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My 4th Scarefest Experience!!
I went to ScareFest Weekend for the 4th time in Lexington, Kentucky on October 19 of 2024.It’s definitely one of my favorite conventions.Although I will say this is the biggest one I’ve seen them do yet.That’s great, but I could see it seemed a bit overwhelming and maybe some of the staff was unprepared for the massive crowd.Having said that, what I saw at least was mostly positive and I had a wonderful experience.The staff was good to me. I know there were complaints, but I’m grateful to the staff.Especially when one of them got me out of the general admission line (I had a Weekend Plus ticket, not GA.) after an hour and got me into the correct line.And some of the photo op lines were a bit chaotic, but these are big events and things can change. So I’m fine with it.And as I said, I had a wonderful time.All the celebrities I met (Dick Warlock, Nick Castle, R.A. Mihailoff, and Adam Green) were all very nice. There were a ton of other celebrities there, but I could not afford all of them.I spoke to R.A. and Adam for a little bit, which was nice. R.A. discussed his movie Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre III, which I really like and he appreciated me saying that and told me about the movie.Adam, who is the creator of the Hatchet movie franchise, discussed with me his show Holliston, a horror sitcom, that unfortunately only lasted two seasons because of corporate bureaucracy. It’s a great show. Seek it out.I actually even opened up one of Dick’s water bottles for him when I met him. He’s a great man and a stunt legend (Kurt Russell’s stuntman for 25 years) and is most famous for being Michael Myers in the original Halloween II and was one of the villains in Halloween III.Nick is the original Michael Myers for most of the original Halloween movie, and had cameos in the last Halloween trilogy. He’s also a writer (Escape From New York and Hook) and director (Dennis The Menace and Major Payne) just to name a few.I got selfies and autographs of all of them.I also got pro photo ops with Dick, Nick, R. A. (dressed up as Leatherface), and the legendary Clive Barker, in one of his last scheduled public appearances. I did not want to fight his autograph line, so I just got a picture, but even in my brief encounter with him, he was very kind. Thank you all sooooo much for everything.Oh and I met Sean Clark of Horror’s Hallowed Grounds (a phenomenal series in which he goes to various movie locations) and the podcast The Thing With Two Heads. Thank you for taking our picture together and giving me a little bit of swag.I also went to a Michael Myers Q&A Panel, which had Nick, Dick, Jade Jude Courtney, Tom Morga, and Tyler Mane. All who have played Michael Myers. They all had great things about playing the character.I’m leaving things out, but again, this was such a fun day. It was long and tiring, but a ton of fun and it was all worth it.
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First Jason (Ari Lehman of Friday The 13th) Rocks!!
- Date of Concert: Thursday, October 17, 2024
- Location of Concert: Paramount Arts Center in Ashland, KY
Thank you Ari Lehman (Jason Voorhees in the first Friday The 13th movie) and his great band First Jason for a fun, rocking night at the Paramount Arts Center.The band played for about 40 minutes, featuring songs that combine metal and punk rock music, but lyrically, the songs are all about Jason. Really cool stuff.After the band’s set, Ari took a couple of questions from the audience about the Friday The 13th movie, then the band, who include Ari on vocals and keytar, Eddie Machete on guitar, and Bass Amp on drums, sat in the audience and did a commentary watch along of the movie Friday The 13th.Lots of fun tidbits about the movie, trivia questions for the audience, and just funny comments throughout.Then after the movie, Ari went to the lobby to take pictures and sign stuff.This was a really fun night.Not a lot of people were there, but I hope the band and everyone had fun. I know I did.Thank you guys for the great night!And as Ari said “Jason never dies!”First Jason Setlist:
- Machete Is My Friend
- Red Red Red, Jason is Watching!
- Kill For Mother
- Look What You Did
- Voorhees Is The Name
- Victim
- Jason’s Bride
- Ari Keytar Solo
- Jason Never Dies
Photo Gallery (click on thumbnail to view larger image)
Video Gallery (click on thumbnail to play video)
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Billy Bob Thornton’s Band The Boxmasters Rocks!!
- Date of Concert: Sunday, October 6, 2024
- Location of Concert: New Barn Theatre at Renfro Valley Entertainment Center in Mt. Vernon, KY
- Opener: Fran Moran & The Nervous Wrecks
Many know of Billy Bob Thornton’s work as a movie and television star.
