Haunted houses, bad Santas for weekend
Long Thanksgiving holiday a big deal for movies
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Eddie Murphy finds himself at odds with "The Haunted Mansion."
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LOS ANGELES, California (Reuters) -- Tired of turkey? Too much football turning your stomach?
Hollywood's major studios are presenting a feast of films over the long Thanksgiving holiday in the United States with four new movies debuting nationwide, including Disney family comedy, "The Haunted Mansion," starring Eddie Murphy, and action adventure "Timeline" for teens. They are joined by western drama "The Missing" and dark comedy "Bad Santa" for adults.
The idea for "Haunted Mansion" stems from the Disneyland ride in which people take a trip through a haunted house. As Disney did with summer hit "The Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl," the moviemakers use a few elements from the ride around which to develop the story.
Screenwriter David Berenbaum told Reuters he plumbed the depths of documents from Disney's Imagineers who first dreamed up the ride to inspire him, but the story is brand new.
"Disney had an entire library we went into, and we talked to people about building the ride," Berenbaum said. "Some people wanted it to be funny; some wanted it scary."
Murphy portrays a workaholic Louisiana real estate broker who vows to spend an entire weekend with his family -- after seeing just one more house that is up for sale.
But this last home is haunted by a ghost who thinks Murphy's wife is his reincarnated lover, and the ghost is out to reclaim his lost love at the expense of Murphy's family. "Haunted Mansion" is rated PG for frightening images, thematic elements and language.
Cate Blanchett gives a winning performance as a frontier mother in "The Missing."
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Time travel story "Timeline" is based on a novel by Michael Crichton and stars Paul Walker ("2 Fast, 2 Furious") as a member of a team of student archeologists who, while excavating the site of an epic 14th-century battle in France, find the eyeglasses of their professor in a sealed chamber.
The young scientists think their discovery is impossible until they learn their professor has traveled back in time via a machine. When they learn his life is in jeopardy, they too venture back to the setting of the Hundred Years War and land amid a battle of knights and infantry of the French and English armies.
Beyond the action and adventure, " 'Timeline' educates you about the Middle Ages, the Hundred Years' War, the possibility of time travel," said producer Lauren Shuler Donner ("X-Men" and "X-2: X-Men United"). It is rated PG-13 for intense battle sequences and brief language.
Adult drama "The Missing" has its eyes set squarely on the Oscar race in Hollywood this year, primarily for Cate Blanchett as best actress for playing a single mother and prairie doctor living in New Mexico in the 19th century.
When her teenage daughter is kidnapped to be sold as a slave in Mexico, Blanchett's character, Maggie Gilkensen, sets out to find her aided by an estranged father who has returned to make amends for abandoning Maggie and her mother years ago.
Eventually, the pair find the kidnappers and must fight to win the return of Maggie's daughter. The movie comes from "A Beautiful Mind" director Ron Howard, and tells of life on the bleak western frontier. "Missing" is rated R for violence.
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Billy Bob Thornton (left) is a drunken, lecherous Kris Kringle in "Bad Santa."
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Finally, comedy "Bad Santa" has Billy Bob Thornton playing a drinking, smoking, skirt-chasing Santa who poses in shopping malls as Kris Kringle, so he can steal from stores. He is aided by his partner "elf," portrayed by Tony Cox.
The movie is executive produced by Joel and Ethan Coen ("Intolerable Cruelty" and "Fargo") and directed by Terry Zwigoff ("Ghost World" and "Crumb") and has been winning strong reviews from critics for its wicked look at the holidays. It is rated R for pervasive language, strong sexual content and some violence.
Copyright 2003
Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
