Hello all, and welcome to my review of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children! 😀

  Starring: Eva Green (Miss Peregrine), Asa Butterfield (Jake Portman), Samuel L. Jackson (Barron), Judi Dench (Miss Avocet), Chris O’Dowd (Franklin Portman), Terence Stamp (Abraham ‘Abe’ Portman), Ella Purnell (Emma Bloom), Finlay MacMillan (Enoch O’Conner), Lauren McCrostie (Olive Abroholos Elephanta), Hayden Keeler-Stone (Horace Homnusson), Georgia Pemberton (Fiona Fruanfeld), Milo Parker (Hugh Apiston), Raffiella Chapman (Claire Densmore), Pixie Davies (Bronwyn Bruntley), Joseph & Thomas Odwell (Masked Ballerina 1 & 2), Cameron King (Millard Nullings), Louis Davison (Victor Bruntley)

Plot (taken from IMDb):

“When Jacob discovers clues to a mystery that stretches across time, he finds Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. But the danger deepens after he gets to know the residents and learns about their special powers.”

Trailer:

Characters:

Eva Green (Miss Peregrine) – I like this character a lot. She was tough, and it was clear how much she loved the children. Her entire purpose was watching over them, and she was fierce when it came to protecting them. Lol, I also had a hard time not staring at her eyes the whole time.

Asa Butterfield (Jake Portman) – I like how determined this character is. He knows what he saw, and he knows he has to pursue it. He’s not content to just wait around. I also really liked the way he looked after the other children, once he got to Miss Peregrine’s, and genuinely cared for them. Lol, he even tried to get along with Enoch.

Samuel L. Jackson (Barron) – I love this actor. He’s so versatile, and I generally like him in any role he takes. He plays a seriously creepy villain here.

Judi Dench (Miss Avocet) – She’s not in the movie long, but she’s a lot like Miss Peregrine. Her main concern is looking after the children in her care.

Chris O’Dowd (Franklin Portman) – This guy, man. This guy. It was impossible, for me at least, not to dislike the guy. It wasn’t ‘hate’ level. Just healthy ‘dislike.’ He was neglectful of Jake, and never seemed willing to hear his own kid out. He was dismissive of both Jake, and his own father, Abraham. And I realize there was history there, between him and Abraham, but still. Lol, he was a jerk, wrapped in shroud of lazy, within a whole bag of tools. Actually, he *was* the entire bag of tools, and all the tools inside it. King of the Tools.

Terence Stamp (Abraham ‘Abe’ Portman) – Jake’s grandfather, and Franklin’s father. He was mysterious. They were good about building the mystery around him, and what his peculiarity is.

Ella Purnell (Emma Bloom) – I like this character, but her romantic entanglements confuse me, lol. There’s a lot going on in her love life, and it makes the potential romance with Jake just a tiny bit weird for me. It makes me question her sincerity towards Jake, just a little bit.

Finlay MacMillan (Enoch O’Conner) – Apparently had a crush on Emma at one point, and was rejected. He’s kind of mean-spirited, lol, and I don’t entirely understand why Olive puts up with him. While I don’t think he’s *with* with Olive, he seems to string her along. Their relationship isn’t clear until the end.

Lauren McCrostie (Olive Abroholos Elephanta) – I like her. She’s a sweetheart, and, like I said above, is extremely forgiving and patient. Lol, she puts up with Enoch’s shenanigans, and usually remains cheerful.

Hayden Keeler-Stone (Horace Homnusson) – I don’t know much about him, other than his peculiarity. He can project his dreams for others to see.

Georgia Pemberton (Fiona Fruanfeld) – Same as above, unfortunately. She can make things grow.

Milo Parker (Hugh Apiston) – Another the same as above. His body is full of bees.

Raffiella Chapman (Claire Densmore) – Another the same as above. Lol, she has teeth in the back of her head.

Pixie Davies (Bronwyn Bruntley) – I got a little bit more on her backstory, but not much really. She’s super strong.

Joseph & Thomas Odwell (Masked Ballerina 1 & 2) – I knew absolutely nothing about these two until the very end of the movie. I won’t ruin their peculiarity, lol. It was an interesting surprise.

Cameron King (Millard Nullings) – Another I knew little about. He was invisible, and kept taking his clothes off the whole movie, lol, so nobody could find him.

Louis Davison (Victor Bruntley) – I knew absolutely nothing about this character. I got a little backstory on him, as with Bronwyn, but not much. I think he was super strong too?

