The Witches (2020)

Set in 1968, a young orphan (Jahzir Kadeem Bruno) is sent to live with his grandmother (Octavia Spencer) after his parents are killed in an auto crash. When they go to a luxury seaside hotel, the boy discovers that a convention of witches is at the hotel and they have plans to turn the world's children into mice. Based on the novel by Roald Dahl and directed by Robert Zemeckis (ROMANCING THE STONE), who also produced along with Alfonso Cuaron and Guillermo Del Toro. As a director, Zemeckis is a mixed bag but fortunately he's in DEATH BECOMES HER mode here rather than FORREST GUMP. Dahl's novel was previously made in 1990 by Nicholas Roeg and this version was savaged by the critics for being inferior to the Roeg movie. Frankly, I quite enjoyed it. The film is more disturbing for children than the family friendly 1990 film. For example, the entire witch convention sequence is way too scary for the young ones but for adults, it's quite amusing. Anne Hathaway as the Grand High Witch seems to be having a ball and it's infectious. Unlike the Roeg film, the movie is CGI heavy and while the special effects are often impressive, it's perhaps overused. Even Hathaway's black cat is a CGI concoction. With Chris Rock, Stanley Tucci, Kristen Chenoweth and Morgana Robinson.