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Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.

97
4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days
83
Alexandra
43
Anamorph
35
Babysitters, The
32
Backseat
80
Band's Visit, The
62
Battle for Haditha
47
Bella
63
Blind Mountain
71
Blindsight
47
Boarding Gate
63
Body of War
58
Bra Boys
70
Caramel
54
Cashback
44
Chaos Theory
32
Chapter 27
69
Chicago 10
82
Chop Shop
46
CJ7
78
Counterfeiters, The
30
Cover
48
Dark Matter
35
Deal
61
Dhamma Brothers, The
92
Diving Bell and the Butterfly, The
74
Duchess of Langeais, The
20
Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed
58
Fall, The
43
Favor, The
58
First Saturday in May, The
57
Flawless
87
Flight of the Red Balloon, The
xx
From Within
44
Frontier(s)
58
Fugitive Pieces
41
Funny Games
66
George A. Romero's Diary of the Dead
61
Girls Rock!
55
Glass: A Portrait of Philip in Twelve Parts
57
Grand, The
58
Hats Off
68
Honeydripper
xx
Jack and Jill vs. the World
67
Jellyfish
xx
Kiss the Bride
37
Life Before Her Eyes, The
72
Life of Reilly, The
50
Look
65
Married Life
35
Meet Bill
63
Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day
52
Mister Lonely
52
My Blueberry Nights
71
My Brother Is an Only Child
49
Noise
60
OSS 117: Cairo - Nest of Spies
83
Paranoid Park
55
Pathology
48
Penelope
90
Persepolis
62
Planet B-Boy
xx
Plumm Summer, A
67
Praying with Lior
44
Previous Engagement, A
72
Priceless
17
Prom Night
69
Redbelt
72
Roman de gare
48
Run, Fat Boy, Run
85
Savages, The
24
Sex and Death 101
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Shelter
75
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Sleepwalking
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Snow Angels
62
Son of Rambow
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Standard Operating Procedure
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Stuff and Dough
64
Surfwise
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Tashan
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Taxi to the Dark Side
57
Teeth
56
Then She Found Me
55
Tracey Fragments, The
56
Turn the River
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Tuya's Marriage
83
U2 3D
59
Under the Same Moon
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Unforeseen, The
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Unsettled
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Up the Yangtze
55
Vice
79
Visitor, The
64
Water Lilies
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Where in the World Is Osama Bin Laden?
57
Without the King
74
Witnesses, The
63
XXY
67
Year My Parents Went on Vacation, The
75
Young@Heart
45
Zombie Strippers
97
4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days
92
Diving Bell and the Butterfly, The
91
Up the Yangtze
90
Persepolis
87
Flight of the Red Balloon, The
85
Savages, The
83
Paranoid Park
83
Alexandra
83
U2 3D
82
Chop Shop
82
Taxi to the Dark Side
80
Band's Visit, The
79
Visitor, The
78
Counterfeiters, The
76
Unforeseen, The
76
Stuff and Dough
75
Young@Heart
75
Shotgun Stories
74
Witnesses, The
74
Duchess of Langeais, The
72
Roman de gare
72
Priceless
72
Tuya's Marriage
72
Life of Reilly, The
71
My Brother Is an Only Child
71
Blindsight
71
Standard Operating Procedure
70
Caramel
69
Redbelt
69
Chicago 10
68
Honeydripper
67
Snow Angels
67
Praying with Lior
67
Jellyfish
67
Year My Parents Went on Vacation, The
66
George A. Romero's Diary of the Dead
66
Shelter
65
Married Life
64
Surfwise
64
Water Lilies
63
XXY
63
Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day
63
Body of War
63
Blind Mountain
62
Planet B-Boy
62
Son of Rambow
62
Battle for Haditha
61
Dhamma Brothers, The
61
Girls Rock!
60
OSS 117: Cairo - Nest of Spies
59
Under the Same Moon
58
First Saturday in May, The
58
Fall, The
58
Fugitive Pieces
58
Hats Off
58
Bra Boys
57
Flawless
57
Teeth
57
Without the King
57
Grand, The
56
Turn the River
56
Then She Found Me
55
Vice
55
Tracey Fragments, The
55
Pathology
55
Glass: A Portrait of Philip in Twelve Parts
54
Cashback
52
Mister Lonely
52
My Blueberry Nights
50
Look
49
Noise
48
Run, Fat Boy, Run
48
Dark Matter
48
Penelope
47
Bella
47
Boarding Gate
46
CJ7
45
Where in the World Is Osama Bin Laden?
45
Zombie Strippers
44
Frontier(s)
44
Chaos Theory
44
Previous Engagement, A
43
Anamorph
43
Favor, The
41
Funny Games
40
Sleepwalking
37
Life Before Her Eyes, The
35
Meet Bill
35
Babysitters, The
35
Deal
32
Backseat
32
Chapter 27
30
Cover
24
Sex and Death 101
20
Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed
17
Prom Night
xx
Tashan
xx
Unsettled
xx
Plumm Summer, A
xx
Kiss the Bride
xx
Jack and Jill vs. the World
xx
From Within
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
|
Spiderwick Chronicles, The
Paramount Pictures
 |
|
FILM:
MPAA RATING: PG for scary creature action and violence, peril and some thematic elements
Starring
Freddie Highmore,
Mary-Louise Parker,
Nick Nolte,
Joan Plowright,
David Strathairn,
Seth Rogen,
and
Martin Short
From the beloved best-selling series of books comes The Spiderwick Chronicles, a fantasy adventure for the child in all of us. Peculiar things start to happen the moment the Grace family (Jared, his twin brother Simon, his sister Mallory, and their mom) leaves New York and moves into the secluded old house owned by their great, great uncle Arthur Spiderwick. Unable to explain the strange disappearances and accidents that seem to be happening on a daily basis, the family blames Jared. When he, Simon, and Mallory investigate what's really going on, they uncover the fantastic truth of the Spiderwick estate, as well as the creatures that inhabit it. (Paramount Picture)
| GENRE(S): |
Adventure
|
Drama
|
Family/Kids
|
Fantasy
|
| WRITTEN BY: |
John Sayles
|
| DIRECTED BY: |
Mark Waters
|
| RELEASE DATE: |
Theatrical: February 14, 2008
|
| RUNNING TIME: |
97 minutes, Color |
| ORIGIN: |
USA |

