A Scientist at the Movies Reviews by Greg Paris

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Reviews from Video Reviews of the Classics Personal Background

Title: The Spiderwick Chronicles

Date Viewed: 2/17/08

Details:

Freddie Highmore (Jared & Simon Grace)

Mary-Louise Parker (Helen Grace)

Sarah Bolger (Mallory Grace)

Joan Plowright (Aunt Lucinda)

David Strathairn (Arthur Spiderwick)

Voice talent: Nick Nolte (Mulgarath)

Seth Rogen (Hogsqueal)

Martin Short (Thimbletack)

Director: Mark Waters

Score: 1/2

The Review: As usual, the kids are right; a little unusually, the adults actually led the way in the previous generation.

From the children's books by DiTerlizzi & Black, this contemporary fantasy has all the canonical puzzle pieces: a creepy old, abandoned mansion; a hidden attic room with even creepier contents; a hidden manuscript with both fascinating and evil portent; an estranged parent running away to the country, with her kids in tow; grumpy kids unhappy with being jerked out of their familiar milieu. In other words, normal family life, with a façade of strangeness that slowly percolates to the surface, eventually becoming dominant. The strangeness has to do with brownies and boggarts, goblins and hobgoblins -- along with how the house has been protected from (or by) them, and why. Oh, and living flowers -- yes, of course, flowers are living, but I mean alive! in the Mel Brooks Frankenstein sense.

World-building? Not necessary, as it's our world, more or less as we see it (depending on who's spit in your eye). Critter-building, on the other hand? Yes, lots of them; I really liked the griffin. Altogether these represent good SFX, but not particularly scary -- it is merely PG rated. But I did notice in the lobby, midway during one showing, a mother with a pair of children in tow, the latter obviously distressed, so there must be a lesson here somewhere.

(22-Feb-08)

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