Many do not know that he is also a singer/songwriter/musician too and has been for decades.
He has released solo albums and for almost 20 years, has had a band called The Boxmasters.
Most of the albums include mostly just him and J.D. Andrew doing all the instrumentation.
However, their latest album, called Love & Hate In Desperate Places, includes the whole band, which is Billy (AKA Bud) on vocals, J.D. on guitar and keyboards, Kirk McKim on guitar, Raymond Hardy on bass, and Nick Davidson drums.
The Boxmasters, in a nutshell, kind of sound like a 1960s garage rock/pop band, but also have some elements of punk rock, outlaw country, and some Beatles/Beach Boys/Pink Floyd melodies.
They have a lot of albums, and I must say they are very good. Album favorites of mine include Boxmasters ’66, Boxmasters ’69, Light Rays, Christmas In California, and Help…I’m Alive. But really all of them are very good.
Billy/Bud is a very good singer (think Tom Petty) and he and the whole band are very good songwriters and musicians.
Also, they are great live too.
I saw them in Mt. Vernon, KY at a very nice venue called the New Barn Theatre, which is part of the Renfro Valley Entertainment Center.
The band played for about 90 minutes, and really rocked the place.
Billy/Bud told some stories along with singing all of these great songs.
He even requested to the audience that they move as close as they could to the stage near the end of the set, which was very cool!! By doing this I was able to get all the way to the front and was able to get a fist bump from Billy/Bud and he wanted to take a selfie with me!! He did this with a lot of the fans and also signed stuff for them too. Awesome stuff!!!!
All of the songs were originals, except for the closing song, which was a song by The Kinks (setlist and pics below).
The band and audience had a good time.
Another great concert in the books for me and more to come in the future.
Thanks to The Boxmasters for a fun night!!
And please, do yourself a favor and seek out their music and see a show.
Also, their opening band, Fran Moran & The Nervous Wrecks, were quite good too.
Keep on rocking!!
The Boxmasters Setlist:
- Emily
- Jupiter Man
- She Looks Like Betty Page
- Go Like This
- Garage
- Science Fiction
- I Still Want To See You
- You’ll Never Be Mine
- Jayne Mansfield’s Car
- Light Rays
- Goodnight, Sleep Tight, I’m Gone
- A River Rising
- The Light Of Lenore
- I Must Have Been High
- I Got A Girl
- I’m Not Like Everybody Else (The Kinks cover)
Photo Gallery (click on thumbnail to view larger image)
Video Gallery (click on thumbnail to play video)
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Burton Cummings My Own Way To Rock Album Review
Burton Cummings (The Guess Who) released his second solo album, My Own Way To Rock, in 1977.
This album, in my opinion, is a masterpiece.
Every song is amazing.
My favorite is “Got To Find Another Way”.
Burton has been one of my favorite singers since I was little and he is still going strong in 2024.
If you do not know his music outside of The Guess Who (and their music too actually), please seek it out.
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I Finally Saw Burton Cummings In Concert!!
- Date of Concert: Thursday September 26 2024
- Location of Concert: The Rose Music Center At The Heights in Huber Heights, OH
- Opener: King Solomon Hicks
This has been a long time coming.
I had a ticket to see the singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Burton Cummings (The Guess Who and solo artist) a few years ago, but unfortunately, the pandemic happened and so the show was canceled.
Also, Burton and fellow The Guess Who member Randy Bachman (also of Bachman-Turner Overdrive) had been in a lawsuit with other members of The Guess Who, in regards to the band going out on the road with no original members and playing their songs, but yet advertising their music as being sung by Burton and played with Randy.
In 2024, Burton and Randy were able to get the rights to The Guess Who name and hopefully will tour it together in the future.
But until then, Randy has been on tour with BTO (sadly I had to miss them in August) and Burton is on tour with his own band celebrating 60 years of The Guess Who, playing those classic songs, as well as some solo hits too.
So long story short, I was FINALLY able to see Burton at one of these shows.
As I just said, Burton and his great band (includes Joe Agelo on guitar/backing vocals, Nick Sinopoli on percussion/backing vocals, Sean Fitzsimmons on drums/backing vocals, Jeff Jones on bass/backing vocals, and Tim Bovaconti on lead guitar/backing vocals) are playing many songs by The Guess Who, as well as some of Burton’s solo songs and some covers.
