Zathura

• TOP NOTCH (my top choices)
• HONORABLE MENTION (well worth watching)
• YOU MIGHT WANT TO CONSIDER (I like them but you might not)
• CLASSICS (Great movies up through the 1960s - many don't have any rating)

ZATHURA (2005) - PG - TOP NOTCH 
Josh Hutcherson, Jonah Bobo, Dax Shepard 

Summary -  Two young brothers are drawn into an intergalactic adventure when their house is hurled through the depths of space by the magical board game they are playing.

Cautions - This is a film intended for families but don't think it won't be intense! Younger kids may find it scary. It also doesn't shy away from sibling arguments which can also be intense but I think they are very authentic.

Commentary - I think this review from Blu-ray.com says everything that I feel about this movie.

"Every now and then a movie comes along that delivers a completely satisfying throwback cinema experience that reminds audiences what it really means to be entertained, pulled into another realm where the filmmakers have visualized a figment of the human imagination with care and a great sense of excitement and honesty. Zathura is one of those movies. Director Jon Favreau's (Iron Man) film exudes energy like nothing else and delivers pure cinema as wholesome and mind-bogglingly bigger-than-life fantastical entertainment. It's so well made and so good at being purely loud and fun that its various shortcomings just disappear as many a kid's every fantasy comes alive on the silver screen. Zathura is a wonderfully-realized and completely engaging film that's focused like a laser beam on fun. It's also large in scope, oozing with enthusiasm, built with seamlessly-constructed special effects, not at all lacking in charm, solidified by strong characterization, and infinitely watchable thanks to contagiously youthful energy that never lets up. "

As a side note I would mention that the film is pretty boy-centric in it's themes, relationships and tone. It's a story of brothers and the events transpire through that lens (It even has the proverbial scary, self-centered teenage sister). But I think it has something for everyone too.

Conclusion - "Zathura may share with Jumanji the basic common threads of its storyline, but Director Jon Favreau's film is not only the superior of the two in terms of raw craftsmanship and fun factor, it's also pretty much a perfect... kid-centric adventure film that's suitable for the whole family.  Zathura is one of those rare movies that just somehow gets everything right, and few movies are as flat-out entertaining, relaxing, and infinitely watchable as this."

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