Beetlejuly: Beetlejuice

The time has come to review the namesake of this entire month, Beetlejuice. 1985's Pee Wee's Big Adventure put Tim Burton on the map, and although he was on the verge of bringing the brainchild of Bob Kane to the big screen, he still had some time to whip up a twisted, dark and humorous film of his own. He had been sent several scripts for several films and was disenchanted by most of them, until he received the script for Beetlejuice, written by Michael McDowell. McDowell had worked with Tim Burton on The Jar, an episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents which Burton directed and when the two suffered creative differences, McDowell ultimately left the project and was replaced by Warren Skaaren. The water was boiling for what is often considered to be one of the funniest films ever put to celluloid, but when I first saw the film in my young years, it became a thorn in my flower bush. Michael Keaton's Beetlejuice character was a demonic, terrifying entity and the sand worms outside the Maitlands' house put chocolate in my pants! I also never liked the scene where Adam and Barbara look into the Room of Lost Souls (Death for the dead), a creepy place filled with exorcised souls with zombified faces and mouths of moaning. At about 5 or 6 years of age, you could see why I shivered at the very sight of this flick, but time would have me love this film the more and more I watched it. Today, Beetlejuice, like Pee Wee's Big Adventure is one of my all time favorite comedies and among my Top 30 Favorite Films of All Time. It's dark and demented (what Tim Burton film isn't), but when you get to the nitty gritty, it's just a highflying episode of fun and quirkiness that is highly enhanced at every viewing.

I like to think of this film as a version of Aladdin, only with zombies, gigantic multicolored sand worms, hunters with shrunken heads and people who dance to Harry Belafonte. Instead of a genie, we get the "Ghost with the Most' who loves to eat flies and hang out at zombie strip clubs. Michael Keaton is at his finest as Beetlejuice in this film and like Pee Wee before him, he's full of energy and comes off as a exotic, but likable chap with frizzy green hair and teeth as rotten as a decaying corpse. Originally, Tim Burton wanted Sammy Davis Jr. to portray Beetlejuice, but David Geffen, who gave Burton McDowell's original script suggested Michael Keaton. Like the role he would play in Burton's next film, this is by far one of Keaton's best and furthered cemented Keaton as a actor who could not only play calm and collective guys, but off the wall and exuberant fellows as well. Beetlejuice is a nut cluster who likes to cause as much trouble as possible, but we also sympathize with him and come to realize why he does the things he does. He's clunky and funny, but at the same time, he's determined and headstrong and he even swears a few times which are often censored when the film airs on television. I like him because he's just a funny and lovable character and the goof we'd like to learn a lot more about. He may not be no Charles Foster Kane, but he is a dignified man with a plan and for that, he's one of my all time favorite movie characters.

The other characters in the film are also superb. Geena Davis and Alec Baldwin are witty, clueless and at times DISGUSTING as Barbara and Adam Maitland and like Beetlejuice, we sympathize with them because they are just average, ordinary people who were unexpectedly killed and are trying to find their place in the afterlife. The Deetz family comes off as a bunch of pompous snobs at first, but we come to respect and admire them towards the end of the film and like the Maitlands and Beetlejuice, we can't help but sympathize with them as they are put through Beetlejuice's acts of torment. The ways the Maitlands try to scare the Deetz out of their home are very clever and once again DISGUSTING, falling into the category of dark humor. Charles and Delia Deetz are portrayed by Jeffrey Jones and Catherine O'Hara, two actors who would work with Burton many times in the near future and star in some of his later films. The Deetz' daughter, Lydia is portrayed by a young Winona Ryder, who plays a gothic, depressed, yet still curious and likable teenager who comes to discover the Maitlands, Beetlejuice and their true intentions as the film progresses. My favorite line of hers from the film is when she quotes the Handbook for the Recently Deceased.

Live people ignore the strange and unusual. I, myself, am, strange and unusual. 

That is brilliant scriptwriting.

Veteran actress Sylvia Sidney portrays Juno, the Maitlands' case worker who constantly scolds Barbara and Adam and warns them of the dangers of Beetlejuice. She is also associated with a group of football players who don't realize they are dead at first.

Football player: Couch, I don't think we survived that crash! 

Juno (sarcastically): How did you guess? 

It's funny quirks like that that really make the movie and there are enough to last a lifetime or two. Like I mentioned before, it's mostly dark humor but for a film involving a bunch of dead guys, it really hits home. Tim Burton has a gift for this kind of stuff and this is the prime example of how he can bring "laughability"  to the most dark and demented of things. My favorite scene out of the entire movie is when the Maitlands are sitting in a waiting room filled with wickedly grotesque abominations and creatures from the crypt. There's a charred dude as skinny as a toothpick who asks Adam if he wants a cigarette and a red faced guy who met his demise by a seafood allergy. There's also guy as flat as a flapjack and who could forget that hunter with the shrunken head?! Little did we know that Beetlejuice himself would receive a similar shrunken head by the end of the movie, but he comes to admire his instant taboo makeover (This could be a good look for me!). Anyway, the reason I like this scene is not only because of all the exotic beings involved in it, but because of the way the Maitlands act around them and try to blend in. After all, they are just plain old ghosts sitting in a waiting room full of creatures once thought to solely exist in nightmares! I lot of us wouldn't know how to act in a situation like that!

Danny Elfman returns from Pee Wee's Big Adventure and his score for this film raises it's awesomeness to a whole new level. From the opening score to the score that plays when the Maitlands are getting exorcised, you can really tell that Elfman knew how to make his music blend in with each scene of the film and make it match up perfectly. It can be dark, it can be upbeat, it can even be uplifting at times, which leaves you with a funny, yet good feeling in your bones. The stop motion effects Burton pioneered in Vincent and Pee Wee are also present in this film, particularly in the scenes involving the sand worms and the scene where Beetlejuice turns into a snake. I also love the scene where Beetlejuice reigns havoc on the Deetz/Maitland house and tries to get Lydia to marry him. It's one of the craziest, if not the craziest scene I have ever seen in a motion picture and leaves me chuckling at every millisecond. It's a great climax to a great movie that gives you chills, thrills and a few spills, spills that will no doubt leave an impression on you. It's by far one of Burton's finest and funniest works and it even spawned a cartoon series that lasted a few seasons on ABC. I grew up watching the series and if you want to see a highly exotic animated series from the early 90s, this might be your pot of gold.

