Pan's Labyrinth (2006)

El laberinto del fauno (or in boring old English: Pan's Labyrinth) is a 2006 dark fantasy film directed by Guillermo del Toro. Pan's Labyrinth may be the coolest film in existence, and has made me curse my inability to understand Spanish every day.

The film is set in Spain, 1944, after the Spanish Civil War, centring around the main character Ofelia, an abandoned labyrinth and a mysterious faun creature. The narrative of the film interweaves seamlessly with the fairy tale of the Princess Moanna of the Underworld, who died and her father is said to have believed that her spirit would one day return. Meanwhile in 1944, Ofelia meets her step father Vidal, a frighteningly cold Falange officer, with her pregnant mother. Ofelia is one of those typical protagonists, whose curiosity gets the better of them, but holy moly, things go so wrong. Upon meeting the faun, Ofelia is given three tasks to complete before the full moon in order to become immortal as the faun believes she is Princess Moanna. The most terrifying scene in the entire film is Ofelia's encounter with the Pale Man. But not even the part when the Pale Man eats the fairies. The moment he wakes up you will pee your freaking pants.

The thing that will bring you to happy tears in this film is that the Animatronics and CGI is absolutely incredible, holding up very well and sometimes stronger in comparison to other films that have been made more recently. Pan's Labyrinth is everything a director could ever hope for their movie to be and an absolute must-see for any mere mortal that wishes to be whisked off into a world of mystical horror.

References

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0457430/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pan's_Labyrinth

http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/pans-Labyrinth

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=E7XGNPXdlGQ

Shinee

Brother Bear (2003)

Brother Bear is a 2003 animated Disney film that people can use to slap in the faces of those irritating folk who think Frozen was the first Disney movie to deal with familial relationships and not centre on romance.

The films follows Kenai, an Inuit boy, who sets out on a mission to kill a bear in revenge for the death of his oldest brother Sitka. Kenai does succeed in killing the bear, but in doing so he angers the Spirits and is transformed into a bear. Kenai embarks on an adventure to become human once again, very reluctantly teaming up with the cutest little bear cub in existence, Koda, and upon occasion two strange brother moose, Rutt and Tuke, all the while trying to dodge his crazed second-oldest brother, Denahi, who wrongly believes that bear-Kenai actually killed human-Kenai. Kenai and Koda journey together to the salmon run and learn to trust each other and care for each other. Literally the whole point of this film is brotherhood, and it is beautiful.

This movie is so much better than Lion King (yeah, I said it). Sure, there's no meerkat and warthog taking care of a spoilt little lion cub, but there are ULTRA CANADIAN MOOSE BROTHERS. Brother Bear is a lot more gut-wrenching than Lion King, and the viewing experience may be more emotional than expected for those who haven't seen it in a while, and its got a great soundtrack to sing along to. So, yeah, go watch Brother Bear and watch the tears pour down, it'll be fun.

References

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0328880/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brother_Bear

http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/brother-bear-gif

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=2Om8GkmjGc4

Shinee

Hot Tub Time Machine (2010)

Hot Tub Time Machine is a 2010 science fiction adventure comedy film starring John Cusack, Rob Corddry, Craig Robinson, Clark Duke, Crispin Glover, Lizzy Caplan, Kellee Stewart, Crystal Lowe, Collette Wolfe and Chevy Chase.

The film takes place in 2010, with three friends who are evidently going through a major midlife crisis. When one of the guys, Lou, nearly succeeds at a suicide attempt by carbon monoxide poisoning, Adam and Nick haul Lou and Adam's nephew to Kodiak Valley Ski Resort, where they spent the prime nights of their lives. However the resort is essentially decrepit. To make the experience less disappointing, they get drunk in a hot tub, during which they spill a Russian energy drink on the controls, and the next day discover they have awoken in 1986.

At first the guys are scared about the repercussions of messing with the past but they soon take advantage of this opportunity to correct everything that went wrong on the night of Winterfest '86 while they search for a way to return to 2010.

It’s a fun movie, with some gross, cheap comedy, some hilarious jokes, friendship and Sebastian Stan, so in the end, everyone wins.

References

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1231587/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_Tub_Time_Machine

https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/hot-tub-time-machine

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=_TXNEE6SaoI 

Shinee

Mulan (1998)

Mulan is a 1998 animated musical action-comedy-drama film by the company that owns most of our childhood, Disney, based on the Chinese legend of Hua Mulan. The film takes place in China during the Han dynasty, following Fa Mulan as she strives to bring her family honour and cross-dresses her way into the army and through a Hun invasion.

Mulan was released during the Disney Renaissance, an era where The Walt Disney Company regained much public and critical attention and popularity, and for good reason too. The film was largely well received and grossed over $300 million worldwide. It was the subject of some criticism, with feminists pointing out that the film mostly "poked fun at repressive gender roles" and "gives the lie to the bravado of the entire girl-power movement", which is fair enough. 

Watching the film again after about ten years, I can't help wondering about why exactly I enjoyed the film as a child, but then again, visually, the entire film is absolutely beautiful, the animation painting a lovely Oriental picture for those who might not be terribly familiar with actual Chinese culture (the film was received quite poorly in China for differing too greatly from the original legend). But again, ultimately, Western audiences were probably titillated enough by the experience of being able to watch a cool as hell little lucky cricket team up with a just as cool horse and a red dragon that materialised from a little statue and was voiced by Eddie Murphy.

It is absolutely a must-see for any nineties kids feeling nostalgic.

References

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120762/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mulan_(1998_film)

https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/mulan-gif

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=00BZSEWFhTo

Shinee

Heathers (1988)

Heathers is a 1988 film starring Winona Ryder, Christian Slater. The movie falls under the genre of “dark comedy”. Ryder plays the main character Veronica Sawyer, and the titular characters are three girls all called Heather.

In spite of the movie having been a bit of a box office flop, it did receive a four star-rating, which is much deserved. Set in a high school, it follows Veronica and the Heathers, the popular clique. When Veronica meets the rebellious J.D., the story takes a dramatic turn for the worst as Veronica tries to distance herself from the Heathers and watch society glorify the suicides of teenagers. The climax of the movie, involving a bomb and an attempted mass suicide feels like a bit of a stretch, even for a film, but the resolution is so perfectly bittersweet that any other ridiculous plot points can be forgiven.

The best thing about Heathers is that the entire film is actually incredibly creepy but still really funny and witty for something so dark. For an eighties film, it is still surprisingly watchable in 2014, although you might find it difficult to stomach Standard Definition. Heathers really deserves to be hailed as a cult classic. 

References

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097493/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heathers https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/heathers-gif

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=CTmpKgocyYg

Shinee