Chock-full of cantankerous ogres, goblins, and Sylphs laying siege to the Grace clan — the family at the center of this beloved book series turned movie — The Spiderwick Chronicles is a kid’s flick with serious bite. Young Jared Grace, the designated savior, is terrific: “As the troubled Jared,” wrote David Edelstein, “Freddie Highmore does well at suggesting he's carrying the weight of the world on his little shoulders.” That’s something we imagine a little New Yorker can readily identify with.