Pan's Labyrinth

Set during the post Spanish Civil War in 1944, Pan’s Labyrinth is about the journey of a little girl called Ofelia to discover if she is the missing Princess Moanna, daughter to the king of the underworld, who according to legend, became curious about the world above and fled to the surface, where the brightness of the sun blotted out her memories.of the underworld. Faced with an unknowing future after Ofelia’s mother marries a tyrant who is a Captain in the war, Ofelia retreats into her fairytales to escape from the horrors of war around her. A Spanish film with subtitles, the original title in Spanish directly translates to "The Labyrinth of the Faun"; the English title refers to the faun-like Greek god Pan, though Director Guillermo del Toro has stated that the faun featured in the film is not actually Pan.

This is a extraordinary and wonderful movie from del Toro who bought us Hellboy, Blade II and Mimic. The same themes from those movies flow through Pan’s Labyrinth where the haunting shadow worlds of imagination and nightmares pale next to the evil of the real world. Drawing on Alice in Wonderland, Pinocchio and many other inspirations to create something quite new and wonderful, this is still a scary movie. The creatures from Ofelia’s journey are fantastical and frightening in their own imagery, but do not compare to the controlled fury and violence of the Captain that escalates as it becomes obvious that his side is losing the war to the rebels.

There is a warmth and wonder amidst the brutality of Captain Vidal’s war and terror, especially from the housekeeper Mercedes who adopts and protects the girl while leading a dangerous double life, and an ancient comfort in the ancient and primal fantasy visions that are hewn from the earth and grown from enchanted wood and flora in Ofelia’s visions.

I loved this movie and thought it was one of the best movies I’d seen for a long time. Told through the eyes of a little girl whose imaginary world is inhabited by nightmarish creatures, Pan's Labyrinth is a visually imaginative and allegorical take on the fears she faced in Spain during WWII. And though not for the squeamish or fans of Fascism, this dark enchanting fantasy is a captivating, escapist fairy tale, even if one with a dark undertone.

The Queen

I was one of the billions who was shocked at the sudden death of Diana, Princess of Wales in that tragic car crash in Paris in August 1997. Even though I am not an ‘admirer’ of the monarchy, I too was completely at a loss as to why the British Royal family seemed to be so unattached to their country’s (and the world’s) outpouring of grief for the ‘People’s Princess’. The Queen is a re-telling of this heartbreaking event and attempts to ‘humanise’ the actions of the Windsor family, most notably Queen Elizabeth II played brilliantly by Helen Mirren.

Set during the week from the day of Diana’s death until the day of her funeral, The Queen takes an intimate, behind-the-scenes look at the interaction between Queen Elizabeth II and British Prime Minister Tony Blair (played by Michael Sheen) during this period. Stephen Frears the director, focuses on the struggle between the Queen and Tony Blair to reach a compromise between treating Diana’s death as a private tragedy for the Royal Family and appeasing the public’s demand for an open display of mourning.

Through a bit of research, I found the writers had developed the script through extensive interviews with many unnamed sources close to the Prime Minister and the Royal Family. Many of these sources were able to corroborate the accounts of others, allowing enough information for the writers to imagine the intervening scenes. Obviously the film was not intended to be a historically accurate representation of the Queen's role during this time, rather an interpretation of the interaction between key figures dealing with the death of a much loved public figure.

I really enjoyed this movie. Helen Mirren won every Leading Actress award including the Oscar© for her exceptional portrayal of a monarch struggling to separate her personal life from the duties of a Queen during an unprecedented and tragic situation. I found The Queen to be a reflective and real dramatisation of the aftermath of Diana’s death that shocked the world. The use of newsreel footage to bind the story together showing the outpouring of public grief with the controlled behind-the-scenes emotions of Queen Elizabeth makes it a deeply moving and appreciative viewing experience.

The Pursuit of Happyness

What is the pursuit of happiness? Will Smith ponders this statement (“Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” coined by Thomas Jefferson for the American Declaration of Independence) and hypotheses that it must be earned, sought and ultimately pursued if we are to truly appreciate what it is to be happy. And boy does Will try pursue happiness. Through his character Christopher Gardner, Will takes us on a journey through a six month period of Chris’ life where we experience his struggles during the early 80’s with homelessness while raising his toddler son, Christopher.

