Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (2016) User Reviews (501)

I enjoyed the movie

[si_anu · 8/10 · 12 October 2016]

I am not very familiar with Tim Burton's work (only watched a handful of his movies), neither have I read the book, so I will review this movie as it is, without comparing it to the usual craftsmanship of Mr. Burton nor the characters or events as depicted in the source material.

I found the movie entertaining, and at no point did I wonder "How long more is this going to be?" Any movie that never prompts me to ask this question automatically gets a 6 out of 10.

Many reviews mentioned about huge plot holes in the movie, but I never really understood what the plot holes were that make this a terrible movie. I thought the story was quite easy to follow, even with all the time loops, and makes sense in the make-believe world that we are watching. I usually have trouble making sense of time- travel stories, so the ability to simplify complicated concepts and making it easy to understand for me deserves another star for intelligence. Though probably it wasn't easy enough for a seven year-old to comprehend.

I also thought the soundtrack was quite good, I actually stayed till the credits finished rolling to enjoy the music. This, along with the camera work, gets another star to make it 8 out of 10.

To be honest, if the voting score is in increment of 0.5, I would be more inclined to vote it 7.5 out of 10. I don't expect character development for all the "peculiar children" in a movie like this (that would perhaps be more fitting for a drama series), but the acting can be improved. Eva Green has the best "on-screen presence", but she doesn't appear until 30 minutes into the movie, so a bit of patience is necessary. Also I found the editing a bit too abrupt at some points, but that's about all the complaints I have.

I am quite satisfied with the movie, considering the amount of bad reviews I have been exposed to. :)

Different from Books but it's still good

[mariaagnesquinn · 7/10 · 6 April 2018]

The difference from the books allows this to be stand alone without driving you mental because you're left with a cliffhanger for a long time or, potentially, forever... if you enjoyed watch and enjoy it without reading the books?? Read them or get them on audiobook; you will LOVE them!!!

If you've read the trilogy first and THEN watch the film. You're in for a wee change, but it sat well with me rather than be left in insane-land til I could get the next book, or chapter, or be able to see the bigger picture...

Tim Burton's visual methodology strives enough to make up for the tainted script

[Screen_Blitz · 7/10 · 4 January 2017]

If you are fan of visionary director Tim Burton, chances are you know mostly for his distinct visual style, a style he's possessed since his signature debut in the comedy-horror 'Beetlejuice' in 1988. Burton has embraced a Gothic visual modus and macabre atmosphere that has most often made his films more of visual spectacles than films with compelling storytelling. This dark fantasy inspired by Ransom Riggs's best-selling novel series of the same name sees Burton continuing his signature trend with his dazzling visual methodology that manages to outplay it's occasionally clunky script. Written by Jane Goldman, frequent collaborator of director Matthew Vaughn, this film translates it's compelling source material with fine, but occasionally sluggish style-over-substance flick that only succeeds on embracing Burton's typical visual grandeur than coherent storytelling. Enter sixteen-year old Jake (played by Asa Butterfield), a young teen inspired by the extraordinary adventures of his grandfather Abe Portman (played by Terence Stamp) to seek out a mysterious foster family raised by the witch-like Miss Peregrine (played by Eva Green). The family consisted of children gifted with utterly bizarre abilities including a child who can manipulate air and breath underwater, another with an invisible body, one with a monstrous mouth at the back of her head, another with the ability to light things on fire with her bare hands, the list goes in. As the young man is drawn into their unnatural world, he learns the secrets of their family that put their lives in grave danger against mysterious monsters that pray on them.

With Tim Burton operating behind the camera, it is predictable that this strives for bizarre and spooky imagery that immediately hits you with reminiscence of Burton's previous works. The world of the titular character's mysterious habitat is drawn with an authentic 1940s-era production design and spooky imagery of characters with creepy CGI anatomical abnormalities and corpses with eyes hollowed out; just enough bizarre scenery to give elementary-school aged kids to the heebie jeebies. The make-up done on Eva Green's Miss Peregrine to give her a Maleficient-like appearance is pretty nice to look at as well. How Tim Burton's visual heft manages to tower over the storytelling however, comes as the film's prime disappointment. The first hour follows a 'X-Men meets Harry Potter' plot introducing a series of uncanny characters through long, convoluted exposition. In the process, the characters then introduce a time looping element that is should have made the plot more interesting but only adds more needless confusion to the already mind-boggling plot, and it's not until the roughly the hour and a half mark when the story begins to make reasonable sense. At that point, we are granted with our heroes engaging climatic showdown against creepy Slenderman-like creatures followed by a fight against devilish, glowy-eyed Samuel L. Jackson (an odd casting choice) filled with slick special effects and CGI. By the end, it fairly makes up for the sluggish narrative as does the performances. Asa Butterfield does a fine job as the protagonist but it's only disappointing that his character falls short of interest. In the midst of the crowded cast however, Eva Green is easily the standout in the performance department, giving a profound portrayal as the titular supporting entity.

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children is a slick dark fantasy spectacle that is gracefully held up by Tim Burton's signature visual appeal above Jane Goldman's blemished screenplay. In fair words, Tim Burton's effort on rendering Ransom Riggs's popular source material come to somewhat satisfying results, even if it falls deep under the flairs of Burton's magnums opuses.

