Cheap Cds - The Spiderwick Chronicles [2008]

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Spotlight customer reviews:
Customer Rating:

Summary: Absolute rubbish!
Comment: Went to see this at the cinema as it was the only film playing and I have never felt so cheated for
four quid. It is quite possibly the worst film ever made and it annoys me so much that millions are
spent on these types of films when half of the budget for this load of hogwash could have made
something brilliant like Little Miss Sunshine or Juno.

The main actor tries to hold
the film together but is let down by a terrible cast and the thousands of tacky, unoriginal effects
that are thrown in, not to mention the poor script that has been written.

I maybe
criticised for being older than the recommended age this is aimed at but if you're a parent thinking
of buying this for your child save yourself the money and buy him or her an awesome kids film like
Disney Pixar's 'Ratatouille' or one of the Harry Potter's or if you are desperate to find something
similar then Jumanji is what I can think of that won't rob you blindly. Seriously don't buy this
because you'll end up being the poor person who has to sit down with your child and watch this trash
over and over again.

I don't understand why it has been highly rated, no doubt it is
parents who have shoved it in the DVD player and it's kept the kids quiet for an hour or two. Don't
buy it, it's TERRIBLE!

Customer Rating:

Summary: Spiderwick Chronicles DVD
Comment: Both my son and I are big fans of the Spiderwick books, my son loves the stories and I'm a big fan
of Tony Diterlizzi the illustrator. So we were so excited about the tales and pictures being brought
to life in film format. Well, we weren't disappointed! Obviously some artistic licence has been used
but it doesn't detract from the main storyline. The effects are great, Freddie is great playing both
twins, and Lucinda's flower sprites are lovely! A little bit of nastiness though, we're dealing with
goblins after all! hence the PG rating, but if you liked a bit of fantasy in your childhood you'll
probably like this.

Customer Rating:

Summary: A magical and enchanting fantasy adventure.
Comment: I rented this on DVD from my local library, and watching it, it occurred to me that I shouldn't have
dismissed it as a 'kid's' film and should've gone to see it when it came out at the cinema. />
Acting: Well, I'm glad to say, from my point of view the acting's so much better than some
wooden performances I've seen in these type of fantasy films. Highmore again handles playing twins
very effectively, and he shows emotion really well. Bolger, who plays his older sister Mallory is
natural and thankfully not OTT. The Mum's believable as is Strathairn - Arthur Spiderwick himself.
There's a touching performance from Plowright as well.

Pacing: I've never read the
books, but I have heard that they changed aspects of it, like the children's ages and Hogsqueal's
comic relief I didn't feel was that funny. It's a fast-paced; entertaining film, that's easy to
follow without prior knowledge from the books and it doesn't outstay it's welcome.
/>Cinematography and SFX: The effects, especially on the griffin flight are impressive. During the
climax, Mulgarath is very creepy and this may scare young or sensitive kids. Special effects on the
other CGI creatures, like goblins and beautiful sprites and fairies are dazzling and effective. />
Music: Quite a memorable, soaring score that really makes the film. Although it's recycled
from Casper, I think it's still good only it would've been better had Horner come up with an
original one.

Overall: A magical film for all the family (My Mum loved it as well) - it
isn't really squarely aimed at the youngsters alone and it's better than a merely good film a lot of
critic's 3/5 had me believe I thought. The ending's so tear jerking and so far this year, it's the
most believable and magical fantasy film I've seen, and most importantly it has a heart at it's
center and is quite different from Potter and Lord of the Rings etc. I really think this will become
something to re-watch time and time again.

Extras: Ah, this wasn't that great - maybe
they've put more, better stuff like deleted scenes, interviews with the cast and a commentary on the
Blu-ray disc maybe? All we get is four on this 1 disc edition:

Special Features -
Spiderwick: It's All True - Introduced by Mark Waters, the director. He tells us how the authors of
the books received letters from an actual family on which this film is based and the events
supposedly happened to them. He also instructs us to take the precautions used in the film before
being shown the creatures from the film in brief summaries: Thimbletack, Hogsqueal, Mulgarath,
Redcap, Troll, Sprites, , Sylph and the Griffin. It's 7 mins long.

It's A Spiderwick
World! - The story of how the authors, Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly black, were given a letter from
three kids, who said that they had had real experiences with faeries and then went on to tell the
story in their books. They added their own elements to it, like the names Mulgarath, Timbletack,
Hogsqueal and how Arthur Rackham, a children's book illustrator, inspired Arthur Spiderwick and they
came up with the name Spiderwick to evoke a eerie Victorian, gothic feel. The names of the children
who sent the letter isn't the same as the ones in the film and you can't contact them. They changed
the boys and Mallory's ages and why they thought Mark Waters was the best director for it. He says
he likes it wide age appeal and the believability and plausibility of it, if you had the Seeing
Stone. It's nearly 9 mins long.

Arthur Spiderwick's Field Guide - Here you briefly see
a snoring Timbletack, before a Table of Contents is opened in the elusive book, with the pages:
Boggart, Brownie, Sprite, Goblin, Hobgoblin, Ogre, Griffin, Troll, Seeing Stone and Protection from
Magical Creatures. On each two page of illustrations and short info, you have a option `See In Film'
to see a short clip from the film showing the creature or thing in question.

Field
Guide: In-Movie Mode - This doesn't give any extra info really, all it is is a branching feature,
when you're watching the film, you click on the red Field Guide symbol and this takes you to, you
guessed it, the Arthur Spiderwick's Field Guide feature written above. A lot of the time, you get
the symbol twice in quick succession of each other, for the same creature on screen and it takes you
to the same page, whatever it is - Boggart, Brownie etc. Don't use this unless you've not viewed the
above extra. 5/10 for the extras.

Customer Rating:

Summary: Like a horror movie
Comment: Pro: story, characters, special effects

Con: It had the creepy, sinister, feeling of a
horror movie. The kids in the movie throw tomato ketchup 'bombs' at the monsters to kill them. By
the end of the movie the walls of the house looked like they were dripping with blood. Also didn't
like the way the main boy stabbed his 'father'...I know it was the monster in disguise but I felt it
was a very jarring and overly graphic image.

Customer Rating:

Summary: Good fun family viewing
Comment: The Spiderwick Chronicles is one of the better of the recent flood of children's fantasy films.
Wisely avoiding the "epic sweep" of films like Narnia and Golden Compass, it instead focuses on a
family adventure with plenty of pace and fun. Good acting and a good script create a really
enjoyable adventure - only cheesy in a few segments. Enjoyable for the whole family.

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