Platypuschow Review of The House with a Clock in Its Walls

The House with a Clock in Its Walls (2018)

The House with a Clock in Its Walls: Take what you'd expect, and that's basically it

[5/10 · 21 December 2018]

Jack Black is in a redemption phase for me, he hasn't been funny for a while not since Gulliver's Travels (2010) in fact. This certainly isn't doing much for him, but it's a step in the right direction.

Starring him, Cate Blanchett and Kyle MacLachlan this family feature is quite dark in places, lacks enough laughs to be called a comedy and really brings no surprises to the table.

What I'm saying is that The House with a Clock in Its Walls is basically a very generic paint by numbers Hollywood family movie, it just has a competent cast to rise it above mediocrity.

Sure I'm not the demographic, but I liked Goosebumps (2015) which was a very similar formula. Black is great, Blanchett is great, the whole thing though was played a tad safe for my liking.

The Good:

Cast deliver

A couple of chuckles are to be found

The Bad:

Some poor cgi

Not funny enough for a comedy

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

There is hope for Black yet

Kids shouldn't lead films, they suck. In fact they should be seen and not heard.......scratch that not seen and not heard.