Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024) ***
A mess of a movie that treads water trying to be funny while navigating multiple storylines that don't pan out and constant callbacks to the original, but there are enough sight gags and clever ideas to keep it entertaining. The actors have fun going back to the well, but it all centers on Winona Ryder, who does not perform well here (not that her character is given much to do). They also make an oddly unnecessary effort to work in Jeffrey Jones without having to cast him.
Valdez is Coming (1971) ****
Burt Lancaster's an old Mexican with an infrequent accent who gets revenge on an evil rancher. One of those "they messed with the wrong person" movies based on an Elmore Leonard story. Simple but effective spaghetti western, and I like how the villains come to respect Lancaster by the end.
Went the Day Well? (1942) ****
Germans take over a British village during WWII and the villagers have to fight back. Starts out as a light-hearted affair until it gets serious, and then it has some surprisingly brutal moments (for 1942). The concept is relatably modern (Die Hard or Red Dawn comes to mind) and I was rooting for them. It's weirdly presented as "a true story that took place during the war" even though the war was hardly over.
It All Came True (1940) **
Bogart's a gangster on the run that hides out in a house full of eccentrics. Billy Wilder took this same premise a year later and made the brilliant Ball of Fire. This is the unfunny version, although the musical ending is a bit amusing when they turn the house into a nostalgic 1890s nightclub. Bogart does little to give it charm, Ann Sheridan comes out unscathed, but her straight love interest Jeffrey Lynn is a bore.
Hearts and Armour (1983) **
I am slowly rereading Ariosto's epic poem Orlando Furioso, and found out it had been turned into a cheesy Italian sword and sorcery movie, so I had to check it out. Their heart's in the right place, but they clearly don't have the resources to pull this off. For example, instead of two armies facing off, they decide to just send their four best warriors. At least half the budget was spent on making ridiculous helmets. However, by keeping the focus on a few characters and not trying to do anything too outrageous, they pull off a decent, extremely watered-down version of the story. The actors all look like 80s models, including an Italian Tanya Roberts wannabe. Wait, no, it is Tanya Roberts. Apparently she went to Italy and squeezed this movie in between The Beastmaster and Sheena. Considering this is a genre where anyone with brawn could get cast, the actors do relatively fine with what they're given. If anything, it adds some context while reading the poem.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2 (2024) ****
With two years between seasons, Rings of Power presented me with a dilemma. Do I go back and rewatch the first season, or rely on my fading memory. Well, I didn't bother rewatching, but I sure could have used a recap episode. I was able to sort things out eventually, but I lost the thread with the many human characters and all their backstories. The Jack Black-looking dude is evil but that's about it. The first season toyed with audience expectations and the mystery of who is who. Now that it's all revealed, Season 2 plunges ahead with the forging of the rings and Sauron's rise to power. Despite the scope and length, it still feels like diet Lord of the Rings, and I don't love any of the characters (except maybe Sauron - Charlie Vickers is terrific), but that's all fine with me if I get to revisit Middle Earth. It builds to a decent conclusion with a siege on a city and a thrilling battle with a troll (followed by the troll's awesome death metal requiem in the credits).
Every Brilliant Thing (2016) ****
A filmed play without a stage, where Jonny Donahoe walks among the audience and uses their help to reenact scenes from his life. Although it's about his mother's suicide and finding meaning in life, it's full of humor and is more touching than despressing. It doesn't really build to a big conclusion though, making it seem like some major takeaway was missing. Oh, and I spotted a friend of mine in the audience!
Went the Day Well?