Giving you the inside look on movies, in front and behind the camera.

Beetlejuice is a Warner Bros. release, directed by Tim Burton.

Postmortem: ‘Beetlejuice’

POSTMORTEM: ‘BEETLEJUICE’
a review of the 1988 film ‘Beetlejuice’

Benjamin Kindel

Every iconic director has their trademark style, and while most develop their style immediately, others take time to shape it. It wasn’t until his second film that Tim Burton’s style came out in full force. Traces of it can be seen in his directorial debut Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure, but it’s in Beetlejuice that was see the full German expressionistic sensibility that Burton has since been known for.

And what is often regarded as a classic comedy is actually a well-protected horror gem. While I’m a fan of horror movies, and of comedies, it isn’t often that the two can be combined with acceptable results. But here, Burton meshes the two together and creates a film that surpasses the norm and hails above the rest.

Now, with many films in the Postmortem category, I’ve seen them numerous times before actually sitting down in a theater with them. And like many films in this category, sitting down in a theater with the film was like seeing it for the first time. I saw it in a different light, and noticed so many subtle things I’ve often overlooked. I also saw this film for what it truly is: a nightmare.

Beetlejuice is directed by Tim Burton, and is written by Michael McDowell and Warren Skaaren, with a story by McDowell and Larry Wilson.

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The Peanuts Movie is a Twentieth Century Fox Animation release, directed by Steven Martino.

Curse You, Red Baron! A Review of the Film “The Peanuts Movie”

CURSE YOU, RED BARON!
a review of the film ‘The Peanuts Movie’ 

Benjamin Kindel

I’ve always been a longtime Peanuts fan, ever since seeing their cartoon strip in the Sunday paper. Since that time I’ve collected the various books about them, saw the numerous films they’ve made, and have just been head over heels over the characters. They all felt so relatable on different levels.

So when it was announced a film would be made based on the comic strips, my first reaction was “Oh god no!” These strips have heart to them, and great character. They’re funny and silly, and serious when they need to be. And I feared that all of those things would become lost once they were adapted. I felt like the Peanuts would become just another children’s animated film that would blend in with the crowd of other children’s animated films.

Naturally I had to see it immediately to get the fear over with and see if I was right or wrong.

The Peanuts Movie is directed by Steve Martino, and is written by Bryan Schulz, Craig Schulz, and Cornelius Uliano, while being based on the comic strip by Charles M. Schulz.

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Halloween is a Compass International Pictures release, directed by John Carpenter.

Postmortem: ‘Halloween’

POSTMORTEM: HALLOWEEN
a review of the 1978 film ‘Halloween’ 

Benjamin Kindel

There are different levels of cult status, and on some bizarre level, Halloween has managed to create a whole different level for itself that it solely sits upon. This film is known by quite literally everybody, and not all the people who know of this film have actually seen it. That’s because by osmosis, they’ve picked up all there is to know about the film.

Few movies are like that, the only other ones that come to mind are Star Wars and Jaws, both of which Steven Spielberg had a part of (he’s everywhere but here in this case). I mean, honestly think about it. If you haven’t seen this movie, did you know who the killer was? Did you know what the theme sounded like? What about the iconic mask, did you know what that looked like? Before I even sat down to see the movie all those years ago, I was well acquainted with it. I was already scared of Michael Myers (or, rather, the Shape) and got chills every time the theme played somewhere. It became almost a joke between my friends and I: We’d hum the theme song while stalking someone around the neighborhood.

Now, we became more rabid about it after seeing the movie (of course when night rolled around we stopped laughing and started looking under our beds). That’s the power of this movie. It has such a large impact on pop culture that it doesn’t matter if you’ve seen it or not. It instills fear in you before you see it, and reaffirms that fear long after you’re done with it.

Halloween is directed by John Carpenter and is written by Debra Hill and John Carpenter.

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Postmortem: ‘Saving Private Ryan’

POSTMORTEM: SAVING PRIVATE RYAN
a review of the film ‘Saving Private Ryan’ 

Benjamin Kindel

Few directors appear in history as having made so many monumental films that easily become a part of American culture. And while there are quite a bit that have made a mark in the few films they have made, it appears that with everything Steven Spielberg touches, any new film of his becomes a landmark event. His career appears to not be slowing down, and it never really peaks or valleys, it just keeps getting better and better.

Some may argue that his better films come early on, this being one of the touching points in that argument. In this era of his career, he not only made Saving Private Ryan, but also Amistad, The Lost World: Jurassic Park, and Schindler’s List, all of which have not only been huge releases, but have been one numerous ‘best of’ lists.

Because of how prolific he is, Steven Spielberg is actually quite hard to write a review for. His films always have this extra sense of ‘human’ in them that make whatever situation feel more personal. They all have a dreamlike wonder to them, even War of the Worlds. And no matter how depressing the subject matter is, there’s always a certain wonder to seeing a Spielberg film.

Saving Private Ryan is directed by Steven Spielberg, and is written by Robert Rodat.

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Jurassic World is a Universal Pictures release, directed by Colin Trevorrow.

Bigger with More Teeth: A Review of the Film ‘Jurassic World’

BIGGER WITH MORE TEETH
a review of the film ‘Jurassic World’

Benjamin Kindel 

This review does contain spoilers

It has been a rough twenty years for InGen, the company behind the ill-fated ‘Jurassic Park’ island resort that fell into oblivion before opening day. In those years, however, they’ve made a comeback. The island resort is back and kicking, including not only dinosaurs on the dinosaur tour, but amusement park attractions and a waterpark. Things couldn’t be better.

Now, the lead-up to the movie is almost as troublesome as the events depicted within the film itself, as it went through numerous rewrites and the tragic loss of writer Michael Crichton. And just as Steven Spielberg was gearing up to give up hope, a new flame had been struck and the project was pushed through so many hoops at such an alarming rate that it was almost unbelievable.

Being released just a year after the ‘Jurassic Park: An IMAX 3D Experience’ re-release, this film could not have had better timing. But is it a return to the summer-fun of the original film? Or does it fall flat like Jurassic Park 3?

Jurassic World is directed by Colin Trevorrow, and is written by Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver, Colin Trevorrow, and Derek Connolly, with a story by Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver, and is based on characters created by Michael Crichton.

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Inside Out is a Walt Disney Pictures release, directed by Pete Docter and Ronnie Del Carmen.