MOVIE REVIEW - Dreamgirls (2006)

Way too much hype, way too many nominations, way to much scream-singing. The costumes were nice, but most all else in this fictional Motown was overdone, overproduced, over sung. I like Jennifer fine, but she was not a good actress in her debut role - certainly not Oscar worthy. The story was frustrating and tired. The music wasn't nearly as good as the real Motown. And the movie just didn't have soul.

MOVIE REVIEW - Hostel (2006)

Terrible horror flick. Bad premise, bad bad guy, bad acting, bad gore.

MOVIE REVIEW - Illusionist, The (2006)

Beautiful film with a story that starts well and fizzles in the end. Edward Norton is terrific and intense as an early 20th century magician; Paul Giamatti continues his stellar string of roles as the magistrate investigating Norton; and even Jessica Biel gets by for a change and holds her own as the period-piece babe. But the plot "twist" is so blatantly foreshadowed throughout the movie that when the supposed twist came, the only thing I was surprised by was that I was supposed to be surprised. A disappointing resolution to an otherwise commendable and enjoyable movie.

MOVIE REVIEW - Brown Sugar (2002)

When Black Harry Met Black Sally, with "Hip-Hop" as the tie that binds them together. Decent movie; but I didn't like Harry or Sally (though I love Sanaa Lathan) and I hate hip-hop, so this was just not for me.

MOVIE REVIEW - Matador, The (2005)

I have friends who loved this dramedy starring Pierce Brosnan and Greg Kinnear, but I didn't get its appeal. Kinnear's everyman befriends Brosnan's freewheeling hit man in Mexico City. Humor, twists, sentimentality, turns, ... but it didn't draw me in.

MOVIE REVIEW - Machinist, The (2004)

My word, has anyone ever lost as much weight for a role as Christian Bale did for this creepy, dark, Memento-wannabe? When I say "Memento-wannabe", that's still a good thing, though it is slightly derivative. Bale plays a man who hasn't slept in a year. His reality is in question, his body has evaporated (bone thin - seriously, even the bones had lost weight), he's just a mess. And while this could be depressing, you just barely care for the guy enough to hope he makes it through; more so, the story evolves nicely and wraps you in its intrigue. Good build, good characters, good ending.

MOVIE REVIEW - Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio, The (2005)

Surprisingly sweet, sincere, funny, and heartwarming. An embellished true story of a '50s mom (wonderfully played by Julianne Moore) who filled the financial gaps (er, ... carried the financial weight) for her family by winning jingle/advertising contests. It is a playful look at a difficult time in a difficult family. When the story wrapped up, it had sneakily found its way to my tear ducts with a smile.

MOVIE REVIEW - Pan's Labyrinth (2006)

From the opening scene riding through the forest, I was enchanted by the scenery and the pensiveness of the girl Ofelia and her mother, with their loving but strained looks. Thinking I was watching a fairy tale, I got swept into the dream and beauty of Ofelia's fantasy world that earned the movie its three Oscars for Best Cinematography, Art Direction, and Makeup. Therefore, I found myself wholly and delightfully unprepared for the violence, tragedy, and heartfelt drama that awaited.

Three stories unfold simultaneously. First, Ofelia's mother has just married a general in the Spanish Civil War in the 1940's. Ofelia, about to meet the general for the first time, retreats into her book out of shyness and refuses to address the general as her mother insists. These early, cautious moments give the viewer a suspicion of the general that we soon see is well warranted. The mother is pregnant and sick, ordered to bed rest, and Ofelia tries to care for her with the help of the housekeeper, superbly played by Maribel Verdu in an Oscar-worthy performance. She is thwarted by the general's wish to save the life of his unborn son more than his new wife.

In the second plotline, the general is a central figure in the Spanish Civil War, and their house is under occasional attack by resistance fighters in the woods. We quickly see his commitment to the war, his brutality and love of power. There are apparently sympathizers to the resistance inside the household, as the resistance succeeds in attacks that imply they have inside information. Watching this plot develop is riveting, terrifying drama.

The struggles surrounding Ofelia launch her into the third story, that of Ofelia's fantasy world (which may be the most real world of all). It is a fascinating other-world, a beautiful, scary, historic world full of kings and destiny and death. And only slightly less scary than her real world full of human monsters and brutality. A fairy from the forest leads her into the labyrinth beside the house. Deep inside, she learns of her place in mythological history, that of a lost princess trying to find her parents and her throne. Pan (the fauna) instructs her to complete three tasks in this fantasy world, which weave into the stories in her home and the war. Ofelia's fairy tale is full of wonder, art, terror, ugly toads, and a hideous monster with eyes in his hands.

The brilliance of the film is how the stories so closely work together, how the themes from one add depth to the others. This Spanish film (yes, with subtitles that don't ruin the experience) is a tapestry of all that a movie should be. The characters are incredibly well-developed (the general quickly becomes one of the best, most relentless bad guys I can remember, and Sergi Lopez deserved an Oscar nod). Stories that are intriguing and soulful, dangerous and lovely. Visuals that are exquisite, even visionary. Not your typical fairy tale, this movie increasingly haunts me.