monsters

• Beowulf (2007)

  [4/10]

  "The low quality animation made me feel like I was watching a cut scene from a video game. For the entire film, I kept getting the feeling that at any moment the cut scene would end, and I would have to take up the game controller to battle the monsters."

• Fablehaven: Grip of the Shadow Plague by Brandon Mull (2008)

  [7/10]

  "The slow-moving first half of the book disappointed me, but I still find the Fablehaven books one of the most interesting and well-written adventure series around."

• Fablehaven: Rise of the Evening Star by Brandon Mull (2007)

  [8/10]

  "Kendra and Seth expect to spend their next summer vacation helping out at Fablehaven, a mystical preserve for magical creatures tended by the kids' grandparents. But problems for Kendra and Seth start even before their summer vacation begins."

• Village, The directed by M. Night Shyamalan (2004)

  [5/10]

  "Shyamalan has assembled a stellar cast, and the actors do their best with the script's questionable motivation and silly dialogue."

• Young Frankenstein directed by Mel Brooks (1974)

  [8/10]

  "Even if you haven't ever seen Young Frankenstein, you have probably heard at least half of the dialog from ubiquitous quotes and samples. The script by Gene Wilder and Mel Brooks spoofs its predecessors and the black-and-white horror movie genre but these spoofs synergistically create an icon of comedy."

  Average score: 6.40