The House with a Clock in its Walls - Stephen King for Kids Movie Rating 7 out of 10 Family Rating PG rating so no swearing but some scenes may be scary/disturbing for young children. Supernatural themes and images. The movie House with a Clock in its Walls is based on a 1973 novel of the same name written by John Bellairs and was the first in a series consisting of 12 volumes. It follows the adventures of recently orphaned 10-year-old Lewis (Owen Vacarro) who goes to live with his uncle Jonathon (Jack Black) who he has never met before. He arrives to find that his uncle is a self-proclaimed warlock, of average skill, who lives in a creepy old house. Lewis meets Uncle Jonathon's neigbour Florence Zimmerman (Cate Blanchett) who is a good witch but whose magic levels are not as good as they used to be. As Lewis learns to deal with his Uncle's eccentricities and the unique characteristics of the house he also has a desire to develop warlock powers himself. The name of the movie comes into play as Lewis watches his Uncle search for a clock that can be heard ticking but has been hidden in the walls of the house. It was put there by the former warlock owner of the house, Issac Izard, who with his wife Selena had turned to dark magic. The movie focuses on how Lewis develops his powers, has moral choices about how to use them, and then together with Uncle Jonathon and Mrs Zimmerman fight to overcome the evil that is unleashed. Jack Black and Cate Blanchett are excellent in their roles as great friends and have a really good chemistry. Black's best films, School of Rock, Goosebumps come about when he plays off children as the kooky mentor type and this is no exception. Cate Blanchett just seems to be getting younger in each movie I watch and it was good to see her in a lighter role. I haven't seen Owen Vacarro before and without having read the book I had no pre-conceived notion of how he should look or act but he also did a good job. As a stand-alone movie, it was quite entertaining and kept moving along at a good pace. It is not a Harry Potter and I think its weakness is that it only has one main child character and so the movie cannot build that 'buddy' feel about it. You may be surprised to know that this movie was directed by Eli Roth of Hostel and Cabin Fever fame and is his first family film. It is not surprising then that some of the images of dark magic and witchcraft are not your average children standards and it surprised me that with some of the supernatural themes such as raising the dead and a doomsday…

Searching - Why is no one talking about this movie? Movie Rating 9.5 out of 10 Family Rating Adult themes but no swearing, sex, violence. Tonight I watched one of the best drama's I have seen in years. A movie that I only discovered because the trailer was shown during my last visit. This is a hidden gem that needs to be brought to the surface so while it sounds like I'm babbling please make the effort to go and see Searching. I am so sure that you enjoy this movie that I guarantee your money back if you don't like. (I said that without Jene's approval) So why did I love it so much? From the very first shots it plays with your emotions, it tugs at the heartstrings and sets up what you think is the foundation of a story about a small family who has suffered tragedy. Its unique storytelling is made up of text messages, facetime chats, social media strings and yet it is personal the whole time. The suspense begins to build from early in the piece but there are so many twists and turns that you never have the time to feel comfortable with the current status. There are no scenes that do not add to the story and just when you think you have reached the crescendo it lifts to another level with another outcome appearing over the horizon. As a father I felt for David Kim (John Cho) who discovers that his daughter is missing and there are few clues to assist him or Detective Vick (Debra Messing) who has been assigned to investigate the case. Feeling helpless David goes online to try to find out who his daughter Margot (Michelle La) may have been with or where she may have gone. As each clue unfolds he realises that he does not really know his daughter and this adds to his guilt and feelings of helplessness. So as a parent you can relate to his anxiety, guilt, anger and all those other emotions that build up as each part of the story is revealed. David acts as I imagine a real dad would react rather than a Liam Neeson in Taken. All three actors do a really great job portraying their characters and I was really impressed with Messing who I have not seen often in a serious role. To provide any more of the story would lead to spoilers but I was seriously impressed. I pride myself in being able to read a plot and know how a story will evolve well before the end (that's why Jene won't let me watch police shows with her). During this movie, though I constantly found myself picking up clues that I thought would lead to a certain point only to find that I, like David Kim, was no…

