Image via YouTube / Walt Disney Studios
Haunted Mansion
Haunted Mansion (In Theaters July 28)
Disney hopes to kick off a new franchise based on its “Haunted Mansion” ride. One of the final attractions conceived by Walt Disney, he based his ideas for the mansion on the bizarre, colorful Winchester Mystery House in San Jose, CA. Originally a Guillermo del Toro project that spent a decade failing to be greenlit, reportedly Disney wanted a more humorous, less scary movie.
The result is intended for a family audience and is directed by Justin Simien from a script by Katie Dippold. The film casts Rosario Dawson as Gabbie, pleased to purchase an oddly affordable mansion in New Orleans where she hopes to start a new life with her 9-year-old son Travis (Chase Dillon). Instead, the pair are terrorized by a frightening array of spirits. In hopes of fixing the problem, Gabbie contacts a priest (Owen Wilson), a scientist-turned failed-paranormal expert (LaKeith Stanfield), an eccentric French Quarter psychic (Tiffany Haddish) and a cranky historian (Danny DeVito). Attempting to kill or scare away these intruders, the ghosts set traps and hurl numerous sharp objects at the mansion’s would-be occupants.
Jared Leto appears as Alistair Crump/Hatbox Ghost, Jamie Lee Curtis plays Madame Leota and Winona Ryder portrays an undisclosed specter. The director and his design crew spent hours touring Disney’s Haunted Mansion ride for inspiration in creating the film's compelling sets. The results have been hailed as high art, prompting our expectation the film will earn an Oscar Nomination for best set design. (Lisa Miller)
Robot Monster (BayView Entertainment Blu-ray)
Shot in 3D in four days, Robot Monster (1953) is one of the goofiest entries in the ‘50s alien invasion cycle. The invaders look like space-going Big Foot in hairy suits and space helmets topped by aerials. “Earth is our rival,” their Great Leader intones, and the invaders’ cosmic rays are more than a match for terrestrial technology.
The new Blu-ray includes a set of 3D glasses (along with a half dozen bonus features) but is playable, preferable actually, in standard 2D. The movie’s producers made much of the 3D fad. Included here is a promotional flick, intended to preface Robot Monster in theaters, featuring a standup comic extolling 3D and launching into spot-on musical impressions of Cary Grant, Jimmy Stewart and other Hollywood stars of the day—none of them, needless to add, appearing in Robot Monster.
The film itself has an interesting concept. The aliens trigger a war between the Earth’s nuclear powers causing humanity to destroy itself. A family and their neighbors survive behind a force field improvised by “the Professor,” a European exile by his accent. The running time is filled with leaden dialogue and incongruities such as a scene of dinosaurs locked in combat (left over from some other picture?). A young Elmer Bernstein, who went on to compose scores for Sweet Smell of Success and To Kill a Mockingbird, provided the original music. Robot Monster is historically interesting for displaying the obsession of early ‘50s toddlers with space travel, eight years before the first man in space. (David Luhrssen)
Talk to Me (In Theaters July 28)
YouTube sensations, Aussie twin brothers Danny and Michael Philippou, direct their first feature film from an original script. The result has garnered a 98% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The story features a group of teens (Sophie Wilde, Alexandra Jensen, Joe Bird and others) who take turns holding an embalmed human hand that psychically connects them to the spirit world.
High schooler Mia (Sophie Wilde) is lured by her desire to contact her deceased mother. This prompts Mia not to end a friend’s spirit connection within the prescribed 90 seconds, allowing an evil spirit to gain access to our world. Miranda Otto appears as a hard-working, trusting mother of two teens. More suspenseful than scary, the film’s target audience must find an adult escort to circumvent the MPAA’s R-rating. Those unable to do so will get a helping hand with the restriction when the film is released to streaming. (Lisa Miller)
