Movies Update: ‘Haunted Mansion,’ ‘Talk to Me’ and More

Plus, a chat with the "Barbie" director, Greta Gerwig.

View in browser|nytimes.com Continue reading the main story July 28, 2023 By Mekado Murphy Movies Editor Hey, movie fans! Have you seen "Barbie" yet? "Oppenheimer?" Both? A lot of you (myself included) showed up to theaters in droves for these movies this past weekend, making the box office one for the record books. Some of you even dressed for the occasion. Our reporter Kyle Buchanan took a dive into the production design of those wildly pink Barbie Dreamhouses and also spoke to the film's director, Greta Gerwig, about its blockbuster opening and how she managed to get away with the multilayered satire. You'll still have plenty of opportunities to see both movies if you haven't, but if you're in for frights, a couple options are coming this weekend that may fit the bill, one more family oriented and one not so much. "Haunted Mansion," the film adaptation of the Disney amusement park ride, is out, with a cast that includes LaKeith Stanfield, Tiffany Haddish and Danny DeVito. Our chief critic Manohla Dargis, however, didn't jump. "There is a mansion, it is haunted, boo, blah, the end," she wrote in her review. "That's pretty much all there is to say about 'Haunted Mansion,' a live-action branding opportunity from Disney." The critic Jeannette Catsoulis was much more compelled by the week's other horror offering, "Talk to Me," about a bereaved teenager who gets taken to very dark places through a dangerous artifact. In her Critic's Pick review, Catsoulis wrote that the film is "steeped in yearning and chockablock with shocks." Below, you can read about what other new movies are hitting theaters and streaming, plus find out what else is new in the film world. Enjoy the movies! Jalen Marlowe/Disney 'Haunted Mansion' Review: A Disney Ride to Nowhere Fun Starring LaKeith Stanfield and Rosario Dawson, this movie plays like a feature-length ad for Disney's theme-park attraction of the same name. By Manohla Dargis A24 CRITIC'S PICK 'Talk to Me' Review: Letting the Wrong One In A bereaved young woman falls under the spell of a dangerous artifact in this vibrant and poignant horror debut. By Jeannette Catsoulis Clement Pascal for The New York Times Greta Gerwig on the Blockbuster 'Barbie' Opening (and How She Got Away With It) "I think it was a particular ripple in the universe that allowed it to happen," the director said on Tuesday of her highly anticipated movie making a staggering $162 million in its first weekend. By Kyle Buchanan Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT CRITICS' PICKS Momentum Pictures CRITIC'S PICK 'War Pony' Review: The Sad Absurdities of Reservation Life Riley Keough and Gina Gammell's stellar debut, starring many first-time actors, takes a deadpan look at a Lakota-Sioux reservation in South Dakota. By Amy Nicholson GKIDS CRITIC'S PICK 'The First Slam Dunk' Review: Style Points A popular sports manga about a Japanese high school basketball team vaults to the big screen in an exhilarating, gorgeous anime. By Calum Marsh MOVIE REVIEWS Music Box Films 'The Unknown Country' Review: A Granddaughter's Road Trip Lily Gladstone's achingly measured performance braided with the actual stories from nonprofessional actors makes Morrisa Maltz's film a memorable road trip. By Lisa Kennedy Magnolia Pictures 'Kokomo City' Review: Dispatches From the Down Low The director D. Smith's new documentary follows four Black transgender women, who talk about how they got into sex work. By Teo Bugbee Apple TV+ 'The Beanie Bubble' Review: Caught in a Fad Romance This dramatic comedy about Beanie Babies, starring Zach Galifianakis, Elizabeth Banks and Sarah Snook, arrives at the tail end of a summer of corporate biopics. By Calum Marsh Vertical Entertainment 'Susie Searches' Review: The Sleuth Is Out There Kiersey Clemons plays an amateur detective with a true-crime podcast and a secret in this quirky mystery movie. By Natalia Winkelman Greenwich Entertainment 'The Beasts' Review: Bad Neighbors Class tensions and masculine power games abound in this engrossing rural thriller from Spain. By Beatrice Loayza Lightbox 'North Circular' Review: A Musical Tour Through Dublin In this black-and-white documentary by Luke McManus, the camera finds stories and songs near a road north of the city's center. By Ben Kenigsberg Dana Hawley/Paramount+ 'Zoey 102' Review: Grown Up, Washed Up 15 Years after her Nickelodeon show, "Zoey 101," ended, Jamie Lynn Spears returns in a serviceable movie sequel. By Brandon Yu Katumba Badru/National Geographic 'Bobi Wine: The People's President' Review: A Pop Star Turns Politician Uganda has been under authoritarian rule for decades. Wine has doggedly challenged its leader, and this documentary shows the price he's paid. By Glenn Kenny Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT NEWS & FEATURES Warner Bros. Pictures How Those 'Barbie' Dreamhouses Came to Life: 'We All Had to Believe in It' To make their Barbieland sets a reality, the movie's production team embraced the surreal, going big on bright pinks and shrunken proportions. By Kyle Buchanan Amblin Entertainment Venice Film Festival Lineup Largely Unscathed by Hollywood Strikes Movies from Bradley Cooper, Sofia Coppola and Ava DuVernay will debut at this year's event, despite the industry shutdown. By Alex Marshall Susannah Ireland/Reuters Kevin Spacey Found Not Guilty of Sexual Assault A British jury on Wednesday found the actor not guilty of nine charges. By Alex Marshall STREAMING RECOMMENDATIONS Paramount Pictures BEYOND THE ALGORITHM 'Annihilation,' 'Support the Girls' and More Streaming Gems This month's rundown of off-the-radar picks on your subscription streaming services includes indies of all stripes, plus three documentary explorations of our changing media landscape. By Jason Bailey Mubi Five International Movies to Stream Now This month's picks include a bittersweet French comedy, a gutting Croatian social-realist drama, a Mexican true-crime doc and more. By Devika Girish Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/Getty Images The Best Movies on Amazon Prime Video Right Now New films, and classics, just keep coming, but you don't have to drill down to find the finest selections to stream. We'll do the heavy lifting. You press play. By Jason Bailey Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT How are we doing? We'd love your feedback on this newsletter. Please email thoughts and suggestions to moviesupdate@nytimes.com. Like this email? 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