Movie Reviews

While grownups at Black Box Industries work to improve the handheld gizmo that's this year's high-tech must-have, neighborhood kid Toby "Toe" Thompson has something even better: he's found the Wishing Rock. Be careful what you wish for, Toe! Robert Rodriguez hatches a fun-filled story of the chaos that corrupts when folks young and old get their hands on the rainbow-striped stone. Hang out with an army of tiny outer-space friends? Turn a pesky brother into a beetle? Own a mountain of cash? Be the most powerful person in the world?

I love that Rodriguez isn’t afraid to make a dorky family film. I love his blood soaked adult fare and have seen just about everything he’s put out, but I rarely enjoy his kid’s films. But I am not their intended audience. My 6 year old had a lot of fun with this film, and that’s what counts. The film is a collection of shorts that revolve around the mishaps of some kids that find a rainbow stone that grants their wishes. Like his other films this one is pretty far fetched, but seems to tickle the funny bones of the young audience.

This was probably shot on a shoe string budget with digital cameras. The picture quality varies quite a bit throughout the film and nothing ever has an overly polished look. It still looks pretty good, just not quite as sharp and vibrant as the better Blu-ray encodes out there. The audio mix is a lot of fun though with plenty of neat sound effects and whizz bang.

Shorts comes with both the standard edition DVD plus a digital copy of the film for portable devices. You also get a look at the production of the film plus interviews with the cast. My favorite features are the 10 minute cooking and film schools hosted by Rodriguez. These are always fun and educating and once again the highlight of the supplements.

While this one didn’t do much for me, my daughter loved it. So if you have kids this one might be a fun afternoon for them.