RunPee

The app that tells you the best time to

run and pee during a movie without missing the best scenes.

100% free (donation supported) Apple App Store | Google Play Store

Movie Review – The House With A Clock In Its Walls

Read Time:2 Minute, 6 Second

I wish this film was better. It started out lively, with some nice funky humor for a while. There were good production values throughout. Unfortunately, the story went downhill fast at the middle mark, and became a dreadful muddle by the end. I watched the children in the theater to make sure it wasn’t just me, and yup…the kids were bouncing around, completely bored, even during the climax. Bummer.

[pullquote]Here’s my thinking: it’s not Harry Potter, folks.[/pullquote] Don’t toss your money away to see this in the theater. The kid is decent enough (he gives the erratic script a real go), but he’s hampered by the adult actors at every turn, and sadly, the work of the other children as well. The “Turby” stuff went nowhere — a pity.

Jack Black has a few good moments in the beginning, but this isn’t his best work (although there’s few movies he’s impressed me in, granted — Jumanji 2 being the exception). Why is this man getting work? His comedic timing is just strange. That works, somewhat, in the early stages of this wacky, kiddie horror house movie. Then the plot gets…well…”stupid” (that’s the only word that fits), as the story ineffectually tries to escalate the jeopardy. [pullquote position=”right”]The “stupid ball” is passed around a lot in the finale.[/pullquote]

——Content continues below——

The World’s Most Indispensable Movie App

The RunPee app tells you the best times to
run & pee during a movie
so you don't miss the best scenes.


As seen on

Download the RunPee app.
100% free (donation supported)

Get the RunPee app at the Google Play Store       Get the RunPee app at the Google Play Store

Read more about the RunPee app.



Between the increasingly weird script and missed narrative opportunities, I can only say, “WTF were the writers thinking? Who greenlit this garbage? And why was a chair the best character?”

Even Cate Blanchett couldn’t elevate the lackluster material presented. How did she decide to throw her lot in with this? Did she hope to become the next Professor McGonagle? (Harry Potter reference, again, but Blanchett must’ve badly misjudged this.)

I really, really don’t know what happened here. It’s ultimately a movie mess that started out quite nicely. [pullquote]I’m grading it in the (low) C range and not worse, because it looked pretty, and had early potential with the surreal atmosphere,  incessant ticking clocks, and creepy toys[/pullquote]. There was enough goodwill to carry the audience for part of the show. But by the time the pumpkins started puking,  I had to give up. Give this film a firm pass. You’ve been warned. 🙂

Movie Grade: C-

About the Peetimes: Here are 3 good, long Peetimes, spaced well thru the film. This was easy to get Peetimes for, since a lot of the exposition is either repeated, or provides plot points that kind of peter out, storywise. 

RunPee Shop

Don’t miss your favorite movie moments because you have to pee or need a snack. Use the RunPee app (Androidor iPhone) when you go to the movies. We have Peetimes for all wide release films every week, including Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, DUNE part II, King Fu Panda, The American Society of Magical Negroes and coming soon , Godzilla x Kong: The new Empire  and many others. We have literally thousands of Peetimes—from classic movies through today’s blockbusters. You can also keep up with movie news and reviews on our blog, or by following us on Twitter @RunPee. If there’s a new film out there, we’ve got your bladder covered.

Movie Reviews

Movie Review – Immaculate

Immaculate blew me away. I did not prepare myself adequately. I want to first address the graphic…

Netflix’s Three-body – first episode review

First, let me start with some context. I’m a born and raised in China kind of Chinese…

Movie Review – Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire

I didn’t have high hopes, but this was better than I expected. That isn’t a surprise…

Adam Savage Tours the Ghostbusters “Frozen Empire Firehouse” with director Jason Reitman

In this fascinating YouTube video, Adam Savage, known for his work on MythBusters, takes a tour of…

Movie Review – The American Society of Magical Negroes

“Welcome to the American Society of Magical Negroes!” is said to Aren (Justice Smith) as his world…

Movie Review – Love Lies Bleeding

Love Lies and Bleeding was bloody awful. I’ve become quite the fan of A24 Productions and they…

Movie Review – Knox Goes Away

Knox Goes Away was a fantastic movie. It kept you engaged for almost two hours. It gives you hope…

Movie Review – Arthur the King

If you’ve seen the trailer for this movie then you know pretty much everything you need to…

Comments

6 responses to “Movie Review – The House With A Clock In Its Walls”

  1. Michelle Taylor Avatar
    Michelle Taylor

    Hated to hear this movie wasn’t better. I agree with the Jack Black sentiment. Thank you for the honest and well written review. I’ll save this one for Netflix.

    1. Thanks for the comment! IDK. I think if someone goes in expecting it to suck by the middle point, it won’t be so bad. Expectations and all. We will see what people think.

  2. Debra McKnight Avatar
    Debra McKnight

    I waited for it to hit the dollar theater. It was worth the $3. But not much more. It was ok. But didn’t like the WWII references. The scary stuff I would not recommend to really young kids. I did like the resolution of the bullies. If you’re mean….you get what you deserve.

  3. How scary do you think it was? Worthy of an Alert Peetime? I assume you mean the part with the dolls? Are are there other times?

  4. Debra McKnight Avatar
    Debra McKnight

    Yes the dolls, but those pumpkins exploding scared me. I dont like an icky clown face….younger kids than 10 yrs old might not like this movie.

  5. Oh dear lord. I HATE clowns. I can’t even. I also get creeped out by dolls.

    The barfing pumpkins were just gross and felt silly.

    There were a lot of weird things in this film. I guess I should read the book. The source material might be good.

Leave a Reply

RunPee