Joe's Review: The Spiderwick Chronicles

Hey all, this is the first of two movies that I saw this weekend, and I'll be sure to put up a review of that one soon. Just want this one to sit on top for a day or two. I saw Spiderwick Chronicles on Wednesday night... that's right, before the rest of America! Muahaha, the benefits of being a theatre manager! Anyway, I thought this was an excellent movie.

The Spiderwick Chronicles is based on a series of books written by Tony DeTerlizzi and Holly Black. After seeing this movie, I think I'm going to head out and buy the books at some point. The books and movie explore the stories of the Grace family, who have recently moved into their Great-Aunt's house. After they move in, Jared, one of the Grace Twins, discovers the work of Arthur Spiderwick, The Spiderwick Chronicles. After reading the book, strange things begin to happen, and Jared finds out that he has unleashed a fantastic world on to the family, filled with magic and magical creatures.

Unfortunately, these are not friendly creatures by any means. They want the book, containing all of the secrets of their world, and they want to use it for their own good. Mulgarath, their leader, is especially interested in it, and will do anything he can to get the book. As Jared and his family discover more of the secrets of this world they have unleashed, they realize that they must go back to the source to find out what to do with the book, and stop these creatures from taking over.

This movie has some great moments. I love how the creatures can't be seen by anyone until they are spit on by Hogsqeal, who is voiced by the excellent Seth Rogan. It's pretty funny to watch some of the people do battle against creatures they can't see! I also enjoyed the firey Thimbletack, who takes it upon himself to protect the book with all of his tiny being.

Overall, I'd give this movie a 7 out of 10. While it is a movie aimed more towards kids, I wouldn't necessarily say that it is a kid's movie, and it can be enjoyable to anyone who is looking for a decent fantasy movie. I should also point out that you should pick a theatre that you know has excellent surround sound for this film, I enjoyed it that much more because of the excellent sound system in the auditorium in which I saw it!

That's all for now... if you've seen it, what do you think?