Burton even released a new studio album on the day I’m typing this, September 27 of 2024, on digital (physical formats being released on November 15). It is called A Few Good Moments (review here) and I think it is a very good album. Burton even played one of the songs at this show.
Burton has been one of my favorite singers since I was a little kid hearing his songs on the radio.
His voice is still strong and he has a great band. He has a lot of stories to tell and has a great sense of humor. And judging by what I saw at this show, at the Rose Music Center At The Heights in Huber Heights, OH, Burton is very happy doing what he does and his having fun.
The show was a lot of fun, and the opener, singer/guitarist King Solomon Hicks (w/bassist Kirk Allen I believe) was very good also.
Go see Burton in concert if you get a chance (he’s touring in 2025 too). You will have fun believe me.
Thank you sir for all your great music (and I truly do really like your new album) and please keep on rocking.
Burton Cummings Setlist:
- Runnin’ Back To Saskatoon
- Clap For The Wolfman
- Hand Me Down World
- Laughing
- Undun
- Guns, Guns, Guns
- Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door (Bob Dylan cover)
- Albert Flasher
- Blackjack Fever (New Song)
- These Eyes
- Trouble In The City
- My Own Way To Rock
- Star Baby
- American Woman (w/some of Roadhouse Blues by The Doors leading up to American Woman)
- No Sugar Tonight/New Mother Nature
- No Time
- Louie Louie (The Kingsmen cover)
- Share The Land
King Solomon Hicks Setlist:
- Playing The Blues
- I’d Rather Be Blind (Freddie King cover)
- Farther On Up The Road (Bobby “Blue” Bland cover)
- Help Me (Sonny Boy Williamson cover)
- Every Day I Have The Blues (Aaron “Pinetop” Sparks cover)
- What The Devil Loves
Photo Gallery (click on thumbnail to view larger image)
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Burton Cummings A Few Good Moments Album Review
Burton Cummings (The Guess Who, solo artist) released his first new studio album since 2008 on September 27 of 2024. It was released digitally on this day, but the physical release will come out November 15 of 2024.
It is called A Few Good Moments, and let me tell you, it has more than a few good moments on it.
I think every song (17 total) is very good.
Burton’s voice is still very strong after being what I consider to be one of the greatest singers of all time since he started in the 1960s.
His lyrics are still excellent and what can I say? He’s still great at what he does.
Burton played one of the new songs, Blackjack Fever, at the show I saw him at (review here), and I’m glad he finally put out another new album.
Again, it’s called A Few Good Moments and it is very good. Seek it out.
Keep on rocking Burton!!
P.S. Shortly after I originally posted this review, Burton himself or one of his people replied to me thanking me for the review and even acknowledged this website for posting this review (pics below)!!! Thank you sir!!!!!
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More Than Words & The Cult Of Personality Combined: Extreme & Living Colour Concert Review
- Date of Concert: Tuesday, September 24, 2024
- Location of Concert: Taft Theatre in Cincinnati, OH
All concerts are bucket list concerts for me, but this one especially was.
For the first time, I finally saw both Extreme and Living Colour.
Sorry guys that it took me sooooooo long to see you, but hey better late than never.
Besides, if you look at this website, I’ve been busy.
Anyway, on with the concert.
Living Colour opened the show with a rocking 45 minute set.
The band consists of singer Corey Glover, guitarist Vernon Reid (P.S. Thanks Vernon for the shout out on Twitter/X), bassist Doug Wimbish, and drummer Will Calhoun.
These guys have been rocking since the 1980s and play all kinds of different styles of music. Everything from rock, funk, soul, hip hop, metal, it runs the gamut.
And they do it all very well.
I hope they will have a new alum next year. I know they’ve been working on one. I’ll definitely buy it.
Keep on rocking guys. You are awesome!!
Now onto Extreme.
Like Living Colour, Extreme’s music also runs the gamut in sound. But mostly, it just Rocks!!
Extreme still consists of singer Gary Cherone, guitarist Nuno Bettencourt (dare I say one of the best guitarists in the world), and bassist Pat Badger, and their drummer Kevin Figueredo has been with them since the 2000s.
