HAUNTED MANSION : Tuesday 12th September 2023

I saw the PG Rated 'HAUNTED MANSION' this week, and this American supernatural horror comedy film is Directed by Justin Simien in only his third feature film making outing following his debut in 2014 with 'Dear White People' and then 'Bad Hair' in 2020. This is the second cinematic adaptation of Walt Disney's theme park attraction 'The Haunted Mansion' following the 2003 film of the same name which although it was panned by critics at the time grossed US$183M off the back of a production budget of US$90M. This film has however, done the opposite garnering mixed reviews and having so far grossed US$106M off the back of a US$157M production budget making it a Box Office failure. It saw its World Premiere screening at the Anaheim Disneyland theme park in California in mid-July before its release in the US at the end of July and here in Australia from the end of August.

The film opens with Ben Matthias (LaKeith Stanfield), an astrophysicist who has worked on the development of a camera to film dark matter. He meets and marries Alyssa, a ghost tour guide, and becomes captivated by her belief in the supernatural, although he remains a firm non-believer himself. After Alyssa dies in a car accident, Ben gives up his career and continues to run her ghost tour in New Orleans, although his mind and his heart is barely in the work which he does mostly for the money.

Fast forward a few years and recently widowed doctor Gabbie (Rosario Dawson) and her nine year old son Travis (Chase W. Dillon) move from New York into the run down Gracey Manor in New Orleans with plans to renovate and upgrade it in order to turn it into a bed and breakfast, only to learn on the first night that it is haunted with an array of ghosts. 

Ben is later visited by priest and exorcist Father Kent (Owen Wilson) who hires him to photograph the ghosts at Gracey Manor. Ben is initially reluctant but goes through the motions for an upfront cash payment from Gabbie of US$2K, until he returns to his home and is followed there by a ghost Mariner who forces him to return to Gracey Manor. Upon his re-arrival Ben learns that Gabbie, Travis, and Kent have also fallen victim to hauntings, forcing them to also stay in the mansion. 

Ben and Kent go off in search of a medium and recruit Harriet (Tiffany Haddish), a psychic with seemingly genuine abilities, and steal blueprints to the mansion from haunted house historian Prof. Bruce Davis (Danny DeVito). Upon examining the blueprints back at the manor the assembled group locate a hidden seance room. Harriet is able to contact the spirit of Gracey (J. R. Adduci) who leaves a written message instructing them to talk to the legendary medium Madame Leota. Upon trying to do so, a mysterious entity forces Harriet out of the house and when Bruce arrives shortly afterwards he too is ousted from the house in the same manner as Harriet, resulting in him being admitted to hospital for a pre-existing heart condition he has. When a number of ghosts run amok at the hospital, Bruce, Gabbie and Ben get the hell outta there and make back to the manor. 

The group stays at the manor where they proceed to look for Leota's ghost. Ben ventures up into the roof space which contains all manner of old relics, ornaments and bric-a-brac where he runs into conflict with a ghostly bride, but finds a locked trunk that is shaking violently. Upon exiting the attic very unceremoniously and thereafter examining the contents of said trunk, they find a large crystal ball in which is trapped Madame Leota (Jamie Lee Curtis). 

Leota explains that William Gracey purchased the mansion and recruited Leota to try and contact the spirit of his dead wife Eleanor every night for a full year, releasing hundreds of wayward ghosts into the manor. An evil entity then tricked Gracey into taking his own life and trapped Leota inside her crystal ball. Harriet attempts to perform a reverse seance for more answers but winds up giving Ben an out of body experience in which he comes across Gracey and the evil entity, known as the Hatbox Ghost (Jared Leto). 

After Ben returns to the here and now, the next day Bruce takes Ben to get a Police sketch artist to draw up the Hatbox Ghost. He is identified as Alistair Crump, a rich heir who was abused by his father after his mother's death and eventually expelled from the home. Upon reaching adulthood and becoming successful himself, he killed his socialite friends out of revenge for being shunned by society, before being beheaded himself by his team of rebellious servants. 

The ghost of Crump proceeds to lock the mansion down but Ben, Kent, and Travis are able to escape. They find Crump Manor which is located only about an hour away, which has become a historical site and they join a tour of the house hoping to find an artifact that actually belonged to Crump. They learn from the Mariner (who followed them) that Crump needs someone to sacrifice their life and become the mansion's one-thousandth spirit in order to escape the mansion. Travis locates Crump's hat in a makeshift graveyard under the floorboards of the mansion, which they need to use as part of a ritual to banish Crump back to the afterlife.

