THE HOUSE WITH A CLOCK IN ITS WALLS

Jack Black     Cate Blanchett     Owen Vaccaro

Kyle MacLachlan     Renee Elise Goldsberry     Sunny Suljic

     In 1955, in an old mansion in New Zebedee, Michigan, strange and eerie things are going to happen.  Ten year-old Lewis (Vaccaro) is going to be moving in with his Uncle Jonathan (Black) after his parents were killed in a car accident, and he has no idea his uncle is a warlock. The house is sumptuous with a large bedroom for him—impressive!--But he will soon learn that things go bump—or something else—in the night.  He is alarmed at times, but he is a brave child, and even goes to investigate at times with his flashlight.  

     Then, Lewis is alarmed one night to see his uncle hacking into the wall with an axe, and even though his uncle’s strange neighbor Mrs. Zimmerman (Blanchett) urges Jonathan to reveal “secrets” to Lewis, that doesn’t happen.  It’s a bit strange anyway to hear Mrs. Z and Jonathan exchange insults (hilarious name-calling), but not in anger, and they immediately get back to solving problems.  Well, there is one big one that they have been wrestling with for ages.  

     Lewis is a bookish child (loves dictionaries and learning words like indomitable, which causes him to sound like an effete child) with silly goggles on his head, and even so while he comes across at school as a nerd, he is able to make a friend (at least temporarily).  But this bookishness turns out to be just what he needs to follow in his uncle’s footsteps, something he sorely wishes for after Jonathan’s demonstration of magic in the garden when it comes alive in the most delightful way.

     Reluctantly, Jonathan agrees to help Lewis become a warlock.  There is just one rule in the house, which is not to open a certain cabinet.  Lewis is an obedient child and he fully intends to comply, but neither he nor his uncle anticipate what might happen when Lewis invites his one friend, skeptical Tarby (Suljic), over to the house to impress him with what he’s learned about magic.  

     What follows is a major struggle that is exciting for children and adults to watch, and, gratifyingly for me, carrying positive messages.  They will see children and adults persisting in the face of adversity, staying on the side of good, and seeing that children need to be informed about what is going on in their lives and, moreover, including them in solutions.  Yes, children should be more respected.  

     Another positive piece of good modeling in the film is the egalitarian relationship between Jonathan and Mrs. Z.  He openly acknowledges her value to him and the impressiveness of her skills. She is portrayed as skillful, motherly, and a wise sage.  Jonathan is open both to her as a female and to Lewis as a child.  He models for men the value of listening to women and children, and then being willing to make changes.

     With the aid of screenwriter Eric Kripke, director Eli Roth has done a good job in adapting John Bellairs’ novel to the screen.  Music (Nathan Barr), cinematography (Rogier Stoffers), and production design (John Hutman) are of similar quality.  Jack Black nails every role he plays, as does Cate Blanchett, and their inclusion in any cast will elevate the film.  Young Owen Vaccara pulls for attention, although I have to confess I kept wanting to see Jacob Tremblay (Room) in that role.  Kyle MacLachlan and Renee Elise Goldsberry were wonderfully effective as villains.

     House with a Clock is a bit silly at times—which is not unusual for this type of film—but general audiences will enjoy it; there was applause for it afterwards at the screening I attended.  The special effects are good, but parents might note that it could be scary for young children who are afraid of the dark. 

A good choice for those who like a mixture of fantasy, comedy, and a bit of horror.

Grade:  C+                                    By Donna R. Copeland

DON'T WORRY, HE WON'T GET FAR ON FOOT

Joaquin Phoenix     Jonah Hill     Rooney Mara     Jack Black     Beth Ditto

      I have never given a high grade to a film that was so hard to watch.  Don’t Worry is hard to watch for its realism in depicting addiction and flogging one’s way through it to some kind of resolution.  I have to admit, I had to take breaks while seeing the screener sent to me at home.  For a long while, the viewer has little sympathy for its protagonist John Callahan, beautifully and perfectly rendered by Joaquin Phoenix.  He’s an alcoholic, self-centered, entitled, and dismissive of all rules.  He will get his comeuppance, though, from a car accident after a night of heavy drinking, after which his driver Dexter (played by the inimitable Jack Black in a chameleon role) walks away unscathed, and he becomes a quadriplegic.  

     The film is about what happens after that, which is a long, steep climb.  John is still bucking against society’s rules every step of the way when somehow he stumbles into an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting.  He’s a little taken aback, but the leader that day, Donnie (Hill), captures his attention. What follows is the expected journey of an alcoholic through all the steps of that organization, to forgiveness—of course, the hardest step of all.

     Adopted at birth, John is poignant remembering three things he had learned about his mother:  She was Irish American, red-haired, a schoolteacher—and then the fourth thing:  “She didn’t want me.”  That made such an impression on him, he used it as an excuse to himself and to others for his behavior for years.  “I am an orphan”, he whines.  When he gets to AA, his claim is challenged, partly from questions he can’t answer and partly from stories that are obviously more tragic than his.

