What Dreams May Come Review

What Dreams May Come is a kind of surreal supernatural fantasy drama film released in 1998 directed by Vincent Ward starring Robin Williams, Cuba Gooding Jr. and Annabella Sciorra about a man named Chris Nielson who dies and his journey through the afterlife and him being a ghost watching how his wife gets on after he dies. Before he died his children died and his wife is left alone and so she kills herself and is sent to limbo and the film follows this story and him trying to save her soul from limbo and reuniting with his already dead family. It centers around both heaven and hell but paints a picture of these places in its own imaginitive way which I really like about this film. The effects are done really nicely to help you get immersed in this world of the afterlife which I think alot of people will find really fascinating.

Watching this movie I actually got creepy chills especially towards the end and in the beginning after he dies and is haunting his wife it was kind of creepy to watch her go through that but the main character Chris you can also identify with that he doesn't want to be forgotten by his life partner Annie. It has a dreaminess to it with the soundtrack and just the fact that he's in the afterlife it plays out like a dreamscape the way they did it you almost feel like you're in a dream yourself which makes this film really stand out amongst other films.

There's a really big surprise at the end that makes sitting through the whole thing really worth while to find out this surprise towards the ending. It's kind of slow moving that's why I say this some people might get bored of it if they have a short attention span but if you're enjoying the story you should stick through it because it gets more strange and there's a big surprise at the end about the characters. I think going into this movie viewing it as a piece of art you should contemplate death and the afterlife and what it means to you and what you're beliefs are about the afterlife and then look at their portrayal of the afterlife. It's pretty philosophical looking at what awareness is and what existence is and what it would be like to be in limbo not knowing who you are or where you are dwelling on your life and really getting lost in yourself but knowing if you have people who love you you can get through anything. It's a metaphor for life and if this idea of the afterlife exists then it can only help you through its wisdom by you seeing this character go through limbo and death and having a loving husband risking his own sanity to help her through her current state of circumstances and also the kids being there and already being adjusted to being dead. It really makes you think doesn't it and I think it's a healthy contemplation and visitation with death while it gets dark at times there's also a lot of serenity portrayed in this vision of death.

I feel this is an important piece of film both as a work of art and as an awakening to a vision of what death is like. That's what is so great about storytelling and film is you get to use it as a way to gain knowledge and wisdom about anything and everything. We can never truly know what the afterlife will be like but if you've seen what dreams may come then you at least have something to go on and can be prepared for it. You can get perspective on what it would be like to haunt someone as a ghost or be haunted by a ghost if you haven't had any experiences like that before. If you subscribe to abrahamic religious views on the afterlife with heaven and hell then this gives you something within your world view to prepare you for that. It shows you the life of a family who all end up dying like we all die but that they can help each other still even in the afterlife as a family you know. It's a great film and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in death. I personally have my own relationship with the idea of death and the afterlife and I think i handle it a bit better than most people do. When someone dies i'm not grieving for very long I accept death. Sure I'll miss their physical presence in my life and that's a sad thought but you also have to understand that we all go through this rite of passage and you can't dwell on the past for your own sanity's sake. Some people might think i'm cold for not feeling that sorry for people dealing with the death of a loved one when they are stuck in the past dwelling on memories and not letting that person move on with their existence or nonexistence. I feel sorry for people struggling through that awareness and i'm willing to help them accept the inevitability of death but logically speaking it is just that inevitable and there's no use trying to fight it because you won't win. All you can do is move on with your own life and accept that it's happened. That's about all I have for this one hope you gained something from it if you yourself are dealing with death and if you're just looking for something artistic to watch this is a good one to try. Ciao!

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Labyrinth Review

I've probably seen this at least 500 times not even kidding. You know how people have movies they watch on a regular basis like going to sleep or while cleaning or doing work etc. This is one of those movies for me, that and the dark crystal. Those old Jim Henson fantasy films are among the best fantasy films of all time and I'm not the only one who thinks so. Labyrinth is a timeless classic that just can't be missed. If you haven't seen this yet then well you need to.. like right now if you can afford to.