The three make it back to the Gracey Manor where Ben and Kent rescue Gabbie, Harriet, and Bruce, but Crump burns the hat and plans to use Travis' grief over the death of his father to have him come to the other side and be the one-thousandth spirit. Ben finds Travis and manages to convince him to let go of his father as they and Gabbie confront Crump in the graveyard. 

Kent manages to convince the other ghosts to turn on Crump and join forces with them, and Bruce hands a remnant of the hat plucked from the fire to Harriet, who recites Leota's incantation to banish Crump, but needs to do so several times as Crump is not going down easily. Crump, as he is gradually getting sucked down into the depths of hell, attempts to get Ben to give up his life willingly to see Alyssa again, but Ben says that he is at peace with losing Alyssa before kicking Crump in the face and sending him back to the underworld. Many of the ghosts decide to remain at the mansion, now living in harmony with Gabbie and Travis. Harriet regains her full psychic abilities, Kent is ordainment as a real priest, and Bruce maintains his new friendships. Ben goes back to teaching and adopts a stray cat named Tater Tot, a nod to his wife's love for the Burger King snack. The group all join together the following Halloween for a party at the manor with the merry ghosts. 

'Haunted Mansion' is a mediocre offering from the Mouse House at best and at worst it failed to raise any laughs, has a half baked storyline, and has visual effects that seem plucked out of the 1980's 'Ghostbusters' movies and Peter Jackson's 1996 offering 'The Frighteners'. To me it seemed that in spite of the best intentions by Director Justin Simien and a top notch cast, this film seemed like a cash grab for Disney Studio's looking for a big pay day off the back of one of their more successful theme park rides while targeting a whole new audience of tweens and teens unfamiliar with the 2003 film or the ride itself, which perhaps in the final analysis will sell more tickets to Disneyland, and hence job done as a lost leader!

'Haunted Mansion' merits two claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a potential five claps.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

 

ZOMBIELAND : DOUBLE TAP - Tuesday 22nd October 2019.

'ZOMBIELAND : DOUBLE TAP' which I saw this week at my local multiplex, is the long awaited MA15+ Rated ZomCom sequel to 2009's 'Zombieland' film which was Directed by Ruben Fleischer, starred Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone and Abigail Breslin, and was a critical and commercial success grossing US$103M off the back of a US$24M production budget. Apparently a sequel was muted even before the release of the first film, but then things languished in development Hell for a number of years before being officially green lit in early 2018. This sequel was released in the US last week too, cost US$45M to make, has so far grossed US$39M and has generated mixed Reviews so far.

And so in this next instalment set ten years after the events of the first film, and following an opening narrative to bring us duly up to speed with the passing events of the last decade, we open up with a zombie showdown involving Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson), Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg), Wichita (Emma Stone) and Little Rock (Abigail Breslin) going head to head with a bunch of marauding zombies on the now overgrown lawn of the White House. Needless to say its a complete bloodbath as our four intrepid zombie killing heroes win the day using assault rifles, pump action shotguns, crowbars and pistols to thwart their flesh hungry aggressors.

Taking up residence in the deserted White House, Columbus decides to propose to Wichita and uses the First Lady's Hope Diamond ring to seal their engagement. Meanwhile Little Rock has thoughts of escaping her surrogate family and finding a man, settling down and starting her own family, but these notions are quickly rebuffed by her father figure Tallahassee. Early the next day, Tallahassee finds a brief hand scribbled note from Wichita and Little Rock, stating they have left because Little Rock feels Tallahassee still treats her like a child, and Wichita’s fear she has become far too attached to Columbus.

A few weeks later, resigned to their new found female-less lives, Tallahassee and Columbus are riding Segwey's around a desert shopping mall, when Columbus comes across Madison (Zoey Deutch) who has spent the last ten years or so of her life living inside the freezer of a frozen dessert restaurant chain. Madison pretty quickly manages to put Tallahassee off side, but she warms to Columbus, who invites the dumb ass blonde bimbo to come live with them at the White House, much to Tallahassee's chagrin. That first night Madison seduces Columbus.

