Looking over the list of releases for this week, I cannot say that I see a lot of titles that I am all that interested in. However, despite the lack of quantity, there are a couple of titles that are of the highest of quality that I am very much looking forward to adding to my collection. There was the consideration of declaring this week a tie, but those thoughts left rather quickly as the eventual winner stepped up to the plate and took charge.

The title that survived the Thunderdome-style, two DVDs enter, one DVD leaves battle is Guillermo del Toro's masterpiece Pan's Labyrinth. The film took home four Oscars at the recent awards ceremony, and deserved each one of them, though I still think it should have won for best foreign language film. It also had the honor of placing number two on my best of 2006 list, right on the heels of Children of Men.

Pan's Labyrinth is a dark fairy tale that pulls no punches in its depiction of real world violence and the dangers of the fantasy world. Both of these worlds threaten the well-being of our young heroine, Ofelia. It is Ofelia's story, set during the fascist Franco regime of Spain in the 1940s. She is threatened by her stepfather, the commander of a garrison of troops who are wiping out the resistance, so she has created this world where she may be a long lost princess who must pass a series of dangerous quests to regain her throne.

It is an absolutely beautiful tale, visually striking, wonderfully acted, and touching in its execution. It is a movie that fires on all cylinders. It is not the type of fairy tale you are used to as it does not shy away from graphic depiction of violence, though it never feels gratuitous. This is definitely a movie that demands to be seen.