What a great concept, a magical toy store. Couple that with an excellent performance by Dustin Hoffman. Unfortunately the positives stop there.<br /><br />This film was horrible written. Conflicts are introduced, plod along and then are never resolved. I'm not talking about leaving something hanging to open the door for a sequel. Several plot lines were just dropped cold. It's as if the writer saw the stacks of pages and said "Wow, I've to wrap this up now".<br /><br />The magical toy shop has so much potential but never shines. It could be a character in the story but is just an extra in the background.<br /><br />Portman's character is supposed to conflicted, even coming-of-age but just comes off as whiny. Her worst performance to date.<br /><br />Bateman's character adds little to the story yet receives major screen time. Just as he's being framed as the man who learns to play again, the film ends, unresolved. Did the character learn anything? Has he changed? Or is he just humoring Mills's character? Who knows? And no, this isn't a film where conclusions are left to the audience. It's a bridge built 3/4 across a river than just stops. My nomination for this year's Razzie.