Enjoyable, but could be better

[Xamrek · 7/10 · 2 March 2020]

After reading the book and also all the 1 star reviews on IMDb, I, honestly, quite liked the film. Not perfect but still well produced and with amazing visual effects. The most un-Tim Burton film (I mean it in a good way) Tim has made, taking a break from Johnny Depp and Helen Bonham Carter or even Alan Rickman. All I'm saying is that it's a GOOD film, but nothing more. This is a short review but it says it all. I recommend to be over 10 to watch this cause it gave me the chills and should be classified as horror.

Another book adaption more focused on making money than what made the book worth adapting in the first place.

[Amari-Sali · 6/10 · 1 October 2016]

Overview

Whether you've read the book or became interested due to the trailer or the name Tim Burton, beware. For while you may be entertained enough to not notice the two-hour time length, you will be left feeling the time could have been better spent.

Main Storyline

For quite sometime Jake (Asa Butterfield) was perhaps the only one who really connected with his grandfather Abe (Terrence Stamp). He would babysit him and tell him all the tales of his adventures, and even once those tales became a fantasy to Jake they stayed with him. However, with his grandpa old it seems he takes those old tales more factual than ever. Making his shocking death, in which Jake is the first to find him, and Abe rehashes information dealing with his old fairy tales strange.

Yet, even with thinking grandpa may have been delirious, he needs to see if maybe those stories are true. Leading to him taking a trip to Cairnholm in Wales. A place where he discovers many of grandpa's stories being true, including the monsters who likely killed him.

Highlights

The main thing praiseworthy is that some of the things the movie cuts, like us drowning in Jacob's ordinariness, are gone. Also, while arguably too much of it was cut out, it was nice that the time between meeting Jacob and being introduced to the peculiars was slimmed down. But perhaps the thing most noteworthy is despite this film being two hours, what remains of the magic which is Tim Burton's direction makes you so lost in the special effects and beauty of the movie that you don't really feel it.

Criticism

With that said, if you are someone who reads the book before the movie, expect your usual feelings of being upset. Mostly because it seems this movie was not made to start a franchise. Starting with the topic of the characters, I honestly feel like the changes made weren't really for the better. Now, let me begin by saying that part of the issue stems from none of these characters being allowed to naturally develop. Which, unfortunately, leads to them personalities feeling amped up, especially in the case of the pecuiliars, to make up for it. For whether it is Enoch (Finlay MacMillan) coming off as more of an ass than I remember or Eva Green, as Miss Peregrine, seemingly channeling Helena Bonham Carter in one of her more quirkier roles, you are left with so much personality but no substance behind it. Heck, even Butterfield, who usually is quite adept at playing awkward and introverted characters, just seems off his game in this movie without the ability to develop his character into some semblance of a person.

Transitioning to the story, this is where the lack of development really hits. For while, some of my feelings likely come from reading the book and thus thinking my perception of characters aren't met, at the same time it is hard to ignore certain issues. One being how the film completely ignores creating a sense of mystery or building up to anything.

Let's take Emma's (Ella Purnell) relationship with Jake, or even hers with Abe, for example. Her relationship with Abe is omitted entirely, thus leaving her as the girl with the power to control air. Then hen it comes to the Jake relationship, she pushes him away throughout the movie and the parts in the book dealing with how they came to fall for each other are cut. On top of that, the issues which come from liking your grandpa's ex are omitted as well as Jake's inexperience with girls. Making the build toward them eventually kissing feeling more like an obligation for a young adult novel adaptations than a culmination of everything that happened thus far. It doesn't end there, though. Frank's (Chris O'Dowd) development is cut in terms of his rocky marriage, his relationship with his father, as well as his feelings about being his age and still drifting from one dream to the next.

But the biggest issue, as noted above, is that the film lacks mystery and build. Something which makes the reveal of the hollowgast and Barren anti-climatic. Not just because their look was revealed in the trailers, but also because Barron and his associate aren't treated as monsters lurking in the shadows. They are spoken as if they are formidable creatures which kill indiscriminately. However, there isn't much in the way of lurking in shadows and while they keep some of the killings which happened on the island, they, you guessed it! Don't have the type of build which brings some form of fear, anxiety, or even excitement.

I mean, between the hollowgast looking like a rejected monster from a Guillermo Del Toro movie, seeing Ms. Peregrine kill the one who killed Victor and decided to come back for seconds (because they are in a loop she always knows when it is coming), or how Samuel L. Jackson as Barron is played as some sort of comical villain, it ruins whatever sense of fear you should have. Because, honestly, the way Jackson plays Barron is like he is auditioning to be the first Black villain of an Austin Powers movie. Think of his role in Kingsman without the lisp and him being rich.

Lastly, the final battle and ending were terrible. So terrible the trailer for A Dog's Purpose had me more on an emotional roller- coaster.

On The Fence

With that said, while Barron's comical dialog and actions put a damper on how fearful the hollows should have been, this isn't to say they weren't funny. Also, while the battles with the hollows weren't as life or death as I'd like, it was hard to not be entertained by the use of CGI in showing them destroy their environment and how the actors interacted with them in combat.

Let's give it a try!

[akosijesu · 7/10 · 28 September 2016]

You must be advised dear reader that I only watched the movie and I didn't read the book version written by Ransom Rigg!

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children is directed by Tim Burton (Director of The Nightmare Before Christmas, Big Fish, Frankenweenie and more) and a book adaptation of New York Time's Best Selling novel of the same title.

