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MISS PEREGRINE’S is a Pleasant Addition to Director Tim Burton’s Credits

I went to see MISS PEREGRINE’S HOME FOR PECULIAR CHILDREN in 3-D… and I liked it! A lot!

I have to admit that I wasn’t a huge fan of Ransom Riggs’ book, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. I didn’t hate it, but the writing-style and the antique images was very different, maybe too different, for me to truly enjoy.

However, that didn’t stop me from being excited when I heard the news that Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children was going to be adapted into a feature film. When it was confirmed that Tim Burton was going to be directing the movie, my excitement for the movie was raised even more.

Despite my lack of high enthusiasm for the book, I felt the imagery brought up throughout the story would be amazing in a movie format. Luckily, I was right.

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We start with the journey of teenage boy Jake Portman, who, after a tragedy, goes on a trip to Wales to find an orphanage that his grandfather had spent some time in. With his father accompanying him, they get there to find the small town not so tourist-friendly and not much else to do aside from watching birds or drinking at the local pub.

After a rough start, he eventually finds the orphanage, or rather, the children at the orphanage find him. It’s then that Jake realizes that the outlandish stories about children with extraordinary abilities is actually true.

He’s also introduced to Miss Peregrine, the one adult in charge of the home. She reveals the peculiarity of the children and that he’s one of them. But Jake only thinks himself as ordinary. It’s when they’re in danger from someone named Baron that Jake realizes what peculiarity he has.

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The story is more complicated than what’s been summarized here, but I won’t go into details, of course. I will say that there are certain scenes that dragged a bit, but the last third of the film was quite fun.

I’ll be honest and say that I can’t remember a whole lot about the book, however, I do know that there are some scenes in the movie that actually never happened in the book. Whatever reasons were given for the changes, I can’t say. Only that I felt the story was complete and the characters were pretty honorable to the book characters.

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As far as visual effects were concerned, a good amount of effort was made into what seemed like stop-motion animation, which I found delightful to see. I can’t be sure how much CGI was used, but however much was used wasn’t overdone.

As far as watching the movie in 3-D, I’m not a fan of it. But I did watch this movie in 3-D only because the theater was only showing the movie in 3-D at the time I wanted to see it. I sucked it up and paid the extra $4 to watch it with glasses, and I am actually glad that I did.

I don’t know why (maybe because it was in 4k, I’m not sure), but this was the first time I felt actually immersed in the 3-D effect of the movie. It was the first time in a long time that I felt like that extra $4 was worth it.

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As far as the actors go, I was really surprised that I enjoyed Eva Green’s portrayal of Miss Peregrine as much as I did. When I had read the book, I imagined Miss Peregrine quite a bit older, but Green was so enchanting in her role I couldn’t complain. With that said, I was slightly disappointed in Asa Butterfield’s performance. I know what an excellent young actor he is, so it surprised me when his acting in this role felt subpar than what I’m used to seeing from him.

Samuel L. Jackson’s role as the villain was probably the only acting done a little over the top. Considering it was Jackson, it wasn’t surprising. As far as the other young actors, they did as much as they could, but only a few had a decent amount of dialogue in the first place. There were other supporting actors that did their part (Dame Judi Dench as Miss Avocet and Terence Stamp as Jake’s grandpa), but the main focus was on Butterfield’sJake, Ella Purnell’s Emma, and Green’s Miss Peregrine.

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Overall, I was entertained by this adaptation from a YA book, and few YA adaptations have made a positive impression on moviegoers lately. This one should, though. Knowing that the writer, Ransom Riggs, is to movies what Tim Burton is to movies just makes it feel so.

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Go see Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children in 3-D today and then rate the movie below!

Movie Grade: B

By Nat, the Geek Girl

Southern California native who likes movies, books (Shadowhunter Chronicles, NA, YA fantasy, Red Rising series), TV shows (The Sandman), and San Diego Comic-Con. I also like to write, but don't get to do much of that aside from on here. I fell into the BTS rabbit hole, and I refuse to leave.

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