98min/Not Rated
Prose (Story): Joe Ballarini's popular middle-grade novel gets the Netflix treatment via a young girl named Kelly (Tamara Scott), new to babysitting and with her own past/childhood issues with monsters, who finds her world thrown into a tailspin when the young boy in her care is abducted by troll-like monsters. Soon after she meets the Buffy-like Liz, who seems to not only know what's going on, but comes complete with her own monster-fighting arsenal and skills ... before pulling Kelly into an underground group of babysitters whose duty is to not only save their charges, but the world, against an evil monster - the Grand Guignol - with sinister plans of his own for the children his minions steal.
Don's (Review): Director Talalay has fashioned a fun, all ages, fast-paced ride for kids, with plenty of humor throughout the plot and action sequences, and villains that lean to the goofy side though that works within the confines of the film. And while Tom Felton - Draco Malfoy of the Harry Potter film universe - does indeed get the humor of the Grand Guignol down, he can't quite capture the level of menace needed to make his Guignol ever come off a real threat, softening the film's storyline even as the babysitter's gear up to fight him. The performances from the youthful cast are typical of a made-for-TV film - servicable, but nothing outstanding - and though the film has its charms and is a fun watch, in this reviewer's opinion its semi-silly, over-the-top story, effects, and style will have a much broader appeal for its target middle-grade audience than the average adult viewer. 3/5 stars
No comments:
Post a Comment