Spiderwick Chronicles

Enjoyed it last night in the newly remodeled Jax Jr theater up here in Littleton. It's a fine kid's fantasy movie, with a mostly child cast. I figure watching kids movies helps keep me young. I won't spoil it by rehashing the plot here. The hero is very well played by Freddie Highmore, a boy about the age that Daniel Radcliffe was when he started playing Harry Potter. Actually he plays a twin brother (Simon) and himself (Jared) and the Hollywood magic makes both twins show together in the same scene as slick as Disney was with Hayley Mills playing both twins in The Parent Trap many years ago. It's a better movie than The Golden Compass, nearly as good as the Disney Narnia movie, but not up to the level of Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings.
It's a proper movie with a brave hero who faces his challenge squarely and defeats it. Kids aged four to fourteen will love it, along with grownups who can still get in touch with their inner child.