Pan's Labrynth

[Tisket]

This looks like it's going to be an awesome movie:

http://www.panslabyrinth.com

Great trailer. The synopsis is pretty compelling too.

[Tisket]

oh and pretend I spelled labyrinth correctly or I'll cut you...

[Apathy]

The guy off the main page is my background.

[Back]

I like the director Del Toro’s work on Hell Boy and Blade II. I don’t think I’ll be seeing this in the theatre but will definitely pick it up on DVD.

[Nilandia]

I saw a trailer for another of his movies, the Devil's Backbone (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0256009/), and was highly impressed with the style and atmosphere, as well as curious about the story, which also takes place in the Spanish Civil War like Pan's Labyrinth. I'm not one for suspense or horror movies, but that one definitely had me intrigued.

I'm seriously considering seeing this movie in the theaters.

Gretchen

[Celephais]

It kind of reminds me of Silent Hill, I certainly plan on seeing this, thanks for the trailer.

[zhelas]

Sorry about the bump but has anyone seen this?

[Drew]

I saw it and was a bit underwhelmed, I was expecting it to be a bit more fantastical. Most of the movie is grounded in reality and the moments of "magic" are few. Still it's not bad. 3.5/5

[zhelas]

I saw it and was a bit underwhelmed, I was expecting it to be a bit more fantastical. Most of the movie is grounded in reality and the moments of "magic" are few. Still it's not bad. 3.5/5

Sounds like something to rent through Netflix, if I remember, when the DVD is released.

[CrystalTears]

For once, I had read some information about the movie and never saw a trailer for a movie, and I hardly got an impression that it was supposed to be fantastical. It spoke of the plot and very little had to do with this other world, or whatever. Are people really expecting the whole thing to be that way?

Oh and you can save it on Netflix now and will get automatically added to your queue once there's a release date.

[zhelas]

Normally I go to Yahoo and check the reviews. Critics give it an A- and Regular Folks give it a B+. I had heard it is about 25% fantasy and 75% Spanish Civil War.

It climbed to the number 6 movie this past weekend. I think folks went to see it because the trailer was misleading.

[Numbers]

Are people really expecting the whole thing to be that way?

I was. From the trailers, it looks like most of it's based in that fantasy world. Now that I've read/heard that it's not, I'll probably wait until Netflix instead of shelling out a ten to see it in theaters.

[Stanley Burrell]

I think I remember seeing a movie a long time ago about a some girl stuck in some ancient hedge maze once, where all these mythological beasts and things appear.

All I remember specifically is that two puzzles she encountered were the one person only answers true and another false to get through a door whazzit, and some crap where she is falling down this tunnel of hands and tells them to continue taking her down instead of up to solve that particular riddle.

This is going to boggle my fucking mind like notpron if I don't remember this shit :(

[Drew2]

I'm pretty sure that movie was Labrynth

[Stanley Burrell]

MOTHERFUCKING WOOT.

Thanks Tayre, you bisexual Goddess, you :heart:

[Numbers]

and some crap where she is falling down this tunnel of hands

I'm pretty sure there was a porno that had this scene, as well.

[Artha]

Labiarynth?

[Satira]

I just saw this today, and I thought it was awesome. I enjoyed it way more than most of the movies I've seen this year. Visually it was beautiful. Of course, I went into it purposely not knowing anything about it so I didn't have any of these fantasy expectations.

[DCSL]

I saw it on Saturday and I loved it too. I had seen the trailer and heard one review from a friend who said it was "awesome but not for the faint of heart."

The tight leather sounds that came up whenever the Captain was around were creepy. Did anyone else notice that those came out only when he was on screen, not even when other soldiers were there?

[Kranar]

This is one of the best movie's I've seen in a year.

As usual, I did not go into this movie knowing or expecting anything about the plot, so I had no fantasy expectations. I just go to www.rottentomatoes.com (http://www.rottentomatoes.com) usually, check for movies that get 80%+ and then see it without reading any reviews (reviews spoil a movie I find).

I found the movie to be an imaginative tale of how a young girl living in one of the worst moments in human history would cope with such a horror and how she draws off of her imagination in her own fantasy world to become a pure and brave hero out in the real world.

I'm actually glad it wasn't much of a fantasy movie to be honest.

