Pan's Labyrinth Review

Short Review: Didn't like it as much as I had hoped. It's from the director of Hellboy, another film I desperately wanted to like but was left wanting more. Again, he sets up an interesting premise and then fails to deliver. In Spanish with English subtitles, it's the story of a young girl trying to lose herself in a fantasy world as she tries in vain to escape the pain of her new home. Caught up in WWII-era Spain, violent separatists are trying to break the government's hold on their country. There was violence with need, something that always bothers me. I don't mind violence for a reason (see Gladiator) but when it's just there to shock or for atmosphere, it's unnecessary. And the ending left me very unsatisfied.

Rated R. Score is 4 of 10, with +2 for nice effects (they are not as amazing as you've heard) and -3 for pointless violence. Won the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Film.