From what I've heard, a second installment is in the works, which makes me wonder quite a bit. Beetlejuice was left with a shrunken head at the end of the first movie and the Maitlands and the Deetz made peace and lived happily ever after. How in the world are they going to follow up and top that, unless they make an unexpected detour and make a prequel, exploring Beetlejuice's mysterious origins. Either way you put it, the sequel, if it even gets made will have some huge shoes to fill and will be quite an experience, probably an unexpected experience. It might be better than the first or it might fall flat on it's face, but only you can decide if it's good or bad.

Anyway, tune in next time and we'll talk about that guy who dresses up like a bat.

Beetlejuly: Pee Wee's Big Adventure

Tim Burton had left the Disney Company and although his short films garnished positive feedback, they were never given the proper releases they deserved. However, Paul Reubens aka Pee Wee Herman had grown attracted to Burton's films and thought he was the perfect guy to direct his feature length debut, Pee Wee's Big Adventure. Not only was this Burton's full length debut, but it was the start of a long and still lasting relationship with composer Danny Elfman who at the time was the lead singer of the band, Oingo Boingo. Pee Wee's Big Adventure is a grand movie but like Vincent and Frankenweenie before it, it has some pretty intense stuff that the kiddies might not be too fond of at first viewing. Nevertheless, the first word that comes to mind with this film is fun, pure, nonstop fun that lasts until the end credits start rolling. This is probably Burton's funniest flick and when you hear the name Pee Wee Herman, you know you are in for some crazy, off the wall and erratic excitement. This film is without a doubt a never-ending realm of madness.

Pee Wee Herman lives in a house with an ingenious breakfast making machine and a dog named Speck. His most favorite thing in the world is a bike and when the spoiled neighbor Francis demands that Pee Wee sell him the bike, Pee Wee obviously declines. Things change when Pee Wee's bike mysteriously vanishes and in an act of nervousness and rage, he goes after Francis and interrogates every other person he knows to see if they know anything about the missing bike. Pee Wee then visits a fortune teller who tells him that the bike is hidden in the basement of the Alamo in San Antonio, Texas. As he makes his way there, he realizes that the Alamo has no basement, but he eventually finds out that the bike is in the possession of a spoiled child actor. Disguising himself as a nun, he makes his way to Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank and after being chased throughout the studio, he rescues a bunch of animals from a burning pet shop and even gets an entire movie based around him starring James Brolin and Morgan Fairchild. Pretty complex plot, huh? I like to think of this movie as a cross country road trip kind of movie, only it involves an immature man going after his ridiculous looking bike. What makes this movie so grand is the perils and pickles Pee Wee gets himself into on his quest to find his bike and the people he meets along the way. He meets a hobo, a fugitive, a waitress who dreams of going to Paris, a bunch of bikers and Large Marge. Anyone who has seen this movie can't deny that this is the part where our jaws dropped to the floor.

The character of Pee Wee Herman is a childish, egocentric fellow, but then again, it's Pee Wee Herman, what do you expect? Paul Reubens has a lot of energy while portraying the character and this is something that would carry on in the television show, Pee Wee's Playhouse and the film's sequel Big Top Pee Wee (it has a talking pig in it!). I think what I like most about the character is that you don't know what he will do next. One minute, he's dancing to "Tequila", the next minute, he's impersonating Mr. T, the next minute, he's scaring away muggers in an alleyway in the pouring down rain. He can be cheerful one second and intimidating as heck the next which makes him all the more fascinating and fun to watch. I think my favorite scene is the scene where he is talking to his breakfast and he pours Mr T. Cereal all over it, singing Lalalalala as he does it. That scene always made me chuckle for some reason. Another favorite scene of mine is the breakfast making machine sequence. I think we all dreamt of having a machine like this and I think it's the perfect homage to the great Rube Goldberg. The Danny Elfman score that plays over it is probably the film's most well known and cherished composition and it has been heard on television commercials, television series and other movies. Every time you hear the tune, you immediately think of this scene and it made the movie even more iconic than it already was. In fact, all of Danny Elfman's compositions are marvelous, giving us that sense of wonder and suspense when it is most needed. There's a calm harmonica tune in some scenes and then there's a full force orchestrated tune in others. Danny Elfman is one of the greatest film composers of all time and his score for this film is one of his finest.

Now let's talk about some of the film's unpleasant moments. I was never too fond of the dream scene where Pee Wee sees his bike get destroyed by demented doctors and Francis dressed as a devil. It's a real frightening sequence and turned me off of this movie when I was younger. I was also never fond of the Large Marge scene or the scene where Pee Wee tackles Francis in the swimming pool. I was one of those kids that never liked to go underwater in the swimming pool, so you can see why I didn't like this scene when I was a toddler. But the scene that really dropped the ball was the scene where Pee Wee is driving with the fugitive in the dead of night and he sees all these signs on what turns to make. Holy crud, that was an intense piece of cinema and Danny Elfman's score really made my heart beat even faster. This film has a lot of intense moments that may make you pee yourself or hide in the closet, but in the end, the film is a comedy of madness and one of the funniest films ever made in my opinion. Like I said before, Pee Wee Herman is a riot and although I see why some may be annoyed by him, he's still charming and witty and worth half a million laughs. The scene where he and the fugitive disguise themselves as husband and wife is sure to make you chuckle endlessly and the scene where Pee Wee is out in the forest with all the woodland creatures is also laugh worthy. I also think that the chase through the Warner Bros. lot is the supreme highlight of the movie and it's fun to see the menagerie that unfolds as Pee Wee races through the place on his newly found bike. He runs into Santa Claus, a guy dressed up as Godzilla, and even the heavy metal band Twisted Sister. The final scene where we see Pee Wee's movie gives us one more laugh before the time is up (Paging Mr. Herman, Mr. Herman) and to give us a happy ending, we see Pee Wee and his new squeeze Dottie ride their bikes across the drive thru movie screen. It's iconic, it wraps up the movie well and leaves us with a feeling of satisfaction, a upbeat feeling. The film was followed by a sequel entitled Big Top Pee Wee and although it's considered to be inferior to the original, it's still a laugh fest and has Danny Elfman return for the film's score. Did I also mention that there's a talking pig? They are always awesome.

