|
|
Post by Craig Herbertson on Jun 9, 2010 19:35:42 GMT
The three films Cronos, Pan's Labyrinth and The Devil's Backbone.
I believe Mark Samuel's said he liked Cronos on the old board. I watched them in true pulp fashion one after the other. In essence all are beautifully filmed. I did get chilly moments of over-literattii-isation but enjoyed them all. The first. Cronos, a straight vampire effort. Really nicely told but with a somewhat weak ending.
With the next two, The Devil's Backbone and Pan's Labyrinth Guillermo Del Toro cleverly works in decadent ghost and horror themes with Franco's Spain, sickness, moral/social/political questions and so. The only problem I have with this is that I prefer Mad Max, Starship Trooper, Night of the Living Dead, Frankenstein and Evil Dead 11
|
|
|
|
Post by marksamuels on Jun 9, 2010 22:01:26 GMT
Craig
Do you know, I'd actually forgotten Cronos was by Del Toro...
And I can't recall the ending, so you must be right about it being weak.
I do remember thinking that The Devils Backbone was good (except for the plane crash that comes out of nowhere--it was a plane wasn't it?). Pan's Labyrinth I thought was a bit, well, bleh---underwhelming. I think I was expecting more Machen in it. I don't have much of a desire to see Hellboy.
Mark S.
|
|
|
|
Post by marksamuels on Jun 9, 2010 22:10:41 GMT
My favourite Mexican horror film director is Carlos Enrique Taboada, who made More Black than the Night, Until the Wind feels Fear and The Book of Stone.
Mark S.
|
|
|
|
Post by andydecker on Jun 10, 2010 10:58:09 GMT
The first Hellboy is a nice monster movie, rather harmless fun. The second one is kind of blah. Misguided villians don´t do much for me, even if the evil elf was the best Elric of Melnibone I have ever seen  . The movies could have been worse. They followed the comics rather faithfully. And I absolutly love the comics. Even bought the oversized hardcover-reprints. I don´t buy many comics any longer, but the whole BPRD line at Dark Horse is still a must. |
|
|
|
Post by Dr Strange on Jun 10, 2010 13:54:04 GMT
Of the three, I enjoyed The Devil's Backbone most. Pan's Labyrinth is too "dark fantasy" for my taste. And it's so long since I saw Cronos (in cinema on release), I should really watch it again before commenting. Now Del Toro isn't directing The Hobbit, maybe he will bring forward the much anticipated At The Mountains of Madness...
<Later add>
Forgot to say, I am not a fan of Hellboy (although I have seen both films).
|
|
|
|
Post by Craig Herbertson on Jun 11, 2010 7:01:04 GMT
Craig Do you know, I'd actually forgotten Cronos was by Del Toro... And I can't recall the ending, so you must be right about it being weak. I do remember thinking that The Devils Backbone was good (except for the plane crash that comes out of nowhere--it was a plane wasn't it?). Pan's Labyrinth I thought was a bit, well, bleh---underwhelming. I think I was expecting more Machen in it. I don't have much of a desire to see Hellboy.Mark S. Mark, the weak ending to Cronos only lasted about three minutes. The vampirised man falls over and says 'My name is...'(I forget his name) three times. It was a singularly pointless speech. Apart from that the film was directorially faultless. The plane crash in 'The Devils Backbone' might have been a large bomb which drops in the centre of the orphans courtyard. it's the kind of scene that would work well in a book but only works in a film if its off stage. In the film it sticks out like the lovers doing the winged scene in the Titanic Pan's Labyrinth is the most fantastical of all the stories and nearly works. Del Toro is clearly talented but for me the films are a little too mainstream. I like his use of kids to portray magical worlds and horror. the kids are always heroes striving against darkness. It's a nice touch. |
|
. 