'Pacific Rim' (2013)

You can't help but feel the love Guillermo del Toro has for his craft in every one of his films. And 'Pacific Rim' is no exception. Its always a joy to watch the universe created by Guillermo del Toro's imagination. 'Pacific Rim' should be a clinic for making a perfect summer popcorn flick that is both fun to watch and with enough substance to not question your intelligence (hope Michael Bay was taking notes). A movie filled with giant robots and alien monsters fighting to take over control of earth somehow doesn't seem so ridiculous when guided under the direction of del Toro.
When a mysterious portal in the middle of the Pacific Rim opens up, creatures spring up from another universe with the sole intent of destroying everything in their sight. In order to combat these monsters, given the name 'Kaiju', mankind turn to giant monster fighting machines refer to as 'Jaegers'. As the intensity and the frequency of the Kaiju attacks increase, the slim hope of survival of earth rests solely on the Jaegers and the pilots who control them.
'Pacific Rim' is action packed fun perfect for the long summer days. I personally enjoyed Idris Elba's performance and his motivation speech is sure to pop up on motivation clips for future generations. If anyone's going to cancel the apocalypse, it might as be Stringer Bell.


IMDB-7.9/10
Metascore- 64/100
Rotten Tomatoes- Critics- 71%, Audience- 85%
Yong's Rating- 4/5 stars

Pan's Labyrinth (2006)

It is because of movies like 'Pan's Labyrinth' that I find myself continuing to go to the theaters and continuing to push the play button at home. On those rare occasions when you do come across a special film that reaches out and speaks to you on a personal level, you suddenly don't mind all those crappy movies that you had to sit through in order to get to that one magical film. I first watched 'Pan's Labyrinth' almost by accident. I was back home in Chicago from school on vacation. On a particular weekend night, having nothing to do, I decided to go to the theaters to catch a show. I had no idea what 'Pan's Labyrinth' was, didn't even know it was in subtitles. I decided to watch it because well it was about to start as I was buying the ticket. That was the night I was introduced to the wonderful fantasy world of Guillermo del Toro. That night, I wasn't so bummed out I had nothing else better to do than go watch a movie by myself on a Saturday night.
Set in Spain during 1944, 'Pan's Labyrinth' tells the story of an imaginative young girl who is forced to seek refuge in her imagination to escape from the horrors of her surroundings. Scared for her sick bed ridden pregnant mother and fearful of her sadistic military stepfather, the only friends Ofelia has are her books and her imagination. Ofelia's imagination takes us into a magical world of fairies, fauns, monsters, kings, and princesses. Even in the dark backdrop of war, a glimpse of hope is shown through a remarkable young girl's imagination. If you haven't had the pleasure of seeing 'Pan's Labyrinth' yet, I'm very very jealous of you.  


IMDB-8.3/10 (#110 on the Top250)
Metascore- 98/100
Rotten Tomatoes- Critics- 96%, Audience- 90%
Yong's Rating- 5/5 Stars