In Theaters: THE HOUSE WITH A CLOCK IN ITS WALLS, FAHRENHEIT 11/9, LIFE ITSELF and More

The fantasy family film "The House With a Clock in Its Walls" opened in theaters today to provide some kid-friendly scares before the hardcore horror films kick in before Halloween. Belive it or not, the film is directed by Eli Roth, who is better known for incredibly gory flicks like "Hostel", "Cabin Fever" and "The Green Inferno". This is his first PG-rated movie, and probably his best reviewed film in a long while. "Clock in Walls" is also expected to dominate the box-office this weekend, but projections also seem to indicate that it's going to be a slow weekend.

While everyone is watching the kid-friendly flick, Michael Moore is back with a new documentary, "Fahrenheit 11/9", a sequel of sorts to his 2004 Palme d'Or winning "Fahrenheit 9/11". That one roasted Bush Jr., the new one takes aim at Donald J. Trump. Maybe not as novel as the original documentary, but still filled with righteous indignation.

Another new wide release is the melodrama "Life Itself", which brings together a powerful cast that includes Olivia Wilde, Oscar Isaac, Mandy Patinkin, Olivia Cooke and Annette Bening to jerk those tears right out of your head. Critics didn't like it much, though, but what do they know ?

In limited release we have some interesting new releases like Jacques Audiard's darkly funny western "The Sisters Brothers" starring Joaquin Phoenix and John C. Reilly, the ultra-violent satire "Assassination Nation", and the biopic "Colette", which stars Keira Knightley as French novelist Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette, who was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1948.

Synopses, details, critical/audience reception, trailers, and more after the jump.

THE HOUSE WITH A CLOCK IN ITS WALLS

Official Synopsis

In the tradition of Amblin classics where fantastical events occur in the most unexpected places, Jack Black and two-time Academy Award (R) winner Cate Blanchett star in THE HOUSE WITH A CLOCK IN ITS WALLS, from Amblin Entertainment. The magical adventure tells the spine-tingling tale of 10-year-old Lewis (Owen Vaccaro) who goes to live with his uncle in a creaky old house with a mysterious tick-tocking heart. But his new town's sleepy façade jolts to life with a secret world of warlocks and witches when Lewis accidentally awakens the dead.

Film Details

• Director: Eli Roth
  
  
• Starring: Jack Black, Cate Blanchett, Owen Vaccaro, Kyle MacLachlan, Lorenza Izzo
  
  
• Genre: Comedy, Family, Fantasy
  
  
• Running Time: 104 min.
  
  
• Rating: PG for thematic elements including sorcery, some action, scary images, rude humor and language
  
  

Critical Reception

• Rottentomatoes: 62% (53 fresh, 33 rotten, score: 5.6/10)
  
• Metacritic: 59 out of 100 (16 positive, 13 mixed, 3 negative).

Audience Reception

• Rotten Tomatoes: 73% (3.8/5 rating from 706 users)
  
• Metacritic: N/A
• IMDb: 5.9/10 (536 votes)
  

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FAHRENHEIT 11/9

Official Synopsis

Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 11/9" is a provocative and comedic look at the times in which we live. It will explore the two most important questions of the Trump Era: How the f**k did we get here, and how the f**k do we get out? It's the film to see before it's too late.

Film Details

• Director: Michael Moore
  
  
• Starring: David Hogg, Michael Moore, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
  
  
• Genre: Documentary
  
  
• Running Time: 128 min.
  
  
• Rating: R for language and some disturbing material/images
  
  

Critical Reception

• Rottentomatoes: 81% (56 fresh, 13 rotten, score: 6.9/10)
  
• Metacritic: 71 out of 100 (27 positive, 5 mixed, 3 negative).

Audience Reception

• Rotten Tomatoes: 50% (2.8/5 rating from 829 users)
  
• Metacritic: N/A
• IMDb: 4.9/10 (1,089 votes)
  

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LIFE ITSELF

Official Synopsis

As a young New York couple goes from college romance to marriage and the birth of their first child, the unexpected twists of their journey create reverberations that echo over continents and through lifetimes in Life Itself. Director and writer Dan Fogelman ("This Is Us") examines the perils and rewards of everyday life in a multigenerational saga featuring an international ensemble including Oscar Isaac, Olivia Wilde, Antonio Banderas, Annette Bening, Olivia Cooke, Sergio Peris- Mencheta, Laia Costa, Alex Monner and Mandy Patinkin. Set in New York City and Carmona, Spain, Life Itself celebrates the human condition and all of its complications with humor, poignancy and love.

Film Details

• Director: Dan Fogelman
  
  
• Starring: Oscar Isaac, Olivia Wilde, Annette Bening, Mandy Patinkin, Jean Smart, Olivia Cooke, Antonio Banderas, Samuel L. Jackson
  
  
• Genre: Drama, Romance
  
  
• Running Time: 118 min.
  
