By Susan Granger

Heralding the upcoming Halloween season is “The House With a Clock in Its Walls,” Eli Roth’s adaptation of John Bellairs’ 1973 young adult novel with illustrations by Edward Gorey.

It begins in 1955, as shyly precocious 10-year-old Lewis Barnavelt (Owen Vaccaro) arrives in (fictional) New Zebedee, Michigan, to live in a Victorian haunted house, surrounded by a spiky wrought-iron fence, with his estranged, eccentric Uncle Jonathan (Jack Black), who has assumed custody after Lewis’ parents died in a car crash.

Jonathan’s regal BFF/neighbor, widowed Florence Zimmerman (Cate Blanchett), soon joins them, gracefully stepping out of the grandfather clock that connects their two homes. Mystic, mechanized figures and macabre symbols abound, including a whimsical chair that acts like a dog, so Lewis quickly realizes that she’s a witch — the good kind — and that his Uncle is a male witch, known as a warlock.

“The house likes you,” Jonathan assures his nerdy nephew. But, clinging to his Magic 8-Ball and determined to wear tanker goggles (in tribute to TV’s Captain Midnight), Lewis is, predictably, bullied at school. He’s an outcast, the last chosen for any sports team. Which is why he’s so flattered when a patronizing, popular kid seeks his approval.

By Susan Granger

When two grade-school boys beg for a playdate, what’s a conscientious Connecticut mom to do?

In “A Simple Favor,” that’s why uptight Stephanie Smothers (Anna Kendrick) starts hanging out with glamorous Emily Nelson (Blake Lively), sipping martinis in the afternoon and exchanging intimate secrets while their respective sons — Miles (Joshua Satine) and Nicky (Ian Ho) romp around.

Certainly, on the surface, they’re unlikely best friends. A widowed, stay-at-home single mom, Stephanie does a perky, Martha Stewart’ish video blog, giving household hints and recipes, while career-driven Emily works in Manhattan, doing PR for a high-powered fashion designer (Rupert Friend), while her British novelist husband Sean (Henry Golding) copes with writer’s block.

Sophisticated Emily is obviously amused by Stephanie’s awkwardly puritan demeanor, while prim, self-deprecating Stephanie is dazzled by Emily’s caustic, irreverent quips and fabulously chic lifestyle.

By Susan Granger

Six-time Academy Award nominee Glenn Close opens the Oscar race with “The Wife,” a stunning portrayal of a long-suffering woman who’s fed up with standing in her celebrated husband’s shadow.

Her symbiotic story begins with the Castlemans in bed. Joan (Glenn Close) and her husband Joe (Jonathan Pryce) are eagerly awaiting an early morning phone call that confirms he’s won the 1992 Nobel Prize for Literature.

En route to the ceremony in Sweden, Joan recalls (in flashbacks) their road from Smith College to Stockholm.

In the late 1950s, she was an extraordinarily promising creative writing student who had an affair with pompous, philandering English Lit Professor Joe Castleman. And it was only after they were married that Joe’s distinguished career took off.

Leonard Bernstein and family had a home in Fairfield. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Photo by Paul de Hueck

The Westport Library has announced its 2018 Malloy Lecture in the Arts—“Bernstein on Broadway” on Monday, Oct. 22 at 7:30 p.m. at the Quick Center for the Arts on the campus of Fairfield University.

The event will celebrate the life and contributions of legendary composer and conductor the late Leonard Bernstein, specifically his influence on modern American musical theater, an announcement said.

The evening is part of the worldwide celebration of Bernstein’s 100th birthday.

The first half of the evening will focus on Bernstein’s innumerable contributions to Broadway and will feature a panel discussion with two of Bernstein’s three children, Nina Bernstein Simmons and Alexander Bernstein, moderated by conductor, composer and producer George Steel.

Scenes from tonight’s Westport Country Playhouse gala. The gala’s theme, “Andalusian Nights,” tied in with the Playhouse’s autumn production of “Man of La Mancha,” bringing the ambiance of Spain to the evening. Dave Matlow and J.C. Martin for WestportNow.com