I imagine the board meeting at Disney Channel went “What if we did “The Hangover”–but G rated?” And what we got was “The Slumber Party.” Director Veronica Rodriguez lays all of her influences out for the audience from minute one, even involving a small group of friends that make a pact that results in a night that neither of them can recall. It’s almost verbatim sans any and all adult content. Not that that’s a bad thing in particular, as thankfully “The Slumber Party” is quite good. The fact it’s blatantly derivative of the aforementioned movie is outweighed by the charisma of its cast, and its lively energy.
Category Archives: Movie Reviews
Haunted Mansion (2023)
I never had the pleasure of riding the famous Disney attraction but I know enough about it to understand the particulars of the story and its appeal. After the somewhat awful 2003 attempt with Eddie Murphy, Disney takes another crack at adapting one of their most iconic attractions. In the end it amounts to a very entertaining and heartfelt horror comedy that I imagine will allow for a good gateway for budding horror fans. I won’t proclaim it as a masterpiece, but when all was said and done, I was so much more satisfied than I was with the 2003 first attempt.
Blackout (2023) [Fantasia Film Festival 2023]
In a small town, a werewolf is causing mayhem. A local artist seems to believe that he is the werewolf.
Sympathy for the Devil (2023)
A man jumps in the back of another man’s car while he’s on the phone with his pregnant wife who is in delivery. Soon, it turns to a hostage situation with a lot of discussion and discoveries.
The Primevals (2023) [Fantasia Film Festival 2023]
Although Charles Band and his studios are mainly known for horror, Band also dabbled heavily in to action, comedy, porn, and yes, especially fantasy films. “The Primevals” in spite of its limited budget is perhaps the most complete and richly developed Charles Band backed film I’ve ever seen in the studio’s entire history. David Allen has a clear vision of what kind of adventure film and he fully realizes it in what is such a fun, inventive and vintage action adventure. With obvious influences from Harryhausen, RKO Pictures, movie serials, and the Fleischers, “The Primevals” is a damn good bit of matinee fare that I could easily myself re-watching and re-watching on VHS when I was a kid.
Oppenheimer (2023)
Christopher Nolan has an eye for spectacle and an eye for scale, and he evokes worlds that are massive and almost always on the brink of destruction. With “Oppenheimer” ambitiously ventures in to a more personal film that is a lot about power and a world almost always on the brink of destruction thanks to man delving deep in to the power that they are capable of. Nolan trades spectacle for a more personal albeit just as intense dramatic thriller about “Father of the Atomic Bomb” J. Robert Oppenheimer, the scientist that invariably opened up a Pandora’s Box with his hand in the Manhattan Project.
Sympathy for The Devil (2023)
Director Yuval Adler’s “Sympathy for the Devil” is a movie for the Nicolas Cage fan base, those people that love to see Nicolas Cage go berserk and completely the chew the scenery for ninety minutes. It’s as if Yuval Adler went on set and told Nic Cage to just be Nic Cage, because out of all the Nic Cage performances in his repertoire this is the Nic Cagest you’ll see. He Nic Cage’s the hell out of this movie. “Sympathy for the Devil” is part horror movie, part survival thriller, part crime thriller and part mystery. It’s “Collateral” but on acid.