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Don't Believe the Hype

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

I really liked this movie from beginning to end. Although the special effects were good they did not have to make up for any flaws in this film. The story could be interesting to both kids and children, and has a good theme about how to move on in life when things change and how to deal with stress in the family,so maybe a good one for the holidays. There are some fight scenes but nothing too gruesome and very good role models and characters in both male and female characters. I just loved this movie and now need to read the books. I felt though some parts were really interesting and could have been developed more, sometimes the movie just moves along to quickly almost seeming to leave loose ends. Also more scenes with just the fantasy characters not interacting with the human characters. But this story was really heart warming and entertaining and reminded me of favorite children's books of my childhood.

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.

The Spiderwick Chronicles is a family adventure but although an adaptation of a series of books it lacks the wonder of the Harry Potter films but is a decent solid adventure in its own right.A newly divorced mother Helen Grace (Mary-Louise Parker) moves with her children Mallory (Sarah Bolger) and twins Jared and Simon (Freddie Highmore) into an haunted old house in upstate New York that was once owned by her great uncle, a naturalist Arthur Spiderwick (David Strathairn) who vanished and his now elderly daughter ended up in an asylum.Jared discovers a book written by Spiderwick that has a warning which is ignored. The book is a field guide explaining that the estate is inhabited by various mystical creatures such as goblins and fairies.The evil Lord Mulgrath wants to destroy the book but the house has various protection including creatures that protect the book from falling into the wrong hands. The Grace kids embark on a magical and dangerous adventure.The film is economical and set at a brisk pace but it is no more than middling despite some indie sensibilities the film has such as John Sayles as one of the screenwriters.

An extremely well done and entertaining movie. When her husband dumps the family, mom and the three kids move back to daddy's old home. Aunt Lucinda, daddy's sister has been taken to a booby hatch because she sees fairy's so the house appears abandoned. Surprise! There is a brownie (Thimbletack) living in the house. He is there to protect a book written by Arthur Spiderwick before he disappeared many years ago. In this book Spiderwick has identified the unseen world. This book is sought by the king nasty fey Mulgarath. Nick Nolte has what is basically a cameo playing Mulgarath as an old man (he does the voice as well). He looks almost as bad here as in his mug shots. The CGI in this film is some of the best I have seen. When Thimbletack gets angry he transforms into another creature, the transformation is done seamlessly to my eye. He is brought back when given honey. The other excellent transformations are when Mulgarath shape shifts at different points in the movie. The fight scene between the sister and the unseen goblins is so well done. One of the twin brothers can see them using a special ring and calls out their positions to his sister using clock times. I can recommend this movie for the entire family it is just well done, funny, and serious.