MOVIE REVIEW: MISS PEREGINE’S SCHOOL FOR PECULIAR CHILDREN (2016)

2016 really outdid itself with bad movies. But while Suicide Squad and Batman V Superman were bad, somehow this movie (while slightly more competently put together) feels worse. Tim Burton’s latest offering to the world of cinema feels like a pandering mess.

The movie follows a boy (probably 17 years old or something) who is the grandson of someone else. The grandfather tells the son stories of kids with powers who he knows.  As the boy believes these to be true when he is too old to believe in this, thus leading to social isolation and bullying. He is also a social outcast with no friends.

However, this all changes when he goes into a time loop, meets these people with powers, and has to save the day. Because, shock of shocks, he has the most special ability of all: the ability to see invisible monsters who hunt these people. This makes him one of the most special of special people, just like his grandfather.

Samuel L. Jackson plays the villain leading the monsters. Eva Green plays the headmistress. And the movie degenerates into a pandering mess. I can’t be bothered to finish explaining the plot because it is dumb. The social outcast find his place, falls in love with a hot girl his age just waiting around for him, and generally being the most awesome person in the world. And all this is generally a kids movie.

However, the bad guys also graphically eat body parts and the invisible monsters are body horror. This is a painful juxtaposition. At least movies like Eragon didn’t have horror in amongst them as it went about its wish fulfilment. Here, we have some adult themes (i.e. isolationism) with very adult horror in a movie to appeal to kids.

This doesn’t even mention things like the horrors (capable of killing whole schools) being killed by one crossbow bolt. Or how all the love developments just happen without any sort of character development. Or how the hero suddenly becomes a confident tactician and warrior despite being useless and with no training. At least Green Lantern had that short training montage.

So definitely a movie to miss. I can’t believe I am doing this, but I would recommend Batman V Superman over this. At least it doesn’t try to pander to the stereotypical outcast nerd who is suddenly awesome as it goes about being awful.

0 out of 5 peculiar waffles.

SUMMER WARS

Summer Wars is an oddball mix of science fiction, cyberpunk, teen romance and family comedy/drama, all rolled up into one beautiful, lavish-looking Anime. Also manages to throw in a chilling end-of-the-world scenario and some awkward Japanese teenage romance, just to cover all the bases. Somehow with all these threads scattered around the place it creates a well woven story that’s less confusing than the new transformer movie.


Like most gen y, I love the Internet.How else can I immediately download movies or get in touch with friends in other parts of the world. Having grown up with creepy msn chat friends and spam bots. I now have an irrational fear that the Internet could create the next apocalypse, like the one in Summer Wars. An animated feature from Japan directed by Mamoru Hosoda, whose other effort include The Girl Who Leapt Through Time and Wolf Children. Both of which you should watch.


The movie start of innocently enough, when high schooler Kenji Koiso a maths genius who like most high school geniuses, is shy, uncoordinated, and inarticulate in the area of girls and love. Things become even more complicated for him when Natsuki Shinohara "hires" him to be her fake fiancé to please her ailing great-grandmother at an upcoming family reunion. Because pretty and confident Natsuki doesn’t want her cantankerous great-granddaughter to believe she couldn't find a boyfriend. There, Kenji the meek math nerd is confronted by an overwhelming group of relatives, including a tai-chi-devoted computer genius; a hotheaded uncle with a penchant for revenge fantasies; and the prodigal if unapologetic son, who returns after 10 years in the United States to swill Sapporo and prove he's still a rebel.Cue the family dramatics.

 On one sleepless night, Kenji solves a digit riddle sent to his phone. In doing so, he inadvertently compromises Oz, a virtual world chock-full of rainbows and cutesy avatars. That’s protected by two whale guardians called John and Yoko.

It's also a treasure trove of information. Imagine if Facebook were also a destination for gift-buying, GPS usage, e-mailing, online banking, tax filing, top secret government information. Thus putting millions of people around the world and japan into casual chaos. Seriously felt like people were more annoyed that they could use the internet, then the possible of mass destruction. Probably because this all happens in the background for the first 45 mins. The movie was more keen on retelling The Proposal. But this is anime, so eventually there would be over the top fight scenes.

 The story waivers between a family drama, a romance and an action movie. Found the balance of cheesiness some what endearing. Yet at times ventures too much into the melodramatic and corny. Surprisingly Natsuki family members are alive and brimming with over the top personality, poise and humor, a rarity in most films these days. Especially given how many family member Natsuki has. Really you wait to be transported to Oz. This is where the film shine. Oz is a visual carnival, a brilliant world that spins in midair with all manner of swirly things.The enemy avatar, who goes by Love Machine, also proves to be an entertainingly worthy adversary, with a face like Donnie Darko's rabbit friend and a body like an extra from "300." The humdrum reality of the real world often takes precedence over the nail-biting possibility of imminent apocalypse. Least the time spent with Natsuki crazy family is enjoyable due to their ability to conjure up crazy items, its wacky yet grounded. All come together in the last 30mins and delivers a golden cheese pizza of computer game kung-fu power ups. They even put a magical girl transformation sequence.


I enjoyed Summer Wars it was like a kaleidoscope stuck in a gumball machine. Its pretty yet confusing but you’ll enjoy the time you spending trying to get the fancy toy.


3 out of 5 shiny rainbow waffle warrior