Tag: Danny Devito

What to Stream: ‘Wicked: For Good’ soundtrack, Ted Danson, ‘The Bad Guys 2’ and Black cowboys

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Ted Danson’s “A Man on the Inside” returning to Netflix for its second season and Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo belting out the “Wicked: For Good” soundtrack are some of the new television, films, music and games headed to a device near you.

Also among the streaming offerings worth your time this week, as selected by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists: Aerosmith teaming up with Yungblud on a new EP, “The Bad Guys 2” hitting Peacock and Jordan Peele looking at Black cowboys in a new documentary series.

New movies to stream from Nov. 17-23

— “Train Dreams,” (Friday, Nov. 21 on Netflix), Clint Bentley’s adaptation of Denis Johnson’s acclaimed novella, stars Joel Edgerton as Robert Grainier, a railroad worker and logger in the early 20th century Pacific Northwest. The film, scripted by Bentley and Greg Kwedar (the duo behind last year’s “Sing Sing” ), conjures a frontier past to tell a story about an anonymous laborer and the currents of change around him.

— The DreamWorks Animation sequel “The Bad Guys 2” (Friday, Nov. 21 on Peacock) returns the reformed criminal gang of animals for a new heist caper. In the film, with a returning voice cast including Sam Rockwell, Awkwafina, Craig Robinson, Anthony Ramos and Marc Maron, the Bad Guys encounter a new robbery team: the Bad Girls. In his review, AP’s Mark Kennedy lamented an over-amped sequel with a plot that reaches into space: “It’s hard to watch a franchise drift so expensively and pointlessly in Earth’s orbit.”

— In “The Roses,” Jay Roach (“Meet the Parents’), from a script by Tony McNamara (“Poor Things”), remakes Danny DeVito’s 1989 black comedy, “The War of the Roses.” In this version, Olivia Colman and Benedict Cumberbatch star as a loving couple who turn bitter enemies. In his review, Kennedy called “The Roses” “an escalating hatefest that, by the time a loaded gun comes out, all the fun has been sucked out.”

— AP Film Writer Jake Coyle

New music to stream on Nov. 21

— Musical theater fans, your time has come… again. “Wicked: For Good” is upon us, and with it comes the release of its official soundtrack. On Friday, after or before you catch the film in theaters, stream its life-affirming compositions to your heart’s content. Might we suggest Ariana Grande’s “The Girl in the Bubble?” Or Cynthia Erivo’s “No Place Like Home?” And for the Jeff Goldblum and Jonathan Bailey lovers, yes, there’s gold to be unearthed, too.

— Rock this way: Aerosmith is back with new music. Following their 2023 “Greatest Hits” collection and just a few months after the conclusion of their “Peace Out: The Farewell Tour” (the band said it would no longer hit the road due to singer Steven Tyler’s voice becoming permanently damaged by a vocal cord injury ) they’re teaming up with next gen rock ‘n’ roller Yungblud. It’s a collaborative EP called “One More Time,” out Friday. The anthemic opening track, “My Only Angel” sets the tone. What’s another one for the road?

— AP Music Writer Maria Sherman

New series to stream from Nov. 17-23

— Raise your hand if you still miss “Succession” Sundays on HBO. An acclaimed Swedish drama called “Vanguard” debuts Tuesday on Viaplay that’s of the same vein. It’s a dramatization about Jan Stenbeck, one of Europe’s most influential media moguls. There’s ambition, betrayal and yes, sibling rivalry.

— Ted Danson’s “A Man on the Inside” returns to Netflix for its second season on Thursday. Danson plays a widower named Charles who has found a new sense of purpose as an amateur private detective. In Season One, Charles moved into a retirement home to catch his culprit. In Season Two, he goes back to college to solve a case. Danson’s real-life wife, Mary Steenburgen, joins the cast as Charles’ love interest as he explores the idea of a second chance at romance.

— Keeley Hawes and Freddie Highmore co-star in “The Assassin” for AMC+. Hawes (“Bodyguard”) plays a retired assassin living in solitude on a Greek island whose peaceful life is turned upside down when her estranged son (Highmoore) comes to visit. When the two find themselves in danger they must work together to stay alive. It premieres Thursday.

— Jordan Peele has a new documentary series called “High Horse: The Black Cowboy” coming to Peacock on Thursday. The three-part series examines how stories of Black cowboys have been erased from both pop culture and history books.

New video games to play from Nov. 17-23

— If you bought Mario Kart World when Nintendo launched the Switch 2 back in June, you may be wondering: Do I really need another racing game? Kirby Air Riders comes from designer Masahiro Sakurai, the mastermind behind Super Smash Bros., so it adds that franchise’s chaotic combat to the mix. Each of the competitors has different weapons and each of the vehicles has different benefits and drawbacks. And everyone can use Kirby’s signature “inhale” technique, which lets you absorb an opponent’s skills by, well, swallowing them. So if you like your racing weird, get your motor running Thursday.

— Lou Kesten

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November 16, 2025
The Roses Pales in Comparison to Its Far Bolder and Darker Original, The War of the Roses

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Jay Roach is no stranger to directing remakes of “darker” films that are much more diluted than the original. Take, for example, 2010’s Dinner for Schmucks, the ill-advised attempt to re-create the 1998 French comedy, Le Dîner de Cons. In fact, much like the former, Roach’s remake of The Roses relies on its lead actors, Benedict Cumberbatch and Olivia Colman, to mitigate the overwhelming inferiority of this new iteration. One that seeks to dilute, as much as possible, the macabre tone of the 1989 version, written by Michael J. Leeson and directed by Danny DeVito. The latter also plays a key role as the narrator of the anti-fairy tale (in fact, without him [or at least someone to “replace” him], the narrative framework can’t help but feel totally lacking, unmoored). And it is a tale…or is it? For, throughout the film, there’s this sense that it could be nothing more than a divorce urban legend, so “absurd” and “implausible” is the behavior of Oliver (Michael Douglas) and Barbara Rose (Kathleen Turner) as their marital “strife” escalates to an all-out war.

