Monday, November 7, 2016

Movie Review: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (2016)

I must admit, I enjoyed the books more than the movie.  I think the movie is not going to be a trilogy like the books.  It did not follow the books true to form, but does give us the world, three level of beings in addition to regular humans, peculiars, wights and hollowghasts.  The wights are determined to seek immortality, but to do so they must harness the force of embrynes (a peculiar who can make time loops, and turn into birds.)  Hollowghasts are primitive creatures, who were once peculiars, but a failed experiment turned them into monsters.  However they eventually develop into wights.  Each peculiar was their own skill which is very interesting.  Jake (Asa Butterfield), who can see hollowghasts, but didn't even know what they were a few days ago, finds the loop of Miss Peregrine (Eva Green), at the request of his grandfather, who informed him of the peculiars, his friends, just before he passed away.  Jake does find the loop, and the peculiar children.  However an evil wight has followd him, Barron (Samuel Jackson), who is also a shape shifter.  He had pretended to be the psychiatrist, and then a bird study man, and followed Jake to the peculiars.  He sets in motion the collapse of the time loop, and kidnaps Miss Peregrine.  Jake befriends Emma Bloom (Ella Purnell) who is lighter than air, and can control air.  (This is different than the book where he falls in love with the fire girl.)
The group of peculiars follow Barron to rescue their embryne.  Samuel Jackson plays his character too light hearted.  Their are classic struggles, and Barron makes fun of them.  I didn't find his character believable.  This show features direct fighting, unlike the book.  The hollowghasts are invisible to all except Jake.  However the throw snow on them and make them visible.  This way they can have a fair fight.
Even though the movie is not as well done as the books, it is entertaining none the less.  Based on the books by Ransom Riggs.  Tim Burton directed.

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