Westside Steve

Sorry for the fuck up.... WSS

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Beetlejuice Warner Brothers PG-13. 104 min The first BEETLEJUICE hit the Silver Screen in 1988, along time ago and was one of the most innovative and interesting films of all time. That presents two separate possibilities. First of all the audiences in 1988 are almost 30 years older so that same demographic today won't remember the first one. Option number two is that it is such an iconic movie it has probably been seen over and over in reruns over the last few decades so there is a chance. Here are some positives that have nothing to do with the quality of the film one way or the other. This is an outstanding cast and they are pretty well holding their own because it's the same folks from the same flick in 88. I'm assuming these stars are having a good time so that's nice. Also we know that Winona Ryder has had some bad luck in her personal life over the last few years and this paycheck is probably a welcome addition to her lifestyle. One small personal plus for me is that instead of the Banana Boat Song the big musical number is a pretty impressive version of Jimmy Webb's MacArthur Park both the Richard Harris version and the Disco version to a lesser extent. Jimmy Webb is one of my favorite writers in the world and I know royalties from a movie soundtrack pay really well. Good for Jimmy. Especially if it garners a nomination for best adapted song but let's not get ahead of ourselves. Another revelation: it's not just a remake of the first film, at least not exactly. It really is a sequel. After having lived through the insanity as her parents, Geena Davis and Alec Baldwin haunted the ghost house, a grown up Lydia (Ryder) has embarked on a career as a supernatural kind of reality show host. Two of the foils Jeffrey Jones and Glenn Shadley are no longer living and the part of the asshole has been taken over by Justin Theroux a lecherous conniving TV producer looking to steal whatever he can get. Lydia now has a daughter Dolores played by Monica Bellucci about the same age as she was in the first film and just as big a pain in the ass. A whiny and bitchy goth chick you know the scoop. But Lydia does love her daughter, doesn't really love her career. She's about to get mixed up with handsome but evil spirit who has bad intentions for her. As with the first film when there's something going wrong related to the spirit world who you gonna call? No not GHOSTBUSTERS, you call Beetlejuice. Just like an 88 he shows up ready to kick ass and take names of the offending undead. But then again he's got a raunchy and totally improper request this time involving marrying Lydia's teenage daughter. Yikes. Poor Dolores is stuck with a choice between two very terrible spirits. And Beetlejuice himself is being tracked down by an angry and evil ex-wife. Some of you will relate. It's actually not a bad story just that you seen all the gags before. Like watching a 99-year-old Dick Van Dyke dance in comparing it to the original MARY POPPINS. Anyway I'll be generous since I like all the people in the cast and go with a lukewarm: C+ WSS

Blink Twice MGM Amazon R. 103 Min So this issue will include two movies filed under weird for weird sake. CUCKOO was obviously Euro trash and a bit easier to write off as nonsense. There was a lot more money spent on BLINK TWICE and a somewhat higher profile cast and certainly better production values. Also hindered by the fact that with the elevated production values it also carries the weight of pretentious themes. No more or less nonsense than CUCKOO just flashier. It's directed by Zoe Kravitz daughter of pretentious but somewhat talented Rockstar Lenny Kravitz. This thing starts out as a pretty pointed comparisons to Epstein's Island. The character closest related to Epstein would be Slater King (Channing Tatum) who starts out with a public apology for some sort of debauchery that's gone on under his watch at a giant corporation retreat atmosphere. From here we jump back and forth in flashback and whatever the opposite of flashback is as Kravitz tries to cobble together a continues telling of what went on. I'll give you a hint it's a little bit frenzied and hard to follow. Among the male and female guests there are plenty of episodes of sexually violent insanity drug use and some crazy things you don't know what they are exactly. Early in the film Slater picks up some party girls and invites them to come visit him on his island paradise. I can tell you that each of these episodes become more and more dangerous and usually end in one or more guests winding up dead. There is also a special drug possibly only found on the island that makes the victim combine the emotions of extreme joy and extreme fear blended into one. Frightening combination to be sure and possibly the key to the entire Islands existence. So as soon as we almost figure out why these episodes are happening we're faced with the question of who is behind all this? Is Slater bright enough to have pulled it off? Or any of the doctors and psychiatrists politicians and business moguls behind any of this? Is the resident Mad Doctor pulling all the strings? If you suffer through what becomes a more and more gruesome and more and more boring film there's a final scene which throws all your suspicions into the trash. I won't even hint as to what that is but rather than being a wow moment it's more of a huh moment. As I often do I will ask a couple other audience members what they thought of the film and spoke to a couple of nice folks at one of my favorite places the Lake 8 Cinema in Barberton. The young man said he enjoyed it and particularly liked the twist ending. Upon asking him what he thought the twist ending meant he scratched his chin and admitted he had no clue. I'm not afraid to admit I didn't either. And that might be because neither did Kravitz. One positive I took from this movie is the Channing Tatum who I compare to a cheaper uglier and less talented Brad Pitt, actually performed a few scenes that seemed to take more acting talent that he's been called on to deliver before so good for him I guess. I didn't think Leading Lady Naomi Ackie was attractive enough for the role and looked even worse when covered with tears and snot in the throes of that particular drug. Still Tatum was a very small bright spot for those of us who had to sit through this piece of crap. D+ WSS