Pee Wee's Big Adventure is one of my all time favorite comedies and it was only the beginning for Burton in the feature film director's chair. This flick prompted Warner Bros. to hire Burton to direct a film involving a guy who dresses up like a bat, but the film wouldn't get off the ground for some time. In the meantime, Burton got busy directing another cult movie about dead people and a guy named after a star. Tune in next time and we'll talk all about it.

By the way, Happy 4th of July!

Beetlejuly: Frankenweenie (1984)

After creating Vincent, Tim Burton decided to change things up a bit and make a live action short film that paid homage to the classic horror films he adored as a child, primarily the 1931 horror masterpiece Frankenstein (based on the novel by Mary Shelley). Thus as a result, he made the whimsical, yet very jarring short that is Frankenweenie, a film about a little boy named Victor (played by Barret Oliver of Neverending Story) who brings his dead dog, Sparky back to live in a similar fashion to Dr. Frankenstein in Mary Shelley's story as well as the classic Boris Karloff film. Like Vincent, this film really showcases Burton's macabre imagination in it's infancy, but I have to admit, I'm not the biggest fan of this one, mainly for one reason. I'm not a big fan of movies where animals (not just dogs) get killed or get put in some sort of danger. The bull terrier Sparky is put in a lot of danger in this film and the scene where the sweet dog gets hit by a car really gets me choked up and disturbed. Having three dogs of my own, it's hard to see creatures of their kind bite the dust on screen, which is a problem in many horror/slasher films like John Carpenter's Halloween or the second Friday the 13th film where the killer (Michael Myers, Jason Voorhees) kills the beloved pooch of one of their victims. If I made a movie, I wouldn't kill off a dog or any time of animal for that matter, in fact, I would make the animal heroic in many ways, perhaps to the point of taking out the enemy of the picture. Wouldn't that be something if the family dog took out the serial killer in a horror movie?! Anyway, getting off track.

Just because I'm not a big fan of Frankenweenie doesn't mean I don't like it. It's a fantastic little movie that has a touch of datedness, but not a lot. What I mean is that some areas have some things that are a bit out of date, but there is not a lot of them. The film, like Vincent is shot in black and white and really brings a classic horror feeling to the table, much like the Frankenstein films of the 1930s and 40s. And the acting from the actors, while not the best is still humorous when it needs to be humorous and serious when it needs to be serious. Shelley Duvall stars as Victor's mother and she would allow Burton to direct an episode of her anthology series, Shelley Duvall's Faerie Tale Theatre entitled Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp in 1986. Daniel Stern, Marv from the Home Alone films also stars as Victor's father and the daughter of famous director Francis Ford Coppola appears as the character named Anne Chambers. But the star of the show is by far the dog Sparky, who even in his stitched up form comes off as a cute friendly "weenie" and true companion to the main character Victor. I love when Victor's parents find out that Victor brought Sparky back to life and the fact that they don't know how to tell the neighbors that the dog is back from the dead is also quite funny. When the neighbors eventually find out, they break out in a fit of fury and franticness. And it's a bit jarring to see the neighbors sharpen their pit forks and go after the helpless dog, for....well....he's JUST A HELPLESS DOG! He doesn't know any better and he didn't necessarily do anything wrong despite make the neighbors a little suspicious and concerned. The annoying, corpulent, loud mouthed Mrs. Epstein accused Sparky of going after her own dog, but dogs always go after other dogs, you know what I mean?

The final scenes in the film take the main players to a miniature golf coarse where Sparky and Victor hide out in a flagship windmill. This is the ultimate homage to the classic Frankenstein film where the monster took Dr. Frankenstein to the windmill on the hill and threw Frankenstein off the edge. As the relentless townspeople set the windmill aflame, the benevolent Sparky sacrifices himself to save Victor and it's then that the townspeople discover that Sparky's not the monster they originally thought he was. Putting their car batteries together, they use all their power to bring Sparky back to life once more and in a feel good ending, Sparky kisses a female poodle, giving her the classic Elsa Lanchester Bride of Frankenstein hairdo that has been lampooned countless times in other horror spoofs and mockeries.
Frankweenie, for the most part, has an upbeat feeling to it and is overall a comedy, but when it's serious, it's very serious. Some kids might get a little upset over some parts (especially the scene where Sparky is hit by a car) and some of the imagery might be a little intense for young eyes, but in the end, it will give them a good feeling and I doubt they will be saddened or depressed. Even if Sparky dies more than once, he comes back and is just as cheerful and lovable as he was before.

I think what I like most about this short film is the way the camera moves. The way the camera moves would become pivotal in later Burton films, but here, it gives the film that proper balance of hilarity and suspense. The scenes where Sparky is running, you are put in his perspective and you really feel like you are a dog, exploring and observing the exotic world around you. It also serves as a throwback to the horror films of yesteryear where you were put in the place of the killer or monster. I also like the gags involved with the resurrected Sparky. When Victor gives him water to drink, the water comes pouring out of the holes on his neck, kinda like an old magician's act. When Victor's mom finds out he was resurrected, she says that she will make him a "bowl of batteries". And hey, the name Sparky is kind of a pun itself. Frankenstein. Lightning. Bolts. Sparks. Get it? Frankenweenie is a great parody to one of the greatest horror stories ever told and although it has those elements I'm not crazy about, it's still enjoyable, thrilling entertainment. The film is a little over 35 minutes and like Vincent, it's on one of The Nightmare Before Christmas DVDs. It's also on Youtube and other video hosting sites, so if you want to see an interesting take on Frankenstein involving a cute dog and some clever wit, this film is a real winner. The film was recently remade in Burton's signature stop motion style, but we'll talk about the remake when we get to it.

Unfortunately, this film wasn't a winner in Disney's book. After it was made, Burton was fired from the Disney Company and although they planned to show Frankenweenie in front of the 1984 rerelease of Pinocchio, it was ultimately shelved and never shown to the public until many years later. However, both Vincent and Frankenweenie got the attention of a certain guy named Paul, who wanted Burton to direct the film based on his famous comedy alter ego. So tune in next time and we'll talk about Burton's directorial debut as well as his first teaming up with one of his longtime collaborators.

