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I just got a chance last week to watch Pan’s Labyrinth on DVD. for those of you who haven’t heard about it (where have you been) it’s a movie from the director Guillermo del Toro the guy who directed Blade II and Hellboy (don’t let those movies deter you, this one is good, not that that the other two aren’t they just aren’t on the same level).

To put it simply, this movie is excellent. It does all the things a good fantasy should do in my opinion. Makes you question reality. Is set against a backdrop that reinforces the fantasy aspects and makes reality just that much harsher, and is in some ways a metaphor for what is happening in that “reality”. The setting is Spain post WW II and is rife with the political tensions of the time. Fascists are taking hold in Spain, and though there are a few groups of rebels trying to fight, the fight seems hopeless. When the movie opens, the main character Ofelia and her mother Carmen are on their way to a remote and old mill that Ofelia’s new step father–Captain Vidal–has converted into a military outpost to scrub the back country of the last of the rebels. Carmen is very pregnant, and weak, and it is obvious that Captain Vidal wants little to do with Ofelia. In fact, his very demeanor is cold and calculating. They did a great job with character development with all the characters, but Vidal’s very presence is foreboding, and the details in his character make him more so.

Ofelia is a dreamy girl, who lives in her own fantasy world and carries with her books of fairy tales and magic. Despite her mother telling her it is time to give them up, she holds on to them as her lifeline. Once at the old mill, Ofelia finds the entrance to a labyrinth and is drawn to it. But one of the locals–a woman named Mercedes who is a serving woman for the Captain–warns Ofelia it is dangerous and befriends the young girl. From there the darkness of not only the labyrinth but the mill and the people in it begin to ooze out into the open.

Ofelia finds eventually in the center of the labyrinth a faun or pan. traditionally these are tricksters in myth, and don’t usually bring good things to those who see them. But Ofelia is entranced by the faun and the story he has to tell her, and agrees to take on three tasks to prove she is worthy.

Despite the fact that Ofelia is a young girl, this is not some touchy feely,fairy tale. There are moments of violence in this movie so quick and brutal they are lodged in my mind. And from that first act of violence, committed by the Captain against a local old man and his son, the shadows begin to lengthen in the movie. Ofelia falls deeper into the secrets of the labyrinth, Mercedes tries to keep her own secrets from the Captain, and Carmen becomes weaker and weaker as her time to give birth nears.

The tension between the story lines builds and eventually hits a head on collision. Ofelia’s fantasy world, and brutal “reality” intersect, and the results are not pretty.

Still it’s hard to say if the movie ends badly or not. I suppose it depends a lot on how you look at the world. At where you draw the lines between the real world and the world in your head. That is in essence the theme of this story. The derailing of reality, and the subtle hidden world that lies beneath. Not just the fauns and fairies that are hiding, but secrets, loss, fear, and oppression. The things we hide from ourselves and others. All of us carry our own myth, our own fantasy world in our heads, but it is a fantasy of who we are and why we do the things we do. A fantasy of what it is to be human, and what the difference is between good and evil.

I cannot recommend this movie highly enough. It’s one of the rare movies that you can watch time and again and take something from it every time.

Happy viewing.

Thanks to the guys at Brotherhood 2.0 I have been thinking just a little bit too much about my guilt free three (which has now expanded to my guilt free five). This is a list of celebrities you would sleep with guilt free. I’ve learned some interesting things about my friends and family, and myself for that matter asking them who their guilt free three would be.

In no particular order here’s my list:

1) Johnny Depp

2) Steve Martin

3) Conan O’Brien

4) Neil Gaiman

5) Angelina Jolie (shocked I know)

The biggest thing I’ve learned is that for guys the trashy factor is a turn on. Hence Britney Spears being in the top three of most of the men I know. And for me personally looks aren’t a big factor but a sense of humor is. And one other thing factors in there; the geek potential. I love a man with the potential to really get in touch with his geeky side. So, in homage to all the nerds out there, I give you…Nerdfighters.

PS If I were a computer nerd I could actually figure out how to embed a video, but that messes with my book nerd/sci-fi nerd thing I’m all ready juggling.

You know, I’ve been posting here for several months. More off then on of late. Originally this blog was supposed to be the result of several contributors and probably will turn out to be that eventually, but for now I’m the only blogger. Of course I normally like the idea of being a loner, but there is one problem. This is the first blog I’ve ever done. So that means I generally have no idea what I’m doing. Anyone who has stuck with me through my dry spells, and put up with my wordiness…well I appreciate that. Someone recently pointed out to me that the best blogs are the ones where you get emotional, allow your passions and loves and hates to come through. Well, I’m covering my hates pretty well, so I suppose I should get to what I love about this whole science fiction and fantasy thing.

In truth my loves are numerous, but I want to hit the big ones. First and foremost, I love how really good SF makes you stretch your own boundaries, question yourself and society, rethink things. Good SF pushes the boundaries of what’s “normal” and “acceptable” words I’ve always disliked anyway. Who wants to be normal? Not I that’s for darn sure. Secondly, I love a little escapism. Just forgetting about the laundry, dishes, balancing the checkbook, all that stuff that keeps a family running…and running, and running. Well, sometimes I need to get away from that, to chew on new ideas, to stop moving through life on auto pilot. I need to work out my brain, and get a good story in the deal.

There is also the small part of me that loves one liners, kick ass action scenes, and things exploding. I won’t deny it. A well choreographed fight scene, or a big ball of flames, well it just does something visceral to me. What can I say. I get a kick out of that stuff. And when you can add some awesome characters to that formula of action, well it gets even better. I suppose you can sum it up simply. I am a geek, a dork, and a nerd. And I do love my dorks, nerds and geeks. They’re my favorite people in the whole world. I count myself lucky to be among them.

I just got back from teaching a creative writing workshop this weekend. I lectured a group of kids between the ages of ten and nineteen I believe. God I loved it. The whole experience finally solidified in my mind what I really want to do with my life. I am a writer first and foremost, but as most of you know writing doesn’t always pay the bills. For the last few years I’ve batted around the idea of what I could do to not only make money but something I found inspiring, and enriching. Well, teaching is it. Specifically teaching creative writing, but teaching in general. sitting there on the floor with a group of really, really smart kids not only listening but adding to the lectures was gratifying, and inspiring as well. Talking about the very thing I love discussing to the point that I could probably talk about it all day (and pretty much did over this last weekend) well it got my creative juices flowing that’s for sure. I’ve restarted the novel I’ve been a little blocked on of late. And (as you can tell) been moved to work on the blog a bit more.

I’m incredibly grateful that I was given the opportunity to teach these lectures, and to meet those kids. Each and everyone of them was so special and unique I truly feel blessed just having met them. And if this is something I am able to continue I will always remember these first kids who were in a lot of ways my guinea pigs. Poor kids.