Posted in movie reviews
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My last movie review was received with a fairly decent response, and some even asked me to continue with them. I always aim to please and will now be attending as many movies that Big D will allow (don't hold your breath....it probably won't be all that many). You asked for it!
Synopsis (with no spoilers...I promise): The Grace family, including the newly single mom played by Mary-Louise Parker (who many may remember from Fried Green Tomatoes), sister Mallory, and twin brothers Jared and Simon, who are both played by the talented Freddie Highmore, are forced to move to their great aunt's abandoned and creepy Spiderwick Estate in order to save money. Family relations are rocky, mostly centering on Jared, who is angry at their father for abandoning them for "someone else." Things look grim as they are stuck in the middle of nowhere, with not much to do except fight with one another, until Jared happens upon an old journal of his great, great uncle's, The Spiderwick Chronicles, which bears a warning not to open and read it or face the severe consequences. Jared, of course, does what any 14 or so rebellious, angst-ridden young person would do: he breaks the seal and unleashes the fury of all fairydom on him and his family. I, for one, am thankful he did it, or it would have been a very short movie. Why I went to see it: Well, I think the interest started when our family saw the preview before Christmas when we went to see National Treasure 2. My kids, in particular, love any movie in the fantasy genre, so had been waiting for this movie's release anxiously. Also, Annaleigh listened to these books on tape a couple of years ago and enjoyed them. Finally, we have a smallish sort of building project going on in our house, and the downstairs has been a wreck for about 2 weeks now. Big D's helper was going to be in and out all afternoon, so it seemed like a good idea to get the kids out of the house for a while. Finally, Annaleigh, who has more spending money than I do these days, offered to buy our tickets. So off we went! Why you MIGHT want to see it: It really was a highly entertaining movie. I don't always enjoy the kid movies that I see with my children, but this one kept me interested, mostly with the action, as the plot wasn't all that deep. It was clean, with a PG rating for scary creature action and violence, peril and some thematic elements (although I think I also remember one mild curse word and a few "Oh my God"s). The acting was good, if not a bit over-shadowed by all of the CGI effects. Freddie Highmore, who brought me to tears with his performance in Finding Neverland a few years ago, does a good job of playing the twin brothers, whose personalities are as different as night and day. I also liked the brownie character, voiced by Martin Short. The CGI effects are amazing. One can easily forget that the trolls, fairies and griffins don't really exist. For this reason, this is a good one to see on the big screen. Finally, while it takes a while to get there, I think this movie has a positive family message. Why you MIGHT NOT want to see it: Obviously, if you usually avoid films with magic, scary creatures, etc., then this is not for you, as the plot revolves around all of that. While it is not nearly as scary as the above poster makes it seem (the fanged creatures that are pictured are actually chubby knee-high trolls that wouldn't give most kids over six nightmares), there are some intense scenes of the kids being chased by monster-like things. The ogre, who is the chief bad dude, IS scary, but he has very little screen time. I think I jumped in my seat about three different times, although I did not scream out, as I have been known to do on occasion. A highly sensitive or very young child would not do well in this movie. The siblings in the beginning are disrespectful to one another and to their mom (although this gets worked out in the end). Don't go see this movie if you are one who is bothered by the "why factor." Some plot details are just never explained fully and just really don't make a lot of sense. I'm okay with this, since I sometimes don't make a lot of sense either. Will you die if you don't see this movie?: No , but your kids might think they will. They won't though. I promise. If you have heart problems, you might die if you DO see it, since, like I said, there are some intense moments and some seat-jumpers. A good substitute: Oh, really, any good fantasy flick will do. Chronicles of Narnia comes to mind (and the next in the series, Prince Caspian is being released mid-May). Please remember I am not a professional movie-reviewer. So go easy on me if you don't agree with me, or if you decide to see this and then your thirteen old has to sleep with you for a week. Okay? Okay! |
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