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Spiderwick Chronicles, TheA very good adaptation of the popular series of books by Tony DiTerllizi and Holly Black, The Spiderwick Chronicles is one of the few family films in recent years to seamlessly integrate magical elements with a potent drama that will strike a chord with many kids.
An exceptionally talented Freddie Highmore (Charlie & the Chocolate Factory) plays twin brothers Jared and Simon Grace, caught up in their parents' divorce and coping with a decision by their mother (Mary-Louise Parker) to uproot the boys and their sister, Mallory (Sarah Bolger) from New York City to a small town. There, the broken family moves into a spooky old mansion passed on to them by the kids' great-aunt, Lucinda (Joan Plowright), who is spending her twilight years in managed care and whose scientist father, Arthur Spiderwick (David Strathairn), disappeared some 80 years ago. Jared, angry, defiant, and determined to live with the father who seems to have abandoned him, investigates strange happenings and discovers Arthur's secret notations on fairies, ogres, and other mythical creatures that live both in and outside the house. Having no idea where his curiosity is leading, Jared soon finds that he and his family are under siege from goblins and a powerful ogre (Nick Nolte) who wants Arthur's notebook. Suddenly, the boy who is a lightning rod for a troubled family becomes a resourceful warrior intent on saving his loved ones from powerful forces. The Spiderwick Chronicles benefits enormously from a script (partially written by John Sayles) that treats, quite seriously, the emotional pain of its human characters and makes Jared's will to survive the very real engine of an otherwise fantastic story. It helps, too, that director Mark Waters, who brings a warm and knowing touch to outlandish material (Freaky Friday), has a way of making the spectacular elements of The Spiderwick Chronicles genuine enough to stir real excitement and suspense. This is one of the better film adaptations of best-selling fiction for kids in some years. --Tom Keogh ... Read More » |
| Average User Rating: 60% | |
| 4 / 5 | Great fun...and no spiders !
tallpete33 (London, UK) - 3 April 2008 I took my 12 year old daughter to see this at the cinema recently and we both really enjoyed it. It centres on a mother and her three children who relocate from New York to their great aunt's house in a wood (far far away) following the marriage break-up. Family issues are soon forgotten when the inquisitve Jared discovers Arthur Spiderwick's Field Guide to the enchanted woods and it's fabulous inhabitants - fairies, trolls, goblins and of course the evil ogre Mulgarth. He will stop at nothing to get hold of Spiderwick's writings and the knowledge and power it would give him. Will Mulgarth and his goblin (look more like toads to me) army break the magic ring around the house to get at the family and the Field Guide ...?? This is a 21st century tale, not Disney schmaltzy, pretty original and generally good fun for the whole family, though I think the PG rating is pretty fair as young kids could get scared. It has some real laugh out loud moments, good characters (the Shrek-like pig grates a bit, but he has his moment at the end) flawless CGI and a well paced story to keep everyone entertained. It's not as epic as say the Chronicles of Narnia or the Golden Compass, but this is not a bad thing as they can be a bit "worthy" and heavy. This is more fun and worked for us. Happy endings all round and four stars from us, well deserved ... Read Full Review » |
| 5 / 5 | Superb Swiderwick!
K. Holland "underworld" (uk) - 19 April 2008 Swiderwick is a brilliant film full of fantasy and fiction. It's about a family, who move to a mysterious old house and the boy named Jarred finds a book called The Spiderwick Chronicles filled with all sorts of charms and information on all sorts of magical creautures. The evil oger is trying to get hold of the book so he can kill everyone. Will Jarred and his family be able to stop him? Only you can find out when you watch Spiderwick! By an 11 year old girl... Read Full Review » |
| 4 / 5 | A Heart Pounding Family Fantasy Adventure
Mark Baker (Santa Clarita, CA United States) - 27 June 2008 The Grace family is moving from New York to the family estate in the middle of nowhere. It is no one's first choice, but newly single mom Helen (Mary-Louise Parker) has a job in the area. And it allows them a chance to move into the Spiderwick mansion. Helen is related to the Spiderwicks. In fact, she has inherited the mansion, so it cuts down on costs. Of her three kids, daughter Mallory (Sarah Bolger) and son Simon (Freddie Highmore) are okay with the change. Simon's twin Jared (also Freddie Highmore) is not. He can't wait for his dad to come and get him out of there. The house is creepy, and right away things start to go missing. Jared hears a noise in the wall that leads to the discovery of a dumb waiter and a hidden room. Exploring further, Jared finds an old book with a warning on the cover. Ignoring the warning, Jared opens the book and starts to read. It's only after reading the book that Jared realizes what he's done. See, the book contains the secrets of all the creatures that are in the world around us that we can't see, like fairies, goblins, and ogres. And one ogre in particular, Mulgarath (voiced by Nick Nolte), wants that book so he can destroy everything. Now Jared, Simon, and Mallory are in the fight of their lives to find a way to defeat Mulgarath and stay alive. Can they do it? This movie is an adrenaline fueled ride. It is creepy and intriguing from the first few seconds and builds from there. I was on the edge of my seat by the end. While I absolutely loved it, it might frighten young kids. I would seriously question whether anyone under 8 or so would enjoy it. Of course, you know your own kids best, so judge accordingly. While a fast paced thrill ride, the story still hangs together. A couple things got glossed over in the ending, but they were minor. The acting is great as well, especially from Sarah Bolger and Freddie Highmore who carry the film since they are in every scene. Freddie makes both his characters different. I expect we'll be seeing lots more from him in the future. The special effects could have been a little better. I don't know whether they were going for stylized or what, but they aren't up to the level we are used to seeing these days. And it just goes to show how spoiled we are because they are certainly adequate. They just aren't the blow your socks off stuff we normally see these days. If this movie won't scare your kids, see it. Heck, see it even if you don't have kids. This is an entertaining fantasy thrill ride that anyone old enough will love.... Read Full Review » |
| 4 / 5 | better than Potter?
Yashkoo "hey hey!" (manchester in the sunshine) - 4 April 2008 I have just seen this at the cinema and absolutely loved it. It is great fun, scary (nothing worse than a good gripping episode of Dr Who), funny and full of imagination. I can only hope the DVD comes bursting at the seams with extras. It's better than Potter. |
| 1 / 5 | god this film sucks
Guy "guy1992" (ENGLAND!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WOOOOO) - 13 July 2008 i saw a few adverts for this and it looked quite good so i went to go and see it with my family. i was hoping it to be epically like the first Narnia film but it really wasn't! the acting in it was awful and they had annoying little characters which made the whole thing worse. finally it ended with a cheesy scene which i could nearly say word for word the first time i saw it! /> Awful film... Read Full Review » |
£20.00
14 July 2008
£6.99 - £14.99