The house with a clock in its walls – a review

Based on the first book of the Lewis Barnave novels this movie follows Lewis as he meets his eccentric uncle Jonathan (Jack Black) and – very purple-  next door neighbour miss Zimmerman (Cate Blanchett). Together they fight a dormant evil lurking in the house with a clock in its walls.

Jack Black is rather gifted at getting involved in Halloween movies for the whole family. Goosebumps a few years ago and now The house with a clock in the walls.

I would include I still know what you last summer and
‘that’ scene from the Jackal –but I’m not right in the head.

THWACITW fits neatly next to Goosebumps as an all out family horror extravaganza. Though, some people online find it ‘too scary’ for the little ones.

Too scary?

Is the movie too scary to take the little children to? I can’t really judge. My childhood was comprised of Skeksis (The dark crystal), rat slaughters (The secret of Nimh), murdered families (The Ewoks adventure: the battle for Endor), Head-removing witches (Return to Oz) and that damned horse in The neverending story.

Plus: Are you afraid of the dark, Goosebumps and Tales from the crypt.

Trust me when I tell you that –when I reached my teens- I could handle everything the world wide web tried to throw at me when that first started.

Having that said; I did recently watch Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle.
Certainly a good movie.
But also a difficult movie to find an audience for.
I think this review accurately puts my thoughts to words (Link).

So I can’t judge. All I can say is that THWACITW, to me, wasn’t scary per se (except for that baby). The fearful stuff is to be expected but (it is) always toned down so the audience won’t suffer too greatly. Moreover, from the get-go this movie holds out the promise that everything will be alright in the end –and it will be.

Children need a little bit of fear I guess. There will always be witches hovering over their bed or a monster under it no matter what movie they see.

Too quirky?

Cate Blanchett is currently having a blast with her career going all over the place genre-wise. One minute she’s Thor’s evil sister, then she’s nicking jewellery with Danny Ocean’s sister and now she’s wand-waving fresh out of Hogwarts. The actress wanted to have some fun and who can blame her.

Fun THWACITW is for the two adult actors. The screenplay is filled to the brim with witty bantering between Miss Zimmerman and Jonathan Barnavelt. From the moment you first lay eyes on this odd couple you know that they are the best of friends (maybe even more since miss Zimmerman’s age has been reduced considerably for this movie) as they fire insult after insult at each other with the biggest grins.

Acting wise, however, this isn’t a very challenging movie. There are only a few scenes that require the actors to broaden their range. The majority is just reacting to things and giving each other space to act (something Black sometimes forgets - but that's his charm).

The main role of Lewis is for Owen Vaccaro. I assume that THWACITW was made with the possibility of a franchise in mind, and with him as the main actor I can see that happen.

Now, in 2018 that’s actually rare.

Remember when the movie landscape was bombarded with all those teen-adult movies;

one after the other hoping that at least one would stick. That wasn’t even that long ago.

He isn’t too skilled in the craft of acting yet (neither was Dan Radcliffe in the first Potter-movies) but he certainly gives it his all. One hilarious overacted scene near the end proved that much to me; he feels right at home in this quirky part.

Does this clock tick?

Because that’s one of the main reasons I liked this movie; it feels tailor made for me. I like strange (dark) humour, automatons, gothic houses, old books, magic and a dash of terror. There’s a reason Sleuth is my all time favourite movie.

So THWACITW resonates with me. The question, however, is does it resonate with the rest of the world? Time will tell.

Because that’s the most unpredictable thing about the American movie business: the audience. The movie producers can’t always tell which movie will be a success and which won’t. That’s why we get sequels and remakes all the time: originality (even an adaptation) is financially dangerous.

I, however, have faith that THWACITW will be successful enough to play on Halloween for years to come –even as a possible franchise starter for that matter. The groundwork has been laid out by the Harry Potter-movies and the ongoing revival of gothic horror. If there is one possible bump in the road it would be that the audience might find this movie ‘too safe’ – too much following the lightning-scared-boy-wizard template.