I think getting Tim Burton to direct this film was wise because he was able to bring his dark and macabre to the story. And the scene with Enoch's "toys" were fighting in classic stop-motion animation is just a signature of Tim Burton and that was perfect for me.

I liked the performance of Eva Green as a Miss Peregrine in this movie, she was perfect in the role, the eyeliner and the long nails to emulate the bird talons was perfect to her!

In the other side of the coin I don't liked the performance of Asa Butterfield as Jake I think his poor acting performance ruined the dark and macabre of the movie, for me he is not fit to the role.

And last but not the least for me the villains are too weak and easy to defeat, and the fighting scene was boring for me!

3 over 5 An entertaining dark adventure of Miss Peregrine and the Peculiar children...

Not so peculiar, more like average

[quiqueperique · 6/10 · 30 September 2016]

First of all I haven't read the books but my brother has and he said the movie is not even 30% accurate to the book so I get it why the book readers are hating it. If you are expecting a truthful adaptation of the novel maybe skip this one.

Now in my case as a non reader of the book I had no big expectations for this movie and after watching it I can say it is not a bad movie but it is not very good either. I think it has a good story but it is missing something to make it stand out.

I like Tim Burton and he clearly was the right choice to direct I mean his aesthetic works perfect with the tone of the story this feels like Big Fish meets Edward Scissorhands, that being said I think the story felt a little flat.

Kudos to Eva Green because she is the only, and I mean the only person in the cast worth mentioning, she fits the character of Miss Peregrine perfect, very mysterious and powerful but with a kind heart, contrary to Asa Butterfield who as Jake felt completely forced and not even relatable. The other adults, even Samuel L. Jackson as the villain, were forgettable. And the kids, who I thought were the ones that were going to stand out, only Ella Purnell kind of did

Overall it is pretty average movie with great direction an a clear vision but a cast and a story that were flat. That is why I'm giving it a 6. Not so bad but not so good

Bizarre, Wild and Fantastic

[Harun_Karali · 8/10 · 25 September 2016]

The story is about Jake who stumbles upon an orphanage where there are beings with extraordinary gifts. He meets Miss Peregrine, who invites him to be a part of the family. Burton delivers a breathtaking movie, with gorgeous visuals. As he brings a fairy tale to the silver screen. At the end, I found myself unable to stand, As "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" tuggs on all the right strings and plays a nearly perfect symphony. What stands out in this particular orchestra is the soundtrack, As it breaths life into the story.

As for the acting, Eva Green is perfectly cast as she plays an estranged and peculiar mother figure. This is a Burton classic, if you aren't a fan of his style, it's best to steer clear. The story is based on the novel Ransom Riggs published in 2011. With Jane Goldman's polishing touch, Burton crafts a mesmerizing adventure.

a welcome return to Burton's light-and-twisted cinematic tableau, with some caveats

[Quinoa1984 · 7/10 · 30 September 2016]

The 'defense' I'd use for Tim Burton's return to the world of misfit outsiders in the realm of fantasy (I can almost hear MJ about the break out into "Remember the Time" with a flash-cut to Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, even Sleepy Hollow to a degree), if it does need to be defended (and I think it does slightly), is that this is the director appealing emotionally to the audience and doing it well. Does this mean that every moment is logically sound? No, it does not mean that, so maybe the movie doesn't conform to the old Narrative Triangle where we got the ethos-pathos-logos thing going. But I'd rather have Burton be on fire making a MAJOR work (which I think this is to an extent) bringing his creepy and intentionally deranged visual sense and getting that right, not to mention most of the humor, than to see him slumping all around or relying on CG.

In this story that you certainly have seen before in some form or another (whether it's through seeing some other YA novel turned to the screen or, let's see for comparison, of course X-Men can't be avoided and I'll get back to that, but also Addams Family and, oddly enough, Inception), as a young person discovers through a family connection that there is *another world*. Of course he has known this since he was little - I really enjoy the framing here, though I had to put some thought into this being what the movie actually is like, of a grandpa telling a child a story about his weird little friends with these strange 'abilities' as a bedtime story, as told by Terrence Stamp - but put it out of his mind once it became time for Children to Put Away Childish Things(TM).

But when Grandpa dies due to something rather spooktacular, Jake decides to look into it, and it leads him to Wales where he discovers through a "loop" (like time-wise) the world of Miss Peregrine's Home for Pectuliar Children resides in September of 1943, on the day leading up to when the home will be bombed by enemy fire. So we get to see this host of 'Peculiars' as they're called, and naturally the feeling is that this will be akin to when we get to "Xavier's School" in X-Men - certainly, for some reason (call it writer's intuition, or unintentional homage/the usual thing with YA stories), the dynamic between Jake, Emma (the girl who can fly if not tethered to the ground), a boy with a jealous/angry face all the time who can implant hearts into things and make them move, reminds us of Wolverine/Jean Grey/Cyclops. A little.

But the difference here is that they aren't being trained to fight (then again neither were those at Xavier's school in theory), but are being targeted by dastardly creatures (a scenery-garbage-compactor with Samuel L. Jackson, one of my favorite things about the movie overall), and have to find a way to survive and fight back. So there's a lot to this story, and one of the things I noticed was much more exposition than in other Tim Burton movies; you may get some in Beetlejuice from the 'old times', but only just enough to get you by. Here, it seems like there are a myriad of rules when it comes to these 'loops' and who can see the peculiars and especially in the third act things become complicated. As far as the 'plot' goes, it's often messy, stuffed, even at two hours it's crammed in with information that, if you haven't read the book, I'm sure will leave you questions. It certainly did me. And as one more knock, Asa Butterfield is one note (not altogether terrible, just stiff) as the lead, which leaves it to everyone else to pick up the slack - which, to be fair, many of them can and do. Also, Chris O'Dowd is wasted (such as the parents seem to be in this story).

