DIRECTOR:
Tim Burton; CAST: Asa Butterfield, Eva Green, Ella Purnell, Samuel L. Jackson,
Chris O'Dowd, Terence Stamp, Finlay MacMillan, Lauren McCrostie, Judi Dench,
Allison Janney, Rupert Everett
SCREENPLAY: Jane Goldman (based on the novel by Ransom Riggs) LOCATION:
RUNNING TIME: 127 mins.
Technical assessment: 4
Moral assessment: 3
CINEMA rating: PG 13
MTRCB rating: PG
MTRCB rating: PG
A
teenager from Florida, Jacob (Asa Butterfield) is close to his grandfather Abe
(Terence Stamp) who regales his grandson with stories of his own youth spent in
the magical Home for Peculiar Children run by Miss Peregrine (Eva Green). When Abe dies, the curious Jacob persuades
his father to take him to Wales to see if the stories about the Home by the sea
are real. There he finds his grandfather’s
tales coming alive—Miss Peregrine’s Home is indeed populated by the “peculiars”,
orphans who possess paranormal qualities.
A cute little girl eats through a monstrous mouth in her nape, another
has the strength of ten men, a boy can turn invisible at will, another boy
breathes out bees like a fire-breathing dragon, etc. Jacob himself becomes fond of the teenaged
Emma (Ella Purnell) who without her lead shoes floats in the air, and soon he
is helping the orphans fight off Barron (Samuel Jackson) who hunts down the
peculiars to survive.
With
young adults as target market, Burton presents yet another mixture of adventure
and fantasy that’s loosely lifted from the Riggs opus with the blessing of the
novelist who says the movie captures the essence and tone of his book. Fantasy fiction translated into film appeals
to moviegoers of all ages, and when they are as well conceived and delighful as
this one, it’s easy to see why Miss
Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children has been one of the longest-running
movies of late in Metromanila. Besides
being populated by lovable and relatable children under the aegis of a
divaesque Green, the story must be a familiar one as indicated by a huge crowd
that welcomed author Ransom Riggs at a book signing in March 2013 at Bonifacio
High Street.
While
the antics of the peculiar children employing their paranormal powers in
fighting off the baddies satisfy the audience’s sense of wonder, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children
is not recommended for young children.
The violence may be stylized and hardly bloody, but some images can be
disturbing, and the chase scenes might be too scary for kids who’d rather be
entertained by dancing penguins and adventuresome parrots. Spoiler coming: even some adults might find
particularly icky that scene where Barron and his cahoots are feasting on human
eyeballs, slurping them down whole like oysters. So, careful which child to bring along to
this movie; you can always take the younger kids to see Trolls.
