"Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" is vintage Burton."
Ransom Riggs' 2011 YA bestseller is the perfect material for a director like Tim Burton to adapt to the screen. Its vivid fantasy world, quirky characters, and sense of wonder are tailor-made for the director. Unfortunately, the complex story also brings out the director's shortcomings as well. While the veteran filmmaker aces the production design and awe in this literary adaptation, he can't corral a wandering script, nor dimensional most of the characters in his large cast. Burton also loses the plot throughout and rushes the climax, but none of this is surprising to those who know Burton's work. Still, this gorgeous, whimsical tale will certainly lift one's spirits, even if its story never feels particularly grounded.