Dir: David Slade
Writ: Steve Niles, Stuart Beattie, Brian Nelson. Based on the comic by Steve Niles & Ben Templesmith

• Josh Hartnett … Eben Oleson
• Melissa George … Stella Oleson
• Danny Huston … Marlow (Head Vamp)
• Ben Foster … The Stranger
• Mark Boone Junior … Beau Brower
• Mark Rendall … Jake Oleson

I’ll admit that I was a little disappointed that when IFCO’s rating came up this was only a 16. From the trailers I was hoping for a total blood and gore fest. Still, despite not making the 18s cut there was plenty of violence and a high body count. Not to mention plenty of blood. Blood every where. And then more blood.

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Tags: 30 Days of Night, 7 Stars, based on comic, Ben Foster, bloody, Brian Nelson, Danny Huston, David Slade, gore, horror, Josh Hartnett, Mark Boone Junior, Mark Rendall, Melissa George, R16, Steve Nils, Stuart Beattie, vampires, violence

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Dir: Zack Snyder
Writ: Zack Snyder, Kurt Johnston, Michael Gordon and based on the graphic novel 300 by Frank Miller & Lynn Varley

• Gerard Butler - King Leonidas
• Lena Headey - Queen Gorgo
• Dominic West - Theron
• David Wenham - Dilios
• Vincent Regan - Captain
• Michael Fassbender - Stelios
• Tom Wisdom - Astinos
• Rodrigo Santoro - Xerxes

I have a feeling that how you feel at the end of seeing this film will be hugely coloured by your mindset before the film began. Personally I loved it. Wonderful visuals and a great story. Wasn’t overly impressed with the characterisation, but you can’t have everything.

The film begins with a voice-over, and this narrator pipes up throughout the film, sometimes describing the action that we are watching on screen. I have no doubt that some will find this redundant, but, given the ending and who the narrator is I think this device actually works really well. Plus he does add to the melodramatic, over the top atmosphere that make this such a good film.

Overblown and over the top, almost pompous in its grand vision. And yet it just works. Somehow they’ve managed to draw the viewer in, using dialogue and visuals that could so easily have done nothing but remind you that this is a highly stylised film. The visuals are often lacking in realism. The characters are larger than life, the action is brutal, the culture hugely strange. And it is great.

There were one or two instances when I did find myself thinking that the constant references to freedom and the evil tyrant were overdone and not a little incorrect given the fact that if you were a slave in Spartan society then life back then was pretty far from easy. But this isn’t really historical fiction, it is an action film, and as such it is almost perfect. I also loved the soundtrack. So much so that I did just try and buy it online, but the official website wants you to use iTunes, I don’t, so I was forced into borrowing it.

Top marks all around for a violent, visceral, blood-splattered film, and I can’t finish my review without saying, my god, did you see those abs?

IMDb | Wikipedia on the Battle of Thermopylae | Dark Horse | I am the Lizard Queen | Villagers with Torches | Stainless Steel Droppings

Tags: 10 Stars, 300, action, Ancient Greece - Sparta, based on comic, bloody, brilliant, David Wenham, death, Dominic West, Frank Miller, Gerard Butler, great story, historical fiction, historical inaccuracies, Kurt Johnston, Lena Headey, loved it, Lynn Varley, melodramatic, Michael Fassbender, Michael Gordon, poor characterisation, Rodrigo Santoro, soldier, Tom Wisdom, Vincent Regan, visually stunning, War, Zack Snyder

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El Laberinto del Fauno
Dir & Writ: Guillermo del Toro

• Ivana Baquero - Ofelia
• Sergi López - Capitán Vidal
• Maribel Verdú - Mercedes
• Ariadna Gil - Carmen
• Doug Jones - Fauno

I really wanted to go see this film ever since I heard about it, and yer wan at the desk who tried to put me off by saying “you know it is in Spanish with subtitles” didn’t succeed. The story revolves around Ofelia, an 11 year old girl whose mother has married Captain Vidal and is expecting his child. It is 1944, and Vidal is an officer in Franco’s army, hunting down guerillas in the mountains. Vidal is about as far from a nice chap as you can get, and throughout the film his actions are among the most violent and gruesome on screen. He has no humanity, only caring about ridding the world of the guerillas and cleansing Spain so his son can grow up in a new world. Franco has won the war and he intends to show those still fighting what that means, even if he has to kill every last one of them and their sympathisers.

But on the journey to the Captain’s stronghold Ofelia stumbles across a carved stone statue, and crawling out of it, some sort of an insect. She, however, doesn’t see an insect, instead she calls it a fairy, and later when she shows this insect a picture in one of her books the creature transforms in front of her to take on the more usual appearance of a small person with wings.

Ofelia follows this fairy into the nearby ruin of a labyrinth where she meets with Pan, although he never calls himself by that name, merely stating that he is a faun. He tells her that she isn’t really human, but instead is a Princess in an otherworldly kingdom, where her father is waiting for her return. However, in order to prove that she hasn’t become too mortal she must perform 3 tasks and prove herself worthy to return.

Visually this film is just lovely too watch, but there are also plenty of scenes that’ll make you want to look away. It may be a fantasy film but it is for adults, not children. There is plenty of evidence of the darker side of life; death and torture are everywhere. And the plot is just as good as the images on screen. The characters are believable, even the Captain who is irredeemable and totally evil.

The actor playing Ofelia is a real find, totally believable in her role and never even verging towards “annoying kid in film”.

If you get the chance you really should catch this film. It is dark and sinister, full of cruelty and yet strangely whimsical and charming. The music is also great. You can listen to quite a bit of it on the official site.

IMDb | Official Site | From Hong Kong to London | Rotten Tomatoes | A Welsh View | ANdy’s land of adventure | Confessions of a film critic | Metafilter | Stainless Steel Droppings

Tags: 10 Stars, 1944, Ariadna Gil, beautiful, bloody, Doug Jones, El Laberinto del Fauno, faerie, fascism, Guillermo del Toro, historical fiction, Ivana Baquero, Maribel Verdú, myth, mythological creature, Pan's Labyrinth, Sergi López, sff, Spain - civil war, Spanish, subtitled, torture, violence, visually stunning, whimsical

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