  Movie Rating 4 out of 10 Family Rating Not suitable for children and has frightening images with demons and dead nuns etc. If you are a fan of the old Hammer horror film productions starring Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing then the setting of 'The Nun' will get you excited. Picture an old run down Abbey in Romania surrounded by creepy woods, a rundown graveyard and blankets of mist swirling around your feet. Add to this a world-weary priest, who the Vatican teams up with a novice nun to visit this isolated building to determine whether it can still be considered a holy place. Then throw in the creepy Nun who made an appearance in Conjuring 2 and you should have a good old fashioned horror movie, full of suspense, well-timed scares and a need to check under the bed before you go to sleep at night. Unfortunately, there was 'Nun' of that (Apologies for Dad jokes). The Nun is the fifth film in what they are calling the Conjuring Universe which already consists of the two Conjuring and two Annabelle movies. We first come across the Nun in Conjuring 2 when it appears in a vision to Lorraine Warren and turns out to be the form used by a demon called Valak. Those two scenes are quite suspenseful and the appearance of the Nun is quite powerful. However, in this movie, the evil Nun is seen in the first scene and pops up quite regularly floating around the abbey. While scary in small doses the Nun is so often seen during this film that it doesn't have the shock value that it had in The Conjuring. There are only a few cast members and none of any note. The script was poor and the characters had no chemistry and so I never worried about whether they would escape or not. There were a few spots that induced jumps but they became predictable and really were used to cover any real suspense. The only real value of the movie came at the end when it was explained how the demon Valak was able to leave the abbey and later make contact with Lorraine Warren. So once again I leave the theatre disappointed and still waiting for a great horror movie to make me think twice about entering my empty house at night.

Movie Rating 7 out of 10 Family Rating It is PG rated and suitable for teenagers Those of you asking why I would call the movie Crazy Rich Asians a banana have not yet seen the movie. The term 'banana' is an Asian slur used to describe a person of South East Asian heritage living in a Western country and who have lost touch with their cultural identity. Thus yellow on the outside but white on the inside. This movie was heralded as the first Hollywood movie in over 20 years with an entirely Asian cast and while it is a good entertaining movie it is a banana. The story is a light romantic drama that sees Nick Young, Henry Golding, take his American girlfriend Rachel Chu, Constance Wu, home to Singapore to meet his family. Unknown to Rachel, Nick comes from one of the richest families in Asia and therefore is a very eligible bachelor for the mega-rich families back home. Rachel, on the other hand, was brought up by her single mother in a very humble home. Rachel agrees to go but does not realize what she is getting herself into. Having arrived in Singapore and finding out how rich Nick really is, Rachel has to deal with the snobbery and cattiness from Nick's mother, grandmother, aunties, friends, former girlfriends etc who all believe that she is not good enough for him. Rachel is not all on her own as she meets up with Peik Lin, a fellow university student friend and Nick's sister, Astrid who provide support when the nastiness gets her down. Michelle Yeoh plays Nick's mum, Eleanor and there is a good supporting cast. While I enjoyed the movie, it felt that I had seen all the plot points in other movies. The couple's wealth gap from Notting Hill, the mother vs future daughter in law from Monster in law, the kooky family members from My Best Friends Wedding and the cultural divide in My Big Fat Greek Wedding. While it had an all Asian cast it did not show me a culture any different to others. You could have replaced Golding and Wu with Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone and the story could have been told using the exact same dialogue. This story could have been used to show the same plight for an English, Italian or Australian family and you would have only had to change the reference to dumplings with pizza or lamingtons. For a better example of TV displaying Asian family culture I recommend you watch the Australian show 'Family Law' or Wu's 'Fresh off the Boat'. So what was good about the film. It was an easy film to watch with the main couple pulling it all together. Wu has the ability to play sarcasm but without being overbearing or disagreeable. Golding is a natural…