THE HOUSE WITH A CLOCK IN ITS WALLS (2018) – My rating: 5.5/10

The House with a Clock in Its Walls is a 2018 American family fantasy film directed by Eli Roth, based on the 1973 juvenile fiction novel of the same name by John Bellairs. The film follows a young boy who is sent to live with his uncle in his creaky old house. He soon learns it was previously also inhabited by his uncle’s former friend who happens to be a warlock.  I thought this movie was going to be a really good one, which is not the case.

The House with a Clock in it’s Walls is set in the year 1955. Ten-year-old Lewis Barnavelt (Owen Vaccaro) goes to New Zebedee, Michigan to live with his uncle Jonathan Barnavelt (Jack Black) who lives in a creaky old house which has a mysterious ticking sound that seems to be coming from the walls. Despite being recently orphaned, Lewis just wants to have a normal childhood but discovers his Uncle Jonathan is a mediocre but well-intentioned warlock, while his next-door neighbor and good friend Florence Zimmerman (Cate Blanchett) is a far more powerful good witch. The house was previously owned by Isaac (Kyle MacLachlan)  and Selena Izard (Renée Elise Goldsberry) a powerful couple in the game of witchery and a partner to Uncle Jonathan. Before dying, this sinister couple constructed a diabolical plan that puts the whole world in jeopardy. The ticking has something to do with their plan, so Uncle Jonathan and Ms. Zimmerman spends most of their time investigating where and what the ticking is and what exactly, the plan, left by Issac and his wife, is. In the meanwhile, Lewis is trying his best to fit in and makes a friend, Tarby Corrigan (Sunny Suljic) in school.

I absolutely hated this movie. It was boring, slow and silly, as it was all over the place. I felt the whole production was a waste of Cate Blanchett’s talent. She is definitely over qualified for this role. While I realize The House with a Clock in it’s Walls is a children’s movie, I don’t think any child would fall for the ridiculous plot. I didn’t enjoy the movie nor did I find the cast convincing. This may have been the worse movie Disney put their efforts in. All I can say is The Clock and the House is a ticking time bomb. If you must see The House with a Clock in it’s Walls, try and wait for the DVD.

 

OCEAN’S 8 (2018) – My rating: 7/10

Ocean’s 8 (stylized onscreen as Ocean’s Eight) is a comedy directed by Gary Ross and written by Ross and Olivia Milch. The film is a spin-off from Steven Soderbergh’s Ocean’s trilogy and features an ensemble cast.  Ocean’s 8 follows a group of women, led by Debbie Ocean, who plan on robbing a very expensive necklace, after serving time for a crime she actually didn’t commit.

 

**** THIS PLOT HAS SOME SPOILERS **** 

Debbie Ocean (Sandra Bullock), the younger sister of the late Danny Ocean (character from the previous Oceans 11 through 13), spends five years, eight months and twelve days in prison planning a heist. Debbie convinces her partner-in-crime and friend Lou (Cate Blanchett) to join forces with her while she proceeds to recruit a jewelry maker,  Amita (Mindy Kaling), a profiteer, Tammy (Sarah Paulson), a street hustler, Constance (Awkwafina), a computer cracker, Leslie a.k.a. Nine Ball (Rihanna), and a fashion designer, Rose Weil (Helena Bonham Carter). The film reveals in a flashback that Debbie’s ex-lover, Claude Becker (Richard Armitage), had involved her in a fraudulent scheme, then testified against her, which resulted in the 5+ years prison sentence she served. However, unbeknownst to Becker and as payback, Debbie chooses him to be the scapegoat for the plot to steal the Toussaint, a $150 million necklace to be worn by Daphne Kluger (Anne Hathaway), at New York City’s star-studded annual Met Gala.

Cast who appeared in a reprised, cameo role:
Dakota Fanning cameos as Penelope Stern
Elliott Gould reprises his role as Reuben Tishkoff
Shaobo Qin reprise his roles as  “The Amazing” Yen
Marlo Thomas, Dana Ivey, Mary Louise Wilson and Elizabeth Ashley cameos as actresses who help the crew shift their stolen gems.

These celebrities make cameo appearances as themselves:
Anna Wintour, Zayn Malik, Katie Holmes, Maria Sharapova, Serena Williams, Kim Kardashian, Adriana Lima, Kylie Jenner, Alexander Wang, Nina Cuso, Kendall Jenner, Gigi Hadid, Lily Aldridge, Olivia Munn, Zac Posen, Hailey Baldwin, Derek Blasberg, Heidi Klum and Lauren Santo Domingo.

