Caught this movie over the weekend. It was my first movie in a couple of months, cue the laughter. The last movie I watched was one of the July blockbusters, so I never expected to break my big screen hiatus with a seemingly kiddish show.

 I had a preconceived idea that I was going to exit the cinema with a “Warlords” ticket stub. But I didn’t mind watching this show at all, there was Natalie Portman, as the lead. That would warrant a viewing even if its another Breaking and Entering.

Here comes the spoilers.  

This movie is set in NYC, where there is a Magical toy store named Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium. Mr. Magorium(Dustin Hoffman) is a really really old guy, who owns the store. His store is run by his assistants, Eric(Zach Mills) a boy hat collector and his only friend and struggling pianist composer, Molly Mahoney(Natalie Portman).

The story goes, Mr. Magorium is leaving and wants to pass the store to Mahoney, but she does not know about it. He hires an accountant, Henry Weston/The Mutant(Jason Bateman from Arrested Development’s), to find out the value of the store.

Special Appearances by Kermit the Frog and product placement in the form of Simmons Mattresses. I liked the little details of this movie.

At the start of the movie, Natalie Portman could have been easily mistaken for a young boy, with her really short hair and boyish clothes. She is androgynous, or andro for short. But as the movie goes along, she develops into a real lady, with first her dark trench coat and eye shadow. Finally, at one of her last scenes, she is spotted with a dress and flats and her hair was subtly changed to look her part.

But what I couldn’t get pass is that the men that are cast beside her as so old. The roles they play aren’t fatherly or grandfatherly roles but in between that and romantic relationships. In her film debut, Leon The Professional, Jean Reno was cast alongside her as a role not unlike the above. Now, the two men cast next to her is Dustin Hoffman, and Jason Bateman, both old enough to be her grandfather and father respectively. Its seems really incestuous, and that makes it sick.

The climaxes of this movie could have been better - I felt the movie was about to end straight after Mr. Magorium left, but it still had so many scenes.

Natalie Portman really made this film watchable for me. Can’t wait to see My Blueberry Nights, starring Norah Jones, Jude Law and some part from Natalie Portman.

Qoute” I fell so completely in love with these shoes, I bought enough pairs to last my whole lifetime. This is my last pair. “