Roald Dahl's The Witches2020

Zemeckis-fest There is a spark here that I feel has been missing from Zemeckis’ work for a long time. It’s unfortunate that the writing is then so lackluster. I can see that there was effort put into the production side of things, and it’s fun and colorful.  I will say I have never seen the original, and I think that like many other things, people become blinded by nostalgia and can’t view something objectively. But really, maybe nothing can be viewed objectively. While I’m writing this, I’m thinking about how my next film is Zemeckis’ Pinocchio, which I will no doubt rate harsher because it is a remake, and so I can’t judge others too harshly.  But from what I see here, this is a decent movie, not incredible but cute. Hopefully, I will see the original, and then I will be able to form a better opinion. This reminded me of Stuart Little more than anything else. Definitely a late 90s feel.  I like this better than most of his recent films, but I really wish the writing was better. I thought Anne Hathaway was great and really committed. I think Octavia Spencer had the harder job in talking to the mice, and I don’t think her performance worked quite as well. I guess like everything else Zemeckis has made for the past 10-20 years, in the end, it comes out kind of middling. I really want to see some true beauty from Zemeckis again. When I think of the first 20 years of his career, I think of quality; when I think of most of the last 20 years, I think “passable.” If he could get a really strong writer, it’s possible he could make something incredible again. If he could just let go of his absolute obsession and reliance on CG. As much cg as there is, this does feel like a step in the right direction.