'BeetleJuice 2' Happening, Kinda...

"BeetleJuice, BeetleJuice, BeetleJuice."  Ok, I said his name three times...where is he?  If you loved Tim Burton's original BeetleJuice creation and Michael Keaton during the 80s as much as I did than you're probably excited for the possibility of a sequel too.  Unfortunately, we may find ourselves waiting longer than expected.  STYD spoke with sequel writer/director Seth Grahame-Smith (Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter) who discussed how close to a reality BeetleJuice 2 truly is or isn't.

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No Keaton or Burton Equals No 'Beetlejuice 2'

"I'm the ghost with the most, babe."

Last month, we reported Warner Bros. was giving a Beetlejuice sequel the green light as they hired Seth Grahame-Smith and David Katzenberg to write the new script.  The original Beetlejuice, one of my favorites as a youngster and easily among the best Tim Burton creations ever came out in 1988, and starrred Michael Keaton as the king of ghouls.

Grahame-Smith and Katzenberg spoke recently about the sequel for the first time since they were hired, and said they want Keaton to star again in order to go ahead with the project.

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Movie Review - 'The Other Guys'

The Other Guys Starring Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg, and Eva Mendes Directed by Adam McKay Rated PG-13

The least popular words ever uttered at a concert are "This one's from our new album." Well, that or "How 'bout another round of applause for our opening act, John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band." But the reason people go grab an overpriced beer during the new stuff is because they pay to hear the hits. In The Other Guys, it's like Will Ferrell put out a double-disc concept album and decided to let that dominate most of his concert and all of the encore. In other words, there are plenty of chances to go hit the merchandise table or the port-o-john with this movie. Ferrell has perfected a rather imperfect brand of comedy. His signature characters are all fairly similar: They have post-ironic musical tastes, their rants are explosive and usually peppered with outdated phraseology, the fashion sense is an amalgam of things that were never fashionable, and they're oblivious to their own lack of appeal. That same characterization surfaces again in The Other Guys, but unfortunately, there isn't enough of it. Ferrell is deadly accurate with his newest weapon, Det. Allen Gamble, who is all of those things above and a little more. And in a better comedy, it would be a fantastic character. Unfortunately, this is a send-up of the buddy cop genre, which is blatantly unnecessary, because the buddy cop genre slipped into inescapable self-parody when Tom Hanks was partnered with a dog in Turner & Hooch. Det. Gamble's partner is Terry Hoitz (Mark Wahlberg), who was on the fast track in homicide until a case of mistaken identity planted him behind a desk. While Gamble is a fully-formed comic creation, Hoitz barely exists outside of a few bullet points, putting Wahlberg - not really a natural comedian in the first place - at a big disadvantage. Together, as you might expect, Gamble and Hoitz are the laughing stock of the squad room, until they decide to tackle a case that begins with absent construction permits and ends, well, a little higher up the totem pole. Getting there is less enjoyable than watching Hoitz' exasperation with Gamble and watching Will Ferrell find new notes to play with essentially the same character he's presented since Craig the cheerleader on Saturday Night Live almost 15 years ago. It really is kind of boring watching the story go toward its obvious end, and as is the case with lots of comedies gone awry, The Other Guys runs out of ideas before it runs out of time, so it works way too hard trying to manufacture laughs, which can be brutal business.

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Movie Review - 'Toy Story 3'

Toy Story 3 Starring Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, and Michael Keaton Directed by Lee Unkrich Rated G

This is truly a golden age of film animation, and it’s mostly due to John Lasseter and Pixar. His Toy Story, released in 1995, brought the film industry - kicking and screaming - into the computer animation age, and that’s the most outward contribution. It's also been the easiest for other studios to try to mimic.But in its ten films in the past 15 years, Pixar has done one more important thing: Its films have bar none the best, most consistent storytelling among any kind of similar series being generated by Hollywood.
Toy Story 3 is, for practical purposes, the after-the-fact conclusion to the first Pixar era. The shift began with The Incredibles, the marvelous film by Brad Bird that once and for all kicked the door in for adults. No longer were these films aimed at children, and three of the four films followed – Ratatouille, Wall-E, and Up – almost pay no heed to kids at all. But it’s fitting that, before the company becomes more adventurous with whatever is up its sleeve, Buzz and Woody are given a chance to say goodbye. The first 20 minutes of Toy Story 3 is a feeling out process. Though it’s not exactly clumsy, it merely serves its function of setting up the story without much in the way of laughs or innovation. But after that, enjoy the ride. Buzz (Tim Allen), Woody (Tom Hanks), and the rest of Andy’s toys haven’t been touched in years, and as Andy prepares for college, he has to decide what to do with his old friends. Will they go in the trash, in the attic, or in the donation box, headed to Sunnyside Day Care? Though not their intended destination, the toys all wind up at Sunnyside, where they’re greeted warmly by Lots-o’-Huggin’ Bear (Ned Beatty), Barbie’s Ken (Michael Keaton), and a horde of other toys. But it’s not the paradise they think they’re walking into. Andy’s toys are relegated to the toddler room, where they’re all but destroyed.

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Video: More of Ken's Dating Tips from 'Toy Story 3'

The breakout star of Toy Story 3 will be Ken, voiced by Michael Keaton. You knew Pixar had to come up with something fresh because, let's face it, watching Buzz and Woody and company go through essentially the same mess three times could get boring, no matter how great all those pieces are.

But this movie is beginning to look like it's more geared toward adults than kids. In fact, I have yet to see a trailer or a TV commercial that appeals to the younger demo. Maybe that's because they're guaranteed, especially if mom and dad are into it, but the jokes and the attitude actually work for grown-ups. With that in mind, here are two more promotional videos, featuring that smooth talker with Justin Bieber's hairdo and Hasselhoff's smile.

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