Two movies

Years separate the releases of Pan's Labyrinth and Children of Men. I watched both and if I had known what I know now -- that Alfonso Cuaron had a hand in both movies (as producer in PL and director/co-writer of CoM) -- I would have had an "Of course!" moment. To this day Pan's Labyrinth terrifies me and stays with me in my mind's recesses as so few movies have done. I'm not really a cinemaphile. I watch the occasional blockbuster and adore the occasional sci-fi-thriller sort of film like Terminator (when Linda Hamilton was in it) and The Matrix trilogy. I went into Pan's with no expectations. I hadn't heard of the minds behind the film. Minutes into the movie, I was...floored. Blown away. The overwhelming surreal terror, the incredible fear and violence that came out of nowhere but was so judiciously used, the note of hope at the end...this movie, my friends, is a masterpiece. As so many people found eons before I did.

Children of Men was another low-key starter for me. It was one of those things you see in late-night cable programming and for lack of anything better to see I looked at the screen every now and then while Net surfing. But I was hooked. It is such a parable of a tale, a gritty glimpse into the future, that snakes its way into your mind. It didn't quite grab my heart like Pan's did. But it stays with me to this day.

Watch them both, if you haven't already. Cuaron is a f****** genius.