The Haunted Mansion

Over the past 20 years, there have been decisions made by Disney that left me perplexed, disappointed, and sometimes even perturbed.  After a disastrous run of attempting to remake classic Disney movies from the 50s and 60s, Eisner and Co. turned to theme park attractions for inspiration.  The first such experiment was a made-for-TV movie with Steve Guttenberg and Kirsten Dunst involving the Tower of Terror.  Then there was the disastrous Country Bear Jamboree.  Pirates restored my faith in Disney making a decent movie relating to one of their hallowed rides.  Then they announced The Haunted Mansion.  This is one ride that has an established story that most visitors know.

Then came the news that Eddie Murphy had been cast as the lead.  As much as I loved his early work, Murphy has been downright horrible since Coming To America.  My faith was withering away faster than a hitchhiking ghost in a graveyard.

I did see it in the theater and came away pleasantly surprised.  While not a great movie, I certainly did not hate it and was glad to see how well they stuck to the storyline.

The DVD is an average presentation, with the usual extras, but not much more.

My advice: Not a must-see, but passable if nothing is on and nothing else appeals to you from Netflix…

The Bank Job

From July……

Sometimes life interferes with regular movie-watching — that happened in the spring when this little-advertised movie came out.  Fortunately I found it playing at the dollar-movie theater, so I headed over for an evening of fun.

This movie is based on the events of the mid-70’s that involved a bank robbery in London and a scandal involving the royal family.  Jason Statham plays the main character who is recruited to break into Lloyd’s of London.  He assembles his team and begins the heist.

As with all heist movies, there are twists, turns, double-crosses, and near misses.  I liked the choice the director made in filming the movie in the style of many 70’s action flicks: gritty and unpolished.  He also kept the pacing tight, while allowing for appropriate character development.

My advice: if you missed it on the big screen, check it out on DVD; particulalry if you liked Payback and Ronin…