For the first time in months...

[B E C K]

....I went to the theater and saw a movie.  I went to this overpriced cinema-bistro thing, but paid nothing since I had a gift certificate thingy.  I ate before going because the food is even more ridiculously priced than a normal theater, but mainly because I had a hour and a half to kill before the movie started and I was hungry.  One's thing's for sure, since it has little thin tables between each row, there's lot of ample space to stretch your legs.  Out of habit when I found a seat, I crossed in front of the people sitting at the end of the row instead of just going around the table.  I'm surprised they didn't point this out to me, but they probably weren't used to theaters with tables either.

I saw Pan's Labyrinth, which I can only describe as a truly grim fairytale.  It's in Spanish, but the movie takes place in 1944 Spain anyway so it's appropriate enough.  You could probably watch it without subs and still understand everything that happened.  I know if this had been an American movie, they probably would've called it "The Maze" and have it star Naomi Watts, Dakota Fanning, and Hector Elizondo as the faun.  Bleh.  Great movie though.  Go watch it if it's showing near you.

[IDE]

Yeah I've been waiting for this to get a full release.  In spanish eh?  Oh well I bet I still like it.

[B E C K]

Merla was saying she couldn't watch a subbed movie in the theater because if she missed a subtitle, she couldn't rewind.  You don't need to read every single subtitle of a movie to understand it anyway.  I miss what people are speaking more often than what's written on the bottom of the screen.

[IDE]

Yeah I'm not worried about missing a line too much this seems like a visual type movie.  I just checked and it's only playing in the "Artsy" theatre here. We have this one theatre that plays odd ball and artistic films here including anime releases.

[B E C K]

Yeah, the theater I went to is the artsy type, but that's okay since that's usually the sort of thing I go see now if it's not something I was already planning to see years in advance like the next Harry Potter.

[Rama]

I was going to wait till this came out on DVD, which is good for me since not a single theater here has it.  

[IDE]

Ok I just got back from this and I have to say this is not the movie I thought it was.  I was expecting fauns and other various minions of Oberon to be brutally eviscerating the nazis at the behest of a little girl who had become their fey queen with a fierce and merciless heart.

This is not that movie.  The preview for this is misleading because it showcases all the fantasy elements when in reality there is too much reality (for my taste anyway especially after seeing the preview).

This movie has several brutal and gorey moments but IIRC only one of them takes place with a fantasy element. On the whole the movie is far from crap.  I liked it, but if it had ended the way I described what I thought it was going to be like it would've been alot more epic.

As a side note I like the way the spanish sounded in this movie, not at all like the way the people del diablo talk in miami.

[B E C K]

Yeah, it's not the way people talk in San Antonio either.  I saw two previews for it on television, and maybe it was because I already read a review and a spoiler that I knew what to expect;  That's a good point about reality.  I didn't realize until you posted that people might go in expecting more fantasy than there is.  It reminds me of the Devil's Backbone, also in Spanish and again a movie about Spain around its civil war with a fantasy element.

EDIT:  Looking at its Wikipedia entry, it's by the same director, Guillermo del Toro.  So that explains that.

[The D]

Finally saw this. And I was fairly disappointed for two main reasons.

First off, I really did expect a lot more fantasy in the movie. With people comparing it to the Lord of the Rings and Narnia, I expected it to be mostly set in the fantasy realm, yet we barely get a glimpse of the fantasy world. As a historical drama it was fine. As a fantasy movie it was seriously lacking.

And then there was the ending. On one side it seems like the fantasy world really existed, because you have the mandrake root apparently actually helping Ophila's mother. On the other side, it seems like the mad delusions of a pubesent girl,

Spoiler (hover to show)

since El Capitane doesn't see the Faun when Ophila is talking to it. And then of course, Ophila gets shot and killed for her delusions, real or otherwise. So either she really did return to the kingdom (or maybe heaven?), which seems improbable, or she died senselessly for a warped delusion.

Also, they just said they needed the blood of an innocent. What, she couldn't have pricked the baby's finger and given him a few drops? The faun didn't specify HOW much blood he needed. Or she could have pricked her own finger...

And I have to say I'm suprised Mercedes

Spoiler (hover to show)

let El Capitane walk away from that stabbing. She didn't injure him enough. The knife she had would have been sufficient to either stab him in the heart, or cut his belly open. And then they shoot him in the head in the end.

I would have strung him from the trees and sadistically dismembered and disembowled him slowly, for all the people he fucked over and killed/tortured.

It was a good Spanish historical drama. It was a good story of a young girl in the middle of tyrany. It wasn't so good as a fantasy movie. Award winning? Maybe for costume and set design, but certainly not for best picture.

[The D]

Ok I just got back from this and I have to say this is not the movie I thought it was.  I was expecting fauns and other various minions of Oberon to be brutally eviscerating the nazis at the behest of a little girl who had become their fey queen with a fierce and merciless heart.

As a side note I like the way the spanish sounded in this movie, not at all like the way the people del diablo talk in miami.

That would have been awesome. Ophila could have been the next White Witch and lead her army of fauns, minotars, centaurs, giants, and other beasts to kick Hitler's ass.

And the Spanish is real Spain-brand Spanish, not cuban spanish.

[B E C K]

Bah, I like that it wasn't some overdone CGI extravaganza.  Sometimes I like those sorts of movies, but it's nice to find a movie that's a happy medium.  People comparing it to Narnia and LOTR made a huge mistake.  It is, as you said, historical drama with fantasy.  Personally, I find that makes it even more fantastic, like it could've actually happened.

As for Mercedes not killing the Captain, I accept that she was frightened enough to just injure him and escape.  His simple end felt appropriate.

[Bernie AKA]

I'm wanting to see PL because of Devil's Backbone - I caught that on Sundance Channel last year and was pleasantly stunned.  Since we're going into another 5-day rain marathon, I'll probably PPV it tonight or tomorrow. 

[B E C K]

Pan's Labyrinth is practically Devil's Backbone 2 with the mood and the fantasy element.  DB is an awesome frigging movie.

[Firebird1]

I'll add that to the movies I'll have to rent to see then.  From the Wiki entry it looks like it's an interesting tale of twists and turns....

And a goat...

[Wickedly Yours E]

The Man Who Came to Dinner is one of my current faves to watch. The version with Nathan Lane that is.

[B E C K]

I see meerkats everytime I see so much as a mention of Nathan Lane.

[Wickedly Yours E]

Well he's really good in it. What it is really is a recording of a play that was on PBS in 2000 of The Man Who Came to Dinner, hosted by Liam Neeson and this other chick of whom I forget. It's got some nice background on the play itself, who exactly Sheridan Whiteside (the person Lane plays) is based off of, and the history of the theatre company itself.

I highly recommend it. You can find it on Amazon easy enough for about 20$ if I remember.