Yeah, Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children was actually better than I was expecting. Sure, it was a little cheesy at parts and I feel like the ending made it blatant that there are supposed to be sequels, but it was a good quirky yet dark teen movie similar to
A Series of Unfortunate Events,
The Spiderwick Chronicles, or
Coraline. I rated it Good, 7/10.
Some movies I've watched in the past couple weeks:
Nocturnal Animals (2016): Excellent, 9/10Very emotionally packed drama/thriller about a story within a story. Amy Adams plays Susan, an art gallery owner who ended up being more like her mother than she wanted and who reads a book manuscript titled Nocturnal Animals, which was written and sent from her ex-husband, Edward. Jake Gyllenhaal plays both Edward and Tony, the protagonist of the book. The book is a classic revenge story, where a vacation with Tony and his wife and daughter goes incredibly wrong. The two stories are supposed to mirror each other and show Edward's feelings on their divorce. Can't really say much else without spoiling it, but it's very raw, dark, and just plain good. Highly recommend it.
The Lobster (2015): Excellent, 9/10If you're into deadpan humor, you'll love this. Part dystopian fiction, part serious/dark comedy, part social commentary on marriage/relationships, the Lobster is set in a future where everyone must be married, otherwise they're forced to stay at a hotel where they have 45 days to find a new mate or else be transformed into an animal of their choice. A group of "Loners" live as outcasts in the woods, however, where they reject forced relationships but must have no intimate contact and live in constant alarm as they are hunted by the residents of the aforementioned hotel. Colin Farrell expertly plays David, an awkward divorcee who tries to find love (or settle for less) given the bizarre circumstance. The impressive supporting cast includes Rachel Weisz, John C. Reilly, Lea Seydoux, and Ben Whishaw. Would highly recommend this movie.
Trainspotting (1996): Very Good, 8/10This one's supposed to be an iconic 90s movie, and I feel like if I'd watched it sooner, then I'd have liked it more for that reason. As a film, though, it still held its own very well - very dark in one moment, yet light the next, and thrilling after that. Full of drama, comedy, and action, Trainspotting covered all of its bases -- and great acting to boot. I'd recommend this movie. Hear there's supposed to be a sequel soon. Hopefully it holds up to the critically acclaimed original.
Bad Santa 2 (2016): Good, 7/10As a big fan of the original Bad Santa, this was about as good as expected. Billy Bob Thornton was great again as the selfish, potty-mouthed, alcoholic Willie. Feels like he just picked right back up from the last movie, even though it's been over 10 years. Everyone else was just alright, though. The mom (Kathy Bates) and the security guard lady tried too hard; the kid, Thurman Merman, was somehow portrayed as being even stupider and less self-aware than as a child; and you could kinda tell that Tony Cox (Marcus) wasn't into it as much as he was in the original. Christina Hendricks was great, though.
Overall, if you loved the original, you'll like this one -- otherwise, just skip it.
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005): OK, 6/10I thought the book was pretty good, but the movie was just OK. It had a lot of good actors and I chuckled at a couple parts, but it was a little over the top, which you'd figure is hard to do given the book. Also, the plot didn't really exactly follow the book (I think it borrowed some from the sequels, but I wouldn't know) and the characters were a little different, which is strange considering how easily they could've just directly translated it. Either way, it was alright.