  
• Rating: R for language including sexual references, some violent images and brief drug us
  
  

Critical Reception

• Rottentomatoes: 12% (8 fresh, 60 rotten, score: 3.5/10)
  
• Metacritic: 21 out of 100 (1 positive, 7 mixed, 24 negative).

Audience Reception

• Rotten Tomatoes: 60% (3.8/5 rating from 210 users)
  
• Metacritic: N/A
• IMDb: 5.6/10 (280 votes)
  

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THE SISTERS BROTHERS

Official Synopsis

From acclaimed director Jacques Audiard (Rust and Bone, A Prophet), and based on the novel by Patrick deWitt, THE SISTERS BROTHERS is a reimagining of the cinematic Western as a dangerous, witty, and emotionally cathartic exploration of what it means to be a man. It is 1851, and Charlie and Eli Sisters (Joaquin Phoenix and John C. Reilly) are both brothers and assassins, boys grown to men in a savage and hostile world. They have blood on their hands: that of criminals, that of innocents...and they know no state of existence other than being gunmen. The older of the two, introspective Eli (Reilly) rides hard with his younger sibling yet dares to dream of a normal life. The younger of the two, hard-drinking Charlie (Phoenix) has taken charge with gusto as lead man on the duo's assignments. Each increasingly questions, and quibbles with, the other's methods. The Sisters brothers find themselves on a journey through the Northwest, bringing them to the mountains of Oregon, a dangerous brothel in the small town of Mayfield, and eventually, the Gold Rush land of California - a journey that will test the deadly family ties that bind. But, can it also be the path to rediscovering what remains of their humanity? THE SISTERS BROTHERS also stars Jake Gyllenhaal as learned scout John Morris and Riz Ahmed as fugitive chemist Hermann Kermit Warm.

Film Details

• Director: Jacques Audiard
  
  
• Starring: John C. Reilly, Joaquin Phoenix, Jake Gyllenhaal, Riz Ahmed, Allison Tolman, Rutger Hauer
  
  
• Genre: Adventure, Comedy, Crime
  
  
• Running Time: 121 min.
  
  
• Rating: R for violence including disturbing images, language, and some sexual content
  
  

Critical Reception

• Rottentomatoes: 83% (40 fresh, 8 rotten, score: 7.2/10)
  
• Metacritic: 79 out of 100 (22 positive, 3 mixed, 0 negative).

Audience Reception

• Rotten Tomatoes: N/A
  
• Metacritic: N/A
• IMDb: 6.8/10 (539 votes)
  

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ASSASSINATION NATION

Official Synopsis

High school senior Lily and her group of friends live in a haze of texts, posts, selfies and chats just like the rest of the world. So, when an anonymous hacker starts posting details from the private lives of everyone in their small town, the result is absolute madness leaving Lily and her friends questioning whether they'll live through the night.

Film Details

• Director: Sam Levinson
  
  
• Starring: Odessa Young, Hari Nef, Suki Waterhouse, Bill Skarsgard, Abram, Bella Thorne, Anika Noni Rose
  
  
• Genre: Action, Comedy, Crime
  
  
• Running Time: 110 min.
  
  
• Rating: R for disturbing bloody violence, strong sexual material including menace, pervasive language, and for drug and alcohol use - all involving teens
  
  

Critical Reception

• Rottentomatoes: 65% (24 fresh, 13 rotten, score: 6.0/10)
  
• Metacritic: 51 out of 100 (7 positive, 7 mixed, 4 negative).

Audience Reception

• Rotten Tomatoes: 67% (3.6/5 rating from 250 users)
  
• Metacritic: N/A
• IMDb: 5.2/10 (598 votes)
  

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COLETTE

Official Synopsis

After marrying a successful Parisian writer known commonly as "Willy" (Dominic West), Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette (Keira Knightley) is transplanted from her childhood home in rural France to the intellectual and artistic splendor of Paris. Soon after, Willy convinces Colette to ghostwrite for him. She pens a semi-autobiographical novel about a witty and brazen country girl named Claudine, sparking a bestseller and a cultural sensation. After its success, Colette and Willy become the talk of Paris and their adventures inspire additional Claudine novels. Colette's fight over creative ownership and gender roles drives her to overcome societal constraints, revolutionizing literature, fashion and sexual expression. Directed by Wash Westmoreland and written by Wash Westmoreland, Richard Glatzer, Rebecca Lenkiewicz.

Film Details

• Director: Wash Westmoreland
  
  
• Starring: Keira Knightley, Eleanor Tomlinson, Dominic West, Fiona Shaw,
  
  
• Genre: Biography, Drama, History
  
  
• Running Time: 111 min.
  
  
• Rating: R for some sexuality/nudity
  
  

Critical Reception

• Rottentomatoes: 90% (37 fresh, 4 rotten, score: 7.3/10)
  
• Metacritic: 75 out of 100 (18 positive, 1 mixed, 0 negative).

Audience Reception

• Rotten Tomatoes: N/A
  
• Metacritic: N/A
• IMDb: 6.0/10 (269 votes)
  

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