Beetlejuly: Vincent

Tim Burton grew up in Burbank, California and throughout most of his youth, he enjoyed making short films in his backyard as well as drawing and painting. Another hobby of Burton's was watching monster movies and one of his childhood heroes was Vincent Price, a famous actor who appeared in many horror movies throughout the 50s, 60s and 70s. Burton went on to attend CalArts, an art school founded by Walt Disney in 1961 and his short animated film, Stalk of the Celery Monster earned him an apprenticeship at Disney studios where he worked as an animator, concept artist and storyboard artist. Some of the films Burton worked on were The Fox and the Hound, Tron, and the colossal flop, The Black Cauldron. However, as Burton would later recall, he was not very good at drawing in Disney's signature style, joking that when he worked on The Fox and the Hound, all his foxes looked like they had been hit by cars. Because of his differences, Burton went on to make solo films for the company and his first solo film was a stop motion animated salute to Vincent Price, fittingly entitled Vincent. Running in at a little over 6 minutes, it's a short little treat, but not by any means a waste of time. It shows the birth of Burton's dark, twisted trademark style and in many ways is a short autobiographical film of Burton himself and what his childhood days were like. It also has Vincent Price himself narrating and when you hear his empowering voice, you get shivers, but good shivers. Vincent Price has gone on to say that this film was "the most gratifying thing that ever happened. It was immortality, better than a star on Hollywood Boulevard".

What makes this shortie great is something I can't put my finger on, but I think it's because it's short, simple and to the point. Burton could have made a longer film, elaborating on many more of Vincent's hobbies and passions, but he didn't. He picks a few, showcases them in all their glory and gets the message out pretty clear. Vincent Malloy is a 7 year old boy who wants to be like Vincent Price. He dreams of things like dipping his aunt in wax for his wax museum and experimenting on his dog, Abercrombie in hopes of creating a terrible zombie. These are things that harken back to films Price was in like House of Wax and The Abominable Dr. Phibes. Vincent also reads the works of Edgar Allan Poe and gets sucked into them, particularly Poe's most well known work, The Raven. Of course Vincent Price was also in many Poe based films directed by Roger Corman like The Pit and the Pendulum, House of Usher and Tales of Terror. As Vincent gets sucked into the poems, he believes himself to be the characters in the poems like the man in The Raven who dreams of his lost Lenore. Vincent also sees the things around him morph into horribly grotesque abominations which haunt him to the utter point of insanity. At the end, Vincent slums to the floor, believing himself to be dead and the closing lines of The Raven are said (Shall be lifted, nevermore). It's a pretty intense ending to an already intense short film, so intense that Disney never knew what to do with the film once it was finished. Sure it appeared at film festivals to critical acclaim but Disney was unsure how to release this film of gothic horror to the public, so it was put in the Disney vaults for several years. It wasn't until The Nightmare Before Christmas was released on DVD a few years ago that the film was added as a bonus feature.

And while watching this film, you can't help but see the seed that eventually grew into The Nightmare Before Christmas. The stop motion animation is fluent and nice to look at and the black and white coloring really makes this film feel old fashion, similar to Mel Brooks' Young Frankenstein. The design of the characters is also something worth praise. I can't help but feel that Victor from Frankenweenie, Victor from Corpse Bride and even Jack Skellington were partly inspired by Vincent and his stylized movements throughout the film. In fact, an early form of Jack Skellington makes a cameo in the film, although this was back in the day when the character wasn't fully developed yet. Vincent also bares a striking resemblance to Tim Burton himself, again implying that this is somewhat of an autobiographical film. I also like the look of Abercrombie and the monsters and ghouls seen later in the film. The fact that some of the characters are seen in shadow and some of the scenery is warped also brings German expressionism to mind. But Vincent Price's narration is brilliant and you can really tell by the way he narrates the piece that he enjoyed doing it and really took the film seriously. Of course, Price and Burton would later reunite for Edward Scissorhands which was sadly one of Price's last roles in a motion picture. 

Nevertheless, Vincent is a grim, ghoulish, yet fun and exciting piece of Burton history and if this film wasn't made, then it could very well be that The Nightmare Before Christmas wouldn't have been made either. It pioneered Tim Burton's gift for the macabre and led to his trademark stop motion segments in films like Pee Wee's Big Adventure, Beetlejuice and of course Nightmare. It also showcased Burton's passions like Poe and classic horror films and paid tribute to a cinema legend, a legend who thought the short film was "legend". If you haven't seen it, then give it a watch. You can find it on Youtube and similar video hosting sites, or if you really want to, buy The Nightmare Before Christmas DVD to see the film full force on your television. If you are in the mood for something out of the ordinary and dark, check it out. 

Tune in next time and we'll have a look at another Burton short film, a short film that was recently remade in stop motion by the company that didn't want to release the original at all. See you then! 

Beetlejuly: Prelude

Christopher Lee once said that he was one of the greatest directors of our age. His dark and witty imagination really makes him stick out from other Hollywood visionaries and his films, while filled with the macabre and quirkiness really put us in a certain mood, a mood of bittersweetness and serendipity. When you set your eyes to his works, you are taken to different exotic worlds and twisted realities packed with the unbelievable and unforgettable. He's a gifted role model and inspiration for many artists including myself and when you hear his name, many warped and demented images come to mind. He's created some of cinema's most legendary characters and has been able to make them relatable despite their notable abnormalities. His name is Tim Burton, a movie maker like no other and a man with a vision, a vision to bring a stylized experience to all those who go see his films. Whatever Burton movie you see, it leaves an impression on you and whatever impression it is, it will stick with you for the longest time and never leave. His films are touching, depressing, demonic and high flying all at the same time, which is why we are going to spend the entire month of July talking about his films.

