The director of Freaky Friday (the recent Lindsay Lohan version, not the Jodie Foster original) turns in a winning combination of fantasy and domestic drama that features such terrifying creatures as evil goblins and bickering parents.
Star rating: ***
Dir: Mark Waters
With: Freddie Highmore, Mary Louise Parker, Nick Nolte
The director of Freaky Friday (the recent Lindsay Lohan version, not the Jodie Foster original) turns in a winning combination of fantasy and domestic drama that features such terrifying creatures as evil goblins and bickering parents. Young Jared and Simon Grace (played, spookily enough, by one Freddie Highmore) have moved to the country with their mum and sister.
Their new home was once occupied by Arthur Spiderwick, the chronicler of a magical world, and when the residents of that sphere reassert themselves the young Graces are drawn into battle. Waters's movie is an old-fashioned family film - which means prepare yourself for the odd dull part - but it's sparky enough to keep youngsters enthralled.
