The Spiderwick Chronicles (DVD)

Having just divorced her husband, Helen Grace, played by Mary-Louise Parker, leaves the bustling city of New York for good and takes her three children to the old family home: the Spiderwick Estate, a run-down old building in New England that holds the secret to a whole new, strange magical realm. Freddie Highmore plays the twins Jared and Simon, who, along with their sister Mallory, played by Sarah Bolger, discover long-since departed Arthur Spiderwick's field notes, a book containing all there is to know about a fantastical world of strange creatures and magical spells. At the heart of this realm is the evil Mulgareth, played by Nick Nolte, an ...  Read the complete review

I am very skeptical when it comes to fantasy films, moreover kids fantasy films: so often they are just cliched and without any imagination of their own, instead adhering to the laundry list of cliches we've seen used in the genre so many times before: the odd CGI creature, the sage old man, some sort of trinket, and a young girl that needs rescuing. While The Spiderwick Chronicles isn't HUGELY original, it is a mild breath of a fresh air in a frankly overstuffed genre, and is entertaining enough that adults won't be too bored when watching it with their kids. The film revoles around Mrs. Grace (Mary-Louise Parker), a recent divorcee who moves into the ...  Read the complete review

***Spiderwick Chronicles (2008) ***What is it all about?*** This film is on Sky Anytime currently and we watched this on Good Friday, as I thought it would be a good family film. I had seen the series of books (The Spiderwick Chronicles) in Waterstones and so knew it was a children's fantasy type film. The film starts off with a scene with Arthur Spiderwick carefully compiling his work into his book (or chronicle). The film then quickly fast forwards 80 years to a young family of mum, daughter and twin sons (both played by Freddie Highmore) coming to live in an imposing old house in the country. Helen Grace (the mum) has taken her ...  Read the complete review

Director: Mark Waters Screenplay: Karey Kirkpatrick & David Berenbaum Genre: Adventure - Family - Fantasy Country: USA Certification: PG Language: English Released: 14th July, 2008 (DVD) MAIN CAST: Freddie Highmore (Jared & Simon Grace) Sarah Bolger (Mallory Grace) Mary-Louise Parker (Helen Grace) Andrew McCarthy (Richard Grace) Joan Plowright (Aunt Lucinda Spiderwick) David Strathairn (Arthur Spiderwick) Nick Nolte (Mulgarath) After a particularly bad divorce, Helen Grace takes her children to live in the dilapidated old house that she has just inherited. ...  Read the complete review

Where have all the good times gone? Some of you may remember the good times they spent as a child running through fields and playing chase in the park. Not me. My idea of a good time as a child was on my ZX Spectrum or watching a great fantasy film - a genre the 80s excelled at. 'Labyrinth', 'Time Bandits', 'The Princess Bride', and 'Willow' are just four fantasy films from my youth which filled me with wonderment. Now it seems all fantasy has to have grisly Orks and giant battles to be fun. I prefer it to be family friendly and imagination sparking. Could 'The Spiderwick Chronicles' help me recapture these good times? The Grace family are moving to the ...  Read the complete review