Loosely based on the real life story of Chris Gardner who founded the giant corporate brokerage firm Gardner Rich, The Pursuit of Happyness is ultimately a tale about rising above the hardships that are thrown at us and achieving our goals. (Don’t worry; it’s a deliberate misspelling of the title which explained at the beginning of the movie.) I am a huge fan of Will Smith from his Fresh Prince days (and I still know the title song from the show) and I’m usually one of the first in line when he has a new movie out. Happyness is a departure for Will from his epic, top grossing sci-fi adventures on the big screen. Will grasps this opportunity to showcase his acting talents as his life on film gets thrown from pillar to post. Nominated for an Oscar© for Best Actor, Will is supported by his real life son Jayden who plays his film son too.

One could be cynical and assume that there is an underlying moral sentiment running through the core of the movie about how through hard work and perseverance anyone can overcome any adversity…. While this may smack of ‘Hollywoodism’ especially with the Hollywood token happy ending but the genuine performance of Will supported admirably by his son overcome the sentimentality without taking away from a truly remarkable real life story.

For any trivia buffs, Dan Castellaneta, who voices Homer Simpson on The Simpsons, co-stars in the film as one of Gardner's superiors and requests a donut from Gardener. This is a nod to Casellaneta's animated counterpart who shares a similar taste for donuts.

Dreamgirls

Let’s make one thing clear, I’m a huge fan of the musical. From the recent hits of Chicago and Moulin Rouge back through Grease, Xanadu and The Rocky Horror Picture Show, any Elvis movie and, of course, the classics like Cabaret, An American in Paris, Oklahoma and the big daddy of them all Singing In the Rain, I grab my family block choc and settle in for a great night’s entertainment.

So if you’re a sucker for the musical movie like me, you were also probably intrigued when you first started hearing about the adaptation of the Broadway show Dreamgirls. If you weren't aware, Dreamgirls played on Broadway for four years, won six Tony Awards including Best Musical in 1982. I guess it was only a matter of time before we saw it on the big screen.

Loosely based on the supergroup of the Motown era The Supremes, famous for the hits "Baby Love" and "Stop! In the Name of Love" to name a couple of top 10 hits, I thought this would be a great story combining the classic rags to riches story with the Motown groove as its soundtrack. I really wanted this to be great. Dreamgirls follows the lives of three women — Effie White, Deena Jones, and Lorrell Robinson — who, as members of an R&B singing group called "The Dreamettes", become famous as the backing group for soul singer James 'Thunder' Early after being discovered by Curtis Taylor Jr, a manipulative manager who becomes their record label executive. Set during the 1960's and 70’s against a backdrop of the American civil rights movement, Curtis wants to take the girls from the ‘chitlin circuit’ to the mainstream, more accepted pop arena favoured by the white Americans. Conflict arises when Curtis starts to transform the Dreamettes into "The Dreams" which includes replacing the heavier Effie as both lead singer of the group and as his romantic interest with Deena, the more attractive but less talented singer.

My viewing plan was to view it on the big screen with a few girlfriends after catching up for lunch. The music, Jamie Foxx, the fashion, Jamie Foxx, the songs, yes Jamie Foxx and the lavishness of the Dreamettes success were larger than life on the big screen.

Is it deserving of the accolades it’s been receiving? And more importantly, did I enjoy it??? On a number of levels, the answer is “yes” – with a few reservations. Oscar© nominations for Eddie Murphy as James ‘Thunder’ Early for Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress for Jennifer Hudson as Effie White for which they both won the Golden Globe© are quite deserving and are the two stand out performances in the film. It was quite refreshing to see Eddie not dressed up in a fat suit or talking to the animals! Beyonce Knowles did an adequate job (perhaps mirroring her own steps to stardom). Jamie Foxx looked gorgeous and sexy on screen but he looked like he was going through the motions. For me, Dreamgirls would have been more successful if the songs that were not part of the performances of the Dreamettes had a smoother transition or perhaps were integrated into the stage performances. It became a little jerky and disorientating when this happened.

(For those people who have been living on the moon, Jennifer Hudson came 6th in the 3rd Season of American Idol and Beyonce was the front woman of the all girl group ‘Destiny’s Child’ before they split in 2005.

Perhaps not as daring as Chicago which won Best Picture at the 2002 Oscars ©, Dreamgirls is a pleasant movie with an interesting story, great music if you’re into Motown and very pretty to watch. Go see it if you are into musicals, go with a bunch of girlfriends (definitely not a guy movie) and go and be entertained.