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| Director
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Jon Favreau
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| Starring
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Josh Hutcherson, Jonah Bobo,
Dax Shepard |
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| The plot of
Zathura |
Two young brothers (Hutcherson and Bobo) are drawn
into an intergalactic adventure when their house
is magically hurtled through space. |
Zathura
Movie Review
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Review by Justin
Chang:
Its unwieldy title notwithstanding,
"Zathura: A Space Adventure" is arguably the
best adaptation of a Chris Van Allsburg book to date.
A visually resplendent adventure about two brothers
and an enchanted board game that beams them into outer
space, Sony's unofficial follow-up to its 1995 hit "Jumanji"
benefits from helmer Jon Favreau's amiably low-key sense
of humor and assured handling of well-trod emotional
territory. Absent the star power of a Robin Williams
or a "Jumanji"-sized marketing push, pricey
pic looks to draw midrange rather than astronomical
numbers, with better prospects in ancillary.
As evidenced in both "Jumanji" and Warner
Bros.' "The Polar Express," the main obstacle
to wresting Van Allsburg's gorgeously imagined picture
books onto the screen -- aside from the author's ineffable
tone of deadpan surrealism -- has been their lack of
a feature-length narrative. Yet aside from the occasional
lapse in pacing, screenwriters David Koepp and John
Kamps sustain attention for a full 101 minutes without
departing significantly from the slender 32-page framework
of Van Allsburg's story..more..
Review By Brian
Orndorf:
Two quarrelsome brothers,
Walter (Josh Hutcherson) and Danny (Jonah Bobo), are
forced to spend time together when their father (Tim
Robbins) leaves them at home to retrieve documents from
work. Finding an old tin game called "Zathura"
in the basement, the boys begin to play, quickly learning
that this game is nothing like they've encountered before.Accidentally
sending their home into outer space, freezing their
older sister (Kristen Stewart), facing evil aliens (a
giant lizard race called the Zorgons) and robots, and
meeting a hungry astronaut (Dax Shepard) along the way,
Walter and Danny frantically race to finish the game
before their father returns home, or at least what's
left of their home. With "Zathura," director
Jon Favreau ("Elf") earns his title as king
of family movies. I haven't seen a filmmaker in recent
years take the care and muster the courage to give the
younger set cinematic experiences that they deserve
in quite the fashion Favreau has. This is amazing, considering
Favreau kicked off his directorial career with the profoundly
adult and hilariously obscene wannabe-mobster comedy,
"Made."..More..
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