Luckily we have Eli Roth to nudge THWACITW in a marvellously unexpected direction without ever losing track of what kind of story he is telling.

Eli Roth directing a children’s movie?

Now this one came out of the left field. But it could work. After all Michael Scorsese made one of the best children’s movies of the last decade: Hugo. Even without killing poor Joe Pesci over and over again.

I’m not a big fan of Roth’s movies. I like the original Hostal for its originality and the willingness to ‘go there’. But after the novelty of this new genre wore off so did his movies. He needed to reinvent himself as a teller of other kinds of stories. And, with THWACITW he did marvellously.

A leopard can’t change its spots (as the saying goes) so, of course, there has to be some genuine spooks and scares in the movie. But THWACITW –to me- knows perfectly well how to balance it. Every fright is downplayed with a laugh. Dramatic scenes don’t overtake the screentime. Just enough to give the movie a heart without making it pretentious.

Storytelling for children is –as the movie actually (unwittingly) spotlights- not about the words on the page but the way you tell it.

If you stretch scenes too long or over-dramatise scenes kids will lose interest –and kids are honest.

Roth gets this balance right. With visual flair (and some exquisite set design) he directs the camera through this magical household where everything can move and nothing is what it seems (and some things might try to grab you). He can’t help himself to put some genuine scare in here and there. But, then again, he’s like me: we were never the same after Atrax.

The clock stops (and starts).

The house with a clock in its walls is a quirky fun filled fantasy horror for the whole family. Some parents might find this movie too scary. Maybe they are right. But, then again, when the best children’s movies of the 2000 are Coralline (no certainty for a happy ending), The Iron Giant (A nuclear missile launched), Hugo and Harry Potter (how many died?) maybe it’s time to accept that darkness is an essential part of a child’s life.

This movie delivers the darkness in such a charming humorous way that –I for one- can’t wait for the franchise to start. I want to see what kind of pickle Jonathan, Lewis and Florence get themselves into next time. Tick-tock.

Bohemian Rhapsody – a review

The dramatization of the rock band Queen from the start all the way up to their legendary performance at Wembley stadium during Live aid: all this through the eyes of the extraordinary front man Freddy Mercury.

There you have it, the Queen-film as it is often called in casual conversation. I had my doubts about the movie (link) and, in the end I was partially right in my prediction. Bohemian Rhapsody is a slick, well acted biopic of Freddy Mercury that is at times uneven in the story it wants to tell and, above all, too polished to make a dent.

If you love the music from Queen and don’t care much about the drama this is the movie for you. I you wanted an insight in the legend that is Freddy Mercury you’d have to wait a few years until the real Mercury movie comes out.

You don’t fool me - Uneven story

Bohemian Rhapsody tells an uneven story. On the one hand it is the story of the band Queen but it only starts when Mercury joins the Roger Taylor and Brian May’s band Smile. On the other hand it is the story of Freddy Mercury but, then again, it shows nothing of his youth. Again it starts when he joins the band.

Bohemian Rhapsody is neither a biopic of a person nor is it a biopic of an organization or (in this case) band. The movie falls somewhere in-between not really knowing what story it is telling; Queen or Freddy.

Then there’s the polishing that truly harms the movie. The reason why I like Walk the line or Lawrence of Arabia is because the viewer gets to see these famous people for who they truly are. And yes; sometimes a person can be a bit of a bastard.

Or if you subvert it in the movie Monster; even the biggest monster can be friendly at times.

Bohemian Rhapsody does try to play with the notion that Freddy Mercury wasn’t perfect but never in a truly harmful way – like Lawrence and his god complex. It is obvious at times that Roger Taylor and Brian May had massive influence in the movie. That they vetoed out any possible harmful details of the Queen/Mercury-legacy. To give an example:

In a meta-sense it is rather telling that the Roger Taylor-character’s hatred for Paul Prenter in this movie turns out to be justified. The fact that Roger Taylor and Brian May has such influence in the movie-making-process suggests that they pinpointed this man to be the man for the audience to hate.

