Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’s game quite good when Keaton allowed to play, but average when he’s relegated to the bench

Despite Michael Keaton having the time of his afterlife, there’s not enough of his coffin-tipping high-jinks to carry Beetlejuice Beetlejuice to greatness, writes Leigh Paatsch.

From a wasted opportunity in a remake that no one asked for to a fascinating profile of a genuine people’s horse, it’s a mixed bag on the big screen this week.

BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE (M)

Michael Keaton in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.

Director: Tim Burton (Edward Scissorhands)

Starring: Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, Jenna Ortega, Catherine O’Hara

Rating:★★½

Back from the dead, but few signs of life

If most people were asked to compile a list of the Top 50 movies from the 1980s deserving of a sequel in 2024, it is highly doubtful that director Tim Burton’s 1988 bizarro black comedy hit Beetlejuice would be making the cut.

Nevertheless, living as we do in an era where the faintest blip of name-recognition trumps the most vivid of new ideas, the ’Juice is loose once more.

Having said that, there can be no denying it is highly entertaining to once again witness the great Michael Keaton having the time of his afterlife in the lead role here.

There is simply no-one else who could ever possibly portray the grubbily grotesque Betelguese, that zebra-suited ghost with a winningly wince-inducing wisecrack for every situation.

There’s not quite enough of Michael Keaton’s coffin-tipping high-jinks on display to truly carry this follow-up to greatness.

Unfortunately, there’s not quite enough of Keaton’s coffin-tipping high-jinks on display to truly carry this follow-up to greatness.

The movie’s game is quite good when its star is allowed to play, but quite average when he is relegated to the bench.

The chief problem here is a jumbled story that never really makes much sense of (or derives much mirth from) the many bits and pieces scattered across the screen.

The original movie’s young heroine Lydia Deetz (Winona Ryder) is now a middle-aged TV psychic whose smooth presentation skills are suddenly being rattled by visions of her needy’n’seedy nemesis Betelguese.

The original movie’s young heroine (Winona Ryder) is now a middle-aged TV psychic suddenly rattled by visions of her needy’n’seedy nemesis (Michael Keaton).

This section of the plot is where Beetlejuice Beetlejuice loses a lot of its charm by switching the focus to Lydia’s grouchy teenage daughter Astrid (Jenna Ortega) and her blossoming relationship with a new boyfriend, Jeremy (Arthur Conti).

Meanwhile, Betelgeuse must also deal with his decomposing relationship with ex-wife Dolores (Monica Bellucci), a soul-sucking sorceress hellbent on revenge for reasons never made clear (nor made to matter much).

Aside from the saving (dis)grace of Keaton’s performance, all that Beetlejuice Beetlejuice really has going for it are some welcome flashes of the surreal visual brilliance which Tim Burton is renowned for.

A clutch of sequences which run the stylistic gamut from a stop-motion animated plane crash (with bonus shark attack!) to a demented dance-a-thon for the dead deliver everything a muddled screenplay simply cannot.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is in cinemas now

A HORSE NAMED WINX (PG)

Winx after winning the Cox Plate in the documentary movie A Horse Called Winx.

Rating:★★★★

General release

Our nation’s longtime love affair with thoroughbred racing feels as it is finally on the wane. Therefore this beautifully made documentary about the mighty mare Winx represents a truly heartfelt commemoration of the last great romance we may ever share with a genuine ‘people’s horse’. If this is indeed so, what a magnificent way for it all to end: via a four-legged tornado of speed, endurance and grit that whooshed through a winning streak of 33 consecutive victories before her time was up.

Winx and trainer Chris Waller.

The enduring charm of this impeccably realised production stems from its clear intent not to rest on the laurels of its subject’s imposing track record. Though Winx was just as unbeatable as Usain Bolt in his prime, the doco works hard to paint a fascinating and moving portrait of the horse herself. While not the type to suffer fools gladly, Winx exuded a charisma that inspired both great devotion and emotion among all lucky enough to be in her presence. Just hearing the likes of strappers, track riders and stablehands speak of their time with Winx is enough to leave a lasting impression on the viewer. However, whenever trainer Chris Waller or the mare’s regular jockey Hugh Bowman open the vaults to their memory banks, a deeper and sincerely inspirational understanding of Winx floods from the screen. Narrated by Andrew Rule.

AFRAID (M)

John Cho in AfrAId.

Rating:★½

General release

This very short, not-so-sharp and sort-of-shonky affair is a home-invasion drama with a difference. That AfrAId repeatedly fails to capitalise on this difference spawns a resentment in the viewer that rises by the minute. The premise is undeniably strong: a family agrees to beta-test a new digital assistant with both an ever-evolving personality and an ever-increasing independence (think Alexa with an attitude, or Siri with a sensitive side). After a helpful honeymoon period upon activation, a strange bug inside the coding of AIA (pronounced ‘Aya’) has her using her self-learning superpowers in ways that initially hinder, then deliberately harm the entire household of a dopey marketing exec (John Cho), his mopey missus (Katherine Waterston) and their nondescript kids. The sinister software begins meddling with careers, social lives, love lives, medical records, academic qualifications and (in the movie’s one genuinely creepy scene) cherished memories of the deceased. In the right hands, this should have been both great, goofy fun, and a cautionary tale of the dangers of letting algorithms inflect our decision-making. Instead, AfrAId limps along to a dire finale that generates all the thrills and excitement of a monitor switching to screensaver mode.

Originally published as Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’s game quite good when Keaton allowed to play, but average when he’s relegated to the bench