The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (2008)

Based upon the novel by John Boyne, it's an emotionally powerful and truly unforgettable story of an eight-year-old boy named Bruno in Nazi Germany during WWII. Bruno's privileged upbringing means he has time to explore his surroundings, to study the soldiers that frequent his father's house; he sees his mother stressed but is unaware of the truths they both hide from him. He's an innocent, and most of the time we see events from his perspective.
It's a gently paced narrative that's as beautiful as it is horrible. It looks gorgeous, too, with cinematography that never fails to impress. Logic says that it should've been in the youth's native language, but then we wouldn't have had the wonderful actors that we got, so it gets a semi-pass.

4 non-farmers out of 5

MISS PEREGRINE'S HOME FOR PECULIAR CHILDREN [2016]

Without the aid of Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter or Danny Elfman, director Tim Burton steps out of his comfort zone for the best with his adaptation of Ransom Riggs' Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children.
When his storytelling grandfather dies, young Jake travels to England where he discovers the tales are true, after he time travels into the 1940's to a hidden orphanage that houses a group of bizarre super-powered children.
Like the black & white photos that litter the novel itself, Burton's film can get immensely creepy and oddly disturbing, so don't take the wee ones to this one.  It's filled with beautifully frightening imagery and fantastical music, so naturally it's going to please fans of the director's earlier works.  The characters are a little thin and things are a bit rushed in moments but overall it's the perfect answer to the over-exposure of dystopian future YA stories.

3½ delightfully tasty eyeballs out of 5

ENDER'S GAME [2013]

After nearly 30 years since it was first published, fans of Orson Scott Card's sci-fi/war youth novel Ender's Game are finally given the big screen treatment by director Gavin Hood.
Does it live up to expectations?  Thankfully it mostly does, with only a few minor "grumble-grumble" moments but you can't please everybody.  It doesn't quite get as into Ender's head as much as the book nor does it explore it's many themes and instead opts for more of a eye-popping spectacle and that's all right.  It never bores and has just enough character to keep the plot driving forward with each action sequence.  A very fine sci-fi film to introduce the kids to that will keep the parent's attention from beginning to end as well.

3½ Little Doctors out of 5

Hugo (2011)

"We could get into trouble."
"That's how you know it's an adventure..."

This movie is not at all what I imagined it would be. Taking place largely in a 1930s Parisian train station, it follows a boy who winds clocks, a reserved toy shop owner, a charming young girl, and an inept inspector as they try to piece together the mystery of a broken automaton (I can't help but recall Edward Scissorhands). But that's only a small part of the story. I figured it would involve a lot of gears and clockwork and steampunk values, but it actually ties into early cinema...I won't spoil it any further than that. This charming fable for adults (and advanced children) is a delight to watch, and the score by Howard Shore is marvelous.

4.5 heart-shaped keys out of 5