I've been inspired by Doug Walker (aka the Nostalgia Critic) who spend the last two Decembers talking about all the Disney films, including the Pixar animated flicks. I've also been inspired by Adam D. Bram over at Nilbog's Storybook Land who spend the month of May and early June reviewing each episode of the Star Wars saga. So I thought I'd do something in a similar fashion, but I was unsure as to which films or film series I would dive into. I thought about the Marvel movies and the Lord of the Rings series, but then I thought of Tim Burton, the film director I have been endlessly intrigued by these last few months. Like him, I have spent many months depressed and jumped into the realms of escapism, reading Edgar Allan Poe, watching Vincent Price films as well as drawing crude, twisted entities. There were creatures that went bump in the night, there were creatures who lurked in the forest each evening, there were outcasts who couldn't find their way into society, all of them inspired by the so called "King of Quirk". In fact, many of Tim Burton's films were derived from drawings he did in his youth. I guess it goes to show that the biggest things can come from the smallest, simplest things.

So I'm paying tribute to one of my idols all throughout the month of July and since there are so many Tim Burton films and so many days in July, it should be no hassle to review each one, even if I do a review every other day. We'll talk about his short films, his earlier films, his most well known works , his reimaginings and even some of his more controversial works with their hard to explain endings (Planet of the Apes ring a bell?). Now remember, this is all opinionated and if you don't agree with me on certain aspects, feel free to express your own opinion or hey, do a review of the Burton films yourself. I'd love to read everyone else's perspectives on this brilliant man's works, because we all have different ways of looking at things and interpreting them for ourselves.

So make a pot of snake and spider stew or tea, this is Beetlejuly. Tune in Monday where we'll have a look at Burton's first stop motion film which payed tribute to one of the greatest actors who ever lived.

Good day.

Dahl Week Day 5: The Finale

Well, we've had 5 days, 5 days to pay tribute to one of the world's finest storytellers. We've looked at Willy Wonka, James and the Giant Peach, Matilda, and even Gremlins, but there are still quite a few Dahl stories remaining that deserve a mention. So, let's conclude Dahl Week with a bang and have a look at these stories as well as some of the other works Dahl has incepted and touched upon. This is Dahl Week: The Finale! Let's dive right into this chocolate river!

I should start off by mentioning that Roald Dahl was not only a children's storybook writer, but a writer of short stories and adult novels. Some of his short stories include Over To You: Ten Stories About Flyers and Flyings, Someone Like You, Kiss Kiss and The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More. His adult novels are Sometime Never: A Fable of Supermen and My Uncle Oswald, which is quite a grotesque story about a womanizer who collects the bodily fluids of famous men, selling them off the women who wish to be impregnated by the famous men. Some of the celebrities in the novel include Pablo Picasso, H.G. Wells, Rudyard Kipling, Albert Einstein and even the French painter Claude Monet and the famous Russian composer Igor Stravinsky. It's an odd yet interesting tale that one has to look into greatly to fully grasp and understand. I think it goes to show that Dahl not only understand the perspectives and imagination of children, but the mysterious and debatable ways of adults and how they go about doing certain tasks. Dahl also wrote two autobiographies, his first being Boy-Tale of Childhoods and his last being Going Solo. These awesome recollections speak of Dahl's childhood in Britain and his perspectives of the public school system of that time period. Dahl also talks about his journeys to Norway, his love of confections, his adventures as an Air Force pilot and the many jobs he had throughout his life. We also find out where he got the inspiration to become a writer. I think these are some of the finest autobiographies ever penned and they perfectly showcase Dahl's twisted and magnificent points of view. He seems like the guy that would always have a story to tell and whatever story it was, you could also be pulled into it and never get bored. I know some people that are very much like Roald Dahl, always recalling moments of pastime and showing what they think of certain topics.

Of course, Dahl has so many other works, I've barely cracked the peanut. He's written a cook book with his wife Felicity called Memories of Food At Gypsy House, he's written a play called The Honeys, he's written episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents and Tales of the Unexpected and he's even written several film scripts. As I said in my analysis of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, he wrote the script for the original 1971 classic and the constant revisions and rewrites of his script led him to despise the film all together. But Dahl has had his hand in several other films, including a famous musical based on a novel by Ian Fleming. 1968's Chitty Chitty Bang Bang had a script written by Dahl and Ken Hughes and featured Dick Van Dyke, 4 years after he played Bert in Mary Poppins. The movie is also known for it's musical numbers written by Richard and Robert Sherman, the famous duo who wrote the music for films like Mary Poppins, The Jungle Book, Charlotte's Web, Little Nemo in Slumberland and The Aristocats. It also has one of the creepiest, if not THE creepiest movie villain of all time, the long nosed Child Catcher, portrayed by Robert Helpmann. His whacky performance is one of the reasons why I refused to watch the film when I was younger, and why I deeply feared eccentric gentlemen who sold lollipops and treacle tarts. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is a wicked good movie nonetheless and I consider it up there with other musicals like The Sound of Music and of course, Mary Poppins. Dahl also wrote the scripts for movies like You Only Live Twice starring Sean Connery and the British thriller film, The Night Digger. I have never seen either of these films, but I will surely express my thoughts when I get the chance to sit down and give them a watch.

Now let's talk about some more of Dahl's children stories. We've already covered the most famous of his works for the young ones, so why don't we talk about the runners up. Of course, we have not talked about The Witches and Fantastic Mr. Fox, two of Dahl's stories that have also been adapted into motion pictures. The Witches, published in 1983 is an interesting little tale about witches who want to turn all the little boys on Earth into mice. These hideous witches disguise themselves as average ordinary women but when they're together in private, they strip their disguises and show off their ghastly forms. This carries on well into the 1990 Warner Bros. film starring Anjelica Huston and Rowan Atkinson. I think the film is good for what it has to offer. The filmmakers knew the story was kind of ridiculous, but they made it work and delivered a film that is just good popcorn fun, silly in a good way. This is one of those movies I would love to watch at Halloween each year and it's creepy makeup, puppetry and special effects really make this stand out from all other films based on Dahl works. It was not very successful upon it's original release, but like Return to Oz and even Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory before it, it has gathered quite a following of admirers. Unfortunately, this was the last film to be based on one of Dahl's works before his death in November 1990 and the last film the great Jim Henson worked on before his death in May 1990.

