The Spiderwick Chronicles

**This fantasy film deserves our sympathy and attention.** This is a good film to watch with the family because it will easily appeal to young people and adults alike. However, I think it never received the attention it deserved, perhaps due to the fact that it was released at a time when the fantasy genre was dominated by a group of other much stronger and more relevant films. The film also strives to show the hidden side of knowledge as something dangerous, less than desirable, following the logic of “there are things we simply shouldn’t know”. The story begins when a recently divorced…

This doesn’t exactly get off to a flying start as siblings “Jared” and “Simon” (Freddie Highmore) arrive at a rundown house with their elder sister “Mallory” (Sarah Bolger) and the mum (Mary-Louise Parker). There is no sign of their absentee dad/husband (Andrew McCarthy) so we are left to assume the worst about his commitment to his family. Of course then there is the usual familial petulance, door slamming and stropping as nobody really wants to live in the ramshackle joint. Luckily, from now on the film diverges away from family melodrama as things start going bump inside the walls and…