Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

I’m torn between starting this off with ‘Films like this remind us all of why it is we loved Tim Burton’s early work so much’ and ‘Seriously, is Samuel L. Jackson in every film nowadays?!’ Both? Both. Both is good.

In modern day Florida, awkward teenager Jake (Asa Butterfield) struggles to fit in with his peers and attempts to get through everyday life. With a mother and father more concerned with their respective lives than the welfare and happiness of their son, his father figure is presented in the form of his Grandfather Abe, who encouraged his sense of adventure and told Jake tales of his triumphs in the war fighting ‘monsters’. After Abe dies under mysterious circumstances, Jake is encouraged to visit a small island off the coast of Wales with his father in order to find closure in the children’s home Abe was sent to as a child. However, what he finds creates more questions than it does answers as he encounters Miss Peregrine and attempts to come to grips with his Grandfather’s past. Jake is suddenly thrust into a world where the threat against the ones he loves is one only he can stop.

The positives: This film has a lot going for it. A strong cast including Asa Butterfield, Samuel L. Jackson, Chris O’Dowd (good to see him branching out!) and Dame Judi Dench allow for the acting to be consistent and entertaining. Eva Green’s portrayal of the falcon herself was also a stand out, but at times felt a little overdone. All of the acting from the children was also surprisingly good. Shout out to Cameron King who was invisible for the whole film and yet still managed to be one of the most charismatic and funny characters. I am pleased to say that for once I don’t have to critique the pacing of the film: it used its time wisely, fleshed out characters and didn’t rush through important plot points for the sake of cramming in more action. As well as this, Burton’s signature style is clearly evident here: there are a variety of scary and disturbing elements that only serve to make the film not only more entertaining, but uniquely Burton. The cinematography and shot symmetry are beautiful and you can’t help but admire the use of colour, set and costume design: they all bear the Burton trademark and they really help to set this film apart from some of his other more recent work, creating a stunning world audiences will love stepping into. 

The negatives: For those of you who are looking for a book accurate adaptation (that is the original book of the same title by Ransom Riggs which went number 1 a whole bunch of times, seriously its excellent and I recommend giving it a read), this isn’t it. Anyone who has read the book and seen the trailer will already have noticed that Olive’s and Emma’s powers have been switched, and the film focuses a lot more on making it relevant in today’s modern world meaning that it has a few plot holes that would have been solved by the book’s plot. Its difficult to pin down, but there tends to be a hollowness to the film that can make it difficult to engage with, almost as if too much effort was point into its looks rather than the importance of underlying substance. As well as this, the film is mostly what you see is what you get: if you’ve seen the trailers and TV spots and have decided its not for you, seeing it isn’t going to change your mind. Still, that doesn’t necessarily negate the film, its’ certainly a good time, but that may leave some fans disappointed.

All in all, Miss Peregrines Annoyingly Long Title to Type Out is a fun, entertaining and well paced film that parents and kids alike are going to enjoy: but fair warning, this isn’t exactly Mary Poppins (more like her slightly off kilter cousin) and will possibly give some of the little ones nightmares, so make sure the tiny tots are prepared. Its worth a watch if you’re a Burton fan or book fan, but make sure you know what you’re in for before buying your tickets.

The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

"Why die here, when you could die there!"

John Madden's 2012 film The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel proved to be a funny, surprisingly honest look at the foils of old age, with a strong cast of veteran British actors, and now the sequel, The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel has come along with a continuation of the story.

After the success of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Sonny (Dev Patel) looks to expand with a second. Muriel (Maggie Smith) accompanies him to a meeting that could help him secure funding for the new premises, and they agree that she'll do the talking. Back at the hotel, Evelyn (Judi Dench) is considering a career opportunity, whilst Douglas (Bill Nighy) continues his attempts to woo her. After a late night out, Norman (Ronald Pickup) runs into some trouble when he thinks that he's accidentally put a hit out on his girlfriend Carol (Diana Hardcastle), and the hotel welcomes two new guests, Lavinia (Tamsin Grieg) and the mysterious Guy Chambers (Richard Gere).

