Seth Gordon, "The King of Kong" (2007). Juan Antonio Bayona, "El Orfanato" (2007).

Every once in awhile it's good to change things up a bit. So last Friday night when a few friends and I decided to stay in and watch movies, I was open to new suggestions. Since I was visiting someone else's house, I quickly assented to seeing two films I had no part in picking out. Our host had gotten them through Netflix, and he wanted to screen them so that he could exchange them for new ones. I had selected the pool to choose from the two previous times that we got together, and I supposed it was only fair to let someone else set the tone for the evening. It's quite honestly a bit of a novelty for me to have my viewing experience dictated externally, but the situation wasn't as bad as it might have been.

The two flicks on our schedule were both titles I had considered buying pre-viewed. I figured that it was a boon to have the opportunity to save the money and discover their value without having to track them down myself. Whereas I might have put up a fight if the offerings were ones I had no interest in, it was easy for me to sit back and relax with what was on hand. We agreed to start with The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters (2007). Directed by relative newcomer Seth Gordon, the documentary traces the world of competitive classic video gamers. Like virtually any other marginal amusement activity in America, there is an entire subculture built up around 1980's-era stand-up games like Donkey Kong, Centipede and Q-bert.

You can probably imagine what these folks are like- they are nerdy, pasty and socially awkward. Yet they take their hobby very, very seriously. One player (a suburban everyman named Steve Wiebe) is so caught up in chasing the record score on DK that he regularly sheds tears when he is bested. The man usually delivering the smack-downs is "celebrity" player Billy Mitchell. In the world of the video arcade, this guy is the smoothest of the geeks. Gordon sets up an epic battle, pitching Mitchell as the dark knight going up against the clean-cut sincerity of Wiebe. There are plenty of laughs to be had along the way, but we couldn't help thinking the entire milieu was a bit pathetic. By the end we were all hoping for the very real tragedy of suicide.

After the comic pathos of The King of Kong, we were ready for some unadulterated bleakness. Our follow-up was El Orfanato (2007, US title- The Orphanage). Produced by Guillermo del Toro (Pan's Labyrinth, Cronos, Hellboy) and directed by first-timer Juan Antonio Bayona, it tells the story of a couple that has decided to open up a school for "special children" along an isolated stretch of the Spanish coastline. It just so happens that Laura (Belén Rueda) was once housed at this location as an orphaned child herself. Perhaps that is why she adopted Simón (Roger Príncep), a young boy with HIV. Laura and Carlos (Fernando Cayo) have not told their child that he is afflicted with the deadly disease, nor that he is not their natural child.

Despite the family secrets, young Simón knows the deal. He's being advised by what his parents believe are his "imaginary friends". While Laura at first believes that these consorts are simply the product of a kid's fanciful imagination, she soon suspects that her new living environs harbor some eerie forces. When Simón disappears without a trace, his mother dedicates herself to unlocking the mysteries of the house and its storied history. There are certainly some deftly horrific shots and sequences in El Orfanato. A particular highlight is a creepy costume party that Laura hosts for the arrival of her new wards. However, the narrative is encumbered by a score weighed down by cliché and an ending that is just too sentimentalized for its own good. It's an interesting diversion, but not necessary for your collection.

Guillermo Del Toro, "Pan's Labyrinth"(2006)

Ever since I was first exposed to Guillermo Del Toro's work, I've been uncertain whether or not I like his films. His movies generally fall into two categories- serious art films, and blockbuster action flicks. I caught his debut feature Cronos (1993) years ago. While it featured an interesting setting and creative special effects, I felt the story was lacking. It could be that I'm just not that interested in the mythos of vampires, no mater how original the take. The movie did give me reason to anticipate future work from the young director. I waited patiently for The Devil's Backbone (2001). Again I found the settings and atmosphere extremely evocative, yet I stil felt the story was a bit lacking. But after this noble effort, Del Toro began to release typical superhero dreck like Blade 2 and Hellboy. While I'm sure that his facility for special effects served that material, I had no interest in watching it. Finally Del Toro returned to the territory of Backbone with Pan's Labyrinth. I wondered why it took so long.

What's especially puzzling to some is why Del Toro seems fixated on the Spanish Civil War. The director was born in Mexico, and seemingly has no direct connections to Spain. But Devil's Backbone, Pan's Labyrinth, and his upcoming film 3993 share that setting. So why has he made so many films in which this particular event sets the background for the story? Apparently when Del Toro was trying to get financing for Devil's Backbone, he couldn't generate any interest in his own country. When Spaniard Pedro Almodovar (director of such films as Talk to Her and All About My Mother) decided to get involved, Del Toro switched his chosen setting from the Mexican Revolution. It seemed to be a good fit, and the cruelty of Franco resonated with the young filmmaker. He decided to do a Spanish Civil War trilogy that he is just now completing.

While some viewers are frustrated with Del Toro's particular obsessions, I appreciate the fact that he has consistently worked with strikingly original material. Even his "superhero" fare dealt with low profile, obscure figures. In a day and age when US filmmakers feel compelled to continually remake slasher films from the 70's, Del Toro is bringing a new vision (even if he does occcasionally resort to sequels). Pan's Labyrinth is the kind of dark fairy tale that resonates in your subconscious long after you see it. It concerns the plight of a young girl named Ofelia whose father has passed away and whose mother has remarried. The stepfather is a high-placed Spanish officer in the service of Franco, responsible for crushing the last remnants of resistance. He is a brutal and exceedingly cruel character, played convincingly by Sergi Lopez (With a Friend Like Harry). He's arranged for his pregnant wife to live in an old mill among his troops, while they track and kill the rebels in the forest.

Ofelia (Ivana Baquero) has a head full of fantasy to arm herself against the privations and darkness of her new environment. She meets a large flying insect that assumes the form of a faerie, and is guided to the ruins of an ancient labyrinth. When she descends to the bottom of its core, she meets a creepy and somehow graceful faun who becomes her taskmaster in the ethereal world of her dreams. At the same time her mother is experiencing ever worsening difficulty due to her pregnancy, and Ofelia feels increasingly isolated from humans. She finds support from Mercedes (Maribel Verdu)- a beautiful woman who serves as the head of domestics at the mill, and has a secret life of her own. As Ofelia works her way through a series of ever demanding tasks (and meets a series of ghastly creatures), the conflict between the stepfather and the rebels intensifies. The pace of the story is unyielding but accomodates enough character development to please sophisticated viewers.

I'm glad I gave Del Toro another chance instead of writing him off as a once-promising-talent-turned-Hollywood-hack. Aside from the fact that he is bringing a refreshing sense of novelty to mainstream cinema, his instincts for atmosphere and his ambiguous presentation of monsters make this film especially worthwhile viewing. He also finds success with the cast. Baquero notably avoids the treacle of many child actors, and Verdu is a lot of fun to look at. Del Toro seems to have finally brought all of the components of filmmaking together. In my opinion he has finally proven his ability to present a consistently engaging story. Despite the fact that Pan's Labyrinth has a downbeat tone and lacks the traditional happy ending- Del Toro has managed to suffuse his dark tale with an escapist magic that is unforgettable.