Review of Four Kids and It

I rented this movie off a preview I seen. I wasn't expecting much cause it looked like your run of the mill, straight to video family movie. What caught me though was the acting talents - Matthew Goode, Michael Caine, Russell Brand, etc. With this kind of talent it could have easily been a January release. I don't know the source material it's based on so I went into this without any preconceived ideas. The movie itself is okay, more mediocre then anything. The kids find this creature who can make wishes. The thing is , the wishes are uninspiring and dull. Aside from the talent, the best thing was Russell Brand's villain. It gave you enough crazy you were drawn in. Some of the negatives about this movie - well for starters I found it way longer than needed not only for a family film, but a straight release. At two hours of meh magic - it dragged. There was some questionable content like a gun Brands character has that obviously is used for suicide, or a part where the kids are in a helicopter and there is a mini bar at their leisure. The absolute worst part for me, was the girl Smash. Every scene she was in was just cringe. You felt no sympathy for her or wanted to like her. She was a rude, spoiled brat the whole movie and it was way over the top.