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[funwriter]

All, last night I stumbled over two DVD's at our local rental shop here in Germany. Both of these films took my wife and I on a two evening adventure we won't soon forget.

When I have a few days off, my wife and I put the kids to bed and enjoy a late movie. We drink tea, have a bit of popcorn and delve into a rented or bought DVD.

Last night we got the kids in bed, inserted the first DVD and settled into our big leather sofa. The first film we decided to watch was Pan's Labyrinth.

This is a Spanish written and directed film set just after WW1 in Franco's fascist Spain.

It starts with young Ofelia traveling with her pregnant mother in a military convoy to what seems to be a northern military outpost. Ofelia is a pretty girl who reads fairy tales and fantasy stories. This troubles her mother, considering the hard times at hand.

On the way her mother falls ill and the convoy must stop for a few minutes. Ofelia gets out to take a short walk and finds something mysterious and wonderful.

They continue on and later arrive at the outpost and are greeted by the Post Commander and Ofelia's new Step father. He is a hard-disciplined man who is determined to have his future son born in his presence.

You very quickly realize the captain and new Stepfather is a hard-line fascist, who manages the locals with and iron fist.

There are rumors of a rebel group in the area and the captain is determined to quell the rebellion once and for all.

At the same time a wonderful mystery begins to unfold for Ofelia. This mystery and the rebellion both move at a surprising pace. We very quickly begin to see a well thought out tale of good against evil and the struggle takes place not only on earth, but clearly in another plane where both soon begin to define their coexistence.

This movie has wonderful cinematography and won three Oscars last year. Telling more would be telling too much. Rent this film. Spend the couple of dollars and enjoy a thrilling fantasy that strangely breaks a couple of genres.

Movie two:

After last night’s wonderful adventure with Pan, we thought our next rental and perhaps our whole evening would be a disappointment. We were wrong, I mean really wrong.

We Put in The Fountain and held our tea, warm and cozy in our blankets on the sofa and began our second adventure of the week. This movie is incredible.From special effects, storyline and dialog this film will be a cult classic for years to come.

I am not often impressed with a films storyline but this one grabbed my wife and me and just wouldn’t let go to the end. Due to the movement in this film, I am unable to go into detail like with Pan without letting some go. I can only say this film was moving and really left a lasting impression on us both. I just looked on the net and was not surprised to find this becoming uber-popular fast. Do you remember Blade Runner? You know, films where you just go wow during the whole thing, this is one of them.

Get out and rent these two films, and enjoy a warm wonderful weekend with someone special. You will not regret it.

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[Miranda Mayer]

The World's Fastest Indian.

Blade Runner
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Some people say that writing Fantasy is escapism. Sure. But real life never really escapes. No matter how odd my worlds are, my life experiences inexorably end up woven into them. That's like escaping, yes, but with a cellmate chained to your leg.