Even at the outset of their relationship, there’s an element of the fantastical, with Oliver and Barbara initially encountering one another at an antique auction in Nantucket in the midst of a brewing nor’easter. Though this is mostly how it happens in Warren Adler’s 1981 novel of the same name, with Jonathan Rose (as he’s named in the book) encountering Barbara Knowles (whose first name, for whatever reason, remains the same in the movie) at an estate sale auction in Cape Cod. The two have a similar bidding war over a “nominal” item, establishing their competitive natures with one another—and the turn-on it provides to each of them to “spar.” Or, as the “Jonathan” of Cumberbatch’s interpretation, now renamed to “Theo Rose,” calls it, “repartee.” More specifically, he says that what Americans (particularly American therapists) deem unhealthy bickering, the Brits know merely as repartee. A little flirtatious tit for tat that reveals the mark of a worthy and witty opponent, er, partner.

Theo and Ivy (Colman)—no longer Barbara either—certainly have that going for them. In fact, tweaking the leads to being British in nationality is just one of many “new elements” in The Roses. Including shifting the setting from the East Coast (Massachusetts, in the beginning, and then the “Potomac area”) to the West. More specifically, Mendocino. But it’s Ivy who makes it her goal to flee somewhere as antithetical to London as possible. Someplace that isn’t so stodgy (and what is California if not, even still, a liberal’s haven?). Before embarking on her escape to America, she encounters Theo at the restaurant where she’s working as a chef whose creativity is being constantly stifled. In a similar fashion, Theo has just entered her kitchen to get a reprieve from a “boss type” who doesn’t understand his rage over his apartment housing design being compromised by the removal of all the balconies. Because, yes, in this iteration of the story, Theo is an architect (not a corporate lawyer like Oliver). With both seeing something creatively stymied in the other, a spark of attraction is ignited, and they end up having sex in the freezer after Theo suggests that he should move with her to America (so clearly, this must be some alternate timeline of the U.S., wherein the orange creature is not the current dictator).

Ten years on, they’re living the so-called American dream, entirely on Theo’s architect’s salary (further perpetuating the myth that the job of architect is inherently high-paying). This classic case of “expected” gender roles/women still being relegated to “homemaker” and “household manager” holding true in the update as well. The difference, however, is that there is a reversal of fortune moment at the beginning of the film. Thanks to a storm that not only ruins Theo’s freshly unveiled design for a maritime museum (with a sail-bedecked rooftop as its crowning aspect of the design), but also directs large amounts of foot traffic to Ivy’s erstwhile sparsely attended restaurant, We’ve Got Crabs!. The place that Theo bought for her as a sort of pet project so that she could keep channeling her culinary skills into something other than just whipping up sugary confections for their children, twins Hattie (first played by Delaney Quinn and then Hala Finley) and Roy (first played by Ollie Robinson and then Wells Rappaport).

Indeed, spending time with her children is Ivy’s most treasured experience—until she realizes just how much her talent has been going to waste with the advent of all these new mouths to feed; mouths that, in turn, lavish praise on her for her cooking. And so, as Theo becomes an unemployed persona non grata in his field (complete with a rash of humiliating viral videos “remixing” the well-documented destruction of the museum), Ivy becomes the premier, most sought-after person in hers. And thus, the two strike up an accord that, while Theo finds a way to get back on his feet, he’ll take over her role, and she’ll take over his. So it is that the children are no longer operating under such a liberal parenting attitude, as Theo takes the helm and turns them into fitness freaks. In contrast, the children in The War of the Roses, Carolyn (played first by Bethany McKinney and then Heather Fairfield) and Josh (played first by Trenton Teigen and then by Sean Astin) end up obese during their childhood as a result of Barbara’s influence and laxity, whereas Hattie and Roy end up hyper-athletic and fit in The Roses as a result of Theo’s.

The missing piece in The War of the Roses is this “high-powered career swap” plot device. Though Barbara, a former gymnast (this “little detail” being useful to the story during many instances), does start to parlay her talent for cooking into a catering business around the same time she has the epiphany that she doesn’t want to be married to Oliver another second. This revelation fully crystallizing after Oliver has a heart attack scare (which turns out to be the angina-like effects of a hiatal hernia). Because, upon hearing this news, Barbara doesn’t feel sadness, but total relief. “Like a weight had been lifted.” Like she was finally free…from the oppression of being a full-time wife and mother. For it is only now, as their children are going off to college, that she’s started to regret every sacrifice she ever made. In The Roses, the inverse of this occurs for “the wife” in the permutation, with Ivy regretting that she chose her career over her children as they go off to some special fitness camp at thirteen. She blames Theo for this, too: pushing them away sooner than they needed to go with his “excellence conditioning.” Something she finds ironic considering what a “dud” he turned out to be on the provider front.

In this sense, too, The Roses deviates from The War of the Roses in that Barbara ultimately wishes Oliver hadn’t turned out to be such an alpha male, such an “exceptional earner” (as Britney would say)—because it left no room for her to contribute financially. Something she knows is the only way to truly assert some form of power in a monogamous relationship. But beyond that, to feel some sense of independence for herself. And, speaking of having an independent nature, it’s no wonder Barbara is a “cat person,” while needy, constantly-searching-for-validation Oliver is a dog person. As such, they each have what amounts to their own pets: Kitty Kitty and Bennie. Both of whom will serve as collateral damage in the ensuing war (though Bennie does technically survive, per one specific scene shown right after Barbara tells Oliver he’s eating dog-filled pâté; however, one imagines that scene of Bennie was only added conciliatorily after a bad test audience reaction). The Roses is markedly missing any pet subplots, just one of many facets removed that serve as a sign o’ the times in terms of studios responding more cautiously toward audience sensitivities.

This is also perhaps why, where The War of the Roses starts showing the eponymous war in the second act, the war between Ivy and Theo doesn’t really start until act three (ergo, possibly the reason for just calling it The Roses), after he builds her the house that is at the center of it. Because what was the point of reassigning his career from lawyer to architect if he wasn’t going to build it instead of, as in The War of the Roses, Barbara “finding it.” A.k.a. lusting after it for years until happening upon the owner’s wake at the house one day and becoming the first buyer in line as a result.

