Pans Labyrinth
Much like Stardust, just with a dark Spanish twist, Pans Labyrinth is a fairy tale for adults. There is just one problem…its a little light on the fairy tale part. Instead we get a fairy tale intermixed with a fascist army general in a war against a band of rebels. I have no idea what the evil general was suppose to represent, yes the guy was beyond evil, but he didn’t seem to interfere with the fairy tale that much. A fairy tale for adults really needs adult sized portions. Shame.
**
Shrek the Turd…
Not funny, not witty, not good. This film is strictly for kids, check the parents at the door.
Stardust…
It is billed as a fairy tale for adults. I don’t know what is really adult about it though (well besides from the two love scenes, but they were more pg-13ish anyway). Yes it’s more complicated and sophisticated then your normal run of the mill fairy tale. But the story is still at a level that most children would be able to understand. Harry Potter probably has more complicated and nuanced plot lines than Stardust.
With all that said I still like it very much. A very quick read thanks to its svelte 250 page length and large letter print, it is the perfect book for a trip or weekend. My only real complaints are that it starts off slow and ends rather weakly. The first 50 pages were somewhat of a hardship to get through, but once I did I was at page 225 before I knew it. And then with everything rolling all the plot lines resolve themselves relatively quickly and conveniently. Our main heroes are able to avoid any more confrontation for the latter third of the book.
So…quick read, enjoyable read, wish it was a better read, looking forward to the movie very much.
***
Spider-Man 3…
What was the shinning jewel of comic book movies has just come crashing down. It was too long, with too many villains, too many underdeveloped new characters, too many over used old characters, too many weak plot points for anyone’s good, and too many been there done that wish it was long action sequences.
Many people consider the action sequences to be truly amazing, I found them to be very lackluster. Yes they were pretty to look at, but none of them were that exciting. This came as a big surprise considering that the train sequence in Spider-Man 2 was one of the best action sequences ever in a superhero movie. The only sequence that came close to exciting me was the crane sequence, but it was far too short to draw me in.
And Kirsten Dunst has Down Syndrome.
**
HD DVD cracks: there’s no going back
Last night, the AACS LA's attempts to keep an HD DVD crack under wraps backfired in a spectacular fashion. Pandora's Box is now wide open and there's no going back now.
My Take:
When will they learn. DRM does not work. Nothing is unbreakable. Find a way to make your product easier and cheaper than pirating, and good enough that no one will want to pirate it and you solve the piracy problem.