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
91
Christian Science Monitor
Peter Rainer
Director Mark Waters does a fine job meshing the fantastical with the quotidian.

88
Chicago Sun-Times
Roger Ebert
A well-crafted family thriller that is truly scary and doesn't wimp out.

75
Philadelphia Inquirer
Carrie Rickey
The film underscores the power of reading, and applying what we read to problem-solving. The story suggests that we don't really see the natural world around us, and if we did our lives, like Jared's and his siblings', would be immeasurably richer.

75
ReelViews
James Berardinelli
Not great fantasy, but it's on more solid ground than "The Golden Compass" and will seem less baffling to some. There's enough here to keep adults engaged, which is an important component of any motion picture that wants to be known as "family entertainment."

75
Chicago Tribune
Tasha Robinson
A fast-moving adventure with more than dynamic glitz to recommend it.

75
San Francisco Chronicle
David Wiegand
A mostly superb cast, superior special effects, a sparkling musical score and a fantasy-filled plot .

75
Miami Herald
Rene Rodriguez
The movie is funny and scary and touching in all the ways the best children's pictures are, but it is also fast and compact, running a perfectly paced 93 minutes (including credits).

70
Time
Richard Corliss
A decent entertainment -- not up there with the "Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings" sagas, but a notch above "The Golden Compass" and "Narnia."