Not to be confused with Pan's Labyrinth, Labyrinth is a 1986 British American film directed by Jim Henson, executive produced by George Lucas, and based upon conceptual designs by Brian Froud. The film stars David Bowie as Jareth the Goblin King and Jennifer Connelly as Sarah the one trapped in the labyrinth.  So it's a movie about a girl who gets her baby brother kidnapped by goblins and she has to go to the goblin kingdom to get him back even though she doesn't like him very much she feels obligated to because he's her little brother.

People at its korny and has bad acting. Maybe the korny bit sometimes but I don't think the acting is that bad. I think some people confuse the two sometimes though. It's kid friendly and I would say pagan friendly as well. Sure it is part musical with the whole David Bowie thing but that doesn't overtake the film. I wouldn't say it's purely a musical, I'd say it's a fantasy film with a couple musical numbers.

There's alot of cool little puzzles in the movie that are solved for you. It's definitely an adventure film not much suspense or thrill. There is a few action scenes that keep you entertained but there are some real slow parts you may think are kind of boring. You just have to get past those parts really. All over its an enjoyable experience with fantastic creations you'll never forget. It's pretty immersive. It's easy to get lost in the story, in the labyrinth and you do feel like you've just been on an amazing journey to the goblin kingdom after its over and done with and you'll want to go there again and again or at least that was my experience and I've never met a person who didn't like this movie and lots of people will get a good kick of nostalgia when you mention something from this movie. So join the club watch labyrinth it's really good classic fantasy.  And one thing I want to point out is this is the earliest instance I know of hearing the word "hogwarts" nothing wrong with that, just saying though.  ;)

The Dark Crystal Review

I've seen this 500 times at least just like labyrinth. Guess I'm a sucker for classic fantasy, go figure.  I really love the dark crystal it has alot of special meaning to me. I've watched it many times and have searched for metaphorical meaning in it like the olde bardic tradition of studying a story for insight and I think there's alot to offer with this tale. It gives it alot of replay value to see new meaning in the events. This movie is filled with mystery and magick.

The Dark Crystal is a 1982 British American fantasy film directed by Jim Henson and Frank Oz and stars Stephen Garlick, Lisa Maxwell, Billie Whitelaw and Percy Edwards. It's a tale of ancient magic and good vs evil set in the form of an adventure of the last of a dying race of elf-like humanoids called gelfling. the main character is a gelfling who is prophesized to be the one who can return balance to their world after the evil race of vulture people called the skeksis take over the world ruling with the power of the dark crystal. They find out about the prophesy and kill all of the gelfling minus 2 who escaped and we're raised by different races of people one with small gnome like forest dwellers and one with a bizarre race of druidic wizard creatures that look like lizard/tortoise humanoid type things. As you can tell it's very nature and ancient pagan based with alot of fantastical creatures based loosely on real animals but the creatures in the dark crystal are definitely unique only minor things are relatable to reality most of the creatures are completely imagined to create the world of the dark crystal.

Most all the creatures are puppets or animatronics, some are people dressed in costumes. For this reason some of the movement like speaking and walking make it quite obvious this is only a puppet the movement looks very fake and lifeless at certain moments while at others look real as ever. It can be slightly inconsistent they may have had difficulties or puppeteers that weren't as experienced as others which is a Shame because the creatures and the story is so incredible that the technological inferiority of the time makes the quality of the film suffer but there is still a unique charm to those old puppet fantasy films. It's the viewers decision whether the fact that this is pretty much an all puppet movie is a hinderence to it or not. All in all the story and the aesthetic of the world and the creatures that inhabit is just superb. It's one of the best fantasy films of all time. It progresses just fine there's a balance of dialogue and action and it's all filled with great mysticism that makes it very very special indeed.