“Matilda” isn’t all that bad. Sure, it has bad moments but it also has some good ones. Based on the Roald Dahl book of the same name, “Matilda” is a mediocre children’s film that had the potential to be a good one.

In “Matilda”, we meet Matilda (Mara Wilson “A Simple Wish”, “Mrs. Doubtfire”), who has been adopted by the Wormwood family. When Matilda attends school she finds life at two extremes. Her teacher named Miss Honey (Embeth Davidtz “Schindler’s List”, “Army Of Darkness”) is very kind and caring but her headteacher named Trunchbull (Pam Ferris) is absolutely brutal. Matilda discovers she has secret telekinetic powers and she intends to use them to rid her school of the evil Trunchbull.

Mara Wilson gives a less than appealing performance as Matilda. I haven’t enjoyed any of her performances really and I can see past that smirk of innocence she brings to the screen. Apart from being all adorable, she is just a bland actress. The Trunchbull character is overdone. I’m sure she was in the book but it doesn’t translate well into live-action or film in general. Danny DeVito (“Twins”) is good as Mr. Wormwood.

“Matilda” is alright but as soon as you see Truncbull throwing little kids out of her school for miles and miles you question why any parent would send their child to school. Don’t the parents of these children wonder where their child is when it doesn’t turn up from school? Also, it’s just ridiculous to believe that anyone could do that in the real world. It might work in the book but the way the movie presents it just does not work for me. I’ll buy into the bit with special powers but that’s it. Watch the original 70s “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” or the 80s cartoon version of the “BFG” if you want to see Roald Dahl’s work done justice.