I have to admit, that I’m always incredibly curious about what a particular writer or filmmaker will bring to the table when it is announced that they are planning to try something new and leave the genre that gave them notoriety behind. Because when you’re a master of horror, like the late George Romero or the iconic Stephen King, you’re truly engrained in that genre and breaking out of it is no easy task. In fact, Romero found minimal success when he tried it by way of the film There’s Always Vanilla and King outright had to write under a pseudonym to make that happen. 
 
But seeing what creative minds have to offer up to other genres is downright fascinating and magical in its own right and when I heard that Director Eli Roth was going to attempt a little cross genre move of his own, well my ears perked right up. Because it was made clear early on that Mister Roth was going to try his hand at creating a family-oriented film, which considering Eli’s body of work, and the terrors he’s put on the screen, that seemed like quite the tall order when all is said and done. But, I simply had to know how this venture was going to turn out for him and it doesn’t take long to discover that Eli has successfully made the transition from horror director to family film director when one settles in to watch The House with a Clock in Its Walls.
 
Because this feels like a children’s classic from the get go, which is a wonderful thing, but what truly caught me off guard when it comes to this aspect of the film, is how fine a job the story does of encapsulating what it’s like to be a young child, thrust into a situation that one is not comfortable with and all of that is accomplished by making the adults seem larger than life, and by making Lewis’ new home uncomfortable and foreign and of course, the true centerpiece of awkwardness for all of us when we were young, making new friends at a new school. But while all of this is important to establish the wonder of Lewis’ world, what utterly shocked me when it comes to this motion picture, is what it has to offer for the adults sitting in the audience as well. 

​Case in point, the fact that this motion picture deals with some heavy thematic concepts, such as loss and grief and the impact it has on a young mind since it’s clear here that Lewis is struggling mightily with the death of his parents and will do anything to feel as though they’re still in his life and that’s really handled in careful enough fashion that only adults will pick up on it, but the powerful concepts present in this film don’t end there. Because the movie also deals with the lasting trauma that can come with loss, as is evidenced by Florence Zimmerman’s struggles with how she lost her family, and the subtlety that comes with this part of the story is handled in respectful and genius fashion. 
 
However, while at first glance, one would never know that this movie came forth from the man who gave us the waking nightmare that is Hostel, Eli Roth never quite abandons his roots in this story because there are elements of horror to be found here as well. Granted, it’s presented to the audience in the most careful of fashion, but those perfectly chilling camera angels, paired nicely with some genuinely creepy moments add a wonderful level of gravity to the story, since it actually manages to create a solid sense of danger within the framework of the story, to the point where the viewer (and this reviewer) hope to see the good guys save the day since our villain has quite the dastardly plan when all is said and done.
 
But, while all of these components are important, there is of course one big question that needs to be answered when discussing this film, is it any fun? Because a kids’ film devoid of fun is simply a waste of time for parents and thankfully, the answer to that all-important question is a resounding yes. Because the delightful performances from the cast, and the lighthearted humor and magnificent visuals make this movie a blast to watch and there’s definitely something for everyone in this motion picture. So, if you’re looking to entertain the kids, or yourself for that matter, then definitely check this one out, because it’s just plain fun.

If there’s one particular constant about our world that mankind often forgets, since we’ve done such a fine job of evolving into the dominant species on this planet, is that nature is ready and willing to assert her dominance whenever she so chooses and throughout history Planet Earth has flexed its proverbial muscles over mankind by taking us down a peg or two by way of viruses and bacteria that weaken all of humanity. The Spanish Flu in 1918 is perhaps the most recent example of that, but even though nature is able to humble us with its microscopic weapons, we’ve still found ways to endure and grow.
 
But make no mistake about it. There is going to come a day when some kind of virus or bacteria figures out how to overcome our science and our medicine and bring forth a pandemic that will rock the foundations of humanity and change the course of mankind for generations. Yet, while we all hope that never happens in our lifetime, one has to wonder what would happen if such a pandemic were to strike modern society now. Would we band together and give scientists everything they need to wipe this scourge out? Or would we give into fear and let chaos reign as the virus ran free amongst the population? Thankfully, film is always there to explore such matters and a modern pandemic just so happened to be the subject of the ultra-frightening movie, Contagion.
 
