Pan's Labyrinth

SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

Awards season is a very serious time. There's no messing around - if you decide to dedicate yourself to seeing as many Oscar nominees as possible, you have to be willing to see anything, whatever the cost, whatever the time, and no matter how many other movies you plan on seeing that weekend. That's why, on Friday night, Erika Stephanie and I (and our honeys) went to see Pan's Labyrinth. Even though we already had plans for a double feature on Sunday, we had to see PL while it was in town. So that's three theater movies in three days. We are machines.

I was scared to see Pan's Labyrinth. I had heard that it was creepy, and sort of gross, and sad. I also knew that there were some characters in big scary costumes. The only movie I could relate to this (in advance ) was The Dark Crystal, which really scared me when I was a kid. Thankfully, PL was way less scary than The Dark Crystal. Actually, it wasn't scary at all, but it was definitely violent. I was really surprised by the violence - some of it stylized, some of it historically accurate, but all of it really bloody and unsettling. No one needs to see a fairy get its head bit off by a big nasty humanoid with no eyes. No one. The trailers, ads and posters sort of imply that this might be a kids' movie. It's not. Don't take anyone under the age of twelve to see this.

The acting was superb, the storyline well-developed and the characters fantastic. And yes, it was a visual masterpiece. But overall, I didn't love it. I think I didn't like the intermingling of reality and fantasy - I'll watch a good fantasy, and of course I love realism, but mixing the two together isn't my favorite movie style.

Pan's Labyrinth - B-