So why recommend it? Because, especially for the first two thirds, it feels richer in texture, style and in how the actors relate together and the emotional context of things comes out than I've seen in a fantasy film from Burton in a long time. And on its own it works as as a delightful and often dark-for-kids (as it should be) story of overcoming fears and that feeling of being 'different' as a mark against someone. Even in that messy third act where the story hurdles along, there's always something new or exciting visually, a creation or bunch of characters (including an homage to Jason and the Argonauts!) that kept me engaged and entertained. I keep thinking that if I wasn't such a "critic" and enjoyed it as a casual movie-goer I'd like it even more-so. I can't help but see flaws in it, but it doesn't keep me from wanting others to see it and discover it for themselves.

Could've been a great film. Despite some intriguing story elements and a promising first act, it sadly ends up being OK.

[RockoDaFoxxo · 5/10 · 2 October 2016]

Just to clarify one thing: I don't hate Tim Burton at all. In fact, I kinda love his work. He has a very unique and imaginative vision, seems to have a tasteful choice for actors (besides Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter), and can really pour his heart and soul in some of his films like "Edward Scissorhands", "Corpse Bride", and "The Nightmare Before Christmas". But, just like any director, he has his missteps also. Some of his recent work is very lackluster and, at times, flat-out bad (Planet of the... BLAHK!).

But I was still excited for this particular project of his. I haven't read the book, or knew much about it, but when I saw the trailer I got my hopes up. Maybe this will be his big comeback! Asa Butterfield is an actor I like, the imagery is appropriately dream- like and the source material seems to fit his style perfectly. It even has the screenwriter from X-Men: First Class!

So I went to see the film with a few of my friends in a theater of around 15 people and 25-30 recliner seats. I couldn't wait to see another great Tim Burton movie!

And for the first half of the film... I genuinely enjoyed it! Sure, it does take some time for Jacob to reach Peregrine's home, but once he does... I couldn't help but smile like an idiot. The world that Jacob enters is fascinating, the visuals are exceptional, and every one of the peculiar kids are very interesting side- characters. I wanted to learn more about the girl that could lift boulders over her head! There is also this kid that can project his dreams into film... how cool! The first act always left me with questions that I was excited to hear about when the plot kicks in.

And then the plot kicks in...

That is where the movie starts to run out of steam.

I could tell there were a lot of story elements in the book just from watching the movie, because in the second half a lot of it felt crammed in. Whenever I try to follow the story as best as I can, there's always this one subplot that makes precious little sense. It also doesn't help that the villain is weak and his motivations are somewhat vague.

The climax is pretty abrupt and Burton sadly delves into a few clichés that aggravate me. A lot of it felt by-the-numbers at that time, and I was sorely disappointed.

That's not to say that this was a bad film, because it isn't. The acting (especially from Eva Green) is competent, the whole film is imaginative in its story and visuals, and somewhere buried beneath lies a great film with lots of creative ideas and appealing whimsy. But the plot is messy, the main character is bland, the pacing is at times uneven and, in the end, it's just another average YA adaptation that had loads of potential.

VERDICT:

+ Visuals + Well-cast, especially for Eva Green + Imaginative + Sense of wonder in the first act + Solid directing + Interesting side characters

• Villain - The hero is underdeveloped - Plot is messy - Pacing is uneven - Unconvincing love chemistry

SCORE: 5.5/10

Delightful Original Adventure

[claudio_carvalho · 8/10 · 15 November 2016]

Jake (Asa Butterfield) is an outcast teenager that adores his grandfather Abraham 'Abe' Portman (Terence Stamp) that used to tell stories of the orphanage in Wales where he was raised to him. When Abe is murdered in his house in Florida and has his eyes removes, Jake sees a monster and his parents take him to a psychologist. Jake asks to go to Wales to visit the orphanage and his psychologist agrees. His father Franklin Portman (Chris O'Dowd) travels with him to Wales and Jake discovers that the orphanage was bombed in 1943 by the Germans. When he decides to visit the ruins of the orphanage again, Abe finds a girl and soon he learns that the orphanage, the headmaster Miss Peregrine (Eva Green) and the children still exist trapped in a time loop. But they are in danger since monsters are hunting them down. And Jake has the gift of seeing monsters. What will Jake do?

"Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" is a delightful original adventure directed by Tim Burton. The fantasy is a sort of X-Men and is highly entertaining with lovely characters and evil villains. Despite the confused idea of time loops, the film entertains adults and children. My vote is eight.

Title (Brzil):"O Orfanato da Srta. Peregrine Para Crianças Peculiares" ("The Orphanage of Miss Peregrine for Peculiar Children")

Do you want to know what killed me?

[petra_ste · 7/10 · 2 December 2020]

This is one of those "mid Tim Burton" movies, not up there with Ed Wood, Batman Returns or Big Fish but not down the well with Alice in Wonderland or Charlie and the Chocolate Factory either.

Burton seemed like the perfect choice to deal with the material (adapted from the first book of a young adult fantasy series), as the director has always been enamored with bittersweet stories of creepy/poetic outcasts. The result is watchable but beyond its full potential.