Then there's Fantastic Mr. Fox, a story about determined fox who goes out each evening to retrieve food for his wife and four children. Like Willy Wonka and Giant Peach before it, Fantastic Mr. Fox has some of the most memorable characters you will ever read about in a fantasy tale. There's of course Mr. Fox himself, Boggis, Bunce, Bean, the four children, Mrs. Fox as well as the other underground critters who assist Mr. Fox in his endeavors. It's one of Dahl's finest stories and it shows just how relentless wildlife can be to get food for their offspring and all the limits they must overcome to get to the other side. The story caught the attention of The Royal Tenenbaums director Wes Anderson, who turned the book into a movie in 2009. Anderson obviously took lessons from Selick's Giant Peach and gave the world what is often considered one of the greatest stop motion animated films ever made. This is certainly one of the nicest looking stop motion animated films with a fuzzy, colorful and often lifelike atmosphere. The characters move in such a realistic manner and the way the character's mouths match up with the voice acting is also something to be praised.  The voice acting itself should also be admired. I've always liked George Clooney, even when he was playing doctors and men dressed in rubber Bat suits. His performance as Mr. Fox in this film adds a bit of casualty and contemporary nature to the character. In other words, he makes it seem like Mr. Fox could fit into our everyday real world despite being, well, an anthropomorphic fox. There's also Meryl Streep as Mrs. Fox, Bill Murray as Clive Badger, William Dafoe as the Rat, Jason Schwartzman as Ash Fox and even Wes Anderson himself as the Weasel. They all have their moments to shine, but Murray and Clooney steal the show, at least in my opinion. This is one I undeniably recommend for any Dahl fan and it's perhaps one of the funniest stop motion films I have ever seen. Some of the scenes are so humorous, you will wet your pants or roll over on the floor in a laugh attack. I think Dahl would be pleased with this film, for it showcases his trademarks like dark humor and perfectly timed sarcasm. It also has the stylized imagination Dahl was known for.

But Dahl's children stories don't end there. There are so many that I could be here until next Christmas talking about them. So let's have a look at a few more and see what makes them so grandiose.

The Magic Finger- An oddball of a tale about a little girl who has magical powers in her finger. When someone is nasty to her or gives her a hard time, she can use her finger to inflict permanent damage on that person. For example, she turns her mean teacher into a cat and turns her family into bird like creatures, forcing them to leave their duck infested house to build a nest in a tree. Just imagine how whimsical a film adaptation of this would be. If it were done in the similar style to Giant Peach and Fox, I think I would be blown away by this film and all it had to offer. Nevertheless, the book is great for it's twisting and turning nature and outlandish dark humor.

The Enormous Crocodile- Gee, I wonder what this story could be about? Well, if you guessed an enormous crocodile, you would obviously be 100% right.  The crocodile attempts to eat the nearby  children only to be foiled each time by the benevolent forest animals. It's like something straight out of Looney Tunes or an old Disney cartoon. It's a hilarious tale to feast upon and it's quite funny to see what crap the crocodile has to go through each time he attempts to make Pop Tarts out of the city younglings. If you like laughable literature, this one is for you.

The Twits- This is the story about two lovers, the Twits, who live in a desolate brick house with their pet monkeys, the Muggle-Wumps (is that where J.K. Rowling got the word "Muggle" from?). It's very much like a reality TV show about a husband and wife who like to play tricks on one another. Mrs. Twit feeds her husband worms, claiming it to be a new kind of spaghetti. Mr. Twit constantly expands his wife's cane and chair, convincing her that she needs to be stretched out with helium balloons. The book also documents the Twits' mistreatment towards others. They are very abusive and inattentive to the Muggle-Wumps and Mr. Twit puts glue on tree branches in attempts to catch birds to make into pies. To get revenge on the Twits, the Muggle-Wumps glue the Twits' furniture to the ceiling and trick them into thinking that they are upside down and that they will contract "Terrible Shrinks". It's a story about madness and once again showcases Dahl's gift for dark humor and satire. It also shows how the story's most villainous characters can also be the story's most dim witted and oblivious numbskulls.

George's Marvellous Medicine- This is a story about a little boy who wants to cure his grandmother's grumpiness. He creates a medicine out of stuff lying around the house, only instead of curing his grandmother of her bitterness, it makes her bigger than the house. George and his family try to shrink the grandmother down to normal size and at the very end, they shrink her down to nothing. At first, they are deeply saddened, but they come to realize that the grandmother's absence is a chip off their shoulders. Although this is quite a unique story that Dahl has incepted, I can't help but feel sorry for the grandmother. She was a cold hearted crone but she was also a goofball, humorous character in the story, showing that the story's villains can also be the story's clowns.

Esio Trot- This one follows Mr. Hoppy, a shy old man who has a crush on the woman who lives right below his apartment. After the woman, Mrs. Silver tells Hoppy that her turtle will not grow into a dignified tortoise, Mr. Hoppy goes to elaborate measures to create the illusion that her turtle, Alfie is growing and in the process, win Silver's heart. He writes a spell down on a piece of paper and tells Silver to recite it to Alfie three times a day. He then buys several big turtles from the pet store and after swiping Alfie with a slighter bigger turtle, he repeats the same process for the next few weeks, tricking Mrs. Silver into thinking that her turtle is growing to maximum proportions. I think this is a marvelous little story that shows just how far someone can go to get a certain someone to like them and reminds me just how much I like turtles, for I have two of my own.

The Vicar of Nibbleswicke- Robert Lee, a reverend suffers from Back-To-Front dyslexia, which causes him to switch the first and last letters of words. Because of this, he is ridiculed and hated by the citizens of Nibbleswicke, but he is eventually cured of his dyslexia by the book's conclusion. What's quite touching about this book is that it was written to benefit the Dyslexia Institute of London, showing that Dahl was not only a master storyteller, but a kind hearted philanthropist.

THE BFG- Now we come to the story that is the favorite Dahl tale of many. The BFG stands for Big Friendly Giant and revolves around a little girl named Sophie who befriends an amiable giant who is the subject of bully and torment by bigger, nastier giants. This funny duck of a storybook involves giants devouring children at nighttime, the Queen of England, the King of Sweden, cruel orphanage mistresses, nightmare catching, frobscottle (a drink that makes you cut the cheese), helicopters chasing down the giants and even a Sultan from Baghdad. This one has become one of the most admired of Dahl's brainchildren and several plays have been made to showcase the book's quirkiness and demented goodness.

