6.7 | / 10 |
Users | 3.2 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
A teenager finds himself transported to an island where he must help protect a group of orphans with special powers from creatures out to destroy them.
Starring: Eva Green, Asa Butterfield, Samuel L. Jackson, Ella Purnell, Judi DenchAdventure | 100% |
Fantasy | 94% |
Family | 75% |
Drama | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 MVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
French: Dolby Digital 5.1
Portuguese: Dolby Digital 5.1
Russian: DTS 5.1
Ukrainian: DTS 5.1
English SDH, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Danish, Estonian, Finnish, Latvian, Lithuanian, Norwegian, Russian, Swedish, Ukrainian
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (2 BDs)
UV digital copy
DVD copy
Blu-ray 3D
Slipcover in original pressing
Region free
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 0.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Is there still magic in the cinematic universe after the end of the Harry Potter franchise? Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children would seem to be a fitting substitute, at least on a surface level, since it involves a gaggle of “gifted” youths whose special powers have made them protectorates of the titular Miss Alma Peregrine (Eva Green), a gifted individual herself who is able to transform into her surname’s bird form. The film’s source book by Ransom Riggs was a fascinating variation on what is called an “epistolary novel,” with (in this case) vintage photographs taking the place of “found” objects like letters and memos. It gave the book a really distinctive identity that would seem to play perfectly into the visual aesthetic of director Tim Burton. It’s perhaps a little odd, then, that Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children turns out to be a fairly staid enterprise, at least by typical Burton standards, one that can’t quite meld its Potter-esque (and it might be added X- Men-ish) tendencies with what might be called a certain Groundhog Day aspect to the plot mechanics. The film is certainly entertaining, but it by and large fails to connect emotionally despite some overt attempts to tug pretty mercilessly at various heartstrings.
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment with AVC (2D) and MVC (3D) encoded 1080p transfers in 1.85:1 (on separate discs). For my thoughts on the general video presentation and its 2D version in particular, please see our original Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children Blu-ray review. This film has decent and at times in fact substantial dimensionality, at least for a post-converted effort, with depth a more consistent feature than "in your face" pop out extravagances. From the first billows of smoke in the credits through to initial shots of Florida, there's appealing depth of field in the frame, with clearly delineated benchmarks that establish spatial relationships. Burton's tendency to often have some kind of foreground object, often off to the side of the frame, also helps to quickly establish depth even when there's not a lot of "wow" factor involved. Curiously, moments that seem "made" for 3D, like some of the eruptions of the monsters or even Miss Peregrine's transformation into her bird form, don't really pop (figuratively or literally) as dramatically as some might hope. Even the underwater scenes have some semblance of depth, perhaps one sign that post-conversions have gotten more technically savvy through the years. One of the few consistent "pop out" elements is the swarm of bees that surround one of the peculiars, and when those insects fly, there may be a tendency to swat them away on the part of some viewers.
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children features a nicely immersive DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 track that exploits regular surround
opportunities in a number of both effects laden sequences as well as simpler techniques like smart placement of ambient environmental sounds. The first
appearance of a Hollow at what seems to be the death of Jake's grandfather has good low end as well as bursts of sonic energy when a gun is repeatedly
fired. Later, water sounds enter the fray once Jake and his dad make it to the Welsh island. Even the seemingly calm environment of the 1943 time loop
has nice elements like breezes ruffling through the side channels when Miss Peregrine takes Jake on a tour of the grounds. Perhaps oddly, then, this
film's
supposed "climax" is just a little lackluster in terms of showy sound effects. Otherwise, though, everything from dialogue to score sounds clear and
damage and distortion free.
Note: As tends to be the case with Fox releases, the audio and subtitle specs are different on the 2D and 3D discs, though in this case the
differences are kind of weirdly small.
The 3D disc contains no supplements, so the score above reflects that deficit. The 2D Blu-ray also included in this package includes all of the supplements detailed in our Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children Blu-ray review.
I haven't been shy about complaining when filmmakers split one book into two films, as has happened repeatedly in the wake of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, but I actually wonder if Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children might have benefitted from such an approach. There's a lot to like in this film, but much of it is severely underdeveloped to the point that my hunch is some viewers will end up giving the whole a decided "meh", when perhaps a little more time detailing backstories of both the kids and the villains might have paid greater dividends. The film has neither the pointed darkness nor the bizarre whimsy that has defined some previous Burton efforts, but it at least has some amazing topiaries that could have been sculpted by Edward Scissorhands (yes, that's a joke). With caveats duly noted and with an understanding that technical merits are very strong (including a relatively effective 3D post- conversion), for those desperate for even a little magic in their lives, Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children comes Recommended.
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