In both films, the house, in some sense, represents the wish to cling to the relationship in its idealized form. Though not for Barbara. She sees it as the only tangible proof of all the years she sacrificed to marriage and family. Carefully furnishing it and outfitting it with the best objects that Oliver’s money could buy. Particularly a creepy array of Staffordshire figurines. But Barbara’s struggle to find “the perfect Staffordshire figures” for the house is also a nod to the book, in which these figures become something of an obsession of Jonathan’s—hence, the reason why he’s at the estate sale auction that leads to his “meet-cute” (or rather “meet-brutal”) with Barbara.

Although, for the present era, Theo and Ivy’s briefly-shown war might seem “nasty,” it is nothing compared to the depths of darkness that The War of the Roses sinks into. After all, as Gavin D’Amato (DeVito), Oliver’s lawyer and friend, says to the would-be client he’s telling this tale to, “We came from mud. And after 3.8 billion years of evolution, at our core is still mud. Nobody can be a divorce lawyer and doubt that.” Speaking of divorce lawyers, the best that Jay Roach and writer Tony McNamara (usually more dependable for a great script, adapted or otherwise—see: The Favourite, Cruella and Poor Things) can drum up to represent Theo in the divorce is his hapless real estate friend Barry (Andy Samberg), clearly some ill-advised stand-in for Gavin.

As for Barry’s wife, Amy (Kate McKinnon), her entire presence is non sequitur. Providing the kind of “cringe comedy” she’s known for, but that is totally out of place within the universe of this movie. There’s also the numerous glaring issues pertaining to half-assed storylines, like one of Ivy’s employees getting caught having sex with another employee—something that never comes up again. Or the trip that Ivy and Theo take to New York together to “reconnect,” but that serves no real purpose for progressing the plot forward. In this sense, these scenes come off more as “time fillers” to avoid getting to the same kind of “meat” that The War of the Roses was unafraid to dive right into by Act Two. Because, at its core, The War of the Roses is about the fundamental disappointment that comes after you’ve achieved everything you were “supposed to” (particularly as a woman)—the marriage, the kids, the house, the financial security. The Roses is about a more conventional form of resentment related to who makes the money, who serves as the breadwinner in a relationship. And how it leads to power imbalances in different and unexpected ways.

Arguably the most vexing thing about this remake is not only that many people (*cough cough* Lily Allen) don’t even seem to recognize that it is a remake, but that it feigns being equally as “daring” in its dark tone as the original, while having the gall to end the movie on a note that suggests the two might actually get back together. In The War of the Roses, Barabara remains steadfast in her contempt until the bitter end. And oh, how very bitter it gets, with her pushing his hand away from her as the two expire at the same time thanks to falling from the ceiling while perched on their chandelier.

Worse still, Roach and McNamara don’t have the cojones to actually full-on show Theo and Ivy dying together due to a gas leak in their precious home that Theo unintentionally caused when he smashed the shit out of Ivy’s Julia Child stove. Instead, it cuts to black before the audience can even see an explosion. Which means their death isn’t necessarily “assured” (nor, as mentioned, is their divorce). And so, these characters didn’t categorically die on their respective hills the way Barbara and Oliver did. Making for a more “light-hearted” viewing experience for modern audiences who can’t stomach the notion of two people who were once in love now irrevocably despising each other. Not that such a conclusion should be any shock considering the near extinction of monogamy when compared to the 80s.

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Genna Rivieccio

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September 2, 2025
It’s Always Sunny Takes a Field Trip to Abbott Elementary

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Photo-Illustration: ABC/FX via Everett Collection

After 16 seasons of absolute mayhem, the It’s Always Sunny gang truly has no business being around children. However, they’ll be taking a field trip to Willard R. Abbott Elementary School soon.

October 3: Abbott Elementary mastermind Quinta Brunson posted a photo with Charlie Day and Rob McElhenney on set, seemingly teasing that a highly anticipated crossover was finally in the works. However, the testing only lasted for so long. An ABC rep confirmed to Vulture that there is a crossover episode this upcoming Abbott season. It makes sense for the two to collab; both shows are owned by Disney (Abbott through ABC, and Sunny through FX) and set in Philadelphia. Hell, both of them had Jason Kelce pop in for a cameo. It was only a matter of time. There’s no details about what the episode could entail, but we have some guesses about what the gang could get up to while at school:

The Gang Breaks Into an Elementary School.
The Gang Gets Their Degree.
The Gang Tries to Empower the Youth.
The Gang Goes to Career Day.

October 9: A lot of NSFW improv is hitting the cutting-room floor as the Abbott Elementary crew shapes their crossover episode with It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. “When we were shooting last week, Rob [McElhenney] had this improv in this one scene with Ava that I did not know was … coming; he just thought about it extemporaneously,” Patrick Schumacker told The Wrap. “It made me spit out my coffee, and then wish that we had just an episode that was like a gag reel of all the stuff that we can’t use.” Apparently, there is a lot they can’t use. As the Sunny/Abbott crossover was masterminded by the shows’ stars, the BTS producers are now struggling to make it make sense within the worlds of the TV shows. “When Quinta first brought it to me and Pat, I was like, ‘I don’t know how the fuck this is going to work … how are we going to marry these two tones but each show stay true to their own show?’” Abbott EP Justin Halpern said. “It was incredibly fun to do.” The Abbott folks added that McElhenney and Charlie Day spent time in the writers’ room to make it work. No word yet on when the crossover ep will air.

October 26: This gives Disney Channel epic “That’s So Suite Life of Hannah Montana” crossover vibes. Instead of just the Gang barging into Abbott Elementary, the teachers will also be having a drink at Patty’s Pub. Variety confirmed that the crossover would be the ninth episode of the season for Abbott, but it’s not stated when the Always Sunny episode will air, as they have just begun production and will film with the cast in a “few weeks,” per Kaitlin Olsen. However, the Abbott episode will have a heavy “Charlie” (Charlie Day) storyline. Maybe Gregory’s Garden Goofballs will have some flowers for him.

