the oh-no! DVD of the week: ‘Matty Hanson & The Invisibility Ray’

If there was a Syfy for Kids, this is the kind of crap that would be airing on Saturday evenings:

12-year old genius Matty Hanson works on top secret science projects at a major university research lab. When Matty discovers a formula for invisibility, he and his friend Alice find themselves on the run from government agents and corporate bad guys who want the invisibility ray to use as a military weapon. Now it's up to Matty to protect his invention, help a girl in distress and solve a criminal conspiracy that unravels the mystery of what happened to his missing father.

I think my most favorite thing about this flick is that is takes not one single chance, it seems. And reinforcing stereotypes that are so ingrained they really don’t need the favor? Oh yeah: Boys are geniuses. Girls need rescuing. Lots of fun lessons to learn!

But I suppose if the North American film ecology does not encourage even slightly adventurous films for grownups, it’s certainly not going to make kids’ movies that are in the least bit challenging or original.