Vashirdfel Simply A Masterpiece

SpuffyWeb Sadly Over-hyped

Micitype Pretty Good

Marva It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

classicsoncall I didn't know anything about this movie going in, I simply picked the DVD off a library shelf to watch with my granddaughter, she wanted something themed for Halloween and it seemed to complement a couple Scooby Do adventures positioned close by. Personally, I like fantasy stories myself, and this one turned out to be fairly creative and unique. It had it's share of unusual goblin-like creatures and had I not seen the film I would never have known that a brownie turns into a boggart when it's angry. That business with the seeing-eye ring was a clever device, and whoever came up with this stuff in the first place was pretty imaginative. The only thing that seemed a bit of a letdown after all the buildup was how easily Hogsqueal managed to defeat the Mugarath simply by eating him. I would have expected more of a battle. All in all though, a nicely paced, colorful story about a family that finds closure over the Mom's failed marriage, although I don't think anyone on the writing staff considered the home repair bill they'd be faced with following the closing credits.

barbagvido I read all the books when I was 12 and I loved them and really looked forward to watching a movie. Back then, I was disappointed because it didn't stick to the plot of the books, but when I got a little older, I reread the series (Lucinda's Secret, that used to be my least favorite book and now is my favorite) and rewatched the movie and I liked it much more. The books are really short so they put it all in one movie and most of the plot happens in one day, while in the books it's about a month. Goblins look a little bit fake at times, but CGI is still pretty good. Acting is really good, and Freddie Highmore is a really talented young actor and he also plays two roles in this movie, but he does it so well, it actually seems like two actors. His characters are twins, but their personalities are different and Highmore absolutely nails it! As an adaptation, it feels really rushed and a lot of things were changed. The Field Guide was probably the most faithful part and still didn't have a half of that book's plot. There was the beginning of The Seeing Stone, first half of Lucinda's Secret, none of The Iron Tree, and the ending of Mulgarath's Wrath and the rest is made up and most if it is squeezed in one day so it feels kinda rushed. This is a movie for kids, but still pretty serious and dramatic in some parts because it has that subplot about divorcing and how that affects the children and that part was very well done. If they gave this movie more space to breathe, it would be awesome, but this way it's still really good.

