GAME DEFINITELY ON IN 'ZATHURA'.Byline: Bob Strauss Film Critic 'ZATHURA'' IS a wreck-the-house kids' fantasy with an enjoyable twist. See, two squabbling brothers, 6-year-old Danny (Jonah Bobo Jonah Bobo (born January 24 1997) is an American actor. Biography Bobo was born in New York City, New York to an Orthodox Jewish family;[1] his father, Scott, works in software[2] and his mother, Denise, is a physical therapist and personal trainer. ) and 10-year-old Walter (Josh Hutcherson), find this old mechanical board game in the classic, if rundown California Craftsman house their recently divorced dad (Tim Robbins Timothy Francis Robbins (born October 16, 1958) is an American Academy Award-winning actor, screenwriter, director, producer, activist and musician. He is the longtime partner of actress Susan Sarandon, with whom he shares liberal political views. ) has moved into. The game is a space adventure called Zathura, and while their father is out at a business meeting, they start to play. The first turn somehow hurls their home into a meteor shower meteor shower, increase in the number of meteors observed in a particular part of the sky. The trails of the meteors of a meteor shower all appear to be traceable back to a single point in the sky, known as the radiant point, or radiant. in a galaxy far, far away. Then things get really bad. The best adaptation yet of a Chris Van Allsburg (``Jumanji,'' ``The Polar Express'') children's book, ``Zathura'' confirms director Jon Favreau's mastery of the retro-cool family-film format. Favreau's previous hit, ``Elf,'' smartly referenced those cheesy cheesy (che´ze) caseous. , barely animated Christmas TV specials of the 1970s. He's much more ambitious with this one, going for an early Spielberg sense of wonder/peril/family conflict, laced with the anarchic humor that Spielberg's then- protege, Robert Zemeckis, worked into his own sci-fi spectacles. So the Flash Gordon-style spaceships, lizardlike aliens and big, clunky, murderous robot that chase Danny and Walter all over the house and universe are rendered, to a great degree, with handmade models and monster suits (effects makeup maven Stan Winston's studio made the latter). Computer graphics run riot throughout the film, of course, but there's a pleasing, oddly natural quality that comes with seeing so much practical magic after years of digital overkill overkill Vox populi An excess of anything . Not that this would matter much if the story wasn't clever and involving. But David Koepp and John Kamps' screenplay is both, the two boys are quite credible opposites (Walter's a belligerent superjock, Danny's a wimpy Wimpy sloppily dressed comic strip character; always “forgets” to pay for hamburgers. [Comics: “Popeye” in Horn, 657–658] See : Irresponsibility dreamer) who fuss with real passion, and Favreau's gently subversive humor never gets in the way of suspense or good scary jolts. While the boys' own pluck and ingenuity drive the story, solid support is lent by ``Punk'd's'' Dax Shepard Dax Randall Shepard (January 2, 1975) is an American actor. Shepard was born in Milford, MI, and started as a car buff at Walled Lake Central High School. Later, he attended The Groundlings School and Groundlings Sunday Company. as a wayward astronaut and Kristen Stewart (Jodie Foster's ``Panic Room'' daughter, growing up nicely) as their oblivious, sarcastic older sister, whose cryogenically frozen body provides a good running joke through half the movie. As you'd expect, there's a nice lesson about brotherly love Noun 1. brotherly love - a kindly and lenient attitude toward people charity benevolence - an inclination to do kind or charitable acts supernatural virtue, theological virtue - according to Christian ethics: one of the three virtues (faith, hope, and in here. It builds up, for the most part, out of action, so it doesn't come off too sappy. As for the house-wrecking, well, anyone invested in California real estate will be appalled. But your kids will think it's a blast. Bob Strauss, (818) 713-3670 bob.strauss(at)dailynews.com ZATHURA - Three stars (PG: children in jeopardy, violence, language) Starring: Josh Hutcherson, Jonah Bobo, Dax Shepard, Kristen Stewart, Tim Robbins. Director: Jon Favreau Jonathan K. Favreau (born on October 19, 1966) is an American actor and director. Biography Early life Favreau was born in Flushing, New York to Charles Favreau, a special education teacher, and Madeleine, a schoolteacher who died of leukemia in 1978. . Running time: 1 hr. 41 min. wPlaying: In wide release. In a nutshell: Fun kids' space fantasy in which their house is thrown into another dimension. Based on Chris Van Allsburg's children's book. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: A seemingly innocuous board game leads to an outer-space adventure for Jonah Bobo, left, Kristen Stewart, Dax Shepard and Josh Hutcherson in ``Zathura.'' |
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