Movie Review 048 Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children
[093016] 70%

This is a journey of a boy being told by his grandfather bedtime stories of tall tales of his own life during World War 2 and a magical children's home, learning to question them all when young but finally learned of the truth and the real reason behind his actions, unfortunately posthumously from him. With the titular character acting as the intermediary between the world he has been living in and the peculiar world in the loop that was there waiting for him to take the plunge, furthering the connection his now late grandfather made with the children there.

Director Tim Burton found a perfect source material to adapt as his own version of the X-Men's school of mutants, using his own now trademark visual flairs to bring to life author Ransom Riggs' well developed world. Although unfortunately it is not one of his best, it is thankfully in the right direction after the solid recent Big Eyes and a welcome return to his more bizarre roots to the delight of his loyal fans.

A coming of age adventure for the main protagonist to go through his personal issues of self-discovery of his true self, grieving on a family loss and finally growing up through all these experiences with the main support structure of Miss Peregrine and her peculiar children. His budding relationship with one particular levitating girl from the house although not being developed enough was still the main heart-tugging motivation behind his actions, besides keeping true to his grandfather's words.

- Synopsis -

When Jacob discovers clues to a mystery that stretches across time, he finds Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. But the danger deepens after he gets to know the residents and learns about their special powers.

- wiki (book) - 7.1/10 - official - wiki (film) -

Cast
Eva Green - Miss Peregrine, Asa Butterfield - Jack, Samuel L. Jackson - Barron, Ella Purnell - Emma Bloom,
...

"A return to his more bizarre roots with a solid adaptation of a fresh premise on the unique twist on young adult 'chosen one' genre."

(Director Tim Burton [Alice in Wonderland, Corpse Bride, Frankenweenie], Writer Ransom Riggs [novel], Budget $110 Millions = Box Office $196.8>> Millions [US], Duration 2h 7m, Rating PG-13, Genre Adventure, Drama, Drama, Family)

+ Highlights +

the perfect marriage of director and source material, charming Miss Peregrine with sternness to spare when she needs to, a smart world-building with imaginative literary descriptions first and then the awe-inspiring visuals to support them, the diverse peculiars on show with different abilities on show with adequate time each for their hero moment, not enough character development especially for the two leads and their romance together, charming performances from all the cast especially the standout Eva Green and Ella Purnell, a lot of personal issues being touched in the guise of the bizarre adventure

? Points of Contention ?
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- Lowlights -

not good enough world-building with some of the established rules were not clearly told, the supporting characters in the rest of the children being defined by their abilities rather than their characteristics themselves, an interesting background for the antagonist that was relegated to a monologuing evildoer, could be too much for the younger crowds with the creepy moments from second acts onward, too short of a screen time for the delightful Miss Peregrine 

Source: Screen Rant