Though not all goes to plan. Whilst Sonny is juggling the potential new deal, his upcoming wedding and the possibility that Guy is an inspector, an old acquaintance Kushal (Shazard Latif) purchases the new hotel. Then Douglas' ex, the insufferable Jean (Penelope Wilton) arrives.

The writing in the first film was better than this second outing, and whilst its numerous twisting narratives, love-triangles and vast array of Marigold residents are all entertaining, it's missing the volume of humour that was so delightful in the first. The additional characters are well-rounded, and I'm sure that those who find Richard Gere charming will enjoy him here, but they don't really bring anything new to the plot that wasn't already there, grappling with old age, the apparently relaxing, party nature of the Indian lifestyle, etc. What's entertaining with Second Best is seeing the original residents continue on their paths. It's a shame that Tom Wilkinson's character, Graham Dashwood was written out at the end of the first, as he was one of the more interesting members of the ensemble, but there's still plenty of talent, with legends Judi Dench and Maggie Smith the clear favourites, especially when they're squabbling at each other on-screen.

Much like the original, and another recent ensemble piece, Pride, also starring Bill Nighy, The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel finds its bearings with an incredibly strong cast and believable characters. Smith continues her role as the straight-to-the-point Muriel, whose dry sense of wit is the source of most of the jokes, with Patel's ambitious, yet pig-headed Sonny a close second. The relationship between Dench and Nighy's shy characters is, although clichéd, the most compelling part of the script, with Madge's love-triangle surprisingly dull. Penelope Wilton succeeds admirably at bringing back the unbelievably annoying Madge, and it was also nice to see Tamsin Greig (Fran from Black Books) in a more substantial film role. 

There's definitely a cinematic advantage to setting a film in India. With some astounding architecture, scenic views and a multitude of vast colours, The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is just as vivid as the first, if not more. The cinematography is complimented by the colourful set design, culminating is an extravagant, if not totally over the top final act. Even if you were somehow bored with the characters, the visuals would get you through to the end.

The original film was a light-hearted but charming comedy that, whilst focused on an older audience, was broad enough in subject matter to be enjoyable for most ages. For the most-part, the same can be said for The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. It doesn't trump the first film, but with such a strong cast, it's still good fun.

Philomena

For a very straightforward film, Philomena is an exceptionally hard film to write about. It covers a period of history that I found confronting and hard to forgive.


Martin Sixsmith (Steve Coogan) has just lost his job as a government adviser and is desperately looking for something to pass the days. He comes across Philomena Lee (Judi Dench), an elderly Irish woman who has just revealed to her daughter that she gave birth to a son fifty years earlier and has been trying to track him down since. Philomena gave birth in an Irish convent, where she worked as an indentured servant, before be forced to give her son up for adoption. Martin decides to help her while writing a human interest story on her to get out of his rut.

For me, I found this story very confronting. I didn't know that young women were abandoned by their families for the shame of having a child out of wedlock. The Catholic Church's stance that what these young women had done is a sin, is a ridiculous concept and results in having people like Philomena Lee keep a secret like this for the majority of their lives.

So its no surprise that an actress like Judi Dench is able to pull off such an emotionally difficult character like Philomena. She is able to put a lot of emphasis on the extremely emotional scenes, as well as be fantastically funny when humour is needed. She was also able to pull off an Irish accent with extreme ease and is entirely convincing.

For someone who has built an entire career off comedy, Steve Coogan slipped into this role with relative ease. At first, I was expecting him to make joke after joke, but without his comedy partner Rob Brydon by his side, that would seem like a betrayal. But his performance as Martin Sixsmith was spot-on and I really felt the anger that he was feeling throughout the film.

Verdict: A extremely well-made film about a time in history that is heartbreaking. Excellent performances from both Dench and Coogan.