Also like Living Colour, Extreme are still releasing great new albums, having put out one of my favorite albums of 2023, called Six.
What can I say? They just rock. They played for about 2 hours and 15 minutes and I loved every second of it.
Gary is a ball of energy, constantly moving and singing his heart out.
Nuno is by far one of the best there is on guitar and a great singer also.
And Pat and Kevin are a phenomenal rhythm section.
Go see both of these bands if you get a chance.
You will not regret it.
Thank you Extreme and Living Colour for all your great music, the great concert (I was dancing and rocking throughout) and I hope for more music from both in the future.
Love you all.
Also, I’m including the setlists below, like I always try to do, but I’ll preface by saying that throughout Extreme’s set, little snippets of Queen songs (We Will Rock You and Fat Bottomed Girls) and Van Halen songs (Eruption, Mean Streets, and Women In Love) were interspersed either before, during, or after some of their own songs.
Great stuff.
Living Colour Setlist:
- Leave It Alone
- Ignorance Is Bliss
- Funny Vibe
- Sacred Ground
- Open Letter (To A Landlord)
- White Lines (Don’t Do It)/Apache/The Message (The Sugar Hill Gang covers. Doug Wimbish played with them.)
- Times Up
- Cult Of Personality
- Should I Stay Or Should I Go (The Clash cover)
Extreme Setlist:
- It (‘s A Monster)
- Decadence Dance
- #REBEL (New Song)
- Rest In Peace
- Hip Today
- First Album (Extreme) Song Medley: Teacher’s Pet/Flesh ‘n’ Blood/Wind Me Up/Kid Ego/Mutha (Don’t Wanna Go To School Today)
- Play With Me
- OTHER SIDE OF THE RAINBOW (New Song)
- Hole Hearted
- Cupid’s Dead
- Am I Ever Gonna Change
- THICKER THAN BLOOD (New Song)
- Midnight Express
- More Than Words
- BANSHEE (New Song)
- Take Us Alive/That’s All Right (Elvis Presley cover)
- Flight Of The Wounded Bumblebee
- Get The Funk Out
- Encore: SMALL TOWN BEAUTIFUL (New Song)/Song For Love
- RISE (New Song)
Photo Gallery (click on thumbnail to view larger image)
Video Gallery (click on thumbnail to play video)
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Rock Music Is Alive And Well: Dirty Honey and The Band Feel Concert Review
- Date of Concert: Sunday, September 22, 2024
- Location of Concert: Bogart's in Cincinnati, OH
Don’t let anyone tell you that rock music is dead.
I just saw two phenomenal younger bands that rock as well as anyone, past or present.
Dirty Honey and the opener The Band Feel. Live at a really cool club in Cincinnati, OH called Bogart’s.
I had not heard of The Band Feel until somewhat recently with their social media video posts from their shows.
I was impressed so I knew they would be great when I saw them.
Holy cow!!!! The best word I can use to describe them is “powerful”.
They sound like a 60s/70s rock band, which I love, but yet still sound fresh.
The whole band (singer Garrett Barcus, guitarist Tyler Armstrong, bassist Rodger Lenhardt, and drummer T.J. Steinwart) is so loud and punchy.
Everyone sounds great, but the rhythm section, especially, may possibly be the most powerful rhythm section I’ve ever heard in concert. And trust me, I’ve seen the best of the best. I’m not kidding they’re that great.
These guys are super impressive and I think they have a great future ahead of them. I certainly hope they do.
I cannot wait to buy their new EP, out October 25, on their website thebandfeel.com. They already have a few singles out digitally and a Live EP (Live In St. Petersburg) also.
Check these guys out if you want your rock loud, powerful, and punchy.
Again, they are called The Band Feel.
Now to the headliner: Dirty Honey!!!!
I had become aware of this band a few years ago.
They definitely have a 70s/80s rock vibe to their sound, but still sound quite fresh and new.
They have one EP (Dirty Honey) and two albums (also called Dirty Honey and Can’t Find The Brakes) so far, and all of them are great.
I almost got to see them in 2023, but unfortunately, I was sick.
Luckily, they came back around so I could see them.
Dirty Honey, along with Lost Hearts (another great young rock band) are my favorite somewhat newer band.
