the younger you are, the more charming the movie is

這部戲裡的四個主人公，有兩個是在演話劇，Zach Mills as 艾瑞克, the hat collector, and Dustin Hoffman as Mr. Edward Magorium; 有兩個是在演電影， Natalie Portman as Molly Mahoney， and Jason Bateman as Henry Weston, the Mutant. 演話劇的感動了小朋友們以及我，演電影的感動了影評人。表演的最大亮點是前面一老一少的精湛演技。而Portman在最後並沒有從她的神態中使我感受到「you have to believe in order to see」, 而Bateman從夢中醒來時的表演也不夠到位。演員不能全情投入到這兩個角色中，也許是因為這兩個角色本身的矛盾立場。從起初的不相信，要到瞬間的相信，Portman面部僵硬的笑容說明了一切。色彩鮮艷，堪比Charlie and the Chocolate Factory； 但個人認為Molly Mahoney和Henry Weston的選角是兩大敗筆。
劇本平平。最大的亮點在Mr. Edward Magorium關於死亡的台詞： [to Molly, about dying] When King Lear dies in Act V, do you know what Shakespeare has written? He's written "He dies." That's all, nothing more. No fanfare, no metaphor, no brilliant final words. The culmination of the most influential work of dramatic literature is "He dies." It takes Shakespeare, a genius, to come up with "He dies." And yet every time I read those two words, I find myself overwhelmed with dysphoria. And I know it's only natural to be sad, but not because of the words "He dies." but because of the life we saw prior to the words.
如果要解釋「死亡」的意義給小朋友聽，也許這會是部最佳影片。不然的話，也就是這樣了吧。