Zathura

based on a short book by Chris Van Allsburg. He is the same author/illustrator who did Jumanji and Polar Express. Candidly, between the three of them in movie form, I favor Polar Express. Anyway, the book, short and ending in an intereresting quirk while playing a game, was quite different in the movie.

The movie added elements unimportant such as: single fatherhood (completely different than the short story) and a sister, again different than the short story. In the story there was no sister. In the movie, she played a very minor role, and I guess it was three fold: screaming girl, to interest girls in the movie, demistify puppy love. Anyway, a couple of good elements were there and the special effects were at par (though improved) with Jumanji.

To simplify the plot: two boys facing sibling rivalry and growing pains play a game, where the messages in the game become reality. In the end, the tangent reality (the game they are playing) ceases.

In the end, I think that the two movies (Jumanji & Zathura) could have been run back to back or similtaneously in one film, that way in could have been simple and to the point without the fluff. There was only one big morale in the movie: treat family as family.

Considering re-watachability, I would give it a 3.7 or whatever number I have Jumanji minus .7. As far as family watching -- profanity would make me hesitant to allow younger people to watch it.

"Dick", then addressing it as wrong.