Review:

Lol, Tim Burton is amazingly good at darker movies, and usually without getting into gore or anything. He knows how to set the atmosphere, and I love most of his movies, with few exceptions.

It seemed like this story was perfect for his style. Even the heroes have a bit of that darkness to them, and it makes them more interesting, I think.

The bad guys are super creepy and dark, and have these creatures, Hollows, serving them.

The Hollows (shadow on the right side of the picture above) remind me greatly of Slenderman. So much so, that I’m wondering if they were specifically based on him. I’ve never read the books, so I don’t know. They look nearly identical though, and even share a few other similarities beyond that.

I won’t ruin the Hollows’ story for you, but I’ll tell you about Slenderman, so you have a reference for comparison if you do watch the movie.

Slenderman started out on an internet forum, and eventually became very popular on Creepypasta, and other places on the internet, even spawning video games and fan fiction based on the character.

The main theories behind Slenderman, are that he’s some kind of inter-dimensional being that steals children away, and sometimes young adults. He feeds their fears, more or less playing with his food, before he makes them vanish.

Typically, he is portrayed has being abnormally tall, with long spidery arms, legs, and fingers. His skin is perfectly white, and he has no ears, hair, or facial features – usually not even a mouth. Sometimes he’s shown with tentacles coming out of his back, and he’s always wearing a black suit. Sometimes he wears a red tie too.

An example of physical similarities between Slenderman and Hollows —

Slenderman ~

Hollow ~

Pretty much the same dude.

This is not a complaint. Just an observation.

Otherwise, it would be like saying: the following picture is a shapeshifting mongoose, who really really likes red, and has a penchant for leaving presents for people he takes a liking to. Not creepy at all, but he also tends to keep a detailed list of the people he likes.

Totally not Santa Claus though.

Totally.

Also, calling them Hollows reminds me a lot of Bleach. In that anime, weaker Hollows are twisted spirits who usually have black, misshapen bodies and white demonic masks – small similarities to the Hollows from this movie.

 

^^^^ SlenderHollow ^^^^

One of the few weak points in the movie is the number of cast members. Like in Suicide Squad, there are a lot of characters who seem to have an important role in the group, but they get overshadowed by the main 4 children who show up the most. It’s mainly Jake, Emma, Enoch, and Olive who get the most screen time, out of the children, and the most back story revealed.

The other characters are interesting too, and I’d like to learn more about them, but there just isn’t enough time in one movie to get to know them all.

This is why there are so many listed in the Characters section, with only a small little description, and not much opinion about the actual character.

By now you guys probably know that I’m not one to complain about romance. It’s my favorite genre, hands down. I think any movie in any other genre can only be improved by romance, and it’s hard to convince me otherwise.

  <– See? Aaawww. ❤

Aaawww x2. ❤

Everybody should fall madly in love, according to me, lol.

That being said, I don’t know what to think about Jake and Emma. O.o

To say that their potential relationship is complicated, would be putting it lightly. There’s a tiny little creep factor for me here, because, technically there’s some history here with her. I won’t ruin it for you – but there’s a whole thing with this girl. And it kinda makes me go – wait, wait, wait…

What about this past history? How does that *not* make the current thing incredibly awkward? Maybe this is just a me thing again.

Probably.

Anywho – don’t get me wrong, I really like the two of these characters together. But does their potential togetherness have more to do with the past than the present, where she is concerned?

This is what worries me. Lol, I’m probably thinking too much here.

For anyone who sees this, or has read the books – what do you think about this?

My rating for Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children: Cash-Worthy – Over all, I liked it. There’s definitely room for a sequel. This movie may actually be one of the few that needs one. Like a lot of movies based on young adult books, they leave you with questions. Check this one out if you like movies like A Series of Unfortunate Events, or Tim Burton movies in general. 😀

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My Rating System:

Epic: This movie is so mind-bogglingly awesome that I may go see it twice. This one will have a place of honor on my shelf.

Cash-Worthy: Good stuff. This will most likely find a place on my shelf.

Not Bad: I liked it. I’m glad I saw it, and it may or may not end up on my shelf at some point. I would say rent it first to be safe.

Meh: Rent it first. You may love it or hate it, but I’m indifferent probably because it’s not my type of movie. I’m glad I saw it, but it won’t end up on my shelf.

Emergency Cake: I have an emotional reaction to movies sometimes, especially to tragedies. If a movie makes me sad or angry, sometimes it will stick with me for a while. At these times, only chocolate cake can save me. Chocolate cake makes everything better. No shelf for you. Ever.

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