Freeze Frame: “The House the a Clock in its Walls” (PG), “Life Itself” (R)

“The House with a Clock in its Walls” is an atmospheric PG-rated horror movie for kids based on John Bellairs’ novel. Jack Black and Cate Blanchett star in this story about witchcraft, a young kid and a particularly spooky house. Fans of “Harry Potter,” “Goosebumps” and “Lemony Snicket” will find much that’s familiar here, but this adaptation isn’t quite as successful as any of them. Plus, “The House with a Clock in its Walls” is likely too scary for very young kids. Blanchett and Black are fun together, though.

Are you in the mood to be hammered with bubblegum philosophizing in an emotionally manipulative multigenerational drama? When then, “Life Itself” is the four-hankie weeper for you. Written and directed by Dan Fogelman, the creator of TV’s tearjerker, “This is Us,” “Life Itself” has an outstanding cast that includes Oscar Isaac, Olivia Wilde and Anette Bening in a tale about love, loss and the human condition. These fine actors lend some gravitas to the proceedings, but the story is so packed with tragedy that it seems downright sadistic. Also, one of the characters drones on about her thesis on “The Unreliable Narrator.” It’s as if Fogelman were going for self-parody, but it’s done with utter sincerity. “Life Itself” is a head-scratching misfire.

Also opening this week, Julianne Moore and Ken Watanabe star in “Bel Canto,” a thriller about an opera singer taken hostage by terrorists in South America. “Lizzie” tells the tale of infamous axe murderer Lizzie Borden. Chloe Sevigny and Kristen Stewart star. “Love, Gilda” is a documentary about the late comedienne and “Saturday Night Life” star Gilda Radner. “The Song of Sway Lake” is a drama starring Rory Culkin about a theft thwarted by romance.  “Assassination Nation” is an exploitation flick where teen hacking and hazing lead to very, very bad results.

Share This Episode