Movie Review: Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children

You must be advised dear reader that I am writing this review through the perspective of an individual who has read Ransom Rigg's New York Time's Best Selling "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" with that being said I can already state that: 

1) In my opinion, the movie was better than the book.

2) There are A LOT of changes in the movie. 

-And we are simply not talking about interchanging the "skills" of Olive and Emma but a lot of earth-shattering changed that are not at all found in the first book. Mind you, I haven't read any of the succeeding books, so perhaps they borrowed material from those. 

Other critics may say that the film may be a little a cliched Young Adult book to movie adaptation but I think it had it's own feel and look. For one thing, it's not a heroine who leads the film but a reluctant, socially awkward and possibly depressed teenager in Asa Butterfield's "Jake".

Asa Butterfield as Jake and the lovely Ella Purnell as Emma. 

Now I already mentioned this before but unfortunately I wasn't too happy about Butterfield's performance. He looks the part-yes, his light blue eyes against his dark hair makes him captivating to watch on screen. Yet, I felt that his performance lacked strength. One of my favorite parts about the book is his strong and close relationship with his grandfather, which I felt was not captured on screen. That scene with the telephone call could have crushed hearts and left viewers crying but alasm it didn't. 

I think getting Tim Burton to direct was a wise and crucial choice as he was able to bring his unique brand of the dark and macabre to the story. That scene with Enoch's "toys" were fighting in classic stop-motion animation is just signature Burton. 

The visionary director was also able to add a dark twist to the mythology of the "peculiar children" -hallowgast a and ymbrines included and I thought that it was actually better than it was in the book. 

The intentions and drive of the villain "Barron" as portrayed by Samuel L. Jackson (I can tell he had fun in the role) was more belie all and frankly a lot creepier in the movie.

Eva Green as Miss Peregrine. 

Burton also made the decision to shoot in an actual location (the house) as opposed to using a green screen and CGI and I think that this also helped "ground" the film and make it more real for both actors and viewers. 

Before wrapping up this review, I must recommend Eva Green as the titular Miss Peregrine, I think the whole "dark Mary Poppins" feel, which Burton envisioned was. It's effective and simply a delight to see on the screen. Eva's transformation, complete with eyeliner and long nails to emulate bird talons was just impressive. Of course her "badass" persona as evidenced by her cross bow skills and the way she shushed Jackson completed the package. 

Way to go Miss P.! 

8 out of 10, delightfully dark and a refreshing take on Young Adult themes, "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" is a thrilling adventure that makes us reflect and appreciate family, whether by blood or by being "peculiar" together. As well as embracing each of our own quirks and celebrating the peculiar in all of us. 

"Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" is NOW SHOWING! 

*Wrote this review in the jeep (Hey! When inspiration strikes right?) from Eastwood and even finished writing it even before reaching IPI, yes traffic was  that bad. 

Took out my "handy dandy" notebook and pen and just wrote away. #IcaWrites 

Movies: EVA GREEN: PROTECTOR IN “MISS PEREGRINE’S HOME FOR PECULIAR CHILDREN”

Director Tim Burton, visioned Miss Peregrine as kind of a 'dark Mary Poppins" -which probably explains the crossbow and the eyeliner. What do you think of Miss P's upgrade? 

Also - Miss P. got her eyebrow game on! 

Enigmatic actress Eva Green who starred in blockbuster testosterone-filled movies such as “Kingdom of Heaven,” “300: Rise of an Empire” and “Casino Royale” takes lead role in “Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children.”

                “Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children” is based upon the debut novel by Ransom Riggs, published in 2011,  an instant global hit and topped The New York Times best-seller list selling more than 3.1 million copies. A sequel, “Hollow City,” was published in 2014, followed by the final book in the trilogy, “Library of Souls.” 

                The book and movie’s heroine, Miss Peregrine is the protector of the Peculiars. Green, on her titular role calls her character “a kind of dark Mary Poppins-like figure who is rather eccentric and fearless, and who wields a deadly crossbow to protect her Peculiars.  Her peculiarity is being an ymbrine, meaning she can manipulate time and take the form of a bird.  Miss Peregrine, along with other ymbrines, uses this ability to create a time “loop,” in which she and the children live within a single day that repeats over and over again. This protects them from the evils of the world that exist outside the loop.

                Miss Peregrine is an intriguing and sometimes mysterious character, capable of being a maternal figure to her young charges, as well as a fearsome opponent to those who threaten them.  Her children are her life, and Miss Peregrine will do anything for them.  She’s a ballsy character and a warrior. 

                “Miss Peregrine runs the home for the peculiar children, and she protects them from the outside world, from those monsters that eat children – they’re called Hollowgasts in the movie – and she will do anything to protect them,” explains Eva Green. 

