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A Reel Life film section
Issue: Autumn 2016
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (2016) movie review
Dark Times for Difficult Children
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Movie poster, Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children
Stay Peculiar
Based upon the best-selling novel. When his beloved grandfather leaves Jake clues to a mystery that spans different worlds and times, he finds a magical place known as Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. But the mystery and danger deepen as he gets to know the residents and learns about their special powers...and their powerful enemies. Ultimately, Jake discovers that only his own special "peculiarity" can save his new friends.
Director Tim Burton is known for his darkly twisted view of storytelling. His Mars Attacks! was a gross retelling of the classic science fiction alien invasion story, for example. Bettlejuice was fun, charming, and never let the horror overwhelm the basic story. Shock, yes, nastily gruesome, no.
In this allegedly children's story, gruesome is where it lives. Starting in Florida, where our protagonist lives with the unattractive characters who are his parents, the story jumps with remarkable ease to a lonely island in Wales where an eccentric woman lives in a time loop with a band of misfit children.
Seated on the floor: the twins (Thomas and Joseph Odwell), Fiona (Georgia Pemberton) and Hugh (Milo Parker), Left to right: Emma (Ella Purnell), Jake (Asa Butterfield), Horace (Hayden Keeler-Stone), Miss Peregrine (Eva Green), Enoch (Finlay Macmillan), Claire (Raffiella Chapman), Bronwyn (Pixie Davies) and Olive (Lauren McCrostie) - are the very special residents of MISS PEREGRINE'S HOME FOR PECULIAR CHILDREN. Photo Credit: Leah Gallo.
And the bad stuff happens. The children's strange talents have to be put to use to defeat the forces of evil, in this case Samuel L. Jackson who kidnaps the teacher/guardian.
The plot, the ideas, the weird peculiarities of the children, the stilted interactions between the characters (not relationships, because they never really seem to connect, all these things make for a mishmash of special effects and not-credible exposition.
Jake (Asa Butterfield) makes sure Emma (Ella Purnell) stays relatively down to earth. Photo Credit: Jay Maidment.
I concede that I look for something charming in a children's story. For all the adventures and trials that are necessary to metaphorically take children through the adventures and trials that are real life, there needs to be some engagement. We need to like the characters, to believe in them and to believe that they deserve to win out in the end.
Miss Peregrine (Eva Green) takes aim at her powerful enemies. Photo Credit: Jay Maidment. (c) 2016 Universal
MISS PEREGRINE'S HOME FOR PECULIAR CHILDREN is all horror and darkness without inspiration and joy. At the end, all the audience has to be glad of is that they can escape from the cinema and whatever lies in the mind of Tim Burton.
Links to official sites below
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by Ali Kayn |
Just the facts:Title: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (2016) The Players: Samuel L. Jackson, Eva Green,Judi Dench, Kim Dickens, Allison Janney, Asa Butterfield, Ella Purnell, Terence Stamp, Rupert Everett, Chris O'Dowd, Official website:Facebook For session times of current films, use the cinema listings on the Movie links page. For scheduled release dates, see the coming attractions section. For more information about this movie, check out the internet movie database (IMDb). |
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Published in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia 
Filed: 17-May-2016
