Dumbo (2019) - 2/5

This movie has some fatal character problems. While Colin Farrell is excellent and Danny DeVito steals every scene he’s in, the young girl (Nico Parker) shows the personality of a plank of wood. The villain only does villainous acts when the plot calls for it, and it’s never consistent for his character. Telling the most powerful person in the movie who has always treated his employees well until today that he has never had any power is weak and trite, and is emblematic of the scene-centric approach to this film that ignores character development. Of course the CGI elephant is good and the costuming is great, but movies live and die on plot and character.

Closest comparison: Just another in a line of poorly-conceived Disney live-action remakes.

Setting: Musical
Plot: Super hero
Tone: Drama

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children - 3/5

Don't get me wrong, it's good-ish, and if you like this sort of thing then definitely go see it. But it's less Tim Burton-y and more Horror than I was expecting. Also, it goes a bit wonky when they get to the carnival. It's a shame, too, because it starts off as a 5/5, then slowly declines to somewhere around a 2/5. The concept and some aspects of the execution are better than the overall execution.