Burton on a Peculiar adventure
MISS PEREGRINE’S HOME FOR PECULIAR CHILDREN (12A) (3D)
A MISFIT youngster finds his place in a secret magical world, learns he is marked for greatness and battles evil grown-ups.
Director Tim Burton has found a way to fashion Ransom Riggs’s hackneyed teen novel into a quirky, stylish and surprisingly-original family adventure.
Asa Butterfield’s Jake is spurred to travel from Florida to a Welsh children’s home after the death of his grandfather (Terence Stamp).
This is the Hogwarts-esque orphanage that featured in the stories his grandfather told him when he was little. It turns out the home really is run by the shape-shifting Miss Peregrine (Eva Green) and the kids really do have superpowers. Weirder still, they are all the same kids his grandfather grew up with.
Before Jake discovers his destiny and battles Samuel L Jackson’s blank-eyed supervillain, Burton has great fun introducing us to these 1940s X-Men.
There’s a kid who shoots bees out of his mouth and a Scottish lad who brings creepy dolls to life. As in all Burton’s work, the comedy is pitch black and the special effects are wildly imaginative.
This isn’t the first movie to have an showdown beneath a famous landmark – but I’m pretty sure it’s the first time that Hollywood has visited Blackpool’s North Pier.