"Fencing, fighting, torture, revenge, giants, monsters, chases, escapes, true love, miracles..." It's possible for another film to have that kind of story. OK, maybe without the giants. Will a pirate do instead?
Due to the overwhelming amount of good cinema out there, and two weeks with nothing to do, I have watched the contents of my wallet disappear to the the film industry.
That's right, I saw another movie. And once again, the trailers were excellent. I won't bore (the hypothetical) you with details, but the trailers were for The Spiderwick Chronicles, Across the Universe, The Golden Compass, and August Rush (again). Man, that Freddy Highmore is everywhere! And again, all those movie are already on my must-see list.
In case you were wondering, my must-see list includes movies that I am interested in seeing, but changes as I read things or see trailers. It might even just mean that I will wait and rent it on DVD. It also includes DVD release dates that I want to buy. The list started in the 2004, and right now goes until 2010 with the release of The Silver Chair. Yes, I am crazy. The first step is admitting it.
So, Stardust. I was very surprised by the movie! Knowing nothing about, only seeing posters and trailers, I was a little skeptical. It was on my mental list of movies to read about before making a decision. So I did. I read a few reviews, including the one on IGN, and that pretty much sold me.
But I still didn't really know what to expect. What I found was the joy of making a clever, funny, tongue-in-cheek film. People have been comparing it to The Princess Bride (one of my long-time favorites), and they are absolutely justified in doing so. I have seen a lot of movies, and a lot of fantasy movies, and none of them have approached the caliber of Princess Bride. But Stardust does indeed approach that caliber.
Ian McKellan narrates us to the town of Wall (yes, really), a small English town near a large stone wall. It's not just a clever name. There is one way to get over the wall (really? No one can climb it?), and that is through a gap in wall that is guarded by an old man (David Kelly, last seen as Grandpa Joe). Tristan, our story's hero, is trying to win the love of a selfish girl, who makes him go through the gap to retrieve a fallen star. She promises to marry him if he can get the star.
But the star is a hot commodity, and not a star, but Claire Danes. Michelle Pfeiffer, a witch, is also trying to get the star. Also trying to get there are a slew of princes who most amusingly attempt to kill each other, only to be reincarnated as a pack of ghosts. They kind of remind me of the crotchety old men who make fun of everyone in the Muppets. I love those guys!
The cast is very good and include Robert DeNiro as a pirate with a secret. Ricky Gervais makes a cameo and acts just like Ricky Gervais always acts. Hey, it works! I really enjoyed Charlie Cox as the hero Tristan. I really bought his transformation throughout the movie and I predict good things for him. Michelle Pfeiffer was great as the witch as well. The only person I didn't completely believe was Claire Danes. I normally like her and think she's very talented, but she just didn't win me over in this film. I did like that she was able to portray the naivety of the star, without beating it into the ground. I also really liked the development of the relationship between her and Tristan.
Even the glaring discrepancies are amusing and can be written off as something intentional. For example, they show multiple scenes aboard a pirate ship and show how the characters radically improve in dancing and fighting and change hairstyles and clothes and such, and then you find out they were only there for a few days. It could have even been a funny joke if played off right, but it's just a minor annoyance that you hope was intended.
All in all, great movie. Funny, original, and plenty of swashbuckling fun.
Due to the overwhelming amount of good cinema out there, and two weeks with nothing to do, I have watched the contents of my wallet disappear to the the film industry.
That's right, I saw another movie. And once again, the trailers were excellent. I won't bore (the hypothetical) you with details, but the trailers were for The Spiderwick Chronicles, Across the Universe, The Golden Compass, and August Rush (again). Man, that Freddy Highmore is everywhere! And again, all those movie are already on my must-see list.
In case you were wondering, my must-see list includes movies that I am interested in seeing, but changes as I read things or see trailers. It might even just mean that I will wait and rent it on DVD. It also includes DVD release dates that I want to buy. The list started in the 2004, and right now goes until 2010 with the release of The Silver Chair. Yes, I am crazy. The first step is admitting it.
So, Stardust. I was very surprised by the movie! Knowing nothing about, only seeing posters and trailers, I was a little skeptical. It was on my mental list of movies to read about before making a decision. So I did. I read a few reviews, including the one on IGN, and that pretty much sold me.
But I still didn't really know what to expect. What I found was the joy of making a clever, funny, tongue-in-cheek film. People have been comparing it to The Princess Bride (one of my long-time favorites), and they are absolutely justified in doing so. I have seen a lot of movies, and a lot of fantasy movies, and none of them have approached the caliber of Princess Bride. But Stardust does indeed approach that caliber.
Ian McKellan narrates us to the town of Wall (yes, really), a small English town near a large stone wall. It's not just a clever name. There is one way to get over the wall (really? No one can climb it?), and that is through a gap in wall that is guarded by an old man (David Kelly, last seen as Grandpa Joe). Tristan, our story's hero, is trying to win the love of a selfish girl, who makes him go through the gap to retrieve a fallen star. She promises to marry him if he can get the star.
But the star is a hot commodity, and not a star, but Claire Danes. Michelle Pfeiffer, a witch, is also trying to get the star. Also trying to get there are a slew of princes who most amusingly attempt to kill each other, only to be reincarnated as a pack of ghosts. They kind of remind me of the crotchety old men who make fun of everyone in the Muppets. I love those guys!
The cast is very good and include Robert DeNiro as a pirate with a secret. Ricky Gervais makes a cameo and acts just like Ricky Gervais always acts. Hey, it works! I really enjoyed Charlie Cox as the hero Tristan. I really bought his transformation throughout the movie and I predict good things for him. Michelle Pfeiffer was great as the witch as well. The only person I didn't completely believe was Claire Danes. I normally like her and think she's very talented, but she just didn't win me over in this film. I did like that she was able to portray the naivety of the star, without beating it into the ground. I also really liked the development of the relationship between her and Tristan.
Even the glaring discrepancies are amusing and can be written off as something intentional. For example, they show multiple scenes aboard a pirate ship and show how the characters radically improve in dancing and fighting and change hairstyles and clothes and such, and then you find out they were only there for a few days. It could have even been a funny joke if played off right, but it's just a minor annoyance that you hope was intended.
All in all, great movie. Funny, original, and plenty of swashbuckling fun.
1 comment:
i love the princess bride!!!! one of the best movies ever, in my opinion. oh, and i also saw stardust and i also thought that it was good and fun! i also noticed the transformation of Tristian and i did think that the star (sorry, don't know her name) was a bit lacking in her preformance. oh, and by the way, is Bella your real name (don't answer that question)?
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