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Alejandra Gularte

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October 26, 2024
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice: Not Quite “Twice As Nice” As the Original (Mainly Because of a Tonal Shift From Bona Fide Weird to Corporate Weird), But Good Enough

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In 1988, the movie releases of the day were something of a mixed bag. From titles like Killer Klowns from Outer Space to Who Framed Roger Rabbit, it was an “anything goes” sort of year for film. Maybe that’s why Beetlejuice managed to “get past the censors,” so to speak. Released on March 30, 1988, it was hardly expected to be the commercial success that it was, raking in seventy-five million dollars on a fifteen-million-dollar budget. Unsurprisingly, getting it made was something of an uphill battle, with one executive at Universal telling Beetlejuice’s co-writer and eventual co-producer Larry Wilson that trying to put it into production was a waste of time. Wilson, in fact, recalled the unnamed person’s naysaying as follows: “‘This piece of weirdness, this is what you’re going to go out into the world with? You’re developing into a very good executive. You’ve got great taste in material. Why are you going to squander all that for this piece of shit’ was basically what he was saying.”

Soon after, the Beetlejuice script was sold to the Geffen Company (because, needless to say, gays have taste). Perhaps because, at that time, it had made something of a name for itself in the genre of “weird,” “off-kilter” movies like After Hours and Little Shop of Horrors. Cutting to 2024, not only is the Geffen Company no longer around (it became defunct in 1998), but all of its content (save for Beavis and Butt-Head Do America and maybe Joe’s Apartment) now belongs to Warner Bros., which Geffen had originally distributed its films through. Perhaps that’s part of why Beetlejuice Beetlejuice has a noticeably different tone that has less to do with “the current climate” and more to do with being under the thumb of a major corporate juggernaut.

And, talking of the current climate in film, it’s obviously vastly different from the abovementioned mixed bag/almost anything goes vibe of 1988. Indeed, 2024 has been an especially marked year for remakes, reboots and various forms of sequels—including Twisters, Deadpool & Wolverine, Alien: Romulus and The Crow. All of which is to say that, as most already knew, Hollywood is notorious for playing it safe. In other words, the suits controlling the purse strings rarely, if ever, take a gamble on anything that isn’t “existing IP” that already has a built-in audience. Which is the category that, “kooky” or not, Beetlejuice definitely falls into—making it right at home among the movie release climate of 2024.

That said, the obvious tonal shift of the sequel is a direct result of not just the “corporate-ification” of the movie thanks to Warner Bros. being entirely at the helm (complete with cross-promotional products like the Fabergé x Beetlejuice Beetlejuice® fine jewelry collection and the Limited-Edition Fanta Haunted Apple x Beetlejuice Beetlejuice® drinks), but the corporate-ification of all aspects of the movie industry in general. Even when it comes to what would have once been deemed more “indie” fare (which usually tended to be a euphemism for “offbeat” [a.k.a. unclassifiable by Hollywood executives]). Tim Burton’s own film evolution provides no better example of that, showing a stronger predilection for corporate-ifying his now “signature style” over the years (see: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Alice in Wonderland, Dark Shadows and Dumbo). In branching out to TV (for the first full-blown time) with Wednesday, Burton also revealed his increasing inclination toward “softcore gloom,” a byproduct, perhaps, of too many years working with major studio backing. And yes, collaborating with Jenna Ortega on the series led to her being “thought of” for a major part in the sequel.

In it, Ortega plays Astrid Deetz, daughter to Lydia (Winona Ryder), who has herself gone totally corporate by hosting a sham-y supernatural reality show called Ghost House. Granted, Lydia can actually communicate with the dead—as her rapport with Adam (Alec Baldwin) and Barbara Maitland (Geena Davis) showed audiences back in ‘88. Unfortunately for Astrid, however, Lydia has never been able to wield her gift for the purpose of seeing Richard (Santiago Cabrera), Astrid’s father whose cause of death was a boat accident in South America. And no, his body was never recovered (which seems like it might a detail that’s brought back later, but it isn’t).

Lydia and Richard had already divorced before his death, which speaks more to Ryder’s original vision for the character in a sequel: “I never thought about Lydia ever being a mom. I thought she would just be this spinster by choice in that attic…” Turns out, corporate-ification makes such a thought an impossibility, with Ryder also adding, “…but I think that’s where the incredible Jenna Ortega comes in. She answered a ton of those questions, and it felt so right.” Some might even say it “felt so right” that it was the true reason “destiny” made it take this long to put together a sequel—well, that, and “destiny” also needed to align Monica Bellucci romantically with Burton to give her a part that, once upon a time, probably would have gone to Helena Bonham Carter. (Side note: the role is an undeniable aesthetic nod to Sally in The Nightmare Before Christmas.)

In any case, some might like to see Lydia and Astrid as a “macabre” version of Lorelai and Rory Gilmore, with their relationship mirroring the latter’s more during their estrangement in season six—until they finally get close once Astrid realizes her mother’s medium abilities are the real deal. Before that pivotal moment though, Astrid’s initial resentment-filled dynamic with Lydia is established via the plot construct of an important funeral. Thus, her rage toward her “Alleged Mother” is exhibited in all its complex glory when screenwriting duo Alfred Gough and Miles Millar bring them together against Astrid’s will for the funeral of Lydia’s father/Astrid’s grandfather, Charles Deetz (Jeffrey Jones, who might as well have “died” in real life after being cancelled for child pornography/sex offender charges). And yes, as some have accurately pointed out, Charles a.k.a. Jones enjoys way too much screen time for someone that’s not actually in it—in addition to pointing out that having a children’s choir sing “Day-O” at the funeral of an IRL sex offender is a bit…ill-advised. (On the plus side, however, his death allows Catherine O’Hara many opportunities to shine as Delia Deetz.)