I didn’t know what to expect from this movie but I have now formed an opinion that Ocean’s 8 was somewhat entertaining and somewhat boring and very unbelievable.  While the premise was okay, the overall execution was ridiculous and sloppy.  I think this film could have been thought out better before presenting it, especially to the Ocean’s trilogy fans.  Speaking of presentation, I thought Cate Blanchett looked fabulously beautiful, I hardly recognized her.  That’s not to say she isn’t beautiful all the time, it’s just to say she was especially beautiful in Ocean’s 8.  My recommendation is to wait for the DVD.  It’ll be an enjoyable night of watching movies at best!

THOR: RAGNAROK (2017) – My rating: 9/10

Thor: Ragnarok is a superhero action film based on the Marvel Comics character Thor and is the sequel to 2013’s Thor: The Dark World. The film is directed by Taika Waititi from a screenplay by Eric Pearson and the writing team of Craig Kyle and Christopher Yost.  It is my humble opinion that Thor: Ragnarok is the best of the Thor trilogy.  It’s well written with an excellent plot and an enjoyable host of characters, new and old.  As of late, we’ve been bombarded with super heroes and gods from other planets as well as AFI, cyborgs, robots and transforming machines that come to save or destroy the world, in abundance.  Not that Thor is not more of the aforementioned group, it’s just more relatable and pleasant in terms of the human aspect.

Thor opens two years after the Battle of Sokovia with Thor (Chris Hemsworth) imprisoned by the fire demon Surtur (Clancy Brown (voice)) on the alien planet of Sakaar.  Surtur reveals that Thor’s father, Odin (Anthony Hopkins) is no longer on Asgard and that the realm will soon be destroyed in the prophesied Ragnarök once he successfully unites his crown with the Eternal Flame that burns beneath the city.  Thor manages to break loose and defeat Surtur, confiscating the crown and stopping the impending Ragnarök.

Thor returns to Asgard to find his adopted brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston) posing as his father. Thor forces Loki to help him find their father and with directions from Dr. Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) on Earth, they locate Odin in Norway. Odin explains that he is dying, and that his passing will allow his firstborn child, Hela (Cate Blanchett), to escape from a prison she was sealed in long ago. Hela had been the leader of Asgard’s armies, and had conquered the Nine Realms with Odin, but had been imprisoned and written out of history after her ambitions became too great. Odin dies, and Hela appears. She destroys Thor’s hammer Mjolnir, and when Thor and Loki attempt to flee through the Bifröst Bridge, she pursues them and forces them out into space to die. Hela arrives in Asgard, destroying its army and the Warriors Three; resurrects the ancient dead who once fought with her, including her giant wolf Fenris; and appoints the Asgardian Skurge (Karl Urban) as her executioner. She plans to use the Bifröst to expand Asgard’s empire, but Heimdall (Idris Elba) covertly steals the sword that controls the Bridge, and hides away with the rest of Asgard’s citizens.

Thor crash-lands on Sakaar, a garbage planet surrounded by wormholes. He is captured by a bounty hunter named Scrapper 142 / Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson), and taken to serve as a gladiator for the planet’s ruler, the Grandmaster (Jeff Goldblum), with whom Loki has already become ingratiated. Thor recognizes 142 as one of the Valkyrior, a legendary force of female fighters who were killed defending Asgard from Hela long ago. Thor is forced to compete in the Grandmaster’s Contest of Champions, facing his old friend the Hulk / Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo).

As you can see, Thor: Ragnarok has extensive content.  This is just an introduction into a brilliant story of survival, love and leadership with loads of action and fantasy.  There are more twist and turns than I can count and I promise, you won’t be bored.  I loved all the character revivals and introductions.  Good job, good message, good movie and brilliant acting.

