126 - Labyrinth

    A girl wishes that her infant brother would be taken away by the Goblin King, and he takes him.  She works her way through a labyrinth in an effort to reach her brother before a deadline results in him being taken permanently.
    A slice of 80s nostalgia that I never saw.  I think I had heard some complaints about it at a young age, and I took those as gospel.  It's a really strange movie, and it's not just the weirdness - it's the shifts in tone, the mix of styles and approach that make this strange.
    David Bowie plays the Goblin King, and even though he's the antagonist, he keeps this movie alive.  There are tons of muppets, and Jennifer Connelly's leading role.  Neither of those things are engrossing.  The muppets capture the imagination for about a minute, but then they actually get really dull.  There are some really fantastic sequences, and some excellent effects work.  In particular, the Escher-based sequence at the end is wonderful.
    Bowie's king is strange, but he brings all his charisma to the picture, and it's hard to ignore him.  He moves in a fascinating way, posing almost non-stop.  There's been a bit written about his crotch in this movie, and I can confirm, it's really strange.  It re-frames the way that the whole story can be interpreted.
    The one sequence that I had a real problem with was the Chilly Down song.  The song is weak, the effects work is terrible, and it goes on way too long without much of a point.
    There's a good chance that this movie would be much better if I saw it when I was younger.  I still have fond memories of Legend, even though it moves really slow when I see it as an adult.