I really knew nothing about this moving going into it and had low expectations what kind of title is The House with a Clock in The Walls? What’s that suppose to mean? Clue to the studio people, the title is terrible. I hope their error in titling doesn’t affect the box office, because this movie is GOOD and deserves a sequel. FYI I know this is based on a book series by that name but come on advertise it as a book adaptation or change the title.
The story line is set in the 50’s with Lewis, a ten year old newly orphaned boy moving in with his never before met Uncle Jonathan. Uncle Jonathan meets Lewis at the bus wearing a robe- ok it’s a kimono and worse he lives in what is rumored to be a haunted house that was the site of an ax murder. Ok, it's haunted but no ax murder people did die there.
And it’s clock city, call TLC, because Uncle Jonathan is a clock hoarder. The Uncles neighbor is Florence Zimmerman and she's always in clock world making chocolate chip cookies. But of course Florence has a secret. Jack Black as Uncle Jonathan and Cate Blanchett as Florence are perfectly cast and have great chemistry. Their constant bickering was great scripting. Jonathan to Florence “We have to do the right thing and lie to the kid!”
I learned some trivia, did you know Jack-o-Lanterns scare away evil spirits as does Iron? That’s why cemeteries usually have iron fences and gates. Who knew? Now we all do, take that Alex Trebek! There are shades of my favorite movie A Christmas Story with Lewis wearing goggles ala Flick. And who could forget the Ovaltine secret decoder? It reappears in this movie in a big way.
There maybe some who have an issue with the warlock and witches aspect of this movie, but is much like Harry Potter grade magic nto today’s hack’em up black magic. I really enjoyed this movie, you can’t help but feel for Lewis. A kid with polio on crutches got picked for basketball before he did :(
He packed a big fat dictionary in his suitcase and reads it everyday. He has “visits” with his dead mother who asks him to be brave. He responds “Mom this is me, I’m not brave.”This movie will appeal to all those Harry Potter people, and those who aren’t- like me.
The House With A Clock in Its Walls-- I hate that title-- is a solid B. Go see it, you won’t be disappointed.
Comments