GRIMMER THAN GRIMM...

I thought I'd start with what I thought was the best movie of 2006. The The Academy will never agree with me, but fuck 'em. This a group that thought that Titanic was a great film. Ugh!

So the best movie is...El Laberinto del Fauno. (Pan's Labrynth to us americanos). I'll begin by saying that this is a Spanish movie. It is not American at all! Which is probably why it is so great. It is subtitled, so for all you fools who can't keep up, you might want to wait until it is on DVD. Be warned, if you wait you will miss out on seeing amazing scenery, beautiful sets, and incredible makeup on the big screen. A comment from Courtney on an earlier blog says it best, "I never wanted to blink..."

This is a fairytale. But it is not for children. As the title of this blog suggests, this film is brutal, gory, gruesome, and so in your face about it that you can't possibly look away. It tells of Ofelia, a young girl who moves to a country estate with her mother and her new father who is a Captain in post-war fascist Spain. She escapes the horrors of the real world through the title maze and discovers a whole new world that is somewhat terrifying, but very inviting. All the performances were well done, but the one who blew me away was Sergi Lopez. He plays one of the most maniacal figures in modern film with such grace and beauty (watch him and see.) He runs circles around the most evil antagonist.

In short, if you are a fan of fairytales like Ever After, you may want to stay away. This film is not for the squeemish. But for every other person who understands that the true purpose of those stories the Grimm Brothers collected was to scare the shit out of children so they would stay out ot the Black Forest, you will learn, as I did, that it is much safer in the woods than in the comfort of your home.

Thank you Guillermo del Toro for following your dream and taking us along.