                “She will risk her life and she will kill. And she is peculiar herself. She can transform herself into a bird. It’s quite complicated! She has this peculiarity as well, to manipulate time, so that the last 24 hours can be lived again. So every night she has that ritual of resetting the time,” adds Green.

                Eva further says that at the heart of the film is a very powerful message. “I think in the outside world, these abilities would be seen as a handicap and these children would be persecuted because of that.   But on this island, they’re kind of celebrated for being so unique, and the message in the film, for children as well as adults, it’s just, ‘be yourself, no matter how strange you are.’”

                And Burton, she adds, is the perfect director to deliver that message in a stunningly original cinematic way. “That’s what Tim does best. I feel like he understands the hearts of outcasts, and he celebrates them. It’s beautiful.”

                For the director himself, the ‘peculiars’ are outcasts because of who they are – is a theme that he related to instantly. “Obviously the superhero genre is alive and well, but with this I never quite saw it that way. I always felt this was a more human version of that kind of thing, and I always saw it as less of a superpower and more of an affliction,” he says. “It was a much more down-to-earth human level to me that I was attracted to.

                “Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children” will open September 28 in cinemas nationwide (also in 3D) from 20^th Century Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros. 

Movies: EMBRACE THE UNIQUE IN “MISS PEREGRINE’S HOME FOR PECULIAR CHILDREN” ON SEPTEMBER 28

Stay Peculiar.  It is this theme of not only accepting our differences but taking pride in them that resonated most with the filmmakers.  As embodied in the upcoming visual spectacle by Tim Burton, “Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children” stars an impressive group of multi-generational talents headed by Eva Green,  Judi Dench, Samuel L. Jackson along with up and coming young stars Asa Butterfield, Ella Purnell,  Finlay MacMillan,  Lauren McCrostie, Pixie Davies, Georgia Pemberton, Raffiella Chapman, Milo Parker, Hayden Keeler-Stone, Cameron King and Thomas and Joseph Odwell.

Based on Ransom Riggs’ bestselling compelling story of a group of outcast children, with strange abilities, “Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children” introduces us to a young reluctant powerful hero, Jake, played by Butterfield. When Jake discovers clues to a mystery that spans alternate realities and times, he uncovers a secret refuge known as Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. As he learns about the residents and their unusual abilities, Jake realizes that safety is an illusion, and danger lurks in the form of powerful, hidden enemies. Jake must figure out who is real, who can be trusted, and who he really is.

Visionary director Burton and creator of fantasy worlds, transports the audience anew into an exhilarating unforgettable movie experience in “Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children.”  To cast the young residents of Miss Peregrine’s special home, Burton went against expectations. 

 

Enoch (Finlay MacMillan) is the oldest boy in the Home for Peculiar Children.  Enoch’s peculiarity allows him to temporarily give life to inanimate objects, a skill he employs during an epic showdown with dark forces.

Olive (Lauren McCrostie) is a free spirit—with fire at her fingertips.  She must wear long black gloves at all times because she ignites everything she touches. 

  Bronwyn (Pixie Davies) is small but mighty—the youngest and by far the strongest of the Peculiars.  The pint-sized, brave, and dynamic character was a particular favorite of Burton’s. 

Fiona (Georgia Pemberton) has a peculiarity that allows her to manipulate plant growth; in an instant she can turn the smallest seed into the tallest tree. 

Claire (Raffiella Chapman) is a young Peculiar who by all appearances is normal—except for the set of razor-sharp teeth on the back of her head. 

Hugh (Milo Parker) is the resident “Lord of the Bees,” and he must wear a beekeeper’s mask to prevent the hive of bees that live within him from wreaking havoc on his friends. 

Horace (Hayden Keeler-Stone) has the peculiarity of prophetic dreams.  Every night, the Peculiars gather together and watch Horace’s vivid dreams projected onto a screen. 

Millard (Cameron King) possesses the peculiar trait of invisibility, which makes him the most elusive—and mischief-prone—of the Peculiars. 

The Twins (Thomas and Joseph Odwell) are the most enigmatic of the Peculiars.  They wear masks that obscure their faces, and are speechless, and have a hidden peculiarity that only comes to light in the most dangerous situations. 

What makes the young Peculiars different is also what makes them able, strong and special.  Miss Peregrine’s Home provides a safe haven from the outside world, which cannot comprehend or deal with the Peculiars’ special abilities.  It’s also a refuge from their powerful enemies.  “These children would be seen as freaks and would be persecuted in the outside world,” notes Eva Green, who portrays Miss Peregrine.  “In the remote island where they live and thrive, their ‘strangeness’ is celebrated as something special and beautiful.”

Opening on September 28 in 2D and 3D screens, “Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children” is a 20^th Century Fox feature film to be distributed by Warner Bros.

