Harold and the Purple Crayon, the new film, isn’t terribly impressive or imaginative as its title character. But it is a harmless story that will delight young children, and its the rare title that would make for a great first visit to the movies.

There are dozens of modern children’s films that are cheap, crass and annoying. Harold’s best quality is that despite its simplicity, the story and its presentation is wholesome and appropriately exciting for its target market.

Inspired by the now 70-year-old picture book series of the same name by Crockett Johnson, this (mostly) live interpretation of the book series a now adult Harold (Zachary Levi) jump out of the picture books and into the real world in a quest to find the author and meet the man who first drew him.

This doesn’t follow any specific plot from any of Johnson’s barely plotted books, but it is an interesting premise for a G-rated, 80-minute, big screen adventure. It also provides some morality and wisdom to justify a sufficient enough story to justify Harold’s leap into reality.

Cute and cuddly is the best way to describe Harold’s antics with his friends and new child he’s inspiring named Mel (a warm debut from Benjamin Bottani). The danger is never really dangerous, but the effects (and especially the crayon drawing!) are passable for a movie of this scale.

This film is the live action debut of former Blue Sky Animation director Carlos Saldanha, and his whimsy makes Harold a suitable project. He’s best known for the Rio franchise and 2017’s career high Ferdinand. A highlight here is the film’s hand-drawn animated prologue, where Saldanha’s animation experience gets to shine.

Much of the supporting cast delivers its weird, magic crayon premise with gusto, with sometimes surprisingly funny turns from Lil Rel Howery and Jermaine Clement. The scene stealer, however, is English theatre vet Tanya Reynolds as Porcupine, who’s fully committed, sweet, honest and hilarious across every scene she’s in.

Adults should be warned while Harold is warm, forgettable fun for those aged 4-10, the plot is shamelessly predictable and obvious. It’s still far more palatable than other recent family films, such as the recent Despicable Me 4.

I really enjoyed hearing the giggles and seeing the wide-eyed wonder of a Kindergarten aged audience member seated near me watching Harold and the Purple Crayon. That optimistic imagination is exactly the spirit to see the movie with, even if there’s nothing else on the page.

Harold and the Purple Crayon

5 out of 10

Rated G, 1hr 30mins. Family Fantasy Comedy.

Directed by Carlos Saldanha.

Starring Zachary Levi, Zooey Deschanel, Benjamin Bottani, Lil Rel Howery, Tanya Reynolds and Jermaine Clement.

Trap was a solid tension based movie that kept you guessing right up until the end. Josh Hartnett did an outstanding job with his role. He would bounce from the perfect father figure to a scheming serial killer called, The Butcher. This role needed a strong actor to portray the many different personalities that were tightly wound around each other.

M. Night Shyamalan is hands down my favorite director in the industry. I love how his movies always make you pay attention. You just know there is going to be something you get wrong and by the end of the movie you figure out you were totally wrong about everything. He’s really good at that. With Trap though, it wasn’t as secretive to me as, let’s say, The 6th Sense. If you don’t go in thinking that it will be a total mind bender, you’ll enjoy it more. I don’t think you’ll over think this one. It’s still very good, just not quite as good as his other movies.

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This would be a great date night movie. It’ll give you something to talk about and dissect over a nice dinner. Enjoy!

Grade: B

About The Peetimes: There are 2 great Peetimes to choose from. The 1st Peetime is longer in case you need more time.

There are extra scenes during, or after, the end credits of Trap.

Plot
A father and his teen daughter attend a pop concert only to realize they’ve entered the center of a dark and sinister event.

Anne Hathaway and Jessica Chastain

It is 1960 in America and an impossibly young John F. Kennedy is campaigning for president. Alice (Jessica Chastain) and Celine (Anne Hathaway) are neighbours and best friends. Their husbands, Simon (Anders Danielsen Lie) and Damian (Josh Charles), are doing well at work and their young sons, Theo (Eamon O’Connell) and Max (Baylen D. Bielitz), are friends too, in and out of each other’s houses.

The film opens with Alice throwing a surprise party for Celine. There are discussions of how Kennedy is too young to be running for president and during cocktails, when Simon makes a joke of the Kennedys expecting on the campaign trail, there is awkwardness as Celine and Damian have had difficulties conceiving.

We learn that Alice was a star reporter at the local newspaper and though Simon does not wish it, Alice is chaffing to go back to work. Like all Stepford scenarios, all is not well in this suburban Eden. Alice is shown to be anxious about Theo, who she hovers over constantly. Celine is the more fun mum entering into the spirit of the boys’ games. Theo’s Granny Jean (Caroline Lagerfelt) with her magic tricks is a great favourite of the boys.

A tragedy drives the friends apart as jealousy, grief and paranoia colour all interactions. There are unreliable narrators galore and skewed perspectives where anyone can be victim or perpetrator. Each tearful rapprochement could be taken at face value or could be the first step to further machinations.

Based on Barbara Abel’s 2012 novel and Olivier Masset-Depasse’s multiple award-winning Belgian-French film Duelles (2018), Mothers’ Instinct is beautiful looking. Masset-Depasse was to direct the English version but left the production making way for cinematographer Benoît Delhomme’s directorial debut, which explains the lovely-looking, golden-lit frames. Chastain and Hathaway look smashing in their ‘60s pencil skirts, blouses in pastel colours, bows and cigarette trousers, perfectly accessorised with high heels, purses and gloves.

As Alice and Celine, Chastain and Hathaway run the gamut of emotions from love, grief and guilt to rage, suspicion and fear. There is a reference to the habit of consigning the so-called ‘problem women’ to metaphoric attics. The actors’ fine work is not backed by the script that skitters this way and that like a frightened mouse in an overlarge sand pit.

The abrupt shifts in tone keeps the viewer off-kilter till it does not in the third act which quickly devolves into some kind of ‘80s Hindi movie melodrama — one almost expects the women to call each other chudail or dayaan while clawing each other’s eyes out and tearing out the immaculately coiffed hair. On second thoughts, that would have been rather enjoyable. You can spend time with Mothers’ Instinct wondering about the placement of the apostrophe and marvel at the fabulous clothes adorning these beautiful actors who are at the top of their game.

Mothers’ Instinct is currently running in theatres