Skip to main content

Muppets Haunted Masion


What I liked: Gonzo and Pepe spend the night in a haunted mansion. They have run ins with singing ghosts. What more could a person want in a surprise Halloween special? I look forward to the ghost songs making it into the rather thin Halloween playlists. I must say that a mansion haunted by Muppets is substantially less menacing than one haunted by more malevolent ghosts. The ghost bride did a good job of being creepy though. I liked that Gonzo's outfit matched the doorman's.

What I didn't: Old Gonzo. That should not have happened. Old Gonzo is creepy looking. Fozzie tells jokes. His jokes are always terrible. I also thought that the other Muppets' jokes were a lamer than I would have hoped. I would have been happier with the movie if it were less transparently the rebranding of the Haunted Mansion ride. Like maybe they didn't need every single element of the ride shoehorned into the movie; maybe there could be some parts of the ride that didn't appear in the movie or elements of the movie that were not directly set in a room in the ride. 

Who should watch this? People looking for a a less scary Halloween movie. People who like the Muppets. 

Would I watch it again? Probably next year for Halloween. Let's be honest there are a limited number of Halloween movies for general audiences. 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Titanic

What I liked: Liked is definitely the wrong word for it but the scenes of the sinking of the Titanic were masterful. They were technologically impressive, apparently remarkably accurate, and emotionally gripping. The variety of ways in which different people dealt with a completely hopeless situation was both touching and thought provoking. Especially beautiful was the string quartet. In isolation from the love story, the sinking of the Titanic is a tragic reminder of the cost of hubris and the necessity of regulating emergency procedures and capacities. It carries similar gravitas as a war film. At the 25th anniversary of the film, I can appreciate how Titanic has impacted movies made later.  What I didn't: So here's the thing. I feel very bad for you if you died in the sinking of the Titanic. I feel less bad for you if you managed to get on a lifeboat on the Titanic and then decided to get off. I question all of your decision making and priorities if you decide to get off a...

Annihilation

  What I liked: I liked the crystal trees and the creepy people plants. The multi colored lichen and flowers were cool too. I liked how disorienting the loss of time and flashbacks were, they did a good job of maintaining the disquiet and suspense. I liked that they remembered that mutation and evolution has no goal, it's just a thing that happens with all kinds of side effects. I liked their little boat trip in giant crocodile infested swamp. I'm not sure if I loved the silver skin suit but I can't deny that it was interesting.  What I didn't: The heroes are all scientists who go on a mission to find out what is going on inside the "shimmer". For being all scientists they don't draw very well on their test one variable at a time training. If nothing has ever come out of the shimmer, try sticking a stick in and see if you can pull it out. Step inside with a harness on so if you don't come back they can try and pull you back. Walk in a little ways and t...

See how the run

What I liked: I liked how very enthusiastic the sergeant was. And I appreciated that, remarkably, both the senior detective and the assistant were competent. It seems like usually this is a one or the other kind of pairing so I lament the partnership that inevitably formed somewhere else in the department of two incompetent officers. The story boarding was very fun and it was very clear that the director in the film had never seen nor heard anything about The Mousetrap. I liked the recurring snow shovel. For the second time in as many months the detectives were using the means, motive, opportunity chart for the suspects. Still no sign of a murderer using one though.   What I didn't: Why after you take a tumble through a cake and a pile of shellfish would you go find a replacement outfit in the costume department of the theater instead of just going back to your house? I mean I might enjoy that, you could come back to the party dressed as Henry VIII, or a demigorgon, or a tree....