"The House With A Clock In Its Walls"...I Had Forgotten About This One

One of the advantages of not seeing films in a theater is that you happen upon movies you thought might be interesting, but never got around to watch...

And you get to watch them. 

Today I watched a 2018 film, The House With a Clock in its Walls. I remember seeing the ad--I can't believe it came out last year. 

I knew nothing of the book from which the film is based. It was written by John Bellairs and first published in 1973. It reminded me of another film I saw a few years back, Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. Both were geared toward children, and I found both of them a little dark, especially the film based on Rigg's book. Bellairs's story dealt with dark themes as well, demons, that kind of thing.

I enjoyed the film. It starred Jack Black--who doesn't like Jack Black? He's engaging and a perfect fit for a children's story. This isn't to say he's not a good fit for other genres. I find him a good actor in almost everything I've seen him in.

The House With a Clock in its Walls tells the story of a recently-orphaned Lewis Barnvelt who must now live with his strange uncle and the uncle's equally strange neighbor. Turns out, uncle and neighbor was a practicing warlock and witch. Throw in peer pressure, jr. high bullying, curiosity, raising the dead, and the end of all humanity, and you've got the makings for a fun little story. 

The film made me want to read the book--something that I'm finding to be a good sign. When I like a film based on a book, I usually really like the book once I read it.

When I saw the film was available to watch, I remembered I wanted to see the film. I finally got around to seeing it, and I'm glad I did.

Ransom Riggs's "Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children"...A Book Review

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A friend suggested I read out Ransom Riggs's Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. So I did. It is a pretty good book, and for the right age group, it is a fantastic book.

I had no idea what to expect from this one. I usually don't do a lot of research on new books, even ones I know nothing about. But I did trust my friend who offered the suggestion. She is well-read and knows the type of books I like.

If you're not familiar with this book (like me...), the best way I can describe it would be Brigadoon meets The X-Men. Jacob, the book's main character, travels to England where he finds out about all those crazy stories his grandfather used to tell him. Jacob finds a school, or the remains of a school complete with photos of all the students. After some more searching, he finds so much more.

The book is about teenagers which doesn't necessarily mean it's a young adult book, even though most young adult books deal primarily with teenage issues. There's magic, time travel, and paranormal baddies. The book was never boring and it flowed well.

I think those who like the Harry Potter books will enjoy this as well. Of course, it's an introduction into this new world so it's not as heavy a read. Riggs has created the opportunity for a series of books to be written with these characters. If he does, I'm sure they'll be great, too.

* Photo used without permission from: https://www.goodreads.com/book/photo/9460487-miss-peregrine-s-home-for-peculiar-children