By Ashley Emert

Upon telling people I fell in love with David Bowie when I was little, after I saw the bizarre ‘80s film “Labyrinth,” they usually look confused or laugh at me.

I am unashamed of the fact that my favorite movie is a bizarre and obscure ‘80s movie. In the film, Bowie plays Jareth, the Goblin King, and a young Jennifer Connelly (who, oddly enough, never talks about the movie) plays Sarah, a whiny teen.

Sarah wishes for Jareth to take Toby, her toddler half-brother, away into his labyrinth kingdom. When he actually does, she gets angry. Jareth tells Sarah she has 13 hours to get through the labyrinth, or he’s going to keep Toby forever.

By Travis Johnson (President of the Weird Film Society of St. Augustine)

This review pertains neither to Vicente Aranda’s excellent 2001 film, nor to the 1995 Drew Barrymore vehicle but, rather, to Karl Freund’s horror masterpiece of 1935.

As a cinematographer, Freund helped to define the look of Weimar-era German cinema with his work on such classics as F.W. Murnau’s “Der Januskopf,” Paul Wegener’s “Der Golem” and Fritz Lang’s “Metropolis.” Emigrating to the U.S. in 1929, he became a horror specialist at Universal Studios, shooting “Dracula” and directing “The Mummy” and “The Murders in the Rue Morgue.”

By Cassandra Helton (Clothing designer and owner, The Closet)

Pan’s Labyrinth was above and beyond my favorite movie of the year. Mexican director/writer Guillermo Del Toro directs his fairy tale through the eyes of young Ofelia (Ivana Baquero) during Spain’s Civil-War.

Sadness, horror, and the repercussion of war are evoked via Ofelia’s eyes. Meanwhile she is attempting to escape the world of suffering, to a beautiful, enchanting, childlike realm, of fairies and a faun’s labyrinth. This is a remarkable adult fairy tale, with emotional depth, and phenomenal: set designs, costumes, and special effects. Pan’s Labyrinth exudes a magnificently beautiful world of innocence and honesty within a sphere filled of corruption.

By Jeremy Rogers (Local musician)

Bruce Springsteen’s “Born to Run” is, hands down, my favorite record of all time. At first glance, eight songs may seem a little slim for an LP. I promise you, the only thing it will leave you wanting is to hear it again. And again. It’s full of songs about people with everything and nothing to lose. Songs about hiding on backstreets and screaming down boulevards. Songs about cars, growing up and ultimately, hope. A hope that maybe, pedal floored, the radio loud enough and your girl by your side, you’ll get to where you’re going. It may be an immature, ‘grass is greener’ mentality, but if rock and roll’s not going to remind us of this, who will?

You may want to invest in a pair of Depends adult under garments before sitting down to read this book. I promise you will pee your pants laughing. Another suggestion: track down the hard cover version. If you are anything like me, you will want to pass this one around to everyone you know.