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Other Kenjari and I saw two movies this weekend:
The Professional
I'd never seen this film in its entirety, even though we own it, so I decided to fix that on Friday night. It's quite good. Besson does some really nice stuff with the visuals and direction - especially the scene when all the crooked DEA thugs enter the apartment building hallway and position themselves for the massacre. Gary Oldman chews the scenery in an entertaining manner, and Natalie Portman puts in a good performance.
Pan's Labyrinth
I really, really liked this movie. The visuals are wonderful, both in the real world and the fantasy segments. The film is a fairy tale, but for adults - there is real cruelty and brutality here. I liked the way many typical fairy-tale elements were present, but sometimes slightly skewed. Ofelia and her mother journey to a remote, old dwelling in the middle of a forest. Mercedes is a kind of fairy godmother figure. However, instead of a wicked stepmother, Ofelia is presented with a wicked stepfather. There are creatures out of myth and legend, and three tasks. I especially liked the way the fantasy elements paralleled or echoed the events in the real world (the way the tempting fae-land banquet recalls the dinner party and food rationing, for example).
The Professional
I'd never seen this film in its entirety, even though we own it, so I decided to fix that on Friday night. It's quite good. Besson does some really nice stuff with the visuals and direction - especially the scene when all the crooked DEA thugs enter the apartment building hallway and position themselves for the massacre. Gary Oldman chews the scenery in an entertaining manner, and Natalie Portman puts in a good performance.
Pan's Labyrinth
I really, really liked this movie. The visuals are wonderful, both in the real world and the fantasy segments. The film is a fairy tale, but for adults - there is real cruelty and brutality here. I liked the way many typical fairy-tale elements were present, but sometimes slightly skewed. Ofelia and her mother journey to a remote, old dwelling in the middle of a forest. Mercedes is a kind of fairy godmother figure. However, instead of a wicked stepmother, Ofelia is presented with a wicked stepfather. There are creatures out of myth and legend, and three tasks. I especially liked the way the fantasy elements paralleled or echoed the events in the real world (the way the tempting fae-land banquet recalls the dinner party and food rationing, for example).
