Film Review at Midnight

So for my film review tonight, I bring you The History Boys, Stranger Than Fiction, Next, The Illusionist and Pan's Labyrinth.
The History Boys was almost as good as my grandma said it was. Not having being born in the 80s, the film meant little to me. It was good, however, and if I'd been in the right mood could have possibly brought a tear to my eye. I can't remember the character's names but it did a good job getting us involved with them. Well, most of them. It was educational, inspiring and funny.
Stranger Than Fiction actually made me laugh. It was much better than the review I read. I loved ... Emma Thompson's character? For some reason I was convinced it was Helen Mirren. Oh well. Especially the psychotic parts where she was 'researching'. I didn't really care much for the romantic side, but it made me laugh. The moral of the whole thing was alright too.
Next. I was surprised when in the opening sequece it was credited as based upon The Golden Man by Philip K. Dick. I just watched A Scanner Darkly, and have read the book of Blade Runner, so to watch another one of his films so quickly makes me want to read more. Anyway, back to Next. I just can't see Nick Cage as a real actor. He's extremely wooden. The romance sucked, as usual, and the bad guys were very clichéd. I did like the dark humour side of things, in the casino, and when he gets shot at on some random ship. The bit where he says, "I made a mistake." threw me completely. Everything blew up and I actually mumbled, "wtf." with my mouth open. I would have been happier if it'd ended there, but that's not the point.
The Illusionist was slow. Very slow. The thing I noted right at the start was that the opening titles took four minutes. It was a waste of time. The plot was needlessly confusing, and the bit where the police chief works everything out at the end didn't make sense at all. They'd just thrown random stuff in there and hoped it'd work on screen. Well, it didn't.
Pan's Labyrinth. I almost cried at the end. Anyone who knows me will know this means that it was an amazing film.