70
Chicago Reader
Andrea Gronvall
Meticulously rendered CGI creatures--from Arthur Rackham-esque flower sprites to a troll that could have sprung from "Jurassic Park"--spike this dark adventure, shot marvelously by Caleb Deschanel.

70
Wall Street Journal
Joe Morgenstern
The children's real world, or what passes for real in a fantasy, could hardly be more inviting, for reasons that are hardly mysterious: the strong performances, under Mark Waters's accomplished direction; the smart, bright language, much of it taken from the books; the stylish cinematography, by Caleb Deschanel.

70
Village Voice
Ella Taylor
The movie's richly autumnal look is by swift turns cozily naturalistic and terrifyingly baroque, and director Mark Waters (Freaky Friday, Mean Girls) sustains the balance between real and surreal with mischievous brio.

70
The Hollywood Reporter
Michael Rechtshaffen
An enjoyable adventure fantasy that pushes all the requisite buttons while still managing to throw in a pleasant surprise or two.

70
Variety
Justin Chang
A work of both modest enchantment and enchanting modesty, grounded in a classically Spielbergian realm where childlike wonderment crosses paths with the tough realities of young adulthood.

70
Los Angeles Times
Carina Chocano
Suffers slightly from that not-so-fresh feeling.

67
Entertainment Weekly
Lisa Schwarzbaum
Spiderwick is set in the present, but goes for an overall design look of dainty, cozy, William Morris-y arts-andcraftiness.

67
Austin Chronicle
Steve Davis
Starts off promisingly by empathetically depicting the fear and anger children feel when their parents separate, but ultimately its human emotions are dominated by goblins, trolls, and other CGI-generated creatures running amok on the screen.

67
The Onion (A.V. Club)
Keith Phipps
Anyone looking for handsomely presented, kid-friendly thrills need look no further.

63
Premiere
Karl Rozemeyer
Perhaps Highmore could have tried a little harder to make us doubt for a moment that, once again, Good will inevitably overcome Evil.

63
Boston Globe
Ty Burr
It's a good movie for its type, but it rarely stops to let us marvel at the world it creates.

63
New York Daily News
Elizabeth Weitzman
A world designed for children, and most of the grownups involved don't quite understand it - on or offscreen.

63
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
Liam Lacey
Unlike Guillermo del Toro's "Pan's Labyrinth," which was also inspired by Rackham, The Spiderwick Chronicles is more whimsical than scary.

63
USA Today
Claudia Puig
We're supposed to be agog at the fantastical creatures and dazzling special effects. But the more wrenching story of disillusioned children nags in the background, distracting from any enchantment.

60
Film Threat
Matthew Sorrento
Once “Spiderwick” gets to the fantasy, the story gets going.

60
Empire
Sam Toy
A late entry in a crowded field, Spiderwick works hard to set itself apart from the competition, and almost entirely succeeds - no mean feat these days.

58
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Sean Axmaker
Maybe it's fantasy fatigue, but for all the pretty effects and breathless chases and goblin war battles, the sense of wonder and magic is lost in the shuffle.

50
TV Guide
Maitland McDonagh
The obvious product of a corporate search for the next great fantasy franchise, this adaptation of the first in a series of popular children's books by the writer-illustrator team of Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi is a lump of leaden whimsy.

50
New York Magazine
David Edelstein
Spiderwick. There’s nothing wrong with it that passion and personality couldn’t fix.

50
New York Post
Kyle Smith
Overrun with malicious goblins, a vengeance-minded pig, a fast-moving troll and a giant horned ogre, but the true source of terror is scarier than all of these combined: New York real estate prices.

50
Washington Post
Ann Hornaday
For the uninitiated? Man, it's a bummer.

40
The New York Times
A.O. Scott
Instead of the kind of inspired imaginative synergy that distinguished the “Lord of the Rings” and later “Harry Potter” pictures, this movie, directed by Mark Waters (“Mean Girls”), feels more like a sloppy, secondhand pander.


The average user rating for this movie is 6.5 (out of 10) based on 26 User Votes
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