Cuckoo Weltkino Verleijh R. 103 min I won't call him out by name but a close friend of mine nice guy, family man, great musician and fellow Canton Aultman Hospital alumni told me that he'd seen a film called CUCKOO and that he really liked it. He also said it was really weird which should have been a red flag, except for the fact that I've seen a lot of weird things that were great. Frankly gang if I ever get around to writing a book entitled Weird Movies That Were Great this one will absolutely not be in there. As with so many European, here German, films there's a big drop off between the professional cinematic polish that United States films usually have. That doesn't mean that good acting can't Elevate one to the stratosphere, it can. Too bad this one didn't have any great actors. Or a great script or story. But to give my buddy credit yes, it was weird. CUCKOO also boasts an array of qualities that seem specific to European/German/Swedish films. The most irksome to me is too many subtitles. I hate them because I can't read them. Besides looking as though it was shot with a 16 mm handheld camera the actors all seemed to have a vaguely unkempt look dressed in what appear to be Goodwill clothing. Maybe that's just the way they dress over there. A sullen 17 year old girl gets a job working the desk at some sort of Resort/ Laboratory in which one of the main requirements is that she not leave or arrive after dark. Of course there's something weird about that right? Of course she's a teenager and of course teenagers hate to follow the rules, so she takes her bicycle home after dusk and is pursued by a surrealistic crazy woman and just barely makes her escape. We don't know what the crazy woman is up to but it is eventually revealed that there is some sort of insane laboratory experiment/ cult thing going on. Her parents as well as everyone else associated with this madhouse seem to be involved to some extent or another. I'm not going to give away the plot but I will tell you one of the key pieces of evidence, a book entitled Cuckoo. Either we never covered the Cuckoo's mating habits or I paid little attention in biology class but it appears that the female bird lays her eggs in other birds nests and then bails on it leaving other birds to raise the Cuckoo's children as their own. That's the only clue I will give you. The rest of the movie is frenetic nonsense and indecipherable characters. But when the hook is revealed you will be at least a little bit surprised but certainly not enough to make this movie going experience worthwhile, at least for me. D+ WSS WSS

