Watches that Tick like People
It's been so long I hardly remember the format here.

Free Talk:

It's been an interesting holiday.  There's been work, and there's been worry. Sometimes, I wish I would just bite down and get everything I need to get done done and paid for so it doesn't weigh on my mind so much.  Procrastination isn't pretty, kitties. I have lengthy background check papers to fill out, and one more return I need to make - neither of which I particularly want to do, because I want to savor the hours I have free before the thirty-hour-plus work weekend that is in store for me.  And there are Christmas presents, namely movies, that I want to enjoy.  In fact, on a whim, I'll have you know, I purchased one such movie - for my sister, Taylor.  Raze, or Yoriko17, as some of you know her. Anyway, I was picking up movies at Target and Pan's Labyrinth was on the shelf. Now, I've seen some of the visual features in brief television spots etc. but had never bothered to check it out. Yes, I know about the awards yadda-yadda-yadda.  But I never knew the real story. I just thought it was some distant, kind of whacked fantasy story.  If you've seen it, I know you're laughing at me... Anyway, I absolutely...was flabbergasted by the story.


Movie Talk:

Pan's Labyrinth

How to put it in words? Perhaps with my own introduction. As I mentioned above, I had no clue as of to what the story was about or where it was set at the time I purchased the DVD. I thought Pan was some little fantasy girl who no doubt entered some kind of fantastical labyrinth where she met computer graphitized creatures that flitted to and fro.  No, Pan is not a girl.  And no, the fantasy isn't that simple.  Stop reading now if you'd rather watch the movie unspoiled, as it is much better that way...unless you're squeamish about violence. No, not the slasher type of violence that is glorified on television these days, but the type that rolls your stomach around and constricts your heart.

The original Spanish title is El Laberinto del Fauno, which translates as The Labyrinth of the Faun quite directly.  The title it was released as - Pan's Labyrinth - draws inspiration from a faun-like Greek God known as Pan.  I admit, it's a poetic reference, so I'm not bothered by it.  Now, the little girl in the trailers...her name is Ofelia. Beautiful name.   What I love most about the movie is the interwoven quality of the violence and the fantasy elements.  There are many instances in real life where great fantasy writers, or really, writers in general, are driven to new horizons by the harshness of reality.  Escapism at its finest, you could say.  There are little things that I love - how a violent scene sets the vulnerability of the following fantasy element, and so on.  It's interesting to watch how Ofelia's fantasies grow ever more violent as the world around her crumbles.  Then, there are the technical elements.  The shapes attributed to certain characters and lighting.  Each aspect seems meticulously assigned.  I have not yet watched the director's commentary, but I'm sure it will be a treat.  There are plenty of little aspects I noticed regarding the characters that are too deliberate to be chance.

Ah... I can't go on. Just watch it, please.   The voice-over on this trailer is loud, but if you've no idea of the movie, it's a good glimpse.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqYiSlkvRuw

-Erin / Ruin


Doodle of the Moment:

Just a random girl drawn by Taylor.  A whim, she says. Huh. She always says that, doesn't she?