Pan’s Labyrinth (2006) Movie Review

Pan’s Labyrinth (2006) IMDB

Pan's Labyrinth (2006) movie poster

Winner of 3 Oscars, including Best cinematography and over 100 movie awards. Let’s just get this out of the way. I give it a 9.5/10. This is an excellent movie that is beautiful to watch, with an interesting fantasy world created by director Guillermo del Toro.

The story is takes us to the year 1944 in Spain (Yes, it is in Spanish) where a young girl, named Ofelia, escapes a world at war by escaping into a fantasy world at the center of a secret underground labyrinth. The girl meets a faun (totally normal) who takes her to the center of the labyrinth. She learns she can become an immortal princess in this fantasy world but must prove herself first by completing 3 tasks.

This is a dark fantasy fairy tale. The story complicates with Ofelia trying to navigate her 3 tasks while learning many valuable lessons along the way. Chances are you have already seen this movie and did not need this review. If you somehow missed it, this film is a must watch.

Check out this trailer:

Muppets from Space (1999) Movie Review

Muppets from Space (1999) IMDB

Muppets From Space movie poster

Who is your favorite Muppets character (other than Kermit) ? For some it is Animal, Beaker or Grover, but for me it is Gonzo. And if you are like me, then this is the film for you because this Muppets movie stars Gonzo in the lead role closely supported by Rizzo the Rat. You still get doses of Kermit, Fozzy, Miss Piggy, Animal and all of the other characters you know and love. Plus this wouldn’t be a Muppet movie if there weren’t cameos by people like Hulk Hogan, Ray Liotta, Rob Schneider and David Arquette to name a few. And of course as you will hear in the trailer below, it is full of musical numbers set to feel good classic songs !

This story is all about Gonzo looking for his long lost family. What is Gonzo exactly ? Could he be an alien ? This movie explores that along with a few side stories that make it fun for the whole family. As far as mazes go, during a key scene Rizzo the Rat gets captured by the bad guys and gets put into a cage with lab rats. I should have said “spoiler” before that. My bad. Anyway the lab rats are put into a rat maze during the next scene, and that’s why this movie is a maze movie, or at least a movie with a maze scene.

Will this movie change how you feel about anything important in your life ? Will it make you you think differently about the world and your place in it ? Could this be a film that 30 years from now critics look back on fondly as a masterpiece that slipped thru the cracks ? No, no and no. But feel free to let the kids watch it and be entertained for awhile. You might even hear a few laughs every now and then.

In my opinion of the 9 Muppets movies that have been made this is middle of the pack. I rate it a solid 6/10.

Check out the trailer:

The Maze Runner (2014) Movie Review

The Maze Runner is a 2014 film based on the first book from the 5 part best selling book series by James Dasher. Let’s see what this movie is all about.

The Maze Runner (2014) IMDB

The Maze Runner (2014) movie poster
The Maze Runner (2014) Movie Poster - into the maze

So you wake up with no memory of your past trapped with others just like you in an enclosed environment (Seems a bit Cube ish yes ?). Well, not completely enclosed. They are surrounded by very high stone walls that contain a maze which you need to solve in order to escape. You get the chance to solve the maze each morning when a large door opens but the maze is patrolled by cyborgs. That same door closes each night, and if you get stuck in the maze overnight, you die. You don’t know why you’re there or who put you there. Escaping the maze seems like the right move…run. So that is the premise and set-up for the movie.

Although the reviews of this movie are average, I found the movie to be better than that. It isn’t a movie that is going to win any awards…checks….except a few from the MTV Movie + TV Awards, but the story was interesting and kept my attention. I tend to like sci-fi post-apocalypse movies and this is definitely that.

If there is a weakness of the movie it is the why. As the movie unfolds and the group begins to learn what is happening the why of the maze becomes complex….but a bit meaningless. But that is why we have sequels and additional books, because the maze running story is just getting started.

Now we have time for a sidebar. The movie posters for this movie are excellent, as are the posters for the sequels. As a person who makes maze artwork daily these are really good design. If you want to explore this topic more check out my lost of The 10 Best Maze Themed Movie Posters.

I would rate it a strong 7.4/10 despite a non-ending. You’ll need to keep watching the sequels to get the answers you need.

Check out the trailer:

The Maze (1953) Movie Review

The Maze (1953) IMDB

The Maze (1953) movie poster

When we discuss maze movies we have to include The Maze from 1953 for 2 main reasons: 1) The title is The Maze so it definitely qualifies 2) The movie starts with shots of the hedge maze that is central to the entire story. That story is of a Scotsman, called Gerald, who moves into a castle that has an adjoining hedge maze. It seems his uncle has died and left him the large castle and the servants that come with it (we should all be so lucky). Gerald’s ex-fiancé, Kitty, travels to the castle with her aunt to see why he broke off the engagement with a letter. Gerald is acting strangely and has aged since she last saw him. Kitty and her aunt try to figure out what has happened to Gerald.

The hedge maze is key to the story and plot. There is only one rule for the maze - do not enter it, which means of course you are going to enter it. I’m sure everything will be fine…right ? I mean the rule was just meant to be a recommendation. Overall, the atmosphere and tone of the movie is well done and the acting is fine. Unfortunately, the problem with the movie comes in the final act with the big reveal which is disappointing and makes no sense. Maybe we can get AI to remake the last 8 minutes of the film ??? I would compare this to an M Night Shyamalan film that has a nice premise but misses the landing.

Random note: There is an Intermission just over 49 minutes into this 80 minute film. Can we all agree that we need these to come back for today’s 3 hour films ? Who can sit in a theater that long without a break ?

You can give the full movie a watch at the link below. From a historical note the very first 3D color movie came out April 10, 1953, Vincent Price‘s The House of Wax. This film followed shortly after in July of the same year, or as it says on the movie poster “3 DIMENSION” but was filmed in black and white. A few slight changes and this may have been historically significant.

I would give this a 5.7/10.

You can watch the entire movie here: