Shorts

Stars: Jimmy Bennett, Kat Dennings, Jake Short, Rebel Rodriguez, Jolie Vanier, Trevor Gagnon, Leslie Mann, Jon Cryer

Director: Robert Rodriguez

Subtitled Adventure of the Wishing Rock in publicity (though not on screen), this is like a Disney film from the late 1960s - think The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes - with advanced special effects.

A sprawling, unfocused mess of a film, it concerns, after a couple of false starts, a kid (Bennett from Orphan) who finds a small, multi-coloured rock at the end of the rainbow. It grants wishes like the genie of the lamp. The kid's friends suggest things like world peace, but no. He has to wish for things that allow the special effects boys a chance to show off the full range of their talents.

For the yecch factor, the kid's friend picks his nose and creates a 'booger monster'. You get the idea. Performances for kids and grown-ups alike are strident, but the film will fit the bill for holidaying children who are willing to sit in front of pretty much anything. From the director of the Spy Kids films, however, it's a colossal letdown.

The adults include William H Macy, slumming, and James Spader, unrecognisable from the sleek and sharp actor of the late 1980s and early 1990s.

David Quinlan

USA 2009. UK Distributor: Warner Brothers. Technicolor.
89 minutes. Not widescreen. UK certificate: PG.

Guidance ratings (out of 3): Sex/nudity 0, Violence/Horror 0, Drugs 0, Swearing 0.

Review date: 17 Aug 2009