Now in this particular film, we are introduced to several people who all met in a Casino in China and well, something terrible happened while they all shared space in said Casino. Because this small group of people, managed to contract a new type of virus, one that works quickly to grow in the human body and one that unfortunately, kills its host. And to make matters worse, this particular virus lives for quite some time outside of the body, and after this small group of infected people return home and die, this new virus begins to spread amongst the population at an alarming rate and it will be up to every scientist available to find a way to kill this intruder before mankind and modern society are crippled by its power.  

​Truth be told, when I first heard about this film, I kind of rolled my eyes, treating it as though it was nothing more than a knock off of Outbreak. But when I was finally able to see it, holy cow was I forced to eat a little crow because this movie is a tour de force of terror, one that truly does give us quite a realistic feel to a modern pandemic since we are treated to haunting visuals in this one, such as people fighting over food, and modern services breaking down and it is just eerie and horrifying to see the streets of major American cities as vacant as can be as people hide inside their homes as they hope to avoid catching this lethal virus.
 
But the film does feature other elements outside of sheer terror because watching the good people of the Centers for Disease Control work together with other agencies to put a stop this nightmare is downright fascinating and the movie gets serious props for educating people on how viruses spread by working those facts into the movie’s dialogue in smooth and simple fashion and I also appreciated the fact that the story split its storytelling style to give us a view from the everyday world by way of the characters who aren’t scientists and are just trying to survive this horrific pandemic and bide their time until science cures the world of this scourge at last.
 
If anything, this is actually quite an intense motion picture, simply because the virus spreads so fast in this film and you can feel the danger growing behind the scenes as the modern world comes to a screeching halt and it really is scary to watch states close their borders in this film and see society give in to panic because you hope we’re better than that. But our survival instinct is a powerful thing, but so is the planet’s and that’s perhaps the best part of this film, the fact that it points out that we need to figure out how to live in harmony with this world and quit trying to show it who the boss is, or we will unleash quite the unpleasant surprise…

I’ve always found it fascinating how sometimes, cinema as a whole tries it’s best to stay relevant to current events because, that’s no easy task when it comes to film. After all, making a movie is a long and drawn out process that works in stages and because of that, trying to make a motion picture that’s relevant to something currently happening in society tends to bring about poor results when all is said and done. Because often times, a rushed production flat out misses the mark and does a poor job of analyzing the subject it wanted to tackle, or…the moment it wanted to highlight has passed and is already being forgotten by the public at large.
 
But sometimes, the right people are in place behind the scenes and they do a phenomenal job of chronicling an important moment in our modern society and those are the kinds of films we talk about and show others thanks to their powerful relevancy. But in reality, a lot of films that try to capitalize on a hot moment, end up being a mixed bag at best, one that features a healthy mix of the relevancy in question with just a hint of cheese, and while that sounds like a bad thing, it’s actually not since those types of films can be supremely entertaining and for proof, look no further than a movie that tried to highlight the potential dangers of a powerful virus in 1995’s Outbreak.
 
Now the virus in question that this motion picture works to highlight is the Ebola Virus, which became quite the talk of the town when it was discovered that an airborne strain of this nasty little bugger, one that doesn’t infect humans, was present in a small outbreak at an animal facility in Reston, Virginia in 1989 and this little incident, and the history of the virus as a whole was highlighted in the 1993 novel, The Hot Zone, by Richard Preston and all of that matters because at the time, this book and the Ebola Virus freaked people out to the nth degree and everyone was wondering as to whether or not this sucker would potentially infect humans in the United States. 

