This last week has been truly horrific yet at the same time great one for me in regards to cinema. I have seen some unadulterated crap but at the same time saw several films which I thoroughly enjoy. So let's begin with what you should avoid watching, let's start with Meet the Spartans.

I'm not even going to go in detail my reason behind watching it but I'll tell you this, it has to be possibly one of the worst if not the worst film I have seen to date. The acting was poor, the gags and jokes had all been done before, all of which weren't funny the first time they were used and it lacked any sense of originality. This is one of those movies you should avoid at all costs. If you want to watch it, download the trailer and I assure you, you've seen the best it has to offer.

The second biggest load of crap I saw this last week was Good Luck Chuck, a romantic comedy with a dash of soft-core porn. The lead role is played by so called comedian Dane Cook whose performance only served to remind me why he is considered a total plank both as a comedian and as an ‘actor'. The best part of this film has to be Jessica Alba in those adorable penguin panties, which is rather sad when you think about it. Again it is one of those I'm going to recommend you download the trailer, as all the best bits can be found there. What those best bits are I'm not sure as the film didn't have many to offer.

Remember how you would find something different and original and devote your love to it like you would to a new born, only for it to be followed by several other annoying siblings all attempting to capture your attention, but failing miserably as they're trying to copy their elder brother and you end up hating the lot? Well this is Hotrod, after about two minutes in I was rewarded with the feeling of Napoleon Dynamite being played for the 100^th time on a poorly recorded VHS tape. I found it to be locked into that current and very popular trend of comedy, the retarded hero with his equally if not even more so retarded friends trying to complete some even more retarded goal. Yeah I know films have succeeded with this recipe but I'm afraid this one hit the ground barely alive whilst covered in flames. It's one I'd recommend you rent if you're planning on leaving it playing in the background whilst everyone enjoys a healthy game of strip poker, if not leave it well alone and rather try one of the films listed below.

As a child, fantasy appealed to me greatly whether it was through the medium of film or book. Over recent years I have distanced myself from this wonderful genre, mainly because I have found the genre becoming stale, unoriginal and lacking imagination. Whilst trawling the internet I came across a film that had apparently received 22 minutes of applause at the Cannes Film Festival, it was being referred to as a true fantasy for adults and had been nominated for Best Foreign Language Film category at the Oscars. Intrigued I headed to the local video store willing to give fantasy another chance and promptly rented it. I was ready to watch Guillermo del Toro's "Pan's Labyrinth".

I cannot even begin praising this film highly enough, the story, the location, the cast, the imagery were absolutely brilliant, in my opinion it has paid homage to great story telling. Set in Spain during the Spanish Civil War in 1944, the films follows the adventure of a young girl Ofelia (Ivana Baquero) who has moved with her pregnant mother to an abandoned mill in a captivating rural area in the North of Spain. Upon arrival Ofelia meets her new stepfather, the brutal and murderous Captain Vidal (Sergi López). Soon Ofelia is lost in her own world and is enchanted by the mysterious forests surrounding the mill, losing touch with the realities of war and general sorrow of the adult world. She is soon visited by a fairy who takes her to the center of a Labyrinth to meet with an ancient faun. He presents her with 3 tasks, all of which must be complete if she ever wants to escape the harsh realities of the real world to be with her true father, the King.

Director Guillermo del Toro paints a vivid picture of a mystical world bordering on the edge of a harsh existence lived by those during the Spanish Civil War. He is able to seamlessly blend a harsh and brutal drama with the likes of fantasy many adults' inner child craves to experience once again. I must stress this is definitely not a film for kids, even though the subject matter is fantasy. As I said above, Pan's Labyrinth is a fantasy for adults, it offers escapism from our world only to reflect upon a bigger picture of how harsh man can be. This is one of the best films I have seen to date, I recommend you give it a go and don't pass up on watching it because of it being subtitled; remember some of the best films out there are foreign language.

As I've waffled on for quite a bit lets wrap this last bit up with a few mentions of other films I saw this last week and are worth watching. Firstly ‘Charlie Bartlett' a well crafted comedy giving an insight into the wonderful world of miserable and depressed teens. The cast were good and I ended up laughing through most of the film. I think it's off cinema now but once out on DVD go give it a watch. The other one I want to mention is ‘Breach' a true story of espionage and treason. Chris Cooper (The Kingdom) gives an all star performance as what was to be America's biggest security breach to date. I thoroughly enjoyed it and found it to be quite tense throughout. Breach is out on DVD so go rent.

Well that's it from me for now, hopefully next week's entry will include reviews of Rendition, Crash and This is England, all of which look to be great films. So until then, cheers.