Rating (3 out of 5)

Overall, this is a decent and entertaining film that is good for the whole family.

Plot:  Lewis’s (Owen Vaccaro) parents have died and he goes to live with his Uncle Jonathan (Jack Black) and his next door neighbor Florence (Cate Blanchett).  While learning magic and trying to fit in at school, Lewis revives from the dead Issac Izard (Kyle Maclachlan).  Lewis, Jonathan and Florence must team up to save the world from Issac.

What is Fine:  I had trouble writing a review in my typical format of what I liked and didn’t like, so I thought I need a “Fine” section.  The acting was fine by everyone.  I thought Cate Blanchett returned to form in this film compared to Ocean’s 8, where she didn’t look comfortable.

The special effects, the music, the story, were all fine.  This is probably one of the most okay movies of the year.  There wasn’t anything really bad about the film, but there wasn’t anything really outstanding.

There wasn’t a point in this movie where I wanted to shout at the director because it was so stupid.  I look to my list of reviews and see so many movies that are worse than this one.  But the opposite of this is true, there is nothing special about this film.

What I Liked: There is a scene where they are instructing Lewis how to cast a spell.  Jonathan provides a demonstration and the stars around the universe come to life in the garden.  I thought the imagery there was fantastic.

What I Didn’t Like: There is a scene where they have to fight their way through pumpkins.  Florence has a purple umbrella/wand that she shoots magic bolts at the pumpkins.  The CGI here wasn’t the best, and then they did a wide shot of Florence shooting the pumpkins.  That was a mistake, and should have stayed with closeup shots.

Conclusion:  There aren’t always a lot of good family movies out there.  Clock is a movie that is safe for everyone.  It isn’t too scary for the kids and isn’t too boring for the parents.  This is a medium movie.