It’s a serviceable enough plot for a serviceable enough movie. The film is aimed squarely at pleasing kids and it doesn’t strive too hard to accomplish anything else. Neither does the cast. As the sarcastic, but jocular Jonathan, Jack Black mostly mugs and grimaces his way through his role. That’s no big deal, though, since that’s pretty much what you hire Jack Black for to begin with. Multiple Oscar winner Cate Blanchett seems to be having fun playing a practically perfect Poppin-esque witch with a penchant for all things purple, but there’ll be no awards for her this time around.
As for director Eli Roth, he actually turns in better work than he’s done in a while. The film has a nice Gothic look to it, though a lot of the credit for that must go to the set designers, who in turn were undoubtedly inspired by Edward Gorey’s original illustrations for the book. And while there are (thankfully) no gory scenes of bodily carnage, Roth does draw on his horror movie roots to provide a few memorable images such a room full of ultra-creepy automatons. They’re just scary enough to get a rise out of the little ones, but not enough so to scar them for life. Roth is probably saving those kinds of images for his next adult-oriented undertaking.
This was a surprisingly fun movie that is definitely aimed for kids and families to watch. The story is based off of a children's book written by John Bellair[s] in 1973 and has been adapted for the screen oddly enough by extreme horror specialist Eli Roth. I wasn't quite sure how Roth would do with this material...although everything is just fine as the film is filled with family friendly jokes and the requisite bathroom humor that comes along with it. One of my favorite things about this movie is the emphasis on how weird the boy is but that's perfectly okay and it's actually pretty cool.
“The House with a Clock in Its Walls” is a remarkably engaging and vibrant story filled with comedy and light-hearted instances to perfectly balance the impending doom and Lewis’ day-to-day struggle as he grieves the loss of his parents and attempts to fit in at school. It’s obvious that the aviator glasses he dons to imitate his indomitable superhero aren’t going to help him, but we breathe a sigh of relief as the popular boy, Tarby (Sunny Suljic), befriends him.
Of course, this aspect of the story begins to unravel for poor Lewis as it sparks the spell of evil. What began as fun and games of making the stars dance and his Uncle Jonathan levitate, becomes a face-off with Isaac Izard (Kyle MacLachlan,) whom he has accidentally raised from the dead.
The film has all the elements it needs to make this story rise from the pages of a book and become an entrancing event on the big screen. The characters are over-the-top fun with a quick wit and a fast-paced dialogue. Our protagonist, Lewis, is at onace lovable with his bow tie, aviator glasses and sweet, emotive face. Not a dull moment occurs in the film, which overflows with brilliant color and every corner filled with interest.
As for director Eli Roth, he actually turns in better work than he’s done in a while. The film has a nice Gothic look to it, though a lot of the credit for that must go to the set designers, who in turn were undoubtedly inspired by Edward Gorey’s original illustrations for the book. And while there are (thankfully) no gory scenes of bodily carnage, Roth does draw on his horror movie roots to provide a few memorable images such a room full of ultra-creepy automatons. They’re just scary enough to get a rise out of the little ones, but not enough so to scar them for life. Roth is probably saving those kinds of images for his next adult-oriented undertaking.
David Ives
Aleteia
This was a surprisingly fun movie that is definitely aimed for kids and families to watch. The story is based off of a children's book written by John Bellair[s] in 1973 and has been adapted for the screen oddly enough by extreme horror specialist Eli Roth. I wasn't quite sure how Roth would do with this material...although everything is just fine as the film is filled with family friendly jokes and the requisite bathroom humor that comes along with it. One of my favorite things about this movie is the emphasis on how weird the boy is but that's perfectly okay and it's actually pretty cool.
“The House with a Clock in Its Walls” is a remarkably engaging and vibrant story filled with comedy and light-hearted instances to perfectly balance the impending doom and Lewis’ day-to-day struggle as he grieves the loss of his parents and attempts to fit in at school. It’s obvious that the aviator glasses he dons to imitate his indomitable superhero aren’t going to help him, but we breathe a sigh of relief as the popular boy, Tarby (Sunny Suljic), befriends him.
Of course, this aspect of the story begins to unravel for poor Lewis as it sparks the spell of evil. What began as fun and games of making the stars dance and his Uncle Jonathan levitate, becomes a face-off with Isaac Izard (Kyle MacLachlan,) whom he has accidentally raised from the dead.
The film has all the elements it needs to make this story rise from the pages of a book and become an entrancing event on the big screen. The characters are over-the-top fun with a quick wit and a fast-paced dialogue. Our protagonist, Lewis, is at onace lovable with his bow tie, aviator glasses and sweet, emotive face. Not a dull moment occurs in the film, which overflows with brilliant color and every corner filled with interest.
Kankakee (IL) Daily Journal
No comments:
Post a Comment