I saw two movies this week that couldn't be more disparate from one another. One was a brilliant, but ultimately flawed Spanish film. The second was cotton candy drivel for the masses that appealed to the lowest common denominator. The former was Pan's Labyrinth, which has been sort of billed as the "fairy tale for adults" and while that characterization certainly resonates throughout the story, the level of violence depicted (although not necessarily gratuitous...) ultimately distracts from the story, as well as the film's other redeeming qualities, such as its cinematographic beauty. Of course, before Walt Disney got his hands on the fairy tale mythos, fundamentally and traditionally fairy tales were gruesome and terrible, filled with all manners of dreadful creatures and grim imagery and in part, it is this that writer and director Guillermo Del Toro is tapping into. However just as I found myself getting drawn into the phantasmagoria of Ofelia's (the Cinderella, Gretel, and the Little Red Riding Hood of the movie) world, the all too explicit gore shocked me out of my entrancement. Nonetheless, Del Toro usage of post civil war Franco Spain as a backdrop creates a brilliant dichotomy with that of Ofelia's world. I don't want to talk too much about the plot for fear of revealing too much, but I do recommend you see this movie in the theater--just be sure to leave the kiddies at home. On a side note, this was a bizarre movie to watch on Valentine's Day. I give it three out of five stars.
As for the second film, I'm actually quite embarrassed to admit that I saw it.
*Cough*Musicandlyrics*Cough*
It might be one of the worst movies I've ever seen and not in that "so bad, it's so good" way either. I'm very hard pressed to find one redeeming thing about the film, which says a lot because the masochist in me is rather forgivable towards insipid films. Premise is a has-been forgotten former 80's pop group singer has to write a song for...oh nevermind.
Oh wait! I just thought of something positive about the movie: it motivated me and my friend to find a bar afterwards as quickly as possible. I give this pablum of a film one dim star out of five.