The next morning Wichita returns to the White House alone and upon discovering that Columbus slept with Madison is none too pleased. Wichita goes on to explain that Little Rock left for Graceland with a hippie named Berkeley (Avan Jogia), and commandeered Tallahassee's prized modified Presidential limousine affectionately known as 'The Beast' with them. She also informs the group of more agile and durable 'super zombies' that she has come across, who are stronger, faster and able to withstand multiple attempts at killing them. Fearing for Little Rock's safety, the group head toward Graceland in a beat up minivan much to Tallahassee's disgust.

En route, the gang thwart a pack of zombie's while trying to commandeer a luxury RV, but come across one such super zombie that takes multiple shots to the head and body to eventually kill it - Columbus calls this new breed of zombie the T-800 (after the original 'Terminator'). Back in the minivan, because the RV blew its front tyres after inadvertently driving over road spikes, Madison begins to show sign of zombiefication, forcing Columbus to shoot her in the head somewhere off road and in the woods.

And so the remaining three continue their journey to Graceland, expecting to find Little Rock and The Beast, but there is no sign of either. They drive out of town and come across an Elvis themed motel, in whose driveway is parked The Beast. Venturing gingerly inside, Tallahassee is floored by Nevada (Rosario Dawson) pointing a gun in his face. When Nevada realises that they are friendly she advises that Little Rock and Berkley left for an outpost hippie commune called Babylon. Bonding over their shared love of all things Elvis Presley, Nevada and Tallahassee spend the night together.

The next morning, the pair are awoken by a ruckus coming from outside, only to find a monster truck has crushed The Beast and literally parked on top of it in the driveway. Albuquerque (Luke Wilson) and Flagstaff (Thomas Middleditch) alight from their vehicle and instantly it is recognised that the pair strongly resemble Tallahassee and Columbus in their personalities, traits and foibles. A pack of super zombies arrive on the scene and Albuquerque and Flagstaff, decide to fend them off alone showing the others 'how it's done'! They seemingly successfully overcome the horde, only to reveal within a few minutes that they were both bitten. Turning rapidly into super zombies themselves they are eventually thwarted and killed with Nevada's help, but not before trashing the place.

Saying farewell to Nevada to venture onto Babylon, en route the three come across Madison on the road driving an ice cream truck. They pull her over and she explains that she had an allergic reaction to the nuts contained within the trail mix she was eating when she had her episode, and Columbus spared her life by shooting over her head to scare her away. At Babylon, Little Rock and Berkley arrive and are greeted with a no guns policy as they are a peace loving community, and so their guns are instantly melted down to make peace medallions. A few days later the reunited group of four arrive at Babylon and reluctantly agree to give up their stash of weapons too in order to gain entry.

The group are reunited with Little Rock. Realising she is now a young adult and no longer needing his protection, Tallahassee leaves, as the commune celebrate the group’s arrival with a display of fireworks. While driving away, Tallahassee comes across a massive horde of super zombies who have been attracted by the fireworks, and returns to warn the commune. Left without guns, Tallahassee comes up with a two pronged attack plan. Firstly, using fireworks to attract the zombies into an enclosed area directly outside the communes walls, and exploding a tank of biodiesel when they are all contained. Secondly, to arm the members of the commune with makeshift barricade shields to corral the zombies off the skyscraper roof that houses the commune, baited by himself.

The first plan has only limited success when the zombie horde is larger than expected, and the unarmed group finds themselves seriously outnumbered and surrounded. Contemplating their fate Nevada arrives in the monster truck, rescuing the group by mowing down randomly every zombie left standing, of which there are many. The truck flips over on to its side, forcing them to exit the confines of the truck and journey on foot up the skyscraper chased by the horde. The commune members use their pre-prepared makeshift shields to create a single path off the edge of the tall building. Pursued by the zombies, Tallahassee jumps off the building, catching the hook of a construction crane as the horde falls to their deaths like lemmings. Two zombies grab at Tallahassee's leg and hold on left dangling precariously, but Little Rock shoots them with a forgotten custom made pistol once owned by Elvis, given to her by Tallahassee as an early Christmas present, so saving his life.

Little Rock reconciles with Tallahassee, Wichita finally accepts Columbus’ marriage proposal, Little Rock splits up with Berkeley, who then immediately hooks up with Madison who then stay behind at Babylon as the original group of four, joined now by Nevada, leave the commune in a dusky pink 1950's Cadillac convertible.

