FilmSnobReviews

Title: The House with a Clock in Its Walls
MPAA Rating: PG
Director: Eli Roth
Starring: Jack Black, Cate Blanchett, Owen Vaccaro
Runtime: 1 hr 45 mins

What It Is: Following the death of his parents young Lewis (Vaccaro) is sent to live with his eccentric uncle Jonathan (Black) in his gigantic home. Alongside his neighbor Mrs. Zimmerman (Blanchett) they’ll show Lewis the ropes? In what you may ask? Well in the art of wizardry. You see Jonathan is a warlock, one who defeated a more powerful warlock that has lost his plot since returning from World War II.

What We Think: I don’t know what I was expecting from a kid’s film directed by Eli Roth. This is a guy that’s miss and miss with me. Look at things like Knock Knock and The Green Inferno if you wanna know what we normally think of Roth’s work. This though is really quite good. Not only did I enjoy myself but it’s a story and a world I wanted to hang out in. Throughout the film, it seems Roth is keeping it all together despite wanting to take the training wheels off of the visuals. There are some scary moments for the PG crowd but that makes the whole thing a lot more fun.

Our Grade: B-, A fun time at the movies and a film that is fun for the whole family. Jack Black is his typically funny self and I liked Blanchett in her role. Roth is having fun here, even including himself in on the action. That permeates throughout the frames of this film and leaves a rather resounding smile on your face. Shoutout to Kyle MacLachlan who seems to just be enjoying himself out there as the villain Isaac Izard. He seems to relish being the bad guy.