It Ends With Us Sony PG-13. 131 min The chick flick is absolutely one of the biggest categories of movie ever, but there are many different styles underneath that umbrella. From Steel Magnolias to Sleeping with the Enemy to anything with Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant and everything on the Hallmark Channel. Most of them share at least a handful of plot devices and stock characters. There are almost always two male love interests for our heroin to choose between. Though both will be good looking one will be more sensitive kind and loving and the other one will be an asshole. Hint she's probably going to end up with a nice guy . Often times the heroin will be a single mother struggling to get by on a meager salary or trying desperately to get her own business off the ground. She will also be attractive but in a way that other women find attractive. Oh yes, and she will have issues with one or both of her parents. Blake Lively is Lily Bloom a repressed young woman whose mother likes to make sure she stays that way. After being called upon to eulogize her father at his funeral Lily finds that she can't think of five good things to say about him and she bolts. Wandering about the city she winds up in the penthouse of a handsome young physician Ryle Kincaid (Justin Baldoni), has a couple glasses of wine and allows him to become her second sexual encounter. The first? She describes him as homeless but not in the way you would think. He's hard-working but poor, sensitive and about to report for duty to the United States Marine Corps. She gives him food, clothing and a place to stay while he's waiting to be assigned. Frankly he looked a little bit too wimpy to be a Marine but I guess this is what young girls think Marines might actually be like. After telling the story to Dr Kincaid who she's about to hit the sack with the story flashes back and forth between her relationship with Atlas, yes Atlas, and the doctor. One might see the doctor as the perfect catch studly rich brilliant but wait; he does have a mean streak, just like Lily's old man! Are we starting to see a pattern? At any rate Dr Kincaid really seems to adore her, or is at least very infatuated with her and makes it his goal to win her reluctant hand in marriage. Now during the time she's struggling with getting her own business, a combination antique, flower and tea shop off the ground and dealing with her husband's control issues the sweet and gentle Marine has arrived home and opened up a gourmet restaurant. How's that for chick flick? Lily and the family randomly select his restaurant, and the two men automatically dislike each other. Is it all women or just in the movies that love to pit one guy against the other? From here there's a slight divergence from what we might expect from a film of this type. There are three incidents of control/violence each of which could possibly be viewed as an accident. Possibly. There are a few times that Atlas really wants to kick the shit out of Ryle but thanks to the urging of Lily he holds off. He will receive his just desserts at her hands not his. I won't tell you how it comes out but I guess it's okay, especially if you're looking at it from a woman's point of view. Which is exactly how it should be. By the way, one little hint: us does not refer to a male and female. (By the way in an odd piece of casting the young Atlas and somewhat older Atlas are played by two different actors, Alex Neusteadter and Brandon Sklenar. I don't see the need because Hollywood makeup can certainly age a guy a few years, and they don't really look alike.) B- WSS

Cool. glad the algorithm is working. I sent that to the mayor of Abilene. Texas and kansas who's really hoping to get some sort of response!

Let me know I think I get the spammers booted off. WSS

https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=PzBCfrUt9W8&si=aZUcStSenjhWB70v I just ran across this song at random thought it was pretty damn interesting I know absolutely nothing about the artist. WSS

To each his own high suppose. I'm not a huge fan but I think celine dion has a world class voice. WSS

As I said, it grew on me as it went along. Really didn't like it at first until the story, the historic parable, the characters and the acting fell into place. WSS

Well you are a member now. Welcome aboard. WSS

Hi everybody I just did a big upgrade and added a handful of new applications. Check in and say hello. WSS

