It's good but it's a little too weird for my liking and I didn't like the ending.
Take some of both versions of Willy Wonka/Charlie & The Chocolate Factory, sprinkle with some magic and you have this very weird movie.
Dustin Hoffman plays Mr Magorium, he's over 200 years old, runs a toy emporium and it's magic. Hoffman plays the role well but I feel he wasn't 1st pick (I still think Robin Williams or Mike Myers turned this down). It does feel a bit like "The Cat In The Hat". The use of colour is amazing.
The films main issue is it's very low on plot or storyline. Magorium decides it's his last day on Earth and he gives the shop to his Manager played pretty well by Natalie Portman. She just has the right kind of personality to be the shy girl who doesn't quite believe in magic but is willing to be converted.
I get the feeling she wasn't 1st pick for her role either. The little boy playing Eric is incredibly annoying. Kids don't like him because he's weird. Those ears and that haircut aren't helping him much either though.
The guy playing the mutant is pretty good, he plays his role well enough to be convincing as an accountant who regains a more childlike inner self.
The film looks great, the internals of the shop itself look wonderful. Special effects are very well used but slightly over the top. The film feels a lot like both "Mary Poppins" & "Bedknobs & Broomsticks" in certain places.
It's definitely for the kids, adults aren't going to enjoy it all that much I feel. Magorium doesn't die as such but they have a funeral for him (never a great idea in a kids film, especially one with another 20 minutes of screen time to fill).
The eventual outcome of Portman discovering her inner magic to revive the store is nothing if predictable. The film hasn't really got an ending, it just peters out having run out of ideas. Best left to the kids, it'll do well on DVD I think.
Take some of both versions of Willy Wonka/Charlie & The Chocolate Factory, sprinkle with some magic and you have this very weird movie.
Dustin Hoffman plays Mr Magorium, he's over 200 years old, runs a toy emporium and it's magic. Hoffman plays the role well but I feel he wasn't 1st pick (I still think Robin Williams or Mike Myers turned this down). It does feel a bit like "The Cat In The Hat". The use of colour is amazing.
The films main issue is it's very low on plot or storyline. Magorium decides it's his last day on Earth and he gives the shop to his Manager played pretty well by Natalie Portman. She just has the right kind of personality to be the shy girl who doesn't quite believe in magic but is willing to be converted.
I get the feeling she wasn't 1st pick for her role either. The little boy playing Eric is incredibly annoying. Kids don't like him because he's weird. Those ears and that haircut aren't helping him much either though.
The guy playing the mutant is pretty good, he plays his role well enough to be convincing as an accountant who regains a more childlike inner self.
The film looks great, the internals of the shop itself look wonderful. Special effects are very well used but slightly over the top. The film feels a lot like both "Mary Poppins" & "Bedknobs & Broomsticks" in certain places.
It's definitely for the kids, adults aren't going to enjoy it all that much I feel. Magorium doesn't die as such but they have a funeral for him (never a great idea in a kids film, especially one with another 20 minutes of screen time to fill).
The eventual outcome of Portman discovering her inner magic to revive the store is nothing if predictable. The film hasn't really got an ending, it just peters out having run out of ideas. Best left to the kids, it'll do well on DVD I think.