Photo Courtesy: Screen Rent
Caleb Thorton
Advertising & Business Editor
Don’t even take the time to read this review, go watch it.
By “it,” I mean the incredible, new Tim Burton movie, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children.
This movie follows the gothic theme most Burton films have, such as Dark Shadows and Coraline, but also has an upbeat, warm feeling. The plot revolves around Jake (Asa Butterfield), his grandfather’s past and Jake’s own adventures through that past.
After a major tragedy happens to Jake, he begins regular visits with a psychiatrist, who inevitably convinces him to follow the clues left by his grandfather (Terence Stamp) to venture to a foreign country and mingle with a headmistress and the children.
The children there are not the headmistress’s own; they are children sent to the home for safety from others who do not approve of their peculiarities, hence the title.
I disliked the connection between Jake and his parents, Chris O’Dowd and Kim Dickens, because it seemed far too distant. This was probably a small detail that had to be that way to exemplify the grandson-grandfather relationship. It just made me feel for the kid; his parents cared for him, but not in the way they should have.
I have a few questions after watching the film, such as if the paradox effect would come into play at all, when exactly the original loops were made and how exactly eating eyeballs gives you humanity.
One of my favorite parts occurs at the beginning of the end, where the children work together against the Hollowgasts (i.e. freaky looking beast monsters), giving themselves a strong chance to survive. They not only use teamwork, but they are incredibly smart and witty while doing so.
I’ll willingly admit I am sucker for Disney and little kids being heroes, but this movie honestly is terrific. It is not just the intricate plot that intrigued me, but also the way in which the plot was presented. The children were beautiful and so magnificently imaginative.
The props used throughout the masterpiece added to the Burton feel, but also to the overall atmosphere of the movie, characters and setting.
There are parts where one might possibly guess what might happen next, but other than one, maybe two instances, the family flick is full of gnarly surprises.
I give this movie 9 out of 10 bees.
