So let’s credit John Krasinski for not taking the easy way out. Writing and directing his new kid’s movie, “IF,” Krasinski is doing his darndest to craft a story that works organically no matter the age, with universal themes — imagination, fear, memory — that just hit different depending on who you are.

Or maybe sometimes, they hit the same — because Krasinski, who wanted to make a movie his kids could watch , is also telling us that sometimes, we adults are more connected to our childhood minds than we think. A brief late scene that actually doesn’t include children at all is one of the most moving moments of the film – but I guess I would say that, being an adult and all.

There’s only one conundrum: “IF,” a story about imaginary friends that blends live action with digital creatures and some wonderful visual effects , has almost too many riches at its disposal. And we’re not even talking about the Who’s Who of Hollywood figures voicing whimsical creatures: Steve Carell, Matt Damon, Bradley Cooper, Jon Stewart, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Maya Rudolph, Emily Blunt, Sam Rockwell, and the late Louis Gosset Jr. are just a few who join live stars Ryan Reynolds and Cailey Fleming. Imagining a table read makes the head spin.

The issue is simply that with all the artistic resources and refreshing ideas here, there’s a fuzziness to the storytelling itself. Just who is actually doing what and why they’re doing it — what are the actual mechanics of this half-human, half-digital world? — occasionally gets lost in the razzle-dazzle.

But, still, everything looks so darned lovely, starting with the pretty, brownstone-lined streets of Brooklyn Heights in New York City, where our story is chiefly set. We begin in flashback, with happy scenes of main character Bea as a little girl, playing with her funloving parents . But soon we’re sensing Mom may be sick — she’s wearing telltale headscarves and hats — and it becomes clear what’s happening.

Bea is 12 when she arrives with a suitcase at her grandmother’s Brooklyn apartment, filled with her old paint sets and toys. Grandma offers the art supplies, but Bea tells her: “I don’t really do that anymore.”

She says something similar to her father, visiting him in the hospital He tells Bea he’s not sick, just broken, and needs to be fixed. Hoping to keep her sense of fun alive, he jokes around, but she says sternly: “Life doesn’t always have to be fun.”

And then the creatures start appearing, visible only to Bea.

We first meet a huge roly-poly bundle of purple fur called “Blue” Yes, we said he was purple. The kid who named him was color-blind. These, we soon understand, are IFs —imaginary friends — who’ve been cut loose, no longer needed. There’s also a graceful butterfly called Blossom who resembles Betty Boop . A winsome unicorn . A smooth-voiced elderly teddy bear We’ll meet many more.

Supervising all of them is Cal An ornery type, at least to begin with, he’s feeling rather overworked, trying to find new kids for these IFs. But now that Bea has found Cal living atop her grandmother’s apartment building, she’s the chosen helper.

The pair — Reynolds and the sweetly serious Fleming have a winning chemistry — head to Coney Island on the subway, where Cal shows Bea the IF “retirement home.” This is, hands down, the most delightful part of the movie. Filmed at an actual former retirement residence, the scene has the look down pat: generic wall-to-wall carpeting, activity rooms for CG-creature group therapy sessions, the nail salon. And then the nonagenarian teddy bear gives Bea a key bit of advice: all she need do is use her imagination to transform the place. And she does, introducing everything from a spiffy new floor to a swimming pool with Esther Williams-style dancers to a rock concert with Tina Turner.

The movie moves on to Bea’s matchmaking efforts. A tough nut to crack is Benjamin , an adorable boy in the hospital who favors screens and seems to have trouble charging his own imagination .

There are segments here that feel like they go on far too long, particularly when Bea, Cal and Blue track down Blue’s now-adult “kid” , now nervously preparing for a professional presentation.

Still, the idea that adults could still make use of their old “IFs” at difficult times — and, to broaden the thought, summon their dormant sense of whimsy, as a closing scene captures nicely — is a worthwhile one. And by movie’s end, one can imagine more than one adult in the multiplex running home, checking under the bed, hoping to find a trusted old friend.

“IF,” a Paramount release, has been rated PG by the Motion Picture Association “for thematic elements and mild language.” Running time: 104 minutes. Two and a half stars out of four.

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NEW YORK (OSV News) – What’s on the cards for viewers of the horror flick “Tarot” (Screen Gems)? As it turns out, not much. While the bloodletting on display in this inept production is relatively restrained, the characters are cardboard and the mythos explaining their bedevilment lame.

