Pan's Labyrinth
One problem with waiting a long time to see such a highly acclaimed movie is that it gives you time to hear and absorb the hype. I really liked Pan's Labyrinth, but unfortunately I didn't like it as much as I thought I would. It's not that the film wasn't brilliant. It was. I'm just not sure that any film could really live up to the kind of hype I'd been hearing for months before I finally got around to seeing it. But enough negativity--what was good about the movie? Well, the obvious thing is that the production design was nothing short of amazing. Tim Burton at his best manages a similar sort of dark weirdness, but where Burton--even in his good moments--usually feels a little cartoonish, this one really felt more like a fairy tale come to life. Which is, of course, what they were going for. There were also some very good performances--Maribel Verdú springs to mind in her role as Mercedes. My one complaint about the movie was that there were some violent scenes that I thought could have been less graphic.
Viewed: 3/3/2007 | Released: 12/28/2006 | Score: A