There is also a 1989 animated television special directed by Brian Cosgrove and from what I have heard, Dreamworks is planning on making a film with the great Frank Marshall and Kathleen Kennedy producing. Whatever the case is, I think we are in need of a grand film adaptation of The BFG that carries on in the style of other films based on Dahl works. I think it would bring in a lot of big green Benjamins and be acclaimed by today's movie analyzing critics.

I think all of Dahl's stories would make for some pretty stellar movies, but it has been said that Dahl's widow, Felicity is very strict when it comes to adapting her late husband's works into motion pictures. But then again, we don't have to have movies based on his stories to enjoy the stories and all that they stand for. We can always read the books and savor the nonsense and tomfoolery Dahl conjured up in his convoluted head. Dahl himself said at one point

"Two hours of writing fiction leaves this writer completely drained. For those two hours he has been in a different place with totally different people. "

That couldn't be further from the truth. Whenever you read one of Dahl's stories or any story in general, you are taken out of your normal life and put into another reality, another land often inhabited funky creatures and foreign imagery, imagery we can interpret in different ways and understand in different ways. We can also see a lot of ourselves in the story's main players and when we experience the main character's development and transformation throughout the tale, we can develop and transform ourselves, learning lessons we can take to heart and cherish every moment of every day of every year of our lives. We can do whatever we want to do and accomplish the unaccomplished. We can also have fun during these quests and learn that (as Dahl said himself), a little nonsense now and then is relished by the wisest men. Sometimes, the world's wisest men are the world's biggest troublemakers and they take part in wacky, off the wall rituals and acts. But that doesn't make them bad people, it makes them relatable people, it makes them glow, it makes them stand as the individuals they truly are. In many ways, we are all children at heart and even in the darkest trials of our lifespans, we can always have a little foolishness and erratic activity commence. That's what Roald Dahl had taught us, that fun can happen any time of any day and always brighten a day. He also taught us that anyone can be a storyteller and speak of gibberish and nonsensical words, making the gibberish and nonsensical words delightful to read and understandable to the one reading it. He taught us that many things can happen, unexpected things can happen, but only if you dive deep into the very heart of "pure imagination".

5 Reasons Why I Am Looking Forward To The Amazing Spider-Man 2

2013 will surely be a grand year for movies based on comic books and superheroes. This Friday, Iron Man will be making a triumphant return in attempts to stop the malevolent Mandarin. In July, Hugh Jackman will be whetting his claws as the Wolverine and Dave Lizewski will don the Kick Ass outfit once more. Chris Hemsworth wields the mighty hammer, Mjolnir against evil elves in November's Thor: The Dark World and let's not forget that in June, the Last Son of Krypton gets revamped in Zack Snyder and Christopher Nolan's reimagining of the classic American icon. Yes, 2013 will be packed to the brim with suspenseful thrillers and climatic battles between the forces of good and the forces of evil. But to be honest with you, it's next year's lineup of super hero flicks that I am most looking forward to. Bryan Singer's  X-Men: Days of Future Past might very well be the X-Men film I have longed for. It looks like they will be merging the mainstream X-Men universe with the universe established in X-Men: First Class and have Peter Dinklage portraying the main baddie. Anthony and Joe Russo, who brought us You, Me and Dupree will be bringing us the next installment in the Captain America series, Captain America: The Winter Soldier starring Chris Evans and Sebastian Stan, who reprise their roles as Steve Rogers aka Cap and Bucky Barnes aka The Winter Soldier respectively. In fall of 2014, the Marvel Cinematic Universe shows off some new faces in Guardians of the Galaxy, which very well might be the next Star Wars in it's own right. Zoe Saldana (Star Trek's Uhura and Avatar's Neytiri) is in talks to play the green skinned female alien Gamora (no, not the giant turtle with fangs that has rockets on his feet).

But the flick I am most excited for is the next installment in the Amazing Spider-Man film series. Although I wish they called it something other than The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (something like The Spectacular Spider-Man or The Web Slinger), I can't tell you how pumped I am for this sequel. Okay, maybe I will tell you. Here are 5 Reasons Why I Am Looking Forward To The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and why I think this follow up to last year's hit will be superior to it's predecessor.

5. The New Costume 

When I first saw the suit in the first Amazing Spider-Man, I fell in love with it. Although it was different from the traditional red and blue jumpsuit and had a different design, it had a certain appeal and showed just how different this new Spider-Man was going to be from the previous incarnation portrayed in Sam Raimi's trilogy. When I first saw the suit in the upcoming sequel, I initially had mixed feelings towards it. What I liked about ASM1's suit is that it looked like something a teenager in the real world would stitch together in a matter of hours. It had an organic look to it and it looked as if Peter constructed the costume from average everyday household items like sunglasses and old sneakers. This new suit however was very reminiscent to Tobey Maguire's suit in the Raimi trilogy and in my eyes looked like a Spider-Man costume you would buy at a costume shop. It didn't look like something Peter would stitch together on his own and really didn't have any unique qualities to it. That is until some set images (like the one above) emerged and I got a better look at the suit and all it had to offer. 

I must say, the suit has grown on me substantially and I now realize how it can fit in with the contemporary, gritty ASM universe. Perhaps the AMS1 suit was a prototype to the signature suit Peter would later construct or maybe, sometime between AMS1 and AMS2, Peter's first Spider-Man suit was destroyed, forcing Peter to sew together another one. I guess we won't find out why Peter changed suits until AMS2 hits theaters, but I think I can come out and say that I really like this new suit and how reminiscent of the old Spider-Man it is. Looking at the suit, it brings to mind Spider-Man of the 90s animated series as well as the Todd McFarlene Spidey with the huge, gaping eyes. It also has a nice texture to it with vibrant shiny black webbing and a bright, yet toned down red and blue that really makes this Spider-Man stand out from all the rest. The inclusion of the new ASM insignia is also a nice touch and the fact that his eyes have gone back to the traditional opaque white instead of the yellowish gold seen in the ASM1 suit. All I can say is that I'm really looking forward to seeing Spider-Man kick villainous butt in this new attire! 

