It came out late in the year, but “Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporiumum’s ” was still able to get onto my list of Worst Films of 2007.
Dustin Hoffman stars as the wacky (and old) owner of a toy store who has decided it’s time to give-up running the store and hand it over to his best employee, Molly, (played by Natalie Portman).
Mr. Magorium hires an accountant (played by Jason Bateman) to straighten out the company’s books to prepare for the move. Of course Bateman’s character doesn’t see that this is a ‘magical’ store…and he and Molly don’t get along.
When the store finds out that Mr. Magorium is leaving, it stops being magical, and the characters try to bring the magic back.
If all of this sounds a little goofy that’s because it is. But there are more problems with “Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium” than that. The biggest problem is that the movie’s main focus is DEATH, which is not exactly what parents and kids are going to want from a G-rated holiday film.
Plus, there are very few laughs. For me, the best thing about the movie was a cameo by Kermit The Frog, which only lasts about 20-seconds.
To sum it up: There’s nothing ‘magical’ about “Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium”, and you leave the theather, as my dad and I did…’wondering’ what the people who made this movie were thinking.
On The Official Kid Critic Report Card, “Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium” gets a D.
Give you and your family an early holiday gift: skip this movie!
Lights Camera Jackson (a.k.a. Jackson Murphy) began his career as a film critic/entertainment reporter in 2006 at the age of 7. Jackson has written nearly 1,000 reviews of new releases. All together he has seen more than 1,500 films. In 2010, Jackson became the youngest person to win a NY Emmy Award, for his on-air movie reviews on Time Warner TV station, Capital News 9.
LCJ appears every Friday morning on WGNA-FM . His movie reviews are also posted on his website, his YouTube channel and the popular website Cultjer.com. He is also a contributing writer for Jerry Beck’s AnimationScoop.com. Jackson hosts the weekly internet pop culture news show “LCJ LIVE” (every Sunday at Noon ET). And “The LCJ Q&A Podcast” features interviews with celebrities and filmmakers. Among those who have joined LCJ on the show are comedy legend Gilbert Gottfried, “Wallace & Gromit” creator Nick Park, Emmy-winning game show host Todd Newton and Oscar-winning screenwriter Diablo Cody.
Lights Camera Jackson has been co-starring in photographs with his favorite celebrities since he was 6 years old. “American Idol” host Ryan Seacrest appeared in the first. Seacrest was a VIP guest at a local telethon. Jackson, a big fan of “Idol”, approached Seacrest during a break and asked for an autograph. The “Idol” star eagerly obliged. Jackson and Ryan then posed for this photo.
Since then Jackson’s collection of photos with stars from film, TV, stage and sports has grown to over 400. Every one represents a special moment in the life/career of Lights Camera Jackson and includes its own unique backstory.