Nanny McPhee arrives to help a harried young mother who is trying to run the family farm while her husband is away at war, though she uses her magic to teach the woman's children and their two spoiled cousins five new lessons.
Director:
Susanna White
Stars:
Emma Thompson,
Maggie Gyllenhaal,
Ralph Fiennes
Upon moving into the run-down Spiderwick Estate with their mother, twin brothers Jared and Simon Grace, along with their sister Mallory, find themselves pulled into an alternate world full of faeries and other creatures.
Director:
Mark Waters
Stars:
Freddie Highmore,
Sarah Bolger,
David Strathairn
When a massive fire kills their parents, three children are delivered to the custody of cousin and stage actor Count Olaf, who is secretly plotting to steal their parents' vast fortune.
A teenage girl discovers her father has an amazing talent to bring characters out of their books and must try to stop a freed villain from destroying them all, with the help of her father, her aunt, and a storybook's hero.
In a parallel universe, young Lyra Belacqua journeys to the far North to save her best friend and other kidnapped children from terrible experiments by a mysterious organization.
Director:
Chris Weitz
Stars:
Nicole Kidman,
Daniel Craig,
Dakota Blue Richards
Two young brothers are drawn into an intergalactic adventure when their house is hurled through the depths of space by the magical board game they are playing.
A newly recruited night security guard at the Museum of Natural History discovers that an ancient curse causes the animals and exhibits on display to come to life and wreak havoc.
Wilbur the pig is scared of the end of the season, because he knows that come that time, he will end up on the dinner table. He hatches a plan with Charlotte, a spider that lives in his pen, to ensure that this will never happen.
Director:
Gary Winick
Stars:
Dakota Fanning,
Julia Roberts,
Oprah Winfrey
The Pevensie siblings return to Narnia, where they are enlisted to once again help ward off an evil king and restore the rightful heir to the land's throne, Prince Caspian.
On a quest to find out what happened to his missing brother, a scientist, his nephew and their mountain guide discover a fantastic and dangerous lost world in the center of the earth.
Ten-year-old Arthur, in a bid to save his grandfather's house from being demolished, goes looking for some much-fabled hidden treasure in the land of the Minimoys, tiny people living in harmony with nature.
Mr. Cedric Brown has just lost his wife and is now left with his seven children who misbehave so much that all the nannies have run away. Now he is told by a mysterious voice that he should get Nanny McPhee who is a magical woman with special powers.Written by
Daniel Cudley
There are three Mrs Lovetts in this movie. Angela Lansbury, (who played her in the original 1979 Broadway production), Imelda Staunton, (who played her in London in 2012), and Emma Thompson (who played her in the 2014 concert version and also in the London production) See more »
Goofs
At Midgewaller & Sons, when Mr. Brown finds the card for the deceased Thadius Quickly, not only does the handwriting differ later at home, but the red swatch pinned to the card differs as well. See more »
The end credits are animated, and include the children as cartoons, causing mayhem, and some of the credits change as Nanny McPhee bangs her cane. See more »
I almost missed this one because I was turned off by the commercials and previews, with their emphasis on the silliest parts (the dancing donkey, etc.). What a mistake that would have been -- I'd have missed one of the driest, archest, loveliest scripts in years. Emma Thompson can do more with a slightly quirked eyebrow and a quiet "Hm" than most actresses can with an entire Shakespearean soliloquy. The whole cast, children and adults alike, is pretty near perfect, some of the best of the British theater even in the tiniest roles (Derek Jacobi, Imelda Staunton et al). The kids are tough and tart, without a simper in the lot, unlike most US child stars.
Don't let the trailers keep you away -- this is well worth seeing, sort of what Lemony Snicket should have been but wasn't.
191 of 215 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful to you?
| Report this
I almost missed this one because I was turned off by the commercials and previews, with their emphasis on the silliest parts (the dancing donkey, etc.). What a mistake that would have been -- I'd have missed one of the driest, archest, loveliest scripts in years. Emma Thompson can do more with a slightly quirked eyebrow and a quiet "Hm" than most actresses can with an entire Shakespearean soliloquy. The whole cast, children and adults alike, is pretty near perfect, some of the best of the British theater even in the tiniest roles (Derek Jacobi, Imelda Staunton et al). The kids are tough and tart, without a simper in the lot, unlike most US child stars.
Don't let the trailers keep you away -- this is well worth seeing, sort of what Lemony Snicket should have been but wasn't.