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HBOchannel9

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Read my review about the Director, Guillermo del Toro! A genius and I explain why. This movie is a masterpiece.

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Posted feb 26, 2009 2:08 pm pt

V_Translanka

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A visually stunning movie in keeping with those fantasy movies of the 80s...Very cool adult fantasy. Reminded me a lot of Neil Gaiman's stuff (Sandman especially, of course). It'd be cool if Guillermo did a Sandman movie! ^_^

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Posted nov 13, 2008 2:21 pm pt

kistasha1407

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A god damn AMAZING movie! I'm a hemophobe but my older sister told me when to close my eyes. Anyway it's a beautiful story about a girl trying to escape the horrors of war.

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Posted nov 7, 2008 12:52 pm pt

crissh23

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Pans Labyrinth is one of the Best from Guillermo del Torro.Its dark and twisted but at the same time a very unique fairy tale.His film making is awesome and the story delivers.Its about a girl with a very vivid imagination and dreams of fairys and...
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Pans Labyrinth is one of the Best from Guillermo del Torro.Its dark and twisted but at the same time a very unique fairy tale.His film making is awesome and the story delivers.Its about a girl with a very vivid imagination and dreams of fairys and fauns.Soon however the line between reality and fantasy begin to blur causing a torrent of problems for the girl and her ailing mother.Her abusive and evil step father battle it out.Yes the movie does have a lot of violence and sometimes you yourself cant tell if she is in the real world or the world she created.I love this movie i highly recommend it to any person that loves fantasy movies.

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Posted jun 4, 2008 10:26 am pt

mandytjie

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There's a couple of things I tell people about this film. 1) It's really brilliant. 2) See it. 3) It has one of the most violent and graphic scenes I have ever seen in a film, let alone on rotten.com.
This film is a masterpiece of a child's...
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There's a couple of things I tell people about this film. 1) It's really brilliant. 2) See it. 3) It has one of the most violent and graphic scenes I have ever seen in a film, let alone on rotten.com.
This film is a masterpiece of a child's fairy tale and it is really fresh and original. I would definately watch it again as the cinematography and scenery is very rich and it is sometimes easy to miss that while concentrating on the subtitles. It deserved all of the Oscars it won and was nominated for.
One little aside - the Pan or Faun character looked like my paternal grandmother who wore dentures. That was scary enough. Thank the lord I look more like my mother's side of the family.

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Posted feb 22, 2008 7:04 am pt

ninjacat11

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Pan's Labyrinth is one of the most moving pictures I've seen in a while. Guillermo del Toro has truly created a film for the ages. It's a dark fairy tale that is enchanting in it's own way.

It's clear that Guillermo del Toro has...
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Pan's Labyrinth is one of the most moving pictures I've seen in a while. Guillermo del Toro has truly created a film for the ages. It's a dark fairy tale that is enchanting in it's own way.

It's clear that Guillermo del Toro has poured his heart and soul into this masterpiece, as the fairy tale world our heroine visits is one of the most imaginative realms ever captured on film. Some of the best visual effects in the business and a great dual-performance by Doug Jones help bring the film to life. Gone are the generic dragons and elves that one expects from a fairy tale like this. The film is set mostly in the Spanish Civll War. It initially sounds like a jarring combination, but del Toro makes it work in a way you cannot possibly imagine. Sergi Lopez delivers a truly daunting performance as the film's villain. Despite how the commercials make ir look, Pan's Labyrinth should not be seen by children. It has some remarkably stomach-churning scenes. I could barely look at some of the more violent scenes. If you can stomach the violence, you will be treated to one of the greatest films ever crafted.

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Posted jan 4, 2008 7:31 am pt

Lokar

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Beautiful, dark and intense film.

This movie is advertised as a story somewhat like a myth or novel, and it is that, but don't be confused-- it really goes over the heads of children, in terms of the graphic content and complex...
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Beautiful, dark and intense film.

This movie is advertised as a story somewhat like a myth or novel, and it is that, but don't be confused-- it really goes over the heads of children, in terms of the graphic content and complex themes. So don't rent it for the young set. That aside, it is an excellent movie for adults. A young girl sets out to save her mother and the outside world from the evil wiles of the underworld. It's the end of an era in Spain and the countryside still teems with threats of violence. Can the people survive? Only if the girl can both embrace and defeat her destiny. Better than "Mirror Mask," another good film along this line, and with one of the best "is he evil or not?" characters I've seen in a long time, "Pan's Labyrinth" is a movie that fantasy fans won't want to miss.

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Posted nov 11, 2007 8:29 am pt

DejaQ

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Pan's Labyrinth is a very dark fantasy story, and is very enjoyable. It has a style of its own, and really good characters - including a very frightening villain.

What stood out for me in the visual department was the faun - he was...
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Pan's Labyrinth is a very dark fantasy story, and is very enjoyable. It has a style of its own, and really good characters - including a very frightening villain.

What stood out for me in the visual department was the faun - he was very impressive-looking, and made good use of Doug Jones and good old-fashioned practical effects.

