A DOSE of magic from this adventure flick might be just what you need to give that extra boost to your morale as the year ends.
This fantasy-comedy film is adapted from American novelist John Bellairs’ 1973 book The House with A Clock in Its Walls.
Accentuated by classic comedic theatrics from actors Jack Black and Cate Blanchett, the magic is fully brought to life by the stellar performance of its leading cast.
It is 1955 in New Zebedee, Michigan, where 10-year-old Lewis (Owen Vaccaro) is sent to live with his uncle Jonathan Barnavelt (Jack Black) after his parents perish in a car accident.
Still struggling with the death of his mum and dad, he follows Barnavelt to the rickety old house he now calls home, and is surprised to find the walls covered in ticking clocks.
There, he also meets his uncle’s next door neighbour Florence Zimmerman (Cate Blanchett).
When Lewis finds Barnavelt wandering around the house at night with an axe in his hands, the boy suspects some fishy business.
He soon realises that his uncle and Florence are a little more than eccentric, and discovers that the former is a practicing warlock, and the latter a witch.
Barnavelt and Florence also reveal the mysterious ticking sound in the house is from a clock planted as a practical joke by the previous warlock who occupied it, but neglect to mention the part where it is evil.
Lewis is eager to learn how to be a warlock, and thinks he would be able to make more friends with his cool new abilities.
However, an accidental awakening of the dead scares not only poor Lewis, but also the boy he was counting on to be his friend.
Despite some scenes with menacing pumpkins, this movie is not just a Halloween season filler, like another recent film that Black made an appearance in.
Black’s typical humorous acting is always appreciated, but it is Blanchett’s versatile portrayal of the role that underscored the storyline. (There’s even a scene that depicts Black with a baby’s body, a la Deadpool 2.)
It manages to weave in an underlying message of hope, like how Lewis thought he lost his parents, but found a new family, or “a bevy of black swans,” with his mother’s brother and his next-door witch.
Like Lewis spectacularly exemplifies at the end, sometimes it’s better to embrace your weirdness in order to unleash powerful magic, and prove that he is indeed, indomitable.
