Ten years ago, a little family film called Jumanji, based on a hit children’s book, was released and made us all love board games again.
Robin Williams in an action adventure for kids, what a concept and it was a box office goldmine.
With its huge success, the people behind Jumanji had wanted to make a sequel instead they came up with the idea for an animated television series based on the film.
The series was launched in 1996 and it was a hit for three years. Now Jumanji mania seems to have returned as the launch of Zathura is upon us.
Zathura isn’t a sequel to Jumanji but another book from the same author of Jumanji, Chris Van Allsburg, with a very similar premise.
The premise in case you forgot is that these kids find this old cursed board game that when played the events that transpire in the game come to life. In Jumanji, it was a jungle theme and Zathura it’s an outer space theme.
Zathura is quite a fun little movie when the kids aren’t screaming and the overly long opening setup has concluded. The performances from all the kids including Panic Room’s Kristen Stewart are excellent.
I also liked the performance from Dax Shepherd as the stranded astronaut. I just thought he should have been zanier.
The visual effects and the piece-by-piece destruction of the house are the hi-lights of the film. Everything about it was just so much fun.

I felt the brother squabbling and really trying beginning to the film held back the impact.
I also would have really have liked to see more of Kristen Stewart in the film.
It would have been great to see more of her mixing it up in the adventure side of the film.
I really like Jon Favreau as a director but he needs to find a balance in his projects. In this project, Favreau excelled in the effects scenes but left the personal scenes overly dull. In “Made”, he focused more on belittling his main guys than scoring laughs. The guy has a great eye but needs to balance his focuses like he did for the majority of “Elf”.
As a kids film, Zathura excels and will make all the kids scream to be space adventurers. I just really think the film needed more humor and less melodrama.
(3.5 out of 5)
So Says the Soothsayer
Written: December 18, 2000
Written: December 14, 2001
Joe Somebody is another example of those comedies where the trailers spoil all the good parts. I really like Tim Allen and his forthcoming movie Big Trouble is a wickedly hilarious film. The sad thing is that Joe suffers from a very high degree of immaturity. Do we ever believe for a second that this was a really feasible event that could or would happen?
Back in 1978, one film promised that audiences would believe that in fact a man could fly. That man was Christopher Reeve and he was Superman. The film went on to become the staple to how to bring a superhero to the silver screen.
Then like an asteroid exploding on impact, the Man of Steel returns and everyone’s lives are turned upside down. Not only does Big Blue have to win back his supporters but he also must uncover Luthor’s most sinister plot yet. What is a Superman to do?
Written: December 19, 2000
But I think it was the small 1999 film, “Love Letters” (based on the stage play) that allowed her to give her all. Just from that performance I knew she had arrived and could become a Julianne Moore or Meryl Streep given the right project. That performance still makes me smile today.
Written: May 5, 2003
“Identity” starts off brilliantly in the spirit of Hitchcock as the strangers are flung together. The quick cuts and brilliant use of flashback make “Identity” sizzle. You get set for an amazing whodunit as each motel patron’s identity is slowly revealed. I liked how the director left us guessing to who was next.
The twist angered me and by the time the credits rolled all I wanted to do was scream what could have been.
I really enjoyed the moments when these guys seem to act very natural and out of place in their environment. It seemed to come so easy to these guys and in that respect it reminded me some of “City Slickers”.
When I first saw the trailer for this film, I cringed. The hair on the back of my neck stood up and I could feel the sugar flow off the screen and into my lap. For most guys, this is what a trailer for a “chick flick” does to us. I was no exception.
Rose is the straight-shooter whose life seems to very work oriented. Rose is a self-confessed workaholic as her fast-tracked lawyer job monopolizes a lot of her life.
I have to give a lot of the film’s credit to director Curtis Hanson (“Wonder Boys”) who has found a way to allow the movie to soar on character development and revelation opposed to love and relationships. I was so enchanted by the intelligence in this film. I guess I had given up on seeing it again in a genre like this which has become so littered with cliché and rudimentary characters.
Ben Stiller’s surprise mega-hit of 2000, “Meet the Parents” found him trying to get along with his future in-laws. Now four years later, it’s his girlfriend’s turn to meet his parents.
Written: October 2, 2000