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Posted sep 21, 2007 11:19 am pt

Jeric-Ho

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Absolutly awesome! everything you could want in a movie, Guillermo del Toro's finest work in my opinion! this film has it all, drama, suspense, fantasy, horror! and it all work perfectly together! set in the same time period as The Devils Backbone...
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Absolutly awesome! everything you could want in a movie, Guillermo del Toro's finest work in my opinion! this film has it all, drama, suspense, fantasy, horror! and it all work perfectly together! set in the same time period as The Devils Backbone aswell!

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Posted sep 8, 2007 8:41 am pt

Mr_Doom212

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Pan's Labyrinth is what a movie should look,sound, and feel like. Created by Guillermo del Toro, this film tells the dark tale of a little girl named Ofelia, who is in love with fairy tales,and is unknown to the fact she is Princess Moanna, the...
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Pan's Labyrinth is what a movie should look,sound, and feel like. Created by Guillermo del Toro, this film tells the dark tale of a little girl named Ofelia, who is in love with fairy tales,and is unknown to the fact she is Princess Moanna, the daughter of the King of the underworld. She meets a faun, she does three tasks, and all this takes place in post civil war Spain. The plot is much more complex, put that is the basics. A wonderful story that grasps you and makes you wanna know more. Visual effects are top notch, especially the faun, and the gritty atmosphere. Acting here is also very well done, with young actress Ivana Baquero putting a splendid performance. Musical score also fits the mood very well. Now, this is a foreign film, so there are subtitles to read. That really was my only problem. Because I was focusing reading the subtitles and not watching this great piece of cinema. But a great movie that deserved much more at the Oscars (I think this was much better then The Departed). Overall, I give this film a 5/5 stars. A must watch.

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Posted aug 24, 2007 6:08 am pt

• [+] The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
  
  100
  This is like no movie you've seen before, a haunting mixture of horror, history and fantasy that works simultaneously on every level.

  by Liam Lacey | Read Full Review »
• [+] LA Weekly
  
  100
  Pan's Labyrinth Like his terrific 2001 "The Devil's Backbone," Mexican horrormeister Guillermo del Toro's new movie offers us both real-life and fantastical monsters, and if you know his work, you won't waste time figuring out which to root for.

  by Ella Taylor | Read Full Review »
• [+] Chicago Tribune
  
  100
  A brilliant work of the imagination capable of truly seizing and igniting our fantasies.

  by Michael Wilmington | Read Full Review »
• [+] Wall Street Journal
  
  100
  The result of the intricate interplay is a fairy tale for adults that is violent, sometimes shocking, yet utterly engrossing. And eerily instructive; it deepens our emotional understanding of fascism, and of rigid ideology's dire consequences.

  by Joe Morgenstern | Read Full Review »
• [+] The New York Times
  
  100
  A swift and accessible entertainment, blunt in its power and exquisite in its effects.

  by A.O. Scott | Read Full Review »
• [+] Chicago Reader
  
  100
  Unlike most horror movies, this chiller gives equal prominence to reality and fantasy, though the reality is far more frightening. The only precedent that comes to mind in terms of a lyrical treatment of a child's experience of terror is "The Night of the Hunter."

  by Jonathan Rosenbaum | Read Full Review »
• [+] TV Guide
  
  100
  Del Toro's film ranks with the best examinations of children's inner lives, but be warned: Its haunting insights are best left to adults.

  by Maitland McDonagh | Read Full Review »
• [+] New York Daily News
  
  100
  A critic trots out the word "masterpiece" at his own peril, but there it is.

  by Jack Mathews | Read Full Review »
• [+] New York Post
  
  100
  Nothing this year comes close to being as utterly unforgettable as Guillermo del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth, an extremely dark and disturbing fairy tale for audiences say, ages 12 and up.

  by Lou Lumenick | Read Full Review »
• [+] San Francisco Chronicle
  
  100
  Visually stunning, it meshes haunting images with a complex multilevel story about the enchantment of youth.

  by Ruthe Stein | Read Full Review »
• [+] Premiere
  
  100
  This intense film, a mix of horror, fantasy, and history that convinces on all those levels and mixes them up with dizzying brio, is a searing cinematic experience, a beautiful, terrifying vision from writer-director Guillermo del Toro.

  by Glenn Kenny | Read Full Review »
• [+] Village Voice
  
  100
  Literally and figuratively marvelous, a rich, daring mix of fantasy and politics.

  by J. Hoberman | Read Full Review »
• [+] Rolling Stone
  
  100
  Del Toro never coddles the audience. He means us to leave Pan's Labyrinth shaken to our souls. He succeeds.

  by Peter Travers | Read Full Review »
• [+] Christian Science Monitor
  
  100
  In tone, Pan's Labyrinth resembles a cross between "Alice in Wonderland" and H.P. Lovecraft, with some Buñuel thrown in for good measure. It is a tribute to - as well as a prime example of - the disturbing power of imagination.

  by Peter Rainer | Read Full Review »
• [+] Seattle Post-Intelligencer
  
  100
  Like the folk tales from centuries past, Pan's Labyrinth is a dark odyssey with nightmarish visions and cruel threats, but coming through the sacrifice and suffering is the childlike belief in magic and imagination that for Del Toro represents the hope and optimism of a happily ever after in this cruel world.

  by Sean Axmaker | Read Full Review »