The American Dream Part 2- Beetlejuice vs Dracula

Another post, another matchup. This time the two reviews will be on the mythical and damn right bizaare with Francis Ford Coppola's "Dracula" and Tim Burton's "Beetlejuice".

Dracula, you're up first.

I have to admit I hadn't seen many of Copolla's works, apart from the acclaimed Godfather trilogy, so I was genuinely looking forward to seeing his take on Nosferatu, I wondered which direction it would swing whether it would be a dark out and out horror or maybe something more subtle.

Well, when the credits rolled and I saw Keano Reeves my high hopes were significantly knocked, and then I heard the "English" accent, Jesus I could act better than him. Aside from that I felt that the cast was actually very strong and luckily Keano doesn't play a major part in the picture, Gary Oldman steals the show as the Count and Winona Ryder gives a very good performance as seductive character Mina with Anthony Hopkins appearing out of nowhere as Van Helsing, it is certainly a star studded affair.

As far as Copolla's direction goes, it was very interesting, an over sexualised account of the beast was a good choice in my opinion. It gave the whole piece a fresh outlook. The first act was great, I enjoyed watching the buildup to Keano's trip to Transylvania, and the prelude detailing the day the Count cursed his body for eternity was very fulfilling. However, the ending... it felt as it the film had morphed into a dumb downed blockbuster as Winona gracefully puts the stake through the Counts heart, she follows that with hacking his head off with the blade. Why? Why swipe his head off when you've already killed the creature with the stake? Way too obvious and clunky in my opinion which almost spoilt a slow burning drama. Furthermore, guess what, Copolla couldn't decide upon the ending and his friend Mr George Lucas stepped inand ushered him to have her take his head off. Another great decision George! That's almost like having this great trilogy about a guy who travels the world in search of ancient relics and then throwing in Aliens for the hell of it.

Overall I'd give the film a kind 3.5 stars out of 5, the ending really did let the picture down for me.

 Keep em coming.

Next up... Beetlejuice.

Another dark film about a couple who die in a car crash and are stuck in their home for eternity, that wouldn't be too bad would it? but drama ensues when an obnoxious family in with a gothic teenage daughter, good old Winona, the couple are forced to enlist the help of Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton) a ghastly ghoul who eradicates humans.

I'm not a big fan of Tim Burton, especially his more recent work, but credit where credit's due this is a fine film that had me laughing out loud at several occasions and startled at some of the effects and active questions raised for example when the couple attempts to leave the house there is an fascinating glimpse into nothing-ness a never-ending desert occupied by a sand whale of some sorts.

Michael Keaton is hilarious in his portrayal of scumbag ghoul Beetlejuice, he is mentioned subtly throughout however only truly makes an entrance 35 minutes into the film, considering its only a 90 minute feature its amazing that the title character doesn't appear in the first third at all. That was one of my criticisms of the film, Keaton is simply magic on screen and its a shame he isn't in it longer.

The ending was nowhere near as jarring as Dracula's and does finish at the right time.

A delightfully fun film that reminds me that Tim Burton is a visionary, or was anyway, if you haven't seen it make sure you do, you won't regret it. A solid 4.5 out of 5.

Part 3 of this mini American series coming up will involve The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Fincher's take).

The American Dream. Part 1- Sideways vs Scott Pilgrim vs the World.

Before  I get into writing this, don't worry, I won't be putting these two films against each other in an awkward attempt to make comparisons and come out with a "winner". To be honest, it sounded good in the title so if you are here to see the winner between these two pictures then you might want to stop reading... now.

First things first, I had seen several clips from Sideways in recent lectures and I'm pretty sure I had seen a fragmented version of the film when I was younger but never seen the film the whole way through so it was nice to get that out the way.

I watched the film on the plane from London to Miami so you could say I wasn't in the mood for a drama about  a journey through California that is enriching and endearing. I've always been a fan of Paul Giamatti, loving him in Cinderella Man and The Illusionist but his portrayal of wannabe writer Miles Raymond is fantastic.

I love the wine subtext throughout the film leading to, arguably, the most poignant scene of the film where Miles unravels himself when talking about his favourite grape with love interest Maya (Virginia Madsen).

This film is timeless, if I were to watch it again in ten years it would have the same impact as the one it gave me ten days ago. I love this type of drama where at the end of the narrative nothing particularly has changed on the surface, Miles continues to be a high school English teacher and best friend Jack ties the knot, however the mindset or attitude to life has monumentally differed. Miles realisation that he will never be an the accomplished writer works because with that loss he gains the companionship of Maya.

Okay. Think Critically.

Scott Pilgrim vs the World is a film that I actually saw in the cinema at the time of release and to be honest I didn't enjoy it. It felt cheap, a kop-out. I love Shaun of the Dead and don't have a bad word to say about it but with Scott Pilgrim it just felt desperate.

The casting didn't help. Michael Cera as the lead seemed like a strange choice. I guess Edgar Wright needed  an A-lister to get the film off the ground but the reason I enjoyed Shaun of the Dead so much was because it felt new and very fresh. I had never seen Spaced (I have now) so the directorial style really impressed me. This time around I felt it was too much, I understood that the film was heavily influenced by the old Nintendo 64 games etc but it didn't hide an obvious narrative and cliched love story.

That's what was the most disappointing for me because it just felt forced. Whereas in Sideways Maya and Miles had a clear connection and I was urging them to hook up with Scott Pilgrim, the on screen relationship between Scott and Ramona was poor, I didn't understand how or why they would want to be together. They didn't seem to have anything in common. I guess the narrative was something that couldn't be changed as the film is an adaptation of the Comic book but this film just wasn't for me.


Next up: Beetlejuice, Dracula, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

Cheers.

God I wish I had a beard like Paul.