Pan's Labyrinth

Meh. I thought the fantastic scenes were somewhat tedious, and although the "real-life" scenes made up for them, they didn't do so to the point of making for an excellent film. It was entertaining in the sense that my attention never wandered, but not in the sense that I left the theater still clinging to del Toro's world, as I did with Victor Erice's "Spirit of the Beehive."

It's rather cheap just to say "Spirit of the Beehive" is better but it is—1) the way Erice closes out the adult world almost entirely is necessary in a film like this, 2) 2 children are better than 1—the interplay between the two sisters is the most amazing part of the film, 3) the fantastical elements are kept to a minimum, not letting you escape into them. I find del Toro's escapism sort of purposeless and unfit for a meditation on cruelty.