Pan's Labyrinth (El laberinto del fauno - Spanish title)

Plot: In the fascist Spain of 1944, the bookish young stepdaughter of a sadistic army officer escapes into an eerie but captivating fantasy world.

Like I said it before, Guillermo del Toro is obsessed with dark fairy tale creatures.

This movie is no exception, it is another dark fairy tale. But this one is a real masterpiece when it comes to dark fairy tales. Brutal and hearth touching movie, with beautiful acting and scenery. Directing is also very good.

The year is 1944, spanish civil war rages.. It all starts with a pregnant woman and her daughter moving away from the city, to an isolated house in the woods. The mother had to marry an army Captain out of interest - her husband died, and she had to marry because the captain could offer her safety and money. The young daughter (Ofelia) hates his new "father"..

One day she enters a labyrinth, and meets and old faun, and he tells her she is a princess, and must prove her royalty by performing 3 tasks, each harder than the one before.

A dark masterpiece... that is definetly not for children (there are some really brutal parts in the movie).

There is a huge contrast between the good Ofelia and the brutal captain Vidal. But somehow I understand the captain, I undestand that he must be bad and brutal, because his father was a great leader, and he must live up to his name..

Young Ofelia (12yo) carries the whole movie on her shoulders, and she really manages, and acts like a pro.

Everything is in perfect harmony... the acting, the landscape, the effects, and the music. It's nothing like Narnia, IMO it's way better (and Narnia was for kids... this is not for kids, but a fairy tale for adults).

So give this movie a try. It's a great movie, I really loved it, and I highly recommend it.

I rate this 9/10.

Don't be afraid of the Dark

Plot: A young girl sent to live with her father and his new girlfriend discovers creatures in her new home who want to claim her as one of their own.

Again another movie I was looking forward to. Yet it didn't impress me.

Guillermo del Toro also wrote and made Pan's Labyrinth, and that really was something (but in this production - Don't be afraid of the dark - he was only the writer)! Will do a review about it tomorrow, because that movie is worth watching.

Now back to "Don't be afraid of the Dark"

The story goes like this: a little girl is passed from her mother to her dad. The father is working on restoring an old house with his new girlfriend. Ofc there are some trouble at the beginning, the girl (Sally) has problems with her dad's girlfriend (she doesn't like her, etc.). After they discover a hidden basement, the story starts to spice up a bit, as Sally is hearing voices from the old basement's fireplace. Soon some rat sized gollum-like creatures are running through the house, and are after Sally. They are whispering that they want to be friends, and want to play, so she is excited about that. But soon it turns out that those things want more from her... They are "fallen" tooth fairies.

Sally tries to warn everyone when she finds out that those creatures want to destroy her family and take her away. But noone believes her...

Guillermo del Toro seems to be fascinated by creatures of fairy tales, but he gives them a dark twist.

This movie is labeled as Horror, but it's not scary at all. It's rather disturbing if you can imagine what the caracters are going through. Like I said, this is a dark fairy tale (just like Pan's Labyrinth).

Final words: average movie from a good/great writer, with mediocre directing. But it's enjoyable.

It still is way better than any other crap Hollywood is making today.

So give it a shot. Maybe you will like it.

I rate this 6/10.