The Spiderwick Chronicles thread
 

Usually these kinds of movies don't interest me, but this one looks appealing for some reason. Anyone seen it yet? The reviews are positive so far.

I watched a pre-screening of it last week and I would say it was just ok. It was much shorter than I expected but worth watching once. The dialogue was a bit rough in parts but the special effects were solid.

I like Freddie Highmore. I'll definitely be checking this out soon.

Once again, the music will be my "in" regarding seeing the movie.
Some people see a movie because of a director, some because of a writer, or an actor, so this is no different.

^^^ The music is pretty magical.

I saw "The Spiderwick Chronicles" this afternoon, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It's pretty straightforward, but it's done well. The kids really aren't more annoying than if they were really going through stuff that normally happens in broken homes. It's nothing too original (especially the broken family subplot), but I think it's a fun time as you're watching it.

The CGI is good, not great (I didn't see it at the IMAX), but other than that I couldn't point out any noticable flaws. The characters were simple but strong (as you'd expect from a "kids movie"). I especially liked the bird-crazy Hogsqueal. I was surprised how emotionally involved I got near the end. Usually it's done by-the-numbers, but David Strathairn and Joan Plowright are wonderful as Arthur and Lucinda Spiderwick.

If you don't like the kids-books-to-screen trend, I don't think you'll like it much, but if you do I think you'll enjoy it.

I liked it a lot, but it was shorter and lighter than I was expecting... not that I want a lot of substance in my kids movies, but I thought they could have fleshed out the world and themes a bit better but it was entertaining and fun enough to recommend.

I was thinking of seeing this but didn't know if it was a "kids" movie or not. The previews actually look a little frightening for kids.

I'll see anything that Milfweed is in :drool:

Saw this and it wasn't bad. I wasn't a fan of Narnia at all, and I liked Golden Compass (just a bit). This was decent but it started to drag near the end. A few minutes could've been excised. Pretty good overall.

Does anyone know if this is all 5 books adapted into the movie, or just 1?

It's supposed to be all of them condensed into this one film, instead of the usual franchise setup. One film, no sequel. I'm going to try and see it tomorrow.

Thanks, we enjoyed it and was hoping for a sequel.

hmm, i might aswell check this one out. it seems worthy of a view

Took the wife and kids to see this yesterday. We enjoyed it. My son really liked it.

Wow, that would piss me off if I was a fan of the books. However, I had never heard of them and I thought it kind of worked.

good movie, wish there was a sequel. never heard of the books.

Saw the movie in I-MAX with my girlfriend and one of our friends over the weekend.

I have to say I really enjoyed it. I agree with others that said the dialogue was pretty shotty at times, but the movie was fun to watch.

I really enjoyed all the CG effects and the movie was pretty intense for being a "kids" movie.

Mulgarath was pretty awesome and I thought it was pretty funny when

I was shocked at the end when I saw that the twin boys were both played by Freddy Highmore. I just assumed they were real twins, or at least real brothers who were close in age. I can usually spot FX a mile away, but I didn't notice any greenscreen shots or telltale signs that any trickery was going on. Kudos to the FX team!

And kudos to Highmore as well, for so convincingly playing 2 people.

I could hear Martin Short's voice in Thimbletack, but I would never in a million years have guessed that Hogsqueal was voiced by Seth Rogen.

Wow. I did not know that.

I found it jevenile and too simplistic for me. I recommend it for kids only.

Took my 6 year old son to see it last night. he liked it very much. I thought it was OK. Not great, not bad. If this was 5 books condensed into one movie, then they could probably have stretched it out a little bit longer I guess. But I guess for a kid movie they had to keep it short.