What’s more, while Burton has also claimed that the Maitlands aren’t featured in the story because they’ve “moved on,” the fairer assumption (apart from Davis admitting, “Our characters were stuck the way they looked when they died forever, so it’s been a while, it’s been a minute”) is that Baldwin isn’t without his own controversies of late (*cough cough* killing someone). And, if corporate-ification is capable of anything, it’s steering clear of any controversies that might prompt a dip in sales. Except no one seemed to consider the potential of Brad Pitt’s inevitably fledgling reputation in the wake of Angelina Jolie’s lawsuit claiming the actor has a “history of physical abuse.” Nonetheless, he serves as a producer on the project, which, whether intentional or not, found him working with Jennifer Aniston’s other ex, Justin Theroux (who plays Lydia’s annoying user of a fiancé, Rory).

Elsewhere, the addition of Willem Dafoe to the cast as Wolf Jackson—a B-rate actor who died while playing a detective, therefore also acts as one in the afterlife—feels a bit overstuffed and out of place, contributing to some of the issues with being able to effectively service all the storylines and characters (especially Bellucci’s Delores) without making everything feel somewhat rushed at the conclusion. Granted, there is at least a satisfying-to-OG-fans wedding ceremony between Lydia and Beetlejuice reserved for Act Three (during which Lydia, in her “updated” [read: post-woke] state, makes a joke that comments on their unsettling age gap—and just in time for age gap autumn, too).

But even during these moments that cater to the original fanbase, the shift in tone from Beetlejuice when it was a “low-budget,” underdog affair is night and day when compared to the over-the-top, trying-as-hard-as-possible-for-laughs posturing of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. And don’t even get one started on the hooey final scene that leads to coming across as a totally non sequitur nod to A Nightmare on Elm Street. Even so, there are worse “bad dreams” than this sequel, and many others have failed miserably in trying to achieve a follow-up to such a beloved movie (see: Speed 2: Cruise Control or Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps). Besides, it’s almost impossible to make a sequel better than the original (save for rare exceptions like Die Hard 2 or The Dark Knight).

But, as best as it can, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice stays true to the wonderful weirdness of Beetlejuice (even if that wonderful weirdness is a little too manicured now). Alas, there’s no denying that the scrappy, rough-hewn nature of the original is something that can never be recreated in the present landscape…regardless of Ryder keeping the exact same coif as Lydia when she was sixteen (in a maneuver that smacks of Briony Tallis’ never-changing hairstyle in 2007’s Atonement).

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Genna Rivieccio

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September 6, 2024
‘Haunted Mansion’ Announces Disney+ Premiere Date

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Just in time for the Halloween season, Disney’s new version of Haunted Mansion is coming to Disney+. The movie is based on the classic thrill ride at Disneyland, of course. It’s not the first time the ride has been adapted into film, since there was an Eddie Murphy-fronted effort back in 2003. In 2010, Guillermo Del Toro was attached to direct another Haunted Mansion-themed project, but it failed to materialize.

The new film stars a ton of heavy hitters in an all-star ensemble cast, made up of the likes of Lakeith Stanfield, Tiffany Haddish, Owen Wilson, Danny DeVito, Rosario Dawson, Jamie Lee Curtis and Jared Leto. If you don’t want to subscribe to Disney+ just to watch the movie, you’ll also be able to purchase a digital version of the film starting on the same date.

READ MORE: Several Upcoming Marvel Disney+ Shows Have Been Delayed

The film hit theaters on July 28, and it received pretty mixed reviews. Here is an excerpt from ScreenCrush’s own 5/10 review:

If Haunted Mansion had been a little more invested in this bereavement theme, it might have risen to the level of something like Greta Gerwig’s Barbie, which elevated an exercise in corporate brand refurbishment through sheer force of directorial vision. Simien’s film never quite gets there; it’s so possessed with recreating the ride’s details that it misses a bit of the ride’s spirit. A list of Easter eggs hidden in Haunted Mansion would be a waste of time; practically everything is an Easter egg, and none of them are hidden.

Unfortunately, the people involved in the project were unable to attend the premiere of the movie as a result of the ongoing strike. It seems like the consensus is that the film isn’t quite funny or scary enough to work.

Haunted Mansion premieres on Disney+ on October 4.

Sign up for Disney+ here.

10 Disney Movies That Deserve Their Own Rides

Here are 10 Disney movies that we think would make particularly great theme park rides, whether it be a dark ride, flume ride, or rollercoaster.

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Cody Mcintosh

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September 11, 2023
Summer movie season is in full swing. Here’s what’s coming through Labor Day

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The summer movie season goes into high-gear in July, with the arrival of the seventh “Mission: Impossible” movie followed by the “Oppenheimer” and “Barbie” showdown on July 21.

Not that you have to choose one or the other — as Tom Cruise said on Twitter, “I love a double feature, and it doesn’t get more explosive (or more pink) than the one with Oppenheimer and Barbie.”

August also promises a new take on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and introduces a new DC superhero, Blue Beetle.

Moviegoers were only moderately interested in going to the theater to say goodbye to Harrison Ford’s archaeologist character in “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.”

Indiana Jones. Karen Allen always knew he’d come walking back through her door. Since 1981’s “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” Allen’s Marion Ravenwood has been only a sporadic presence in the subsequent sequels.

An international film festival in the Czech spa town of Karlovy Vary has kicked off its 57th edition with an award planned for Oscar-winning actor Russell Crowe.

A London prosecutor says Oscar-winning actor Kevin Spacey is a “sexual bully” who assaults other men and doesn’t respect personal boundaries.

Here’s a month-by-month guide of this summer’s new movies. Keep scrolling for more info and review links for May and June’s releases.

July 7

” Insidious: The Red Door ” (Sony, theaters): Patrick Wilson and Rose Byrne are back to scare everyone in the fifth edition.

“ Joy Ride ” (Lionsgate, theaters): Adele Lim directs this raucous comedy about a friends trip to China to find someone’s birth mother, starring Ashley Park, Stephanie Hsu, Sherry Cola and Sabrina Wu.

