It started with a move to a base camp; her mother pregnant with her new husband’s (the Commander) baby. Ofelia is forced into a place where she doesn’t feel comfortable, but something mysterious awaits her… her fate. Near the base camp, there is an old labyrinth, which Ofelia discovers soon after her arrival. Little does she know, she is in for more than an adventure when she meets the labyrinth’s inhabitant, a mystical faun. The faun tells her of her past, and of her destiny, and tells her that she must listen to him and complete several tasks he requires of her, and she agrees to help; all while dealing with a violent Commander as her new father, and watching over her mother during her pregnancy.
What you have just read is a brief synopsis of the beginning of Guillermo del Toro’s brilliant movie, Pan’s Labyrinth. The movie, billed as a fairy tale, is grim, dark, violent, and horrifying at times. You sit in your seat captivated by what you see on the screen, and feel yourself clench the armrests because of your worry about the characters you are watching on the screen; especially little Ofelia. She is probably one of the bravest little girls ever born, because she manages to hold her composure up against things that would terrify me to the point of a breakdown; and she does it over and over again. I won’t go into too much detail about the movie, but what I will say, is that my friend Lori was exactly right, it is “like a very dark, more grown up version of The Neverending Story”. Remember the story of young Bastian exploring the Land of Fantasia by reading about a hero named Atreyu in his story book, only to find out what he has read is real? This movie follows a similar formula, but without the book, and with a more personal experience by the main character, Ofelia. While it is definitely not child friendly, as there is a lot of violence, as well as some pretty explicit and gruesome scenes, this fairy tale is one that really gives its all to the viewer, and leaves you wondering just what happened for real when it is over. I thoroughly enjoyed this movie, both for its visual journey, as well as for the harrowing story of a young girl caught in the middle of a post war occupation, seeking to fulfill her destiny; which she learns about by meeting an unlikely friend in a creepy faun.
This movie was definitely one that I was excited about seeing, and I am very glad that I went; I will definitely want to get this on DVD to see again. The little girl who plays Ofelia is awesome, and the costumes for the faun and the thing that has the eyes in its palms are simply amazing. The story is great, sad, and scary at times, and will captivate your attention, and make you care about the people. It captures that element of prisoners being subjected to imprisonment by an evil dictator, and how they cope with their situation. Powerful. With that being said, I am enthusiastically giving this movie the full 6 out of 6 stars (
). The only other thing about this movie I want to say is… GO SEE IT! You will be glad you did. I lied, I do have one other thing to mention, because I know that some people will be pissed if they didn’t know this, and went to see it and hated subtitles… yes, it is subtitled, the whole movie is in Spanish. But that doesn’t change how I feel about it at all… so it shouldn’t stop you either!!
Katharine McPhee’s self titled album came out this week, and based off of two songs I had heard already, I was definitely curious to hear this one. I know a lot of people are fans of American Idol, and I know just as many are against the whole show “creating” music, but if there is one thing it can do, is find a great singer. Now, what happens to that singer varies… they can get good material and go with it, or they can fizzle and go nowhere. And it’s clear that it can be hit or miss, as the winner Taylor’s CD isn’t doing to well, as it is steadily falling (almost) off the charts, but fellow contestant Daughtry’s CD is in the top 10. So where does that leave us with the runner up from last year? Well, over all, her CD isn’t what I was expecting from her. Sure, there’s a fair number of ballads and whatnot, stuff that you would expect from am American Idol, but she really branched out with her interpretation of pop. There are several danceable tracks, and even some more edgy/hip-hop sounding stuff; much of it using the current Nelly Furtado/Fergie formula, but making it better, well, at least better than anything Fergie did. While I don’t think the CD is flawless, as there are a few songs I could just do without, it is definitely well produced, and quite enjoyable. If you liked her on the show, and you like pop, I recommend the CD, because she has a great voice, and they even picked a few surprises for her to sing; as well as a few good surprises. Stand outs for me include: Over It, Love Story, Open Toes, Each Other, and Ordinary World (which sounds a lot like it should have been/could have been a Delta Goodrem song). I would say that this is probably akin to a JoJo or Christina Aguilera type of pop, with some Delta Goodrem gems thrown in, so if that is your bag, pick this up! i’m glad I did! I would give it somewhere between four and five stars, but since I don’t do half marks, I will just give it the benefit of the doubt and round it up to a 5 
; because the good ones are really good, which in this case, makes up for the not so good ones. 
