New This Week (07/28/2023): Haunted Mansion, North of Normal, & More!

By John Corrado

New releases for the week of July 28th, 2023.

(L-R): Chase Dillon as Travis, Rosario Dawson as Gabbie, LaKeith Stanfield as Ben, Owen Wilson as Father Kent, and Tiffany Haddish as Harriet in Disney’s HAUNTED MANSION. Photo by Jalen Marlowe. © 2023 Disney Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Theatrical Releases:

Haunted Mansion (Wide Release): Disney’s Haunted Mansion is the latest movie based on one of their theme park rides, and a reboot of the Eddie Murphy film from twenty years ago. This version stars LaKeith Stanfield as an astrophysicist brought in to photograph the ghosts occupying an old mansion that single mother Gabbie (Rosario Dawson) moves into with her son (Chase W. Dillon). The plot itself is still somewhat thin, but the film is elevated by Stanfield and a supporting cast that has fun with their roles (including Owen Wilson as an opportunistic priest). This is a theme park ride film, but it plays fine as a piece of summer entertainment, mainly thanks to the best efforts of its cast. (Full Review)

North of Normal (Limited Release): This Canadian drama serves as an adaptation of Cea Sunrise Person’s 2014 memoir of the same name, following her coming of age in the city after an unconventional upbringing in the Alberta wilderness with her teen mother (played by Sarah Gadon). It’s opening in limited release after premiering at TIFF last year. (Full Review)

More Releases: Talk to Me (Limited), Kokomo City (Limited), The First Slam Dunk (Limited), Sympathy for the Devil (Limited), The Beanie Bubble (Limited)

Streaming Releases:

The Beanie Bubble (Apple TV+), Happiness for Beginners (Netflix)