Tim joined Tom Barnard and the morning show crew on the “The KQ Morning Show” on KQRS-FM Thursday to review the new theatrical releases “Spider-Man: No Way Home” and “Nightmare Alley.” He also reviewed the films with Jordana Green on the “Paul and Jordana” show on WCCO-AM, and Kelly Cordes on WJON-AM. Click to listen to below. All of Tim’s segments are brought to you by Michael Bryant and Bradshaw & Bryant.
WJON reviews of the films with Kelly Cordes
Tim Lammers reviews movies weekly for “The KQ92 Morning Show” with Tom Barnard on KQRS-FM, “Paul and Jordana” with Paul Douglas and Jordana Green on WCCO Radio, “It Matters with Kelly Cordes” on WJON-AM, KLZZ-FM, “The Tom Barnard Podcast” and “The BS Show” with Bob Sansevere, and reviews streaming programming on WCCO Radio’s “Paul and Jordana” as well. On TV, Tim has made hundreds of guest appearances on NBC affiliate KARE on the news program “KARE 11 News at 11”.
VIDEO: See Tim’s review of “The House with a Clock in Its Walls” with Adrienne Broaddus on KARE 11.
“The House with a Clock in Its Walls” (PG)
While its title is one of the clunkiest movie titles in recent memory, “The House with a Clock in its Walls,” is exactly what the movie is about — a doomsday clock hidden within a haunted house that must be discovered before it starts ticking down to an end of days plan concocted by an evil warlock. Even though the film has all the talent it needs to succeed, however, the film plods along until the third act to fulfill its promise.
Relative newcomer Owen Vaccaro stars as Lewis Barnavelt, an orphaned 10-year-old in the 1950s who goes to live with his eccentric uncle, Jonathan Barnavelt (Jack Black), in a spooky neighborhood haunted house. Blank soon discovers that his uncle has magical powers as a warlock as does his quirky neighbor, the witch Florence Zimmerman (Cate Blanchett), and begins to learn about the dark arts himself. But once Lewis begins to learn too much about and his curiosity gets him into trouble by carrying out a spell in a forbidden book, he, Jonathan and Florence must work together by preventing the doomsday clock from clicking ahead and its warlock creator (Kyle McLachlan) from fulfilling his deadly destiny.
AUDIO: Click to hear Tim’s review of “The House with a Clock in Its Walls” with Tom Barnard on “The KQ Morning Show.”
“The House with a Clock in Its Walls” feels like a combination of “Goosebumps” and “Fantastic Beasts,” and with a PG rating, it’s definitely aimed at the kids’ set. However, feels like it’s trying too hard to be a kids movie with its zaniness and doesn’t have anything remotely scary until the third act. On one hand, it’s great that kids have a rare opportunity to see a light-hearted, spooky PG movie in today’s marketplace, but on the flip side, an opportunity was missed to engage any prospective adults (re: parents of said kids they are brining to the movie). As movies like “Incredibles 2” have shown, movies can definitely be made to appeal to families as a whole.
The most interesting thing about “The House with a Clock in Its Walls” is that it was directed by Eli Roth, who has made some brutally sadistic movies in the past with such horror flicks as “Hostel” and its sequel, and “The Green Inferno.” And while Roth oddly showed signs of easing up on the violence and showing restraint on, of all films, the Bruce Willis remake of Death Wish, the fact that he is suddenly helming a PG film is a real head-scratcher.
Presumably Roth (who has a cameo in the film) did “The House with a Clock in Its Walls” to work with Jack Black, who is entertaining as usual, and Cate Blanchett, who brings class to every film she’s in. Perhaps Roth directed the film because he couldn’t convince her to star in “Hostel, Part III” … now that would have been truly scary.
Lammometer 6 (out of 10)
Tim Lammers reviews movies weekly for The KQ92 Morning Show,” “KARE 11 News at 11” (NBC), WCCO Radio, WJON-AM, KLZZ-FM, “The Tom Barnard Podcast” and “The BS Show” with Bob Sansevere.