Anybody who knows Queen and read one or two books about the band knows that the truth is a bit more grey than portrayed in the movie. But, more importantly in a narrative sense: a biopic doesn’t need a villain. A biopic is all about being human and the mistakes we make. So just the fact that the movie included a cut-clear villain tells me that it is afraid to bring some darkness to Freddy Mercury – preferring him to be the messiah-character with the golden voice.

The second bit of proof for this statement is an obvious one: the movie only glances at the ‘happy debauchery’ (for want of a better word) Mercury enjoyed in the gay-scene. Now, obviously a PG-13 rated movie can’t show everything; but a bit more focus on Mercury’s lifestyle would’ve helped to flesh out the character.

That’s not to say that the script doesn’t touch upon real gems of storytelling. There is a glimmer here and there of the duality in Mercury’s character of the silent homebody and the extravagant stage performer. And then –my favourite scene in the entire movie even though it is corny as heck- the way Mercury accepts his ‘fate’ as an AIDS victim.

Walking out the hospital he is recognized by a young man who is obviously in the last stage of the illness. There is a moment of acceptance between the two, the star and the ordinary Joe, in which they both recognize that life is fickle.

The great pretender - Acting

The acting then is absolutely top notch. Of course this movie is ‘Freddy’s’ show and Rami Malek portrays him to a key. All the little mannerism and ways of speaking ‘The great pretender’ possessed, Malek mimics without overdoing it. At times you forget that you are watching an actor playing Mercury.

This is especially impressive when you imagine the actor performing the ‘live’ gigs in a studio against a green-screen.

With the Papillion-remake and now this one-man-show under his belt it is clear that we are dealing with a very capable actor who dares to take on a variety of difficult roles.

The same goes for the rest of the band Ben Hardy and Gwilym Lee as Taylor and May respectively (and, again, Taylor looks absolutely gorgeous in drag in the 'I want to break free' video) look and act their parts with all the little mannerisms that their real-life counterparts posses.

Me, as a life-long John Deacon AND Jurassic Park fan I especially enjoyed seeing Joe Mazzello in the part of the bassist. In Queen (or the Queen revival for that matter) Deacon was always a bit in the background, never taking the spotlight. The movie does the same thing, the man is there but hardly speaking. In the end he is just as mysterious as his real life counterpart. Whether this was intentional or just a happy accident I don’t know. But I like the fact that this fictional movie overlaps with reality when it comes to the bassist.

Breakthrough - Visual flair

Visually Bohemian Rhapsody is charming. Apart from the, always fun, design of those eighties clothing and sets it are the 80s-elements that give the movie its unique style. Relying heavily on the motive of those reflexive pilot glasses that Mercury was prone to wear the film is filled to the brim with reflexion shots.

Obviously one can ‘read’ this as a metaphor for Mercury hiding his sexuality. But even without this deeper possible meaning it just gives the movie a nice visual break from (what is basically) a dialogue film.

Halfway through the movie, when the band becomes successful, there are some nice montage sequences that show how much the movie relied on the editing process –like the movie only truly found its pacing in the post-production. A funny rooster gag and some neon-outline animation techniques are welcome additions to the visual style the movie tries to achieve. Unnecessary when you think about it but still a pleasant addition.

The only time this style could’ve truly worked in a completive manner is when the camera follows Mercury on his endeavours in the gay-scene. But, as noted, the scene itself only glimpses at this time in Mercury’s life. So the style used never gets the chance to do its job.

More interesting then are the occasional coercive camera-positions (low angle shots) that elevate Mercury from a man to a legend. These shots show that the people behind the movie truly love Queen and want to give the movie all the love the band deserves. But, as I wrote above, too much love will kill you hurts the movie.

I want it all – conclusion

Bohemian Rhapsody doesn’t know whether it is telling a story about Freddy Mercury or Queen. Moreover, the movie is afraid to show Freddy who he truly was. Still, in the end, it is a charming movie because the acting is flawless, the visual style well chosen and the music is –obviously- perfect. It’s just that the movie is too stuck on image-building for its own good.

