Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium

Watch Trailer

"Mahoney, the laws of gravity have begun to apply." Anything goes in Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium, a magical toy store where the toys come alive - and it usually does. Run by the 243-year-old Magorium (Hoffmann) for the last 113 years, Magorium creates consternations when he decides to 'depart', leaving everything to assistant Molly Mahoney (Portman). Can the store survive without him? An old Disney movie with a modern zing, Mr. Magorium's... is Charlie And The Chocolate Factory meets Night At The Museum in a bath of candyfloss - but unfortunately it's not as exciting as that sounds. Kids might gush, swoon and cheer at all the colours, lights and flying things that crowd Helm's shots, but they might soon tire of the plotless happenings. Helm's last outing - he penned Stranger Than Fiction - was a quirky journey into character, romance, literature and tax. Helm, at the (ahem) helm for the first time here, throws everything into the visuals but it's at the expense of a decent story. Decent? Any story would have done. If this is a showcase of what Helm can do behind the camera then full marks, but he needs to get back to the nuts-and-bolts of filmmaking - and that's story.