johnnyboyz The Spiderwick Chronicles is the film for kids who weren't quite old enough to see Pan's Labyrinth and are far too young to be able to remember Jumanji. To say that it falls in between the two films in terms of overall grade is not saying much, as many films done such a thing, but while this doesn't have the mature, sweeping majesty of del Toro's master work, it actually dares to be a bit more than the somewhat episodic demonstration of spooky special effects and meek character arcs that made up Joe Johnston's 1995 action/horror concept movie. In short, the film is actually rather enjoyable and I was surprised as to how it eventually congealed into this pretty decent adventure piece about magical worlds and differing, fictional creatures with their own set of characteristics and agendas all coming to interact with one another and our own world. There is a fun giddiness to proceedings, and while it doesn't quite crack the emotional marks of great magnitude for which it aims, there is a decent, solid adventure film in there with a genuine sense of terror and danger apparent.The film is about three child siblings who become mixed up in a plot to take over the world, a plot instigated by small, evil little creatures who're led by one rather large evil creature. This character is the film's strong antagonist, a shape-shifting ogre named Mulgarath, played by Nick Nolte – Nolte appears to be channeling David Bowie from 1986's "Labyrinth", although the beast itself looks a little too much like a de-masked Predator to be anything truly original or frightening. The children are Mallory, Simon and Jared Grace -with Sarah Bolger playing the eldest in Mallory and Freddie Highmore doubling up in playing both of her younger brothers. The deadly, threatening means by which these creatures think they're going to do this, however, is through that of......a book, and it is inside of their new home that this book is located. Their new home is actually a rather old one, one of those large; spooky looking houses from centuries ago which comes complete with a lone, circular window on its top storey. Around it lies woodland, and there is nary another soul for miles. Preceding this family of four moving in (not forgetting their mother, Helen!) was an odd scientist whose interests and experiments on animals and insects eighty years ago doubled up as the early findings on all that'll follow.So far, so Jumanji: the fatherless family unit with a young son, who does not speak; of whom are at logger-heads with one another in a social sense, thus need a lesson in teamwork, but of whom are then traversed off onto a scary adventure wherein they find an item in the attic (not a board game this time, a book) that carries with it the ability to induce the sort of horrors and impending doom only a special effects house could. It is some general messing around on a generally slow day that brings about the evils of this Macguffin, namely: invisible goblins who, in spite of their ability, mostly decide to hide in the long grass anyway. They are invisible, of course, so that the grown-ups won't be able to see them, while the film tries to eke out as much tension as possible from the initial exchanges by having the one sibling no one will believe/entrust, in Jared, initially stumble upon it. Poor Jared tries to tell his older sister about the threat of the impending doom and how he's started to see mythical creatures who have appeared from nowhere and started talking to him. Needless to say, it won't wash and it reminds us of the positive writings on a Japanese animation from the 1980s entitled "My Neighbour Totoro", when that particular film was praised for its subversion of such a limp tactic: its own infant characters found magical beasts only to rush and tell their parent, who actually believed them anyway and the film played out from there.When everyone is eventually in on it, the film gets some energy going and actually breaks out into a fairly involving; fairly gripping chase/adventure piece which has them dart all around the local town on top of a couple of other places few have ever before treaded. There is an amusing stop to the local psychiatric hospital, where their great aunt Lucinda (Plowright) is housed out of her stumbling upon similar plots and creatures when she was a kid. Back then, there wasn't anyone around to believe her, thus she ended up where she is but the whole episode reminded me of what befell Sarah Connor in the second Terminator film: a desperate attempt to inform everyone of a shocking reality, but no one around to actually chip in. Thus, it's off to the cells. One can only guess what her equivalent to the line: "Anybody not wearing two million sun-block is going to have a really bad day, get it!?" was when trying to get across to her doctors that the end is nigh.There's enough in The Spiderwick Chronicles to like; this alternate idea that magical worlds full of unreal things are dangerous and could cost you your life as opposed to being these fun, fluffy places wherein you'd quite like to lose yourself (alá the early Harry Potter films, et al.) is refreshing. Its core themes of team work and trust are as apparent here as they are in the Narnia films or anywhere else, while its imagery towards the end of the strong family unit working together as one blooded component to defend one's home is striking in a world of gay adoption and such. In spite of its lack of originality, the film is exciting and fleetingly quite frightening – a film those of a younger disposition will no doubt enjoy more than others, but that's not to say it is impossible to enjoy whatever your age.

Gavin Cresswell (gavin-thelordofthefu-48-460297) I was actually fond of my liking with the Spiderwick Chronicles books. Although, not as compelling as the HP series, TCON series, and TLOTR trilogy, they were entertaining and enjoyable little novels. So, after seeing that Hollywood turned all five of those novels into this feature length film, I was very impressed at how visually interesting this movie was. There are two problems that I do have with this film.The film focused too heavily on the special effects that didn't tone up the pacing and since it was based on all five books (though it did quite capture the darker tone of the books), the story elements from book 4 and book 5 were absent in equivalent to cinema quality although it was faithful to the first three books and the climax of the fifth book.With that said, this is a dark and enjoyable family film. The concept about a boy who finds a book made by an old man naked Arthur Spiderwick was so amazing it keeps the drama at its proper level during the solid action sequences throughout this flick. The acting is great. The voice actors for Thimbletack, Hogsqueal, and the evil ogre Mulgarath including Martin Short, Seth Rogen, and Nick Nolte were fabulous and the human actors including Mary Louise Parker, Sarah Bolger, David Strathairm and Joan Plowright did amazing, but I think Freddie Highmore steals the show for portraying both Jared and Simon Grace beautifully because he sure has some talent from the other films he starred from. Finding Neverland, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, August Rush, The Golden Compass, you name it. I even liked the wonderful music score from the brilliant James Horner that has a surprising mix of drama, suspense, and emotion.Although, not on par with other fantasy flicks like Harry Potter, Narnia, and Lord of the Rings, The Spiderwick Chronicles is an enjoyable action family movie from Paramount Pictures. A solid thumbs up from me.