I’ve provided some additional history into a few of the characters, compliments of : Kevin Feige, Taika Waititi and the cast of Thor: Ragnarok at the 2017 San Diego Comic-Con

WARNING — LOTS OF SPOILERS BELOW:

• Chris Hemsworth as Thor:
  The crown prince of Asgard based on the Norse mythological deity of the same name, who has become a “lone gunslinger” searching for the Infinity Stones. Hemsworth had become “a bit bored” with the character after portraying Thor four times previously, and wanted to take some risks and experiment: the character has shorter hair in the film, wears a different outfit, his hammer Mjolnir is destroyed and he loses an eye. Director Taika Waititi added that “stripping” the character down like this allowed him to become a refugee at the end of the film. Waititi also wanted to use more of Hemsworth’s comedic talents showcased in films like Vacation (2015) and Ghostbusters (2016), and cited Kurt Russell’s portrayal of Jack Burton from Big Trouble in Little China as an influence on the character.
• Tom Hiddleston as Loki:
  Thor’s adoptive brother and nemesis based on the deity of the same name.  Hiddleston was interested in how Loki’s attitude has changed, saying, “he is always a trickster. It is trying to find new ways for him to be mischievous”. As the ruler of Asgard since the end of Thor: The Dark World, Hiddleston notes that “Loki has devoted most of his efforts to narcissistic self-glorification. Not so much on good governance.” He also added that “the idea that Thor might be indifferent to Loki is troubling for him, because that’s a defining feature of his character … ‘My brother doesn’t love me; I hate my brother.’ And the idea his brother’s like, yeah, whatever, it’s an interesting development.”
• Cate Blanchett as Hela:
  Odin’s first born child and the goddess of death, based on the deity Hel, who is inadvertently released from her prison. Blanchett noted the difficulty of playing the role in a motion capture suit rather than costume, feeling the character’s headdress is “such a huge part of when she comes into the height of her powers in the film”. Hela’s design was taken from Thor: God of Thunder by Jason Aaron, while the character Gorr from that comic, who has the ability “to manifest an infinite number of weapons”, inspired a similar ability for Hela. Blanchett worked with stuntwoman Zoë Bell, Hemsworth’s personal trainer Luke Zocchi, and studied capoeira for the role.
• Idris Elba as Heimdall:
  The all-seeing, all-hearing Asgardian sentry of the Bifröst Bridge, based on the deity of the same name, who has gone into self-imposed exile during Loki’s reign. After Hela invades Asgard, he helps to hide its vulnerable citizens. Describing Heimdall’s character arc in the film, Winderbaum says, “he’s gone from this elder statesmen, the gatekeeper to Asgard, to this badass warrior-wizard character who lives in the hills and kicks a lot of ass throughout the entire film.”
• Jeff Goldblum as Grandmaster:
  One of the Elders of the Universe who rules the planet Sakaar, and enjoys manipulating lesser life-forms. Goldblum described the character as “a hedonist, a pleasure-seeker, an enjoyer of life and tastes and smells”. He also said that Waititi encouraged improvisation in order for Goldblum to “make [the character his] own”. Waititi explained that Grandmaster does not have blue skin in the film as the character does in the comics, because Goldblum had already played a blue-colored character in Earth Girls Are Easy, and because Waititi did not want to detract from Goldblum’s personality by concealing his appearance. Grandmaster is the brother of Benicio del Toro’s Collector from Guardians of the Galaxy, and producer Kevin Feige expressed interest in seeing the two together in a future film.
• Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie:
  A tough, hard-drinking Asgardian bounty hunter, based on the mythological being Brynhildr, who was once a legendary warrior of the Valkyrior and now works for the Grandmaster under the designation “Scrapper 142”. Thompson said the various versions of the character from the comics “left us a lot of leeway” in creating the film version.^[20] Waititi “wanted to make sure we weren’t making a female character that was boring and pretty” and Feige said Marvel wanted to pair Thor with a love interest more his equal than Jane Foster. Thompson was inspired by pictures of Linda Hamilton as Sarah Connor in Terminator 2: Judgment Day while training for the role and worked with dialect coach Andrew Jack to create an Asgardian-sounding accent that was different enough to sound like she had been away from there for a long time. Thompson will appear in future MCU films.
• Karl Urban as Skurge:
  An Asgardian warrior, who guards the Bifröst Bridge in Heimdall’s absence and chooses to join Hela to survive. Urban shaved his head for the role, and worked out to “get into the zone and feel” the part even though his body is hidden under a costume. Urban said Skurge “makes a deal with the devil” and becomes Hela’s “henchman. He does the dirty jobs. And that sort of is something he has to—it plays on his conscience.”
• Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner / Hulk:
  A genius scientist who, because of exposure to gamma radiation, transforms into a monster when enraged or agitated. He becomes a successful and popular gladiator on Sakaar. He is in “perma-Hulk mode”, having suppressed the Banner side for a few years, and forming the vocabulary “of a toddler” with the level of Hulk’s speech being “a big conversation” between Waititi and Marvel since it was taking into account future appearances for the character. Ragnarok begins an arc for the character that continues in Avengers: Infinity War and its untitled sequel, stemming from discussions Ruffalo had with Feige.  Ruffalo felt Hulk was “much more of a character than the green rage machine you’ve seen in the Avengers movies. He’s got a swagger.” Waititi provided additional motion capture for the Hulk after Ruffalo had completed his scenes.
• Anthony Hopkins as Odin:
  The king of Asgard, father of Thor, and adoptive father of Loki, based on the deity of the same name. The character is in exile on Earth, and was originally intended to be a “crazy-looking” hobo on the streets of New York City, but Waititi ultimately felt that this was tragic rather than funny given the character’s death during the sequence. The sequence was changed to take place in Norway, to “honor” the character’s past and be more authentic to his role as a king of Asgard. Waititi was surprised by the improvisational ability of Hopkins after he was told “to be funny and to really destroy what’s come before [with the role] and recreate it.”

