Movie Review: Miss. Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

I read Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children back in April of 2015, so I didn't remember all of the details while watching the film.  From what I can remember, they did an excellent job of bringing the unusual qualities of the children to life.  

Jake is a sixteen year old boy who always thought he was an average boy that simply didn't fit in.  He is the only member in his family who is close to his grandfather, but even he can't believe all of his grandfather's crazy stories in recent years.  After his grandfather's death, he sets out on a mission to discover the meaning of his final words.  

Jake convinces his father to take him to an island off the coast of England where his grandfather spent some time in an orphanage during World War 2.  His grandfather told him stories about the home along with the children and headmistress who lived there.  His therapist thinks the experience could provide some closure, so his father agrees to take him on the trip.  When they arrive, they discover the home was destroyed during the war.  Jake's father immediately thinks all of the old stories were lies and starts working on his book.  Jake investigates a little further and discovers "the loop" his grandfather told him about and the magical world that exists inside.

Below is a link to the official movie trailer:

Overall, I thought the movie was entertaining. The first half was pretty consistent with what I remembered from the book, but the last half seemed like completely new material to me.  In addition, some of the uniqueness of the story was lost because the movie couldn't spend as much time focusing on the old photographs Ransom Riggs used to weave this tale.  They do include some of the photographs in a few scenes, but it wasn't nearly the same experience as reading the book.