Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children

Grade: B-

My favorite reader question (actually, it was more of a comment) I saw on Roger Ebert’s Answer Man column was when somebody said “I’ve figured out how to read your reviews. The truly best films are the ones that inspire eloquence out of you. Sometimes you may award 4 stars, yet the review itself is passive with not much enthusiasm, while meanwhile, you may give something a much lower rating, but there is so much passion and ‘fire in your belly’ in that write-up. Those are the ones I tend to seek out.” Ebert responded by simply saying “If you approach it that way, you won’t always see the best movies, but the most interesting ones.”

Tonight, I saw Mrs. Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, directed by Tim Burton, and refreshingly absent were Burton staples Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter (though I know exactly who HBC would have played). A few days ago, I saw Rob Zombie’s new film 31 – a lesser movie than “Mrs. P’s Home,” but I will be far less verbose this time around. My 31 review was one of those posts that opens in a separate window when you click on it. Mrs. P’s Home had lovely sets, art direction, and even my 3 year old repeatedly commented on the score. A few animated effects were a delightful reminder of some beings from Beetlejuice, The Nightmare Before Christmas, and Mars Attacks. The film is also confusingly plot-complicated, with motives by heroes and villains that aren’t always clear. And two of my “favorite” movie conventions show up and do not grace us with their presence. A knife is pulled, and it makes the sound of two knives slashing against one another – just by existing. Also, we have the Fallacy of the Talking Killer, where all the bad guy has to do is go ahead and kill the hero, but instead wastes their time gabbing up a storm, just long enough for some friends to come along and save the day. (31’s Talking Killer moment was at least self-aware, and even seemed to be making fun of the too-often-used device.) All in all, this isn’t a spectacular failure, but it’s a genre that is never my cup of tea and will always have an uphill battle with me, but is fine for most who will take the journey.

Looks like I had more to say than I thought.
Grade: B-