2009
Starring: Carter Jenkins, Austin Robert Butler, Ashley Tisdale, Ashley Boettcher, Gillian Vigman, Robert Hoffman
Director: John Schultz
Runtime: 86 Minutes
Distributor: 20th Century Fox
Rating: PG

A cosmic coming together of bad weather, bored pre-teens and a desert like release slate in terms of kid friendly fare (for us Muggle folk at least) conspire to propel this charmless CGI romp to the top of the tree virtually by default of there being no alternative. Co-scripter Mark Burton actually has pedigree to make you think otherwise, having been involved in the deliciously inventive Chicken Run, the venerable Wallace & Grommit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit, and the sorely underrated Madagascar prior to this. But loading up on such kiddie cult classics as Spaced Invaders and Gremlins, marrying it with the pizzazz of Spy Kids, there is almost an inspiration overload and the derivative result falls disappointingly flat.

A cast of impossibly white-teethed pre-pubescent youngsters, alongside High School Musical’s Ashley Tisdale as the pristinely perfect elder sister, comprises the Pearson family offspring. Jake and Tom are the vessels by which the kid power will be vicariously funneled, while Tisdale’s Bethany is the elder sister whose presence enables the true villain of the piece to make his entrance – her jerk boyfriend Ricky. Frog-marched up to their parents Maine summer home (where is Steven King when you need him?) for fresh air and a meteor shower, Jake and Tom are quickly bored and itching for something to happen.

Click here to read the full review at Uinterview.com.

This entry was posted on Friday, August 7th, 2009 at 11:22 pm and is filed under Fantasy, Feature Films, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.