To celebrate a friend’s birthday, a group of college students have rented a house at which they drink the night away. Belatedly discovering that they’re out of liquor, they scour the dwelling for alcohol. In lieu of booze, they discover a wooden box containing a pack of tarot cards and, for a lark, decide to have a group reading.

This is facilitated by the fact that one of their number, Haley (Harriet Slater), is well versed in such matters. What slender strands of a background story are on offer concern the untimely death of Haley’s mother, her resulting conviction that fate is inescapable and her recent breakup with her boyfriend, Grant (Adain Bradley).

Returning to campus, the amigos gradually discover that their dabbling in divination has left them cursed. Each is haunted by the predominant figure in the hand he or she was dealt, and nasty (though mostly unseen) deaths ensue.

Among those thus targeted is good-time-Charlie Paxton (Jacob Batalon), a disheveled slacker whose skewed outlook on life is intended to provide comic relief. Third-act elucidations of the ensemble’s predicament are provided by white-haired witchy woman Alma (Olwen Fouéré).

Such is the sum and substance of co-writers and directors Spenser Cohen and Anna Halberg’s screen version of Nicholas Adams’ 1992 novel “Horoscope.” It’s an eminently forgettable experience that, while unlikely to frighten or offend grown moviegoers, will probably leave them longing for a reshuffle.

The film contains occult themes, several gory images, a fleeting reference to drug use, a couple of profanities, frequent milder oaths, at least one rough term and much crude language. The OSV News classification is A-III — adults. The Motion Picture Association rating is PG-13 — parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.

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“You will be punished for your guilt”

The movie begins with a black screener, while what seems to be a newscaster is reporting a work-related accident that led to the death of two workers. It turns out that the sound is coming from the car radio of a man who is parked in an area where he is looking for a specific house he was asked for by a wealthy lady, along with another man, his assistant, Seong-tae. The area is in Daegu, within a forest and includes houses of traditional style. The two discuss various matters, from whether the boss, Yong-bae, is sick and the assistant’s knack for buying lottery tickets, when their employer appears.

She carries with her a jar sealed with what seem to be scrolls and eventually begins something that looks like an intense ritual. The weather suddenly changes, her eyes turn white, and upon the ending of the ritual, a boy appears, which the woman immediately orders to go to work. The boy opens a door which the lady states is the Door to Heaven and then disappears. She then asks from Yong-bae to go inside and check if there is white light there, offering him a huge amount of money. Yong-bae send his money-loving assistant in, for half the money. While Seong-tae is there, the woman reveals what this thing is all about. Eventually, something seems to go wrong.

Although not exactly clear, it seems there is a parallel between what is being said in the intro and what happens later with Kim Gyu-tae, which results in a comment about how the rich and higher ups exploit the workers and the poor, with promises about money, not caring whether they live or die essentially. That the higher up the chain the worse people are and vice versa is also highlighted. The concept of the title also seems to have some significance here, as the rich are portrayed to look for things like eternal life and the poor for a way to be comfortable when they grow old, with money here being what connects the two, although in opposite terms: the poor are constantly in search for it and the rich exploit the fact by offering it to achieve their goals.

This aspect, however, is very difficult to realize, particularly since the nature of the movie moves more towards a supernatural horror film than a social drama, and the comment and the metaphor that communicates it, are barely visible. On the other hand, as a genre movie, “Heaven’s Door” works quite well, creating an atmosphere of disorientation that gradually turns into terror, in the most entertaining fashion. To achieve that, the cinematography by Jang Eun-woo, the editing by Kim Gyu-tae himself and An Ho-sung’s sound come together in the most impressive way, communicating the horror and the dramatic direness of what is happening quite impactfully.

Also of note here is the acting by Song Ah-gyoung, who plays the femme fatale with gusto, emitting a sense of mystery, danger, and a tad of sensualism from every movement.

Kim Gyu-tae has some interesting ideas, like using genre filmmaking to make social comments, while he evidently knows how to create a captivating atmosphere. At the same time, however, the 28 minutes of the short are definitely not enough for his ambitious purpose, with the first past getting almost completely lost. Hopefully, if he gets the opportunity to shoot a feature in the future, he will be able to achieve his goal in much better fashion, as he seems to have the knack for it.