4. Marc Webb and Andrew Garfield Are Returning 

The Amazing Spider-Man was hands down one of my favorite films of last year. What made it stand out from other superhero flicks of 2012 like The Avengers and The Dark Knight Rises was that it didn't have a group of heroes fighting against aliens from another dimension or a guy who dressed up like a bat, got his back broken and went through a spiritual journey in a foreign prison. It focused on an average, ordinary, iPod loving, skateboarding teenager who had a very convoluted life. When he got bit by a spider, his life became even more convoluted and he had to learn that with a great power, the bearer must do good things with it and give the world hope so no one would have to feel the pain he had to endure day by day.  The Amazing Spider-Man captured the essence of the comic book hero perfectly and most of this was due to Marc Webb's brilliant directing skills and Andrew Garfield's magnificent acting.

I have no doubt this will carry on into the second Spider-Man flick. Marc Webb has the perfect balance of humor and seriousness in all of his films and when it comes to Spider-Man, he knows just how to pull off gags and jarring moments and time them perfectly. Like the films Marvel and Disney have brought forward, Webb's Spider-Man had moments that made you gasp and moments that made you roll on the floor laughing and his ability to get you sucked into each individual scene really adds to the scope and magic of the Spider-Man reboot. Another contributing factor is Andrew Garfield, who portrays Peter Parker/Spider-Man as a simple, yet determined high schooler who, like a lot of us, had trouble fitting in. Although Garfield is almost 30 years old, he looks very much like a high schooler and with a set of glasses and common teen clothing, he looks like the typical teen you would find sitting in the back of your chemistry class. Garfield's mannerisms, sarcasm and wit also make him diverse from previous Spider-Men and he plays Peter as a weird, outspoken, curious young adult with his head in the clouds and eyes towards his goals and dreams. That my friends is what a lot of us are like or what a lot of us were like at a time, odd minded individuals with "impossible" dreams and fantasies. Garfield's Spidey shows that with a little brain power and might, the impossible is possible after all. 

3. Jamie Foxx's Electro

Holy jeez, when I found out that Electro was going to be in the second Spider-Man and that he would be portrayed by Jamie Foxx, I nearly fainted with excitement. Electro is one of my very favorite Spider-Man foes and Jamie Foxx is a fantastic actor with a gift for giving odd, yet grandiose performances. I knew from the very start that he wouldn't be wearing his classic yellow and green outfit with the lightning bolt mask, but I never expected him to look the way he looked in the above image. It's terrifying and awesome at the same time. You can really tell that Foxx's character, Max Dillon has gone through heck and had his entire body turned into an electric blanket. It kinda looks like a Na'vi from Avatar or a Frost Giant from Thor, but I really like it and it's fitting for the darker ASM universe. From the looks of it, it appears that some lights have been built into Electro's hoody which will be giving him a luminous, glowing effect. And Foxx's eyes look entirely black as if all the light and goodness has been drained from him, turning him into a heartless, merciless adversary that will probably turn Spider-Man into Spider-Toast. 

I really liked Jamie Foxx's performance in Ray and although I haven't seen Django Unchained, I have heard nothing but good things about his performance in that film as well. I think Jamie Foxx will hit it out of the ballpark while playing Max Dillon/Electro, giving an edge to the character we had never seen before in the comics or the various TV show incarnations. He's also blue, he'll give Papa Smurf a run for his money! 

2. Familiar Characters, New Faces

In The Amazing Spider-Man 2, we will be seeing characters we have seen before in previous Spider-Man films, but will new actors in their shoes. Dane Dehaan will be playing Harry Osborn, who was played in the Raimi trilogy by James Franco. It looks like he will be playing a much darker, more edgy Harry Osborn and from the synopsis of the upcoming film, he will be playing into Peter Parker's past. The beautiful Shailene Woodley will be playing Mary Jane Watson, played petulantly in Raimi's trilogy by Kirsten Dunst (YOU DON'T SUPPORT ME!). I hope Woodley will portray Mary Jane as less of a whiny, screeching bimbo and more of a gallant, benevolent heroine, very similar to Gwen Stacy in the first film. Then we have Chris Cooper playing the man who will become the greatest of Spidey's foes, Norman Osborn, played maniacally by William Dafoe in 2002's Spider-Man. It is unknown whether Cooper's Osborn will become the Green Goblin at the very end of this film or the beginning of the next film, but I think it's safe to say that we will see him consume the goblin serum somewhere down the road and see his physical transformation into the green skinned menace with the glider. Hopefully, they have a different costume for his Green Goblin. I didn't really mind Dafoe's often ridiculed Green Goblin costume in Raimi's first film, but it would be nice to see Gobby have more of a realistic look and more frightening appearance. 

Actors reprising their roles from the previous film are Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy, Sally Field as Aunt May and Martin Sheen as the possible ghost of Uncle Ben. It is unclear whether Rhys Ifans or Irrfan Khan will make cameos as their respective characters, but whose to say that they won't find a way to make a brief appearance. Dr. Curt Connors is still alive after all and has many secrets regarding Peter's past. 

1. Diving deeper into the characters' souls

Movie sequels are often said to live in the shadows of their predecessors, but several sequels have been declared superior and much deeper than the first films. I have a feeling The Amazing Spider-Man 2 will be one of those films, much like how Spider-Man 2 was much more character driven and deeper than the first film. Sequels often go deeper into the characters' souls and we see sides of them we have never seen before as the characters are put into unexpected events and perils. I think we will see Andrew Garfield's Peter Parker go to a level we have never seen him achieve and we will see his character grow even further as he faces his biggest challenge yet. We will also find out more about his mysterious parents and why he became Spider-Man to begin with. Was it all set up? Is it all a trick? Only time will tell as the new Spider-Man universe unfolds. 

It is also debated whether Gwen Stacy will meet her inevitable demise in this upcoming film. Her death in the comics was one of the biggest shockers in comic book history and to carry it out onto the silver screen would be a massive task. As I said before, only time will tell. One thing's for sure. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 will introduce new characters as well as reintroduce old ones, introduce a new plot and new twists and turns, unravel mysteries never before unraveled and drive the story even further with many jaw droppers and horrifying occurrences. Let's hope this is a sequel worthy of being in the same realm as the first and let's hope that our love for Spider-Man rages on as this blockbuster makes it's way to the cinemas. It will be a great experience nonetheless and hopefully be one of my favorite movies about my very favorite hero. The first was great, so let's hope the second is great as well.