Movies: STUNNING ACTION AND IMAGERY IN TIM BURTON’S “MISS PEREGRINE’S HOME FOR PECULIAR CHILDREN”

From visionary director Tim Burton, and based upon the best-selling novel by Ransom Riggs, comes an unforgettable motion picture experience – “Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children.”  When Jake (Asa Butterfield) discovers clues to a mystery that spans alternate realities and times, he uncovers a secret refuge known as Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children.  As Jake learns about the residents and their unusual abilities, he realizes that safety is an illusion, and danger lurks in the form of powerful, hidden enemies.  Jake must figure out what is real, who can be trusted, and who he really is.

                “Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children” is rich with fantastical and immersive imagery, memorable characters, epic battles, and unique time travel manipulations—all brought to life by Tim Burton, in the grand style of his acclaimed films “Edward Scissorhands,” “Alice in Wonderland,” “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” and “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.”   Most significantly, it is about embracing the original and peculiar in us all.

               

                What makes the young Peculiars different is also what makes them able, strong and special.  Eva Green takes on the titular role of Miss Peregrine, her home provides a safe haven from the outside world, which cannot comprehend or deal with the Peculiars’ special abilities.  It’s also a refuge from their powerful enemies.

               

                Each child has a unique peculiarity, including levitation, fire-manipulation and super-strength.  The Peculiars’ capabilities are not limitless, and these young people are bound by most of the things we non-Peculiars are.  “They just discover some creative uses for their abilities in certain situations,” says executive producer Derek Frey.

                Choreographer Francesca Jaynes, whose credits include Burton’s “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street,” “Dark Shadows” and “Alice in Wonderland,” worked with the young actors, focusing on the movements specific to each character’s special ability.  But Jaynes notes that, “What was most important to Tim was conveying the humanity of the children.  These peculiarities are not superpowers.   It’s part of who they are.”               

                Burton filmed the action-packed conclusion on the Blackpool pier and in the Victorian circus at Blackpool Tower.   Stunt coordinator Rowley Irlam (“Game of Thrones”) worked with the young actors portraying the Peculiars and all were pleased to take part in a thrilling escape sequence, where they must climb out of a window on the top floor of the Home and slide down its roof, amidst a torrential downpour.  “All the children did their own stunts and were happy as anything to do it,” says Frey.

                “Fans are going to get a no-holds-barred ‘Miss Peregrine’ experience,” adds Derek Frey.  “It’s a full rendering of that story.”   Perhaps no one is more pleased with that rendering than its original architect.  “As someone who grew up loving Tim’s movies, it was so exciting to me that he was interested in my book,” says Riggs.  “I said to myself, ‘Okay, well, this is genius. Tim is perfect for the material, and he’s going to make it all his own.   I love where he went with the film.”

                The impressive cast of “Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children” also includes Samuel L. Jackson, Chris O’ Dowd, Allison Janney, Judi Dench, Terence Stamp, Ella Purnell, Rupert Everett, Finlay MacMillan, Lauren McCrostie, Raffiella Chapman, Hayden Keeler-Stone, Georgia Pemberton, Milo Parker, Pixie Davis, Cameron King, Joseph and Thomas Odwell and Louis Davison. 

               

                “Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children” will open September 28 in cinemas (2D and 3D) from 20^th Century Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros. 

Movie News: VISIONARY FILMMAKER TIM BURTON TURNS BESTSELLING BOOK TO FILM – “MISS PEREGRINE’S HOME FOR PECULIAR CHILDREN”

Highly acclaimed director Tim Burton brings Ransom Riggs’ bestselling young adult tome “Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children” to the big screen with the same title starring an ensemble of talented actors headed by Eva Green, Dame Judi Dench, Terence Stamp, Samuel L. Jackson,  Asa Butterfield, Ella Purnell,  Finlay Macmillan and Lauren McCostie. 

With millions of copies sold and translated into 40 languages, “Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children” has spent more than two years on the New York Times bestseller list and was named one of "100 Young Adult Books to Read in a Lifetime" by Amazon.com. 

 The movie adaptation of “Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children” sees Asa Butterfield, who plays Jake growing up in suburban Florida.  Listening to stories told by his much adored grandfather of his time in a magical home on a Welsh island and of the strange children with remarkable abilities, Jake believed that the stories came straight from his grandpa’s vivid imagination.  But then, a frightening chain of events leads him to believe that the home -– and the “peculiar” children who lived there protected by Miss Peregrine  – might indeed be real and he sets out to find it. 

 When he does, Jake is entranced by the eccentric band of youngsters who live there, trapped in a time loop living one day in 1940 over and over again. He also discovers that – just like his grandfather before him – he has a pivotal role in keeping them safe from the evil ‘hollowgasts’ who are hunting them.

 “Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children” will open September 28 in cinemas from 20^th Century Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros.

 Trailer link:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9uxHydNDEU