theyoefnshow
02-03-2007, 08:05 PM
Well....after weeks and weeks of looking to see this friggin movie, I finally found it playing in Waco. We went to see it and I had heard all the praise, reviews and accolades. How did it stack up? Well.....read on....
For those who haven't heard about this flick, it's a limited release film that through word of mouth has been getting LOTS of press and for the most part, positive reviews for visuals, the story, acting...pretty much everything. Like the Passion, this movie is not in English and EVERYTHING is subtitled. Unlike the Passion however, it's in Spanish so if you are fluent, you're ok. If not, hope you're a fast reader because it moves along rather quickly.
Guillermo del Toro is the director/screenwriter and the actors in the movie are pretty much unknowns to American audiences though each and every character plays their part to perfection. Without giving away too much......you have the little girl Ofelia who with her pregnant mother moves in with her stepfather/evil military officer Captain Vidal. It takes place in the middle of World War II in Spain and it's basically this guy's troops camped out waging battle w/ the "reds" who roam the woods waiting for their time to bring down the Captain and his guard. The moment you meet Vidal you want the guy to meet a painful, slow end because he is that much of a scumbag. Eventually Ofelia finds this Labyrinth on the same land as the house she stays in and stumbles across fairies, a faun and all kinds of other stuff that seems out of nowhere. I think as the viewer, you are supposed to figure out whether or not the world she comes across is real or if it's all in her head. We see the creatures, she does, but nobody else can. I can't see why it's listed as a "horror" film as there aren't too many scares but it does have a pretty good amount of gore and brutality.
Visually the film is amazing in every scene and the creatures are pretty creepy. The score carries each scene along nicely and sets the tone from start to finish. It isn't like anything else out there right now and after waiting so long to see it, the only thing I wish that would have been different would've been a little more interaction with the creatures and other world that Ofelia interacts with. The scene with the giant frog is so creepy cool, I loved it! Not to heavy on language, no nudity and rated R strictly for the brutality and graphic nature of some of the death scenes.
Overall, I say check it out. Depending on what the DVD offers, I might pick it up because I'm interested to see what the director has to say on it. I'm curious to see the Messengers next but I heard Children of Men (with the always awesome, Clive Owen) is really good too so we shall see.....
For those who haven't heard about this flick, it's a limited release film that through word of mouth has been getting LOTS of press and for the most part, positive reviews for visuals, the story, acting...pretty much everything. Like the Passion, this movie is not in English and EVERYTHING is subtitled. Unlike the Passion however, it's in Spanish so if you are fluent, you're ok. If not, hope you're a fast reader because it moves along rather quickly.
Guillermo del Toro is the director/screenwriter and the actors in the movie are pretty much unknowns to American audiences though each and every character plays their part to perfection. Without giving away too much......you have the little girl Ofelia who with her pregnant mother moves in with her stepfather/evil military officer Captain Vidal. It takes place in the middle of World War II in Spain and it's basically this guy's troops camped out waging battle w/ the "reds" who roam the woods waiting for their time to bring down the Captain and his guard. The moment you meet Vidal you want the guy to meet a painful, slow end because he is that much of a scumbag. Eventually Ofelia finds this Labyrinth on the same land as the house she stays in and stumbles across fairies, a faun and all kinds of other stuff that seems out of nowhere. I think as the viewer, you are supposed to figure out whether or not the world she comes across is real or if it's all in her head. We see the creatures, she does, but nobody else can. I can't see why it's listed as a "horror" film as there aren't too many scares but it does have a pretty good amount of gore and brutality.
Visually the film is amazing in every scene and the creatures are pretty creepy. The score carries each scene along nicely and sets the tone from start to finish. It isn't like anything else out there right now and after waiting so long to see it, the only thing I wish that would have been different would've been a little more interaction with the creatures and other world that Ofelia interacts with. The scene with the giant frog is so creepy cool, I loved it! Not to heavy on language, no nudity and rated R strictly for the brutality and graphic nature of some of the death scenes.
Overall, I say check it out. Depending on what the DVD offers, I might pick it up because I'm interested to see what the director has to say on it. I'm curious to see the Messengers next but I heard Children of Men (with the always awesome, Clive Owen) is really good too so we shall see.....