Miss Peregrine's School for Peculiar Children

One of the best sources for absolute film escape is that of the genre of fantasy. Anything can happen in one of these films which makes the imagination run rampant in the mind of a screenwriter. People or animals can disappear and reappear, one can enter another dimension, time or even die and come back to life. The options are limitless. With "Miss Peregrine's School for Peculiar Children", we have total fantasy which makes any moviegoer able to escape their humdrum, 'normal', problematic life and be able to enter into another time and another world even if it's only for a couple of hours.

After a family tragedy involving Granddad, Abe (Terence Stamp), Jake (Asa Butterfield) discovers clues to a mystery that spans different worlds and times. All this information brings him to Wales where he finds a magical place known as Miss Peregrine's School for Peculiar Children headed up by one, Miss Alma LeFay Peregrine (Eva Green). But the mystery and danger deepen as he gets to know the residents including Emma (Ella Purnell), Enoch (Finlay McMillan), Olive (Lauren McCrostie), Millard (Cameron King and others, and learns more about their peculiar powers... and their powerful enemies including Baron (Samuel L. Jackson). Ultimately, Jake discovers that only his own special 'peculiarity' can save his new friends. Jake soon comes to realize that his inherited ability he received from his Granddad, Abe was something that was meant to be long before Jake knew anything.

Others to round out the cast are Judi Dench as Miss Avocet, Rupert Everett as Ornithologist, Allison Janney as Dr. Golan, Chris O'Dowd as Frank, Jake's dad, Hayden Keeler-Stone as Horace, Georgia Pemberton as Fiona, Milo Parker as Hugh, Raffiela Chapman as Claire, Dixie Davies as Bronwyn, Louis Davidson as Victor, Kim Dickens as Jake's mom and O-Lan Jones as Shelley.

This was darkly yet whimsically directed by veteran Tim Burton ("Pee-wee's Big Adventure" '85, "Beetlejuice" '88, "Batman" '89, "Edward Scissorhands" '90, "Ed Wood" '94, "Sleepy Hollow" '99, "Big Fish" '03, "Corpse Bride" '05, "Alice in Wonderland" '10, "Frankenweenie" '12, "Big Eyes" '14) plus many others. I always look forward to a Burton film, because he has the ability to present to his audience that dark film that not only one can escape into, but one where it speaks volumes in the form of a message we all can learn from. He chooses dark, unfairly treated characters (which matches his background) in a way so we can see why and how these characters end up the way they do. Hence a message in which to learn. If, like me, you like Burton's films, "Beetlejuice 2" with Michael Keaton and Winona Ryder has been announced. It was brilliantly written by Jane Goldman ("Kick-Ass" '10, "X-Men: First Class" '11, "Kingsman: The Secret Service" '14) plus others. One of the best attributes of a Goldman screenplay is the ability to produce a slickly, well orchestrated film that is as cohesive as it is fluid. Each and every film she's written involves rich, well thought and well developed characters as with this film. And, like with Burton, if you like her work, "Kingsman: The Golden Circle" is in post production as I'm writing this.

When I saw my first trailer of this film, my gut said that this was going to be the perfect movie in which to sit back and escape enjoying the roller coaster ride it produces. It has adventure, thrills, humor, fantasy all in a nifty 3D format. See this one in the multiplex lest it will lose everything on a 40 incher. Grab the popcorn!

Out of 4 Stars: 4                                       Rated: PG-13                                    127mins.