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.
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
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
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
Molly Mahoney is the awkward and insecure manager of Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium, the strangest, most fantastic, most wonderful toy store in the world. But when Mr. Magorium, the 243-year-old eccentric who owns the store, bequeaths the store to her, a dark and ominous change begins to take over the once-remarkable Emporium.
Director:
Zach Helm
Stars:
Natalie Portman,
Dustin Hoffman,
Jason Bateman
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.
Story of a wonderful little girl, who happens to be a genius, and her wonderful teacher vs. the worst parents ever and the worst school principal imaginable.
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.
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.
Susanna White wanted to make the film as she loved the depiction of Mrs Green as a modern independent woman despite the movie being set during World War 2. See more »
Goofs
During the scene where the syrup is in the drawers in the shop, Isabel can be seen closing one of the drawers twice. See more »
I don't know what the critics here were expecting, but from some of the reviews I've read it seems that it wasn't a kids' film. In short, this is a lovely, well-written, beautifully cast film that's executed with great affection and makes maximum use of its chocolate-box locations.
Emma Thompson, aside from having no little talent for scriptwriting, is savvy enough to understand that the real stars of this film are the children and, in particular, Asa Butterfield and Eros Vlahos as Norman and Cyril respectively.
Rhys Ifans shows what an accomplished comic actor he is, even if his performance as Uncle Phil seems to draw much, both in characterisation and delivery, from that of Matt Dillon's portrayal of Healy in There's Something About Mary.
There's a lovely turn from Maggie Smith as Mrs Docherty and a reassuringly exuberant performance from Sam Kelly.
If there's a lull, it's when the action moves away from its countryside setting, although the scene played between Vlahos and Ralph Feinnes works nicely.
At a little under an hour and fifty minutes, it's quite long for children, yet my five- and eight-year-olds sat transfixed throughout. And in the end, that should be the yardstick by which any film aimed at younger cinema-goers should be measured.
As to Thompson herself, she is sublime when required, understated when the surrounding action demands. The reviewer who likened her performance to that of Roger Moore does not, I would suggest, appreciate either the characterisation of the Nanny McPhee role (much can be, and is, portrayed by simple facial expressions) or the very real acting ability of our erstwhile Bond. Comedy isn't all about snappy one-liners and the ability to convey comedy simply by saying nothing is an art in and of itself.
In the final analysis, this is a better film than its predecessor. It is more lovingly-crafted, less fantastic in the literal sense and more sharply observed. Watch it for what it is - a modern take on the old Mary Poppins story - and you won't be disappointed.
37 of 45 people found this review helpful.
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I don't know what the critics here were expecting, but from some of the reviews I've read it seems that it wasn't a kids' film. In short, this is a lovely, well-written, beautifully cast film that's executed with great affection and makes maximum use of its chocolate-box locations.
Emma Thompson, aside from having no little talent for scriptwriting, is savvy enough to understand that the real stars of this film are the children and, in particular, Asa Butterfield and Eros Vlahos as Norman and Cyril respectively.
Rhys Ifans shows what an accomplished comic actor he is, even if his performance as Uncle Phil seems to draw much, both in characterisation and delivery, from that of Matt Dillon's portrayal of Healy in There's Something About Mary.
There's a lovely turn from Maggie Smith as Mrs Docherty and a reassuringly exuberant performance from Sam Kelly.
If there's a lull, it's when the action moves away from its countryside setting, although the scene played between Vlahos and Ralph Feinnes works nicely.
At a little under an hour and fifty minutes, it's quite long for children, yet my five- and eight-year-olds sat transfixed throughout. And in the end, that should be the yardstick by which any film aimed at younger cinema-goers should be measured.
As to Thompson herself, she is sublime when required, understated when the surrounding action demands. The reviewer who likened her performance to that of Roger Moore does not, I would suggest, appreciate either the characterisation of the Nanny McPhee role (much can be, and is, portrayed by simple facial expressions) or the very real acting ability of our erstwhile Bond. Comedy isn't all about snappy one-liners and the ability to convey comedy simply by saying nothing is an art in and of itself.
In the final analysis, this is a better film than its predecessor. It is more lovingly-crafted, less fantastic in the literal sense and more sharply observed. Watch it for what it is - a modern take on the old Mary Poppins story - and you won't be disappointed.