“ The Lesson ” (Bleecker Street, theaters): A young novelist helps an acclaimed author in this thriller with Richard E. Grant.

“ Biosphere ” (IFC, theaters and VOD): Mark Duplass and Sterling K. Brown are the last two men on Earth.

“ Earth Mama ” (A24, theaters): This acclaimed debut from Savannah Leaf focuses on a woman, single and pregnant with two kids in foster care, trying to reclaim her family in the Bay Area.

July 14

“ Mission: Impossible-Dead Reckoning Part I” (Paramount, theaters, on July 12): Tom Cruise? Death-defying stunts in Venice? The return of Kittridge? What more do you need?

“ Theater Camp ”(Searchlight, theaters): Musical theater nerds (and comedy fans) will delight in this loving satire of a childhood institution, with Ben Platt and Molly Gordon.

“ The Miracle Club ” (Sony Pictures Classics, theaters): Lifetime friends (Kathy Bates, Maggie Smith, Agnes O’Casey) in a small Dublin community in 1967 dream of a trip to Lourdes, a town in France where miracles are supposed to happen. Laura Linney co-stars.

“ 20 Days in Mariupol ” (in theaters in New York): AP’s Mstyslav Chernov directs this documentary, a joint project between The Associated Press and PBS “Frontline,” about the first weeks of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, in which Chernov, photographer Evgeniy Maloletka, and field producer Vasilisa Stepanenko, became the only international journalists operating in the city. Their coverage won the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service.

“ Afire ” (Janus Films, theaters): This drama from German director Christian Petzold is set at a vacation home by the Baltic Sea where tensions rise between a writer, a photographer and a mysterious guest (Paula Beer) as a wildfire looms.

“ They Cloned Tyrone ” (Netflix): John Boyega, Teyonah Parris and Jamie Foxx lead this mystery caper.

July 21

“ Oppenheimer ” (Universal, theaters): Christopher Nolan takes audiences into the mind of the “father of the atomic bomb,” J. Robert Oppenheimer ( Cillian Murphy ) as he and his peers build up to the trinity test at Los Alamos.

“ Barbie ” (Warner Bros., theaters): Margot Robbie plays the world’s most famous doll (as do many others) opposite Ryan Gosling’s Ken in Greta Gerwig’s comedic look at their perfect world.

“ Stephen Curry: Underrated ” (Apple TV+): Peter Nicks directs a documentary about the four-time NBA champion.

“ The Beanie Bubble ” (in select theaters; on Apple TV+ on July 28): Zach Galifianakis stars as the man behind Beanie Babies in this comedic drama, co-starring Elizabeth Banks, Sarah Snook and Geraldine Viswanathan.

July 28

“ Haunted Mansion ” (Disney, theaters): A Disney ride comes to life in with the help of Rosario Dawson, Tiffany Haddish, Owen Wilson and Danny DeVito.

“ Talk to Me ” (A24, theaters): A group of friends conjure spirits in this horror starring Sophie Wilde and Joe Bird.

“ Happiness for Beginners ” (Netflix, on July 27): Ellie Kemper is a newly divorced woman looking to shake things up.

“ Sympathy for the Devil ” (RLJE Films): Joel Kinnaman is forced to drive a mysterious gunman (Nicolas Cage) in this thriller.

“ Kokomo City ” (Magnolia): A documentary following four Black transgender sex workers. One of the subjects, Koko Da Doll, was shot and killed in April.

August 4

“ Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem ” (Paramount, theaters): This animated movie puts the teenage back in the equation with a very funny voice cast including Seth Rogen and John Cena as Bebop and Rocksteady.

“ Shortcomings ” (Sony Pictures Classics, theaters): Randall Park directs this adaptation of Adrian Tomine’s graphic novel about Asian American friends in the Bay Area starring Sherry Cola as Alice, Ally Maki as Miko and Justin H. Min as Ben.

“ Meg 2: The Trench ” (Warner Bros., theaters): Jason Statham is back fighting sharks.

“ Passages ” (Mubi): The relationship of a longtime couple (Franz Rogowski, Ben Whishaw) is thrown when one begins an affair with a woman (Adèle Exarchopoulos).

“ A Compassionate Spy ” (Magnolia): Steve James’ documentary about the youngest physicist on the Manhattan Project who fed information to the Soviets.

“Dreamin’ Wild” (Roadside Attractions): Casey Affleck stars in this film about musical duo Donnie and Joe Emerson.

“ Problemista ” (A24, theaters): Julio Torres plays an aspiring toy designer in this surreal comedy co-starring Tilda Swinton that he also wrote, directed and produced.

August 11

“ Gran Turismo ” (Sony, theaters): A gamer gets a chance to drive a professional course in this video game adaptation starring David Harbour and Orlando Bloom.

“ The Last Voyage of the Demeter ” (Universal, theaters): This supernatural horror film draws from a chapter of “Dracula.”

“ Heart of Stone ” (Netflix): Gal Gadot played an intelligence operative in this action thriller, with Jamie Dornan.

“The Eternal Memory” (MTV Documentary Films): This documentary explores a marriage and Alzheimer’s disease.

“The Pod Generation” (Vertical, theaters): Emilia Clarke and Chiwetel Ejiofor star in this sci-fi comedy about a new path to parenthood.

“Jules” (Bleecker Street, theaters): Ben Kingsley stars in this film about a UFO that crashes in his backyard in rural Pennsylvania.

August 18

“ Blue Beetle ” (Warner Bros., theaters): Xolo Maridueña plays the DC superhero Jaime Reyes / Blue Beetle in this origin story.

“ Strays ” (Universal, theaters): Will Ferrell and Jamie Foxx voice dogs in this not-animated, R-rated comedy.

“birth/rebirth” (IFC, theaters): A woman and a morgue technician bring a little girl back to life in this horror.

“ White Bird ” (Lionsgate, theaters): Helen Mirren tells her grandson, expelled from school for bullying, a story about herself in Nazi-occupied France.

