Seventh Son

Okaaaayyyy...Here we're fighting evil spirits. If you are the seventh son of a seventh son, that makes you the local spook. It is up to you to run off evil spirits, witches and other pesky threats to the local populace. Problem is, you can't stop time and you are getting old and weary. So far, you haven't been able to find an apprentice who can survive long enough to do the job. Who will take over?

This PG-13 movie, directed by Sergei Bodrov, combines the usual grotesque monsters, dragons and witches with a sweet romance between two attractive (and NICE!) young people.  What a welcome change of pace. Of course the bar keeps going up as more and more disgusting monsters come roaring off the 3D screen, but at least we have someone to root for.

We see:

• Ben Barnes ("Prince Caspian") is Tom Ward, sold by his parents to the spook... who is NOT impressed! Our hero learns a LOT, but much of it he would rather not know. He wishes he were a sixth son!
• Jeff Bridges ("True Grit" - 2010) is Master Gregory, the ageing spook who can't seem to keep his apprentices alive long enough to learn their trade.
• Julianne Moore ("The Hunger Games") is Mother Malkin, a witch who escapes from safekeeping and is out for revenge (shocker!),
• Alicia Vikander ("Anna Karenina") plays Alice, the sweet niece of that nasty Mother Malkin. Alice is a failed witch and Tom is a failed spook: at least they have SOMETHING in common!
• Djimon Hounsou ("Guardians of the Galaxy") Radu is Mother Malkin's go-to guy when it comes to beating the living daylights out of her enemies.

As someone who lived on a farm as a child, I always shake my head when I see how ignorant filmmakers are about what I consider basics, e.g., they have our hero strewing corn on the ground in the pigpen. That's how you feed chickens, not pigs! Aarghhh.

Is it a spoiler to say there is a happy ending?

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Here is a sample:
http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi1803464473
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