[thornhappy]

It was quite good, but I went into it without any expectations of fantasy as well.

It's very INTENSE and not a happy movie but it's beautifully shot and the story, while not exactly fantasy, is unexpected and very different from anything I've seen.

[CrystalTears]

I just saw this last night and I thought it was awesome. Very well acted and beautifully shot. Brutal.. but awesome.

[Dropped_In]

I enjoyed the muted fantasy aspect to it. The scenes where it *did* go complete magical realism were beautiful, even as compared to the rest of an otherwise very visually appealing movie. In retrospect the sparse use of fantasy seems calculated. What surprised me more than it being written/directed by the same guy who did Hellboy was the fact that the Captain is usually considered to be a comedic actor (as per wikipedia), and was almost not chosen for the part because the producers doubted his ability to pull it off. Heh.

[peam]

I saw the film about two weeks ago.

As everyone has already mentioned, the fantasy aspect of the film is overwhelmed by the portions dealing with the Spanish civil war, but I wasn't disappointed in the slightest.

It really is an amazing movie. The Captain is a brutal motherfucker, and the White Man is terrifying.

[Stanley Burrell]

Predictable as fizzuck.

At least if they hadn't shown the protagonist dead then I could have chosen between two possible and inherently known endings.

Babel sucked too.

Special effects is trumping true acting. I have beef like Gene Siskel and neurosurgeons.

[Dropped_In]

The ending is the least significant part of a movie.

[Stanley Burrell]

The dual plot foreshadowing was callable too.

[Kranar]

Predictable as fizzuck.


Calling this movie predictable is like calling Shakespeare predictable since he always kills off the main character at the end of his plays. Movies or stories that might come off as predictable are often done so for a reason... the reason being that instead of focusing on events and awaiting some surprise twist or unforseable ending that usually only cheats the audience and is often employed as a distraction, the storyteller wants you to avoid those kinds of tricks and instead focus on other elements such as themes, ideas, and aesthetics. Think about what the movie has to say about the power of imagination over fascism; about using ones own imagination as a legitimate source of inspiration to be kind and brave in the real world.

If after those considerations, you still think the movie was poor, well then of course you're entitled to your opinion and I'll respect it. Overall, I feel last year was a very good year for movies, and Pan's Labyrinth is a film that stands near the top of my list.

[Satira]

Fairy tales are almost always predictable. Something to consider.

[mgoddess]

I think I remember seeing a movie a long time ago about a some girl stuck in some ancient hedge maze once, where all these mythological beasts and things appear.

All I remember specifically is that two puzzles she encountered were the one person only answers true and another false to get through a door whazzit, and some crap where she is falling down this tunnel of hands and tells them to continue taking her down instead of up to solve that particular riddle.

This is going to boggle my fucking mind like notpron if I don't remember this shit :(

Labyrinth (which is how IMDB spells it) kicked ass. (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091369/) I remember watching it as a kid and not totally "getting" it. I think if I watched it now, I'd probably look at it in a completely different light...

[Mighty Nikkisaurus]

I enjoyed it. I'm not really a movie critic or anything but I was glad I saw it and I thought it was an interesting take/idea. It was pretty brutal and the white man freaked me out (I hate horror stuff because I get scared by that thing easily).

To me, at the very end, they sort of left me wondering if it had all really "happened" or if it was just one sad, very lonely girl's way of dealing with a very bad situation.

[Satira]

Labyrinth is awesome. It was one of my favorite movies as a kid and I have it on DVD now.

Nothing? Nothing?! NOTHING, tra la la?

[Nilandia]

Well said, Kranar.

The movie had me spellbound from beginning to end. I found the ending not predictable, as a matter of fact, as I felt that del Toro was most definitely capable of crafting an ending to go either way.

The power of many movies is not in its ending, but in the journey to that ending.

As an example, the violence seemed excessive at times, but looking back, it was definitely needed to show Captain Vidal's brutality and provide the foil to Ofelia's innocence. It gave her a reason to escape into the Labyrinth and as such, not only drove the plot in reality, but also in the fantasy.

This is definitely one of the best movies I've seen in a long time, and I'm glad I did.

Gretchen

[Nieninque]

Way behind the times, but I have just watched this on DVD. Fucking awesome.

Awesome. Awesome. Awesome.

That is all.