   The film is a marvel—and unique—in its depiction of how groups like Alcoholics Anonymous work, in their tedious exploration of each person’s story, confrontation by peers, and wise observations of the leaders.  I was impressed by how so much of it rang true and how helpful  the feedback is from group participants and leaders, a rarity in Hollywood movies.  It shows not only the emotional journey, but as well, problems in dealing with administrative obstacles, including beneficiaries’ trying to exploit the system and myopia of those in charge, e.g., if one is earning money from cartoons, he/she should no longer be deserving of benefits.  

     Gus Van Sant has a reputation for making good movies that reflect social order, populist opinion, and dealing with political issues (Milk, Promised Land, Elephant).  He is good at getting down to the nitty-gritty and showing the fundamental premises.  Here, he shows sensitivity again in his understanding of the psychological underpinnings of addiction and what it takes to overcome its hold.  

      Phoenix is a natural for this kind of role (quirky and resistant, but thoughtful in the end), balanced well by Jonah Hill, slimmed down and in an unusual role for him of a guru-type of figure.  I did not buy the Rooney Mara figure of a stunningly beautiful woman who gives her all to someone like John Callahan. First of all, she is portrayed (although it is not clear) as some kind of therapist, who is so attracted to a man in a wheelchair she goes all in.  If that happened for real, I’m glad in a way, but if it is “added in” to the storyline as a come-on, I’m turned off.

A mostly inspiring story about an obnoxious man who was rehabilitated by life events.

Grade:  B+                                                By Donna R. Copeland

KUNG FU PANDA 3

Voices of:  Jack Black   Bryan Cranston   Dustin Hoffman   Angelina Jolie   J. K. Simmons   Jackie Chan   Seth Rogen   Lucy Liu   James Hong

        Kung Fu Panda 3 has the qualities we hope for in animated children’s movies:  A sense of adventure, good modeling by the adults, fine animation, humor, and a minimum of fart and pee jokes.  Many of the actors and crew have been involved in all three of the Kung Fu Panda films, which contributes to their quality.

         In this adventure, Po the Panda (Black) is being prepared by his guide Shifu (Hoffman) to take over his role as teacher, which seems incredulous to Po who frequently bumbles his action moves.  But the message from Shifu is not to be like him, Shifu, but to find and bring out the Po that is his potential.  In this episode two important events take place; Po encounters his real father (Cranston)—currently filling that role is a goose, Mr. Ping (Hong)—and is charged with saving all the Pandas who are threatened by the evil Kai (Simmons), who has stolen the Chi of most of the past Masters and changed them to be his jade fighters.

     The writers Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger weave together a story that contains elements of suspense and adventure, Po’s struggles to actualize himself, and warm family elements with Po coming to realize he has two fathers and a role in his extended family of pandas.  Directors Carloni and Yuh keep the action tight but make it easy for very young ones in the audience to follow.

        The gifted cast skillfully transforms the script into fine entertainment for children, helped along by the colorful and entertaining animation, the musical score of Hans Zimmer and the production design of Raymond Zebach.

The latest edition of Kung Fu Panda keeps up the fine pace of the previous two productions.

Grade:  A                               By Donna R. Copeland

GOOSEBUMPS

Jack Black     Dylan Minnette     Odeya Rush     Ryan Lee     Amy Ryan     R. L. Stine (cameo)

            Goosebumps are guaranteed for Goosebumps audiences with its scary (and fantastically displayed) computer-animated live-action monsters, eerie music (Danny Elfman), and Jack Black as a short-tempered ogre.  Director Rob Letterman and the writers (Scott Alexander, Larry Karaszewski, Darren Lemke) have cleverly brought into the movie version as many of the numerous monsters created by R. L. Stine as they reasonably could, and it is thrilling and ominous to see so many of them on the attack (e.g., Abominable Snowman, Slappy the Dummy, Giant Preying Mantis, Invisible Boy, Evil Swamp Werewolf, Zombies, Lawn Gnomes, Robots, Haunted Mask, and Bees, to name some).  This is a new story incorporating Stine’s characters, rather than being based on a particular book.  Stine said in an interview that it has always been important to him that his monsters be both scary and funny at the same time (http://www.comingsoon.net/movies/features/446963-interview-author-r-l-stine-talks-the-goosebumps-movie#/slide/1).

            The initial part of the story centers on high schooler Zach Cooper (Minnette) moving into Madison, Delaware, with his mother (Ryan), the new vice principal of Madison High.  He notices odd goings on next door, then is startled by Hannah (Rush) when he is at the trash bin.  She is the daughter of R. L. Stine, the famous writer of the Goosebumps series, who has already leaned out of his second-story window and threatened Zach to stay away from her.  But she is plucky and rebellious and takes Zach on a brilliant walk after dark.  He is smitten with her.