Wolverine Deadpool Resurrection Marvel Disney R. 127 min Every time I review a superhero movie I go through the same disclaimer how Superman, meaning DC Comics, versus Marvel fans blah blah blah. And I always admit that while Stan Lee is brilliant his claim to fame is imitating characters created from other sources but that the changes he makes often make his characters better than the ones that have been cloned. This time it's just a little bit different. Deadpool was a DC Comic standout and was seen as such a cash cow by Sony / Disney / Marvel/dc/ whoever the hell has money riding on the franchise that it was purchased lock stock and barrel so it is now part of the Marvel Universe. Got it? Yeah me neither. Still along with Wolverine it could be my favorite Marvel franchise of all time. When the antihero movement got underway back in the 60s, or even the late 50s, maybe before, pure of heart Heroes like Superman became a little less interesting than the ones who bent the rules had had a dark side. Deadpool is probably the first R rated superhero not because of the ubiquitous violence that they all involved themselves in but because he has no fear of dropping the occasional F-bomb. And drop them he does. I didn't bother to count but I know there's a particular number that a movie cannot exceed without garnering and NC-17 rating. They don't want that because they want the older brothers or friends to bring the kids in to see DEADPOOL. Makes sense? Yep. In this episode we have another great Marvel hero, namely Wolverine, who has risen above his X-Men cohorts to be a star all on his own. Recently LOGAN, the actual name of Wolverine , spelled the end of the franchise as Hugh Jackman vowed never to come back. Like they say promises are made to be broken and maybe it's just the fun or maybe it's the checkbook but the Australian actor decided to saddle up one more time. The term RESURRECTION comes into play because here both DEADPOOL/WOLVERINE are indestructible in their own way, their super bodies regenerating after huge amounts of trauma. You might recall the plot derivative nonsense and in a way you'd be correct but it's very clever derivative nonsense and spends a great deal time making fun of itself just for that. They've also broken the fourth wall which is a movie hook in which characters on screen actually talk to the audience. And that's fun here. For example earlier in the film Wolverine and Deadpool are about to have a superhero battle smashing the hell out of each other as well as buildings and surrounding vehicles. Right before that scene Deadpool tells the audience that it's obligatory and that he knows they expect it. One interesting aspect of the plot here is that Wolverine, Logan, wants out of the X-Men. Deadpool on the other hand feels terrible because he can't be accepted into the Avengers. Oh, did I mention that the Metaverse gets thrown in here as well? Yes while the Metaverse can be an interesting concept it can also end up with some silly woke crap like Spideyverse. Don't worry it's actually kind of cool here. It makes for some humorous scenes as the search for the new Wolverine goes on everywhere. Short, tall, male, female, animal, gay, straight you name it. The search ends when Deadpool finds the real Wolverine drunk and a bar and has to convince him come back for one more rodeo. Oh sure there's the required bad guy who wants to either rule or destroy the universe or possibly even both. Wolverine doesn't really care except that he doesn't like the bad guy and Deadpool wouldn't care except that he wants to save a handful of people who were his family in better days gone by. This goal is achieved by a lot of fighting swearing and smashing stuff up, as usual. Still it's good quality fight choreography and very clever repartee. Among some other places the film finds hooks to borrow include MAD MAX THUNDERDOME and that episode of Star Trek in which Spock gives his life for his friends. And then later the one that they bring him back with The Genesis Project. Anyway it's a lot easier to say I loved it than to try to explain any of the silliness in the plot. Great action great dialogue and even a kind of heartwarming ending. And plenty of other stuff to keep you from getting bored. I didn't love it for the first 15 minutes but let me tell you it creeps up on you. A WSS

Longlegs Neon R. 121 min Hopefully I'm not giving anything away by recounting my conversation they fellow theater patron at the end of this flick. I had been told by one of the employees at the Lake 8 that he, like I, had heard this film was truly terrifying. Also I'd seen the trailers and they seemed really creepy. So the gentleman and I were expecting something pretty shocking. Our conversation after the film ended was it amused look at each other a chuckle , when we said simultaneously “what a piece of shit.” Indeed it was and even though nobody was expecting a comedy I got at least one laugh and that was at myself for buying into the ad. I know I should have known better. I guess I'm just one of those trusting souls. In all honesty it does start out a little bit creepy with an FBI forensic investigator being assigned to look into a series of gruesome and unexplained murders. Most of them had something in common and that was that a seemingly normal family member or friend just goes berserk at butcher's everybody in a closed location. That means that the idea that the killer got in through a window or a door isn't really an option. Now the investigator is blessed with a photographic memory and that comes in handy for the skeptical FBI members. It's not long before she and the entire audience get the idea that there's a demon at work here. So for anyone who's ever seen an exorcist movie we know that demons are good at getting in and out of human bodies especially when they've been invited. Well that's what's happened here. About the only thing there is to be curious about is to what reason the demon has to perpetrate all this evil upon so many innocent victims. Well, it is actually a demons job, and that's kind of their responsibility right? It must be a union thing. So since we pretty much know what's going on from early in the film it makes the rest of the movie seem even more boring than it is if that's possible. By the way to take even more mystery out of this dog the investigator's mom, a very devout Bible thumping woman, was also involved in one of these situations where everybody in the family, well except for the investigator, wound up bloody and at room temperature. So there are scenes throughout the flick where mom, who's in the looney bin, tries to save her daughter's soul during their visits. So are you wondering where the name long legs came from yet? Well there's a drifter, kind of a Wandering Minstrel who ingratiates himself to families all across the, well, wherever this takes place. He's creepy, ugly, smelly and blessed with a terrible singing voice and obviously possessed by the devil. (I was going to mention one of my old band mate) One might have wondered how he ingratiated himself to normal people but by that time I'd given up caring about anything except when this turn was going to be over. Also to make matters worse the whole thing is in flashback, really sloppy erratic flashback, so it begins with the actual climax. D- WSS