The “Ocean’s” franchise is riding a whole new wave with “Ocean’s 8,” an entertaining continuation of director Steven Soderbergh’s and actor George Clooney’s trilogy that began in 2001. Loosely tied to the original set of films, “Ocean’s 8,” while built again on a heist narrative, still feels fresh and ultimately makes for a solid introduction to a potential new phase of the franchise.
Sandra Bullock stars as Debbie Ocean, who like her older brother Danny Ocean, has a proclivity for thievery in her DNA. Finishing up a five year-prison stint after being ratted out by ex-boyfriend (Richard Armitage), Debbie immediately gets back in the game and assembles a crew to pull off a heist during the prestigious Met Gala in New York City, where they plan on boosting a $150 million Cartier necklace. What makes the heist even more daring, though, is that they plan on lifting the necklace off the mega-star actress (Anne Hathaway) who will be wearing it at the big event, even though she’ll be surrounded by bodyguards at all times.
AUDIO: Tim reviews “Ocean’s 8” and “Hotel Artemis” with Tom Barnard on “The KQ Morning Show” (segment begins 1:30 in).
Directed by Gary Ross, “Ocean’s 8” is loaded with a star-studded ensemble cast, including Cate Blanchett and Sarah Paulson as Debbie’s fellow con artists, and the always great Helena Bonham Carter as a once famous but currently struggling fashion designer without any criminal experience who takes part in the heist to get out of millions of dollars in debt.
While the build-up to the big score feels familiar and is par for the course, the centerpiece of “Ocean’s 8” – the elaborate heist scene – is executed beautifully, which alone makes the film worthwhile. Plus, like the original film, there are twists that play out in the film’s third act, making “Ocean’s 8” even more satisfying.
Lammometer: 7 (out of 10)
Tim Lammers reviews movies weekly for The KQ92 Morning Show,” “KARE 11 News at 11” (NBC), WCCO Radio, WJON-AM, KLZZ-FM, “The Tom Barnard Podcast” and “The BS Show” with Bob Sansevere.
VIDEO: See Tim’s review of the film with Adrienne Broaddus on KARE-TV (NBC Minneapolis).
Chris Hemsworth is back and funnier than ever as the God of Thunder in “Thor: Ragnarok,” an action comedy-style adventure that diverts from the path established by the first two “Thor” movies and as a result, thrives through the kaleidoscopic vision of director Taika Waititi.
The film doesn’t waste any time raising the stakes for Thor, who learns while in the capture of the fiery demon Surtur (voice of Clancy Brown) that his home planet of Asgard is facing Ragnarok – the end of days – which he thinks he puts a temporary stop to.
That all changes, though, when his father, Odin (Anthony Hopkins) warns Thor and his brother, Loki (Tom Hiddleston) that Hela, the Goddess of Death (Cate Blanchett) has broken out of her imprisoned existence and is coming to Asgard to wreak havoc. In their first attempt to stop her, both Thor and Loki are cast off to the junk planet of Sakaar, where its savvy ruler Grandmaster (Jeff Goldblum) features Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) in gladiator-style battles to entertain the planet’s inhabitants.
But with his powers restricted after being captured by the bounty hunter, Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson), Thor must first find a way to convince Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) to revert to Bruce Banner to escape from Grandmaster’s clutches to get back to Asgard to face off against Hela, whose powers are growing stronger by the minute.
While the first two Thor films weren’t overly serious, “Thor: Ragnarok” establishes almost from its opening frames that it will be marching to the beat of a different – and very funny – drummer. Yes, serious things do happen in the film, but through Waititi’s lighthearted approach, we’re treated to a fast-moving, neon-infused adventure romp that’s loaded with action, colorful costumes and sets, and hilarious dialogue created largely through the improv skills of the gifted ensemble cast.
All told, Waititi injects a burst of energy that’s so welcome in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. And while the previous films in the MCU were hardly lacking, it’s exciting to see a filmmaker take risks and break free from the studio’s other offerings and establish its own identity. While some sequels face the danger of falling into a trap and becoming formulaic with each passing film, that’s never the case with “Thor: Ragnarok.” It’s a (Hulk) smashing great time.
Lammometer: 9 (out of 10)
AUDIO: Hear Tim’s review of “Thor: Ragnarok” with Tom Barnard on “The KQ Morning Show.”
