorrect for me to say.
Social Media Handles
01:31:18
Speaker
if you want to share with us your thoughts on um ah send it to us um with any other questions or warranted hate bail to blockbuted pot at gmail dot com that is party spel p r double d i a um you can also find us on social media at instagram tiktok and twitter are the platforms that we're on that we occasionally post to. What's the username? At BB potty. There you go. The letter B letter B potty two bays. BB potty. No, that's it. There's no that's norg Gmail. um It's just BB potty. There is a Gmail. But there is a Gmail that's not on Instagram. We should put an Instagram.
01:32:12
Speaker
Um, make a link tree next week. Um, no and can i kind of wait, we, next week we will promise to remember to put in a spoiler warning at the beginning of this film at the episode because I realized now that we did not, I don't have it properly
Next Week's Movie Preview
01:32:32
Speaker
highlighted home. Let me go.
01:32:34
Speaker
But also next week, get your big nature-loving parental robot to take you to the cinema as we watch the Iron Giant and the Wild Robot. No, I didn't just reuse the same thing I used last week. I'm actually excited for these movies. and Yeah, I need to find time to watch them though. I'm so busy this week. Join us in some nature-loving robots. Dude, I'm 90% sure. I know the Iron Giant's going to make me cry and I'm pretty sure the Wild Robot's going to make me cry too.
01:33:04
Speaker
I've, I've heard very good things about the wild robot so far.
ESP and Absurd Jokes
01:33:08
Speaker
So I'm very. Cane. Wait, you haven't seen the Iron Giant, have you? I have seen the Iron Giant, but not for many years. That's true. Right. Yeah. That's right. Because the thing, this doesn't matter. They don't care. Do you want to give us, give our listeners something to think about during the week? Yeah. This week, con people with ghosts utilize that ability. I know you have it. ESP. Max has ESP. You used it last week to give me a summary of a film that we watched.
01:33:34
Speaker
Mm-hmm. I don't think it was last week. I think it was an earlier week. Look, honestly, we've said the word week so many times now, it's lost all meaning. Week, week, week. That's how you summon a puss to your pug puss. Bop, bop, bop, bop, bop, bop, bop, bop. Dot, she didn't even look at him. This is more serious than I thought. Apparently, your mother is amorously infatuated with you instead of your father.
01:34:00
Speaker
Whoa, wait wait a minute, talk. Are you trying to tell me that my mother has got the hots for me? Precisely. Whoa, this is heavy. There's that word again, heavy. Why are things so heavy in the future? Is there a problem with the Earth's gravitational pull? What?