Young Jake (Asa Butterfield) loses his beloved grampa (the great Terence Stamp), who used to tell him incredible tales from his youth before being mysteriously killed. Jake visits an island in Wales to find out his grampa's stories were true: he finds a school with a group of superpowered children and teens, tutored by Miss Peregrine (Eva Green, always interesting).

The headmistress and her pupils are stuck in a time loop in an ever-repeating day of 1943 - which Miss Peregrine resets every evening before a Nazi bombardment destroys their mansion - hiding from a group of sinister creatures hunting them.

The first act is a little slow but the second gets genuinely compelling - I was on board with the movie at that point. There are some neat ideas: the "peculiar children" of unusual skills enjoying a sheltered, unending youth but unable to grow up and lead an actual life; Miss Peregrine Groundhog-Daying her routine, from answering the same phone call again and again to slaying a monster always attacking at the same hour. There were enough ideas for a whole mini-series in this section of the film.

Sadly, the last act peters out into something conventional and nowhere as intriguing, the typical showdown with the Bad Guys™ - including a ghoulish Samuel L. Jackson, a usually fantastic actor who here hams it up like (appropriately) there is no tomorrow. The rules of time travel established earlier get sloppy and confusing; the themes of choice and loss get a very hasty "love trumps all" resolution. Pity, there was a great concept back in that second act. It's also weird how the script desperately hastens to tie up all loose ends, whereas the source material ended with an effective cliffhanger (and the book series is still going on - five novels and counting). I appreciate giving some closure in case you don't get to make a sequel, but this felt like deliberately torpedoing any chance of a second movie.

Parental advice, this isn't for smaller children (younger than 10). The tone is mostly lighthearted but, in typical Burton fashion, there are creepy creatures (which look like they swam all the way from Silent Hill) and grotesque moments, including monsters gorging on their victims' eyeballs... yeah.

6,5/10

Tim Burton's X-Men

[ThomasDrufke · 5/10 · 2 October 2016]

Tim Burton has tackled almost all of the genre's, and done most of them very well. So who doesn't want to see him go back to his adventure-fantasy comfort zone with Miss Peregrine?

It's billed as Tim Burton's X-Men, and I like that comparison a lot. It definitely has certain similarities to a mutant story, but with Burton's flare for obscurity and peculiarity. Let me start off by saying that I really liked the premise and set up. Not only are the characters similar to X-Men, but the story slightly resembled Days of Future Past. I love the time travel elements and links to World War II. But the rest of the film just didn't live up to the promise of the trailers.

As delightful as some of Burton's films can be, I find the unevenness to be one of his biggest detractors of his otherwise intriguing ideas. For some reason, the second half of his films don't have the same cohesiveness that the opening's do. With Miss Peregrine, we are set up with a much more grounded take to a heightened story than I thought. You certainly get to see the impressive and outright strange abilities of the young children, but it isn't taken into any extraordinary levels, until later. The second half is flooded with ridiculous and over-the-top 'peculiarities'. That's would be all fine and dandy if the first half didn't set up an already intriguing story without all of the added strangeness.

As for the performances, Eva Green is the only one that really stood out here. She seems like a perfect fit into a Burton-esque drama. Her line delivery and presence just speaks Burton. She's also the only character that kept my attention from beginning till end. Sadly, she's not really in it all that much, even with the title having her name. We mostly focus on Asa Butterfield's 'Jake' and Ella Burnell's 'Emma'. Of course, there is some romantic tension, but it never leaves the constructs of a typical teen angst drama. I just didn't buy into it.

There's a ton of cool things about this movie, but by the time I left the theater the whole idea just felt tiresome. But with all this said, I would still be open to another entry in the series, just include Eva Green a little more and don't fall into clichés, Burton. You're better than that.

+Premise

+Eva Green is perfect

-First and second half are completely different films

-Romantic chemistry was hard to buy into

5.9/10

Don't get your hopes to high

[diogayoboy · 6/10 · 19 May 2017]

I don't quite know if it's my fault to have my hopes too high or is it really disappointing. Overall the movie was bad, the worst part in my opinion was the acting and the build up towards the emotion, whether it's the romance, the friendship, or any other emotion, you probably didn't even feel the hatred enough to kill Samuel L Jackson beside he took the Eva Green to him self. I really feel like the movie really needs longer time, the crisis and the condition faced by the character wasn't explained enough, the build up towards the character even didn't felt enough, so the emotion towards the character feels nearly as nothing. Good thing is Eva performance is the only thing that came close as natural but still her time is not nearly as enough, the story line was good (not great even perfect), lovely main female character, and that was it. The rating is basically because i was grow up with the book so kinda personal there Overall + Eva Green!!!! + It's Miss Peregrine people!!! - The actor was mostly awful the acting was too stiff (probably because most of them are children) - Bad jokes placement, no, wait, bad jokes at all - Thamuel L Thackton did his best to not say MOTHERF*CKER (not a good attempt tho) - Lack of emotions build and put up to the movie

Personally I really expect an reboot with longer version and more build up because for me that's basically what this adaptation lack of

Book fans may be underwhelmed, but Tim Burton fans will be spoiled

[TheLittleSongbird · 7/10 · 2 October 2016]

'Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children' is not one of Tim Burton's best films, with 'Edward Scissorhands' and 'Ed Wood' being two of my all-time favourite films, and still get much enjoyment out of 'Beetlejuice', 'Sleepy Hollow' and his 'Batman' films.