In the next movie about Freddy Mercury I want to see who he was before (or outside) Queen and how he dealt with the hardships thrown at him. Bohemian Rhapsody is the first step in exploring this fascinating man, but only innuendo.

Mixed Tape Movies: What we did on our summer holiday

In the eighties it was the-thing-to-do to make a mixed tape (like an mp3 but touchable, always in need of a pencil and definitely cooler). On it you would make a little playlist of all the cool songs. Now the trick was to make each song correspond with the rest of the tape. In this post I will try to do the same with movies.

Every once in a while I will select a general topic and select movies to accompany it. As you can see the more child-friendly movies are at the start of the day, but  when night falls: ‘here be monsters’. Please feel free to give suggestions of other unknown movies.

One rule though: Auteur themes like ‘Shakespeare’ or ‘James Bond’ are not allowed. ‘Spy-movies’, naturally, are.

Theme: Summer holiday.

While I am writing this on the third day of Christmas it's actually freezing outside. So a perfect time, for me, to explore some sun filled summer movies.

08:00-10:00

Swallows and Amazons: The ultimate summer holiday kids film. I prefer the 1974 One over the other versions because it has the best mixture of childish joy and adventure. True, this version is probably terribly boring for today’s kids (I almost fell asleep when I re-watched it a few months back) but still here it is.

10:00-12:00 

Troop Beverly Hills: Spoiled children and dirt: always a wonderful combination. Troop Beverly Hills proves that there is movie material even in the fleetest of single-joke-concepts. Still it works because the writers managed to give this movie a bit of heart. Even the most cynical part of me can’t deny that. 

12:00-14:00

Camp nowhere: A hilarious comedy that’s gradually building up to the final act in which the movie can go absolutely bonkers. In this sense it’s a one trick pony, but with a heart of gold.

The kids are shipped off to a camp they don’t want to be in. And the camp leader is in no way, fit to control the children. But in the end he, in his clumsiness, learns them all the valuable lessons in life. As a good movie should do.

14:00-16:00

Don’t tell mom: the babysitter is dead: A very uneven movie that was sold to the cinemagoers as a black comedy featuring an evil incarnate 80+ babysitter. Nothing is further from the truth.

DTMTBID is basically a troop of abandoned children trying to make do in which every endeavour succeeds far above any (reality based) expectations. As ‘80s movies usually do.

I would have preferred an all out war between the babysitter and the kids (like Schatjes). But, then again, the end result is too sweet not to like. Plus it features Mulder (David Duchovny) playing an absolute bastard.

16:00-17:00

The great outdoors: Two John Candy movies back-to-back. First The great outdoors. John Candy was great at playing the ‘regular’ father who ends up in a whole mess of problems. This movie is no exception. But with a twist: there is a big scary bear chasing him.

17:00-19:00

Summer rental: The second Candy movie is the better one. The balance between the family members and their own problems is a bit more leveled out. Also this movie features a delicious villain and some strange pirates.

19:00-21:00

What we did on our holiday: Billy Connolly is one of the greatest comedians ever. But he’s also a rather gifted actor (just take Mss. Brown for instance). Here he plays the grandfather of a bunch of kids who likes the idea of a viking burial. So, when he dies on the beach, they grant grandpa’s last wish.

Which isn’t something their parents quite agree with.

21:00-23:00

Welp/Cup: Boy scouts. I could have opted for the classic Follow me boys!. But that one is a bit too patriotic for my taste. Cup shows what boys truly are like (getting the porn mags out the minute their leader left). With this grounded approach to scout-life this movie offers a wonderful dark tale of a madman in the woods. And since this is a European movie, don’t expect all the scouts to survive the night.

23:00-01:00

Sleepaway camp: The ending. Oh, my, God, the ending.

I started at the screen for a solid three minutes when I saw it. Then I started in a giggly fit.

It is also one of the most brutal yet bloodless slashers I’ve ever seen.

 
01:00-03:00 

Friday the 13^th: The classic. What went on at Crystal Lake? The original is perfect in every way. True, you need a small acceptance for bad acting. But apart from that it’s a wonderful ride because you never see Jason coming.