Additionally, Tadanobu Asano, Ray Stevenson, and Zachary Levi reprise their roles as Hogun, Volstagg, and Fandral, respectively, members of the Warriors Three.  They are all killed early in the film, which Feige called “noble ends” that served to establish the threat of Hela and the danger she poses to the main characters. Benedict Cumberbatch reprises his role as Stephen Strange from the film Doctor Strange. Rachel House, who has appeared in several of Waititi’s films, plays Topaz, the Grandmaster’s bodyguard, while Waititi portrays Korg, a gladiator who befriends Thor. Waititi provided a motion-capture performance for the character, who is made of rocks, and wanted to do something different by having the character be soft-spoken, ultimately basing Korg’s voice on that of Polynesian bouncers. Waititi also provided the motion-capture performance for the fire demon Surtur, based on the mythological being Surtr, with Clancy Brown providing the voice for that character. Thor co-creator Stan Lee makes a cameo appearance as a man on Sakaar who cuts Thor’s hair. There are also several cameos in a sequence where Asgardian actors perform a play based on the events of The Dark World: Sam Neill, who Waititi previously worked with on Hunt for the Wilderpeople, plays the Odin actor; Luke Hemsworth, brother of Chris, plays the Thor actor; and Matt Damon plays the Loki actor.

CINDERELLA (2015) – My rating: 7.5/10

How many times has this movie been remade? There just seems to be a fascination about this story, like none other. I think the more wicked the stepmother and the bigger the revenge at the end, the better the movie. Cate Blanchett makes one of the best evil, wicket, mean stepmothers I’ve seen to date. She just seems to wallow in her meanness. The two stepsisters, Anastasia (Holliday Grainger) and Drisella (Sophie McShera) were equally as mean. What hatred they displayed throughout the movie. In this version of Cinderella, mom knew her daughters were dumb and dumber. She also knew they were not eye candy, which made her all the more jealous of her step daughter, Cinderella. She also admitted to her anger over the fact that she had now loss two husbands and is left to fend, financially, for herself. As for Cinderella, she was the biggest push over of all but always happy and cheerful. Before the evil step family came into her life, Ella, as she was called then, (Lily James) lived with her parents (Ben Chaplin and Hayley Atwell), on their estate and were quite well off and happy. She had relationships with all the animals and a very special one with her beloved father.  As we all know, nothing last forever. Ella’s mother fell ill and passed on leaving Ella and her father alone to deal with their grief. After many years, Ella’s dad decided it was time to start enjoying life once again by taking on a wife. Ella agreed and so her father’s new wife moved in with her two daughters, making Ella’s life a living nightmare. Not too long after, while on a business trip, Ella’s father took ill and died, leaving his daughter in the most horrific situation. Ella’s name was changed to Cinderella and she was relocated to the attic and to save money, the entire staff was dismissed. She was given leftover scraps from the table to eat and no new cloths to wear. All chores were carried out by Cinderella while the others did nothing.  The only friends Cinderella had were the animals. I believe everyone knows the rest of this story so I won’t elaborate any further. I’ll just say, to my surprise, Cinderella became strong and revenge was sweet in the end.

This version of the classic fairy tale was very well done. The costumes were beautiful and the acting was superb. Cinderella is available on DVD, so no loss if you decide to rent it.