            Later, he hears Stine and Hannah arguing, and immediately worries about her safety.  He uses a ruse to get Mr. Stine out of the house, and recruits his nerdy new friend from high school, Champ (Lee), to break into Hannah’s house and rescue her.  This begins a series of frightening events that will take up the rest of the night when Champ, an avid reader of Stine’s books, and Zach manage to unleash monsters by opening a locked cabinet that contains all the books.

            Jack Black is at his best in realizing the Stine character, from intimidating and ogre-like, to distressed, to lonely and desperate, to outlandishly comedic.  He said he viewed the fictional Stine as “a respected writer with a dark side” and played him accordingly.  Minette as Zach is a good counterpart to Stine in being young but sensible and creative in coming up with plans.  Offering nervous hysteria and ultimately disastrous actions that invariably produce groans and chuckles, Lee’s Champ (dubbed “Chump”) gives us some comic relief from the tension. 

            The music by Danny Elfman and production design by Sean Haworth add dimension to the story by being alternately frightening and comedic, depending on what is going on in the script.  The colors add richness and depth, all of which adds up to a visually beautiful film.

A nifty PG-rated comedy/horror movie that should appeal to most ages, except perhaps for sensitive younger children. 

Grade:  A                                    By Donna R. Copeland

GOOSEBUMPS Press Conference Summary

          Even after answering questions from various groups for three hours before, the main cast members (Jack Black, Dylan Minnette, Odeya Rush, and Ryan Lee) of Goosebumps were fresh and lively for their press conference.  In a dramatic entrance, Dylan was singing as they filed in, and Jack announced that he had ordered Tex-Mex to eat for when they go on their way to the next junket point.  Of course, the cuisine had to be explained to someone like Odeya who is from Israel.

        A burning question for all eight critics/reporters present was about R. L. Stine, the author of the Goosebumps books (62 of them, no less!), and his take on the movie.  Jack said he met Stine before shooting the picture, and found that the author is nothing like the character Jack plays.  He called Stine “an amazing guy” and a brilliant writer—which Jack tried to keep in mind when he was playing him.  Jack said the character in the movie is a very dark figure, with sinister and antisocial qualities, which couldn’t be further from Stine himself (or the actor himself, I’ve observed). 

         Stine actually loves the film and had no objections to the portrayal of him.  He was more interested in seeing that the filmmakers were mindful of Stine’s audience and that it had equal parts of scariness and fun, which is how he wants his monsters to be seen by children. Stine’s positive opinion about the movie was “like gold” to Jack.

        Jack and the three younger actors had high praise for one another in their working relationships.  Odeya said that Jack puts everyone at ease because he’s so approachable.  Ryan said he grew up watching Jack’s movies, and recalled seeing him after a press junket for Super 8, when he never dreamed he would get to work with him in the future.  Jack complimented the three younger actors for their skill and “realness.”  He and Director Letterman felt lucky to get them because a) each was their first choice out of hundreds of auditions and b) they were so much in demand on other projects.

      There was an interesting question about working with the computer-generated monsters.  Jack explained that the director sets the scene for the actors with verbal descriptions and they act out their parts as if the fantasy character were there.  For instance, in the scene where Jack encounters The Blob, he is standing on a table and moving about as if he were in a bowl of Jello.  Computer-generated images are always added in at a later time.  In the Production Notes, Letterman says that whenever possible they created a material creature out of make-up and special effects.  Most of the monsters are material or a hybrid of material and CGI, and a few are purely CGI.

         Which of the monsters is the scariest to the actors?  It was generally agreed that Slappy is; he’s a little like Chucky of the Chucky horror movie series.  Jack pointed out that he has the power of teleportation, but is also like Hannibal Lector or Darth Vader because he’s the sinister mastermind.  He represents the darkest part of Stine’s psyche.  Although Avery Lee Jones was the puppeteer/ventriloquist on set, the voice was subsequently replaced with Jack’s. 

          Since Jack Black has two seven and nine year-old boys, I asked about whether they had read the Stine books, and he replied that they hadn’t, although they do like scary stuff and have an app on their iPad that shows creepy things.  When they were younger, he used to make up stories for them at bedtime, such as his own version of Lord of the Rings, with adventures involving Hobbits and dragons.  He always left them with a cliffhanger, e.g.,           “Tomorrow, you’ll find out what happened with the Dragon of Algernon!”

          He was certain when he read the script that his children would enjoy Goosebumps, so they received a special screening at their school in Los Angeles (not the School of Rock, as someone suggested).

         The last scene of Goosebumps leaves the impression of a sequel to come, which Jack said depended on how well this movie fares and how good the script for the next one might be.

         Everyone seemed to leave the conference on an upbeat note, inspired by the actors’ enthusiasm for the film and their fruitful collaboration.  I, for one, think it will be a hit as a Halloween movie this year.  Right now, I’m wanting to see it again!