Now, the next CD I want to talk about is pure sugary syrup poured into the shape of a CD, and hardened. I am talking about the debut disc from the Lebanese Brit known simply as MIKA. Basically, I heard a lot of buzz about MIKA’s upcoming album (released sometime in Feb) from the uber-pop blogs, and that much attention certainly made me sit up and take notice. And boy I am glad I did. Let me put it this way, MIKA is equivalent to taking the Scissor Sisters, The Jackson Five, and Elton John, mixing them together, while having Freddie Mercury sing the vocals. The result is super catchy sort of kitschy songs that are definitely feel good, and hearken a sound used by groups in the feel good pop business, like the Monkees. This is dance-rock-pop that is just as happy-go-lucky sappy as it gets. He definitely has a sound that isn’t too mainstream here in the states, but my guess, is that he will do quite well everywhere else. There are a few tracks that are more down to earth, and slightly more “serious” but the feeling of the CD stays pretty consistent throughout; this is a great pop album. If you are in a bad mood, I would put this one in and you would definitely be smiling in no time. Stand outs for me include: Grace Kelly (probably one of the catchiest songs EVER), Lollipop, Love Today (which sounds like a Scissor Sisters track, which, many of them do), Relax Take It Easy, Billy Brown (gay content! which makes me wonder about MIKA), Big Girls (You Are Beautiful) (which is definitely the “follow-up” to Fat Bottom Girls by Queen, if there ever was one), and Any Other World. Overall, this is just a fun CD to listen to, and I definitely recommend it. Too bad it’s an import… Oh well. I enjoyed this so much, and do every time I listen to it, that this one definitely deserves the full six out of six stars 
Today’s movie review is for the new Jennifer Garner movie, Catch and Release. She hasn’t been in anything lately, and when I heard she was in this, I had to run out and see it. You see, she is my favorite actress, after all. Now, I didn’t read much about the movie, and I am honestly glad I didn’t. It has gotten rotten reviews, and most of the focus has been on the strange vehicle for this romantic comedy. It starts with a funeral, and it is pretty dark for the first part of the film, and then quickly, it shifts gears to become the romantic comedy it was destined to be. While there are a ton of surprises in this film, the story is pretty sincere, and goes places that not many “feel good, chick flicks” tend to go. They really explore what would happen if you lost a lover, and found out some not-so-sweet things about them after their death. It also looks at who you can count on, and who you should watch out for. Overall, I really liked the film, and I think I will have to see it again to truly appreciate it; mainly due to the surprises I vaguely mentioned. There was a lot of laugh out loud humor in the movie, and I thought that Jennifer Garner really carried the movie (not to say the others in the movie weren’t great). The only problem comes from how quickly people seemed to move on, or change, but considering that it was a 2 hour glimpse into the fictitious lives of characters, it is forgivable. Suspend a little bit of your belief about how relationships “should” work, and you should be okay. Only because of the quirks I asked you to suspend when watching it yourself, I give this 4 out of 6 stars 
; it was still a pretty good movie. 
Today’s last review focuses on our most recent video game purchase for the Wii. After our friend John brought over his copy of Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz, I was convinced that we needed it for our own collection of games. Not because of the main game, of course, which is actually quite stupid; but for the mini games. This one boasts 50 different mini games, ranging from bowling, to darts, to ring toss, and so on. You can fly a bird, you can drive hover carts, and you can even slingshot monkey balls at balloons. Some of the games are pretty stupid and simplistic, but many of the ones I mentioned have been played over and over at my house. This is definitely a title to have when people are coming over… just make sure you have enough Wii-motes AND nun-chucks… some of the games require both; and some of those games are quite fun! Overall, I would give this game a 5 out of 6 stars