[CINDERELLA is nominated for Costume Design]

 

CAROL (2015) – My rating: – 8/10

Life and especially the way people thought in 1952 was quite different from what it is today. Carol is set in New York and deals with two gay women, Therese Belivet, (Rooney Mara) a sales girl and aspiring photographer working in Frankenberg’s department store in Manhattan and an older, glamorous woman, Carol Aird, (Cate Blanchett) who was shopping for a gift for her daughter, Rindy, (Sadie Heim) during the Christmas holiday. After purchasing a set of trains and having a friendly conversation with Therese, Carol accidentally leaves her gloves behind. Using Carol’s sales slip to obtain her name and address, Therese returns the gloves to Carol by mail. Carol, who is going through a messy divorce from her husband, Harge, (Kyle Chandler) calls the department store to thank Therese for sending her gloves and invites Therese to lunch. Once the two ladies meet, they find that they are intrigued with one another, thus a relationship begins. Carol invites Therese to New Jersey for Christmas at her home. Therese uses the opportunity to also take pictures as well as cultivate a relationship.

Before the evening gets started, Harge appears and announces he has come to take Rindy away with him for the holidays. An argument ensues, Harge is suspicious of Therese and things get ugly. Everyone leaves and the plot thickens. Carol is mostly about what encounters after this incident, so I won’t tell any more of the story. As usual, Cate Blanchett’s acting was outstanding and while I’m not familiar with Rooney Mara, who reminds me of a young Mia Farrow, is also a brilliant actress. She played a gay Therese with an innocence that was so convincing, I believed her every word. Carol was slow but I couldn’t see it directed any other way. We had to get to know the character of Carol who was sophisticated and eloquent and Therese who was quiet and somewhat passive. Carol is a pretty good movie if you like a nice soft, quite film to ponder.

[Carol is nominated for Best Actress, Best Supporting Actress, Cinematography, Costume Design, Original Score and Adapted Screenplay]

 

THE MONUMENTS MEN (2014) – My rating: 6.5/10

The Monuments Men is a true story that takes place during WW2 and covers a very important era in history.  However, I am sorry to report that this film is not what one would expect.  It was a little confusing in the beginning, as I felt the director (George Clooney) assumed we knew military lingo and protocol proceedings.  It was as if the characters were carrying on their very own private conversations during an ambiguous opening.  The plan was to retrieve art stolen by the Nazis and return it to the rightful owners.  The plan was hard for the audience and, surprisingly, the military to understand.  I tried to follow along but soon became lost.  Midway through, The Monuments Men started to come to life.  I feel this was a noble gesture on the part of the US Military and was carried out to the best of their ability.  The Nazi’s still managed to destroy millions of paintings rather than allow the owners to repossess them.

For some reason, George Cloony, who plays Frank Stokes, is hard to take seriously.  He always seems to have a humorous persona. Bill Murray as Richard Campbell and Matt Damon as James Granger were brilliant as was John Goodman, who played Walter Garfield and Bob Balaban who played Preston Salvatz.  Cate Blanchett played Claire Simone/Rose Valland, the real life curator of the Jeu De Paume museum in Paris, France.  Rose documented all the paintings  that came through the museum and their rightful owners.  You can imagine how valuable this information became for this “special tasked platoon” known as The Monuments Men.

I don’t think this was a terrible movie but it wasn’t a good one.  Aside from the confusing lead-in, I found The Monuments Men a bit lack luster and at times, a bit boring.  George Clooney and Matt Damon seemed to dominate most scenes leaving Murray and Goodman overshadowed and under used.  Overall, once you get past all the unsettleing beginnings, it finally gets much better.  The Monuments Men is now on DVD and is worth an otherwise unfruitful evening.

BLUE JASMINE (2013) – My rating: 8/10

WON FOR:BEST ACTRESS

Cate Blanchett has given a riveting performance of a woman who is on the border of insanity.  Blue Jasmine sends a few profound messages.  One being honesty, which lends itself to reality that can set you free of your demons, if you can deal with the truth.  The character Jasmine is about as unstable as a stack of multi-sized blocks stacked 3 feet high.   After living the life of the rich and semi-quasi famous in New York, Jasmine finds herself living with her lower middle class, adopted sister (played by Sally Hawkins) in San Francisco.  Things get pretty crazy as Jasmine tries to make sense of her life and get back on her feet.  Alec Baldwin also gives a worthy performance as Jasmine’s  crooked husband while Andrew Dice Clay plays her sister’s ex-husband.  Over all,  Woody Allen has directed  another fine film.   Cate Blanchett turned in a performance that is every bit worthy of an Oscar.

[BLUE JASMINE is nominated for Best Actress, Best Supporting Actress and Original Screenplay]