“Landscape with Invisible Hand” (MGM, theaters): Teens come up with a unique moneymaking scheme in a world taken over by aliens.

“The Hill” (Briarcliff Entertainment): This baseball drama starring Dennis Quaid is based on the true story of Rickey Hill.

August 25

“They Listen” (Sony, theaters): John Cho and Katherine Waterston lead this secretive Blumhouse horror.

“Golda” (Bleecker Street): Helen Mirren stars in this drama about Golda Meir, the Prime Minister of Israel during the Yom Kippur War.

“ Bottoms ” (MGM, theaters): Two unpopular teenage girls (Rachel Sennott and Ayo Edebiri) start a fight club to impress the cheerleaders they want to lose their virginity to in this parody of the teen sex comedy.

“The Dive” (RLJE Films): In this suspense pic about two sisters out for a dive, one gets hurt and is trapped underwater.

“Scrapper” (Kino Lorber, theaters): A 12-year-old girl (Lola Campbell) is living alone in a London flat until her estranged father (Harris Dickinson) shows up.

“Fremont” (Music Box Films, theaters): A former army translator in Afghanistan (Anaita Wali Zada) relocates to Fremont, California and gets a job at a fortune cookie factory. “The Bear’s” Jeremy Allen White co-stars.

September 1

“ The Equalizer 3 ” (Sony, theaters): Denzel Washington is back as Robert McCall, who is supposed to be retired from the assassin business but things get complicated in Southern Italy.

ALREADY IN THEATERS AND STREAMING

“ Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 ” (Disney/Marvel): Nine years after the non-comic obsessed world was introduced to Peter Quill, Rocket, Groot and the rest of the Guardians of the Galaxy, the misfits are closing out the trilogy and saying goodbye to director James Gunn, who is now leading rival DC. ( AP’s review.)

“ What’s Love Got to Do with It? ” (Shout! Studios): Lily James plays a documentary filmmaker whose next project follows her neighbor (Shazad Latif) on his road to an arranged marriage in this charming romantic comedy.

“ Book Club: The Next Chapter ” (Focus Features): Jane Fonda, Diane Keaton, Candice Bergen and Mary Steenburgen travel to Italy to celebrate an engagement.

“ The Mother,” ( Netflix ): Jennifer Lopez is an assassin and a mother in this action pic timed to Mother’s Day. (AP’s review here.)

“ Love Again ” (Sony): Priyanka Chopra Jonas plays a woman mourning the death of her boyfriend who texts his old number not knowing it belongs to someone new (Sam Heughan). Celine Dion (and her music) co-star in this romantic drama.

“ STILL: A Michael J. Fox Movie ” ( AppleTV+ ): Davis Guggenheim helps Michael J. Fox tell his story, from his rise in Hollywood to his Parkinson’s diagnosis and beyond.

“ Monica ” (IFC): A transgender woman, estranged from her family, goes home to visit her dying mother in this film starring Tracee Lysette and Patricia Clarkson.

“ The Starling Girl ” (Bleecker Street): Eliza Scanlen plays a 17-year-old girl living in a fundamentalist Christian community in Kentucky whose life changes with the arrival of Lewis Pullman’s charismatic youth pastor.

“ Fool’s Paradise ” (Roadside Attractions): Charlie Day writes, directs and plays dual roles in this comedic Hollywood satire.

“ Hypnotic ” (Ketchup Entertainment): Ben Affleck plays a detective whose daughter goes missing in this Robert Rodriguez movie.

“ It Ain’t Over ” (Sony Pictures Classics): A documentary about Lawrence Peter ‘Yogi’ Berra.

“Blackberry” (IFC): Jay Baruchel and Glenn Howerton star in this movie about the rise of the Blackberry. ( AP’s review.)

“ Fast X ” (Universal): In the tenth installment of the Fast franchise, Jason Momoa joins as the vengeful son of a slain drug lord intent to take out Vin Diesel’s Dom. ( AP’s review.)

“ White Men Can’t Jump ” (20th Century Studios, streaming on Hulu): Sinqua Walls and Jack Harlow co-star in this remake of the 1992 film, co-written by Kenya Barris and featuring the late Lance Reddick. ( AP’s review.)

“ Master Gardener ” (Magnolia): Joel Edgerton is a horticulturist in this Paul Schrader drama, co-starring Sigourney Weaver as a wealthy dowager. ( AP’s review.)

“ Sanctuary ” (Neon): A dark comedy about a dominatrix (Margaret Qualley) and her wealth client (Christopher Abbott).

“ The Little Mermaid ” (Disney): Halle Bailey plays Ariel in this technically ambitious live-action remake of a recent Disney classic directed by Rob Marshall (“Chicago”) and co-starring Melissa McCarthy as Ursula. ( AP’s review.)

“ You Hurt My Feelings ” (A24): Nicole Holofcener takes a nuanced and funny look at a white lie that unsettles the marriage between a New York City writer (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) and a therapist (Tobias Menzies). ( AP’s review.)

“ About My Father ” (Lionsgate): Stand-up comic Sebastian Maniscalco co-wrote this culture clash movie in which he takes his Italian-American father (Robert De Niro) on a vacation with his wife’s WASPy family. ( AP’s review.)

“ Victim/Suspect ” ( Netflix ): This documentary explores how law enforcement sometimes indicts victims of sexual assault instead of helping.

“ The Machine,” (Sony): Stand-up comedian Bert Kreischer brings Mark Hamill into the fray for this action-comedy.

“ Kandahar ” (Open Road Films): Gerard Butler plays an undercover CIA operative in hostile territory in Afghanistan.

“ Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse ” (Sony): Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) is back, but with things not going so well in Brooklyn, he opts to visit the multiverse with his old pal Gwen Stacy (Hailee Steinfeld), where he encounters the Spider-Society. ( AP’s review.)

“ The Boogeyman ” (20th Century Studios): “It’s the thing that comes for your kids when you’re not paying attention,” David Dastmalchian explains to Chris Messina in this Stephen King adaptation.

