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 The Spiderwick Chronicles 

What grade would you give this film?
A 40%  40%  [ 4 ]
B 50%  50%  [ 5 ]
C 0%  0%  [ 0 ]
D 10%  10%  [ 1 ]
F 0%  0%  [ 0 ]
Total votes : 10

 The Spiderwick Chronicles 
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Post The Spiderwick Chronicles
The Spiderwick Chronicles

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The Spiderwick Chronicles is a 2008 fantasy film adaptation of Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi's bestselling series of the same name. Set in the Spiderwick Estate in New England, United States, it follows the adventures of Jared Grace and his family as they discover a field guide to faeries, battle goblins, mole trolls and other magical creatures. It was directed by Mark Waters and stars Freddie Highmore, Sarah Bolger, Mary-Louise Parker, Martin Short, Nick Nolte, and Seth Rogen. Produced by Nickelodeon Movies and distributed by Paramount Pictures, it was released on February 15, 2008. The film was released on DVD and Blu-ray on June 24, 2008 in the United States.

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Thu Feb 14, 2008 3:22 pm
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Post Re: The Spiderwick Chronicles
The Spiderwick Chronicles is great. You could argue it is the best Fantasy Themed film since LOTR and Potter. I liked it more than Bridge To Terabithia. And I'm not sure if I liked it more than Lemony Snickets yet or not. I'll be seeing Spiderwick again, so I'll decide then. Freddie Highmore has become one of my favorite kid/teen actors from Finding Neverland to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and he's great in Spiderwick playing Jared and Simon, twins. Jared is aggressive and has a quick temper, while Simon is passive and gentle. And he does a great job playing both roles. The visuals are very nice, and the 100M Budget was well worth it. The humor is quite good, laughed a few times, and certainly above your average attempt at humor. Hogsquel (sp?), who I believe was voiced by the Knocked Up guy, is the main humor tool, and very good at it. The film should also be pretty scary for little kids. The final confrontation with Malguroth (sp? I killed his name) especially. Pretty sure the few kids up in front of me were more than a little nervous. I don't have any complaints really. Except that I don't really remember the score at all. Not that it wasn't good or anything, because if it wasn't good I would have noticed. I'm guessing it's because it either blends in well with the sound and the film, or I wasn't really listening to the score. But yeah, it's a great movie that I'll be seeing again. A-

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Thu Feb 14, 2008 10:42 pm
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Post Re: The Spiderwick Chronicles
Well, if you liked it, I imagine I probably will, too. :thumbsup:

I'm hoping I get to see it SOON because I've been a good girl and held off on watching the Indy Jones trailer online. For once, I'd like to see an anticipated trailer on the big screen first.

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Fri Feb 15, 2008 4:07 pm
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Post Re: The Spiderwick Chronicles
tina_als_girl wrote:
Well, if you liked it, I imagine I probably will, too. :thumbsup:

I'm hoping I get to see it SOON because I've been a good girl and held off on watching the Indy Jones trailer online. For once, I'd like to see an anticipated trailer on the big screen first.

Joy


I forgot all about the Indiana Jones trailer being attached to this, and I still didn't know what trailer I was watching until they show him picking up his hat. I liked the trailer, it just didn't blow me away.

As for Spiderwick, I'm sure you'll like it. I'll probably see it again MON.

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“Gods are great ... but the heart is greater. For it is from our hearts they come, and to our hearts they shall return.”
“We were like gods at the dawning of the world, & our joy was so bright we could see nothing else but the other.”
“There are three things all wise men fear: the sea in storm, a night with no moon, and the anger of a gentle man.”
“You have to pretend you get an endgame. You have to carry on like you will; otherwise, you can't carry on at all.”
"Paper is dead without words / Ink idle without a poem / All the world dead without stories."


Fri Feb 15, 2008 10:41 pm
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Post Re: The Spiderwick Chronicles
-on par with Bridge to Terabithia
-Freddie Highmore was great
-the visuals were good, but the creatures were really ugly so it didn't come across that way
-Seth Rogen voicing the Squeelog or whatever it was made me laugh so hard
-the ending was really good
-did they need David Strathairn for his role?

B+

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Sun Feb 17, 2008 4:13 am
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Post Re: The Spiderwick Chronicles
Saw it, loved it. Grade: A

Joy

PS: David Strathairn is strangely attractive...


Mon Feb 18, 2008 7:57 pm
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Post Re: The Spiderwick Chronicles
tina_als_girl wrote:
Saw it, loved it. Grade: A

Joy

PS: David Strathairn is strangely attractive...



:pinch: Well, better than some old men I guess. :P

I saw it again tonight, liked it the same. Only gripe remains with the score, which I still don't recall anything about it, other than near the end when it sorta sounds like one of the scores from Casper.