It is however one of his better films since 'Big Fish' along with 'Frankenweenie' and 'Sweeney Todd'. Much better than 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory', 'Alice in Wonderland' and 'Dark Shadows' (as well as his worst film 'Planet of the Apes') at any rate. As an adaptation of the book, which is excellent by the way, 'Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children' is not a good adaptation, in fact as said it is a poor one, but as none of Burton's source-material-to-film adaptations are faithful treatments of their source material this was to be expected.

On the other hand, 'Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children' has a lot to recommend on its own terms, which is in all honesty a much fairer way to judge. It is patchy yes, but it to me was often very enjoyable and got the feeling that Burton is regaining his touch. Starting with the problems, some of the first half, while setting the scene and the context of the story very well, did feel jumpy and rushed and things are left a bit too vague and hanging out in the open without explanation. The editing, again in the first half, felt on the disorganised side.

Asa Butterfield has been criticised. Personal feelings were mixed regarding his performance, he looks the part but has a tendency to be stiff and not as emotionally involved as he should be. This said, this was always going to be a potential problem due to how the character is written, with much of his dialogue being internalised. Judi Dench and Chris O'Dowd (who should not have attempted the accent because it did not suit him at all) are squandered in their roles.

Conversely, 'Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children' looks fantastic, with lots of sheer beauty and a Gothic touch (unmistakable Burton visual style really). The special effects are also very good, especially in the climax like the 'Jason and the Argonauts'-like skeletons, while the film is exquisitely photographed. The music is fitting, with a moody gloom but also pathos, but no themes that stand out as unforgettable (like much of Danny Elfman's score for 'Edward Scissorhands' or Howard Shore's opening theme for 'Ed Wood').

The script is playful yet sincere, exploring death and grief sensitively but with a darkness without being traumatising. Sure, some of the film is spooky but not in a way that will make parents outrage about unsuitability for their children (a very old IMDb and internet cliché that has become overused and extremely irritating). While there are problems with the story in the first half, the second half is deliciously dark, forebodingly gloomy, impishly humorous and poignant. There are memorable scenes here, such as the bombing, the chemistry between the two young characters and especially the thrilling climax.

Burton's style is unmistakable in its Gothic darkness, impish humour and in-your-face weirdness but not in a way that distracts from the storytelling, instead adding to it (unlike a few of his films in recent years), with an otherworldly atmosphere and spine-tingling thrills. Not all the performances completely work, but most of the cast come off very well. Top honours goes to a fabulous Eva Green, and Terence Stamp is always great value and sterling support. Ella Purnell is very affecting too, while Samuel L. Jackson is campy fun as the antagonist (not a necessary character necessarily but a comedic touch here and there did bring some levity to the predominant darkness and emotional wallop).

On the whole, patchy but very enjoyable taking it on its own merits. 7/10 Bethany Cox

Tied to the same place

[chaos-rampant · 10 March 2017]

With Burton I usually pass through with some curiosity without being engaged more. He lauds the sticky-sweet qualities of imagination and nostalgia, gives us struggles of light versus dark; I find myself drawn to filmmakers who cultivate the transience and non-attachment that reconcile opposites in their films. He pumps warm emotional tap water, I would rather be taken to springs in the deep forest.

He offers storytelling as retreat to a purer place than the callous world out there, fantasy will often do that. I perceive storytelling as a tool - one of the most important - for untying knots, knots created by our attachment to things making story-sense a certain way only, it's where so much of our troubles begin, so that our whole world becomes a purer place, purer because we can roam with an unfettered mind.

It comes down to the larger view of how we make sense of the world and our place within it, as both viewers surrounded by narratives and narrators of our own. But I happen to share enough common ground about the value of storytelling, the same one that brings me to Raoul Ruiz on the farther end, so I make it a point to visit now and then.

This is his most poignant since Big Fish and driven by a similar story of uncovering emotive truth in the ramblings of an old storyteller's fantasy. It has some of his most exciting fabrics of world since Ed Wood, particularly the beginning in sunny Florida where mysterious nightmare lurks after sundown outside the suburban home of an old man who is anxiously peering through blinds, later the Blackpool funpark by the sea in the end with a mischievous fight against evil right under the noses of an unsuspecting audience.

So it has enough going for it to make me, who was never a fan but am always rooting for anyone who tries to stir the illusory world to awaken the sense of horizon, regret he has wasted precious time and energy being in charge of Hollywood projects that have as much to do with the art of imagining as decorating Walmart for Christmas. It means he has missed the opportunity to go off on his own to delve with quiet and single-minded passion into what interests him above all. Ed Wood best exemplifies this and is what the film was actually about, someone who is free to play and work with the fabrics of illusion.

Watching this I am reminded of Wes Anderson, someone who also became known for his peculiar inflection, the way colors and symmetries hang, but finally realized he was simply wasting it on skits that amuse. These days he's busy exploring ways to make language fluid and spontaneous, untying knots that stand in the way. He's finally giving us marvelous journeys about escaping bounds because he began by escaping his. I was never a fan before, now fully embrace him.

I have Burton grouped with Peter Jackson and Tarantino as filmmakers who at some point gave up on this journey.