“ Past Lives ” (A24): Already being hailed as one of the best of the year after its Sundance debut, Celine Song’s directorial debut is a decades and continent-spanning romance about two friends separated in childhood who meet 20 years later in New York. ( AP’s review.)

“ Transformers: Rise of the Beasts ” (Paramount): Steven Caple Jr directs the seventh Transformers movie, starring Anthony Ramos and Dominique Fishback. ( AP’s review.)

“Flamin’ Hot” ( Hulu, Disney+): Eva Longoria directs this story about Richard Montañez, a janitor at Frito-Lay who came up with the idea for Flamin’ Hot Cheetos. ( AP’s review.)

“ Blue Jean ” (Magnolia): It’s 1988 in England and hostilities are mounting towards the LGBTQ community in Georgia Oakley’s BAFTA-nominated directorial debut about a gym teacher (Rosy McEwan) and the arrival of a new student. ( AP’s review.)

“Daliland” (Magnolia): Mary Harron directs Ben Kingsley as Salvador Dalí.

“ The Flash ” (Warner Bros.): Batmans past Ben Affleck and Michael Keaton assemble for this standalone Flash movie directed by Andy Muschietti and starring Ezra Miller as the titular superhero. ( AP’s review.)

“ Elemental ” (Pixar): In Element City, residents include Air, Earth, Water and Fire in the new Pixar original, featuring the voices of Leah Lewis, Mamoudou Athie and Catherine O’Hara. ( AP’s review.)

“ Extraction 2 ” ( Netflix ): Chris Hemsworth’s mercenary Tyler Rake is back for another dangerous mission. ( AP’s review.)

“ Asteroid City ” (Focus Features): Wes Anderson assembles Tom Hanks, Scarlett Johansson, Jason Schwartzman and Jeffrey Wright for a stargazer convention in the mid-century American desert. ( AP’s review.)

“ The Blackening ” (Lionsgate): This scary movie satire sends a group of Black friends including Grace Byers, Jermaine Fowler, Melvin Gregg and X Mayo to a cabin in the woods.

“ No Hard Feelings ” (Sony): Jennifer Lawrence leads a raunchy comedy about a woman hired by a shy teen’s parents to help him get out of his shell before Princeton. ( AP’s review.)

“ Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny ” (Lucasfilm): Harrison Ford puts his iconic fedora back on for a fifth outing as Indy in this new adventure directed by James Mangold and co-starring Phoebe Waller-Bridge. ( AP’s review.)

“ Every Body ” (Focus Features): Oscar-nominated documentarian Julie Cohen turns her lens on three intersex individuals in her latest film. ( AP’s review.)

“ Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken ” (Universal): Lana Condor (“To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before”) lends her voice to this animated action-comedy about a shy teenager trying to survive high school as a part-Kraken. (AP’s review.)

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July 2, 2023
‘Twins’ Stars Arnold Schwarzenegger & Danny DeVito Reunite To Open White House Correspondents’ Dinner

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By Brent Furdyk.
Published: 17 mins ago

Moviedom’s unlikeliest siblings reunited for a special event on Saturday night.

“Twins” stars Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito appeared together in a special video filmed to open the 2023 edition of the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.

Schwarzenegger opened the video, sitting in his office as he thanked journalists for the role they play in American democracy.

“Because our country would not be the shining beacon of freedom that welcomes people like me without the free press,” he declared.

READ MORE:
Danny DeVito Admits He Got Arnold Schwarzenegger Stoned On The Set Of ‘Twins’

“I wouldn’t be the Arnold that you know without the press — that’s a fact. Every reporter, every photographer, every editor who has brought me or my message to the people, has made my life possible and successful,” he continued.

“So even though you ask questions that annoy the hell out of me, I remind myself always that you’re actually doing the peoples’ work,” the former California governor added. “You’re the ally of the people, so never, ever stop shining a light on the truth and informing the public.”

At that point, the camera pulled back to reveal DeVito alongside Schwarzenegger in his office. Also present were Schwarzenegger’s famous pets, miniature pony Whiskey and donkey Lulu, while the theme song from “It’s Aways Sunny in Philadelphia” played in the background.

READ MORE:
Arnold Schwarzenegger Praises ‘Twins’ Co-Star Danny DeVito In Emotional Reddit Thread

“I’m very proud of all of you. And it’s not just me and it’s also Lulu and Whisky and my twin brother Danny DeVito, we’re all proud of you!” said Schwarzenegger, as DeVito fed crackers to the pets.

“I come over here and I’m going to get bit by a horse. That’s the finger, ouch!” DeVito complains.

Opening message from Arnold @Schwarzenegger, with @DannyDeVito appearance. #WHCD #nerdProm pic.twitter.com/9eJlkDKPQB

— CSPAN (@cspan) April 30, 2023

Reports of a sequel to the 1988 comedy have simmered for years; as recently as 2021, Deadline reported that a sequel — titled “Triplets” — was in the works, with Tracy Morgan cast as the third sibling after initial attempts to land Eddie Murphy fell through.

“I thought he would make a terrific triplet, and we rewrote the whole script for him,” “Twins” director Ivan Reitman told the outlet at the time. “Now, we’ll go out and try and put the money together and get it made.”

Sadly, Reitman — who had planned to direct the sequel — died in February 2022.

READ MORE:
‘Twins’ Sequel ‘Triplets’ Casts Tracy Morgan As Arnold Schwarzenegger & Danny DeVito’s Long-Lost Brother

“We had a little setback because the man that was [supposed] to direct it, who directed the first one, ‘Twins’, Ivan Reitman had passed away sadly to say,” Schwarzenegger said during a March 2022 appearance at the Arnold Sports Festival in Columbus, Ohio, indicating the status of “Triplets” was up in the air.

“And so, you know now that we just wait a little bit until this whole thing cools down and then we’re gonna readdress it. But that’s a project [supposed] to be filmed in October and so it could still be you know, but we just have to now look into a different director and just get into and to see if we are going to continue with this project.”

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Brent Furdyk

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April 30, 2023