Historic Palace Theater & Movie Review

So, I had a little fun today….after a good night’s sleep, I got up about 8:30 or so, ran a load of laundry, puttered around the house a bit, went to the post office, and then got my “Monday work” done at the church. After that, I headed to Lockport! I made a quick stop at Office Max on Transit Rd and had a nice lunch at the Fieldstone Country Inn – I had the salad bar with a 1/2 corned beef sandwich while I read a few chapters in a new book I started yesterday.

Then, on to the main event……I have heard a lot lately about the Historic Palace Theater in Lockport. I’ve never been there, but keep hearing great things, so I “liked” their Facebook page to watch for something I might be interested in. A couple days ago, I noticed a post advertising the showing of “Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice” and it sparked my interest – I loved the original “Beetlejuice” and was curious about the sequel! Yeah…..I could have saved a couple bucks by seeing it at Tinseltown on “Senior Day”, but I really wanted to see the Palace Theater more than the movie, itself! hahaha

The theater definitely lived up to my expectations…..it is gorgeous and so “vintage”! Here are some photos I took:

I was the first to arrive for the 4:00 show…..I bought some popcorn (it is against all laws of nature to see a movie in a theater without popcorn) and a coke and chose my seat. It wasn’t long after I took my photos and settled in that others started to arrive…..there were about a dozen by the time the show started….all behind me, which was nice – I felt like I was the only one there and there were no heads in my way!!! 😉

About 20 minutes before the movie started, I was delighted to get to watch a vintage Porky Pig cartoon!!! That was so cool and perfect for the venue!!! After the cartoon, there were several previews of other movies that have recently come out or are about to.

So, did I like the movie? the short answer is YES……but, you know I rarely stick to the short answer! hehehe

I mentioned earlier that I loved the original “Beetlejuice”….I especially loved Michael Keaton in the lead role. So, I was happy to hear there was a sequel in the works and that a few core characters from the original were reprising their roles…..including Michael Keaton as the fantastically evil “Beetlejuice”! And, I was excited about the addition of Jenna Ortega in the role of Lydia Deetz’s (Winona Rider) daughter, Astrid – LOVE her in “Wednesday”.

Both Michael Keaton and Jenna Ortega were excellent in their roles……Winona Rider was good, but I’m not a huge fan of her, so I can’t put her on the same level as the other two. I found Catherine O’Hara irritating, but I usually do in most of her roles and this role was designed to be irritating, so I guess she was good at bringing that to life! LOL

The movie, overall, was good……I still prefer the original story, but was glad I went to see the sequel….it was “weirder” than the original — I know, that seems impossible — hahaha, but it was weirder in a different, more bazaar way. The first 20 minutes or so I kept thinking it was not going to live up to the original, but then it got into the groove and I got more interested. All the parts involving the core characters was good and I found myself getting into their stories. The parts I didn’t care for involved the “side story” of Beetlejuice’s ex-wife – the soul sucker, Delores – and Willem Dafoe’s character, Wolf Jackson — I found that story line to be an unnecessary distraction – it just didn’t “fit” in my never-to-be-humble opinion…..but, fortunately, it was what I would consider a minor weaving throughout the movie…..if it was more prominent, I would not have liked the movie as much.

So — I give it a solid B++…..I liked it and was glad I saw it…..but, there were parts that brought the overall rating down a bit for me.

I will look for other things at the Historic Palace Theater…..I REALLY enjoyed being there and want to find other reasons to go again!!!