A peek inside Tim Burton’s head … and what a wonderful world it is!
Over the years, Hollywood had spawned a great deal many brilliant directors.
* There’s Charlie Chaplin, the king of comedy.
* Alfred Hitchcock, the master of suspense.
* Stanley Kubrick, the most diverse of all directors.
* Steven Spielberg, the most famous one.
* James Cameron, the most successful director of all time.
* Martin Scorsese, the number 1-crime lord-director of the movie industry.
* Quentin Tarantino, the number 1-favorite amongst movie buffs.
And the list goes on and one with Ron Howard, Clint Eastwood and Ridley Scott.
But no one – not a single director in the history of American movie making! – comes close to the originality of Tim Burton!
The creator of such fantastical creatures Beetlejuice and Edward Scissorhands opens yet another can of endless fantasy and mind-blowing storytelling in what might easily be called his craziest spooky-fairytale of his career, thus far.
What makes Miss Peregrine’s home for peculiar children (phew, what a title!) so captivatingly original is that director Tim Burton stays true to his own style. He doesn’t sell out. He doesn’t change a winning formula. And he delivers exactly what the trailer promises, and so much more!
The story – though we cannot explain a great deal as this would ruin the surprise – is about a teenager named Jacob discovering clues to a mysterious place, following the trails his grandfather left behind. The place is nothing short of a sanctuary for children with special abilities. But there’s more than meets the eye. A slumbering darkness creeps closer every single day …
Voila, that’s it! I cannot in good conscience say anything more. Part of the reason why this movie is so good is because you haven’t got the foggiest clue what to expect. And you literally fall from one surprise into the next.
The world Tim Burton creates isn’t all that different from some of his past movies. The same elements keep coming back, though irrevocably renovated with a whole set of new ideas.
There’s, for example, the multi-colored environments that often make their way back in a Tim Burton-movie. Green, lush grass lands as far as the eye can see. Or how about beautiful blue skies with big, white clouds filling up the void.
Very often his movies are also drenched in a sense of darkness, and things aren’t different here.
What sets a Tim Burton-movie apart is how you see creepy crawlings you ain’t never seen before in a movie. We’re not talking zombies or vampires – what’s original about that?! – but mostly ghoulish puppets that suddenly spring to life. These dead-eyed puppets are often drawn and created by the hands of Tim Burton himself, with the support of an ever-growing team of experts.
Miss Peregrine’s home for peculiar children also has a backdoor in the script that descends into a darker world where dangerous beasts roam about.
There’s hardly ever blood in a Tim Burton-movie, but instead you’ll witness grotesquely shaped monsters moving slowly through the mist with sharp claws and a face only a mother can love.
Many times before – and in this particular movie as well – the atmosphere Tim Burton creates resembles that of a creepy circus act or a frightening fairytale.
The locations found for this movie are tremendously utopian and fit the abstract style of the movie to a tee.
The superpowers of the children, which we won’t spoil for you, are delicately balancing between powers you’ve seen in other Marvel- or DC Comics-action blockbusters … but some of those powers are, as expected from a Tim Burton-movie – very original. And they all serve a real purpose in the end.
The best actor of the lot is undoubtedly Eva Green. She plays the part of the hostess – the lady of the house, well, technically it’s a castle – who protects the children from the outside world that’s full of dangers. She combines a slickness of sexy attitude and motherly responsibility to make you greatly care for her character.
There’s also Samuel L. Jackson who plays a smaller part, but not without some influence to the movie. Here’s a man who can virtually take on any role and quite possibly is the single most versatile African-American actor working in Hollywood today.
If you wanna see a fantasy movie that breaks new ground on imagination in Hollywood – despite the movie being based off a book – then Miss Peregrine’s home for peculiar children is your next stop!
Do not miss this little jewel – and please leave your adult cynicism, realism and sincerity at the door when entering this beautiful fantasy-world!
Why? Because this movie is only for those who dare to tread in a world of mind-belief …
Did you know?
The house where the children live is an actual house. It’s called “Torenhof” and can be found near Antwerp, Belgium.
Give it to me short:
Much like James Cameron with groundbreaking computer-effects, Quentin Tarantino with juicy dialogues and Steven Spielberg with epic filmmaking, Tim Burton surprises friend and foe with each new movie by unfolding a world of unseen originality and fantastical creatures that somehow don’t make any sense, except when you put them in a Tim Burton-movie.
Miss Peregrine’s home for peculiar children might be the craziest movie yet, as we get more surprises by the minute than anything you’ll probably see all year long. There’s children with peculiar powers. There’s a beautiful landlady who has a few secrets up her sleeve. There’s a darker tone inside the movie that’ll introduce you to creepy puppets and even creepier monsters wreaking havoc. And there’s a story so original you couldn’t do justice, by simply trying to explain what’s it about – this is one movie you simply gotta see!
With great special effects, a story bulking with lovely little plot twists and a rare and uncommon atmosphere, Tim Burton’s new movie is once again a deliciously inviting act of escapism into a world of fabulous fantasy introducing crazy-original monsters and circus-like robot puppets.
Whether you’re a fan of Tim Burton or not, this movie will not cease to amaze you. It’s a feast for any eyes that seek to find a modern masterpiece …
THE 4TH WALL 