Visually impressive but sloppy

[PetarNeo · 7/10 · 10 December 2016]

After Jacob witness his grandfather dying he plans a trip so he could prove that his grandfather wasn't mad and that there really a re peculiar people. From the beginning it was very mysterious and terrifying but as movie goes and Jacob finds peculiar's movie just takes turn in amazing fantasy. Throughout movie Burton tries to hide details but they are almost every time so obvious and as movie is going more towards end it loses it's potential. Last 30 minutes as much as fun they were more than that they were dull and boring that much that drama in those scenes was laughable. As for visual effects and scenes movie just very beautiful and feels like fairy tale but very dark one. At the end movie totally turns for romance and emotions which was fine but not preferable. There was a lot of moments that are just skipped and throws us in different scene immediately. Eva as Peregrine was incredible, from charm to emotions she was great. Asa (Jacob) and Ella (Emma) felt like the lead characters and everything was about them, they are good both in their roles. Samuel L Jackson was Barron and it seems like he picked that role because it seemed fun to him but on screen he was not that intimidating despite his darkness rather character that you would laugh to. 2.5/4

Peculiar or not?

[kosmasp · 7/10 · 15 June 2017]

I haven't read the books, so I can't talk about the differences at length. I read a comment from another reviewer who is furious about the movie, because of all the changes. You have to remember when a beloved book gets made into a film, it's almost impossible it'll meet what you had made of it in your mind.

Also as this is limited (running time mostly), it won't have everything the book had. Even Peter Jacksons adaptations could not have everything Tolkien had written in his book (at least not in the version that was running in the cinemas). Having said all that I hope this prepares you in case you do want to watch this. This is light and fun (with dark themes of course) and aimed to our inner and outer child. It does a good enough job taking us away and entertain us. That's good enough in my book (no pun intended)

Tim Burton classic

[me_sterya · 10/10 · 28 September 2016]

Tim Burton does it again - he manages to create with passion and imagination a whole new world, for those of us who need new worlds. Thus if you love fantasy and dreams made serious and scary go see it in 3d because it's great. If you are more of an adult than the child within and you like films with linear plot and logic and exhaustive explanations you probably won't become a fan and that's OK too. Just don't rate it low just because it's not your type, a movie should be rated for what it was meant to be and for what the team behind it tried to accomplish. Watch the trailer, if you like it you'll probably love the film. It's worth mentioning that it is quite dark and scary so it's not for every child.

Good first part of this movie, but it then it started to drag on because of the convoluted story

[851222 · 6/10 · 22 January 2017]

Greetings from Lithuania.

I really liked the first ~ hour of "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" (2016). It was very intriguing, good written and tightly directed. But after that, the story become more and more complicated and even convoluted. I won't lie - i didn't understand part of what were going on during the second part of this movie. And it was rated PG-13 with all the "eyes eating stuff?", this is not a movie for the youngest ones.

Overall, "Miss Peregrine's Home" is a disappointment. It is not a bad movie by any means, but it is a very mixed bag. There were many plot elements that could have been made into a TV series, not a 2 hours long movie because by the end i just didn't care what was going on to be honest. While special effects were good and overall craftsmanship of this movie is also first rate, the script in here was its biggest weakness - it wasn't written by Tim Burton, so its not his fault that this movie fail to deliver. They needed to make the story more tight. And were did Judi Dench gone during this movie? Who was her character anyway? If a script can not engage a viewer in the story even after Judi Dench appears on screen then the film has some real problems.

Whatever happened to Tim Burton?!

[bartonj2410 · 4/10 · 2 October 2016]

Tim Burton strikes me as a pretty peculiar man so he was the right fit for Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, a film based on the novel of the same name by Ransom Riggs. Burton has disappointed me recently and I haven't really enjoyed one of his films since Sleepy Hollow back in 1999.

Jake Portman (Asa Butterfield) is a boy who doesn't really have anyone close to him, except for his grandfather. When tragedy strikes at home and Jake is left feeling more alone than ever, he goes on a journey to Wales to find out if there was any truth to the fairy tales he was told by his grandfather as a child.

Stumbling across Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, that his grandfather visited regularly when fighting in the war, Jake soon meets its inhabitants and Miss Peregrine (Eva Green) herself. Hearing her speak of the danger the the children could be in, Jake makes a connection between that danger and the cause of the tragedy at home.

This is very much a family film however, where I think it will lose both adult and child audience members is the fact that it really is quite a boring story told in such a dull way. Tim Burton has made fantasy films before but there is no sense of awe or wonder as there was in something like Edward Scissorhands.

The screenplay from Jane Goldman is massively disappointing considering the work she's done on the likes of Kick-Ass and Kingsman in recent years. I enjoyed some of the film but for large parts I was bored thanks to some incredibly drab characters.

The film certainly has a visual appeal but even that was ruined by a final act that descended into utter stupidity. Up until then, I thought the effects were really quite good. Then came the moment a crew of skeletons fend off the enemy creatures from the children. All I will say is that the skeletons in Jason and the Argonauts looked better.

Coming to the performances, Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children makes a massive error in having Asa Butterfield in the lead role. He hasn't done much of note in his career so far and I just found him so bland in this film. Samuel L. Jackson's villainous turn is just laughable but the film's biggest crime was not having enough Eva Green, an actress who would have done the film a massive favour.

The use of time travel is something that hindered the film for me as well. Events towards the end don't get explained very well at all, leading to utter confusion as the film drew to a close. I'm sure I won't be the only one who thought so. Overall, this is just a totally forgettable film from Tim Burton.