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Japan Box Office

“Gods are great ... but the heart is greater. For it is from our hearts they come, and to our hearts they shall return.”
“We were like gods at the dawning of the world, & our joy was so bright we could see nothing else but the other.”
“There are three things all wise men fear: the sea in storm, a night with no moon, and the anger of a gentle man.”
“You have to pretend you get an endgame. You have to carry on like you will; otherwise, you can't carry on at all.”
"Paper is dead without words / Ink idle without a poem / All the world dead without stories."


Tue Feb 19, 2008 3:38 am
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Post Re: The Spiderwick Chronicles
A very enchanting movie - - at least the first half was!

Unfortunately, I became disenchanted at about the one hour mark of this over-complex telling of a modern classic storyline. Yup, they kept piling it on, until the whole thing collapsed under it's own weight. And it's a damn cryin' shame too, cause it held such promise in it's set-up and then crushed it with it's clumsy hamhanded finish. Bwah!!!

Solid acting, except surprisingly for two veteran cast members - - Freddie Highmore - yow! - how'd he forget to act so quick? ...and Mary-Louise Parker - well she's just plain scary these days. But on the other hand - - Sarah Bolger- - Yee-haw!!! - - I can't wait to see more of her, perhaps in Les Passages... And the rest of the supporting cast was sterling - - Joan Plowright, David Strathairn, Martin Short, Nick Nolte - - geez, even Andrew McCarthy, who is blessedly dispatched quickly in his brief appearance...

2 out of 5.


Wed Feb 20, 2008 1:02 am
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Post Re: The Spiderwick Chronicles
A delightful film and much better than most fantasy films that are released these days. This one has more excitement and heart than both The Golden Compass and Narnia combined. It's exciting, surprisingly scary and quite thrilling - moving at a rapid pace all the way to a satisfying and touching finale. Freddie Highmore delivers once again after a weak showing in August Rush, Mary-Louise Parker and Joan Plowright wonderful and Sarah Bolger delivers a strong breakthrough performance. The visuals are remarkable and the direction is great. Highly recommended! B+


Thu Feb 21, 2008 1:25 am
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Post Re: The Spiderwick Chronicles
I unexpectedly went to see The Spiderwick Chronicles for a second time, and found my opinion of it greatly improved on this follow-up viewing - - though my opinion on the decline of Freddie Highmore's acting ability went even further down... what happened to him since Finding Neverland? Anyways despite his poor performance, I will raise my grade on this movie to:

4 out 5.


Sat Feb 23, 2008 6:39 am
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Post Re: The Spiderwick Chronicles
Highmore's performances have been declining, especially since his Oscar-worthy turn in Neverland. I still enjoyed him here though - it was better than his one-note and annoying performance in August Rush.


Sat Feb 23, 2008 2:30 pm
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Post Re: The Spiderwick Chronicles
A-

Wonderful story.

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Fri Mar 07, 2008 7:56 pm
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Post Re: The Spiderwick Chronicles
8/10 -> B

I like the movie a lot. The only part I didn't like was Freddie Highmore - he was very unbelievable in his two-part role. Actually he wasn't believable as Jared, but he kinda managed to be believable as not-Jared.

Also the plot felt like it was just bare bones essential to bring to story from start to finish. But it still manages to be fantastical and magical.

Fantasy started good this year. With Narnia and HP on the horizon it seems to be a good year for it.


Tue Mar 25, 2008 4:39 am
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Post Re: The Spiderwick Chronicles
one of the ebst movies of the year! I loved it, the acting, the story, the FX... it was all as near perfect as you can get. better then potter, narnia but still not reaching the hights of LOTR... if you like fantasy, this is almost as good as it gets.

A/A+


Sat Mar 29, 2008 11:42 am
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B+


This was one nice fairy tale of the kind we're not getting often enough these days (at least not as good). You know what movie it reminded me of a lot? Jumanji which I love. The Spiderwick Chronciles is about on par with Bridge to Terabithia to me, though both are actually quite different films.

It takes its time until the story gets started and I thought that the death of the main bad guy was just too easy and a cop-out, However, I loved the film's visual style and its inventiveness. You could just feel the magic in it. It was also certainly better than The Golden Compass and the first couple of Potter flicks. Mark Waters goes on to prove that he's one of the most underrated working directors at the moment. I loved most of his recent films (Freaky Friday, Just like Heaven and now this...Mean Girls is solid too, though I'm not as crazy over it as some others here are).

The Spiderwick Chronciles is just a nice fun fairy tale without a pretense to be much more. Great entertainment. I wish it were a bit longer and didn't feel as rushed, though.

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Sun Apr 27, 2008 9:01 pm
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Post Re: The Spiderwick Chronicles
B

I thought it was ok, but not as strong as Terebithia. Freddie Highmore is probably one of the most annoying child actors in history.


Tue Jun 17, 2008 9:28 am
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