Enter this movie, a creative exploration of what would happen if by chance an airborne strain of hemorrhagic fever jumped to humans and well, I need to give credit where credit is due, the early part of the story is where the good stuff is present in the film, since there are some genuinely scary moments that arise from seeing the virus infect the small town of Cedar Creek, California and I tip my cap to Director Wolfgang Petersen for finding a way to make a normally invisible virus a tangible enemy for the audience to fear. And perhaps the most chilling scene in the movie is when we see someone infected with the fictional Motaba Virus hacking and wheezing in a movie theater, and the live and virulent particulates from that cough circulate throughout the theater and let me tell you, that moment sent chills down my spine when I saw it on the big screen and I wasn’t the only one who experienced that since the theater went silent in that moment.
 
But alas, quality moments such as that are nowhere to be found in the third act of the film when it de-evolves into an action flick. Wherein the story becomes a predictable race against time to save the people of this town, and the world, from the evil of men and this killer virus as Colonel Sam Daniels and his friends run around the countryside trying to find the host animal. And this part of the movie gets so over the top and so cheesy that there’s an actual helicopter chase sequence as soldiers following orders try their best to stop Sam and well, this particular change up in the storytelling design outright robs the film of its power, unfortunately. Yet while it appears as though this little twist ruins the movie, believe it or not, it’s quite watchable even as the script unravels before your eyes.
 
That thanks in large part to the top-notch casting of the film, since Dustin Hoffman plays Sam and he sells every single moment as only he can, and he is bookended nicely by performances by Morgan Freeman, Donald Sutherland, Rene Russo and Cuba Gooding Jr., and they too offer up straight laced performances that add a sense of realism to this film and while the third act of this flick is an outright mess, make no mistake about it, this is a fun motion picture. It truly entertains and if you’re looking for a fun, rollercoaster ride of a movie, then look no further than this one because it will definitely keep your attention and keep you rooting for the good guys to save the day. 

Growing up, I remember how much certain comic book characters and cartoon characters absolutely captivated me to the point where I would have given anything to BE them. It's why I owned several Superman capes, and a corn cob pipe because before the Man of Steel became a role model for me...Popeye was one cool customer that I absolutely looked up to.

I mean come on, he was super strong, always saved the day and if it wasn't for him, who knows if I would have even tried spinach in the first place and I loved the character so much, that when I discovered there was a live action movie featuring Popeye and his adventures, you know that VHS was in the player as often as possible. I have fond memories of seeing Robin Williams playing the titular character and recently, Popeye has showed up cable once again after all these years, giving me a chance to revisit this film. 

Which means the big question that comes with going back and watching a film that has a beautiful sheen in my memory banks from childhood is...is it any good the second time around? The answer is...kinda? There's a lot that I forgot about when it came to this movie. For one...it's a musical. It completely slipped my mind that out of the blue, Robin Williams, or for that matter Shelley Duvall will suddenly bust into song at any given moment and it's jarring to say the least. Not to mention, the plot is a tad more incomprehensible than I recall it being. The gist of it, if I'm getting this right, is that Popeye has come to the bayside city of Sweetheaven to find his father and gains in a family in the process and sings a lot. 

But, outside of that, there's actually a lot of good to be found in this film as well. It's flat out a lot of fun. Robin Williams and his mountains of talent are completely on display here as he seamlessly slips into the character of Popeye. He has the squint down, he's unintelligible at times which is completely in line with the character and of course once he gets some Spinach in him, the sky is the limit. It's a spot-on interpretation of the character and it doesn't end there. Everyone cast is a character from the series come to life. Shelley Duvall is the embodiment of Olive Oil and Paul Smith makes an amazing Bluto. Heck, they even managed to make him appear to be a hulking beast of a man with subtle tears in his clothes where his muscles have burst through.

However, when all is said and done, this isn't exactly that perfect family film that is timeless through and through. It's really about nostalgia and enjoying a fond memory one more time, provided you've seen it before. Otherwise, if you're a hardcore Robin Williams fan, it's a film I recommend in order to see him in action one more time. Outside of that, well you better love Popeye as much as I do or have a curiosity about what the live action movie was like because the film is simply adequate. But either way, it was neat to enjoy my childhood one more time, and while the musical numbers may be a little disorienting, not going to lie, a couple of them are actually pretty catchy...