Another magical masterpiece from Tim Burton

[Ramascreen · 9/10 · 25 September 2016]

#MissPeregrinesHomeForPeculiarChildren is a Tim Burton movie through and through. There are elements of "Frankenweenie" in it, there's a little bit of "Big Fish" too and "Edward Scissorhands" as well, full of goth and oddities, if this film had been directed by somebody else, it would've done the story disservice because the world and the characters that author Ransom Riggs created in his novel are pretty much in Tim Burton's neck of the woods. Some might even describe this as the X-Men movie that Tim Burton never made.

Scripted by Jane Goldman ("Kick-Ass," "X-Men: First Class") I don't want to give too much away here but let me briefly tell you the plot which focuses on a young kid named Jake (Asa Butterfield). One day, an incident befalls his grandfather, which then leads Jake to visit Wales, the location of the orphanage from his grandfather stories. In his search, he encounters the peculiar children that his grandfather had talked so much about and they lead him to Miss Peregrine (Eva Green) who explains to Jake that she is a ymbrynes, which is a peculiar that can create time loops which then keeps their place safe but it also means that they're stuck in a certain day of a certain year. All of this must be done due to WWII and the monsters, hollowgasts that hunt down peculiar children for their eyes. The leader of those hollowgasts is Barron (Samuel L. Jackson) who'll stop at nothing in his quest for immortality.

MISS PEREGRINE'S HOME FOR PECULIAR CHILDREN is an adventure film that's wildly mesmerizing, and because the kids have powers or special abilities, it's also full of visual wonder, the movie magic is in high gear for most of the time. It takes someone with an active imagination like Tim Burton to bring an already imaginative story come to life on the big screen.

Part of what makes Ransom Rigg's novel special and popular is that it contains vernacular photographs as a guide to put together the narrative. Burton incorporates some of that into the film but they're there mainly at the beginning, just to set up the context. The design for the hollowgasts and what they eat to sustain themselves or to survive, some might see it as too scary for younger viewers, but I see it more as gnarly. But that's the thing though with many of Tim Burton's family adventure movies, they're never meant to walk on egg shells. They are fairy tales that find beauty in the dark and they bring out courage in characters that society marginalizes, and MISS PEREGRINE'S HOME FOR PECULIAR CHILDREN is no different.

The kids featured in this film are so adorable, once you get past or get used to their peculiarities, and some can be shocking, you'll find them to be absolutely adorable. And once they start teaming up and working together, it's so easy to cheer or root for them. Those who know me well know that I'm a huge Eva Green's fan, her involvement is definitely this film's big attraction to me, but I think she's just absolutely perfect in this role, Green has that natural instinct when it comes to playing mysterious powerful character, she previously showed it in "Penny Dreadful" series and now she unleashes that same vibe for this film. I guess you could say that MISS PEREGRINE'S HOME FOR PECULIAR CHILDREN is kind of like Mary Poppins meets X-Men meets Tim Burton, and it's a winning combination.

-- Rama's Screen --

Please, please read the book.

[Anaslair · 7/10 · 26 February 2017]

I read the book several months ago and there is a lot I no longer remember. However, I do recall a feeling that the movie did not transmit. Of course, a lot changed from the book, from Emma's powers to Miss Peregrine being so young and chirpy to several other details, not to mention things that just sounded silly and without any purpose other than get the characters to do something or get the story to proceed in a certain manner. But mainly many things felt rushed. Some things were just plain dumped which could have worked well and in some instances did, in others it didn't. Also, if there is one thing that makes me cringe it is insta-love.

Tim Burton created a new character only because he wanted to work with Samuel L. Jackson. This could have been a really good thing, if played right. However, the bad guys in the book were so much scarier. This dude had the potential to be terrifying and he only managed to do so in the first scenes when he didn't spoke. Then he just came across as silly, at least to me.

Hey, it's still a Tim Burton movie. Awesome CGI, sound effects, etc, etc. Lots of clichés as well. As usual, if you have not read the book you will enjoy it a lot more.

It was pretty good, not awesome. And I have the feeling the ending is going to ruin the next two books of the series for me which remain unread.

Bottom line, please read the book.

Very different from the books and just a major disappointment

[whitelori · 3/10 · 2 October 2016]

My daughter and I had read the books. Fans will be disappointed because the film deviates from the original story so much, it is surprising this is called an adaptation. The peculiar children as an example were not all portrayed as written and some were even missing. My daughter kept asking why this child or that child were not there? Miss Peregrine is also not portrayed as she was in the book. I could go on and on.

Acting fell very flat and characters were void of emotion except for one scene where Miss Peregrine shows sadness. Jake in the book is humorous and sarcastic but also had some serious feelings to contend with about tough choices. Absolutely none of this was translated to film.

The ending was confusing, entire story rushed, and anti-climatic.

Also, for 3D lovers, there is almost no 3D effects. There are some at the very beginning which were great, but then the rest was like watching a regular 2D film!

Save your money for the DVD or Netflix!

nice

[Kirpianuscus · 14 May 2018]

For actors work. for interesting adaptation. for special effects. and, maybe, the only sin is to not guess ... the director. sure, it is a Tim Burton. but you have the certitude onlt after the read of credits. because something works well but not in the expected direction. short, you admire the actors and, especially Asa Butterfield . and you reflect about the other roles of each actor. not real fair. but useful for legitimate the interest for a film who could be little...better. or convincing. or example of Tim Burton mark. but, sure, a nice adaptation.