'The Spiderwick Chronicles' (PG): While the film is not exactly a by-the-book adaptation, "The Spiderwick Chronicles" -- based the five-book series by Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi -- is a movie that you're bound to get entangled in, thanks to strong characters, a fun story and stunning visual effects. It's no "Harry Potter" movie, by any means, but it's certainly in the same league as the "Chronicles of Narnia" films.

Freddie Highmore ("Finding Neverland," "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory") delivers an impressive set of performances as Jared and Simon Grace, who along with their no-nonsense sister Mallory (Sarah Bolger) and recently separated mother (Mary-Louise Parker), move from New York City to the country confines of the Spiderwick estate -- the home of their great, great uncle Arthur Spiderwick (David Strathairn).

Jared, the rebellious half of the Grace twin duo who would rather be with his father (Andrew McCarthy, in a very sparse role), wants no part of the move. But Jared takes sudden interest in the mansion when he and his siblings accidentally discover a concealed dumbwaiter, which leads to the discovery of a secret room. In it lives a rodent-sized creature named Thimbletack (voiced by Martin Short), who was charged 80 years before to protect a book, "Arthur Spiderwick's Field Guide to the Fantastical World Around You," from being opened.

Jared outsmarts Thimbletack, however, and cracks open the sealed book, unleashing a world populated by fantastical creatures, including mysterious fairies and sprites and a friendly hobgoblin named Hogsqueal (Seth Rogen). Invisible to the human eye, the creatures can only be viewed through a seeing stone or a spat of saliva in the eyes from Hogsqueal. And Jared gets just that, only to realize that dangerous goblins led by the evil ogre Mulgrath (Nick Nolte -- who is just as frightening in human form than as his monstrous alter-ego) are on the hunt for the book -- putting Jared and his family's lives in jeopardy.

Not surprisingly, the reason the book series-turned-movie in "The Spiderwick Chronicles" succeeds is that it's grounded in a great story. And while at its heart it's a fantasy film, "The Spiderwick Chronicles" scores it's highest points for tapping into the real emotions of a family dealing with personal conflict. And that heartache even extends beyond the Grace family. Left behind as a child when Arthur mysteriously disappeared, his now 86-year-old daughter (Joan Plowright) lives in a sanitarium -- left questioning herself whether the creatures that she's been seeing for decades are real or not.

While the characters and creatures in "The Spiderwick Chronicles" are unique to the story, the theme of the film is not. In a way, it's very similar to the narrative of "The Lord of the Rings" and other tried-and-true "good vs. evil" films, as an innocent comes into possession of something very powerful -- in this case it's a book instead of a ring -- and a monstrous being seeks to seize it for his own evil intentions.

The similarities hardly take away from the effect of "The Spiderwick Chronicles," however. At a brisk 90-minute run time, the film layers within its richly detailed story some very intense action sequences, which brings into question whether the film's PG rating is suited for anybody younger than 7 years old. The goblins that chase after the Grace family are pretty scary so get ready to cover some young eyes.

DVD Features: A special two-disc "Field Guide" edition of the release includes a clever pop-up mode that allows you to read about the creatures from the guide, several production featurettes, four deleted scenes and more. (Paramount Home Entertainment)

"10,000 B.C." (PG-13): "Independence Day" director Roland Emmerich puts a different spin on the prehistoric epic genre with a visually-inspired tale of mammoth hunter D'Leh (Steven Strait), whose world is thrown into turmoil when his love, Evelot (Camilla Belle) is kidnapped by a band of mysterious warlords and slave raiders.

D'Leh leads a group of hunters who travel far through lands unknown, battling such prehistoric predators as massive mammoths and saber tooth tigers on the way. But their biggest battle lies ahead with the discovery of an advanced civilization where great pyramids dominate the landscape. If you can get past the movie's presumption that pyramids weren't built by the Egyptians first, then you'll likely enjoy the ride. (Warner Home Video)

"Futurama: The Beast With A Billion Backs" (NR): Fans of Matt Groening's other series will delight in the return of Fry, Leela, Bender and company for their second made-for-DVD feature-length film (two more are planned before the series returns).

This time around the crew takes on a planet sized beast that, in "Futurama" fashion, has romantic intentions. Billy West (Fry), Katey Sagal (Leela) and Joe DiMaggio (Bender) are all back, and Brittany Murphy joins the cast as Fry's girlfriend. David Cross voices the title's "Beast." (Fox Home Entertainment)