B. Chandler 2008-11-15

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

Young married couple Adam and Barbara Maitland (Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis) are staying home for their vacation. In an effort to avoid driving over a cute mutt, they, car and all plunge over a bridge. The next thing they know is that they are home. However something is a tad strange. Yep soon they find they are the recently deceased. How will they cope with the situation and where can they find help whim strange people purchase and intend to occupy the house?

The story takes some intriguing turns. And the musing instead of being a background mood helper is actually as important as the other characters in the story. "Day-o, he say day-ay-ay-o."

This film is an excellent candidate for Blu-ray. The Blu-ray version also has the standard extras. I am not sure but I could swear there are more scenes than I saw in earlier versions.

Stampy 2008-10-07

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

After they die, Adam (Baldwin) and Barbara (Davis) come back to their house as ghosts and find a family is moving in and the couple try to scare them away with help from bio-exorcist Beetlejuice.

Tim Burton's reputation as the darkest and most gothic director started here with a bizarre but wonderfully different tale of the dead and is both funny, and yet psychological scary, and brings a niche to the market in a strange and sophisticated way.

The film has a terrific opening with Danny Elfman's score exquisite to the bird's eye view of the town going past and the upbeat music plays right into our hands and will gear you up ready for the horror and excitement to begin.

Alec Baldwin (The Hunt for Red October) impresses as ambitious Adam and has good onscreen chemistry with Geena Davis (Thelma and Louise) and the pair create many laughs and are a joy to watch, especially when playing around with the sheets.

Winona Ryder (Girl, interrupted) gives a great performance as Lydia, the weird and wonderful teenager, who gives the film a more serious and realistic feel against Keaton's comic Beetlejuice.

The star of the show is Keaton (Batman) who plays bio-exorcist Beetlejuice, a crazed man who is evil, eccentric and enjoyable to watch, because he is weird and different, one of Tim Burton's finest creations, right up there with Edward Scissorhands. Beetlejuice is just so weird that he is almost loveable. What makes these characters work is the writing.

The plot is very consistent, if seeming a bit weird and far fetched to begin, with plenty of dark humour and amazing characters. There is plenty of physical comedy and some slapstick which spreads the humour through different characters. The dialogue is pitched well, also giving some cheesy but really likeable puns on the dead.

The ideology of ghosts is covered well, playing on human interpretations and putting twists and turns on this idea, and making it funny through a book for the dead.

The settings make this different to, with a different look upon heaven and hell, and the model of the town plays a great small yet significant setting. The colour and lighting hep achieve the dark and sinister feel of the narrative, as does the Oscar winning make up.

Tim Burton has created some wonderful films in his directing career, and whereas this film isn't as powerful as Sweeney Todd or Edward Scissorhands, it is easily the funniest and a joy to watch

8.5/10

Bazzer 2008-08-30

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

As a young movie fan I was told by my Dad that I cannot call myself a true movie fan unless I start watching some of the classic movies that were around before the 90's. So seeing as nowadays the DVD charts can be fairly hit and miss, some weeks have some great movies, others are not so good, it makes it difficult to find something good to watch.
So when my Dad and I rummaged through the bargain box at Blockbuster to see if there was any hope of finding a decent movie, I came across Beetlejuice. Of course I'd heard of it and knew what it was about, but it was a movie that I thought I just wouldn't go out of my way to watch. My Dad, who had already seen it and loved it, quickly snapped it up and we headed home to watch it.
I never would of guessed just how good this movie was going to be. It was just such a good film, and once it had finished I certainly kicked myself for avoiding it all these years.
The cast were all cast perfectly, but it's Michael Keaton who really made this movie for me with his great, comical performance as Beetlejuice. He was just so wacky and really great to watch, and he delivers some great lines thorughout the movie.
Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis were also very funny as the recently deceased couple, seeking help to get rid of the new arrivals at their home. Although it sounds like a morbid plot, because it's Tim Burton it's works, and is very funny in a dark way, and even though the theme is death the whole film isn't dark and dull, but instead seems to be filled with colour.
So it just goes to show that just because it's old, certainly doesn't mean it's not a good film, so take my advice, don't rent it... GO BUY IT, because this is a movie that doesn't dissapoint! Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice...!

N. Fisher 2008-03-08

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

As a kid I loved this movie, it was one of those films i would sit and watch time after time. As someone now in their early 20s i rewatched Beetlejuice and I adored it all over again, its just so unlike anything that has been made since. Geena Davis is great, one of her best acting roles to date and seeing a young looking Winona Rider is magic! I really recommend that everyone watches this movie at least once, and if you are anything like me watch it a few hundred times!

H. Webb 2008-02-23

0 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

I'm really upset that I can't understand the amount of praise given to this film. Tim Burton is my favourite director and numerous films such as Edward Scissorhands and Big Fish are my favourites. Yet I found Beetlejuice to be boring and lacking Burton's usual quirkiness. He has definately improved with age and shows how eventually one is able to break free from Hollywood narratives, codes and conventions. Beetlejuice's comedy is just not for me- very traditional American. This film, in my opinion, goes alongside Planet of the Apes as not one of Burton's best.