Pan’s Labyrinth

Title: Pan’s Labyrinth

Starring Actor(s)/Actress(es): Ivana Baquero, Maribel Verdú, Sergi López, Doug Jones, Ariadna Gil

Genre: Fantasy/Drama

Status: Out on DVD/Video

Plot Summary: In 1944, in the midst of a bloody Spanish civil war, young Ofelia (Baquero) is forced to move with her mother, Carmen (Gil), to a house in the country with her military step-father, Captain Vidal (López). Ofelia discovers a labyrinth and meets a mystical faun (Jones) who reveals her true identity. Now it’s up to her to save her mother, as well as herself.

Review: This movie wasn’t much of what I expected. I’d heard good things (as it won three Academy Awards), but I was expecting more fantasy. I figured it would be a fantasy story with a real-life subplot, but it was quite the opposite. There were only a few interesting fantasy characters throughout the whole movie, which was a bit of a disappointment. Don’t get me wrong, the storyline was very in depth and quite moving, it just wasn’t what I was hoping for. I’ve never watched a full movie where I had to read subtitles throughout the whole thing (it’s a Spanish movie), but it wasn’t too bad. I’d say it was more of a drama than a fantasy story. I know some people wouldn’t like it because of the fantasy, but it doesn’t play a major part in the movie. In fact, the whole fantasy story was kind of useless, save for a few parts. The movie was good, but again, not what I was hoping for.

Rating: 3/5

Blood Diamond

Title: Blood Diamod

Starring Actor(s)/Actress(es): Leonardo DiCaprio, Djimon Hounsou, Jennifer Connelly

Genre: Action/Drama

Status: Out on DVD/Video

Plot Summary: It’s 1997 in Sierra Leone, Africa. When diamond smuggler Danny Archer (DiCaprio) learns of a large diamond discovered by African fisherman Solomon Vandy (Hounsou) he takes it upon himself to retrieve it. Along the way he meets a journalist named Maddy (Connelly) looking for a “Blood Diamond” story. Now Maddy is hoping for a story, Danny is hoping to get rich, and Solomon just wants his family back.

Review: This one was really good. It was a bit long, but it wasn’t an unnecessary length. The story was never really boring, but it did slow to become a little dull at times. The story was great, and quite moving. The accent from DiCaprio bothered me just because I knew he was faking it, but Hounsou had a very moving and great performance. He really sold the part well, and he created a lot of emotion. The ending wasn’t quite what I expected, but it was a good ending to a very well put together movie. It was a very well made movie, and it was pretty good overall.

Rating: 4/5.5

Spider-Man 3

Title: Spider-Man 3

Starring Actor(s)/Actress(es): Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco, Thomas Haden Curch, Topher Grace

Genre: Action/Drama

Status: In Theatres Now

Plot Summary: Peter Parker’s (Maguire) life has finally started to work out. Everything is going his way until he comes in contact with a strange black substance. This substance has given him more power than he could ever imagine, but it may be too much. Now he has to find a way to get rid of this new substance, as well as save the rest of his life from the destruction it caused.

Review: To say this movie was a disappointment would be a false statement, but I wouldn’t completely disagree. I was never much of a fan of the Spider-Man movies (probably because I grew up with the cartoon series). I liked the first a little, the second one made up for the first, but this one didn’t do it for me. It wasn’t bad, but there was a lot of added elements that were just plain unnecessary. The action (when it was there) was good, the story was much more in-depth than the first two, but I think they added too much emotional attachment to everything. A little emotional attachment between the hero and the villain is always good for the plot, but when they put too much in it just gets old. If you were a hardcore fan of the first two, this one should be right up there for you. However, if you are sort of impartial towards the whole series, missing it wouldn’t be the end of the world.

Rating: 3.5/5