This Week’s Releases: “Jumper” and “Spiderwick”

Two big genre films are opening nationwide for the President’s Day weekend; actually, they opened a day early (on Valentine’s Day) to stretch the lucrative frame as much as possible.

JUMPER - a sci-fi adventure about teleportation, starring Hayden Christensen and Samuel L. Jackson - has earned a 15% rating(well down in “Rotten” territory) in a survey of 100 reviews (15, fresh, 85 rotten) at Rotten Tomatoes. Says Kevin Crust in the Los Angeles Times:

Jumper seems half-done — a long prologue building to a classic hero’s journey or the launch of an antihero — but comes to a screeching halt before it can begin either.

Finding far more favor with the critics was THE SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES, which has earned a 77% approval rating in a survey of 78 reviews (60 fresh, 18 rotten). Roger Ebert calls the film:

A well-crafted family thriller that is truly scary and doesn’t wimp out.

About the Author

Steve Biodrowski

Cinefantastique's Los Angeles Correspondent from 1987 to 1993 and West Coast Editor from 1993 to 1999. Currently the webmaster of Cinefantastique Online, I also run a website called Hollywood Gothique that covers Halloween Horror and Sci-Fi Cinema Events in the Los Angeles area.

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