Goosebumps

The Goosebumps book series where a big sellers in the 90's, so was the T.V. series, which was The Twilight Zone for preteens. R.L. Stine proves he had a creative mind with such bizarre tales and some insane plot twist. So having some of the Goosebumps characters come alive in the real world, is quite a tribute to R.L. Stine's work.

Jack Black is quite enjoyable, seems to having the most fun has Stine, at times he is a little over the top, but in a good way. Odeya Rush is good has Hannah. But it's Dylan Minnette and Ryan Lee who play Zach and Champ, really bring the comedy here, those two have such comedic chemistry they are like a comedy team. The effects are incredible, an amusing CGI fest. The movie never takes itself seriously, if you like The Monster Squad(1987), so I'll bet you'll get an good ride out of Goosebumps.

We went in expecting a children's adventure (which usually satisfies open minded and fun loving adults too!) but in this case the movie is really intended only for the kids.

Jack Black's delivery is hammed up a little, the romance and teen themes are mind bogglingly bad) not as bad as Twilight though, I'll give them that!) One character just seems to be there for "annoying kid" trope purposes.

But the CGI was okay. The actors seemed to be trying or at least had their reasons. But altogether something felt flat about how it all came together and the movie wasn't very enjoyable or memorable. I don't know what went wrong but I blame the script.

Fun story! Jack black plays stine. And the actual author of this story, robert stine, plays.... mr. Black! Wacky. When his family moves to a new house in the burbs, zach is the new kid at school. And strange things are happening in the hood... he meets a cute girl. A monster is on the loose, but it seems to be harmless. This is all tied to the weird neighbor next door, hannah's father. He's grumpy, has a terrible temper, and has his own issues. And doesn't want to talk with zach and his friends. There's a talking dummy. Evil garden gnomes. It's silly but fun. Some clever twists here and there! Fun, family safe film. Directed by rob letterman. As of today, there's a television series in the works as well.

Goosebumps seems like it would be best handled by an expert of family/horror films such as Joe Dante. Instead, they got the one who helmed Gulliver's Travels, but for some reason, this movie pleasantly offers beyond than just another nostalgic cash grab. Maybe to those who wants to linger more on the monsters from their favorite Goosebumps books may get disappointed since most of them are shoehorned as another monstrous villain to run away from. However, the film manages to tell a story of its own from its characters. Yes, their arcs can be by-the-numbers, or more specific, nothing original whatsoever, but it manages to find its own heart and sense of fun to its own story, which makes it quite entertaining and surprisingly heartwarming.

The first act is the strongest of the entirety. Though the main protagonist, Zach, doesn't have any special arc to focus on, but it gets better when he meets his new neighbor, Hannah, and their small innocent moments manages to bring easy charm with these characters. The rest of the characters are just downright kooky as they provide exaggeratedly delivered punchlines. Though, this is the kind of world this movie establishes, almost everyone is basically a cartoon. Some moments work, while some is just admittedly corny, but we accept it in this sort of context anyway. Nothing is particularly scary, either. The plot is just hunting down these monsters; set piece after set piece, punchline after punchline, then some emotional twists and somewhat. It doesn't quite have an exact narrative structure, but these scenes are still quite fun and engaging when it counts. It may still be a letdown to the fans about the fact that the monsters are treated nothing more than grand spectacles.

The special effects are pretty fake looking, but still they don't look too bad. It's just not spooky or scary, purposely of course. It would be more interesting if they are a little bit in a campy horror way rather than overly kid friendly. I mean this is a family movie, but the books were intended for kids and they are horror stories, so why avoid creeping them out here or, nevermind. If their intention is to embrace the silliness, then that's a better argument. I'll just assume that's the case rather than toning the general audience down. Slappy looks cool, though. The acting is nice: Jack Black is just priceless, nothing more, nothing less. However I wish the teens would react more whenever they try to catch a monster. Maybe it's just me, but I suggest more expressions, perhaps. Though they perform better at the less louder scenes; Dylan Minnette is alright as the lead, though the best among the three is Odeya Rush, who has done enough job as the heart of the picture. The other kid is basically just another comic relief in this realm of comic reliefs.

Goosebumps is a little messy, but overall it's still all out fun. Yeah, the monsters aren't quite interacted that properly and it was just kind of shoehorned, but it provides some admirable choices to its story. It makes the typical character arcs resolve with sincerity or just genuine charm. There's a lot of inspired moments, despite most of the monsters look pretty cuddly. The totally cartoon approach might be the film's way of saying that they're pretty aware that the source material has always been ridiculous, and they just broadens it. They still gave some heart to the novellas, by surface and Slappy. It's crazy, amusing and eventually endearing. I believe that the movie is actually worth the nostalgia, in spite of its more candy looking.

The teenager Zach (Dylan Minnette) moves from New York with his widow mother Gale (Amy Ryan) to Madison, Delaware, where she will be the vice- principal of the local high-school. Zach is bored and upset and while bringing his cardboard boxes with his belongings home, he meets his gorgeous next-door neighbor Hannah (Odeya Rush) that welcomes him. But soon her creepy father R.L. Stine (Jack Black) threatens him if he gets close to his daughter again. Zach befriends the clumsy Champ (Ryan Lee) at school and they schedule to go to a party together on Friday. However, Zach meets Hannah again but they are caught by Stine. Zach believes that Stine is an abusive father and he breaks in his house with Champ to seek out Hannah. When Zach opens a book in Stine's library, he accidentally unleashes a monster from the book. Soon he learns that the weird Stine is a famous writer of horror stories that keeps his imaginary friends that are monsters locked up in each book. But Zach released the evil Slappy that promises to bring havoc to Madison opening all the books on the same time.

"Goosebumps" is a silly film that entertains. The plot has funny moments but Champ is an unbearable character and Ryan Lee does not help with his face. "Aunt" Lorraine is also annoying, but Amy Ryan performs a nice character. The chemistry between Dylan Minnette and the lovely Odeya Rush, who seems to be a sister of Mila Kunis, are worthwhile watching. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Goosebumps: Monstros e Arrepios" ("Goosebumps: Monsters and Chills")