Dad (Matthew Goode) might have used his surprise holiday as an excuse to reconcile with Mom. Instead, his son Ross (Teddie Malleson-Allen) is greeted at the lake house by her replacement parent (Paula Patton) and his surrogate siblings Maudie (Ellie-Mae Siame) and the smashingly appointed Smash (Ashley Aufderheide). Forced to coexist, the kids initially bond, not out of friendship, but rather out of fear of what’s furrowing underground. The tunneling effect that introduced the magical sand creature called Psammead looked promising — and any character voiced by Michael Caine, even this threadbare imitation of a Lorax, is worth a listen — as did his strict miracle-per-day limit to granting wishes. But clueless parenting and a badly miscast bad guy (Russell Brand) contribute to the film’s ultimate downfall. Still, Caine and the kids have their fun — as when the Psammead is first introduced to the concept of carpeting. Andy De Emmony directs this adaptation of E. Nesbit’s 1902 children’s novel, farts and all. (2020) — Scott Marks
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