Everyone in the band are amazing at what they do.
The singer, Marc LaBelle, has such a great voice.
Guitarist John Notto is unbelievable.
And this rhythm section (bassist Justin Smolian and drummer Jaydon Bean) are quite powerful too.
They have a loud and raw, but clean and clear sound.
If you put The Rolling Stones, Aerosmith, and Guns N Roses into a blender, mix them up, and you got Dirty Honey.
Marc said at one point in the show that they were recording this show and others for a live album, so that’s something else to look forward to.
I love Dirty Honey so much and they, along with The Band Feel, Lost Hearts, and a few other bands give me hope that rock music will carry on once all the legends sadly go away.
To me, rock music will never die, and as long as Dirty Honey, and all these other great younger bands are around (and I’m sure more bands in the future), rock music is not dead.
Got it?! Good.
Rock forever guys and please check out Dirty Honey at dirtyhoney.com. You will not regret it.
The Band Feel Set List:
- Find A Love
- Shoal Creek
- Call It What You Will
- Poem 59/With A Little Help From My Friends (Joe Cocker version)
- Goodbye Virginia
- G Rock (working title)
- Brother
- In The Garden
Dirty Honey Set List:
- Can’t Find The Brakes
- California Dreamin’ (No it is not The Mamas And The Papas song.)
- Heartbreaker
- Get A Little High
- Scars
- Dirty Mind
- Tied Up
- Coming Home (Ballad Of The Shire)
- Honky Tonk Women (The Rolling Stones song-Acoustic version)
- Don’t Put Out The Fire
- Last Child (Aerosmith song)
- The Wire
- Another Last Time
- Guitar Solo
- When I’m Gone
- Encore: You Make It Alright
- Won’t Take Me Alive
- Bass Solo/Funky Jam/Drum Solo/Funky Jam cont./Blues Jam
- Rolling 7’s
Photo Gallery (click on thumbnail to view larger image)
Video Gallery (click on thumbnail to play video)
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My First Visit to Horrorhound Weekend!
I spent Saturday, September 14 of 2024, in Cincinnati, OH at the Horrorhound Weekend!
Held at the Sharonville Convention Center, it is a Horor convention that has been going strong for many years.
This year, they had guests including Heather Langenkamp (Nightmare On Elm Street 1, 3, and A New Nightmare, Star Trek Into Darkness, The Midnight Club, Hellraiser: Judgment, Shocker, just to name a few), Tom Atkins (The Fog, Escape From New York, Halloween III: Season Of The Witch, Creepshow, Lethal Weapon, Maniac Cop, Striking Distance, and so much more), Robert Englund himself (Freddy Krueger and so much more), one of the Jasons (CJ Graham), one of the Michael Myers’ (Don Shanks), Scott Ian of the bands Anthrax and S.O.D., John Christ and Eerie Von of Danzig and Samhain, the stars of Lisa Frankenstein Kathryn Newton and Cole Sprouse, Andi Matichak of the last 3 Halloween movies, other Nightmare On Elm Street 1 stars Amanda Wyss and Ronee Blakley, Nightmare On Elm Street 4 stars Tuesday Knight, Toy Newkirk (who waved Hi to me at one point), Brooke Theiss, special effects makeup genius/director/actor Tom Savini, Mitch Pileggi (The X-Files, Shocker, Sons Of Anarchy) and many more.
Star studded event and lots of fans there like myself.
I first met Heather Langenkamp. I have been wanting to meet her for some time now, and when I said that to her, she said “well dreams come true”.
She graciously welcomed me to her autograph table and I had her sign a picture from A New Nightmare, which I really like a lot, and she appreciated that I knew what movie it was from. She told me it’s coming up on it’s 30th anniversary, which is wild to think.
She is very nice and I am so glad I finally got to meet her. I was only going to get her autograph and get a pro shot picture with her later (which I did), but she offered selfies at the table too for not much more money. So, I got a lot of pictures with her.
Thank you Heather so much for your kindness and for all your great performances past, present, and future.
I then went to meet Tom Atkins, who I have been a fan of for many years also.
My favorite movies with him are The Fog and Halloween III: Season Of The Witch.
Again, like Heather, such a nice, gracious person. He was kind to me and to everyone in line.
