Lesser Known Movies you must watch - 13

ZATHURA: Space Adventure

          Cast: Josh Hutcherson, Dax Shepard, Kirsten Stewart, Tim Robbins

The 13th movie that we are going for is a sci fi space adventure film which can be called as a sequel to Jumanji (90’s classic) where two brother Walter and Danny play a board game and gets transported to outer space along with their sister and the only way to return is to finish the game. Now, you would probably think, what could be different from the 90’s Jumanji , so our answer would be that first of all this movie is directed by Jon Favreau (Iron Man , Jungle Book) who is a very good director in terms of using the visual effects to its best. And being a fantasy movie, this movie will surely be loved by little Kids as it will directly connect to them.

This movie begins with 2 brothers who don’t get along with each other are living in their home with their older sister in charge. Their father has gone away for work. The younger brother Danny discovers a board game which is based on space theme named “Zathura”. The rules are simple where the player must reach the final space on the board. Danny convinces his elder brother Walter to play the game with him which is when the adventure begins.

As soon as Danny plays his turn and get his card which says Meteor Shower, they realize that the game has actually turned into reality and there house is actually floating in the space. Danny being afraid doesn’t want to play this game anymore but Walter concludes the only way to return everything to normal is to finish the game. This is where Danny and Walter cards brings them face to face with a robot, too close to Sun-Like Planet, attacks by Aliens, and an Astronaut stuck in space coming to their rescue.

Full of ups and downs for the next 30-40 mins, where the boys would accuse each other of cheating, getting ejected into space, Astronaut telling them his story of how he and his brother have played this game and how he got stuck in the same forever due to one wrong wish that he made. Also, Lisa, their sister, realizing that they are really in an altered reality and then coming to the boys’ rescue helping them to finish the game. Obviously, the big climax scene / reveal of who actually that Astronaut was, we would see a strong relationship getting established between the siblings. Whether the siblings are able to complete the game or not is for you to see.

We will recommend this movie for it sheer elegance as Jon Favreau has tried not to use the CGI but the actual robots, aliens. There are very minimal green screens used in the movie which would make you aww in the end wondering how much effort the special effects team has put in the movie.

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