'Zombieland : Double Tap' has plenty going for it that will make it an enjoyable couple of hours spent at your local movie theatre, but at the same time it doesn't steer too far away from the original premise that made the first instalment so critically and commercially successful. The story is coherent enough, the zombie bloodletting is gore inspiring and there are enough undead kills to satisfy the most die hard fan, the chemistry between the lead characters is clearly evident, the comedic humour yields a number of laugh out loud moments, and there is the occasional tongue in cheek emotional interlude to counter balance the manic zombie attacks. What lets this film down is that it is largely simply a rehash of what went before, going through the all too familiar motions for the sake of fountains of blood spatter and gory zombie deaths, interspersed with the odd laugh, and a plot that is a thinly veiled road movie of reckoning on various levels, and that's about it. It is worth staying in your seat for the funniest element of the film that comes as a mid credits sequence featuring Bill Murray promoting 'Garfield 3'.

'Zombieland : Double Tap' merits three claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a potential five.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

Birthday's to share this week : 3rd - 9th May 2015.

Do you celebrate your Birthday this week?

Rosario Dawson does on 9th May - check out the tribute to this Birthday Girl turning 36, at the end of this feature.

Do you also share your birthday with a well known, highly regarded & famous Actor or Actress; share your special day with a Director, Producer, Writer, Cinematographer, Singer/Songwriter or Composer of repute; or share an interest in whoever might notch up another year in the coming seven days? Then, look no further! Whilst there will be too many to mention in this small but not insignificant and beautifully written and presented Blog, here are the more notable and noteworthy icons of the big screen, and the small screen, that you will recognise, and that you might just share your birthday with in the week ahead. If so, Happy Birthday to you from Odeon Online!

Sunday 3rd May

• Amy Ryan - Born 1968, turns 47 - Actress
• Rob Brydon - Born 1965, turns 50 - Actor | Writer | Producer | Television Personality
• Joseph Kosinski - Born 1974, turns 41 - Director | Producer | Writer

Monday 4th May

• Will Arnett - Born 1970, turns 45 - Actor | Writer | Producer
• Rolf de Heer - Born 1951, turns 64 - Director | Writer | Producer

Tuesday 5th May

• Henry Cavill - Born 1983, turns 32 - Actor | Producer
• John Rhys-Davies - Born 1944, turns 71 - Actor
• Lance Henrikson - Born 1940, turns 75 - Actor
• Richard E. Grant - Born 1957, turns 58 - Actor | Director
• Michael Palin - Born 1943, turns 72 - Actor | Writer

Wednesday 6th May

• George Clooney - Born 1961, turns 54 - Actor | Producer | Director
• Alan Dale - Born 1947, turns 68 - Actor

Thursday 7th May

• Richard O'Sullivan - Born 1944, turns 71 - Actor
• Alexander Ludwig - Born 1992, turns 23 - Actor
• Traci Lords - Born 1968, turns 47 - Actress

Friday 8th May

• David Attenborough - Born 1926, turns 89 - Naturalist | Television Personality | Producer
• Michel Gondry - Born 1963, turns 52 - Director | Producer | Writer

Saturday 9th May

• Albert Finney - Born 1936, turns 79 - Actor
• James L. Brooks - Born 1940, turns 75 - Writer | Producer | Director
• Alan Bennet - Born 1934, turns 81 - Writer | Actor
• Rosario Dawson - Born 1979, turns 36 - Actress | Producer
• Candice Bergen - Born 1946, turns 69 - Actress | Producer
• Glenda Jackson - Born 1936, turns 79 - Actress

Rosario Isabel Dawson was born in New York City to mother Isabel Celeste, a writer/singer of Puerto Rican and Afro-Cuban origins. Isabel was just 16 when Rosario was born, and her biological father Patrick Harris moved on and the two never married. The young mother to Rosario married construction worker Greg Dawson a year later, and he brought Rosario up as though she were his own, and it is her whom Rosario has always referred to as Dad. Isabel and Greg had a son together - Rosario's half-brother Clay - the couple divorced in 2001.

In the mid-80's Isabel and Greg moved the growing family into an abandoned building on the Lower East Side of Manhattan where the two fixed up the plumbing and the electrics and created for themselves somewhere affordable for the young family to live and grow. During this time other family members came and went and took an active part in caring for the young Rosario and Clay - most of whom were also on the poverty line.