I had him sign a Halloween III picture and got a pro shot picture with him.
I’m so happy I got to meet him finally too. Thank you sir for everything.
I also met Scott Ian, who I have been a HUGE fan of for 25 years.
I first discovered his bands Anthrax and S.O.D. on the VH1 Rock Show, which Scott actually hosted a lot of. That was my Headbangers Ball show, if you will.
I love his bands Anthrax and S.O.D. I even like The Damned Things that he was part of. He has two great books, and is in some other cool bands too (Mr. Bungle, Motor Sister, his wife Pearl Aday’s group Pearl, and has played/collaborated with several others too), and he has always been extremely busy on various other media as well, appearing on many music related shows, list type shows, and even shows like Married With Children and The Walking Dead.
I had him sign one Anthrax CD and one S.O.D. CD, and he thanked me for the compliments I gave him for his awesome music. And I got some selfies with him too.
He said the next Anthrax album will be out next year. I can’t wait to buy that. Thank you Scott for everything and keep on rocking!!
And lastly, I met Don Shanks, who played Michael Myers in Halloween 5. That movie does not get as much love as some of the other Halloween movies, but I think it’s better than most people seem to think. He told me how great it was working with the late great Donald Pleasence in the movie and that he had a fun time making the movie.
He signed a Halloween 5 picture for me and I got some selfies with him.
Thank you Don for speaking with me and for being kind also.
I went to a couple of panel Q&As also.
One featured John Christ and Eerie Von of the bands Danzig and Samhain, who talked about the relationship between music (Metal in particular) and horror. Fun discussion.
And I went to the Lisa Frankenstein movie panel. That really drew a big crowd. Stars Kathryn Newton and Cole Sprouse discussed making the movie, most favorite/least favorite scenes to shoot, did they get to take anything from the shoot, what their characters’ favorite music would be (80s for Kathyrn and classical for Cole), and a lot more. Very fun time. I’m glad that Lisa Frankenstein found it’s audience because it is a lot of fun. I highly recommend you see it.
There were tons of vendors, including a really cool section of vendors in an area of the center called Mask Fest, which featured tons of awesome monster/alien masks and life sized figures of various horror legendary characters. Lots of great talent there.
There was so much to see and unfortunately I could not meet everyone (some I’d met before like Robert Englund), but I’m happy with who I met and I can’t thank them enough for their kindness and for all their great work.
Thank you everyone.
Horrorhound Weekend! is awesome!!
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Beetlejuice Beetlejuice 2024 A.D. Movie Review
Let me preface this by saying I have loved the movie Beetlejuice since it was almost new, when it was released in 1988.
And I have read rumors for years about a possible sequel, but it never quite happened.
But now it FINALLY has.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice 2024 A.D. was released on September 6 of 2024, and I think it was worth the wait.
Director Tim Burton returns with title star Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, and Catherine O’Hara reprising their roles in this new tale.
I’m going to give spoilers here, so don’t read on unless you have already seen it or don’t care: Winona Ryder’s character, Lydia Deetz, at this point is a rich TV show host talking about ghosts and the paranormal/supernatural.
Her Dad from the first movie passes away so her, along with O’Hara’s character Delia, and Winona’s daughter in the movie Astrid (played by Jenna Ortega) go to the funeral at the old house from the first movie.
Beetlejuice, who has obsessed over Lydia since the first movie, ultimately gets her attention when Lydia’s daughter is taken into the otherworld and wants Beetlejuice to help her.
Also, Beetlejuice is now in fear of his soul being sucked away by a literal soul sucker named Delores (played by Monica Bellucci), who was also Beetlejuice’s wife from many years ago.
I’m spoiling everything here, but let’s just say that all you loved about the first movie is pretty much here.
Michael Keaton is still awesome as Beetlejuice, causing crazy things to happen. But Keaton is always awesome in every part he plays, in my opinion.
Winona Ryder and Catherine O’Hara are very good in reprising their characters, and the rest of the cast are solid and all do a great job.
Most especially Willem Dafoe, who plays a fun actor/cop.
No, this movie is not 36 years old and so it hasn’t had decades to be adored. So please take that out of the equation, and just have fun with it.
I think it is a lot of fun and I laughed and smiled a lot watching it.
Go see it.
