The defence The Sentimental Softie
“Its refusal to behave is the point.”
The strange choices create the kind of friction that follows you out of the theatre and into the argument.
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Nightbooks
Fantasy · Horror · Family · 2021
Alex, a boy obsessed with scary stories, is trapped by a witch in her modern, magical New York City apartment. His original hair-raising tales are the only thing keeping him safe as he desperately tries to find a way out of this twisted place.
Movie details
Nightbooks
“Write for your life.”
2021 Fantasy · Horror · Family 1h 41m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
6.1 / 10
Community rating
Alex, a boy obsessed with scary stories, is trapped by a witch in her modern, magical New York City apartment. His original hair-raising tales are the only thing keeping him safe as he desperately tries to find a way out of this twisted place.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over Nightbooks?
For the defence
The Sentimental Softie
“You came to feel something, and you will.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Big-Idea Head
“You watch with your brain, not your gut.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
Mostly Ghostly 3: One Night in Doom House
Family · 2016
Just one enchanted jewel stands between earth and an army of evil spirits led by the devious ghoul, Phears. With the help of his new girlfriend and ghost pals, Max Doyle races to find the crystal and save the world.
The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad
Horror · 1949
The Wind in the Willows: Concise version of Kenneth Grahame's story of the same name. J. Thaddeus Toad, owner of Toad Hall, is prone to fads, such as the newfangled motor car. This desire for the very latest lands him in much trouble with the wrong crowd, and it is up to his friends, Mole, Rat and Badger to save him from himself. - The Legend of Sleepy Hollow: Retelling of Washington Irving's story set in a tiny New England town. Ichabod Crane, the new schoolmaster, falls for the town beauty, Katrina Van Tassel, and the town Bully Brom Bones decides that he is a little too successful and needs "convincing" that Katrina is not for him.
A Witches' Ball
Family · 2017
Every year the Witching World gathers to celebrate the newly inducted witches into their world. Beatrix (12) is eager to become part of this world, but when her pending magical status is jeopardized she needs the help of her furry best friend Muggs (voiced by Joey Fatone) to solve some magical riddles before the big event. Will Beatrix sink or soar on the night of the Witches' Ball?
The Witches
Fantasy · 1990
While staying at a hotel in England with his grandmother, Helga, a young boy named Luke inadvertently spies on a convention of witches. The Grand High Witch reveals a plan to turn all children into mice via a magical formula. When they discover the eavesdropper, the witches test the formula on him. Now, with the help of Helga and hotel manager Mr Stringer, Luke the mouse must fight back against the witches.
Four Kids and It
Family · 2020
A group of kids on holiday in Cornwall meet a magical creature on the beach with the power to grant wishes.
Twice-Told Tales
Horror · 1963
3 horror stories based on the writings of Nathaniel Hawthorne. In the 1st story titled "Dr. Heidegger's Experiment", Heidegger attempts to restore the youth of three elderly friends. In "Rappaccini's Daughter", a demented father is inoculating his daughter with poison so she may never leave her garden of poisonous plants. In the final story "The House of the Seven Gables", The Pyncheon family suffers from a hundred year old curse and while in the midst of arguing over inheritance, a stranger arrives.
The Black Cauldron
Animation · 1985
Taran is an assistant pigkeeper with boyish dreams of becoming a great warrior. However, he has to put the daydreaming aside when his charge, an oracular pig named Hen Wen, is kidnapped by an evil lord known as the Horned King. The villain hopes Hen will show him the way to The Black Cauldron, which has the power to create a giant army of unstoppable soldiers.
The Legend of Ochi
Family · 2025
In a remote village on the island of Carpathia, a shy farm girl named Yuri is raised to fear an elusive animal species known as ochi. But when Yuri discovers a wounded baby ochi has been left behind, she escapes on a quest to bring him home.
The Haunting Hour: Don't Think About It
Horror · 2007
Cassie, a 13 year old Gothic girl, is trying to fit in at her new school. To entertain herself, she plays a series of pranks on the popular kids and her younger brother, Max. When she goes to a Halloween store looking for new tricks, she finds a little book called "The Evil Thing"
Inkheart
Adventure · 2008
The adventures of a father and his young daughter, in their search for a long lost book that will help reunite a missing, close relative.
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
David Yarovesky
Written by
Mikki Daughtry · Tobias Iaconis
Winslow Fegley
Alex
Lidya Jewett
Yasmin
Krysten Ritter
Natacha
Jill Frappier
Grizelda
N
Neil Emmanuel Lu
Joshua
Jess Brown
Mom
Mathieu Bourassa
Dad
Court is in session
Put Nightbooks on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Big-Idea Head
“Oddness is not depth.”
A film can break every rule and still leave nothing behind but the memory of how hard it tried to be singular.