Dawson's first screen appearance came briefly on 'Sesame Street', and was discovered subsequently at age 15 by photographer Larry Clark and the young writer at the time Harmony Korine for a film script he was penning - 'Kids' about a 24 hour snapshot into the sex and drug fuelled lives of the New York teenage skater community. Rosario got the part in the 1995 controversial film, and from there scored a few roles in the latter half of the 90's including Spike Lee's 'He Got Game' with Denzel Washington and 'Light It Up' with Forest Whitaker.

With an active interest too in singing, Dawson teamed up with Prince for the re-release of his 80's smash '1999' in 1999, and subsequently with The Chemical Brothers on 'Out of Control' and then OutKast on 'Speakerboxxx/The Love Below' double album.

As the new decade clicked over smaller supporting roles came along, with the likes of 'Down to You', 'Josie and the Pussycats', 'Sidewalks of New York', 'Chelsea Walls' Directed by Ethan Hawke, and then 'Men In Black II' and a reteaming with Spike Lee on '25th Hour' with Edward Norton and Philip Seymour Hoffman.

By the middle of the decade more substantial fare was coming with the likes of 'Alexander' for Oliver Stone, 'Sin City' for Robert Rodriguez, 'Rent' for Chris Columbus for which she could add her singing talents, 'Death Proof' for Quentin Tarantino, 'Killshot' for John Madden, and several others starring such names as Will Smith, Mickey Rourke, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Shia LeBeouf, Bruce Willis, Robert Downey Jnr., and Channing Tatum.

From here too there have been several television shows over the years including 'Robot Chicken', Gemini Division', and most recently 'Daredevil', and a song too on the Kasabian album on 'West Ryder Silver Bullet'.

After 'Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief' in 2010, there was 'Unstoppable' for Tony Scott and starring Denzel Washington, 'Zookeeper', 'Fire with Fire', '10 Years', 'Trance' for Danny Boyle and 'Sin City : A Dame to Kill For' for Robert Rodriguez once more and reprising her role as Gail. Most recently there has been Chris Rock's 'Top Five', with 'Puerto Rican's in Paris' currently in post-production for later this year and 'Clerks III' due for a 2016 release. Dawson has lent her voice talents to several video games including 'Syndicate', 'Wonder Woman', 'Tinkerbell and the Legend of the NeverBeast' and 'Justice League : Throne of Atlantis'.

She has 66 acting credits to her name, three Producer credits and has performed songs on 'Pluto Nash', 'Rent' and 'Trance'. Dawson is the winner of nine awards for her film roles and a further 31 nominations. She also co-created the comic book 'Occult Crimes Taskforce' in 2006, and has her own Production Company called 'Trybe'.

Dawson remains single but has been romantically linked to Actor Jason Lewis until late 2006, and more recently to Danny Boyle her Director on 'Trance'. She is actively involved in numerous charities and care organisations including Global Cool, the ONE Campaign, Oxfam, Amnesty International, and PFLAG (Parents, Family and Friends of Lesbians And Gays). She is also a spokesperson for Doctors Without Borders, Save the Children, National Geographic Society and The Nature Conservancy.

Rosario Dawson - beautiful, multi-talented, dramatic, comedic, philanthropic and not afraid to push the boundaries. So much more still to come - Happy Birthday to you from Odeon Online.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

TRANCE - archive from 13th April 2013

Saw Danny Boyle's latest offering this week - 'TRANCE' and liked it . . . a lot!

This is a clever, intelligent film that weaves a complex plot that delivers surprises, keeps you guessing, has a few shocks along the way, and will keep the conversation going long after the credits have rolled. James McAvoy, Vincent Cassell and Rosario Dawson head up the cast and seem to relish the roles that this film commands. There are twists & turns, cross & double cross, things are not as they always seem, and there is violence, emotion, and amnesia . . . all of it bought on by the elaborate theft of a painting!

With a single but effective nod to Peter Jackson's early 'Braindead' and Chris Nolan's 'Inception' this is a great offering from this very talented and diverse Director who is at the top of his form, and who keeps surprising us - from 'Trainspotting' to '28 Days Later' to '127 Hours' to 'Sunshine' to 'Slumdog Millionaire' to the 2012 Olympics!

Worthy of a second viewing too.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-